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    Sermonettes, Volume 1
    Sermonettes, Volume 1
    Sermonettes, Volume 1
    Ebook216 pages3 hours

    Sermonettes, Volume 1

    By Vincent Cheung

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    About this ebook

    Chapters include: "A Greater Threat than Moses," "The Prosperity of the Wicked," "Christ and Self-Conference," "A Gang of Pandas," "The Lord's Supper," "Civil Marriage," "Homosexuality and the Wrath of God," and "Cessationism and Speaking in Tongues."
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLulu.com
    Release dateNov 25, 2014
    ISBN9781312707542
    Sermonettes, Volume 1

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      Book preview

      Sermonettes, Volume 1 - Vincent Cheung

      Sermonettes, Volume 1

      SERMONETTES, VOLUME 1

      Copyright © 2010 by Vincent Cheung

      http://www.vincentcheung.com

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted without the prior permission of the author or publisher.

      Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

      CONTENTS

      1. The Bible: A Stumbling Block

      2. Creation: In the Beginning

      3. Transgression: You Will Surely Die

      4. Redemption: He Will Save His People

      5. A Greater Threat than Moses

      6. Where is Your Brother?

      7. Faith in Resurrection

      8. For Jonathan's Sake

      9. The Confession of Sins

      10. Let Him be Anathema!

      11. The Way of the Righteous

      12. The Prosperity of the Wicked

      13. Counsel for Winners

      14. More Counsel for Winners

      15. Christ and Self-Conference

      16. Persistence in Prayer

      17. Faithful in Famine

      18. The Context of 1 Peter 3:15

      19. The Apologetics of Stephen

      20. Boldness: A Spiritual Power

      21. Attack Non-Christians: Take the Offensive

      22. Always Ready

      23. Religious Diversity

      24. The Non-Christian's Dilemma

      25. Some Questions for Empiricists

      26. A Gang of Pandas

      27. The Incomprehensibility of Dad

      28. Sarcasm and Sovereignty

      29. What is the Point?

      30. WCF, secondary causes, etc.

      31. Lead Us Not Into Temptation

      32. There is No Real Synergism

      33. The Lord's Supper: Mysticized and Miniaturized

      34. Civil Marriage

      35. Homosexuality and the Wrath of God

      36. Conversation on Racism

      37. Teaching Children

      38. Back to School

      39. The Burning of Books

      40. Cessationism and Speaking in Tongues

      1. The Bible: A Stumbling Block

      The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: All nations will be blessed through you. (Galatians 3:8)

      Here is a most curious case of personification. In the Genesis account, it was God who spoke to Abraham, but in this verse, it is said that the Scripture – that is, the Bible, the book itself – spoke to Abraham. The word Scripture refers to something written, but even if what God said was immediately committed to written form, it was not in written form when he said it. Yet here it is said that the Scripture uttered the promise to Abraham.

      Two divine characteristics are attributed to Scripture. First, Paul writes that the Scripture foresaw something. And notice the apostle makes a distinction between the Scripture and God – the Bible foresaw that God would do something. But was it not God who foresaw what he himself would do? The personification is total. He refers to the Bible as something that is alive, personal, and divine. Second, Paul writes that the Scripture announced, or preached, the gospel to Abraham. The promise came from God himself. This was not a statement related by a servant or messenger, but the initial pronouncement of the promise. God was the one who did it, and only God could do it. But here it says that the Bible did it.

      Four inferences are drawn from this. First, one of the essential principles of the Christian faith is that, for many intents and purposes, God and Scripture are interchangeable. For example, God and Scripture should be considered identical in truth and in authority. Second, in many contexts, it is entirely appropriate to refer to Scripture as we would refer to God. In fact, this should be expected, even outright demanded, from all Christians. It should be natural to say, The Bible commands you…, The Bible forbids you…, or The Bible predicts that…. We must be suspicious of a person if, from an analysis of his statements, we find a deliberate and consistent distinction between God and Scripture. Third, a formulation or application of the doctrine of Scripture that does not incur the accusation of bibliolatry from some quarters probably falls short of the Bible's own estimation of itself, and is thus unworthy of affirmation. Fourth, if the Scripture can possess divine foreknowledge and make divine pronouncements, then it can be slandered and blasphemed. Any statement made about the Bible that fails to identify it with God's very own truth, knowledge, and authority must be regarded as slander and blasphemy. The offender must be treated accordingly – that is, he must be removed from all church offices, interrogated before the church, and without complete retraction and repentance, expelled from all church premises and relations.

      We realize that the Bible's message offends non-Christians. But the very form of its existence is also a stumbling block to them. If they were to believe in God at all, they would not expect him to speak through the Bible, that is, through a book. Naaman said that he thought Elisha would come out to him, call upon his God, and wave his hand over his leprosy and cure him. Of course God could do it this way, although he did not give Naaman what he expected. But a wise servant reasoned with Naaman, so that he submitted to the prophet's instructions and was healed. Now non-Christians expect God to cause a hand to appear and write a message before them, or to speak from heaven in a thundering voice. Or, they expect Christ to appear in a blinding light, saying, Fool, Fool, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the pricks. What? I mean it is hard for you to keep hitting your head against the wall.

      God had, indeed, done all these things, and contrary to many theologians, he could still do them if he wants. There is nothing in the Bible to guarantee us that he would always comply with the doctrine of cessationism. Nevertheless, in most cases the truth of Jesus Christ does not reach men by what they regard as spectacular ways. Instead, God hands them a book, and in effect, says, Read it. Believe it and live. Disbelieve it and burn in hell. This is very difficult, even impossible, for non-Christians to accept. God designed this hindrance to expose those who are destined for hellfire, and to exclude them from eternal life. It is not that the divinity of the Bible is hidden, but that sinners are blind to it. As Jesus said, if someone refused to believe Moses, then he would refuse to believe even if a person were to return from the dead to speak to him. Men's refusal to hear the risen Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of this. But God awakens the intelligence of his chosen ones to perceive the Bible's wisdom and power, and to realize that the book is identical to the voice of God.

      The Bible told Abraham that he would become the father of many nations, and that through him all kinds of people would be blessed. The promise was never meant to be fulfilled by the flesh, but by the power of God. It was never meant to come in the way that Ishmael came, but in the way that Isaac came. All nations would be blessed because through Abraham, Christ would be born, and his gospel would spread throughout the whole earth, converting multitudes to the truth, saving them from sin and hell, and ensuring them their place in heaven. They would be united by this one promise that came through Abraham. Whether Jew or non-Jew, male or female, rich or poor, they would be united – blessed by one promise – by their common faith in Jesus Christ.

      2. Creation: In the Beginning

      In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)

      There is some debate over the meaning of creation in this verse, and thus also over the correct translation for the word. The linguistic and historical arguments are not altogether unprofitable, but for those who lack the technical training, or who simply have no patience for academic wrangles, there is a way to settle the issue barehanded.

      Matter cannot be eternal, in the sense of being timeless, for there is no before and after with that which is timeless. And if there is no before and after with matter, then it would be impossible for it to be one way before and another way after. Therefore, if matter changes at all, it cannot be eternal. And matter could not have existed forever, for if matter is bound to time but has existed forever, then it would have an infinite past. But if it has an infinite past, it could never have reached the present. If it has reached the present, the past cannot be infinite. Therefore, matter is not eternal, but bound to time, and it originated at some point in time.

      God is uncreated. He is eternal, timeless, and immutable. And he created the universe out of nothing, that is, without the use of any existing materials, since there were no existing materials when he created. All linguistic and historical arguments that attempt to suggest an opposing view must be wrong. In fact, these kinds of arguments are irrelevant unless the logical arguments based on the very ideas of matter and creation are demonstrated to be inconclusive.

      Due to its irrational and fallacious nature, science must be silent on the origin of the universe. When it comes to this topic, its reliance on sensation (which is unreliable), induction (whose conclusions are never necessarily inferred from the premises), and experimentation (which involves a systematic repetition of the fallacy of asserting the consequent), is even more evidently absurd than usual, as if that is possible. Rather than kowtowing to man's impotent method of discovery, and attempt to extract truth out of falsehood, we expose and discard it. If it refuses to honor biblical revelation, we shall whip it into submission with the hard chain of logic.

      God created all things, including the light, the sky, the water and the land. And he also configured the relationships between these objects, including the movements and the interactions of the heavenly bodies, and the seasons. He created the vegetation, plants, and trees. Without any dependence or relationship with these, he made the sea creatures and sky creatures. And without any dependence or relationship with these, he made the land creatures. Each belong to their own kind without any direct association with the others.

      Then, God created man in his own divine image. God made man's body from materials directly taken out of the ground, without any dependence or relationship with the plants or the animals. Nothing was taken from them to make man. After that, God breathed life into the body, so that an embodied human person is a dichotomy, consisting of the incorporeal and the corporeal, the spiritual and the physical. The essence of man is the life that God breathed out, since man is considered a person even when he is disembodied. Unlike the human body, this life came completely and immediately from God, without any dependence or relationship with previously created things, not even the earth itself. As for the woman, she was created from the man, again without any dependence or relationship with plant life or the animals.

      It is common to assert that God no longer creates anything, especially out of nothing, since it is said that he rested on the seventh day. This is an unwarranted interpretation. Yet it is sometimes used with careless confidence, so that, for example, it is assumed that Jesus never restored missing body parts in his healing miracles, at least without using existing materials, because that would involve creation. There are a number of other farfetched applications. In any case, the rest of the seventh day is said only in relation to the work done on the previous six days. There is no indication that God would be at rest forever. In fact, Jesus said that the Father had never stopped working, and he said this in connection with the Sabbath (John 5:17). There is no basis to say that God will not create again, even out of nothing, or that he has not already done so.

      This doctrine of creation provides a crucial basis for many other doctrines. It tells us about the nature of God, that he is full of wisdom and power. It tells us that God is in control of all things, since he created all things and determined the course of history according to his plan. It tells us about his special relationship with man, since he created man in his own divine image, and then declared to man his commandments. It tells us about how God perceived his own creation, that it was good. It tells us about God's design for man and woman, that they are to marry, that marriage is between one man and one woman, and that man is to have authority over woman. Above all, it tells us that man is to serve and worship God, that man is lost until he finds his place in the Creator through Jesus Christ, and that those who know God can possess the assurance that he has found the source, the purpose, and the rock of his existence.

      3. Transgression: You Will Surely Die

      And the LORD God commanded the man, You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die. (Genesis 2:16-17)

      God created the universe, the planets, plant life, and the animals. After that, he created the man and the woman, and placed them in Eden to work the garden. And God issued a command, that they were free to eat from any tree in the garden, but they must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and that when they eat of it, they would surely die.

      Here we glimpse the essence of the original relationship between God and man. First, it was founded on verbal communication – God talked to man. He talked to man in terms that conveyed definite ideas, both concrete and abstract, such as personal identity (you), eating, trees, garden, knowledge, good and evil, time (when you eat), and death. Second, it was an intimate but unequal relationship. Man benefited from God's provision and generosity, but he also functioned under God's authority, which placed restrictions on man's activities. The standard of right and wrong rested solely on God's authority, not as something outside of him, but as identical to his will, and expressed in his instructions and commands.

      Some theological traditions maintain that God's command to Adam involved, or amounted to, a covenant. This covenant declared a period of probation for man, so that if he proved to be obedient, he would inherit eternal life, but that if he proved to be disobedient, he would inherit everlasting death. However, there is no indication of probation in God's instructions to Adam. And there is no promise of promotion to a higher life after a period of obedience. Neither is there any trace of the establishment of a covenant. The doctrine is a human invention, and must be discarded.

      From the Genesis account, it seems that either Satan took control of a serpent and spoke through it, or he took the form of a serpent and spoke. He tempted Eve to transgress God's command. Eve and the rest of Scripture would later describe his effort as deception. He lied

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