• Prayer Update - May 2009

• But As For Me And My House . . .

• Cheap Grace or Active Faith?

• Yeshua in Israel's Feasts - Matzah & First Fruits

• Yeshua in Israel's Feasts - Pesach

Yeshua in Israel’s Feasts – Matzah & Firstfruits
Teaching Outline by Lori Gracey

Unleavened Bread (Matzah) and Firstfruits
We should live a life abounding in peace because Yeshua has separated us from the leaven of sin, raising us up as firstfruits of the promise to come – resurrection.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread (Matzah) – 15th Nisan, Leviticus 23:6-8

Historic Significance of Unleavened Bread – What it meant for Israel: Deliverance from Bondage (i.e. deliverance from sin [leaven])

1. Occurred during the barley harvest, the 1st of the harvest season

2. Israel’s separation from the bondage of sin (leaven); set apart to holiness
• Deut. 7:6 6 For you are a people set apart as holy for ADONAI your God. ADONAI your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his own unique treasure.

3. Matzah – foreshadowing Messiah (show and pass around Matzah)
a. Bread of affliction – Deut. 16:3 3 You are not to eat any hametz with it; for seven days you are to eat with it matzah, the bread of affliction; for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste. Thus you will remember the day you left the land of Egypt as long as you live.
b. Unleavened – 2 Cor. 5:21 21 God made this sinless man be a sin offering on our behalf, so that in union with him we might fully share in God's righteousness."
c. Striped – Is. 53:5 5 But he was wounded [pierced] because of our crimes, crushed because of our sins; the disciplining that makes us whole fell on him, and by his bruises [stripes] we are healed.
d. Pierced – John 19:1-2, 33-34 1 Pilate then took Yeshua and had him flogged [striped]. 2 The soldiers twisted thorn branches into a crown and placed it on his head, put a purple robe on him, . . . 33 but when they got to Yeshua and saw that he was already dead, they didn't break his legs. 34 However, one of the soldiers stabbed [pierced] his side with a spear, and at once blood and water flowed out.
e. Burnt – Eph: 4:9-10 9 Now this phrase, "he went up," what can it mean if not that he first went down into the lower parts, that is, the earth? 10 The one who went down is himself the one who also went up, far above all of heaven, in order to fill all things.

Prophetic Significance of Unleavened Bread – How Yeshua fulfilled it: The Sinless One sacrifice for the sinful

1. Born in Bethlehem (House of Bread)
• Luke 2:4 4 So Yosef, because he was a descendant of David, went up from the town of Natzeret in the Galil to the town of David, called Beit-Lechem, in Y'hudah,
• Matt. 2:1  1 After Yeshua was born in Beit-Lechem in the land of Y'hudah during the time when Herod was king, Magi from the east came to Yerushalayim

2. Was sinless in all ways
• 2 Cor 5:21 21 God made this sinless man be a sin offering on our behalf, so that in union with him we might fully share in God's righteousness."

3.  Declared himself the Bread of Life
• John 6:35 35 Yeshua answered, "I am the bread which is life! Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever trusts in me will never be thirsty.

4.  Identified with the bread at the Last Super
• Matt. 26:26 26 While they were eating, Yeshua took a piece of matzah, made the b'rakhah, broke it, gave it to the talmidim and said, "Take! Eat! This is my body!"
a. 3 Matzot placed in Matzahtash (we see as Father, Son, Holy Spirit). For Jews, these represent the 2 loaves used for Shabbat plus an additional one for the Bread of Affliction
b. 2nd Matzah – is removed, raised and broken in two with the larger piece wrapped in a napkin & hidden. (This is the piece from the Lord’s Supper.)
c. The hidden piece, representing the Passover lamb, is sought out by the children, “resurrected” and “redeemed” for a special prize (i.e. eternal life.) 

Personal Significance of Unleavened Bread – What it means for us today: We have peace with God because we are buried with Messiah and dead to sin. (Justification – Rom. 3-5)

1. Purge leaven (sin) from our lives
• 1 Cor. 5:7-8 7 Get rid of the old hametz [leaven], so that you can be a new batch of dough, because in reality you are unleavened. For our Pesach lamb, the Messiah, has been sacrificed. 8 So let us celebrate the Seder not with leftover hametz, the hametz of wickedness and evil, but with the matzah of purity and truth.

2. Put off the old, put on the new
• Rom. 6:5-6 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was put to death on the execution-stake with him, so that the entire body of our sinful propensities might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. 

3. Afflicted but not crushed
• 2 Cor. 4:8-10 8 We have all kinds of troubles [affliction], but we are not crushed; we are perplexed, yet not in despair; 9 persecuted, yet not abandoned; knocked down, yet not destroyed. 10 We always carry in our bodies the dying of Yeshua, so that the life of Yeshua may be manifested in our bodies too.

4.  Living, holy sacrifices
• Rom. 12:1 1 I exhort you, therefore, brothers, in view of God's mercies, to offer yourselves as a sacrifice, living and set apart for God. This will please him; it is the logical "Temple worship" for you.

The Feast of Firstfruits – 17th Nisan (1st Sunday after Shabbat), Leviticus 23:9-14 

Historic Significance of Firstfruits – What it meant for Israel: Promise of additional harvest yet to come (Barley harvest was first harvest of agricultural year)

1. Occurred 1st Sun. after Matzah (so, 1-6 days after Matzah during 7 days of Matzah) –
• Leviticus 23:11 11 He is to wave the sheaf before ADONAI, so that you will be accepted; the cohen is to wave it on the day after the Shabbat.

2. Became assimilated with pagan fertility rites (Ishtar – Babylonian; Osiris, Oestra . . .) 

3. Firstfruits implies additional fruits yet to come (see Feast Chart, calendar side)

4. Grain of wheat must die to bear a harvest
• John 12:24 24 Yes, indeed! I tell you that unless a grain of wheat that falls to the ground dies, it stays just a grain; but if it dies, it produces a big harvest.

Prophetic Significance of Firstfruits – How Yeshua fulfilled it: Resurrected as God’s firstfruits with the promise of many more to be resurrected

1. Fell on 3rd day after Yeshua was crucified in order to fulfill prophecy
• Matt. 28:1-6 1 After Shabbat, as the next day was dawning, Miryam of Magdala and the other Miryam went to see the grave. . . . 6 He is not here, because he has been raised -- just as he said! Come and look at the place where he lay.

2. Yeshua is our Firstfruits
• 1 Cor. 15:20-23 20 But the fact is that the Messiah has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have died. 21 For since death came through a man, also the resurrection of the dead has come through a man. 22 For just as in connection with Adam all die, so in connection with the Messiah all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: the Messiah is the firstfruits; then those who belong to the Messiah, at the time of his coming;

3. Yeshua presented the Father with his firstfruits
• Matt. 27:52-53 52 Also the graves were opened, and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life; 53 and after Yeshua rose, they came out of the graves and went into the holy city, where many people saw them.

4. If the firstfruit is good (i.e. holy), so is the remainder 
• Romans 11:16 16 Now if the hallah offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole loaf. And if the root is holy, so are the branches.

Personal Significance of Firstfruits – What it means for us today: We have God’s peace because we are raised with Messiah as new creations in him. (Sanctification Rom. 6:22)

1. Crucified with Messiah, living for him
• Gal. 2:20 20 When the Messiah was executed on the stake as a criminal, I was too; so that my proud ego no longer lives. But the Messiah lives in me, and the life I now live in my body I live by the same trusting faithfulness that the Son of God had, who loved me and gave himself up for me.

2. New creation in Messiah
•  2 Cor. 5:17 17 Therefore, if anyone is united with the Messiah, he is a new creation - the old has passed; look, what has come is fresh and new!

3. We are his firstfruits
• Jas. 1:18 18 Having made his decision, he gave birth to us through a Word that can be relied upon, in order that we should be a kind of firstfruits of all that he created.

4. We have peace through his blood
• Col. 1:19-22 19 For it pleased God to have his full being live in his Son 20 and through his Son to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace through him, through having his Son shed his blood by being executed on a stake. 21 In other words, you, who at one time were separated from God and had a hostile attitude towards him because of your wicked deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in the Son's physical body through his death; in order to present you holy and without defect or reproach before himself.

• For the revelation of Yeshua the Messiah to the Jewish people. Every Pesach we break the aphikoman (the middle Matza of three) that represents the Messiah, may the Lord open the eyes of the Jewish people to see Him whom they have pierced.

Producing Fruit

      Vineyards are interesting feats of horticultural ingenuity. Take for instance the fact that a significant percentage of wine grapes grown in North America are produced on rootstock that is different than the grape variety itself. Some may wonder why. Well, it all has to do with the quality of the fruit produced and the ability of the plant to produce it. Left alone, most grape vines will produce grapes even in the most neglected conditions. But the quality of the grapes will likely be pretty much useless unless properly tended. Then there is also the problem with grape phylloxera, a tiny aphid-like insect that feeds on certain types of grape roots, stunting the growth of vines or killing them completely. The most effective means of preventing this destructive infestation, or eradicating it once it starts, is to change the rootstock to a variety resistant to the pest.
      What graphic insight this provides into the words of Christ when he says that he is the Vine and we are merely the branches. Vintner and vineyardist know that what is casually called a grapevine is actually rather complex. First, there is the rootstock from which the vine trunk grows. It is to this vine trunk that fruit bearing branches are grafted in order to produce the desired variety of grapes. Thus, when Jesus called himself the Vine, he was saying "I'm the Rootstock and Vine Trunk, and you are the grafted in, fruit bearing branches" (John 15.5). He is the Root and Vine that is resistant to the phylloxera known as sin. Apart from him, growing on our own carnal root, we can do nothing but produce worthless fruit and eventually wither away. But once we are grafted into Him, we are able to resist our innate sinfulness and are capable of producing fruit that far exceeds our natural abilities.
      Therefore, when we abide in Christ, just as a vine branch abides in the rootstock's vine trunk, we are enabled to produce quality fruit. And while it is true that various spiritual gifts are given to individuals (I Corinthians 12.4-11), all Christians are to bear the same fruit. The Apostle Paul gives an overview of this produce, this by-product of a life fully embedded in Jesus Christ, the True Rootstock (Isaiah 11.10). In Galatians 5.22-23 Paul lists these nine characteristics which are:

The Fruit of the Spirit
* Love
* Joy
* Peace
* Patience
* Kindness
* Goodness
* Faithfulness
* Gentleness
* Self-control
      In the next verse, he explains that when a follower of Christ surrenders one's personal will and desires and gives oneself fully to Christ, these character traits will be clearly evident. The same is the case for vinestock that is grafted into roostock resistant to life destroying parasites.
      This section of BranchesInTheVine.org is here to challenge each one of us who follow Christ to examine our daily lives to see if we are bearing the right kind of fruit. If we discover that we are producing more of the carnal traits outlined in Galatians 5.19-21, we are warned by Paul that such individuals will not inherit the kingdom of God. And further more, Christ says in John 15.6 that branches failing to produce wholesome fruit are cut from the vine and thrown into the fire. The list of fleshly fruit is much lengthier than the listing of spiritual fruit. These are the diseased, unsatisfactory fruit produced by phylloxera infested roots and branches.

The Fruit of the Flesh
* Fornication
* Impurity
* Licentiousness
* Idolatry
* Sorcery
* Enmity
* Strife
* Jealousy
* Anger
* Selfishness
* Dissension
* Party spirit
* Envy
* Drunkenness
* Carousing
      Consequently, it is not enough to say that one merely believes in Christ Jesus, for even the demons believe and are in terror as a result (James 2.19). To only believe is to be a sickly grapevine producing miserable fruit and tainted wine. Nor is it acceptable to live life content with such substandard produce. To persist in a lifestyle of sinful behavior is to live in rejection of the Lordship of Christ. Does this mean that Christians never struggle and stumble into sin? No, Christians certainly do struggle with sin. Romans 3.23 clearly states that we are all sinners. But to stumble into sin is far different than abiding in a lifestyle of sin, if only in one area of life. Even the most ardently tended vineyard may have an outbreak of destructive organisms from phylloxera to mold or mildew. If these diseases are left unchecked, the sickness spreads and soon the entire crop and even the vineyard itself will be consumed. Likewise, the disease of sin must be guarded against and removed whenever it is discovered in one's life.
      Our challenge then is to continually hold ourselves accountable to the Word of God; we must inspect our fruit to see if it satisfies God's standards not our own. And in love, we must also hold one another accountable (Matthew 18.15). Therefore, this section of BranchesInTheVine.org will give consideration to each of these nine traits to expound on what they entail and what they look like in daily life. Please join in this discussion and share your thoughts, your struggles, and certainly your victories concerning these fruit. Together we will seek to lay aside our sinful desires and seek to more consistently produce wholesome spiritual fruit in our daily lives. And by God's grace, we will be transformed (Romans 7.24-25) so that our spiritual harvest abounds with healthy and savory fruit.
Fruit of the Vine

COMMENTS

10/20/05 Nick writes -

As Rootstock Project Manager, whose job it is to encourage growers to use rootstocks, it fills me with great heart to know that I am promoting the work of God.  But I am a little confused, there are many different types of rootstock, so does that mean there are many different gods, should I really be following a religion with a range of deities such as Buddhism or Hinduism??

###

10/20/05 Lori writes -

Nick - thank you so much for taking time to look at our site and to post a response. As I'm certain you can appreciate, metaphors and illustrations can only be taken so far before reaching the point of the ridiculous. Consequently, the article on rootstock was not meant to promote a polytheistic view of God. Rather than following such a religious faith, I encourage you to pursue faith in the one God. May I enquire as to your current religious faith?

I wish you well in promoting healthy rootstock, especially for the Shiraz, and I hope that the articles on the Branches site perhaps lend a new perspective to your work.

###

In the verses preceding Galatians 5.22-23, we read Paul's admonition to the Galatians adjuring them not to succumb to over exuberant attempts to serve God. In particular, he warns them of being seduced by the Judaizers who insisted that to be truly righteous, a man must be circumcised. Paul counters that man cannot add one thing to the salvation purchased by Christ in His blood on the cross. Salvation is solely obtained through faith.

Given this backdrop and Paul's additional encouragement that Christian behavior should begin in love, we need to give contextual consideration to the list of spiritual fruit and their relevance to the Galatians in particular, and to all Christians in general. Paul did not pen this list of spiritual fruit in isolation. By understanding better his reasoning for writing these things to the Galatians, we will better understand how and why we should seek to bear these fruit in our own lives.

To grasp more clearly the nature of the nine Fruit of the Spirit, we begin by considering the first and last entries on Paul's list. Love is the first fruit, the starting point. This is a sensible beginning since it is impractical if not impossible to live out the fruits of joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, or self-control apart from love. Without the motivation of agape love, the other fruit wither and waste away. What enables a person to behave kindly when being ill treated other than unconditional agape love? Why would a person choose to be patient with others when feeling stressed or overwhelmed if it weren't for unconditional love?  Love is the foundation upon which the other fruit rest.

Next we consider the last entry on Paul's list, that of self-control. This particular spiritual fruit is sometimes translated as self-discipline, temperance, or chastity. But to portray this fruit as only exercising control over one's own appetites falls short of its true significance. As with love, self-control is best understood by considering it in combination with the other fruit. By exercising self-control, one is able to practice the other Fruit of the Spirit in proper balance. The fruit of self-discipline prevents us from going out-of-bounds when practicing joy, or faithfulness, or gentleness, or any of the other fruit. Remember that Paul is instructing the Galatians to avoid excess in their Christian walk. By instructing them to begin in love and to end with the balance of temperance, he is assisting them in producing a bumper crop of excellent spiritual fruit.

Self-control consists of two primary elements. The first is self-discipline which assures that one practices those things that are good and righteous while abstaining from those behaviors that are immoral or offensive. The second is that of temperance. By exercising temperance, one is less likely to over indulge whether in a good thing or in something bad. By exercising self-discipline one will not neglect to show godly love and concern for one's neighbor. Likewise, the temperance of self-control will assure that such affection is not shown unbounded. For unbound affection, even though it begins as agape, if left undisciplined can erupt into lust or improper passion.

And so it is with each of the Fruit of the Spirit. Self-control assures that the righteous person is disciplined to practice these behaviors for the blessing and benefit of others while also preventing their practice from becoming excessive. Joy should not become so extreme that it dissolves into frivolous naivete. Peace need not be uninformed so that it becomes blind pacifism. Patience need not be unending resulting in injustice. Kindness should not be unrestricted so that it becomes foolishness. Goodness need not be unrestrained resulting in a lack of discernment. Faithfulness should not be unquestioned less it be reduced to a loss of discretion. And Gentleness need not become passive vulnerability by losing the temperance of assertiveness.

When practiced without boundaries, the Fruit of the Spirit can lead to error just as the Galatians' unbound desire for righteousness led them back into the bondage of the Law and circumcision. Although their motivation toward righteousness was commendable, their efforts toward the goal became self-reliant rather than self-disciplined. Paul instructs them as a caring mentor to practice those things that do lead to righteousness and to avoid those things that encumber their spiritual walk.

If it seems un-Christ-like to place limitations on the fruit we bear, consider the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25.10-13). Of the ten, only five had the foresight to plan ahead for their provisions in the event that the bridegroom should be late in his arrival. After a prolonged delay, the bridegroom finally arrived and the five foolish virgins asked their prudent companions to show them the kindness of sharing their oil. The response was No. The wise women reasoned that if they shared their oil, all ten of them would run out and no one would be admitted to the wedding feast. It was suggested that the five women who lacked oil for their lamps go and purchase their own supply. This seemingly unkind behavior was not depicted as such by the Lord. Instead, He used it as an example of how to temper kindness with the wisdom of self-control.

Self-control, temperance, prudence, self-discipline -- do these describe a Fruit of the Spirit to be exercised apart from the other fruit? Perhaps not. Perhaps self-control is unlike the other fruit each of which can be enacted independently. Perhaps self-control is listed with the fruit for the purpose of assuring that all the fruit remain wholesome. Just as salt of its own accord is flavorful, so it is with the benefits of practicing self-control. Yet temperance and salt are best enjoyed when applied to other morsels. As salt brings out all that is savory in the meal, so self-control brings out all that is most excellent in the fruit that we bear.

Opportunities to demonstrate the fruit of gentleness abound in daily life. Unfortunately, modern society does not often value this character trait except when extended to children, the elderly, the disadvantaged, or the infirm. Yet the Apostle Paul places no such limitations on producing the fruit of gentleness in one's life (Galatians 5.23). Followers of Jesus Christ need to make the most of every opportunity for demonstrating gentleness to others. As Paul states, against such behavior there is no law.

The opportunity to demonstrate gentleness through constraint is often missed today. Society, which prizes strength above all, is conditioned to think of gentleness as a weak response. Nothing could be further from the truth. Take for example Moses. This is the man God chose to deliver Israel from the oppression of slavery and servitude in Egypt. Moses was undaunted in the presence of Pharaoh and his court. He was unflinching when confronting the rebelliousness of the people he led. He entered the very presence of God confidently, even daring to dissuade the Almighty from His plan to destroy His chosen people. Truly Moses was a man of great strength.

Yet in Numbers 12.3 Moses is described as the most gentle man on the face of the earth. How is it that this man of such immense strength and fortitude is described as being meek, gentle, humble? USC Professor Leo Buscaglia is quoted as saying, "Gentleness can only be expected from the strong." Chinese author Han Suyin similarly stated, "There is nothing stronger in the world than gentleness." Can it be that the greater one's capacity for strength, the more profound one's demonstration of gentleness?

This recalls to memory a photograph by Anne Geddes. Perhaps you have seen it. The photo is in black and white showing a close-up of gnarled, masculine hands cradling a tiny infant. It is a profoundly touching depiction of gentleness. Had the hands been those of a young mother, the image would not have portrayed the stark contrast of strength and tenderness. To be truly gentle, one must be truly strong.

What opportunities present themselves to you that may appear to call for strength but would be better served by the constraint of gentleness? Do you possess strength like Moses but fail to seize opportunities to wield that strength through a gentle word or a meek response?

Other opportunities for demonstrating gentleness occur in the form of confrontations. Here are the opportunities to be gentle and diffuse contention and strife. Surely it is not unacceptable to defend oneself when unjustly attacked, is it? But then does one truly bear spiritual fruit by being gentle only to those who are gentle toward us? What example did Christ give when in such situations?

Paul references Jesus' meekness and gentleness in 1 Corinthians 10.1. This gentleness and meekness are clearly depicted in Isaiah's prophecy concerning Christ's crucifixion. The prophet compares the Savior's gentleness in the face of His accusers to a mute lamb being led to slaughter (Isaiah 53.7). Similarly, Proverbs admonishes that a gentle response is more effectual in a confrontation than a harsh one (Proverbs 15.1).

Christ further instructs in Matthew 5.13-48 that His followers are not to only love those who love them, but to love their enemies as well. The same can be said for showing gentleness. If one only shows gentleness to the gentle, one has missed the opportunity to diffuse strife and contention. The opportunity is also lost for showing that Christ came to love, be gentle toward, and reconcile the undeserving. He first loved us and showed His gentleness toward us while we were yet sinners (Romans 5.8).

The opportunity to show gentleness to those least expecting it is similar to behaving gently to those who are confrontational. The difference here is that those not expecting to be treated gently may not be confrontational at all. They may merely feel undeserving of such behavior. This is the opportunity that allows us to express the gentleness of compassion.

The man beaten by thieves and left for dead on the road to Jericho, had he been conscious, would have never expected to be treated gently with compassion by a Samaritan (Luke 10.25-37). Jews in that day had little to no interaction with Samaritans. The victim in the story would have certainly expected his fellow Jews, the Levite and the priest, to assist him but not a Samaritan. The unexpected gentleness, compassion and provision from the hand of this stranger serves to magnify the tender care of one man's actions toward the other.

In a similar way, Abigail approached David with a gentle spirit when she brought provision for him and his men (1 Samuel 25). She did not come groveling. She did not approach him with resentful appeasement. She did approach him with humility and a gentle hand that graciously supplied his and his companions needs. This unexpected service stayed the hand of David's anger and allowed God to punish Abigail's foolish and defiant husband. Abigail was rewarded for her gentleness and wisdom by becoming wife to David, future King of Israel.

Just as an unexpected cool rain shower on a summer day brings refreshment, so does gentleness proffered to those who least expect it. Are you looking for opportunities to extend the blessing of gentleness to those who do not anticipate it from your hand?

Opportunities to demonstrate gentleness are everywhere. It may be in the strength of gentle constraint, in the diffusing gentleness of a reconciling tone, or in the compassionate expression of gentleness to one who least expects it. Whatever the opportunity, those who bear the fruit of gentleness are promised to inherit the earth (Psalm 31.11 and Matthew 5.5).  But perhaps the more enticing benefit for behaving gently is to receive fresh joy from the Lord Himself (Isaiah 29.19).

This installment of Absolute Proof addresses the existence of truth. Does it exist and what exactly is meant by truth? As stated on the main page of Absolute Proof, the simple answer is that to even ask the question "Does truth exist?" implies that it does. How? Because an answer in either the negative or the affirmative implies a belief that the proffered assertion is valid, and is therefore true.

Consequently, merely asking the question is not enough to defend or deny the existence of truth. To deny it is to make a contradictory affirmation that violates the principle of noncontradiction (a thing cannot be and not be simultaneously). One cannot rationally assert that it is true that truth does not exist. On the other hand, to merely assert that it is true that truth exists lends itself to the fallacy of circular reasoning (an assertion cannot be used to prove itself). Since answers to this first question are inconclusive, we'll consider two more elementary questions. First, is truth knowable? Second, if it is possible to know truth, is truth absolute?

To begin, consider the social consequences if truth is not knowable? If it is not possible to know the truth about a matter, let's say a robbery, then what is the purpose of investigating such a crime in an effort to determine the guilty party? And further, if it is not possible to ascertain the truth concerning the theft, why is there a need for a court system to review testimony and evidence if the truth concerning the crime cannot be discovered? If it is not possible to know the truth about an incident, a person, a place or a thing, what is the purpose of engaging in forensic investigations at all? In fact, taken to the logical conclusion, if truth does not exist, there is no basis for government, law, or social order. Without truth, anarchy ensues.

Let us therefore accept by reason of deduction that truth exists and that it is possible to know truth. The next question then is whether or not the nature of truth is absolute or relative. For instance, some may reason that physical matters certainly do lend themselves to truth that can be known and validated. Scientific evidence is generally accepted as truth without question. But is truth as it pertains to intellectual and spiritual matters the same as this physical truth? Perhaps this takes a leap of faith, but if truth exists and it is possible to know what is true, then why would there be separate rules for knowing truth in the physical, intellectual and spiritual realms of our reality?  Is it logical to accept physical truth as absolute, while intellectual and spiritual truths are accepted as only being relative? And if such a distinction is made, upon what basis is it established?

But perhaps this is going too far too fast. Before going further, it will be beneficial to define the specific nature of truth whether it is truth regarding the physical, intellectual, or spiritual. Borrowing from Paul Copan's book True for You, but not for Me, the following provide a clear sense of the nature of truth. As you review these, consider the principles with regard to the following examples: physical truth - gravity exists; intellectual truth - 2+2=4; spiritual truth - people are spiritual.

Truth is true - even if no one knows it.

Truth is true - even if no one admits it.

Truth is true - even if no one agrees what it is.

Truth is true - even if no one follows it.

Truth is true - even if no one but God grasps it fully.

Therefore, truth is independent of opinion, admission, agreement or compliance. It is absolute. Truth exists without dependency.

(Please note that a discussion of God's existence will be addressed in a forthcoming article.)

Perhaps a simple illustration will better clarify these principles. In this scenario, Chris has given Pat a map to a particular destination. Pat does not know who the map is from or what the purpose of the destination is. Given this, let's see if the objective qualities of truth hold up.

If Chris gives Pat a map, the map is given by Chris even if Pat never learns who the giver is.

Even if Chris never admits giving Pat the map, Chris remains the giver of the map.

If Pat and everyone who sees the map disagree on what its purpose is, this does not change the purpose Chris had in mind for the map.

Should Pat choose not to follow the map, the existence of the map, Chris' intention for the map, and the destination of the map are not changed.

Ultimately, whether anything is ever done with the map, God will always know the giver, the recipient, the purpose, and destination of the map.

Another way to summarize the nature of truth is to borrow from Aristotle who logically asserted that a thing can only be itself; A equals A (Principle of Identity). Consequently, a thing cannot be what it is not; A does not equal non-A (Principle of Noncontradiction). Aristotle referred to these as universals or self-evident proofs. These and the other first principles of reality form a framework by which we are able to perceive and know on all levels; physical, intellectual, and spiritual.

Returning then to the original question, "Does truth exist?" we may conclude that it does exist based on several arguments. First, arguments denying the existence of truth are self defeating. Secondly, society has demonstratively validated the existence of truth and the ability to discover and know truth. By inference, it may also be concluded that truth may be known in the physical, intellectual and spiritual realms. And finally, logical argumentation supports the existence of truth and demonstrates that the nature of truth is absolute (universal) and not relative.

Given these arguments supporting the existence of truth, the next matter for query is an examination of worldviews in order to determine which is most supportive of truth's existence. While numerous worldviews are embraced around the globe, they will be broadly considered under the categories of Atheism, Polytheism, and Monotheism. Specific consideration of the existence of God will follow in a subsequent article.  

In the interim, you are encouraged to consider and reflect on these arguments for truth. We are very interested to know your thoughts, opinions and convictions concerning truth and its implications.

COMMENTS

10/21/05 Lewis writes -

I read through the posting on absolute truth.  Well done!  Articulate if only superficial in my humble opinion.  The author leaves just enough room to manipulate the gray areas later, but I still enjoyed it.  I'd like to see the author dig a little deeper and develop the "self-evidency" test to be used on all aspects of religion and philosophy.   There are more important axioms that underlie "truth".  By skipping them you start in the middle and on shaky ground.  Ultimately, the objectivist denies the existence of an other-worldly supreme being who's nature contradicts the A is always A argument.   Once you violate the truth of identity to legitimize a desired causality (creation of the world, etc) you open the door to relativism and mysticism.  So if your god can change water to wine (A is then B) so too can I say that my god is superior, etc.  Slippery slope. 

10/21/05 Lori writes -

Yet even Kierkegaard understood the need for leaps of faith. Is faith excluded from your personal dogma?
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10/22/05 Lewis writes -

Faith? Faith in what? I have faith in reason and logic. I have faith in my
senses. I have faith in the known. Why? Because they are self-evident and
verifiable. I have faith that A will always be A. Faith is fine as long as
it doesn't require the absolution of that which is self-evident.

Objectivism isn't compatible with mysticism.

Mystics should be able to embrace the innate conflict of their faith and
move forward with the understanding that religion is for those who need a
different reality.

I'm very happy with this reality. To fight against it is to deny the nature
of life.

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10/25/05 Lewis wrote -

I obviously misspoke. I was trying to state that mysticism is violates the
most basic self-evidencies. Mysticism is based upon the existance of gods
who can override reality and control the laws of the universe. Thus
mysticism perports that A IS NOT ALWAYS A. We all have faith in things. By
faith I'm referring to mystical beliefs in other-worldly beings who exist
outside our reality. Faith in alternate realities is a personal attempt to
re-write reality. Quoting philosphers who commit the same error doesn't
change the conflict. The number persons who agree or dissagree are also not
important.

You are trying to "objectively" validate "truth", and I think you've done a
decent job, but you still start in the middle in order to avoid the
conflicts with underlying self-evidencies. The law of identity is an
extention of the laws of existance and consciousness. All three provide the
full picture of the orange you describe. Then again, once you say "an
organe isn't always an orange" you invalidate all the axioms anyway...

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11/9/05 Carolyn wrote -

Faith in ones senses is not faith. Faith in reason and logic? Whose reason? Whose logic? Who gave us senses? The sense of smell, sight, touch, taste? Did they just "happen"? Was is an accident? An explosion? Faith in something so obviously "self-evident" is not faith at all.

Lewis should re-visit his definition of faith. As it is written in Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

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Are we producing the fruit of faithfulness in our daily walk or are we proving ourselves to be faithless? When we give our word, are we committed to fulfilling what we have promised, whether to God or to man? There was a time in the world when a person's word and a handshake was sufficient assurance for a contract or agreement. Unfortunately, such behavior has all but disappeared. An even greater misfortune is that this lack of faithfulness is nearly as evident among Believers as it is in the world at large.

Job experienced first hand the faithlessness of his supposed friends. In Job 6.14-20, he likens his friends to a desert wadi. A wadi is a canyon that is susceptible to flash flooding. In some years, travelers may find that it is abounding in life giving water. In other seasons, the wadi may remain dry and only taunt the weary traveler with the promise of water, while yielding nothing but dust and dirt. They are disappointed because they were confident; they come thither and are confounded. Such you have now become to me (verse 20-21). Job's friends came with the promise of soothing friendship, but instead only brought disdain and contempt.


Wadi in Ramon Crater

Job was desperate for refreshment and encouragement. His soul was withering like a man lost in the wilderness. He looked with a hopeful heart to his friends. Even as they drew near to him they gave the impression that they would faithfully provide the cool, refreshing solace of friendship he so desperately desired. But instead, they were like a dry and dusty wadi bringing Job nothing more than additional condemnation and heartache. As friends they were faithless.

How blessed we are that our Heavenly Father is not like a desert wadi. Instead, Scripture likens Him to an ever flowing stream of living water (Jeremiah 17.13). God remains faithful at all times. Writing to Timothy, Paul encourages his protege of God's faithfulness with these words: "if we are faithless, He remains faithful -for He cannot deny Himself" (1 Timothy 1.13).  Likewise, King David understood the faithfulness of the Lord and wrote:

Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. . . . They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, and you give them drink from the river of Your pleasures. For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light. (Psalm 36.5, 8-9)

David was a man well acquainted with the wilderness and the desert. He knew first hand the need for life giving water in barren lands. How eloquently he likens this need for physical water to the need of spiritual refreshing. Just as a desert spring continually brings life from the rocks, so God's spring of faithfulness brings life to our barren souls.

This is the faithfulness Paul instructs us to bear in our lives (Galatians 5.22, 1 Corinthians 13.7). We are not to be like morning clouds that promise rain and then pass beyond the horizon without shedding so much as a drop of moisture. Hosea likens ancient Judah's faithlessness to such a cloud: "For your faithfulness is like a morning cloud, and like the early dew it goes away" (Hosea 6.4). God's cursed the fig tree for not being faithful to produce its early crop of fruit that emerges with the leaves (Matthew 21.18-19). Truly there are consequences for producing faithfulness or faithlessness in one's life. Oh that God's people would walk in faithfulness!

Our faithfulness is to be like an ever flowing spring of life giving water. Unlike the unpredictable floods of the wadi, we are to be ready to give refreshment in season and out of season (2 Timothy 4.2). Proverbs instructs us concerning the faithful and faithless. Like the cold of snow in time of harvest is a faithful messenger to those who send him, for he refreshes the soul of his masters. Whoever falsely boasts of giving is like clouds and wind without rain (Proverbs 25.13-14). And Isaiah describes God's faithfulness for us, giving us a clear example to follow. God's faithfulness is depicted as a spring of water, whose waters do not fail (Isaiah 58.11). The result of such faithfulness is refreshment to the soul and strength to one's bones. It does not disappoint.


Dan Spring, Headwaters of the Jordan River

Each of us must search our own heart to know if we are walking in faithfulness or faithlessness. We must ask ourselves: Do I serve God faithfully by yielding to His will in all my activities and thoughts? Am I faithful or faithless in surrendering my whole life to Him? Do I give Him lip service while my behavior denies His commands? Am I faithful in my friendships? Am I faithful at my job? Do I offer the promise of a refreshing spring, but remain an unpredictable wadi?

Faithlessness does not meet with the Lord's favor. Isaiah reports the Lord's opinion of such behavior: these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me . . . Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the Lord, and their works are in the dark (Isaiah 29.13-15). And Paul warns Timothy to avoid such people who give the appearance of being faithful, but in reality are not (2 Timothy 3.5). A dry stream bed, like a faithless friend, brings death and destruction.

If we live in faithfulness to the Lord our God, faithfulness to others should likewise be a natural part of our character. If we fail to show faithfulness to others, we must question whether or not we are truly being faithful to God. The Apostle John's instruction concerning love aptly applies to faithfulness as well. "If any one says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen" (1 John 4.20). Likewise, if we are not faithful to those we do see, are we honestly faithful to God whom we do not see?

Be encouraged therefore to be a spring and not a wadi. Don't offer the promise of faithfulness without giving the gift of faithfulness. Don't raise hopes of encouragement, only to bring discouragement. With your promise, to man and to God, give the thing promised. Bear the fruit of faithfulness toward God and man, just as our God has shown His faithfulness to us.

Oh, love the Lord, all you His saints! For the Lord preserves the faithful, and fully repays the proud person.           (Psalm 31.23)

Absolute Proof  now theres a bold statement. Absolute Proof of what? Of  Truth. Does it actually exist? And if it does, is there such a thing as Absolute Truth? The simple answer is, Yes. In fact, the nature of the question itself reasons that Truth exists. For if one is to answer in the negative, that Truth does not exist, the respondent has affirmed the non-existence of Truth. Believing this affirmation, the respondent has validated an assertion and in doing so has declared that It is true that Truth does not exist. This of course is contradictory and undermines the original assertion which then leads to the conclusion that Truth does indeed exist.

It is tempting to leave off a discussion concerning Truth at this point. With the contradiction being so obvious, one would think that debate concerning the existence of Truth be extinguished post haste! And yet, the debate continues. For even if one believes in the existence of Truth, there remain questions concerning whether or not Truth can be Absolute. With many people being of the persuasion that one persons Truth may be anothers falsehood, there is widely held allegiance to a relativistic Truth concept. And perhaps that is a better starting point. Is Truth Relative? This brings us to Aristotle who queried, Can A be non-A? Is it possible for a thing to be simultaneously its exact antithesis? Or perhaps that goes too far. In which case, the question should be whether or not it is important in life, in society, in government and in civilization at large to embrace standards of right and wrong, moral and immoral, good and evil?

Still, many will argue that what is right for you is wrong for me; that your immorality is anothers morality; or that good and evil are essentially arbitrary except for perhaps in the most extreme cases. The conclusion drawn from such assertions is that everything is relative and that Absolute Truth cannot exist. But when pressed as to whether this belief is valid for everyone, the relativist is found to be in a conundrum. For if everything is absolutely relative, then it must be said that it is absolutely true that everything is relative which by inference professes that Absolute Truth does in fact exist. And we are back where we began.

Of course, in the politically-correct (PC) world of the 21^st Century, such exclusive notions of right and wrong, moral and immoral, or even good and evil imply that one could pass judgment on behavior, whether that of an individual or a state. This is of course PC heresy! Who has the authority to say what is right or wrong, moral or immoral, good or evil? And to this I respond, in the affirmative. It is not acceptable for one individual, or even a state, to in and of themselves, determine what is right or wrong. Who has the authority to assert that one code of conduct is acceptable and another not? If every individual imposed their own independent notion of right and wrong on every other individual, anarchy would ensue. And when anarchy reigns, where are the rights of any individual? Where would the rights of one person stop and those of another begin?

And so, without much more explanation, it becomes evident that Truth must exist or else all else falls apart. This leads to the question which will be taken up in the next installment of Absolute Proof: If Absolute Truth does exist, what worldview (which is to say which belief structure) most fully supports Truth? Until then, consider this quote from C.S. Lewis: Thirst was made for water; inquiry for truth. I wish you well in your personal journey toward answering this age old question  Quid Est Veritas?

The sixth of the fruit required by Paul in Galatians 5 is that of goodness. Bearing the fruit of goodness has as much to do with the soil in which the seed is sown as it does with the seed itself. Referring to the parable of the sower, Mark's Gospel notes that the seed of the sower is the Word of God (Mark 4.14). In 2 Timothy 2.15 we read that the Word is Truth and in Hebrews 6.5 it is referred to as goodness. One would naturally expect this good seed to bring forth a good crop. But before counting our bushels, let's see where the seed is falling and what might be done to assure a crop of goodness and all the blessings it has in store.

The parable about the sower is presented in each of the first three Gospels (Matthew 13.1-9, 18-23, Mark 4.1-9, 13-20 and Luke 8.4-8, 11-15). In the course of sowing, some of the sower's good seed falls along the path, some on rocky ground, some among thorns and some on good soil. Christ provides full explanation of this parable beginning with His explanation that the seed is the Word. The Word is sown into four types of soil. These represent the conditions of the heart. The path where the seed is quickly snatched up by the birds represents the heart that hears the Word but does not embrace it or understand it. Consequently, the enemy steals it away before the unsuspecting soul has a chance to reflect further on the good seed of the Truth that bore the potential of a great harvest.

Seed falling on the heart of rocky ground meets with enough understanding to be embraced just long enough to take root. But with the impediments of impenetrable rocks and shallow soil, the tender green shoots quickly wither under the assault of the sun and lack of moisture. At the first signs of ridicule, rejection, or regret the shallow root structure gives way and what began so quickly dies just as fast. A heart that will not be penetrated will not produce a crop of goodness.

Competition is the downfall of the seed sown into the weeds and thorn bushes. These represent worldly temptations such as affluence, popularity, notoriety and the like. Here the seed may find decent soil in which to grow, but it must fight against the infringing lusts and temptations of the world. Even if the Word does begin to take hold, all too often it is choked out and withers as the thorny heart yields in preference of what the world, rather than the Word, has to offer.

Finally we come to the good soil. Christ instructs the disciples saying "As for what was sown on good soil, this is he who hears the Word and understands it; he indeed bears fruit, and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty" (Matthew 13.23).

If we want to bear a crop of goodness, it is therefore necessary to prepare the soil of our hearts. We must break up the ground and remove the paths hardened by time, by hurts, by our own cynicism. The impediments, both below and above the surface of the heart that would like rock prevent the seed of goodness from putting down deep roots must be removed. And as for the weeds and thorn bushes that represent the temptations of the world, these must be fully uprooted, ripped up and burned out of our lives. It is up to each one of us to prepare the soil of our heart to be the good soil that will receive, nurture, cultivate and yield a bountiful harvest of goodness.

Christ warns, "Either make the tree good, and its fruit good, or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit" (Matthew 12.33). If the goal is to grow a good tree yielding good fruit, then the soil must be properly prepared. And there is no option of being somewhere in the middle. Think about the last time you bit into a piece of fruit that wasn't rotten, but it wasn't flavorful either. It was just a sorry disappointment to your taste buds. Chances are you didn't bother eating more. Instead you threw it out and probably didn't even finish the bite you'd taken. Christ had the same response to a congregation of believers who had allowed themselves to become absolutely mediocre. He threatened to spit them out if they didn't change their ways and either get hot or cold (Revelation 3.15-18).

And what is this fruit of goodness? Paul provides explanation in Ephesians 5.8-11:  

For ye were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord: walk as children of light (for the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth), proving what is well-pleasing unto the Lord; and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather even reprove them;

We see here then that goodness is associated with righteousness and truth, it proves what is pleasing to God, it does not fellowship with works of darkness such as the hardened path, the rocky impenetrable soil, or the weed and thorn covered ground. Instead goodness seeks to repair the unfit soil so that the seed of goodness may find ground there just as it has in the good soil.

The fruit reveals the tree, the tree reveals the soil and the soil is ultimately revealing of the human heart. What soil have you chosen? What is the condition of your tree? What fruit are you bearing? How will the Lord judge your harvest?

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is in the Lord, He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately corrupt; who can understand it? I the Lord search the mind and try the heart, to give to every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.                                                                                        (Jeremiah 17.7-10)

Does God exist? – Now there’s a question. Further, it implies the quandary that if God does exist, can His existence be proven. Proven beyond doubt? Perhaps not. But what does the evidence support? Some may say they need no evidence of God’s existence; that their belief is simply a matter of blind faith. But if God does exist, is blind faith all that is available upon which we can make a claim of faith? I think not.

Consider what blind faith is. It certainly is not a means of confidence applied, perhaps too often, exclusively to theological assertions. No doubt you can think of a number of scenarios you have experienced in which someone or some organization has asked for your confidence in a vacuum void of reasoning. (Ever buy a 19.95 wonder solution off of TV? Ever purchase a used car?) If blind faith is the act of trusting without the provision of clear evidence or rationale analysis, is this truly a sound basis for extending your confidence? Certainly not.

Fortunately, to believe in God does not require blind faith. It does require faith, but it is faith in what has been revealed and ultimately in the One revealing it. At some point, the evidence must be weighed and a decision made. In the absence of God knocking on your front door, announcing Zoro-esque, Here I am!, we must either have faith that the evidence presented to us supports His existence, or have faith that it supports His lack of existence.

The writer of Hebrews defines faith not as blind trust but as being the assurance and conviction of a thing’s reality even though it is not physically seen (Hebrews 11.1). The connotation in the Greek is that faith is the legal, if not physical, proof of the thing sought.  Such evidence demands a verdict. And so we will concentrate in this installment of Absolute Truth on the evidence found in nature as well as the evidence found in the Bible that asserts the existence of God. What verdict will you reach?

Romans chapter 1 states that what can be known about God is clearly evident throughout creation. Verse 20 puts it this way: “For His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.” Psalm 19.1-2 similarly proclaims: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.” Therefore, let’s consider some of the evidence for God as found in creation.

Inhabitants of planet Earth are essentially attached to the surface of this globe by something known as gravity, which likewise keeps the planet itself suspended in orbit around our Sun. Our planet is of course in constant motion while we cling to it unaware of our rapid progress through space. In spite of the sense of motionlessness that we feel when reclining in our favorite chair, terra firma is in fact rotating at a speed of 1000 miles per hour (speed of rotation at the Earth’s equator) with us firmly attached to its back, so to speak. Even more staggering is the fact that while Earth spins on its axis it is also orbiting around the Sun at a speed of 67,000 miles per hour (per Nasa, http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answers/970401c.html). Consequently, if it weren’t for this unseen factor of gravity, we’d all go flying out of our favorite chair, hurtling to infinity and beyond! Which is more plausible then – this all occurred by random chance as the result of a catastrophic big bang, or the Creator devised it to be this way?

Does the Bible provide any evidence of the Earth’s celestial suspension? Indeed it does. Job acknowledges the manner in which God has suspended the Earth when he says, “He stretches out the north over the void and hangs the earth on nothing” (Job 26.7). That’s quite an assertion for an ancient man to make. Job proffers no mythological speculation that the world rests on the back of a giant or on the humps of a camel. Truly, the “heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm 19.1). Job saw in creation what Paul spoke of in Romans 1.

Another source of evidence pointing to God’s existence is the plant life abounding around us. We generally learn early in our education that plants produce oxygen, which we breath, by disposing of the carbon dioxide that we exhale. Without plants, breathing would be out of the question. Plants are indeed industrious at producing not only oxygen but a plethora of other beneficial resources. Through photosynthesis, these little efficient factories convert soil, water, sunlight and of course CO₂ into food for our consumption, textile fibers for our clothing, lumber for our shelter and warmth, and other by-products such as medicine, fuel, rubber, oils, dyes, and countless other useful derivatives. On top of all this, plants are also aesthetically pleasing to the eye. 

Is it no wonder then that Jesus reminds his disciples to consider the lilies of the field? He remarks to the disciples that as flowers grow, “they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these” (Luke 12.27). Not only are the lilies beautiful in appearance, but they are unmatched in their industriousness. Solomon, for all his efforts in building his palace and the Temple in Jerusalem could not match the wonder of the flowers and plants abounding around him. Is this homeostasis of plant and animal life the accidental result of cosmic goo reaching a point of dynamic interdependence? Or is it more plausible to see the hand of a divine designer at work?

Not to be out done by plant life, consider humankind. History expounds the great success of humanity from the ancient world of the Egyptian pyramids, modern skyscrapers, and the international space station. Then there are the inventions of communication devices such as the telegraph, telephone, radio and television. Of course today we are ever in the presence of multiple mobile Wi-Fi communication devices such as cell phones and Blackberries. Medical science, computer technology, modern transportation and countless other achievements testify to the supremacy of human beings over all other animal life. Why aren’t we serving the apes or pond goo? Are our skills and ability to think, invent, build and communicate all accidental?

Psalm 8.3-5 has this to say about the position of mankind amongst creation.

When I look at Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You care for him? Yet You have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.

Why this exalted position for mankind? It all began in a garden when the Divine Designer created man in His very own image.

Then God said, let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.       (Genesis 1.26-27)

So, there’s a smattering of the evidence from the world around us as well as from the Bible. If you don’t already believe in God, the Scriptural evidence probably seems circular. But what about the rest? One way or the other, we all have faith in either God or goo, so to speak. Are we here intentionally as part of a Divine plan? Or does the evidence support that even down to the most complex minutia, it’s just all an accident; that raw materials spontaneously combusted over millennia? If you lean toward this latter proposition, have you figured out what or Who made the cosmic dust that was able to combust?

It takes faith to believe in God and it likewise takes faith to believe in not-God. Where do you see the evidence pointing?

• Protection of the innocent on both sides of the battle lines especially the children.

• Ultimately, that God's will is done.

It is appropriate as we enter the seasons of Christmas and Hanukkah that we take time to consider the Fruit of Kindness (Galatians 5.22). During this season of the year, even those who are generally less than kind find internal reserves of mercy and charity deep within themselves. Gifts flow freely; the poor are remembered; and the sad and hungry are provided for. Would that it be this way throughout the year, and not just during the holidays.

The generous expressions of Love, Joy, Peace and Patience are clearly seen in acts of Kindness. Webster's refers to it as benevolence, being good-natured, helpful, friendly or cordial. And truly, Kindness is all these things. William Wordsworth echoed Scripture when he said that the best part of a man's life is "his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love." And a Hasidic rabbi who lived around the turn of the 19^th century wrote, "Through charity and kindness a man attains to godliness" (Nachman of Bratslav).

Kindness is also often paired with justice and truth throughout Scripture.

He has told you O Man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6.8)

Do not let kindness and truth leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. (Proverbs 3.3)

Thus has the Lord of hosts said, "Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother, and do not oppress the widow or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another." (Zechariah 7.9-10)

What is desirable in a man is his kindness, and it is better to be a poor man than a liar. (Proverbs 19.22)

To show another person kindness is to uphold justice and proclaim truth. To do otherwise would be a demonstration of injustice, falsehood, and cruelty. Let's consider further the relationship between kindness, justice and truth.

God is a God of justice. Isaiah tells us "Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; how blessed are all those who long for Him" (Isaiah 30.18). And in Proverbs 33.4-5 we read "For the word of the Lord is upright, and all His work is done in faithfulness. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the lovingkindess of the Lord."

Injustice is the height of unkindness and cruelty. Punishing the innocent, rewarding the evildoer, hoarding wealth and refusing to offer compassion - these are all acts of injustice. But extending compassion, provision, and justice are the acts of kindness that God requires. Compassion and provision shown to the innocent, rewarding good and punishing evil, giving out of abundance and out of want - these are all acts of justice and kindness. 

Kindness also upholds truth which is inextricably intertwined with justice. Justice cannot exist where there is no truth, and truth will always result in justice. This is often illustrated in Scripture by references to truthful and just scales. In Deuteronomy 25.13 we are instructed not to have differing weights by which we do business. The meaning here is that the same honest and fair standard must apply to everyone equally. In Proverbs 16.11 and 20.23, God expresses His abhorrence of differing weights and false scales. Godly kindness rests on truthfulness and justice.

While it is always wise to be discerning when offering acts of kindness, lest our kindness result in injustice, we are commanded not to show partiality. James illustrates this well in chapter 2, verses 1-9 of his epistle:

My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, "You sit here in a good place," and say to the poor man, "You stand there," or, "Sit here at my footstool," have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? . . . . If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well; but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

Judaism teaches that the greatest means of charity or kindness is to enable the poor to earn a living (Talmud: Sabbath; Maimonides, Mishnah Torah: Laws Concerning Gifts to the Poor 10.7-14). And Christ instructs in Matthew's Gospel that when we provide for the poor we should do so in private before God and not for recognition from men (Matthew 6.3-4). Both of these commands point to the miracle of God's kindness to us, and which we celebrate during the winter holidays. Christ came as a babe in obscurity to provide mankind the means of salvation. Hanukkah, the Feast of Lights, illustrates God's kindness by miraculously providing oil for the Temple Menorah which allowed the time needed for the priests to purify a fresh supply. Kindness does not enable others to remain in bondage. Godly Kindness empowers them to rise to new heights.

The beginning and end of The Law is the performance of lovingkindness.

Talmud: Sotah 14a

Worldview  Weltanschauung  World-view  Paradigm  World view  Assumptions  World and life view  Presuppositions

All of these buzz words have been used to describe a concept critical to the formation of personal morality and cultural climate. The worldview (the term used throughout this article) embraced by an individual directs the manner in which one thinks, lives, and interacts with others. When embraced collectively in a society, a cultures worldview directs the course of human history. However, before proceeding further, a more extensive examination of worldview is needed.

Francis Schaeffer describes worldview as the overall way people think and view the world and life as a whole. [i] He further proposes that worldview encompasses the presuppositions that people have which provide the basic way an individual looks at life . . . the grid through which he sees the world. Presuppositions rest upon that which a person considers to be the truth of what exists.[ii] In The Universe Next Door, James Sire defines worldview as a commitment, a fundamental orientation of the heart which individuals hold about the basic constitution of reality, and that provides the foundation on which we live and move and have our being. [iii] The Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics reminds us that the term worldview is derived from the German Weltanschauung, meaning a world and life view, or a paradigm.[iv] The online resource, Wikipedia, expands the Baker explanation of worldview and weltanschauung stating: It refers to the framework through which an individual interprets the world and interacts in it.[v]

A worldview can therefore be thought of as the filter through which one makes sense of and responds to the world and all it contains. Ones worldview determines ones perception of reality; what is real and what is not. It determines the nature of and value placed on human beings. A persons worldview is ultimately the basis for belief and behavior. Christian Overman summarizes that a persons worldview molds ones thinking, shapes ones conclusions, and directs ones decisions that underlie both actions and attitudes.[vi]

It therefore becomes evident that ones worldview is the foundation of an individuals concept of reality and truth which then directs ones decisions and actions. There is general consensus however that people are often quite unconscious of their personal worldview. Overman comments that a person may hold their worldview consciously or subconsciously, consistently or inconsistently but that the worldview is just as directional in that individuals life as it is in that of a person fully conscious of their worldview.[vii] Schaeffer notes that people function on the basis of their world-view more consistently than even they themselves may realize.[viii]

If ones worldview is the determining factor in a persons beliefs and behavior, it seems that one would benefit from being deliberate in choosing his/her worldview rather than allowing it to develop arbitrarily. Toward that end, there are certain key aspects of worldview that one should consider. These key aspects are ascertained by answering several questions.[ix] The answers to the questions are intertwined. The response to one directly impacts the responses to the others. This is especially the case with regard to the first question.

1. Does God exist?
2. What is the significance of human beings?
3. What is the basis for right and wrong?
4. What is the nature of the world around us?
5. What is the significance of history?
6. What happens to humans at death?[x]

Although the purpose of this article is not to examine specific worldviews, it is important to demonstrate the significance of ones responses to these questions and the impact of those responses on ones behavior. So, the first question will be considered briefly and the impact of two distinct responses will be examined for their influence on the subsequent five questions.

One opinion regarding the existence of God is that God does not exist and that the most primary form of reality is matter. Anything not constituted of matter does not exist, is not real, and therefore an immaterial, spiritual God cannot exist. The opposite belief is that God does exist as primary reality and that matter exists through the influence of God, or at the least in conjunction with God. All worldviews align under one of these two opinions. A worldview is either anti-theistic, holding that God does not exist, or a worldview is theistic, believing in the existence of God in some form. How an individual responds to this first question is of vital importance as it informs the response to the remaining questions.

Individuals who reject the existence of God must rely on themselves, or on matter, or on nature to determine values, worth, and truth. Such worldviews seldom embrace any form of absolutes to underlie belief or behavior. In these worldviews, relativism is the standard if it can be called such. Conversely, individuals espousing a belief in God, typically rely on God as the absolute by for beliefs and behavior. In the case of anti-theistic worldviews, the value of human beings, the nature of ethics, the significance of history, and opinions regarding death are inconsistently determined within a relativistic framework. Theistic worldviews have an objective point of valuation identified in God through whom values are derived. In theistic worldviews that believe in a creator God, humans have special significance within creation as a result of being created in Gods image and being created for fellowship with God. No such basis for human value exists in anti-theistic worldviews that believe mankind exists as a result of chance.

The primary question (Does God exist?) is primary for a reason. It cannot remain unanswered. It is the basis upon which all other belief is posited. How have you personally answered this first question? With what level of certainty do you hold this belief? What consideration have you given the other questions in view of this first one? I encourage you to live life intentionally. Resist succumbing to arbitrary, directionless living. Consider the questions and reflect carefully before forming your response. What is your worldview and how consciously and consistently are you living life in light of it?

Patience - St. Augustine called it the companion of wisdom. It has also been called the greatest of all virtues, and Aristotle noted that while patience may be in itself bitter, its fruit is indeed sweet. Peter Marshall, pastor and former U.S. Senate Chaplain, offered this prayer concerning patience: Teach us, O Lord, the disciplines of patience, for to wait is often harder than to work. And so we come to patience, the fourth fruit on Paul's list from Galatians 5.

As a young kid, I lived with my family in the heartland of the Corn Belt in Iowa. Every year the local farmers would be out early in spring preparing their fields for planting. The fields were boisterous with activity. Once the fields were prepared and the corn was planted, the pace of activity slowed down for awhile. The wait had begun for the first heads of the young seedlings to pop through the rich, dark soil. Depending on the weather and soil conditions, in about a week or maybe two, a faint hint of green began to appear and define the carefully cultivated rows. But the time for biting into a juicy ear of sweet corn was well down the road. Harvest wouldn't come for another four to five months. Farmers understand patience.

However, patience is a challenging fruit to bear in a world dedicated to microwaves, fast food, in-demand-movies, and every other type of instant gratification. We are continually barraged by get-rich-quick schemes, 48-hour weight-loss concoctions, plastic surgery makeovers, and instant approval for mountains of debt. So why be patient? For one, Proverbs 13.11 warns that hastily gotten wealth will not last. But besides that, there are many blessings to be gained from patience.

Patience is much like the seeds of corn planted in the farmer's field. It can yield a bountiful crop when properly tended. Reflect on the benefits gained by employing patience, endurance, long suffering and perseverance.

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1.2-4)

For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. (Hebrews 10.36)

For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a man bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. (1 Peter 2.19-20)

And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character, and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans 5.3-5)

There is a balance here of course. Solomon in Ecclesiastes reminds us that there is a time for everything; to plant and to harvest, to build up and to tear down, to embrace and to refrain, to speak and to be silent. How then will we know when to wait patiently and when to take action? To know this, we must continually seek the Lord in prayer and in His Word and be certain that we are not usurping His authority by acting on our own outside of faith in Him. James encourages us in chapter 4 verse 17 that "Whoever knows what is right to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin."  We must be patient to act when and how God instructs us to instead of merely acting on our own.

Abraham and Sarah learned this lesson the hard way, and as a consequence, the effects of their actions are still evident in our world today. Rather than wait patiently for God to fulfill His promise of a son in spite of what seemed to be insurmountable obstacles, Sarah and Abraham took matters into their own hands. They rationalized that since Sarah was long past the age of bearing children, the logical thing would be for Abraham to father a child by a surrogate. So they reasoned through God's promise and relied on their own methods to see it fulfilled. And so Ishmael was born through manipulation. Only later was the son of promise, Isaac, born by Sarah.  To this day, Ishmael's descendents have lived in defiance of the sons of promise, just as the Scripture foretold (Genesis 16.11-12, 25.16-18). What a different world this would be if Abraham and Sarah had only waited patiently for the promise, instead of settling for their own manipulative compromise.

So the question comes to each of us. If we rely on our own strength, intellect or craftiness to bring about God's will, are we patiently waiting for Him to fulfill His promise? If the farmer becomes impatient with the crop and uncovers the seed in an effort to assist it in breaking through the soil, the crop will wither and die. The farmer, just as we, must wait patiently and have faith that even though the process cannot be seen, the promise is being fulfilled. Abraham and Sarah certainly had to act in order to conceive Isaac. But even then, they could not see what God was bringing forth. Their obedience to both act and wait patiently were based on faith; the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11.1). In contrast, their impatience and manipulation were based on doubt.

Only when we wait patiently on the Lord will we receive His promise. And His promise is full of eternal bounty. As stated above, patience brings about our perfection, completion and provision; it brings God's favor; it develops our character and gives us hope.  The choice then is ours. We can choose Ishmael or Isaac, the manipulation or the promise. May each of us be encouraged by the words of King David in Psalm 40:

I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear And will trust in the LORD.  

So let us wait with patience upon our Lord.

For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end and it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.  (Habakkuk 2.3)

COMMENTS

11/9/05 Carolyn wrote -

I read your article on patience.  You quote 2 of my favorite scriptures James 1:2-4 and Psalm 40.  Patience is the fruit to be sought after.  Patience is only tried through testing and tribulation.  When we are patient, we are made perfect, lacking in nothing.  WOW!  Now that is some fruit.

By Rabbi Daniel Lapin
 
My friends know how often I get attacked by those organizations I have criticized.  Generally speaking, these organizations exist for the purpose of promoting secular fundamentalism as America’s new religion.  I consider their work to be the equivalent of a demented passenger drilling holes in the hull of the ferry boat that should be carrying us to safety. 

Their attacks are probably intended to discredit my voice of censure.  Because many of these organizations are nominally Jewish, their fury knows no bounds.  After all, they feel threatened by a rabbi who refutes the canard that Judaism equals secularism.  Defending this deceitful equation that Judaism and secularism are equivalent, some Jews feel a need to wrongly assure folks that Judaism doesn’t believe in an afterlife or that Judaism doesn’t believe in heaven.

Not surprisingly, a majority of so-called Jewish organizations react angrily when I insist that they are shaped more by the values of secular fundamentalism than they are by the Torah’s defining of Judaism.

What do people mean when they say, “….a Jewish organization.”  What makes an organization Jewish?  Does it go to temple?  How would you circumcise an organization?  With some organizations, I’d be tempted to experiment, but that is another topic.  For now, I want to explain to you why I subject myself and my family to almost constant unpleasantness. 

When friends ask me why I fight, my answer is always the same.  I fight to preserve America as the sole hope for decency and civilization in a mad world.  I fight to protect that which has made America the world’s most remarkable haven of tranquility and prosperity.  I fight so my grandchildren and yours can live quite differently from the way most other people in the world exist.

As I have often pointed out, the most prevalent form of bigotry in America today is not homophobia, racism, or anti-Semitism.  It is anti-Christianism.  In the same way that American Christians have done so much to fight anti-Semitism, it is only honorable for American Jews to protest anti-Christianism.

It is particularly appropriate for Jews to fight anti-Christianism because, with few exceptions, the social and political values advocated by American Christianity are derived directly from Judaism’s biblical values.  Without those values infusing our culture, life becomes indescribably more squalid, expensive, and dangerous.

If many of my fellow citizens do not restrain themselves from criminal conduct, the quality of my life declines.  An evening stroll through the neighborhood becomes a frightening experience.  My cost of living goes up as commerce compensates for shoplifting, fraud, and robbery.  Mounting regulations rob me of my freedoms as government futilely attempts to control the anti-social behavior of those who have lost the ability to control themselves.

If many of my fellow citizens strip the sacred out of sex, the quality of my life declines.  My struggle to reach for the stars, already difficult, becomes infinitely harder as the culture around me shackles me to the barnyard.  I struggle to raise my children innocently for a life of refinement and spiritual aspiration while hormonal hysteria competes for their attention. 

One can tell people by the language they use and the language around us becomes ever more vulgar and obscene.  One can tell much by how people dress and my daughters are made to feel like freaks because they don’t expose their belly buttons, breasts, or thighs.

If many of my fellow citizens replace courage with cowardice, the quality of my life declines.  They may cloak their cowardice in virtue by speaking of pacifism or wishing to save lives but their abject fear nonetheless empowers tyranny. 

Their fear of confronting evil means they see only victims, never villains.  They see only the deprived and never the depraved.  They make it all but impossible for government to fulfill its primary purpose—defending citizens from violence. 

It is cowardice when government fails to empower the military to protect us from violence perpetrated by outside enemies.  It is cowardice again when our criminal justice system fails to protect us from violence inflicted by conscienceless psychopaths. 

Crime, sex, and cowardice are all natural.  They are found in nature.  Animals seize one another’s food, they respond instinctively to the sexual impulse, and, given the choice, they run rather than fight.  I think that God may have hoped for better from humanity.  We all live more happily when we live among people who do not act upon their natures but resist them.  The quality of all our lives is enhanced when we each conquer our natures.  It is only Judeo-Christian culture that encourages us to conquer our natures.

If we hope to deter crime only through police, why, there cannot be enough police officers to prevent crime.  For in the final analysis, who will police the police?  In similar vein, all the sex-ed classes in public education are inadequate to prevent young human bodies from responding instinctively to the sexual impulse.  With regard to cowardice, the rarity of courage reminds us of how banal is cowardice.  It is the natural reflexive response to frightening challenge.

In other words, it seems to me that our only hope of escaping increasing crime is either increased rates of incarceration or alternatively if we each recover our own capability to reject the lure of crime.  Not because we might get caught by a policeman but because we loathe the idea of sullying our souls.  It used to be that way.  I’m sure you remember a time when Americans seldom locked their doors. 

Our only hope for replacing public depravity and animalism is if we all raise children who revel in modesty and who take pride in saving themselves for marriage.  No government program can accomplish this.  Only Judeo-Christian values can.  Our only hope for recovering national courage is if we once again find meaning in masculinity and we view cowardly behavior as shameful rather than as newsworthy. 

However government cannot bring about any of these changes.  But God can.  I think there may be only one hope for restoring and maintaining the quality of life which originally made America such a magnet for the world’s downtrodden seeking a better life.  That one hope is applying the Biblical blueprint for civilization. 

I say “Biblical” because only the Bible is built on the lesson of the Garden of Eden.  Man is placed in this world to do battle with nature—all nature, especially his own.  Left to itself, the earth will bring forth weeds and thistles but man must make it yield food.  Left to itself, the jungle will overwhelm the city but man must defend civilization.  Left to himself, man will follow his nature toward crime, animalistic sex, and cowardice.  It is our God-given duty to resist.  As Kathryn Hepburn said to Humphrey Bogart in that wonderful movie, African Queen, “Nature, Mr. Allnut, is what we are put in this world to rise above.”

That is what I am fighting for and if my children understand this, it would be enough for me.  However, I am blessed with armies of allies.  Blacks, whites, and all other colors, Jews and Christians, rich and poor, men and women—all of us have identified the smear of secularism that jeopardizes the very quality of our lives.  We also recognize that a similar diversity of Americans see things very differently.  If they win, we lose.  We can’t both win.  That is why I fight.  And I hope you’re alongside me too.

Peace - Not as the World Gives

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Devastate Gulf States

Suicide Bombers Target Israeli Bus Station

Nine Killed in Afghan Bombing

Floods Kill 42 from Bern to Bucharest

Louisiana Morgues Overwhelmed

Darfur Refugee Camp Attacked, 29 Killed

Reading the daily headlines online or in print, or watching one of the 24/7 cable news stations may leave a person feeling many things, but Peaceful is not generally one of them. No longer are we concerned for only what is occurring in our own back yard, so to speak. Now we can see on live television what is occurring around the globe. Famines here. Tsunamis there. Wars around the world. National economies that are so closely linked, a major change in one ripples throughout the rest.

Certainly it's not all bleak out there. There are headlines that proffer hope.

Law and Justice Win in Poland

Czech Average Wage on the Rise

Families Open Homes to Hurricane Evacuees

Yet current events, good or bad, remain unable to bring the internal, abiding sense of Peace and contentment that people so desire. The world may offer Peace, but it is never truly lasting Peace. So how are we as Christians to remain Peaceful in spite of circumstances? If we stay Peaceful, won't we be viewed as unsympathetic or unconcerned for the welfare of others who seem to be more directly impacted by turmoil? Perhaps not.

Jesus said these words to his disciples shortly before he was crucified: "Peace I leave with you; My Peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid" (John 14.27). Imagine, the Peace of God given to us. This is Peace that is calmly compassionate and undaunted by circumstance. It is this Peace that Paul includes on his list of the fruit that is to be evident in our lives (Galatians 5.22).

If our lives are to be fruitful with Peace, it is important that we not lose sight of what is required literally to produce fruit so that we can learn what we must do spiritually to reap a bountiful harvest. Firstly, farming and growing produce is not a passive vocation. There is soil preparation. Plants must be selected and planted at the right time. And once planted, the crop must be tended, pruned, watered, weeded, and ultimately harvested.

Similarly, to assure a full and succulent crop of the Fruit of the Spirit in our lives, we must also begin with preparing our soil, the soil of our hearts. Jesus tells the parable of the Sower in Matthew 13. He speaks of seed falling on the path, on rocky ground, on thorny patches, and finally on good soil. So if a follower of Christ desires to produce the fruit of Peace but isn't exhibiting Peace, perhaps the soil of the heart needs some tending.

If the heart has not been cleared of old resentments, animosity, jealousy, or other such hardened stones, the seeds of Peace will easily be snatched away by circumstances before they can take root. If the Peace tries to take root in rocky ground, it may spring up quickly and appear to be hardy but the shallow depth of its roots will cause it to shrink away at the first signs of turmoil. Peace planted in soil overrun with thorns and weeds of strife and anger will never have a chance to thrive before it's choked out and dies.

The only way to produce a crop of Peace, God's everlasting Peace, in our lives is to prepare the soil of our hearts to receive and support the growth of Peace. We must break up the hardened soil of our hearts, remove the stones and weeds, and cultivate ground where Peace can sink its roots deep and spread its branches wide. It is significant that Paul first wrote of the fruits of Love and Joy before Peace. Perfect Love casts out all fear, and Joy is the absence of sorrow. Once the stones and thorns of fear and sorrow are removed from our lives, then Peace has a place to flourish.

When Peace is growing in our hearts, we are able to share it with those around us, spreading its seeds into the hearts of others. How well it grows there depends on how well they have prepared the soil of their hearts. There is a special blessing for those who bring Peace. Christ said in his Sermon on the Mount that Peacemakers are blessed and will be called the sons of God (Matthew 5.9). And Paul encourages that whenever possible, "so far as it depends upon you, live Peaceably with all" (Romans 12.18).

What prevents you from living in Peace; from spreading it into the lives of others? Quite often it is the result of not releasing cares and concerns to Christ. Once you begin believing that you can or should handle difficulties all on your own, your Peace will begin to diminish. This is exactly what the enemy, Satan, wants. Instead, as the Apostle Peter instructs, you are to cast all your cares on Christ because of His great love and concern for you (1 Peter 5.7).

As you prepare your heart to receive Christ's Peace and you relinquish your anxieties and concerns to Him, you will harvest a bumper crop of Peace that you can share with those around you. As you endeavor to this end, I encourage you with the words of Paul in Philippians 4.7:

And the Peace of God, which passes all understanding

shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.

Branches is pleased to share the following article written by Mr. Ben Witherington, professor of New Testament Interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Ky., and the author of "What Have They Done With Jesus?". 

We wish to add that as Christians, it is our responsibility to think critically and examine all assertions of truth through the lense of the Bible. As Mr. Witherington asserts, attempts are continually made by various parties to discredit the deity of Jesus Christ. Jesus of course warned us of such false doctrines himself: "For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand." (Matthew 24:24-25). Oh that we heed this warning.

Did Jesus' earthly family die and require burial? Certainly. Could their tomb have been discovered? It's possible. Could an unrelated woman be buried with the family? Not unlikely as it is probable that the wives of Jesus' brothers would be buried with them. But does this equate to a foregone conclusion that Jesus left physical remains on this earth? No. Do the Scriptures support an unempty or an empty tomb? An empty tomb. 

Perhaps the silver lining of such attempts to discredit the Gospels is that it will compel believers and non-believers alike to search out the Scriptures for the truth. God bless and guide you in your study.

As always, we are interested in hearing your thoughts and comments. 

Box of Bones

By Ben Witherington III
Friday, March 2, 2007
Wall Street Journal

Year after year in spring, a new crop of religious dandelions pop up in our post-Christian culture. Like the real ones growing in my yard, they make a colorful splash that briefly captures our attention, until we realize that they are only shallow-rooted weeds, not beautiful flowers planted long ago in the deep rich soil of the past, such as Easter lilies.

Last year, it was the Gnostic nonsense of the "Da Vinci Code." We've had the "Gospel of Judas Iscariot," written centuries after the eyewitnesses were dead. This year it's a variation on the "Da Vinci" theme. We are not only being told that there was a Mrs. Jesus (a k a Mary Magdalene).

We are also informed that her tomb and that of Jesus have been found in Jerusalem; that DNA testing has proved that they are not related and so must have been married (how exactly does it prove that?) and that an ossuary or small casket of at least one of their offspring has been found as well. News at 11! Or, in this case, on the Discovery Channel's documentary "The Lost Tomb of Jesus," scheduled for Sunday night.

In a surreal moment on "Larry King Live" earlier this week, the film's producer, James Cameron (of "Titanic" fame), told us with a straight face that we should all be thankful that we now have tangible evidence that Jesus existed. Actually, no serious historian of biblical antiquity has ever doubted that there was a historical Jesus. Yet it tells us a lot about the state of our culture that Mr. Cameron's remark, backed by pseudo-science, could be seriously made on national television and that the film's companion book has already shot up to No. 5 on Amazon's rankings. We are a Jesus-haunted culture that is so historically illiterate that anything can now pass for knowledge of Jesus.

No doubt there are those who welcome "evidence" that undermines the foundation of Christianity. Many people, though, are simply beguiled by the "obsolescence factor" in our technologically driven society--the "newer" must be "truer" and "better." This outlook, when applied to a subject like the historical Jesus, attracts all sorts of unbridled speculation, and worse.

How momentous is the latest Jesus-as-you-never-knew-him story? Not very.

It is simply not true, as Mr. Cameron's claims in his preface to Simcha Jacobovici's book, "The Jesus Family Tomb," that we have had no hard evidence for Jesus' existence before now except in the Bible. That ignores mentions in ancient Roman and Jewish historians such as Tacitus, Suetonius and Josephus.

The "Jesus tomb" explorers trot out statistics on ancient Hebrew names, claiming that the ones in the tomb sound too much like known Jesus family members for the similarity to be a coincidence. But since we've only excavated a minority of archaeological and tomb sites even in Jerusalem, most ancient names are still buried in the earth, making meaningful statistical analysis difficult. What we can say for certain is that most of the names found in the Talpiot tomb on the outskirts of Jerusalem have been seen in many places elsewhere--in texts, on potsherds, in inscriptions, in the Bible itself. They are not rare even by the standards of the limited evidence we do have.

Any good scientific theory must account for all the evidence--in this case, all the names we find in the Talpiot tomb and not just the ones that match the holy-family theory. For instance, we have a Matthew in the tomb, but Jesus had no brothers named Matthew. And where are brothers like Simon, or the sisters mentioned in Mark 6, and where especially is brother James? We actually know that James was buried within sight of the Temple Mount, and Talpiot is miles from there.

Eusebius, the fourth-century church historian, saw the tomb and the standing inscribed slab in front of it.

You also have to ask yourself: Why would most of the holy family from Galilee be buried in a middle-class tomb several miles outside of Jerusalem in some sheep pasture? They were, in fact, poor and could not afford an ornamental tomb like this one. This family was from Nazareth, too, with connections in Bethlehem. Why wouldn't its members be buried in one of those places?

We also know that crucifixion was considered the most shameful and hideous way to die, a blow from which one's family honor did not soon recover, if ever. So shamefully did Jesus die that his first followers and even most of his family abandoned him: He was not buried by family members or by the Galilean disciples. He was put in a tomb near the old city that did not belong to any of them.

 Of course, the main implicit contention of the documentary and book is that the Resurrection is demonstrably a fraud--and thus, we must assume, people like Peter and James, the brother of Jesus, were prepared to be martyred in grisly ways to perpetrate a fraud. Resurrection had only one meaning for early Jews--a miracle that happens to a person's body so that they are raised from the dead.

To skeptics, no amount of counterargument will matter. Yet it wouldn't hurt for the rest of us to exercise a bit of skepticism when listening to each year's new theories about Jesus and the "true" history behind the biblical narrative. Amos Kloner, the archaeologist who supervised work at the tomb when it was first discovered in 1980, has called the documentary's claims "impossible" and "nonsense." As a New Testament scholar, I will trust serious scholars like him. Make no bones about it--they have not found Jesus' tomb.

Brothers and Sisters, will you take a stand? Will you stand for the truth of Scripture and the facts of history? 

In 1947, the UN partition plan mandated the creation of two states in the Palestine Mandate: the State of Israel for the Jews and another for the Arabs. But the Arabs rejected the two state solution. Instead, the Arabs launched a war against Israel. This is the primary cause of the Middle East conflict that continues today. 

After you have read the articles below I encourage you to prayerfully take time to write the President and your Congressmen and Senators, giving our reasons for NO PALESTINIAN STATE! The Bush administration doesn't and our elected officials don’t understand the truth and facts of the matter. They need to listen to us and we need to contact them immediately, by phone, fax, e-mail, and letter. (A mailed letter carries more weight than emails.)

If you have never written such a letter, please pray and ask the Lord to help you. It doesn't need to be long. If you aren't able to write, PLEASE PRAY that the Lord will raise up many people to write because this is actually a form of intercession--standing in the gap for Israel!

For those who need addresses, look at www.house.gov for your congressman's info and www.senate.gov for the senators' addresses.  Keep it short and simple--just express where you stand as a Bible believer, and perhaps add Scripture, such as referring them to the entire chapter of Jeremiah 31 or Psalm 105:8-11.  

President Bush's address is:

The President

The White House

Washington, DC 20515

 If you are not certain where you stand on this issue, I encourage you to search out the Scriptures. You may also find the website  www.JewishVirtualLibrary.org helpful. Click on "Myths and Facts." For further reading, consider Big Lies: Demolishing the Myths of the Propaganda War Against Israel available at www.studentsforacademicfreedom.org and also Covenant: God's Plan for Israel in the Last Days available through Branches or at www.NewSongUSA.com.  

Abiding in Him, 
Lori Gracey
Resident Branch

Evangelicals' letter backs PA state

Many evangelical Christians throughout the United States support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and seek "justice" for both sides, reads an open letter to US President George W. Bush published in Sunday's New York Times.

The letter, signed by several dozen evangelical clergy and activists, urged the Bush administration not to "grow weary" in its attempt to negotiate a "lasting peace" in the region.

The letter's authors sought to correct what they called a "serious misperception" that all American evangelicals objected to the establishment of a Palestinian state, and said they hoped that the awareness of a large body of evangelical support for a permanent status agreement between Israel and the PA would "embolden" Bush.

Those who love [Israel] are not forced to withhold criticism, the letter argued, adding that "genuine love and blessing" meant promoting one's neighbors well-being.

According to the letter's authors, both Israel and the Palestinians had rights to the land of Israel that stretched back "millennia." Both sides, the letter said, had committed acts of violence.

Only a lasting peace agreement, the letter exhorted, would end bloodshed and ensure that each side had a "viable" state. To this end, the letter's authors expressed their support for the road map peace plan, and endorsed former British prime minister Tony Blair's efforts in his new role as the Quartet's Middle East envoy.

"We renew our prayers and support for your leadership... and justice and peace for all the people in the Holy Land," the letter concluded.

But other senior evangelical Christian leaders in the US blasted the letter as misrepresenting mainstream evangelical beliefs.

"The authors of this letter do not represent the views of the vast majority of Bible-believing mainstream evangelicals in America," said San Antonio-based Pastor John C. Hagee, a prominent Israel supporter.

"The problem in the Middle East is that Israel has no partner for peace, and Israel's neighbors refuse to recognize Israel's right to exist," Hagee said.

He added that the assertion by letter's writers that the Palestinians have a historic connection to the Holy Land is "absolutely incorrect."

Hagee's organization "Christians United for Israel" which has been dubbed the Christian AIPAC and which held its second-annual Washington summit last week with 4,500 delegates from across the US, is planning on sending US President George W. Bush its own letter voicing their opposition to American pressure on Israel for any further land withdrawals.

A list of the letter's signatories:

Ronald J. Sider, President
Evangelicals for Social Action

Don Argue, President
Northwest University

Raymond J. Bakke, Chancellor
Bakke Graduate University

Gary M. Benedict, President
The Christian & Missionary Alliance

George K. Brushaber, President
Bethel University

Gary M. Burge, Professor
Wheaton College & Graduate School

Tony Campolo, President/Founder
Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education

Christopher J. Doyle, CEO
American Leprosy Mission

Leighton Ford, President
Leighton Ford Ministries

Daniel Grothe, Pastoral Staff
New Life Church (Colorado Springs)

Vernon Grounds, Chancellor
Denver Seminary

Stephen Hayner, former President
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship

Joel Hunter, Senior Pastor
Northland Church
Member, Executive Committee of the NAE

Jo Anne Lyon, Founder/CEO
World Hope International

Gordon MacDonald, Chair of the Board
World Relief

Albert G. Miller, Professor
Oberlin College

Richard Mouw, President
Fuller Theological Seminary

David Neff, Editor
Christianity Today

Glenn R. Palmberg, President
Evangelical Covenant Church

Earl Palmer, Senior Pastor
University Presbyterian Church Seattle

Victor D. Pentz, Pastor
Peachtree Presbyterian Church, Atlanta

John Perkins, President
John M. Perkins Foundation for Reconciliation & Development

Bob Roberts, Jr., Senior Pastor
Northwood Church, Dallas

Leonard Rogers, Executive Director
Evangelicals for Middle East Understanding

Andrew Ryskamp, Executive Director
Christian Reformed World Relief Committee

Chris Seiple, President
Institute for Global Engagement

Robert A. Seiple, Former Ambassador-at-Large,
International Religious Freedom
U.S. State Department

Luci N. Shaw, Author, Lecturer
Regent College, Vancouver

Jim Skillen, Executive Director
Center for Public Justice

Glen Harold Stassen, Professor
Fuller Theological Seminary

Richard Stearns, President
World Vision

Clyde D. Taylor, Former Chair of the Board
World Relief

Harold Vogelaar, Director
Center of Christian-Muslim Engagement for Peace and Justice

Berten Waggoner, National Director
Vineyard USA

Although the following passage from John's Gospel was written a few decades after Paul wrote his letter to the Galatian church, it may provide some insight as to why joy is the second Fruit of the Spirit on Paul's Galatians 5 produce list.

As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

John 15.9-11

There seems to by a symbiotic relationship between abiding in Christ's love and being filled with joy.

Yet, is it practical to expect a person to remain joyful in the face of adversity; in circumstances of abject need; in moments of agonizing sorrow? Well, yes. Paul seems to have anticipated this concern in verse 24 of Galatians 5. He reminds his readers that once we belong to Christ, we have crucified the flesh and its desires, just as Christ Himself yielded to crucifixion. Does this then mean that Christians are never to experience sorrow or sadness? By no means. But when difficult seasons of life occur, one must choose to master one's emotions by God's grace, and continue to produce the fruit of joy. Joy, even out of season, remains a good thing.

To gain insight on this seeming contradiction of joy in difficult times, consider Jesus on His way to Jerusalem for His final Passover with the disciples (Mark 11). The chapter begins with the triumphal entry into the city. Imagine the next day dawning as a cool, clear and fragrant springtime morning. As the twelve walk with Jesus to the city, He sees a luscious fig tree, spreading its bright green leaves overhead in the morning sunlight. So, He walks over to the tree in anticipation of picking some fruit to nibble on during the walk into town. Not finding any fruit on the tree, Jesus curses it saying "May no one ever eat fruit from you again" (verse 14).

What makes this incident especially interesting is that Mark notes in verse 13 that it was not the season for figs. Yet Jesus expected to find figs on the tree. This presents a quandary until it is learned that fig trees produce two crops each year. In the spring, the time when Jesus was going to Passover, the fig tree should have already produced what is called the breba crop. This is a small crop of not wonderful, but edible, figs that actually begin to grow before the leaves fully emerge. Once the tree is in full foliage in the spring, the natural expectation is to find these tiny but edible buds growing from beneath the leaves. This breba crop is the promise of a far more succulent crop to be harvested in autumn.

Jesus wasn't being unreasonable then in His expectation to find fruit on the tree even though it wasn't the season for the full harvest. But since the tree wasn't producing the spring breba crop, He cursed it so that it would never produce anything ever again. And it didn't (Mark 11.20). This is reminiscent of the parable of the talents found in Matthew 25. When the master of the story returns and discovers that some servants have been faithful to produce profit for him, he blesses them. But the unfaithful servant, who didn't even produce the meager gain his master's money would have brought from investing it at interest, this servant is cursed. And not only is he cursed, what he has is taken from him and given to another. The moral of the story is summed up in verse 29: "For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away."

The parallel between the cursed fig tree and the cursed servant is quite apparent. Both were cursed and prevented from ever producing a full harvest because each failed to first produce a small harvest. But what has all this to do with joy? Well joy, like the figs, must be produced in season and out of season. Whether conditions are favorable for a bountiful, autumn harvest that follows a full growing season, or the conditions are those of a cool springtime that still smacks of winter's tang, the fruit of joy must still be present.

Written in one of my Bibles is this quote: "Christian joy is independent of outward circumstances." I've lost track of who said this, but over the years it has encouraged me not to indulge in self-pity, depression, or an attitude of defeat. Paul himself was well versed in this mentality. In Philippians 4.4 he reminds his readers to rejoice in the Lord at all times. Further on in the chapter he speaks of his own joy and goes on to say that he has learned to be content in spite of his circumstances, be they good or bad (verses 10-13). In learning to be content regardless of what was happening around him, Paul was able to continually rejoice. Given the list of his personal sufferings listed in 2 Corinthians 11.23-27, he has proven himself the quintessential model of joyfulness no matter what. Can't you hear Paul's Amen! to Peter's words?

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal which comes upon you to prove you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice in so far as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed.

1 Peter 4.12-13

Perhaps Peter and Paul can maintain joy in the middle of adversity, but what about us? If we are to have joy regardless of circumstance, where do we find the strength; what is the source of this overriding joy? King David offers this encouragement in Psalm 16.11: "You [Oh Lord] show me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy, in Your right hand are pleasures for evermore." Our joy comes from abiding in our Lord and choosing to remain filled with the knowledge of His presence (John 15.11 again). When His presence consumes us, circumstances may bring sorrow, or anger, or pain, or frustration, or whatever else - but all the emotions that accompany these situations are unable to diminish the joy we have in the presence of the Lord. In His presence, there is forever an abundance of joy.

As I have been reflecting on this installment for Fruit of the Vine, the refrain of an old worship chorus has been repeating in my mind. "He gives joy unspeakable and full of glory." May you be filled with this unspeakable joy as you abide in Christ and produce the fruit of joy both in season and out.    

Branches often receives inquiries from readers who are seeking assistance with their own writing projects. I have developed the following suggestions in the hopes that it will assist writers as they endeavor to communicate through the written word. If you find this information helpful, or if you would like to discuss your projects with us, please contact us at Book Inquiries. 
Developing Book Projects

The following suggestions are meant to assist writers in developing their book projects. While much more certainly goes into the composition of a well written text, these pointers provide exercises that place the writing project on a solid footing from the onset.

1. Specific Purpose – the first thing that must be clear in the writer’s mind is the specific purpose of the book.

·        Is this an autobiography meant to inform or encourage readers?

·        Is the text meant to instruct a specific audience of a specific skill or inform them concerning a particular subject?

·        Is this a book of encouragement to a particular audience who share a unique experience?

Clarifying the specific purpose enables the writer to stay focused on a specific goal. This in turn helps determine what material to include or exclude from the book.

2. Audience – it is critical to specify the most likely audience who will read the book. This does not necessarily exclude a broader spectrum of readers. It does assist the writer in making choices about the type of language to use, the examples and illustrations to include, and how to determine what material will be most appropriate for a specific readership. Develop a general demographic description of the intended reader: gender, age, education, and socio-economic level. If applicable, also consider the reader’s politics, religion, nationality, and ethnicity.
3. Outline – once a specific purpose and audience are determined, the next step is to develop an outline of the book. The outline provides an organized structure for the book and provides the reader with a logical flow of ideas. There are various organizational patterns with the most common ones being:
   1. Chronological – follows a sequential, time-based order; past to present; then to now
   2. Topical – presents topics in a logical order that demonstrates the relationship between each topic through a means other than chronology
   3. Cause & Effect – demonstrates actions and their results; illustrates events and their consequences
   4. Problem & Solution – presents a problem and supports a proposed solution
   5. Spatial/Geographical – useful when writing texts on subjects such as architecture, travel, geo-political trends; follows the physical arrangement of a building, object, country or region
4. Chapter Main Points – just as the specific purpose governs the overall theme of the book, each chapter should have a main point that governs its content. Each chapter then develops a main point that supports the specific purpose of the book. It is often helpful to write each chapter as a stand-alone essay. Once the chapters are written, they can then be edited to transition smoothly from one to the next.
5. Transitions – having completed the chapters, edit each one to include linking transitions. Each chapter should end with a thought that connects its content to the content of the following chapter. And each chapter should begin with a similar but different thought that links it to the preceding chapter. This provides for continuity throughout the book.
6. Introduction and Conclusion – it is often, though not always, best to write these two chapters after the main body of the book has been written. Writing is more of an art form than a science. Consequently, content may be included in chapters that hadn’t been originally planned for. By writing the Introduction after the body of the text is finished, the writer knows exactly what to introduce. Likewise, the Conclusion should be written last and should draw together all of the main thoughts of the book in a way that fully resolves or illuminates the specific purpose of the book that was determined at the onset of the writing project.

Proverbs 29:18, in the King James, says that without a vision, the people perish. I think it’s much the same with writing and speaking. The writer or speaker must have a clear vision of what is to be communicated or else the message perishes. I pray these suggestions prove to be helpful to you as you write.

Abiding in Him,

Lori Gracey 
Resident Branch

Agape Love

Paul begins his produce list in Galatians 5 with the Fruit of Love. In our modern world, it is unfortunate that this word, love, has been so widely applied to a myriad of things. A husband may love his wife. Teenagers may love their cars. A mother may love her children. An executive may love the profit made on a business deal. But this is not the love that Paul is speaking of in his letters.

Paul is precise in his writings by using the Greek word agape when he speaks of Christian love. Agape is unconditional love extended to another person without merit. The Greek language uses three additional words for the English word, love. These are: eros - passionate, sensual desire from which we have the word erotic; philia - dispassionate, virtuous, friendly (or brotherly) affection from which Philadelphia is derived, the city of brotherly love; and storge - natural affiliation or affection such as the love of parents for their offspring.

Paul's use of agape in his writings points us to a love that is pure and not self serving. And it is this love that provides the basis for the other eight fruit of the Spirit. Without agape love, it would be impossible to exhibit these other traits. But to say that agape love is unconditional is not to say that it is without boundaries. True love affirms justice and rejects injustice. In both cases, love is expressed so that the welfare of the one loved is at the heart of its motivation. To further examine the subtleties of agape love, we'll consider the source of love, and the affirming and intolerant aspects of agape.

Discovering the source of love is as simple as reading 1 John 4.7-8. Paraphrased, it says that love is from God because God is love, and that everyone who knows God will love others. Without God, there could be no love. It is no wonder then that the greatest commandment is to love God. The Shema, found in Deuteronomy 6.5 and repeated by Christ in the Gospels, commands "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind" (Matt. 22.37, Mark 12.30, Luke 10.27). Love for other people naturally stems from one's love of God. If this command to love is fully kept, one would truly be able to keep all the commandments for all of them stem from love (Matt. 22.38-40; Rom. 13.8-10).

Just as love encapsulates the commandments, it likewise encompasses the Fruit of the Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul outlines the attributes of agape love. True agape love affirms patience, kindness, justice, confidence, and hope, all while enduring whatever comes along. This love is at the same time intolerant of jealousy, boasting, arrogance, rudeness, insisting on one's own way, irritability, resentfulness, and injustice. Paul asserts that agape love will never end. And how could it since God is the source of this love?

One way to appreciate the