PUT THE COOKIES ON THE BOTTOM SHELF

The title of this article reflects a popular platitude, one directed at pastors, a saying that has become trite. For decades (at least) it has been given as homiletic advice to pastors and other teachers of the Word of God. The intent of the bromide can be summarized: "Whether speaking or writing, do so in such a way that the youngest, simplest person can understand what you're trying to say." 

However, Dr. Charles Ryrie, author of the Ryrie Study Bible, et al. reacted strongly against the platitude. It connotes the idea that the Bible contains simple material, is easy to understand, but the truth is, there are portions of the Good Book that are deep and in need of serious study; the Bible is not "Dick and Jane Go to the Farm." 

Dr. John F. Walvoord, the second president of Dallas Seminary, told the students, "The Bible is going to take all the intellect you've got and more. Every student learned the truth of those words in his classes!

The apostle Peter wrote about Paul's epistles, "As also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction." (II Peter 3:16)

There were statements Jesus made in His teaching that were not on the bottom shelf: "So Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.'" 

In order to understand much of the New Testament, the teacher must be a student of  the 1st century Roman Empire to delve into Galatians 4:4, Galatians 3:24; Matthew 8:22 et al. In addition, the teacher must study the Koine Greek, for example word  "to" in Galatians 3:24 needs exposition. What about the problem of divine sovereignty vs. free will? Instead one pastor advised other ministers, "Don't teach Romans 9-11," meaning it's too hard.  

What about the great doctrines of the faith: the doctrines of the hypostatic union, unlimited atonement, pneumatology, eschatology, the essence of God? What about the four covenants given to Israel: the Abrahamic, Palestinian, Davidic, and the New Covenant. Instead, people sit and listen to "How to have growing bank accounts, upward mobility, and radiant health." Easy: Just name it and claim it. Yeah, right.

We often hear those who rail against the dumbing down of  America and we agree that they have a point but what about the dumbing down of the American church member with sermonettes? (Sermonettes are for Christianettes.) 

In the great-used-to-be, a 1st grade teacher divided her students into three reading groups: the Blue Birds, the Red Birds, and the Yellow Birds. Each group, when called, would come to the front of the room, sit at a table with their book, and go around in the circle learning to read, then reading to the teacher while the other students would sit quietly at their desks doing the assigned work for the day. 

The Blue Birds were the best readers, the Red Birds were in the middle, and the sad Yellow Birds were the poorest and needed serious help in learning how to read.

The tragedy would be for a Yellow Bird to remain a Yellow Bird, never advancing, never growing to become a Red Bird, then a Blue Bird. Putting the cookies on the bottom shelf assures that believers won't grow and that they will be Yellow Birds all their lives, as the pastor chirps out sermonettes Sunday after Sunday to the assembled Yellow Birds. 

Peter's last words to the church were, "Grow in grace."

 

THE LIFE AND DEATH OF RAVI ZACHARIAS

 On May 19, 2020, CNN reported:

"Ravi Zacharias, who spent his life defending Christianity through books and lectures, has died. He was 74.

"Zacharias died at his home in Atlanta on Tuesday, Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) said, 'He was a leading figure among Christian Apologists'"– a branch of Christian theology that defends Christian doctrines against objections.

"Zacharias founded Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in 1984, and 'launched a global team of nearly 100 Christian scholars and authors who continue to speak, resource, train and address the questions of millions around the world,' a news release said."

“(Ravi) saw the objections and questions of others not as something to be rebuffed, but as a cry of the heart that had to be answered,” said Michael Ramsden, president of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries."

Shortly after his death, allegations of instances of the apologist's moral failures began to surface. RZIM, which was carrying on his worldwide ministry, became concerned as more details of impropriety continued. The organization hired the law firm of Miller and Martin to investigate the complaints. 

The report of the firm destroyed the ministry which issued the following statement: "We are devastated by what the investigation has shown and are filled with sorrow . . ." The statement also said that the ministry would call for "organizational repentance."

On March 10, 2021, "Christianity Today" quoted Zacharias' daughter:

“RZIM cannot and should not continue to operate as an organization in its present form. Nor do we believe we can only rename the organization and move forward with ‘business as usual,” said Davis, who has led the ministry since his death.

"RZIM’s speakers have had invitations rescinded since allegations against Zacharias were reported in September. Over the past several months, donations slowed to the $35 million–$40 million ministry as it investigated and ultimately confirmed abuse by its late founder.

"The investigation found 'guilt beyond anything that we could have imagined,' Davis acknowledged on Wednesday."

The multi-layered scandal then ignited a dilemma for Calvinists to whom people looked to answer the question, "Where is Ravi Zacharias?" In one video posted on YouTube, leading Calvinists met to discuss the matter. What was causing the question and the meeting was a single letter in the alphabet, "P," as used in the Calvinist anacronym, TULIP, the Perseverance of the Saints. 

Calvinist Robert Rothwell summarizes the "P:" 

"All those who have truly believed in Him will not finally fall away from faith. True believers in Christ might seem to abandon Him for a time, but if they have truly believed in Him, they will always come back to Him. Those who profess faith but then fall away finally, never actually believed in Christ in the first place."

There are several problems with the above definition: How long is "for a time?" How is "truly/actually believed" defined? The Bible never uses the term, "truly/actually believe," a person either believes or he does not believe. And what about the fact that we have the record of the outrageous and scandalous final years of the life of Solomon, the author of Proverbs, Song of Solomon, and Ecclesiastes? 

The summary of the end of the king's life is one of an apostate: "He had seven hundred wives (!), princesses (!), and three hundred concubines (!), and his wives turned his heart away. For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been!" I Kings 11:3-4. Was Solomon never "actually" a believer? According to the "P," the author of those books was not.

The question of, "Where is Ravi Zacharias?" prompted the making of a YouTube video in which three Calvinists questioned the salvation of the world-famous apologist. John MacArthur, Abner Chou, and Justin Peters discussed question, "Is Ravi Zacharias in hell?

MacArthur started the conversation by asking, "Can a Christian behave like that? Can we question his salvation?" Chou answered, "Zacharias was not repentant and wasn't fighting against the sin." STrike 2.

MacArthur said that he wanted to add something: "In order to live that way, you have to be sinning on multiple levels; lying, hiding, living a false life, all massive sins." Strike 2.

Chou spoke again: "If someone came to you and admitted those sins in his life, would you tell him he was going to hell? Yes." Strike 3. He's out.

MacArthur and Justin Peters echoed each other by saying, "He never quoted the Scriptures; they were not a part of his life, and that was a dead give-away."

In another video, Peters said about Zacharias, "I never did like him; he was always traveling, traveling, traveling, never sitting under the teaching of the Word. He was an Armenian and ecumenical."

OK. Let's take a look at this. Notice that the comments are heavily involved with an examination of Zacharias' behavior, not his beliefs. As MacArthur said during the discussion, "The fruit speaks." Two of the participants kept pointing to I John (without quoting any verse in it) using it incorrectly as containing tests for salvation whereas John, right up front, says that he's going to be writing about fellowship with God, not tests to see if his readers are saved. (cf. I Jn. 1:3)

The comments during the discussion focused on the wrong issue--works. Once that occurred, the ship is sailing on the deep and wide Sea of Subjectivity, the assurance of salvation vanishes when we comment the next sin, which we will (I Jn.1:8). Our assurance disappears when we say to God, "I'll never do that again!" and then we all prove ourselves to be liars because we "do that again." 

The issue is Zacharias' belief, not his behavior. The points the three raised have to do with sanctification, not salvation. In a discussion about sanctification, the points they raised are valid ones, that is, by traveling, traveling, traveling all the time, Mr. Zacharias was not under a regular and consistent ministry of the Word by a Bible-teaching pastor. This is a common snare for a Christian celebrity, as Zacharias was. But it's a trap for a Christian businessman as well.

At some point in his life, Ravi Z may have trusted Christ alone as the Son of God who died for his sins and rose from the dead. If so, he trusted in the "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." If so, he believed that "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him might have eternal life." 

If so, we can say with Paul, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved."

 

 

THE OLYMPICS AND II TIMOTHY 3:13

 "But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse." (II Timothy 3:13)

The rebellion of fallen humanity against God is not static; it will continue to metastasize as time passes. The message Paul writes to Timothy is, paraphrased, "Cheer up; things are always going to get worse on this planet until Christ returns." 

People who study history have an annoying habit: when someone mentions some current event, here comes the history major to intone, "Yes, but that's not the first time that's happened," and then he'll proceed to give us a lecture to cure our ignorance. But when it comes to II Timothy 3:13, he can't lecture us because the growing rebellion has never been as evil as it is and will be as each day goes by. So, our over-educated and rude historian friend must fall silent.

In the times in which we live, this predicted rebellion gets worse with daily outrages. For example, has the opening of the recent Olympics in Paris ever been as rebellious as it was in 2024? The opening "ceremony" was so disgusting that to describe it is, in and of itself, an exercise in depravity.

Has the so-called pride flag ever been carried and proudly displayed with relished ostentation in outer space to be televised as it orbits the earth in the space station as it was in December 2021?. 

Have children as young as kindergarten age ever  been taken by their proud parents to sit and listen to a story time of perversion as given by depraved people in a public library? Has the People's House (aka the White House) ever been bathed in "pride colors" on the day the president signed the Respect for Marriage Act. (Notice the misnaming of the bill.) 

 Going back and referring to the Olympic Games' opening ceremony, a reporter went out on the street to get the opinions of the ceremony of passersby. Their response? "It was a beautiful ceremony." "It was so wonderfully inclusive." "I liked it." Each of those responses summed up all of those shown, a further indication that France is dead spiritually.

Has any opening ceremony featured a participant reclining on a dinner platter in an attempt to imitate Dionysus, the pagan god of drunkenness and orgies? 

From a news article after reviewing the reaction to the ceremony, we read this: "First lady Jill Biden had high praise for the opening ceremony at the Paris Olympics. She called the opening ceremony 'spectacular.' Biden remarked that the U.S. would have to work hard to top Paris' opening ceremony when the games are held in Los Angeles in 2028."

But now for the rest of the story. As has been the tradition going back to the 1990s in Atlanta, the worldwide audience must sit still and listen with reverence to the worst song ever written, "Imagine" by John Lennon. (One noted author and commentator called it a Communist song. Therefore, in this case Lennon is like Lenin.) At it's core, the song is like the aforementioned ceremony, it's a secular hymn of rebellion. 

Speaking of the French, they are considered to be the most anti-Christian nation in Europe. Annually, there are three anti-Christian attacks everyday in France, an average of 1,095 per year!

The sad part of that stat is that France is part of the West and the civilization of the West was built on Christianity. Ingrates, one and all.

According to the Bible, all of this rebellion will grow until it will climax as predicted in II Thessalonians 2:3-4: the anti-Christ in the Temple declaring himself deity. He will be the ultimate rebel in the human race. All of the rebellion that outrages us today is the preparation for the coming of the anti-Christ whom the world, minus the raptured Christians, will welcome with open arms and adoring eyes.

But for blessed relief from reading all of the above, cleanse your eyes out with I Thessalonians 4:13-18.