BiblicalInsights.net

     A recent Columbus Dispatch article relates a study published in the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine dealing with abstinence-only education.  The article was titled, “Study: Abstinence sex ed is effective” (Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2010).  The article was written by Rob Stein who states, “In the first carefully designed study to evaluate the controversial approach to sex ed, researchers found that only about a third of sixth-and seventh-graders who went through sessions focused on abstinence started having sex in the next two years.  In contrast, nearly half of students who got other classes, including those that included information about contraception, became sexually active.”
     After declining for more than a decade, births, pregnancies and STD’s among U. S. teens have begun increasing again.  The current administration eliminated more than $150 million in federal funding targeted at abstinence programs, which are relatively new and have little rigorous evidence supporting their effectiveness.  The same administration has proposed spending $183 million in 2011 on programs aimed at preventing pregnancies that have been shown scientifically to work. 
     Robert Rector, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation who wrote the criteria for federal funding of abstinence programs commented on the new study.  He states, “This takes away the main pillar of opposition to abstinence education.” 
     Stein further stated, “Based on the findings, Obama administration officials said programs like the one evaluated in the study could be eligible for federal funding.” 
     Sexual abstinence before marriage is not a new idea.  The Bible plainly teaches it.  “Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge” (Heb. 13:4).  One of the aspects of sexual purity that is based upon a love and respect for God is fewer pregnancies out-of-wedlock and fewer sexually transmitted diseases.  Sexual purity leads to a healthier lifestyle!   Why not associate sexual abstinence with sexual purity?  Someone may argue that the separation of church and state forbids us from teaching morals in our schools.  However, we teach students that they cannot lie to the teacher or cheat on a test.  We teach them to respect the property and person of another student by not hurting (bullying) them or stealing from them.  Yes, these things are taught every day in schools across the nation and they are moral imperatives that improve character and enhance the atmosphere of the school.  Why not teach sexual  purity and sexual abstinence?  Sexual  purity involves respect for self and others.  Sexual purity is a value worth restoring to our schools and our society.

     Jesus Christ is our high priest.  In Hebrews 7, the author quotes from Psalm 110:4, “The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek” (KJV).  The priesthood of Jesus Christ means that the Law of Moses has been abrogated (set aside).  Jesus Christ is not a high priest after the order of Aaron.  Let me appeal once again to Hebrews 7:11-19.  “If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron?  For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.”  Jesus is not from the tribe of Levi.  He is from the tribe of Judah (v. 14).  Consequently, Jesus could not be a priest if the Law of Moses was still in effect.  A change in the priesthood necessitates a change in the law.  This is positive proof that we are not living under the Law of Moses today.  We are living under the law of Christ (the New Testament). 
     Jesus is a priest after the order of Melchizedek.  He is God appointed. “And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchisedec there ariseth another priest” (Heb. 7:15).  Melchizedek was both a priest and a king (Heb. 7:1).  He is a type of Christ.  Christ is also a priest and a king.  Notice this, Jesus is a priest and a king at the same time!  Whenever Jesus ascended up into heaven, He became a priest and a king (Dan. 7:13,14; Heb. 1:8; 7:14).  Jesus could not be a priest on the earth (8:4).  “For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law.”  If Jesus could not be a priest on the earth, He could not be a king on the earth!  The doctrine of premillennialism which promotes the idea that Jesus will have a future reign on the throne of David in the city of Jerusalem is false.  Jesus reigns right now from the throne of God in heaven (Heb. 1:8). 
     The consequences mentioned above follow a proper understanding of the high priesthood of Jesus Christ.

     The voters of the state of Ohio approved casino gambling in the last election (Nov. 2009).  The result is that four new casinos are slated for construction in Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Toledo.  Community Research Partners (CRP) recently released research on the social impacts of casinos.  The research was undertaken for the Columbus Human Services Advocates.  The most direct impacts are those associated with increases in gambling problems, which are double for a person living within 50 miles of a casino.
     Here are some of the findings:
     1.  CRP estimates that when a casino is built in Columbus there may be over 22,000 new problem and pathological gamblers in Franklin County.
     2.  Using figures from the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, CRP estimates that the ongoing annual costs to address this increase in problem gambling could be $28 million.
     3.  One time/lifetime costs for events such as divorce and bankruptcy could be $223 million.
     4.  Problem gamblers and Pathological (requiring treatment) gamblers are many times more likely to be involved in:  poor health, mental health services, emotionally harmful family arguments about gambling, drug use, job loss, bankruptcy, and criminal activity, than non-gamblers.  The real costs are impossible to estimate.
     5.  These social costs will be borne by human services systems, businesses, government, individuals and families. 
     6.  The estimates given above are for the casino to be built in Columbus.  Remember, there are three other casinos scheduled to be built.  This mutiplies the costs!
     Did the Ohio voter really count the cost of bringing casino gambling to Ohio?  The allurement was jobs.  However, the CRP found that most casino jobs are low-pay unless unionized.  Jobs are lost due to the number of restaurants, bars, and shops around casinos declining in number.  The amount of tax revenue generated by the casino will not be sufficient to account for the overall costs of the casinos.  Who profits?  The casino owners! 
      In 2009, the country watched the effect of greed/covetousness on the banking industry and most people’s retirement accounts.  We were on the brink of disaster and still have not recovered.  When will we learn that the pursuit of sinful practices will always cost more in the long run.  Sure, sin produces immediate gratification and pleasure, but it always produces detrimental results.  I have said this before, we cannot  afford our sins!  Casino gambling in Ohio is another example of this fact.

     What would you allow to come between you and God?  Jesus asked, “What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matt. 16:26).  What is worth more than your soul?  What holds you in relationship to God no matter what happens?  What force is powerful enough to keep you in covenant relationship with God?  A force more powerful than persecution.  A force more powerful than death?  A force more powerful than life? 
     In Rom. 8:35-39, two loves are brought together for the preservation of relationship to God and the glorification of man.  One is God’s love for us and the other is our love for God.  Together, these two forces can withstand anything!  Together, these two forces make us and God inseparable!  In Rom. 8:35, Paul asks, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?”  One of the first aspects of this statement that needs to be answered is: does this phrase, “love of Christ” refer to Christ’s love for us or our love for Christ?  I believe this phrase describes the love we have for Christ.  Consider the following:  1)  The word separate comes from a Greek word (chorizo) meaning “to put asunder.”  It is in the middle voice which indicates that the subject participates in the results of the action.  Who does the departing?  The saint separates himself from God.  2) The seventeen things mentioned in v. 35, 38,and 39 are all external to the Christian.  These are outward pressures, powers, beings that can cause a Christian to give up on God and separate himself from God.  3) Christ’s love for the Christian is absolute.  Christ will never abandon His own.  4) The Christian’s love for Christ is going to be tested, but it can stand the test.  Christ’s love for the Christian is not tested by the 17 things mentioned.  Is your love for God strong enough to pass the test?  Consider that the apostle Paul’s love for Christ was strong enough because he faced all of these seventeen trials and never broke relationship with God.  If Paul can do it, you can do it.
     Love beareth all things (I Cor. 13:4-8).  Love is strong, tough, and resiliant.  Love connects us to God!  God loves us and we love Him and consequently, we are more than conquerors!  Love connects us to the greatest Being in the world.  Love connects us to the most powerful Being in the universe and beyond the universe.  His love meets our love and forms a bond so strong that it cannot be overthrown.  This type of love is the grounds upon which Paul has great confidence–I am persuaded–that none of these things will separate us from God.  Why?  Love is powerful enough to prevail. 
     The ultimate glorification of the elect of God comes from the meeting of two loves in one life.  When these two loves come together, the result is an inseparable relationship.  Mutual love is a strong bond that can bring us to eternal glory.  Love for God means: adoration of God, complete attachment to Him in covenant relationship, fidelity to Him, unspeakable gratitude to God and fullness of consecration to Him.  God’s love for us will never fail and continually supplies His grace to us. 
     The problem we face in our churches, homes and communities is a lack of love for God.  Love for God is the first and greatest commandment.  If we don’t get this one right, nothing else matters (Matt. 22:36-39).  “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment.”

     The inspiration, inerrancy, and authority of the Scriptures are vital topics to the Bible student.  Many have given up on the doctrine of inerrancy which affirms that the Scriptures are without error and thus present the truth of God to man.  Some scholars affirm that the Scriptures are inspired and inerrant in the original autographs, but hesitate to comment on the apographs (copies of the original documents and translations of the copies).  With regard to the original documents of the New Testament books (27 in all), we do not possess any of the original manuscripts.  We have copies of those manuscripts and we have translations of those copies in various languages of men today.  The question before us is this:  “Are the Apographs Inspired?”  I would like for you to consider the following thoughts.
     First, Jesus referred to a copy of the book of Isaiah as Scripture.  In Luke 4:16-21, Jesus is in a synagogue in Nazareth on the sabbath day.  He was given a scroll of the book of Isaiah (v. 17).  Was this the original autograph of the book of Isaiah?  Or, was it an apograph?  Most scholars believe that the original OT autographs were not in existence in Jesus’ day.  Also, Moses was read in every synagogue on the sabbath day and consequently many copies of the Old Testament scrolls must have been in existence.  Jesus is reading from a copy of the book of Isaiah.  What is His attitude toward that copy?  In v. 21, Luke records, “And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”  Jesus referred to an apograph as Scripture. 
     Second, in Acts 8, the evangelist Philip joins himself to a chariot with a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who was riding in it.  The eunuch was reading from the book of Isaiah.  Was this an original autograph of this Old Testament book or a copy of it?  It was a copy of the book of Isaiah.  Luke, the author of Acts, does not hesitate to call this apograph, Scripture.  In Acts 8:32, God says, “The place of the scripture which he read was this…”   The word Scripture is found 52 times in the New Testament and it always refers to a divinely inspired document and never to a secular document.  Isn’t this proof that the apographs (copies of the original documents) are inspired? 
     Third, I am currently involved in a study of the Old Testament quotations in the Gospel of John.  There are fourteen specific quotations in John’s Gospel that are recognized as quotations while there are as many as 79 allusions to the Old Testament in this Gospel.  Three of the fourteen quotations are from the Septuagint transation.  The Septuagint is a Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures made approximately 250 B. C.  The three passages are: 1:23, 12:38, and 12:40 (see The Greek New Testament, UBS, 3rd ed. p. 899).  John, an apostle, wrote this Gospel account and used these passages from the Septuagint authoritatively to prove his thesis: Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God (John 20:30,31).  Here is an inspired apostle, using a translation in an authoritative manner to prove the identity of Jesus Christ.  He could not do this, if the translation is not recognized as the Word of God.
     I offer the above information as proof that apographs (where accurately made) are the inspired Word of God.  To say otherwise would mean that we do not have the Word of God today.  Many are affirming this very point.  However, I believe that we have the Word of God today and that we have it in accurate and faithful translations whether English or otherwise.  How could we fulfill the Great Commission if we didn’t?  Consider Rev. 14:6, “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.”  How can you proclaim the everlasting gospel to every tongue (language) without translation of the Word of God into the different languages of men?  Either we have the truth or we are all lost and without hope.  I believe that we have the truth of God’s Word today!

      I just posted a new book review on my website.  The book is Beyond the Sunset by Perry Cotham.  Cotham does an excellent job treating the subject of eschatology.  In this book, he refutes: atheism, materialism, Darwinian evolution, Mormonism, Jehovah Witnesses, premillennialism, Zionism, Catholicism, Calvinism, spiritism, soul-sleeping, reincarnation, annihilationism, and those who reject an intermediate state of the dead.  He affirms: theism, the dualistic nature of man (man is comprised of body and soul), life after death, the resurrection of the dead, the final Judgment of all people, the Second Coming of Christ, the immortality of the soul, eternal punishment and eternal life.  You will  want to read this review and then purchase the book!  Check under: Book Reviews.

     Bible reading connects us to God’s thoughts, wisdom and instruction in righteousness.  Here are some facts about Bible reading gleaned from an article that appeared in Christianity Today, Spring, 2009, pp. r-7, r-9.  According to a National Study of Christian Attitudes and Behavior conducted by Christianity Today International and Zondervan in 2006:
     –95 percent of all people who label themselves as Christians have a Bible in their home.
     –Those defined as “active Christians” have, on average, six Bibles in their homes.
     –67 percent of “active Christians” use the King James Version.
     –39 percent use the New International Version.
     –29 percent use the New King James Version.
     –29 Percent use the Living Bible (correspondents could check more than one option).
     –25 percent of “active Christians” have purchased a new Bible in the last 12 months.
     –57 percent of the respondents to this study claim to read the Bible.
     –63 percent of professing Christians claim to read the Bible.
     –98 percent of “active Christians” said they read the Bible.
     –18 percent of the total respondents who read their Bibles do so every day.
     –Another 19 percent read the Bible two or three times a week.
     –39 percent who claim to read the Bible do so once a month.
     –35 percent of “active Christians” who read their Bibles do so every day.
     How about you?  Our congregation conducts a Bible reading program every other year.  In 2010, we will have another Bible reading program.  Why not join us and read the Bible through in the New Year?  Here are some facts to motivate you.
     –The Bible is the only book that is inspired by God (II Tim. 3:16,17).
     –The Bible is the only book that contains the wisdom of God (I Cor. 2:12-16; Rom. 11:32-36).
     –The Bible is the only book that contains the truth about God and from God (John 17:17).
     –The Bible is the only book that can make you wise unto salvation (II Tim. 3:15).
     –The Bible is the only book that is eternal (I Pet. 1:21-25).
     95 percent of people professing to be Christians have a Bible but only 35 percent read it every day!  Become a daily Bible reader and discover what you have been missing.