¿ES DIOS JUSTO EN CASTIGAR AL INJUSTO?

¿ES DIOS JUSTO EN CASTIGAR AL INJUSTO?

La pregunta demanda una respuesta inmediata. ¿Es Dios justo en Castigar al injusto? Si si lo es, y aquí termina esta lección, sin embargo trabajemos el tema un tanto más. Sin duda alguna la naturaleza de Dios es sublime y especial, el profeta Isaias en 55:8-9 afirmó hace mucho que los pensamientos de Dios son más altos que nuestros pensamientos. Cuando estudiamos a Dios usted y yo necesitamos deshacernos de nuestra propia manera de pensar y y aceptar lo que la Biblia enseña, libro capítulo y versículo. La pregunta anterior contiene dos partes, 1) la declaración de que Dios es justo y 2) la recompensa del injusto. Analicemos más de cerca…

¿ES DIOS JUSTO EN CASTIGAR AL INJUSTO?

¿ES DIOS JUSTO EN CASTIGAR AL INJUSTO?

A. LA JUSTICIA DE DIOS OBEDECE A SU NATURALEZA: Su naturaleza es limpia. Por esa razón Dios no puede ser testigo de pecado y pasarlo por alto. Dios no puede ni siquiera ver el mal (Habacub 1:13).  Por otro lado su naturaleza no cambia. Desde Génesis hasta Apocalipsis la naturaleza de Dios no ha cambiado (Heb 13:9). El Dios del Antiguo Pacto es el mismo del Nuevo pacto.

  1. Nínive entendió esto a la mala. Año 623 a.C Observe usted lo que dice el profeta Nahum: “Jehová es Dios celoso y vengador; Jehová es vengador y lleno de indignación; se venga de sus adversarios, y guarda enojo para sus enemigos.Jehová es tardo para la ira y grande en poder, y no tendrá por inocente al culpable. Jehová marcha en la tempestad y el torbellino, y las nubes son el polvo de sus pies”. (Nahum 1:2-3). También puede notar C3:5, 6, 19.
  2. Juicio implacable contra Babilonia (Is 13).
  3. Juicio contra Damasco (Isa 17).
  4. Juicio contra Egipto (Is 19).
  5. Juicio contra Arabia (Is 22).
  6. Juicio contra Tiro (Is 23).
  7. Y finalmente Juicio contra Israel (Is 28).Hay personas que pretenden esconder su pecado diciendo que Dios es todo amor siempre. Otras muchas oran a Dios afirmando que el los escucha y por tal razón gozan de comunión con él, pero la realidad es que no puede haber una comunión con Dios si hay pecado, Dios no escucha, no responde a nadie que no anda conforme a su voluntad. (Is 1:15 ).

Su naturaleza es reveladora.  En la gran mayoría de universidades bíblicas, seminarios teológicos y aun instituciones de la Iglesia ha ganado terreno el escepticismo. Aún muchos buenos hermanos han caminado por este sombrío camino. El escepticismo  duda de que la Biblia sea real, duda de Dios, duda y duda de todo el sistema de fe. La frase favorita es “esque no sabemos y no hay manera de estar seguros ¿usted que sabe? tal vez esa persona se salvó”. Dios en su naturaleza es un Dios revelador, no podemos saber todo referente a  Dios pero si podemos saber y estar seguros de lo que el YA ha revelado. Analice por un momento como Romanos 1:19-21 y 1Juan 5:13 destrozan esta ideología.

B. LA JUSTICIA DE DIOS OBEDECE A SU PLAN: Dios es justo en castigar al injusto por que ha diseñado un plan para salvarle. Con cornelio. Usted lee en Hechos 10:4  que las oraciones han subido(Tenga en mente el caso único y especial en este capitulo, ya que es como los gentiles iban a entrar al plan redentívo por primera vez).  Cornelio oraba fervientemente pero había una pared que hacia y hace hasta el día de hoy que Dios escuche en oración Is 59:1-2. Esa pared es el Pecado. El v35 es sobre el mismo caso, dice que Dios se agrada de los que le temen y hacen justicia. El hecho de que cornelio orara y que hiciera limosnas no le hacia aceptable delante de Dios y los carismáticas odian el siguiente pasaje… Hechos 11:14 Cornelio con todas sus oraciones y limosnas no era acepto delante de Dios, estaba perdido, pero la obediencia a la justicia (5 pasaos de salvación) es lo que le hizo salvo.Dios es Justo al establecer la Iglesia, este ha sido el plan de Dios por todas las edades  (leer Efesios 1:5-10). En la Iglesia Dios le da la oportunidad a todos pero no todos toman esa oportunidad.

  1. La Iglesia y solo la Iglesia de Cristo tiene el privilegio de adorar a Dios por medio de 5 actos de adoración (Ef 3:20-21). Nadie más.
  2. La Iglesia  y solo la Iglesia de Cristo satisface la ira de Dios. El mira con enojo y con venganza a todos los pecadores pero al ver lo que su hijo hizo en la cruz  su enojo se aplaca y nos declara justos, hay una satisfacción por parte de Dios y por eso tenemos esperanza de ir al cielo. Pregunta, pero  y ¿que de los demás que no son parte de la iglesia? 1Pe 4:17.
  3. La Iglesia y solo iglesia de Cristo está compuesta por los fieles y santos para Dios (Ef 1:1-2).  De acuerdo a los ecuménicos, Dios es injusto. Solo vea: Dios no condena a nadie por eso, usted se esfuerza  en todo; en ser integro y todo lo demás pero al final, “porque Dios no condena a nadie” entonces todos vamos al cielo. ¿Le parece a usted eso justo? Si todos vamos al cielo entonces, Cristo murió en vano, y fue mentiroso porque el habló del infierno. Un hermano recientemente decía “¿Por quién vino Cristo? ¿no fue por los pecadores?” algunos simplemente no les interesa respetar la autoridad absoluta de las escrituras (Heb 5:9) Cristo vino a morir por los pecadores si, pero el es autor de salvación para aquellos que le obedecen. “Vosotros sois mis amigos si hacéis lo que yo os digo (Juan 15:14), ¿y sino Señor? que soy? Yo espero sea honesto en encontrar la respuesta a la pregunta anterior, recuerde solamente la verdad da libertad.
  4. ¿CUAL ES LA IMPLICACION DE QUE DIOS SEA JUSTO AL CASTIGAR AL INJUSTO?: La primera implicación de que Dios es justo en castigar al injusto  es que la iglesia no escapa de ello. Y En su Iglesia Dios sigue siendo justo en castigar incluso a cualquier hermano que sea y practique la injusticia. Romas 11:21-22 Pablo recuerda a los cristianos Gentiles las consecuencias de ser injustos aún cuando Dios mostró su justicia para con ellos. La segunda implicación es que la iglesia debe de ser justa al igual que Dios es justo. Mat 13:43. Los justos resplandecerán como el sol. Debemos de saber muy bien que significa esto y aquí está su definición bíblica para Justicia  Salmos 119:172 “Todos tus mandamientos son Justicia”. Cuando una congregación se práctica injusticia para cualquiera de sus miembros Dios evidentemente no se complace. La tercera implicación  es que de hecho Dios si ejecutará un castigo y será eterno. El lo ha advertido, lo ha prescrito y no razón para dudar que tal castigo que no tendrá final va a llegar y que de hecho Dios sostendrá su palabra… es parte de su justa naturaleza.

Estimado amigo lector, no sea usted injusto en criticar a Dios por cosas que parecen no estar claras a veces. Recientemente conocí el caso de un grupo de personas que cometieron un grave error juzgando y condenando a alguien sin conocer todos los detalles. En el caso de Dios, estudiemos juntos lo que el nos ha revelado y seguramente llegará a usted a la misma conclusión a la que este servidor llegó: Mi Dios es justo en castigar al injusto. Que Dios le bendiga.

 

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Want to Fix Hollywood

Want to Fix Hollywood

Yesterday, I was talking with an elder about all of the individuals in Hollywood who are now being accused of immoral behavior. He mentioned that now would be a good time for pulpits to remind members how a man should treat a woman. I agreed and added that it would be a good time to also teach families about sexual immorality.

Oh the immoral behavior of Hollywood.

Oh the immoral behavior of Hollywood.

Think about the following scenarios and ask yourself: Where are young men learning these simple behaviors?:

  1. How to open doors for young ladies.
  2. How to be courteous to young ladies.
  3. How to speak to young ladies without using vulgar terms or talking to them in a disrespectful manner.
  4. How to talk to young ladies parents.
  5. How to hold an umbrella for a young lady.
  6. How to give your coat up if a young lady is cold.
  7. How to give a compliment in the proper way.
  8. How to stand up and protect a young lady who is being threatened or bullied.

The reality is most of these chivalrous behaviors are never learned because they are not taught in school and they are often neglected in the home. The concept of growing young boys into strong knights has been kicked aside in our world of gender equality.

I know it is not popular today in our politically correct climate, but I am not concerned with political correctness—God made men and women differently. Peter wrote, “Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered” (1 Peter 3:7). Our young men need to be taught how to treat a lady!

Right now thousands of Christians are horrified and angered by all of the sexual misconduct that is being reported in Hollywood. Yet, one wonders how many of those same Christians are horrified at what goes on Prom Night at their local high school? How many of those parents are outraged that their children are messing around or having premarital sex with someone they are not married to? One wonders how angered parents are at the immoral behavior that goes on beneath their very roof?

Right about now many Christians are reading this thinking, “It’s not the same thing.” I will grant you that is true that two teens in the backseat of a car is not the same as someone in power using his/her position to sexually abuse someone else. However, in the eyes of God sin is sin. Sexual immorality—whether it be at the hands of a manipulative Hollywood producer or an unmarried high school senior—is sin.

Do you want to “fix” Hollywood? You want to stop all of the sexual immorality that is being reported on the news? Then start at home. Teach your children what a healthy relationship is supposed to look like. Demonstrate a happy marriage that they can use as a blueprint. Teach them purity—and don’t compromise just because the world accepts it from teens. Don’t embrace the attitude that all teens are going to mess around—because Christians are called to be different from the world.

We can’t teach the world about God and what He has to offer if our families look just like the world. Before we can “fix” Hollywood with the saving blood of Jesus Christ we must first make sure that our own children have put away the old man. Moms and Dads, spend some time this week training up your boys to be men—real men, who know how to treat young ladies.

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Repentance: Public Confession?

Public Confession?

If a Christian falls away to sin and it is known both within the church and outside, is it necessary for that Christian to repent before the church? Could you please give some scriptures in answer? I have always been taught that the repentance should go as far as the sin, in other words, if it is known within and without the church, it needs to be addressed before the whole church. I know private sins are then only between the individual and God.

Must we confess our sin to the church?

Must we confess our sin to the church?

Where does the Bible teach that when we sin in a public way, we must confess our sin to the church?

The Bible speaks both about private sins and public sins and what our attitude should be toward both. In thinking about private sins, there are two types. The first are private sins that are known only between God and us, individually. When we sin in this way, we have the obligation to confess that sin to God. John writes in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Once we have repented and made that confession to God then the blood of Christ forever erases that sin.

There is a second kind of private sin that can be committed as well. This is when one brother sins against another brother. This kind of sin is not public because it was only committed in the presence of a one or a few Christians. The Bible teaches that when such a sin is committed that we are to handle it in as discreet a way as possible. Love will not try to publish this sin beyond its original circle of influence but will try to keep the sin concealed to as few as possible. 1 Peter 4:8 says, “above all things being fervent in your love among yourselves; for love covereth a multitude of sins�.” However, Jesus makes it clear that while our attitude should be to deal with this in a private way, if the person who has committed the sin refuses to repent of that sin, then others are to get involved. Matthew 18:15-17 says, “And if thy brother sin against thee, go, show him his fault between thee and him alone: if he hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he hear thee not, take with thee one or two more, that at the mouth of two witnesses or three every word may be established. And if he refuse to hear them, tell it unto the church: and if he refuse to hear the church also, let him be unto thee as the Gentile and the publican.” There is a three step process that is laid out here. First talk to the person individually and if the problem is resolved, let it go. Second, if the problem is not resolved one on one, then take two or three more with you so that the matter may be established. Third, if the problem still cannot be resolved, then bring it before the church. Then the church has the obligation to withdraw fellowship from the one who has sinned. Let’s be clear, however, this is still in regard to sin that was first committed in a semi-private environment.

Public sins, however, are handled quite differently within the New Testament and we have several examples of public sin. The first public sin that was committed within the church was that of Ananias and Sapphira. We find this recorded in Acts 5:1-11. This couple sold some land and gave part of the price to the church, but claimed that they had given the entire price to the church. In essence they lied about the amount of money they had given to the church. In a very public way, Peter confronted Ananias about the money. No doubt, opportunity was given Ananias to change his story and confess the truth, but he did not do this and God took his life away. In the same day, Peter asked Sapphira about the money and she too refused to tell the truth and she met the same fate as her husband. Now while God does not use miraculous means of church discipline today, the church is still expected to exercise earthly discipline in this regard. The great failure of Ananias and Sapphira was not in that they sinned, for all men commit sin according to 1 John 1:8 and 10. The failure of Ananias and Sapphira was that they failed to confess their very public sin in a public way–before Peter and the rest of the church. Had they made confession, no doubt, they would have been forgiven.

In Acts 8 we read of another public sin. Simon the sorcerer was watching how the apostles were bestowing miraculous gifts to the newly converted Christians and offered Peter money for the ability to bestow miraculous gifts as well. Simon’s motive for wanting these gifts was that he wanted to use them for his own profit. However Peter rebukes Simon in Acts 8:20, 21. He then tells Simon these words, “Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity. Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me.” Notice that Simon was given the opportunity to repent just like Ananias and Sapphira. However, instead of refusing to repent, he did repent and asked for them to pray for him. Simon gives us an example of one who sinned publicly and then realized his mistake and made correction. The result was that he confessed his sin, asked for prayer and was forgiven.

In Galatians 2:11 Paul tells us that Peter committed a public sin. Paul writes, “But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.” Paul rebuked Peter in a public way for Peter’s hypocrisy. Again in this example we find public sin dealt with in a public way.

Finally, we have the example of the man who was committing fornication in the church at Corinth. The sin in which this man was engaged was a public sin. Paul writes in the first part of the chapter that it was “commonly reported” regarding this man’s situation. The remedy that Paul gives for this problem was to handle it in a very public way. In 1 Corinthians 5:13 Paul tells the church at Corinth to “�put away from among yourselves that wicked person.” Was the problem regarding this person that he had committed a sin? This was not the problem at all, but that he refused to admit his sin and repent of it. We find in 2 Corinthians 2:6, 7 this man did repent, but that the church in Corinth refused to forgive him. Paul writes, “Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many. So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow.” What do we learn from this example? There was a public sin. The man initially refused to repent. The church withdrew fellowship from him. He then publicly repented and confessed. The church then was obligated to forgive him. Herein lies the pattern for dealing with public sin today.

In James 5:16 we read, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed�.” This is perhaps the most direct passage of scripture that deals with confessing sins one to another and it addresses both semi-private and public sin. The Bible teaches that there are separate processes for handling these sins. There is a process for private sin, semi-private sin, and public sin. We must honor God’s pattern in this regard. God is consistent, however, with each of these situations. If we sin privately and we refuse to confess to God privately, then we will have no forgiveness. If we sin semi-privately and we refuse to confess semi-privately we will have no forgiveness. If we sin publicly and we refuse to confess publicly then we will have no forgiveness. The bottom line is when we sin, whether private, semi-private, or public, and then act as if it is no big deal and refuse to repent and confess our sin (regardless what kind of sin it is), we are rejecting God’s plan for our ongoing salvation. We are refusing to acknowledge that forgiveness is in the blood of Christ. We are rejecting the covenant for which Jesus died. Let us always seek to acknowledge our sins in the way that God would have us acknowledge them, according to the pattern set forth in the scriptures.

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The Law and the Prophets

The Law and the Prophets

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

Matthew 5:17-19

First off, let’s define “the Law or the Prophets” and “the Law.”  These phrases are commonly used in the New Testament to refer to the Old Testament (cf. Matt. 7:12; 22:40; Rom. 7:1ff; Gal. 3:10ff).  An even better example is Jesus’ reference to “the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms” (Luke 24:44), because these three terms show us how the Jews of Jesus’ day defined and categorized the Old Testament canon.  “The Law of Moses” refers to the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament (Genesis through Deuteronomy) which were authored by Moses and contain the laws given to Israel by God through Moses during their wilderness wanderings.  “The Prophets” refer to what was known as the Nebhiim, the category in which were found the Old Testament books known as “the former prophets” (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings [the latter two would later be divided up into 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings]) and “the latter prophets” (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and a scroll containing the 12 books which we categorize today as “the minor prophets” of Hosea through Malachi).  “The Psalms” refer to what was known as the Kethubhim, the category in which were found three poetical books (Psalms, Proverbs, and Job), five rolls (the Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Esther, and Ecclesiastes), and several historical books (Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and the Chronicles [again, the latter would later be divided up into 1 and 2 Chronicles]).

Thus, the Old Testament Scriptures of Jesus’ day were called “the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms,” “the Law and the Prophets,” or simply “the Law,” and were ordered in a way that started with Genesis and ended with the Chronicles.  We see an allusion to this when Jesus, while condemning the Pharisees, said to them, “so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of innocent Abel to the blood of Zechariah…whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar” (Matt. 23:35).  He was referring to a murder recorded in Genesis 4:4, the first book of the Jewish canon of the Old Testament, and to a murder recorded in 2 Chronicles 24:21, the last book of the Jewish canon of the Old Testament.  Basically, Jesus was telling the Pharisees that on them would come all the blood of the prophets in the Old Testament “from Genesis to Chronicles” (in the same way we would say, “from Genesis to Malachi”).

Now that we have established what Jesus meant when he referred to “the Law and the Prophets,” let’s examine what he meant when he said he had not come to “abolish” them but rather to “fulfill” them.  The Greek for “fulfill” basically means “to complete,” or to “bring to realization.”  Paul would later show that one of the purposes of the Law (i.e., Old Testament) was to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah (Gal. 3:24-25).  Thus, Jesus, being the Messiah whose way the Law would prepare, would naturally come to “fulfill” it rather than destroy it.  This he did by fulfilling its prophecies (Luke 24:44) and its demands (Gal. 3:11-13; Heb. 4:15), something none of the Jews could do due to their sin.  Since he fulfilled it, he took it out of the way when he died on the cross (Eph. 2:14-15; Col. 2:14) and by doing so fulfilled its prophecy that it would be replaced with his new covenant and testament (Heb. 8:6-13; 9:15-17; cf. Jer. 31:31-34; Rom. 7:1-4).

That being the case, why did he then say that “not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law” until “heaven and earth pass away”?  Here’s the thing, though.  He didn’t actually say that.  There are many who believe that Christians are obligated to obey the laws of the Old Testament today, and thus think that is what Matthew 5:18 is saying: that the Old Testament will be in effect until the end of the world.  That is not the case, because what Jesus actually said was this:  “For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”  He is not say that the Law would stay in effect until the end of the world.  He is saying that the world would not end until everything in the Old Testament was accomplished…something that took place when he died on the cross.  Keep in mind, he said this three years before he himself fulfilled the Old Testament on the cross.  During those three years, not one thing about the Old Testament changed, not even the tiniest iota or dot…and heaven and earth did not pass away, either.  However, at the end of those three years he took the Law out of the way at the cross and fulfilled it completely.

Since the Old Testament laws would be taken out of the way at the cross and replaced with the laws of Christ in the New Testament, why did he then say that those who are great in the kingdom of heaven will be those who both obey and teach the commandments of the Law, and those who are least in the kingdom of heaven will be those who do not obey these Old Testament commandments and teach others to do the same?  He said this for two reasons, both of which have to do with the time in which he made this statement.

First, remember that the Sermon on the Mount, a sermon whose theme was the approaching kingdom of heaven (Matt. 4:17, 23; 5:3, 10, 19-20; 6:10; 7:21), was preached three years before he died on the cross and the kingdom, the church, arrived (Acts 1:6-9; 2:1ff; 8:12; Col. 1:13; 1 Thess. 2:12; Rev. 1:4, 6, 9).  The Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms were still in effect at the time of the Sermon on the Mount (cf. Gal. 4:4).  His Jewish audience, as well as Jesus himself, were obligated by God to obey those commandments.  Some of these Jews would later be converted to Christianity and added to the kingdom, the church in Acts.  With this in mind, ask yourself this:  If you were a Jew who was in the habit of rebelliously disobeying the laws of the Old Testament, what makes you think you would obey the laws of Christ in the New Testament as a citizen of his kingdom?

Secondly, Matthew 5:20 and the rest of the chapter gives us insight into what Christ was thinking when he made that statement.  Verse 20 reads, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”  What were the scribes and Pharisees doing that was so bad?  Basically, they were adding their own traditions to the established Word of God in the Old Testament (Matt. 15:1-9) and were focusing only on obeying parts of the Law rather than all of it (Matt. 23:23).  This is seen in the rest of chapter 5, where Jesus time and again tells his Jewish audience, “You have heard that it was said…” (a reference to what they were being taught by the scribes and Pharisees), followed by, “But I say to you…”

An examination of each case of what Jesus cited as being taught to the Jews of his day by the scribes and Pharisees would reveal that in some cases they were teaching only following the letter of the law while ignoring the spirit behind it (i.e., focusing on the commandment to not murder while ignoring the anger that would lead to murder [vs. 21-26], or focusing on the commandment to not commit adultery while ignoring the lust that would lead to adultery [vs. 27-30]).  In one case, the scribes and Pharisees were apparently telling the Jews to “hate their enemy” (Matt. 5:43), while the Law actually commanded the opposite (Ex. 23:4-5; Prov. 21-22).  In another case, they were taking a command which in its proper context prompted the death penalty for the murder of babies and moving it out of context to teach vengeful retaliation (Matt. 5:38-42; cf. Ex. 21:22-25).

Therefore, the scribes and the Pharisees were proving through their teachings and actions that they were not following the commandments of the Old Testament, and were teaching others to do likewise.  That is why they would be called “least” in the coming kingdom of heaven, and why Jesus would enjoin his listeners to make their own righteousness exceed theirs.  For again, if one was in the unrepentant habit of disobeying and misinterpreting Old Testament commands while teaching others to do the same, they would certainly not be welcome in Christ’s kingdom of the church which upheld the laws of the New Testament.

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It is Finished

It is Finished

Tragically, men have taken the words of the Bible out of context. Consider the following illustration. When Jesus said, “It is finished,” there was no way anyone there could have understood what He meant. Have you ever thought what the Jewish leaders thought was finished at the cross?

What wasn't finished at the cross?

What wasn’t finished at the cross?

It was not finished for the religious leaders who crucified. I do not know how many of them heard Jesus say, “It is finished,” but they definitely thought the death of Jesus brought the finish to problems which had plagued them for many years.

The preaching of John the Baptist was the beginning of their first-century problems. When John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees in his audience, he said, “Brood of vipers…flee from the wrath to come…bear fruits of repentance…even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees…” (Matt. 3:7-10).

The death of John did not end their problems. Read Jesus’ rebuke of them in the “eight woes” of Matthew 23 to see that Jesus was even more severe. After His death, they could have taken Jesus’ words about it being finished and said, “Thank God, it is finished,” but they would have been so wrong. Bible words always have a Bible context!

It was not finished for those who thought the threat from Rome had past. Rome was very much aware of the unrest that the teachings of Christ was creating. Both Pilate and Herod knew of Him. The Jewish leaders could say, “We have no king but Caesar” (John 19:15), but the multitudes wanted Jesus as their king (John 6:15). Those leaders might have thought that the death of Jesus would finish the threat of Roman intervention, but they were wrong. It was not finished, and in that generation, Jerusalem was leveled. Jesus’ words, “It is finished,” have a Bible concept.

It was not finished for those who thought they would never have to deal with Jesus again. We have His very words in that book which God has provided for us. That book also tells of the words and actions of those who killed Him. It is not true that His death ended it all. One day that book will be opened and these same men will face the One they crucified!

What was finished? Not the work of Jesus, for He was raised and is our mediator with God. He continues to work on our behalf. What was finished? It was the work God had given Jesus to do. Redemption, salvation, the purchasing of the church, atonement, the uniting of all men in the one glorious body, the remembrance of sin, the end of that old covenant, the destroying of the power of Satan—all that the New Testament shows has been brought to us.

Bible words always have a Bible context!

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