Bob's Blog

The day before Jesus was nailed to a cross and died, He had dinner with His disciples. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all tell the story of Jesus and the Last Supper. What I think is interesting is that the gospel of John talks of the other things that happened that evening.

John wrote five chapters detailing what Jesus did and spoke to the Apostles in that upper room. So, when almost 25% of your book details one evening’s conversation … it must be pretty important.

But what Jesus did at least four times that night was this: Jesus told them that even though He was leaving, He would send someone else to them … the Holy Spirit: John 14:16; 14:26; 15:26 and 16:7.

Same topic – four times in one night – significant.

In John 20: 21-22 we read: “Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’”

THAT, my friends, is one of the most wonderful scriptures in the Bible. You see, Jesus follows through on His promises. Every single time. And, did you know that we have a promise too?

In John 7:38-39 Jesus said, “’Whoever believes in me, as scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.’ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive.”

As believers in Jesus, as His followers, we have been given a gift that nobody else in the world has: the Holy Spirit -God – actually living inside of us.

His name’s Jesus. His name isn’t Christ.

His name’s Jesus. His title is Christ.

His name’s Jesus. His name isn’t Messiah.

His name’s Jesus. His title is Messiah.

His name’s Jesus. His name isn’t King.

His name’s Jesus. His title is King.

When we say Jesus Christ we are actually saying Jesus the Messiah or Jesus the King.

When we say Christ Jesus we are actually saying Messiah Jesus or King Jesus.

I am bringing this up because I have heard people say things like, “… in the name of Christ …” or “… in Christ’s name…” as if that was His name.

There is power is the name “Jesus.” There is just something special about that name.

Every time I read through the gospels my “favorite” one changes. Each of them – Matthew, Mark, Luke & John – have been my favorite gospel from time to time. And each one has been my favorite for different reasons each time. I guess that is what happens when you have a relationship with Jesus … you continuously fall in love with Him in different ways and for different reasons.

Currently, my favorite is the gospel of John … again.

Wanted to share a little Bible lesson and devotion with you today.

When the Apostle Paul was in Corinth in Acts 18, he created quite the controversy among the Jews there. In fact, they became so outraged at him, Paul was dragged in front of a non-religious court in an attempt to silence him for good.

Things did NOT go as planned. After the Jewish leadership presented their case, but before Paul could say a single word, the court official declared the verdict. Since this whole case was based on nothing more than words and names in the Jews’ own law, this was not a matter for discussion – Paul could keep on preaching.

The Jews were furious! In their outrage, they took their own synagogue leader, named Sosthenes, and beat the fire out of him right there in front of the court. They whooped the snot out of their own Jewish synagogue leader because the court didn’t find in their favor regarding Paul!

We don’t know much about Sosthenes – other than he was a leader of the Jews in Corinth. But, he is mentioned in the Bible one more time. And that “one more time” is what makes Sosthenes special to me.

Years after Sosthenes was beaten by his own synagogue in Corinth after taking Paul to court, Paul wrote a letter to the Christians in that city. The first sentence of 1 Corinthians starts out this way:

“Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, to the church of God in Corinth …”

Wow. I love that.

When I was a little kid my dad bought me my first pocket knife – an Old Timer. He then helped me carve a boat out of a new bar of Ivory soap while he carved one out a bar of Coast soap. I got in the bath and dad put the beautiful boat he’d carved in the water – it sank. Then it was my turn to put in my ugly boat – it floated! Dad explained that what you make things out of is more important than what they look like.

So while I technically knew it was something about the soap itself that made my boat float, it wasn’t until I heard the backstory surrounding Ivory soap that I fully appreciated what Dad meant.

Likewise, we may technically know the importance that grace and faith have in our relationship with God. But until the backstory of grace and faith is heard, we cannot fully appreciate what we have.

How important is it that we “get things right” when we meet together on Sunday. Is the actual process (or liturgy) what determines whether or not it is acceptable to God?

Maybe if a local church is acceptable to God – it’s liturgy is also acceptable.

Maybe if a local church is not acceptable to God – it’s liturgy is of little consequence – no matter how “right” or Biblical it may seem on the surface.

Maybe a church’s acceptability is not determined by its actions together on Sunday.

Maybe it’s acceptability is determined by each person’s actions the other six days of the week when they are not gathered in an assembly of the saints.

I was doing a study in the gospel of John a few months ago and found something that made me sit back and just think for a long while.

If you don’t know, John’s gospel is unique. When John wrote it he assumed you had already read at least Matthew and Mark because he intentionally skips several things they cover and just refers to people or events in passing as if you already know them or what happened. In fact, John’s biography of Jesus is so different, his gospel is often overlooked because you cannot cross reference or cross check some of the things he wrote about.

But, what really sets John’s narrative apart is that he makes it clear: Jesus was not just a savior, or messiah, or prophet, or king, or anointed one, or teacher, or rabbi … Jesus was God. The same message can be found in the other gospels, but John hammers it home time and again.

I am doing an in depth reading of John lately. There is a textual variant in John 1:18 that is fascinating.

Some translations use “huios” or υἱός in the Greek meaning “Son”. Other translations use “theos” or θεὸς in the Greek meaning “God”.

So the verse could be rendered as:

No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. (NASB)

Or:

No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. (NKJV)

Or using both:

No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known. (NIV)

I won’t go into which variant I think is correct. But I will say that both versions open a world of insight into the “being” of Jesus.

Jesus was the only real God who was born – AND he was the only unique son of God.

Pretty awesome verse I’ve neglected to appreciate appropriately.

My wife, Wendy, and I enjoy long trips. We’ve taken a few, but the most memorable one was during a Christmas break a few years ago.

As we were driving through various states on our way to visit the naval base in Norfolk, VA we would listen to sermons, music, books and lectures we had set aside beforehand to occupy our time.

So, there we were: holding hands, singing, praying, talking, listening, praising, crying, and reading the Bible together when I had a realization that rocked me to my core. I suddenly realized that for most of my life I had been involved in an eisegesis of the Bible.

At the time I had no idea there was actually a word that described my study habits – I only found out later about the word eisegesis.

Here is how I would study:

1) Choose a topic to study … maybe … going to church … or prayer … or taxes … or the death penalty.

2) Read scriptures I was already familiar with to refresh my mind on what I already knew about the topic.

3) Use a concordance or guide to find other verses that talk about the topic.

4) Study the new verses (word studies, Greek dictionary, history, context, etc) to see how I can add this new information to what I already know.

5) If I didn’t quite understand how a verse could fit with the other verses, then maybe consult a commentary or dictionary or tract or web search to find a possible explanation.

6) If no explanation is found, that is okay. God has revealed His thoughts in the Bible and this verse is simply something I don’t understand yet.

7) Be confident in the fact that those “unexplainable” verses are so so few and far between that as I studied more and more – a light would happen that cleared things up.

8) Also, rejoice that my studies were so thorough that, while my conclusions may not be the same as someone else, I could rest in the confidence that EVERYTHING I believed was based in deep Biblical study and not some man-made doctrine.

THAT, my friends, is called eisegesis.

Eisegesis is a wonderful tool to use if you want to strengthen your faith in regards to your positions on almost any topic. It is an awesome approach to the Bible if your goal is to solidify your ability to explain why you believe the way you do. It is unbeatable in its unerring skill of creating an unwavering and singular understanding of the Bible.

I found eisegesis to be very useful when justifying to my friends why I did – and did not do – certain things while I was growing up.

“Hey Bobby, why don’t you wanna be my friend if my parents drink wine at dinner?” – That one was an easy one.

“Hey Bobby, why won’t you participate in the square dance in music class?” – Ha! Too simple to show book chapter and verse for that.

“Hey Bobby, why don’t you sing certain religious songs?” Seriously – there have to be harder questions than that.

“Hey Bobby, why do you rarely go to a public beach or pool.” Again – so easy to answer.

As I grew older, the questions and answers grew more intricate – but were still able to be answered without problem because of eisegesis.

“Hey Bob, why are you okay being in the Army and possibly killing other Christians?”

“Hey Bob, why don’t you tithe?”

“Hey Bob, why are only people who believe what you believe going to be saved?”

Eisegesis answered all of those questions.

Eisegesis helps us answer every question.

Eisegesis is the answer if you want to cement into place what you already believe.

Eisegesis is going to the Bible believing you already have the answer (or you already have an opinion) and then – MAGIC – everything you read mysteriously supports what you already believe or think.

Eisegesis is superimposing your predetermined conclusions into the text.

Eisegesis is wrong.

So, why do people use eisegesis when they read the Bible? Honestly, I don’t think it has anything to do with dishonesty. It’s human nature. We generally just accept what we are told if that information comes from someone or something in authority.

I come from a Christian background with deep beliefs about the importance of going to the Bible (and only the Bible) to determine how to worship and conduct ourselves in an assembly of the saints. I love that! I cherish that. I yearn for the comfort of knowing that “I’m doing it right.”

Yet, I also know that if the men who spearheaded this movement 200 plus years ago were transported in time, they would not recognize what it has become today. In fact, they would probably not be welcome because of many of their beliefs.

Why? How? Is that even possible?

Think about it. Let’s say some guy named Jim invited 15 coworkers into his home where they worshipped God. In a few years it had grown to 100 people and they were meeting in a school gym. A few more years go by and there are 300 people in their own building. Let’s say this group initially took the communion only in the evening because that was the most convenient time for the original 15 people – and this just stayed the practice as the group grew. A few generations later – can you see someone justifying to someone else that communion is only to be taken in the evening because of everything they read? I can totally see that: no examples of breakfast communion, patterned after Passover, called Lord’s “Supper”, etc.

That is eisegesis.

I’m not saying it is sinful. But, I am saying that it is going to the Bible to prove your doctrine instead of going to the Bible to get it.

Better yet, maybe we should concentrate on following Jesus instead of proving what we already think is better than what someone else already thinks.

I love the parables of Jesus. There are about 40 of them in total – give or take a few based on your working definition of the word “parable.” I guess I have about half a dozen real favorites: you know – ones that are easy for me to re-tell to someone without hesitation. One of my very favorites is the parable of the sower.

Maybe I like it because so many people know it – they can actually have a great conversation about it. Or, maybe I like it because one of the more common applications people use it for – isn’t really accurate. Or, maybe I like it so much because Jesus actually explains it – I don’t know. But I hope you like it too.

And so, per the request of my friend Carl to use more KJV quotes, here is the parable of the sower from Matthew 13:3-8: “Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.”

I don’t know if you’ve ever discussed this parable with anyone before, but what I sometimes hear is something resembling this: Only one out of the four recipients actually becomes a lifelong Christian – the other three either rejected the seed – or their faith died because their hearts weren’t ever “truly” receptive to the gospel.

That is an interesting take – but I think a deeper look will be eye-opening.

We can agree – I think – that the birds carrying away the seed from the wayside is representative of those who simply reject the gospel and do not consider it. It is heartbreaking to consider this reality. We all know someone who just refuses to consider the invitation. All we can do is pray their heart becomes receptive and the seed is offered again.

The second person is – again – someone we all know. They hear the call and answer the offer in the affirmative. But, after a few days or weeks, the fire inside of them goes out and they return to the life of sin they used to live.

I’m going to skip the third person – we will get back to him in a moment.

The last person is who we want to be. They are Christians, disciples of the Lord, followers of Jesus, people of The Way, believers, the church, the saved, the bride of Christ … however you want to say it … they are who God wants us to be. We want to be good ground. We want the seed to live in us. We want the seed to grow in us. We want to be identified as a plant that the sower planted. Right?

But what about that third person? Well … some folks will rightly point out that this person was choked. They were caught up in the thorns of this world and it choked them. Many people will even say that the cares of the world choked them to death – they were once alive in Christ … but not really true believers because they could not separate themselves from the strife and worries of just living everyday.

I would like to submit for your consideration an alternative to that approach concerning the third person. The text does not say that the third person was choked to death. It doesn’t say they were even mortally wounded. In fact, quite the contrary! They were very alive!

Jesus explained in Matthew 13:22 that the third person “… heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.” Did you read that? According to Jesus, the “word” is what is actually choked … not the person! And the effect of having the word choked is that the person is not fruitful! They aren’t dead – they are alive and well.

It blew me away the first time I read this passage without already having its interpretation pre-populated in my mind. Jesus is saying that the third person – this person who is NOT in compliance with God’s will – is just like the fourth person with one exception: they are not producing fruit.

Whoa! Hold the phone! I know it sounds odd, but when we compare the third person (bad) to the fourth person (good) – the only way to tell them apart is this: one doesn’t produce a crop and one does.

Just to make sure though, let’s go back and look at the fourth person. With our predisposed blinders firmly on our face, we have typically identified ourselves the definition of the fourth person. The things that WE ARE … simply HAVE to be the definition of the fourth person in the parable of the sower. At least … that’s what I always did. Try it out.

I am a Jesus loving, church going, singing, praying, worshiping, praising, edifying, giving, sacrificing, tithing, helping, kind hearted, volunteering, unashamed, Bible scholar, baptized, non-sinning (for the most part) Christian who has a scripture based answer for anyone who wants to know what I believe and why … so THAT is the definition of the fourth person. Right? Isn’t it? ISN’T IT???

No. That is not the definition of the fourth person. THAT is the definition of the third person.

We can be all of those things and still not be pleasing to God. How? Because God expects his vineyard to produce fruit. And THAT, my friends, is the entire point of this parable.

Are you producing fruit? Some will say that they are. They are: kind, generous, giving, loving, patient, hard working, frugal, charity minded, honest, family oriented and big hearted people … see? … that’s fruit … right? Wrong. That is being a good person … not a God person. Atheists can be all of those things. In fact, one of my dearest and oldest friends – Rick – literally IS all of those things … but he is not a believer.

So what is the fruit? The fruit – my friends – is people.

It took me a long time to finally admit that fact. I thought of all kinds of reasons why a person could be considered “fruitful” but not actually grow the kingdom. I could quote all kinds of scriptures to support my theory: things concerning the fruit of the spirit, fruits of righteousness, wisdom that is full of good fruit, and the fruit of our lips. There had to be something – ANYTHING – to justify me not pursuing people to bring them to the Lord.

But, I could not get around the fact that Jesus goes on to talk about the weeds and wheat in the same chapter. I could not get around the fact that in Matthew 7:17-23 Jesus ties together the importance of producing good fruit and the folly of trusting in being religious. I could not get around the fact that in Mark 4:26-32 Jesus compares the expanding kingdom of God to fruit and planting seeds.

And, I could not get around the fact that in both the parable of the sower itself – and Jesus’ explanation of it – the Lord says the seed that was choked did not bring forth fruit to maturity (Luke 8:14) but that the seed that fell on good ground not only produces fruit: it produces 100 fold, 60 fold and 30 fold. I could not get around the fact that in John 4:35-36, Jesus said that “fruit” is gathered for eternal life.

So, here is the question. Are you producing fruit? Real – eternally living – fruit? Some sow the seed, others water, and others cultivate and help prune … but the fruit Jesus talks about is people. Are you (as most other Bible versions put it) producing a crop? How many of your crop will be harvested? Will it be a good crop – or a bad crop?

These are important questions that you need to answer for yourself. Maybe you can begin to shed some light on it by truthfully reflecting on these thought provokers:

1. What does evangelism mean to you: talking to people about Jesus or bringing them to church so someone else can?
2. What does teaching people about Jesus mean to you: sharing with others your relationship with Jesus or using a study guide and book or film to do it for you?
3. What does growing the kingdom (or your church) mean to you: converting the lost or convincing friends to change churches?
4. What does being a Christian mean to you: teaching all nations and baptizing them or being a good example who talks about Jesus when someone asks what you think?
5. What does spreading the gospel mean to you: inviting your neighbors over to talk about Jesus or handing out tracts and invitations to a gospel meeting in someone else’s neighborhood?

It took me a month to write the above blog entry. I wrote, deleted, edited, added, researched, reworded, and even gave up several times. But, ultimately, this needs to be brought up. I know hundreds – maybe thousands – of genuinely good people. Most of them – I wouldn’t be able to tell you about their church attendance habits. Many are in the building every time the doors open – others are atheists – but you’d never know who was who based on their conversations and actions.

Why? Because these Christians think that being a good person and a good “church going” person is all that is required of a follower of Jesus. I am concerned because I have been – and maybe still am – in that boat. Let’s spur each other along my friends. Let’s produce fruit. Fruit that will grow and produce crops of its own – AKA good fruit. I am afraid we are producing fruit that doesn’t care whether it grows to maturity or not – AKA bad fruit. We can do better. So, lets not forget what Jesus said:

Matthew 7:17-23 “Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”