Category: Ramblings

“What did Jesus mean when He said, “Take up your cross and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23)?”

Let’s begin with what Jesus didn’t mean. Many people interpret “cross” as some burden they must carry in their lives: a strained relationship, a thankless job, a physical illness. With self-pitying pride, they say, “That’s my cross I have to carry.” Such an interpretation is not what Jesus meant when He said, “Take up your cross and follow Me.”

When Jesus carried His cross up Golgotha to be crucified, no one was thinking of the cross as symbolic of a burden to carry. To a person in the first-century, the cross meant one thing and one thing only: death by the most painful and humiliating means human beings could develop.

Two thousand years later, Christians view the cross as a cherished symbol of atonement, forgiveness, grace, and love. But in Jesus’ day, the cross represented nothing but torturous death. Because the Romans forced convicted criminals to carry their own crosses to the place of crucifixion, bearing a cross meant carrying their own execution device while facing ridicule along the way to death.

Therefore, “Take up your cross and follow Me” means being willing to die in order to follow Jesus. This is called “dying to self.” It’s a call to absolute surrender. After each time Jesus commanded cross bearing, He said, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?” (Luke 9:24-25). Although the call is tough, the reward is matchless.

Wherever Jesus went, He drew crowds. Although these multitudes often followed Him as Messiah, their view of who the Messiah really was—and what He would do—was distorted. They thought the Christ would usher in the restored kingdom. They believed He would free them from the oppressive rule of their Roman occupiers. Even Christ’s own inner circle of disciples thought the kingdom was coming soon (Luke 19:11). When Jesus began teaching that He was going to die at the hands of the Jewish leaders and their Gentile overlords (Luke 9:22), His popularity sank. Many of the shocked followers rejected Him. Truly, they were not able to put to death their own ideas, plans, and desires, and exchange them for His.
Following Jesus is easy when life runs smoothly; our true commitment to Him is revealed during trials. Jesus assured us that trials will come to His followers (John 16:33). Discipleship demands sacrifice, and Jesus never hid that cost.
In Luke 9:57-62, three people seemed willing to follow Jesus. When Jesus questioned them further, their commitment was half-hearted at best. They failed to count the cost of following Him. None was willing to take up his cross and crucify upon it his own interests.

Therefore, Jesus appeared to dissuade them. How different from the typical Gospel presentation! How many people would respond to an altar call that went, “Come follow Jesus, and you may face the loss of friends, family, reputation, career, and possibly even your life”? The number of false converts would likely decrease! Such a call is what Jesus meant when He said, “Take up your cross and follow Me.”

If you wonder if you are ready to take up your cross, consider these questions:
• Are you willing to follow Jesus if it means losing some of your closest friends?
• Are you willing to follow Jesus if it means alienation from your family?
• Are you willing to follow Jesus if it means the loss of your reputation?
• Are you willing to follow Jesus if it means losing your job?
• Are you willing to follow Jesus if it means losing your life?

In some places of the world, these consequences are reality. But notice the questions are phrased, “Are you willing?” Following Jesus doesn’t necessarily mean all these things will happen to you, but are you willing to take up your cross? If there comes a point in your life where you are faced with a choice—Jesus or the comforts of this life—which will you choose?

Commitment to Christ means taking up your cross daily, giving up your hopes, dreams, possessions, even your very life if need be for the cause of Christ. Only if you willingly take up your cross may you be called His disciple (Luke 14:27). The reward is worth the price. Jesus followed His call of death to self (“Take up your cross and follow Me”) with the gift of life in Christ: “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it” (Matthew 16:25-26).

• Excerpt from, G. D. Watson, “Others May, You Cannot”.
• Also appeared in gotquestions.org article “What did Jesus mean when He said, “Take up your cross and follow Me”?

“God has unity in being one God.  He has diversity in being three persons.  The two go together. This unity and diversity is the ultimate unity and diversity, because it belongs to God Himself rather than merely to creation…God’s capability to plan unity and diversity together has its root in God’s own inner unity and diversity.

The principle of unity and diversity applies to chance events like rain.  We see unity in the pattern of weather and the pattern of the rain over a whole season.  We see diversity in the particular instances when God sends rain…

We see unity in the general motion of a coin as it is thrown into the air.  It goes up in the air and comes down in agreement with the general principle of Newton’s law of gravitation.  It spins at a regular speed.  These are regularities.  They are unities that belong to all the coin flips.  As the same time we have unpredictabilities, which are a kind of diversity.  We see diversity in the results of different coin flips…There are only two possible results for any one flip of the coin, which is itself a regularity.  But each result comes at a particular time.  And the whole sequence of results could be any of a large number of possibilities…There is a further unity of pattern.  If we take the average over a large number of coin flips, we will find that about 50% come up heads.  Though any one flip of the coin is unpredictable, the average is roughly predictable.

God plans and controls both the unpredictable and the predictable aspect…Regularities in the long range patterns of weather and coin flips display God’s faithfulness…The particularities and unpredictabilities in the coming of rain and the result of individual coin flips manifest God’s creativity…”

• Chance And The Sovereignty Of God,  Vern S Poythress

Likewise, though life has many random and unpredictable events and choices made by men, yet ultimately God is sovereign over every single one, the overall training pattern and eventual conformance.  The biblical view in Scripture is that God is both transcendent and immanent.   Being transcendent, it means God controls everything.  Being immanent, it means God is present everywhere and is intimately involved in the events in this world.  We can take courage that His Spirit indwelling us will help us overcome the world despite the vagaries of life.

Rom 8:29-30

²⁹ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. ³⁰ And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

Is the baptism of the Holy Spirit a separate occasion from penitent faith with water baptism to receive the Holy Spirit ?  Or it is the same ?

A Christian life is a life in the Holy Spirit.  The Christian begins his life with the new birth and the Holy Spirit is given to enable him to live the new life.  Ezek 36:25-27.

We cannot build a doctrine based on descriptive passages in Acts with 2 unique accounts in the Samaritan believers (Acts 8:5-17) and the Ephesian believers who were baptized by John the Baptist (Acts 19:1-7) that the Holy Spirit was not given.

On the other hand, other descriptive passages in Acts also seem to say that the Holy Spirit was given the moment they repented and were baptized.  After the sermon by Peter in Acts 2,  3000 believed though there was no mention they had the miraculous gifts like those at Pentecost. Peter concluded his sermon by saying,” Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” in Acts 2:38-39.

The authors of the epistles took it for granted that the Spirit was given to the believers from the new birth. (Rom 5:5; 1 Thess 4:8; 1 John 3:24, 4:13; Rom 8:9; Gal 5:25).

Then why was the Holy Spirit not given in the above 2 unique accounts ?

The believers in Acts 8:5-17 were the first Samaritan believers.  Peter and John were sent when the Jewish believers heard that the Samaritans also received the word of God and believed.  Later we learned that when Philip converted an eunuch, there was no inspection or verification by any apostle.  So why this first time with the Samaritans ?  I believe it was because it was the first time the gospel was preached outside Jerusalem.  It was a bold step for a Jewish believer to share the gospel with Samaritans.  As we know the centuries old enmity between the Jews and the Samaritans, I believe the verification by the apostles avoided the probable schism between Jewish believers and Samaritan believers in future.

Water baptism should be performed in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Matt 28:19-20.  I believed Paul doubted the faith of the Ephesian believers to be professing faith and so he asked whether they had received the Holy Spirit.  They answered that they had never heard of the Holy Spirit which confirmed that their baptism was not done in the name of the Triune God.  In other words, their understanding of the gospel was spurious.

The last century ushered in the age of quantum physics.   In the study of quantum physics,  physicists realize the sub atomic particles do not react to the Newtonian principles of physics held since the 17^th century.

The physicist Max Planck discovered light energy came in dsicreet packets known as quanta and not just in waves and the duality of particle-wave in light became known.

The atom itself is full of mystery.   Almost 99.999999999999% is empty space.  When left on its own,  it acts in random ways but when they are lumped together to form an object,  they act normally as they do in classical physics.

Scientists have come to accept a principle formulated by Dr Bohr, the principle of complementarity to explain 2 seemingly opposite pictures of a phenomenon.

This principle simply means that the use of certain concepts in the description of nature automatically excludes the use of other concepts, which however in another connection are equally necessary for the description of the phenomenon, as re-phrased by Dr Wheeler.    The duality nature of light in particle or wave  is one example.

This “nature of complementarity” can also be redefined as the existence of two apparently contradictory concepts to fully describe reality.

Though this principle is yet to be proven, Dr Wheeler said,” Complementarity is battle-tested. No one knows an acceptable alternative. The new viewpoint is part of the working attitude of the great majority of physicists of this generation. It would be hard to name a part of science better established than the quantum principle, more thoroughly analyzed for self-consistency, or able to account for a more fantastic range of experience. There is no going back on complementarity !”

This principle seems to mirror the several paradoxes in Christian theology.

1. The righteous status of a Christian and his still fallen state.
2. The dual nature of Christ.
3. Faith and works.
4. God’s sovereignty and human responsibility.

The apparent paradoxes in Christian theology, instead of being used as proof of falsehood of the Christian faith, actually find an ally in modern physics with similar experience.

I see the sub atomic particles as a good illustration of God’s sovereignty and human responsibility.   We can see the absolute freedom of the atom in random freewheeling around by itself but when lumped together to form an object, they follow strictly to natural laws. Likewise, we have free will to make choices but ultimately God is sovereign over all details.

For further reading :  http://www.asa3.org/ASA/PSCF/1956/JASA12-56Bube.html

Some of the important ministries of the Holy Spirit are : pointing us always to Christ our Lord, helping us to fulfill the Law as in sanctifying us, leading us into God’s will and empowering us with gifts for service.

As we learn to walk by the Spirit, that is, fixing our heart on the triune God, meditating on His Word, communing with Him in prayer and ministering to one another in the One Body of Christ, we will start to experience His ministries in our lives in glorifying Christ our Lord.

(Eph 5:18-21. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.)

And the following physical evidence of being filled daily by His Spirit will manifest :

1. Singing spiritual songs and making music from our hearts to the Lord and to one another.
2. Always giving thanks to God for everything in the name of Jesus our Lord.
3. Submitting to one another and bearing each other’s burden for the sake of Christ our Lord.

Rev 1:19

19 Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this.

Contrary to popular belief, the book of Revelation is not difficult to understand if it is read literally with the major periods of the Rapture, the 7 year Tribulation period, the Second Coming of our Lord, His 1000 year glorious reign,  and the coming reuniting of the New Heaven and Earth in the right chronological order.  (The possible confusion is the placing of the chronological order of the Seal, Trumpet and Bowl judgments and certain description which is clearly figurative.  I believe in the pre-tribulation Rapture and so I see the apparent difficulty in figuring out the chronological order of various judgments is of little consequence to the believer.)

The things that John the Apostle was told to write down in Rev 1:19 by our Lord were :

• “Things that he had seen”

Which were his vision of the Lord and the Lord’s explanation of the symbols surrounding Him in chapter 1.

• “Things that are”

Which were the Lord’s letters to the churches in Asia Minor from chapter 2 to 3.

• “Things that are to take place in the future”

Which were the “Seal” judgments, “Trumpet” judgments and “Bowl” judgments of Israel and the nations during the 7 year Tribulation period, the return of our Lord, the victory over the enemy, the Lord’s glorious 1000 year reign, the reuniting of heaven and earth; and the eternal state in the remaining chapters.

The outline is as follows :

How is one blessed when he heeds what he reads and hears the words of this prophecy ?  Rev 1:3.

L Ralph Rohr, M.D., author of The Revelation of Jesus Christ—Comfort or Confusion, gave some of these reasons why we should read the Book of Revelation and be blessed with hope :

• We should read Revelation, because it is the only book of the Bible that promises a blessing to those who read and heed what it says. This promise is given seven times throughout the book (Revelation 1:3; 14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7; 22:14).  Seven is the number that signifies complete perfection.  God promises His full and perfect blessing to those who study His Revelation of Jesus Christ.
• The entire Bible is about Jesus, but different parts of Scripture reveal Jesus in different ways. In the Old Testament we see Jesus in shadows and prophecy.  In the four Gospels we see Jesus in His humiliation in the flesh.  In the New Testament epistles we see Jesus as our moral Virtue and Friend interceding for us with the Father.  But only in Revelation do we see Jesus as He presently and eternally Is—in all of His glorious reality on the throne of Heaven leading and securing His saints, who are His Bride, the Church (Rev. 4 – 5).
• Revelation is exciting and reassuring. The many horrible and beautiful scenes that John sees explain what is happening in the world today, and comfort the saints in their tribulation.  John is told that what he sees is coming SOON, not sometime thousands of years in the future!  Thus Revelation reveals history as we saints are living it between the first and second advents (comings) of Jesus into our world.  Furthermore, Revelation shows the inevitable outcome of that history, which is victory in Jesus!  (Rev 19:6-16)
• Revelation explains suffering and pain. All people experience suffering and pain and death in this fallen world where Satan and his beasts deceive and dominate human governments and religions.  True Christians suffer when they tell the story of Jesus and uphold Christ as Savior.  But their suffering is as nothing beside their eternal joy and glory (2 Cor 4:17 – 18).  Revelation shows that the saints are victorious over every worldly circumstance and are singing a new song on Mount Zion (Rev. 14:1-3)
• Revelation transforms our view of death. For true Christians, death is not a bane but a blessing (Rev 14:13; 20:6; Psa 116:15).

The Chalcedonian Creed was adopted at the Council of Chalcedon in A.D. 451. Chalcedon was an early centre of Christianity located in Asia Minor. The Council was the fourth of the Ecumenical Councils that are accepted by Chalcedonian churches which include the Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, and most Protestant churches. – Wikipaedia.

Chalcedonian Creed

1. Jesus has two natures — He is God and man.
2. Each nature is full and complete — He is fully God and fully man.
3. Each nature remains distinct.
4. Christ is only one Person.
5. Things that are true of only one nature are nonetheless true of the Person of Christ.

• (copied from an article by John Piper).

Lord Jesus has always been God from eternity past to eternity future.  But He has not always been man.  He took on the human nature when He incarnated 2000 years ago.  He is not God minus some elements of His divine nature then, but fully God plus one new nature – the nature of man.

In the gospels, we read of His miracles and exploits which proved His omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence.

Yet there was an attempt by the NAR prophets to twist the doctrine of Christology that He was just mere man without His divine attributes when He was on earth.  All His miracles and exploits were the result of the enabling power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in Him.  This false teaching was to make their followers believe that they could perform the same miracles as mere men with the enabling power of the Holy Spirit in them.

In John 2:18-22,  we read that He as fully God could raise Himself up in 3 days.

(Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking of the temple of His body.)

In Mark 2:1-12, we learned that He had the authority on earth as God to forgive sins.

The Only Commission

The only commission given to the Christian is to save souls and make disciples.  And not to effect policy change in legislating morality.  Legislating such change cannot permanently change human hearts.  Only the gospel, through the power of the Holy Spirit, can effect real change in society.  We are to share the gospel to everyone but when we take sides in politics,  we end up losing the evangelism focus.

The Sovereignty Of God

All governments are ordained by God.  God is sovereign over all the affairs of the world and we can trust Him over all national and foreign affairs.  God has revealed through His Word how the world will end with lawlessness increasing by the day till it climaxes.  We are not to be alarmed and we should have hope because we are already pre-warned.   As such,  it is something we cannot stop.  We can never make any society truly righteous until Christ our Lord comes again and set up His perfect Kingdom.  Instead of political activism, we should glorify God in our little sphere of influence by exalting our Lord through good works,  witnessing,  and exhibiting good conduct.

Submission To Governing Authorities

Our Lord came in a time where there was slavery, persecution and oppression.   He never tried to effect political change although the people were looking forward to it.  Instead He said,” Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”  Matt 22:21.  Instead of political revolution,  He started a spiritual revolution in the hearts of men.

During  the apostles’ time,  the believers faced severe persecution under the wicked Nero.  Yet Paul and Peter exhorted us to submit to the governing authorities and live godly exemplary lives.  Rom 13:1.  1 Pet 2:12-15.   We are also exhorted to pray for those in authority over us and the salvation of their souls so that we can live tranquil and quiet lives in all godliness and dignity.  1 Tim 2:1-2.   Titus 3:1-2.   So when we see our leaders act unrighteously,  the first response is to pray rather than protest, since it is God who ordain these governments in the first place.

Citizenship In Heaven Not Earth

Our true citizenship is in Heaven.   Though we are in the world, we are not of the world.   Our priorities are to advance the Kingdom of God and not kingdom of the world.  So when we spend time on making the world a better place to live,  is that advancing the Kingdom of God or kingdom of the world ?  Even if we manage to Christianize governments through political means,  do you think we can change the heart of the non Christian society through political power instead of the power of the Holy Spirit ?  We should pursue spiritual pursuits instead of political pursuits.

• gleaned from an article by Dr John MacArthur, “God, Government And The Gospel”.

In many matters of conscience in which Scripture does not address clearly the appropriate response,  should the believer simply have the freedom to act as he wishes ?

Can a believer enjoy any entertainment ?

Can a believer enjoy any music ?

Can a believer enjoy any hobby ?

Is it correct to say that a believer can do what he wants to do since he is free in Christ ?

It is true that the Bible does not mention specifically every possible decision a believer may face in life, but it does address all choices with general principles that govern Christian freedom and conduct.

Here are some principles which I gleaned from the excellent book, Right Thinking In A World Gone Wrong, by Dr John MacArthur, that will help us to make the right decision in life which will glorify God as the main goal.

1.  The Edification Principle.  Will this activity produce spiritual benefit ?

1 Cor 10:23.   “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up.

Unless something is profitable and helpful to the spiritual good of others,  it is not worth doing.

2.  The Enslavement Principle. Will this activity lead to spiritual bondage ?

1 Cor 6:12.   “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.

Anything that dominates us and takes that rightful place of Jesus Christ as our Lord will bring us ruin at the end.

3.  The Exposure Principle. Will this activity expose my mind or body to defilement ?

1 Cor 6:19-20.    Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Anything that exposes us to the sinful nature of the society is to be avoided obviously.

4.  The Esteem Principle. Will this activity benefits others, or cause them to stumble ?

1 Cor 8:8-9.  Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.

If any activity that causes a brother to stumble because of his weaker conscience, we should not insist in doing it for the sake of love for the brother.

5. The Evangelism Principle. Will this activity further the cause of the gospel ?

Matt 28:18-20.  And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Christians should always consider whether their action in any activity will affect their witness to a watching world.  1 Cor 10:32-33.  1 Cor 9:19-23.

6.  The Ethics Principle. Will this activity violate my conscience ?

We sin if we act in any way that goes contrary to the convictions of our own faith and good conscience.   If our conscience is troubled by what we are doing,  don’t do it.

7.  The Exaltation Principle. Will this activity bring glory to God ?

1 Cor 10:31.  So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

We are created to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.  If any activity that will bring dishonor to His name,  don’t do it.