College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

Luke 24:44-53

Butler's Comments

SECTION 4

Eleven Commissioned, Again (Luke 24:44-53)

44 Then he said to them, These are my words which I spoke to you, while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled. 45Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46and said to them, Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48You are witnesses of these things. 49And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high.

50 Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. 51While he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven. 52And they returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53and were continually in the temple blessing God.

Luke 24:44-49 Divine Declaration: In Jerusalem, at some time between His appearance to James and His ascension, Jesus met with His apostles and reiterated His commission to them. We do not know how much time elapsed. We do know it was forty days between His resurrection and His ascension.

k. Still laterunknown time, at Jerusalem (Luke 24:44-49): Eleventh appearance: Both Wieand in his, A New Harmony of The Gospels, and Shephard, in his, The Christ of the Gospels, place this appearance separate from fifth appearance (Luke 24:36-43). The same appearance is described in Acts 1:3-8. Evidently Jesus spent many hours during these forty days in intense instruction to the apostles and disciples concerning the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies in His redemptive incarnation. The two great lines of evidence appealed to in apostolic preaching (Acts) and apostolic writing (Epistles) are the empirical facts witnessed in His death, burial and resurrection, and the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies in His deeds and teachings.

It is interesting to note that Jesus summarized the entire message of the Old Testament as a prediction that the Messiah should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. Yes, that was what God was saying in the Old Testament-redemption and evangelism. There is little doubt that the Old Testament is filled with predictions that God's redemptive deeds will be to all people when one reads the prophetsespecially Isaiah (cf. Isaiah 2:1-4; Isaiah 19:16-24; Isaiah 25:6-9; Isaiah 42:1-4; Isaiah 49:5-7; Isaiah 51:4-6; Isaiah 60:1-3; Isaiah 61:1-9, etc.). All this God chose Israel to do. It was Israel's destiny to give birth to the Redeemer and to be a kingdom of priests in order to take the message of redemption to the whole world. The majority of the Israelites defaulted on that destiny. But God's redemptive program was not thwarted. He called upon a small minority, a remnant, eleven apostles and a few disciples, and they answered. He sent them to preach repentance and forgiveness of sins to all the nations. And that message of repentance and forgiveness was validated by the testimony of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (cf. Acts 2:22-42; Acts 3:12-26; Acts 17:30-31, etc.). There is no reason for men to repent if Christ is not raised; there is no hope for forgiveness if Christ is not raised. So Jesus said, You are witnesses of these things. They witnessed only His death, burial and resurrection. They preached repentance and forgiveness because He promises it and His promises are absolutely trustworthy because of His resurrection. Repentance (a change of direction, both in mind and deed) and forgiveness of sin (release from guilt and reconciliation to God) is man's most fundamental need. Jesus says it is available in His namethat is, by His authority, and in His way of life.

Jesus said to the apostles He would send the promise of the Father upon them. That promise was, of course, the supernatural powers and privileges enumerated by Jesus at various times (Matthew 16:17-20; Matthew 19:28-30; John 14:1-31; John 15:1-27; John 16:1-33; John 17:1-26; John 20:20-23, etc.). These eleven apostles (and one to be added) would open the doors to the kingdom, establish it, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, and leave with the infant church an infallibly inspired set of documents known as the New Testament. To these apostles would be granted great privilege, great responsibility and great persecutions (Mark 10:30). All those were promises of the Father.

This same conversation in the book of Acts reveals to us that the apostles were still clinging to the materialistic view of the kingdom of God. They asked Jesus if He were, at this time, about to restore the kingdom to Israel, (Acts 1:6). They must, therefore, have the power of the Holy Spirit to accompany their preaching. The Holy Spirit's miraculous powers working through the apostles would be necessary not only to keep them aware that the kingdom was spiritual and to guide them inerrantly in their teaching, but also to verify their message of the spirituality of the kingdom for the whole world. The spiritual nature of the kingdom of God is foreign to the carnal mind of man. Without the inspired revelation of the Holy Spirit, men would not believe it!

Luke 24:50-53 Dedicated Devotees: After admonishing them to stay in the city of Jerusalem until they were clothed with power from on high, He led them out as far as Bethany (on the Mount of Olives, cf. Acts 1:12), and lifting up His hands He blessed them.

1. Last of May (Hebrew month, Iyyar), A.D. 30: Twelfth appearance: While He blessed them, He parted from them. Greek manuscripts Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, Ephraemi, Washingtonius and Koridethi, et al, add, and was carried into heaven. We do know that He ascended into heaven because this same gospel writer, Luke, records the event in his Acts of the Apostles (Acts 1:9-11). The apostles saw Him go, bodily, up into the heavens and disappear from their sight. He appeared, once more, bodily, to Saul of Tarsus, near Damascus, Syria (1 Corinthians 15:8; Acts 9:3-9).

For a while the apostles remained, staring into heaven, awed, shocked, wondering and probably confused. But two angels appeared and directed them, Why are you standing here staring into the heavens, this same Jesus who was received up from you into heaven, will come back from heaven in the same manner you saw Him go. This filled them with great joy, and they returned to Jerusalem in obedience to their Lord's word, worshipping in the Temple as they awaited the beginning of their great task to preach His name to the whole world.

The record of God's redemption according to Luke does not really end here. It continues through the Acts of the Apostles, for the good news resulted in the establishment of Christ's church first at Jerusalem, and then in the uttermost parts of the civilized world. The Holy Spirit did empower the apostles; He did validate their message with miracles and signs (cf. Hebrews 2:3-4; Acts 2:1 ff.). The Holy Spirit did call to their remembrance all Jesus taught them as recorded in this Gospel and the others; He did lead them into all the truth necessary for the establishment and satisfaction of the church. And the apostles (and thousands of other believers) did go and bear witness to the redemptive plan of God as it was accomplished in Christ.

Jesus did and said many other things than those recorded in Luke's gospel or John's gospel or in the other two (cf. John 20:30-31; John 21:25), but all that is necessary for any man to believe and obey Christ unto salvation is recorded in the New Testament. What is recorded in the gospel accounts is sufficient to produce faith in Christ as the Son of God in the heart of any honest-minded individual. We will discuss the matter of believing the gospel accounts in the addendum to this chapter. You will want to read that next!

Tradition says that Luke lived until he was 84 years of age never marrying, and after his death he was buried in a city called Thebes, in Bithynia. We do not know the certainty of all that but we do know Luke's name will live on while this earth remains and his great faith and dedication to produce an orderly and accurate account after having followed all things closely has resulted in millions of people coming to believe Jesus is the Son of Man and the Son of God and may result in millions more believing also. We here express our gratitude to God for His divine providence that would call and empower such a man as Luke to put into writing the deeds and sayings of our Lord Jesus Christ. The uniqueness of Luke's record, compared to the other three records, is a classic example that God wishes to communicate His good news to all men, whatever their culture or whatever their inclinations.

ADDENDUM ON THE BODILY RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST FROM THE DEAD

The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the fundamental fact of Christianity. Without it there can be no Biblical Christianity. Without it there is no hope for mankind. Paul makes it the one absolute essential to faith, morals, brotherhood and proclamation (1 Corinthians 15:1-58). Without the bodily resurrection, in time, in space, in history, established on empirical evidence, the death of Christ is vain, the faith of the Christian is vain, the preaching of the church is vain, and Christians are, of all men, most to be pitied. So we here offer this study in the hope that believers will have their faith founded on this fact of history and that unbelievers will, in honesty and openness, be persuaded to believe in the living Christ.

BASIC ATTACKS ON THE RESURRECTION

Denial of the authenticity of the gospel accounts, or a denial of their credibility.

Explaining the gospel miracles as myths.

Making faith in God a matter of subjective experiences or feelings and, therefore, declaring the factuality of miracles and the bodily resurrection irrelevant to being a Christian.

II.

FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF THE LAWS OF EVIDENCE APPLIED TO THE QUESTION OF THE FACTUAL TRUTH OF CHRISTIANITY (excerpts from an article by John Warwick Montgomery, entitled, Legal Reasoning and Christian Apologetics, Christianity Today, 2-14-75).

The ancient documents rule:

Ancient documents will be received as competent evidence if they are fair-on-their-face (i.e. if they offer no internal evidence of tampering) and have been maintained in reasonable custody (i.e. if their preservation has been consistent with their content).

Applied to the gospel records, and reinforced by responsible lower (textual) criticism, this rule would establish their competency in any court of law.

The parol (i.e., oral, word of mouth) evidence rule:

External, oral testimony will not be received in evidence to add to, subtract from, vary, contradict an executed written instrument such as a will.

Applied to the Biblical documents which expressly claim to be executed and complete (Hebrews 9:15-17; Revelation 22:18-19), this rule insists that Scripture be allowed to interpret itself and not be twisted or contradicted by external, extra-biblical data (such as comparative New Eastern religious texts and practices, new hermeneutics, Form Criticism methods, etc., etc.).

The hearsay rule:

A witness must testify of his own knowledge, not on the basis of what has come to him indirectly from others.

This demand for primarysource evidence is fully vindicated in the New Testament documents by the constant claim of its authors to be setting forth that which they have seen and heard and handled (touched) concerning the Word of Life... (1 John 1:1-4).

In the document of Luke, he nowhere claims for himself eyewitness primacy, but he does so for his sources, (Luke 1:1-4).

The related cross-examination principle:

All trials proceed upon the idea that some confidence is due to human testimony, and this confidence grows and becomes more stedfast in proportion as the witness has been subjected to a close and searching cross-examination.

Applied to the New Testament message of the first century, this rule underscores the reliability of testimony to Christ's resurrection which was presented in the very teeth of opposition (in Jewish synagogues and among Greek and Roman philosophers and rulers) among hostile cross-examiners who would certainly have destroyed the case for Christianity had the facts been otherwise.

Just such rules of evidence sufficiently settle issues of life and death in human societyand always haveeven in the most primitive societies. They are sufficient for believing in historically documented facts upon which to establish faith and action in religion (as they are for scientific and legal matters).

III.

TREATISE ON THE LAW OF EVIDENCE (excerpts from the writings of Simon Greenleaf, 1783-1853, U.S. legal educator, head of Harvard Law School in 1846; drafted original constitution of Independent Republic of Liberia; classed with the world's greatest legal minds such as Kent and Blackstone; president of Massachusetts Bible Society for many years; wrote, the Testimony of The Evangelists).

A. Principles

To establish the historicity of the facts of Christianity, nothing more is demanded than is readily conceded to every branch of human science!

Christianity does not profess to convince the perverse and headstrong, to bring irresistible evidence to vanquish every question. All it professes is to propose such evidence as may satisfy the disciplined, teachable, honest, serious searcher for truth.

The foundation of Christianity is based on facts. These facts are testified to as having occurred within the personal knowledge of the Gospel writers. Christianity, then, rests upon the credibility of these witnesses. Are they worthy of implicit belief? This is the question in all human tribunals in regard to persons testifying before them.

Precepts

Every document apparently ancient, coming from the proper custody, and bearing on its face no evident marks of forgery, the law presumes to be genuine, and devolves on the opposing party the burden of proving it to be otherwise. We are entitled to assume the texts of the Gospels are genuine until the contrary is shown conclusively with empirical evidence.

If it be objected that the originals are lost, and that we have only copies, the principles of municipal law apply here also. For if any ancient document concerning our public rights (our Constitution, Bill of Rights, etc.) were lost, copies which had been as universally received and acted upon as the four Gospels have been, would have been received in evidence in any court of law without the slightest hesitation.

In trials of fact, by oral testimony, the proper inquiry is not whether it is possible that the testimony may be false (as critics approach it) but whether there is sufficient probability that it is true!

In weighing the evidence of any proposition of fact, the question to be determined is, when may it be said to be proved. A proposition of fact is proved, when its truth is established by competent and satisfactory evidence beyond reasonable doubt.

Competent: Such as the nature of the thing to be proved requires. (seeing, hearing, touching, etc.).

Satisfactory: Amount of proof which ordinarily satisfied an unprejudiced mind beyond any reasonable doubt.

Sufficiency: Enough to satisfy the mind and conscience of an honest man and cause him to act upon that conviction.

When one has this degree of certainty, it is unreasonable to require more.

In the absence of circumstances which generate suspicion, every witness is to be presumed to be credible, until the contrary is shown. The burden of impeaching his credibility lies upon the objector.

Honesty: All witnesses are entitled to the benefit of the axiom that men ordinarily speak the truth, when they have no prevailing motive or inducement to the contrary. If the testimony of the gospel writers is false why would they have lied to bring upon themselves all the misery and persecution of Christianity's enemies?

Ability: The ability of a witness to speak the truth depends on the opportunities he has had for observing the fact, the accuracy of his powers of observing and discerning, and the faithfulness of his memory in recalling the facts. We can at least grant to the gospel writers the abilities of most human beings until the contrary is shown. This is the procedure of legal justice. Matthew was a tax-collector; Luke was a physician; both were trained in such abilities to remember and record facts.

Number and consistency of witnesses: Enough disparity is needed in the witnesses (as to time separations, geographical separations, etc.) to show there was no collusion. Enough agreement in the documents of the witnesses is needed to show they were independent recorders of the same great events.

Conformity of testimony with experience: What the gospel writers witnessed and testified to was experienced or seen and heard by others (cf. Acts 2:22, etc.).

10.

Coincidence of testimony with collateral and contemporaneous facts and circumstances:

Had the evangelists been false historians, they would not have committed themselves on so many particulars.

Had the evangelists been false historians, they would not have furnished their enemies with such documents for bringing them into discredit with their audiences.

It is not possible for the wit of man to invent a story, which if closely compared to the actual occurrences of the same time and place, may not be shown to be false.

Comparing the gospels to the histories of that era proves their authenticity.

False witnesses will not willingly or consciously detail any circumstances in which their testimony may be open to contradiction. Nor will they multiply circumstances where there is danger of comparisons that could be made and exposure made.

False witnesses deal in general statements and broad assertions. When forced to use names and particular circumstances they will try to invent such as will be out of reach of all investigation and opposing proof. THIS IS NOT SO WITH THE GOSPELS!

It should be clearly settled in the mind of honest investigators that the Biblical documents known as the Gospels meet all the principles and rules of legal and scientific evidence herein proposed.

IV.

THE GOSPELS ARE NOT MYTHS

Rudolph Bultmann, celebrated theologian, says, the message of Christ provides religious truth, but not historical facts.

Jesus of Nazareth, according to Bultmann, was merely a man about whom we know very little.

Whatever the Gospels say about Jesus cannot be taken as historically true except for a few facts such as his life in first century Palestine, his trial under Pontius Pilate, and his death by crucifixion. The rest must be myth and fable created and compiled by the early Christian believers.

These early believers used the religious myths of the virgin birth and the resurrection to ascribe divinity to Jesus. The myth concept is popularized in books like The Passover Plot.

Myths compared to the Gospels

In Homer's Odyssey there is the myth of Circe, an evil enchantress who lured men into her garden and then changed them into pigs. In the same Greek mythology is the myth of Polyphemus, the one-eyed Cyclops who killed and ate some of Odysseus-' men who hid in his cave. Aesop's Fables are a form of myth.

But the gospel accounts are factual documents describing a man named Jesus who lived and died and was resurrected completely and bodily within the realm of history.

Mythological gods lived in the imaginary realm of the unseen on Mount Olympus or some other unknown and unseen place, and never performed their alleged deaths or resurrections in real life as real-bodied beings. They could never be verified historically.

Christ's resurrection happened only once! Mythological gods were resurrected constantly, according to the annual changes in seasons.

J. Gresham Machen in The Origin of Paul's Religion, says, most of these mystery religions did not exist in the form which the critics say is like Christianity.

Only some forty days after the death of the historical person Jesus, His disciples were proclaiming to their contemporaries the detailed facts of His return to life in the same body buried in the tomb. Mythological characters took many generations and often, centuries, to develop and gain followers.

Even if the disciples of Jesus had borrowed (which no evidence shows they did) from the myths prevalent in their day it would have taken longer than forty days to establish the Jesus-myth. Extant portions of copies of manuscripts of the Gospel accounts date back to within 50 years of the eyewitnesses of Christ's life!

The history of the Jews (and Jesus-' apostles were Jews) during the first century A.D. and before shows they were violently opposed to Greek and Roman religious mythology. So Jesus-' apostles would have been seriously anti-mythology.

If the resurrection of Christ was a myth, why encumber it with the details of a common human existence which made it open to investigation by its enemies! Placing the hero of this alleged Christ-myth in their own time, instead of saying it happened centuries before their time, these apostles would have robbed their story of the enormous prestige of antiquity. Surely, they would have been as intelligent as other myth-makers.

10.

If the resurrection of Christ had been nothing more than a myth, the witness to it would have been just as palatable as the hundred other myths were to the pagan civilization of their day. Myths required no sacrifice to believe, hardly ever did they involve persecution, and they usually permitted gross indulgences of the flesh. History shows that the message of Christ's atonement and resurrection was not palatable to those devotees of contemporary mystery religions and the same is still true today! CHRIST'S RESURRECTION IS NO MYTH!

SUBJECTIVE OR FEELING RESURRECTION IS ALL THAT IS NEEDED

We cannot prove the resurrection as an historical fact and we do not need to. what the church needs. is the testimony of persons who. say that Christ has appeared to them. and that they have experienced his presence in some of the crises of meaningful experiences of their lives. by Dr. J. Daniel Joyce, dean of the Graduate Seminary, Phillips University, in The Christian, 3-30-1969.

Christians need not affirm that Christ rose from the dead at all. so far as its having literal historical significance, it has become excess baggage for most of us. Dr. D. W. Ferm, Presbyterian minister in Newsweek, 3-3-1972.

Rev. John Burke, P.O., executive director of the Word of God Institute, a Catholic organization, quoted in the Los Angeles Times, 9-5-1977: said he did not know of -any credible biblical scholar who would hold for a bodily Resurrection.-' Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, Supplementary Volume, article by F. W. Saunders says the earliest form of Resurrection accounts among the first Christians may have been the experience of Peter and his brethren in coming to faith, -seeing-' that Jesus was not a martyred prophet but in very fact Lord and Christ enthroned in glory. The mystery of that conviction is the mystery of faith.
ALL SUBJECTIVE! NOW CONTRAST THÈSE STATEMENTS. WHICH DO YOU THINK REPRESENTS WHAT, USING THE NORMAL RULES OF UNDERSTANDING HUMAN LANGUAGE, THE GOSPEL WRITERS INTENDED THEIR READERS TO UNDERSTAND?

The greatest derangement of the human mind is to believe because one wishes it to be so. Louis Pasteur

The heart cannot delight in what the mind rejects as false.. The beauty of the gospel in the avalanche of competing religious claims is precisely the possibility we have of checking it out historically and factually. Clark Pinnock, in, Set Forth Your Case. The gospel is good news of God, not news of man. it has as its first concern not what man must do, but what God has done. It asks, Since God has so acted, what ought we men do? The Christian message demands attention not because it may be helpful, but because it is true.. Sidney Cave, in, The Christian Way.

Facts → Testimony → Faith → Feeling, in that order and none other! Because the power of faith (like prayer) rests not in the faith (or in prayer) itself but in the object (God and Christ) of the faith.

It is not choosing nor refusing; it is not loving, hating, fearing, desiring or hoping; it is not the nature of any power or faculty or capacity of our being, nor the exercise of them but the objects or things upon which they are exercised which give us pleasure or pain; which induce us to action, or influence our behavior.

The nature of God, demonstrated by the deeds of God, transmitted to us and imprinted upon our nature through the testimony of language transforms us into His image. Alexander Campbell, in, The Christian System.

The validity of Jesus rests not on how he makes us feel but on the historical facts of the first century. Getting high on Jesus is a dangerous step toward emotional insecurity. Christianity is not limited to our subjective feelings. else whenever we are depressed or frustrated, our faith is almost worthless. Christianity is sure no matter how many times we fail because it is factual. Christianity is not invalidated by our lack of success. Dr. James North in San Jose Bible College Broadcaster, March 1974.

Our hope in the resurrection is not based on subjective feelings.

Christianity based on subjectivism or existentialism is like impressionistic artits beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Such Christianity is validated by feelings, not by facts.

Any outlook which over emphasizes the subjective in religion and disregards rational objectivity can neither invalidate a false revelation nor validate a true one. If you are sincere in your search for the Real, you must not repudiate the Rational.

Man trusts, has assurance, loves, acts morally, and hopes on the basis of what God has done, historically, in the past. God has given man a trustworthy record of His redemptive action.

Validating one's religion primarily by one's subjective feelings makes one his own god and that is no better than any other form of idolatry.

The Gospels (and the whole New Testament) are authentic, trustworthy historical records by eyewitnesses that God entered history in the Person of Jesus Christ, died to atone for sin, arose from the dead bodily, and ascended into heaven. The Bible does not ask us how we feel about that, but rather, do we believe it and are we willing to obey it! Redemption does not depend on what one feels about these things, but on what one believes and does about them. This is objective faith.

The difficulty many people face is that subjective faith is almost like objective faith in what it professes. But subjective faith shifts faith to feeling and says we really don-'t have to concern ourselves with the historical details of the gospel so long as we feel all right inside. It shifts faith from what God has done, as its focus, to what God is doing now inwardly. Salvation has changed focus, here, from the cross and the resurrection to the emotional experience of the person. This is the existential leap in the dark whether preached by Barth or Graham!

VI.

REFUTATIONS OF ATTACKS ON THE HISTORICITY OF THE BODILY RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST FROM THE DEAD

The Empty Tomb

Attack: The earliest attempt to explain away the empty tomb was that of the Jewish leaders giving money to the guards to say the apostles had come and stolen His body while they slept (Matthew 28:11-15).

Refutation: To imagine that the disciples could have done that without waking the guards is incredible. To imagine the guards could verify the disciples had stolen the body while they slept is unacceptable. To imagine the disciples did steal the body and then laid their necks on the block for what they knew was a hoax is preposterous!

Attack: Another attempt to explain the empty tomb is that Jesus-' enemies (the Jewish rulers) or Roman officials removed His body.

Refutation: Seven short weeks after His death Jerusalem was seething with the preaching of the resurrection. If the Jews or Romans had known where His body was it was rather stupid of them to keep it hidden and allow credence to this uproar. And the Jews were upset about this preaching! Why didn-'t they produce His body and squelch that preaching once for all? Quite clearly, they could not because His body was not in the tomb and they did not know where it was!

Attack: Another theory is that the women, strangers in Jerusalem, half awake, half scared, blinded by tears, went to the wrong tomb. A young man was hanging around there, and guessing what they wanted, said, You seek Jesus. He is not here (pointing to the tomb they were looking at). Behold the place where they laid Him (pointing to another tomb). The women became frightened and ran away. Subsequently they decided that the young man was an angel proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus.

Refutation: First, this attack is a dishonest statement of what the gospel record saysit leaves out the statement of the angel, He is risen! As we see from the gospel records the women were at the tomb more than once and knew precisely where it was. They witnessed the burial. Joseph knew where his own tomb was. Why did he not come forth and correct the women if the resurrection story was built on a simple mistake about the place of burial?!

Attack: Finally, there is the theory that Jesus did not die, but fainted. They thought He was dead so they allowed Him to be taken down, placed in a cool tomb where He revived and was able to come out of the tomb and appear to His disciples. They, being the ignorant men they were, could not believe that He had just fainted and gotten over it so they went out preaching that He was raised from the dead.

Refutation: If Jesus had not died on the cross He would have to have died eventually of some cause, so the enemies of Christianity merely had to take note and point out the dead body to stop the story of a bodily resurrection. Furthermore, a man already physically exhausted, hanged on a cross for 6 hours, run through with a spear, allegedly gets up after three days and nights in a tomb and rolls back a huge stone that several women could not handleagain it is incredible! The crucifying soldiers declared Jesus dead. How could men whose business was execution make such a mistakewhen their own reputation, and perhaps their lives were at stake with their superiors. Pilate checked their report and was satisfied Jesus was dead. The Jews were satisfied He was dead and not merely swooned when the soldiers reported all that had happened.

The record says there was an empty tomb. Either it was or the documents are false. The record says the reason the tomb was empty was that its occupant arose from the dead and was seen alive after dying. This is the record of eyewitnesses. Some have theorized explanations for an empty tomb other than a resurrected occupant. The gospel writers claim to be writing eyewitnessed accountswhich are most believable to you? In the public preaching to non-believers in the book of Acts there is enormous emphasis on the resurrection but not one reference to the empty tomb. Why? Because there was no point in proving the empty tomb since everyone, friend and foe alike of the first century, knew it was empty.

The Appearances of Jesus After His Resurrection.

Attack: Unbelieving critics explain the gospel accounts of Christ's appearances as hallucinations or some form of psychological or pathological experience. Refutation:

Hallucinatory experiences commonly conform to certain rules which do not apply in the case of Jesus-' appearances:

(1)

Only certain types of persons have experiences called hallucinatory (the type we call high-strung-highly emotional, nervous). Do all the hundreds of eyewitnesses to the appearances of Jesus (over 500 at once) fit into this category?

(2)

Hallucinatory experiences are highly individualistic (that is, private) because they are linked to the subconscious and the peculiar past of individuals. Two different people, with different pasts, will not have the same hallucination. Yet over 500 plus the eleven, plus the ten (Thomas absent), plus the seven, plus three or four women, plus Peter, had the same hallucination, all within forty days, and over 500 all at the same time! More difficult to believe than the actual bodily resurrection!

(3)

Hallucinations commonly concern some expected or eagerly anticipated experience. Yet the gospel's are emphatic in declaring the witnesses did not expect a resurrection.

(4)

Hallucinations usually occur in suitable surroundings and circumstances. But look at the resurrection appearances: one at the empty tomb, very early in the morning; one during an afternoon walk in the countryside; one or two in the full light of day.

(5)

Hallucinations usually keep appearing to individuals over and over until some crisis occurs. At the end of forty days not one of these men or women claims to have had such an experience again, until we come to the one-time appearance of the risen Christ to Saul of Tarsus.

Attack: Unbelieving critics try to explain the gospel accounts of Christ's appearances as the practice of spiritism, seances, etc.

Refutation: There is not one medium mentioned or anything resembling a seance. Jews were strictly forbidden to practice necromancy. When Jesus appeared, according to the record, He was not some ghost-like apparatus like smoke or a sheet, but a real-life person in a body who ate with them and showed them the scars in His hands and side and feet. Such an attempt to explain away the bodily resurrection of Jesus as it is recorded in the gospels is desperate grasping at straws.

Attack: The Telegram Theory which says The ascended Lord (ascended in His spirit, not in his body) telegraphed back pictures of Himself to the minds of the apostles in such a vivid way they were led to believe they had seen the risen Lord in their midst.

Refutation: This is almost more miraculous than the actual resurrection. It makes Christ a deceiver of the apostles and the apostles deceivers of the whole world. Then the apostles and millions more of Jesus-' followers gave up their lives gladly for such a deception.

Through the twenty centuries since Jesus arose, attacks upon the gospel records have come and gone. They keep repeating themselves. There is really nothing new under the sun from the unbelieving attacks upon the gospels. If an unbeliever says Jesus was not raised from the dead, bodily, I say, prove it! The burden of proof is with the doubterhe must produce evidence, historical, empirical, scientific evidence which, beyond any reasonable doubt, contradicts the eyewitnessed testimony of people who were there, who saw and heard. Theories, assumptions, speculations and philosophies will not be satisfactory. It is not a question of whether a resurrection could or could not occur. The question is, did it or didn-'t it. The question is not to be resolved theoretically or philosophically, but scientifically, empirically and legallyon the basis of evidence and testimony. The answer is, Yes, beyond any reasonable doubt, the resurrection, bodily, of Jesus Christ, did occur.

VII. RELEVANCY OF THE RESURRECTION

If Christ arose from the dead, then the Bible is God's revelation of Himself and His redemptive system for man and creation.

The Bible is the only direct revelation of God to man, and it is the final one.

Both Old and New Testaments are confirmed, verified and fulfilled in Christ and His redemptive work.

All of this is established on the basis of Christ's historical, bodily resurrection.

If Christ arose from the dead, then the Church of the New Testament is God's divinely appointed institution on earth in which His redemption is to be appropriated.

Without the resurrection of Christ as its basis, the church becomes simply another social institution founded by unredeemed and dying men.

There is only one church sanctioned in the New Testamentthat is the one obeying the precepts and principles of the New Testament.

Any man or woman in the world may become a member of that church by believing that Christ is who He claims to be and by being immersed in water in obedience to Christ's command.

There is no promise of redemption to anyone not a member of Christ's church.

All that men do as members of the church is relevant only because Jesus arose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:58).

There is no psychological benefit to anyone in baptism, or the Lord's supper, or stewardship or prayer, if Christ is not alive and if His resurrection is not an historically provable event.

His death on a cross in Palestine in the days of Pontius Pilate is not only tragic, but irrelevant to me or anyone else if He is still dead, and not bodily resurrected from the dead.

There is no reason for me to be immersed in water, attend worship services, live a morally clean life, pray or read the Bible if He is not risen from the dead.

In fact, there is no such thing as any moral absolute if He is not risen from the dead.

Jesus is coming again, bodily, as the apostles saw Him go into heaven.

The only verification that He is coming again is His resurrectionnot signs of the times (cf. Matthew 24:36; Matthew 24:42; Matthew 24:44; Matthew 25:13, etc., with Acts 17:30-31).

Heaven is real, hell is real, justice will be done, men and women are lost, the world is doomed to destruction supernaturally.

Evangelism is imperative.

If Jesus had not risen bodily from the dead, none of the above would be worth believing or doing.

The resurrection of Christ is the message, redemption is the result.

Man has one alternative to the imperatives of the resurrection.

That alternative is not stoicismthe grin and bear it way. There is too much trouble and injustice for that way.

It is not Pharisaismthe playing like I-'m holy way. That does not get rid of guilt, hopelessness or frustrationit only intensifies it.

It is not humanism or altruismbelieving in the prevailing goodness of man. Man is not prevailingly good. That is demonstrated every day of man's existence. He is not creating any utopias for himselfonly problems.

SO WHAT IS THE ONE ALTERNATIVE?

The one alternative to believing and living in accordance with the way of the resurrected Jesus is:

Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die (1 Corinthians 15:32).

If Christ is not raised, let's not play church or play good or play anything but self-indulgence.

Barbaric, animalistic hedonism is the only alternative to faith in Christ.

But in Christ, living by faith in the testimony of His bodily resurrection, and living in the hope of your own resurrection to eternal life, my friend, there is fulfillment, satisfaction, joy and accomplishment.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58).

May God make this the blessing of your life for having studied and believed the gospel, according to Luke.

STUDY STIMULATORS:

Name the four possibilities the women might have considered as an answer for the empty tomb. Are there any other possibilities? Which do you think you would have thought about had you been one of the women?

Why did the apostles and other disciples of Jesus not remember His predictions of His resurrection? Why do people not believe it today?

Why were the two disciples on the way to Emmaus so despondent?

Would you walk seven miles to tell someone you had evidence that Jesus was arisen from the dead? Why?

What do you think about the idea that Jesus materialized and/or became invisible instantaneously as He wished to after His resurrection?

What did Jesus spend His time doing during the forty days between His resurrection and ascension? Does this give us any clue how important such activity is?

What were the powers the Father promised the apostles? Are they promised to any other Christians?

When Jesus parted from the apostles, where did He go? Do you think of Jesus as alive nowas much alive as He was when He companied with the apostles in a fleshly body?

If someone said to you that religion's faith is different than matters of proving something scientifically or legally, what would you answer?

10.

What if your brother or sister, or your child, returned from college and told you he/she had been taught by a religion professor that Christianity is based on ancient mythwhat would be your answer?

11.

Has one of your neighbors ever told you that religion is all feeling and the facts do not really matter? How did you answer? What do you think nowis it important to answer that allegation?

12.

If you were challenged with the proposition that the tomb where Jesus had been buried was never empty, but that the women went to the wrong tomb, how would you answer?

13.

What would you say if someone said that what the disciples saw when they reported having seen Jesus, were hallucinations?

14.

What about all these theologians, churches and christians who deny the bodily resurrection of Jesus but continue to go to church and consider themselves followers of Jesus? If you did not believe Christ actually arose from the dead, bodily, would you be a Christian? What would you live like if you didn-'t believe it?

FIRE IN MY BONES

(Jeremiah 20:7-8; Jeremiah 20:14-18)

A Biographical Sermon on Jeremiah for OBC Chapel, Dec. 4, 1979
by Paul T. Butler

I preached this sermon 16 years ago in Chapel, September 24, 1963. There is some revision now, but since only about 6 or 7 of you could possibly have heard it then, its repetition-should not offend too many of you.

INTRODUCTION

DISCOURAGEMENT AND DESPONDENCY

About 2600 years ago a discouraged, despondent, despairing preacher (the son of a clergymanpriest) sat struggling with the innermost conflicts of his soul.

He was ready to quit the ministry! In fact he was cursing the fact that he had ever been born.
He felt like he was at the breaking-pointthat he could go on no longer. He would prefer to give up and be done with the overwhelming feeling of failure.

There are a lot of people who ask, How can a preacher ever get discouraged? There is a lot of pseudo-Christianity being hawked by the hucksters today which gives the impression that being a Christian is one continual highif ever you have a low you cannot be a man of God.

Francis Schaeffer has this to say: Anybody who asks that has never been in the midst of the battle; he understands nothing about a real struggle for God.

And. It is possible to be faithful to God and yet to be overwhelmed with discouragement as we face the world. In fact, if we are never overwhelmed, I wonder if we are fighting the battle with compassion and reality, or whether we are jousting with paper swords against paper windmills.

Death In The City, p. 68.

II.

DARKNESS

From a human perspective, Jeremiah had every reasonable, justifiable, emotional excuse possible for doing just thatGIVE UP, QUIT THE MINISTRY!

Political darkness: He probably was born and reared in the reign of Manassehthe most ungodly king Judah ever had; lived through the so-called reforms of Josiah's reign; prophesied during the reign of the weak, worldly-minded, compromising Zedekiah.

The powerful, pagan empire of Babylon was poised to destroy Jeremiah's homeland and carry his family, friends and countrymen far away into exile. Jeremiah knew it was inevitable and plead with all his soul but no one would believe him.

Social darkness: Widespread exploitation of the poor; sexual promiscuity (each neighing for his neighbor's wife); civil justice totally corrupt; materialism rampant; murder, robbery, cruelty, indifference everywhere. Do not trust your family or your neighbors Jeremiah was told.

Religious darkness: idolatry; Canaanite naturism; Phoenician Baalism; Babylonian astrology; and an utterly meaningless Jewish formalism; SACRIFICE OF HUMAN BEINGS (CHILDREN).

Priesthood dedicated to making money by urging people to sin. False prophets crying peace, peace when there was no peace.

III.

DIABOLICAL DANGER

Jeremiah takes 18 Chapter s (2-20) to characterize the ungodly people to whom he was sent to preach.

He characterizes them as: idolatrous, stupid, adulterous, liars, obstinate, deluded, untrustworthy, malicious, good for nothing, backsliders, stubborn.
Ezekiel says of the very same people: stubborn, rebellious, impudent, hardheaded, stiff-necked, flint-faced.
THAT WAS HIS CONGREGATION. NOT ONLY IS IT DIFFICULT TO PREACH TO SUCH A CONGREGATION. IT IS DANGEROUS!

Consider these personal tribulations of the man himself: Read also Lamentations 3:1-66.

His message was almost totally unpopulareven hated; ridiculed (Jeremiah 20:7-12).

His own family sought his death (Jeremiah 12:6).

He was forbidden the possible support of marriage (Jeremiah 16:1-4); and social life (Jeremiah 16:8).

His countrymen continually clamored for his death (Jeremiah 18:18 f.Jeremiah 26:7 f.)

His book of warnings from God was cut to pieces and burned (Jeremiah 36:21 f.).

He was arrested as a common criminal (Jeremiah 26:7-12).

He was locked in the stocks and beaten (Jeremiah 20:1-2).

He was pronounced a traitor and hunted by all the authorities (Jeremiah 32:2-3; Jeremiah 33:1).

He was thrown into a pit to starve to death (Jeremiah 37:11-16).

10.

He was later thrown into a cistern up to his chin in mire and muck and left to die (Jeremiah 38:4-6).

11.

Later, in his old age, he would be kidnapped and forced to flee as a hostage with his wicked countrymen to Egypt (Jeremiah 43:1 f.).

12.

So far as we know, he had only one person in the whole nation he could call friend and trustBaruch, his secretary. Perhaps one other prophet or two (Uriah Jeremiah 26:20) and Ezekiel.

One biographer says of this man: A more crushing burden was never laid upon mortal man. In the whole history of the Jewish race there has been no such example of intense sincerity, unrelieved suffering; fearless proclamation of God's message, and unwearying intercession of a prophet for his people. But the tragedy of his life is this, that he preached to deaf ears and reaped only hate in return for his love to his fellow-countrymen. He was lightly esteemed in life, and sank into the grave a broken-hearted old man. From being of no account as a prophet, he came to be regarded the greatest of them all.
EVERY STUDENT-MINISTER OUGHT TO BE REQUIRED TO SERVE A SUMMER-INTERNSHIP WITH JEREMIAH. EVERY NORTH AMERICAN CHRISTIAN CONVENTION OUGHT TO HAVE A JEREMIAH PREACH TO IT. EVERY BIBLE COLLEGE STAFF MEMBER OUGHT TO HAVE AN ANNUAL VISIT FROM JEREMIAH.

IV.

DETERMINATION

This is not the end of the story. Hear Jeremiah again:

If I say, I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name, there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot (Jeremiah 20:9).

O Lord of Hosts, who triest the righteous, who seest the heart and the mind,. to thee have I committed my cause (Jeremiah 20:12).

Not since the days of Noah (when every thought of man was evil continuously) had morality and the fear of God ebbed so low on the entire face of the earth.

Yet this preacher, in the face of monstrous adversity, was compelled by a fire in his bones to preachhe could not quithe must go on!

The fire in his bones was the Word of God!

Thy words were found, and I ate them, and thy words became to me a joy, and the delight of my heart. (Jeremiah 15:16).

Is not my word like fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer which breaks rocks in pieces? (Jeremiah 23:29).

... behold, I am making my words in your mouth a fire. (Jeremiah 5:14).

NO SLICK PSEUDO-ENTHUSIASM HERE. NO FACADE OF SUCCESS-ORIENTATION OR POSSIBILITY THINKING HERE. JUST PLAIN OLD, GUT-LEVELLAST RESORT DEPENDENCE ON THE REVELATION OF GOD.
HAD JEREMIAH DEPENDED ON HIS EMOTIONS, HE WOULD HAVE QUIT.
HAD JEREMIAH DEPENDED ON THE TESTIMONY OF OTHERS, HE WOULD HAVE QUIT. (THERE WAS NO TESTIMONY OF ANOTHER'S GODLY LIFE TO PUT A FIRE IN HIS BONES.)
IT WAS THE WORD OF GOD.. IT WAS THE WORD OF GOD.. IT WAS THE WORD OF GOD!
In a world of idolatry, unbelief, moral depravity, violence and inhumanity today, Ozark Bible College dedicates itself to igniting a fire in your bones by the Word of God so that you, each in your own place and time, will become a Jeremiah, and when you say, I will not mention him or speak anymore in his name. you cannot hold it in.

DISCUSSION

I. FIRE OF CONVICTION

There was a fire in Jeremiah's bones because he knew the word of God was true.

The veracity of God's word burned away all doubt. He did not conquer doubt by the power of positive thinking, but by conviction that God's Word was actually, literally, historically true and accurate.

Jeremiah based his message upon the historical deeds of God recorded as God's revelation (cf. Jeremiah 2:4-8; Jeremiah 7:21-26; Jeremiah 11:1-8, etc.).

Jeremiah appealed to the evidence from creation for argument against false religion and in support of God and his message (cf. Jeremiah 10:12-16; Jeremiah 32:17 ff; Jeremiah 33:19 ff.).

The conviction that the Word of God was true was the fire in the bones of all the prophets.

When Isaiah wanted to save a remnant for the Messiah, he said to those who would listen, To the teaching and to the testimony (Isaiah 8:20).

When Daniel wanted to encourage the people of the Babylonian captivity he went to the scroll of Jeremiah (Daniel 9:2).

The fire in Jesus-' bones was the conviction that the Word of God was absolutely and unalterably true, The Scripture cannot be broken. (John 10:35).

The fire in the bones of the apostles was their conviction of the historical certainties of the resurrection of Christ and fulfilled prophecy.

Evangelism, Acts 17:30-31 ... he was given assurance to all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

Edification, 1 Corinthians 15:1 ff. (the historical certainties of the cross, the resurrection and fulfilled prophecy)

Jeremiah's fire was not based on feelings.

It was his feelings that kept trying to put out the fire!

Had Jeremiah allowed his moods and feelings to become his motivation he would have quit the ministry.

If Jesus had let His feelings rule Him He would have refused to go to the cross.. O Father, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless, not my will but thine be done (Luke 22:42).

Jeremiah's fire was not based on the pragmatic workability of religious activity.

The Word of God is not relevant because it works, but because it is true.

Jeremiah said, Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk in it (Jeremiah 6:16).

THINGS DIDN-'T ALWAYS WORK FOR JEREMIAH! AND ONLY BECAUSE THE FIRE IN HIS BONES CAME FROM CONVICTION THAT THE WORD OF GOD WAS TRUE WHETHER THERE WAS ALWAYS VISIBLE SUCCESS OR NOT WAS HE ABLE TO STAY WITH HIS MINISTRY!

There are two fundamentals necessary to bring man to Godneither of them have to do with emotions of pragmatics.

He that cometh to God must believe that He is (exists).

And that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

The fire in men's bones is not a result of religious activity or the practice of a systematic religion. The Jews of Jeremiah's day were busier in religion than any people have ever been! BUT THEY WERE TOTALLY DEVOID OF THE FIRE IN THEIR BONES WHICH JEREMIAH HAD.

The God who is There is the God of the Bible. He cannot be reduced to our moods and feelings nor to our systems and traditions.

If you want Jeremiah's fire in your bones you will not find it by conjuring up a god of your own moods and whims or a god reduced to religious activitybut in saturating your mind and life with Scripture for that is where He reveals Himself. It is in believing and obeying His Word that we come face-to-face, mind-to-mind, and heart-to-heart, Spirit-to-spirit with God.
About 120 years ago (January, 1856), a young lad was born to a wealthy manufacturer and his wife of Hoboken, New Jersey.
This lad grew up in a home where both mother and father believed the Bible. In fact the Bible (and other religious books) was read every Sunday afternoon after the family had come home from worship services.
This lad grew up and went off to Yale University to study for law. He was in school for a good time and the prestige he might gain, as he himself admits. I can hardly believe what I know to be true about my own affections and about my likes and dislikes.. He wrote later in life, ... In those days I hated the Bible. I read it every day, but it was to me about the most stupid book I read. I would rather have read last year's almanac any day than to have read the Bible.. In those former days. I loved the card table, the theater, the dance, the horse-race, the champagne supper, and I hated the prayer-meeting and Sunday services..
In his Junior year, disillusioned with his frivolous life, and captivated by the lecturing of James D. Dana proving that geology verified the Genesis record and not evolution, this young man found a fire in his bones and dedicated himself to the ministry.
He went on to become the first president and really the builder of Moody Bible Institute. While doing that he also became the minister of the Chicago Ave. church and in six months had its membership from 2000 to 3000.
In four years of revivals in India, New Zealand, Australia and the British Isles 70,000 people became believers.
He wrote books and articles on the fundamentals of Christianity which were so influential he started the movement known as Fundamentalism.
He became convinced through a searching study of the Scriptures that immersion was the mode of baptism practiced by Christ and the apostles and he and his wife were immersed.
He was the first president and builder of Biola (Bible Institute of Los Angeles) and when it appeared the trustees of the college wanted to emphasize liberal arts and cut out some Bible courses, he resigned.
He made it a never faltering practice throughout his ministry to devote every morning from 5 till 11 a.m., 5 days per week, to Bible study.
He began every revival with the sermon Ten Reasons Why I Believe the Bible is The Word of God.
All of these accomplishments without the aid of the Imperials back-up, radio, T.V., overhead projectors, microphones or speakers, testimonies of celebrities.
Lest you think this man was your regular, run of the mill sensationalist and crowd manipulator type preacher. his biographer, Roger Martin, says he appeared to many people to be stern, withdrawing, demanding, and cold. He spoke primarily to the conscience and reason rather than to the emotions, and rarely raised his voice beyond a conversational tone.
He was more concerned with retention of converts than he was in counting numbers. His son wrote of him, In the ensuing years I have met persons from England and Scotland who were converted in my father's meetings and frequently I have been told that the results of his meetings have stood and made a more permanent effect on the religious life of these countries than other such meetings. This they have ascribed to his logic, avoidance of emotionalism insistence on membership in the church and studying the Bible.
He was Reuben A. Torrey; he was a man with a fire in his bones.. BECAUSE HE WAS A MAN OF THE BOOK!

II.

FIRE OF HOLINESS

Jeremiah was a man, a human being, not a robot.

He had feelings, moods, physical drives, urges, temptations, trials, tribulations, ups and downs, just like any one else.

He complained, doubted, cried, became angry, afraid, lonely one time and tired of having others always around on the other hand.

He had to go through life without the strength and comfort of a wife, Jeremiah 16:1-2, so he had to control his sexual self.

He had to go through life suffering persecution and defamation unjustly, so he had to control his urge to retaliate. Jeremiah 11:20. to thee have I committed my cause.

He had to go through life without merrymaking or fun, Jeremiah 15:17 ... I did not sit in the company of merrymakers, nor did I rejoice. He sublimated the urge for fun for the higher goal of being found pleasing to his Lord.

He had to go through life being very unpopular. He could not know the admiration or acceptance of his peers. They all shunned him. He had to forget about the human ego which demands to be recognized, appreciated and applauded!

What was this fire in his bones that purged him of human weakness and gave him power to overcome temptation? IT WAS THE WORD OF GOD.

Who has commanded and it came to pass, unless the Lord has ordained it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and evil come? (Lamentations 3:37-38)

... my affliction and my bitterness. my soul continually thinks of it and is bowed down within me. but this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness (Lamentations 3:19-23).

Jeremiah knew a man could not trust in his own heart or feelings or reasoning:

Cursed is the man who trusts in man.. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord.. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately corrupt; who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:5-10)

My friend, this is your only hope of overcoming; my only hope of overcomingPUTTING THE WORD OF GOD IN YOUR MIND AND HEART THAT YOU MIGHT NOT SIN AGAINST HIM.

It comes down to a gut-level faith. We refuse to fall into any temptation simply because the word of God says it is wrong!

We may philosophize, analyze and rationalize adultery and fornication all we want, but the ultimate choice will be made against it by you or by me because God's Word forbids it; or for it because we do not care what God's Word says.

We may hold seminars, write books and pay psychiatrists to counsel people on marriage and divorce, but when it comes right down to it people will stay married because God's word commands it; or people will get divorced because they do not think God means what He says!

We either obey our feelings or the Word of God!

James Oppenheim, an American writer of the 1920s characterized the attitude of the man who refuses to let the Word of God be a fire in his bones.

Let nothing bind you; if it is duty, away with it. If it is law, destroy it. If it is opinion, go against it. There is only one Divinity, Yourself; only one God, You.

HUMANISM HAS TRIED TO DEAL WITH THE SIN-HOLINESS PROBLEM BY PSYCHOLOGY, GOVERNMENTAL REGULATIONS, HUGE AMOUNTS OF MONEY FOR MATERIAL WELFARE, ENTERTAINMENT, COMMUNISM.. EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN EXCEPT THE WORD OF GOD.AND NONE OF HUMANISM'S PANACEAS HAVE WORKED.. IN FACT, THEY HAVE ONLY INTENSIFIED THE PROBLEM OF SIN A THOUSAND-FOLD.

Jesus demonstrated that it is possible for human beings to resist sin and be holy by the fire of the Word of God in us.

Jesus was tempted to distrust God to feed Him after 40 days fasting and work a miracle, but He said, It is written.

Over and over Jesus said, It is written..

Although He was a son, he experienced obedience through what he suffered, and was heard for his godly fear.

Jesus did not feel like going to the cross.. O, Father, I don-'t feel like going to the cross, nevertheless, not how I feel, but thy will be done.

I believe that we can live on earth according to the teachings of Jesus, and that the greatest happiness will come to the world when man obeys His commandment, -Love ye one another.-'
I believe that every question between man and man is a religious question, and that every social wrong is a moral wrong.
I believe that we can live on earth according to the fulfillment of God's will, and that when the will of God is done on earth as it is in heaven, every man will love his fellow men and act towards them as he desires they should act towards him..

I have four things to learn in life:

To think clearly without hurry or confusion;
To love everybody sincerely;
To act in everything with the highest motives;
To trust in God unhesitatingly.

If ever there was anyone with justifiable reason to be bitter, to hate, to be selfish and demand pity, it was the woman who said thatHelen Keller.
DO YOU FEEL LIKE LYING? GOD'S WORD SAYS NO!
DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU NEED NOT GIVE YOUR MONEY FOR GOD'S WORK. GOD'S WORD SAYS YES!
DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU NEED NOT TEACH HIS GOOD NEWS TO OTHERS. GOD'S WORD SAYS YES!
DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT YOUR EXAMPLE TO OTHERS? GOD'S WORD SAYS YES!
DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU DO NOT HAVE TO KEEP NATIONAL LAWS, SCHOOL RULES, PARENTAL DISCIPLINE.. GOD'S WORD SAYS, YES, YOU DO!
AND IN THE FINAL ANALYSIS, YOU WILL CHOOSE AGAINST YOUR FEELINGS ONLY WHEN YOU TRUST GOD'S WORD UNHESITATINGLY.
God's word is the truth.. He will tell you the truth.. He even gives you the motivation in the Good News to want the truth. but He will not choose for you. YOU MUST CHOOSE THE TRUTH.
The OBC diploma has this statement first in priority.. Be it known unto all that ____________ having shown possession of Christian character and refinement.. etc.
Christian character and refinement come by self-control or control of self. But self does not control self. There is absolutely no way the human self can be controlled apart from the Word of God. It has been so ever since the human being was created in Eden!
EVERY BIBLE COURSE OR BIBLE RELATED COURSE. EVERY RULE, EVERY COUNSELING SESSION, EVERY CHAPEL, EVERY DEVOTION WHERE THE WORD OF GOD IS EXERCISED IS TO FULFILL THAT NEED FOR CONTROL OF SELF AND DEVELOPMENT OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER.
YOU COULD LEARN EVERY HOW-TO-DO-IT COURSE BY MEMORY AND BUILD UP A HUGE CONGREGATION, WITH A MASSIVE BUILDING COMPLEX AND A MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR BUDGET, AND FAIL MISERABLY AS A MINISTER OF GOD IF YOU DO NOT HAVE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER!
A great man once wrote: Moral facts develop moral character. all the works and words of God are moral facts and truths. you find the works and words of God in the Bible. when these moral facts are brought into immediate contact with the mind of man, they delineate the image of God upon the human soul..
The man who said that remembered in his childhood that It was the rule that every family member should memorize, during each day, some portion of the Bible, to be recited at evening worship. and he said later in life, They (the scriptures) have not only been written on the tablet of my memory, but incorporated with my modes of thinking and speaking.

IF THAT MOTHER AND FATHER HAD NOT PUT THAT FIRE OF HOLINESS, HONESTY, INTEGRITY, GOODNESS AND LOVE IN THE BONES OF THEIR CHILDREN THROUGH THE WORD OF GOD, YOU AND I MIGHT NOT BE HERE TODAY!
THAT MAN WAS ALEXANDER CAMPBELL.

III.

FIRE OF EVANGELISM

Jeremiah preached 23 years in Jerusalem before he was taken hostage down into Egypt and even from there he preached on, apparently until his death. He never retired. The fire of the word of God never went out or died down in his heart.

He ran through the streets of Jerusalem preaching, trying to locate one righteous man (Jeremiah 5:1 ff.; Jeremiah 11:6).

He preached in the Temple courts (Jeremiah 20:1 ff.; Jeremiah 26:1 ff.).

He preached in the gates of the city (Jeremiah 17:19).

He went to the Euphrates river in God's service (Jeremiah 13:4).

He went to the shops of the craftsmen (potter) to preach (Jeremiah 18:1).

He went to the city dump (Hinnom) to preach (Jeremiah 19:1 ff.).

He preached in the king's palace (Jeremiah 22:1 ff.).

He preached while imprisoned (Jeremiah 32:1 ff.).

He preached in war (while Jerusalem was under attack) (Jeremiah 34:1 ff.).

10.

He preached in Egypt (Jeremiah 43:8 ff.).

11.

He wrote sermons in letter form to the exiles in Babylon (Jeremiah 29:1; Jeremiah 30:1).

In every place conceivable, in every circumstance, in every method possible, Jeremiah preached.
Nothing could stop him; not discouragement, not kings, not pagan rulers, not prison, not false religious teachers. When he had no audience, he went looking for one; when he could find none, he wrote letters.

Jeremiah's fire was kindled by his hope in the promises of God. He preached because he believed in God's absolute faithfulness.

Without the absolute faithfulness of God's Word there is no hope.

The fire in our bones for evangelism must be based on the absolute faithfulness of God's wordnot in our religiosity, not in our ancestry, not in our human skills.

We are responsible only for sowing the seed; God is responsible for the success and the growth; God has put the growth factor in the seed (The Word) not in human skilfulness.

The world thinks there is hope only in the elimination of absolutes. The Christian must rest his only hope in the absolute God! and His absolute word.

Without the absolute faithfulness of the Word of God in our heart there would be no motive strong enough to keep anyone faithful in evangelism.

Christianity is not a modern success story, says Francis Schaeffer, in Death in The City, It is to be preached with love and tears into the teeth of men, preached without compromise, without regard to the world's concept of success. If there seem to be no results, remember that Jeremiah did not see the results in his day. They came later. If there seem to be no results, it does not change God's imperative. It is simply up to you and to me to go on, go on, go on, whether we see the results or whether we don-'t. Go on.

Jeremiah saw by faith the fulfillment of God's promises to bring to his people a new David (the Messiah), a new covenant, a new nature. So he preached. And, as Hebrews 11:4 says of Abel, he died, but through his faith he is still speaking. it is true of Jeremiah.

And it may be true of You. Jenkin Lloyd Jones in an editorial in the Joplin Globe of Sept. 16, 1979, writing of the present trends all over the world of growing persecution of Christianity, wrote, The missionary of tomorrow will be met, not by cringing awe, not by smiles and outstretched hands, not even by spears and leather shields, but by automatic weapons. Martyrdom is coming back, and it will be a testing time for Christianity.

No sooner had Martin Luther begun his great reformation of the church when he received word about the first Protestant martyrs. Some monks had read Luther's work, turned to this way of thinking, and were burned alive in the Grand Place in Brussels. When Luther heard that, he began to walk the floor and he said, I can-'t go on. I can-'t do it any more. Because of me other men are being killed. I can-'t go on! Then as he wrestled with it, he understood that because it was truth, no matter what the cost to himself or anybody else, he must go on. And so he did, and we follow in his train.

CONCLUSION

Dwight L. Moody tells of an aged missionary of the Free Church of Scotland named Duff who had been in India most of his life preaching the gospel and establishing schools. He came back to Scotland a broken man physically. He was permitted to address the Edinburgh General Assembly to make an appeal for men to go to the mission field.
He spoke with such passion that suddenly he fainted and dropped to the floor. They carried him into another room where doctors worked over him for some time until he began to recover. When he realized where he was, he sat up and said:
I did not finish; carry me back and let me finish, They told him he could only do at the very peril of his life, He replied: I WILL DO IT IF I DIE.
So they took him back to the hall. As the aged, white-haired man appeared at the door, every person sprang to his feet; the tears flowed freely as that great assemblage looked upon the grand old veteran. With a trembling voice he said:
Fathers and mothers of Scotland, is it true that you have no more sons to send to India to work for the Lord Jesus Christ? The call for help is growing louder and louder, but there are few coming forward to answer it. You have the money put away in the bank, but where are the laborers who shall go into the field? When Queen Victoria wants men to volunteer for her army in India, you freely give your sons. You do not talk about their losing their health; and about the trying climate. But when the Lord Jesus is calling for laborers, Scotland is saying, -We have no more sons to give.-'
Turning to the President of the Assembly, he said, Mr. Moderator, if it is true that Scotland has no more sons to give to the service of the Lord Jesus Christ in India, although I have lost my health in that land and came home to die, if there are none who will go and tell those heathen of Christ, then I will be off tomorrow, to let them know that there is one Scotsman who is ready to die for them. I will go back to the shores of the Ganges, and there lay down my life as a witness for the Son of God.
GOD GRANT, THAT IN EVERYONE OF US HERE GATHERED THIS MORNING (AND THOUSANDS MORE).
... THERE IS IN MY HEART AS IT WERE A BURNING FIRE SHUT UP IN MY BONES, AND I AM WEARY WITH HOLDING IT IN, AND I CANNOT..

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