The Offensive Gospel‏

Hello Friends!

Have some of your friends and acquaintances become your enemy because you told them the truth?  This is a common experience for those who faithfully share the Gospel of God with victims of deception. Consider the following thoughts and be encouraged in your quest for truth and righteousness - regardless of the opposition you will inevitably face… 

The Offensive Gospel

We need to recognize that the Biblical Gospel is offensive to those who are offensive to God. This is because before anyone can see the Gospel as "good news" they must first see themselves as guilty sinners under the condemnation of a Holy God. Others may be offended because they have embraced a works righteousness salvation where they can boast in their religious works. The Gospel of grace strips people of their own righteousness and calls them to trust in an alien righteousness:

For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ – Romans 5:17

Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes – Romans 10:1-4

The Gospel is also offensive because it declares there is only one way to be saved and that is through the substitutionary atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. No one can be saved until they come to the cross with empty hands of faith, bringing nothing but their sins. Since we know the Gospel will be offensive to unbelievers, we must avoid adding to the offense by the way we present the message. Friendly relationships can be maintained when we share the Gospel with love, compassion, humility and patience.

The apostle Paul asked the members of the church in Galatia who had succumbed to the heresy of the Judaizers:

Have I become your enemy by telling you the truth? – Galatians 4:16

The Galatians were offended because the truth exposed the error they had embraced. Paul was concerned that they had been influenced by the false gospel of the Judaizers and had begun to doubt the truth of salvation by grace alone:

Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace – Galatians 5:2-4

People, who are on the broad way that seems right to man will be offended when we tell them it leads to eternal separation from God:

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death – Proverbs 14:12

Knowing that the Gospel will be offensive to religiously proud people, we must speak the truth in love. In the past I have told friends that I love them so much that I need to share the greatest news they will ever hear. It is indeed the greatest gift one could ever receive. After I am finished sharing the truth of the Gospel message, I let them know that what they do with the Gospel message is between them and God. It is "good news" only if they receive the free gift of God. If they reject the gift, the "good news" will haunt them throughout all eternity in Hell because they refused God's gracious offer of forgiveness and reconciliation to Him.

Some of those who have rejected the gift of the Gospel still remain my friends because they know I approached them in the spirit of love. It is tragic when our loved ones reject the Gospel. However, the Apostle Paul encourages:

Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary – Galatians 6:9

Praise the Lord Jesus Christ! To Him be all the glory and honor due His name - Amen!

To our unbelieving friends, I urge you to repent now, before it is too late...

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith” – Romans 1:16-17

Time is running out. Receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior now before your heart is so hardened, you are unable – or unwilling – to hear His voice. Please take heed to this warning! Jesus Christ is the ONLY way to the Father! 


Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha!

We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late! If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!

If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com

I love hearing from you. Keep reading Encouraging Concepts!

Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><

Encouraging Concepts

Truth for Today

"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"

Lighthouse Publications <><
"Dedicated to the Never Ending Search for the Creator's calling within You" (TM)

An Answer to the Question: Why?‏

Hello Friends!

This article is a follow-up correspondence to a prior EC article titled “Sandy Hook Elementary: God Does Care” posted back on 12/21/2012. Sadly, since this tragic incident, there have been other recent violent school shootings throughout various American cities. As a result, there have been many sincere questions and concerns regarding these atrocities and their outcomes... Most certainly - Why?

 

It is within these two EC articles that we seek to speak Biblically to the sin nature inherent within all of fallen mankind – the real reason and only true answer behind these and all other senseless acts of evil…

An Answer to the Question: Why?

According to a Business Insider source, there were eighteen mass murders in the USA in 2012. The venues for these atrocities included spas, high schools, universities, a funeral home, a café, a movie theater, a Sikh temple, a meat packing plant, a shopping mall, and an elementary school:

http://www.businessinsider.com/mass-murders-in-2012-2012-12

In all these horrific events, the lingering question is why? Why did people, sometimes children and other helpless people, have to die? Those who do not embrace a biblical worldview have no answers for these very difficult questions. For those who do embrace a biblical worldview, the Scriptures provide ample guidance as to how to understand these horrendous events.

To understand the biblical view, one must begin with the nature of man and ask the question: Is man fundamentally good or evil? Genesis 3 records the fall of man, that is, man’s initial rebellion against God. Adam and Eve disobeyed a direct command from God and, as a result, they died spiritually – and eventually they died physically. Because of the nature of the universe, reproduction happens in all species according to their own kind – see Genesis 1. Therefore once the first humans disobeyed God, their nature changed. This changed nature was then passed on to their heirs – all of us. Theologians call man’s condition after the sin of Adam and Eve depraved or fallen.

In the first three chapters of the book of Romans, the apostle Paul argues that all human beings are born into a state of sin or depravity – rebellion against God. Therefore, by nature, people do not obey God. Consequently every human being has a bias to sin. This means that by nature humans are evil. This then begs the question – If the base nature of humans is evil, why weren’t there more mass murders and other crimes in 2012? In other words, why aren’t humans as bad as they could be?

Notwithstanding the horrific acts of murders noted above, generally people can live relatively safely. One of God’s loving, kind provisions for His creatures is that He grants to all the ability to obey some of His principles. For example, even fools can use their tongues correctly:

Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; When he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive – Proverbs 17:28

And the most decadent person can be nice:

For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  – Matthew 5:46

Theologians call this common grace. 

 

Common grace is the gift of God granted to every human being so that – on at least a rudimentary level – humans can obey God's rules for His creation. This grace is called “common” because it is widely granted to people and therefore not unusual. Even those who do not accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior can live in a measure of His common grace.

The reason common grace is so important is that the only way to accomplish anything in God's universe is to obey His laws. Common grace provides a means by which all people can obey enough of God’s laws to survive, at least for a while. Therefore common grace is the explanation for how rebellious people can function and even seem to prosper in God’s universe. Common grace, however, can never provide the basis for fallen man to be reconciled to the Righteous Holy Creator of the universe; only the grace of Jesus Christ can do this. 

 

In addition, common grace only goes so far with people who do not accept Jesus Christ. Eventually these people will experience a breakdown with common grace. Here is one of the texts of Scripture that reveals this truth:

The ways of the LORD are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them – Hosea 14:9

Rebellious people have the grace to obey some of God’s rules only so far – at some point the grace runs out. And man, in his base nature without common grace, can only produce dysfunction, destruction, and death. The atrocities of the past year are examples of expended common grace. 

 

In each of these atrocities there has been or will be a search for the causes. Why did these tragic events take place? There will be calls for gun control, which only addresses symptoms. Guns are not the problem; the problem is the people who wrongly use the guns. At best, gun control will provide some sin management, which may provide some benefits but doesn’t really solve the root cause of the problem.

Others may recognize that gun control will not really solve the problem. They may rightly recognize that the problem is people. In their analyses, they may postulate that the common factor in all the atrocities is that they were conducted by social misfits. To prevent future tragedies, therefore, government must control the social misfits. But trying to identify and control people can be very problematic and doesn’t really address the root issues. This conclusion could open Pandora’s Box and give the authorities sweeping powers to violate individual privacy rights. 

 

Neither controlling guns nor controlling people will provide the real solution. So what is the solution? 

 

The real solution to the problem must begin with a sound understanding of human depravity. By nature humans are born with a bias to sin and therefore are in a state of rebellion against their Creator. The only way to remedy this situation is by changing man’s nature. Though man can make minor behavior modifications, man cannot change his essential nature except through God’s only Begotten Son – Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ came to do for man what man could not do for himself. Jesus Christ came to pay the penalty for all sin that is required by a Just and Holy God. The work of Jesus Christ is then imputed to those who accept Him as their personal Lord and Savior. This is what effects true change in the hearts of sinful, depraved and lost people. 

 

A person who personally knows Jesus Christ becomes a new creature; that man or woman has a new heart and a new nature:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new – 2 Corinthians 5:17

In contrast to the base traits of man – dysfunction, destruction, and death – the new nature of man is characterized by functionality, progress, and life – Praise the Lord!

 

How can what we do as people, communities, and nations effect this change? We need to humble ourselves, seek the Lord, and turn from our wicked ways and then the Lord will heal us – see 2 Chronicles 7:14 as a Biblical model for repentance. People who are transformed by the power of Jesus Christ don’t commit horrendous atrocities such as the ones noted above. Although they will struggle with their “fleshly” sin nature until they receive their glorified bodies – see Romans 7:14-25 – they facilitate life, progress and efficiency. They live according to a biblical worldview, seek God’s will & ways and bring glory to His Holy name. This is the life-long process of becoming more like Jesus Christ each and every day – known as the doctrine of sanctification. 

When common grace is expended in sinful human beings there is no restraint on sin; the full impact of depravity becomes clear in atrocities such as mass murders. This is the biblical answer to the question of why… 

 

So, what is the solution? As I noted above, it is not gun control nor is it people control.

  

The only efficacious solution is spiritual transformation that changes the hearts and minds of people to bring them into alignment with the will and ways of God through the supernatural saving power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!  

This is the only way to produce meaningful change in the hearts of people to enable them to live holy, godly and just lives in Jesus Christ.

In Conclusion:

The greatest good that can come from the horrific events noted above is for people to believe the Gospel, repent and turn to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives – the only real solution. May God grant us the grace to repent and the power for transformation through Jesus Christ so that our lives are characterized by functionality, progress, and life – for His Glory!

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha!

We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late! If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!

If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com

I love hearing from you. Keep reading Encouraging Concepts!

Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><

Encouraging Concepts

Truth for Today

"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"

Lighthouse Publications <><
"Dedicated to the Never Ending Search for the Creator's calling within You" (TM)

So What's the Problem?‏

Hello Friends! 

A well-known Christian philosopher, Francis Schaeffer, was once asked this question: If you had only one hour on a train to tell someone about Christ, what would you do? He answered:

“I would spend forty-five minutes showing him the problem, and fifteen minutes showing him the solution

Do you have a problem? Perhaps it is not so easy for you to see. If you have good relationships, make good grades, have a family that loves you, and feel hope about the future, then you may not think there is anything that needs to be “fixed” in your life. But there is. Your problem is with God, and it is serious enough to cost you everything good for all of eternity – eternal separation from God!

 

You may not feel your problem right now. A man may be condemned as guilty and yet not feel guilty, just as a person might have cancer and not feel it or even know about. There is real or “legal” guilt and there is emotional guilt. But regardless how your emotions are experiencing your dilemma, God makes it clear that you have an insurmountable problem…. 

So What's the Problem?

The Word of God, the Bible, uses several words and phrases to help us understand the problem.

First, it says you are dead – not sick, not desperately sick, not sick to the point of death – but DEAD!

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins…. – Ephesians 2:1

The old analogy that claims salvation is likened to a Christian throwing a lifeline out to a floundering, drowning man is not the whole truth. It is much worse than you thought. No, you're not drowning – you're already face down on the ocean floor…

 

Second, the Bible says that you are BLIND:

The god of this age (Satan) has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ – 2 Corinthians 4:4

Just as a person in a cave cannot see his hand in front of him when there is no light, so you cannot see Christ without God shining his light on you:

For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ – 2 Corinthians 4:6

In a world of sightless people, everyone imagines his own inward reality. However, they cannot see the truth unless God gives them sight. They see lies, but they cannot see truth.

 

The Bible also says that you are LOST!

 

In the New Testament book of Luke chapter 15, Jesus Christ described your “lostness” by telling the stories of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. There is nothing more hopeless than being lost. Like the man in a blinding blizzard, every turn seems right for the moment – but all is futile.

 

The Bible goes on to say that you are CONDEMNED. This means that you are under the judgment of God for your sin and disobedience against Him.

Whoever does not believe stands condemned already…. – John 3:18

God condemns every unbelieving person to an eternity in hell, even if he or she is in the remotest part of the world. He is right and just in doing so, because unbelievers have sinned against whatever knowledge of God they have and He cannot look upon sin (Please read the New Testament book of Romans chapter 1 for God’s full explanation)

What I am trying to say is that you do indeed have a problem, and it is the type of problem that can only be solved from the outside. As a dead person you cannot make yourself alive; as a blind person you cannot give yourself sight; as a lost person you cannot find your way out; and as a condemned person, you cannot absolve yourself from your actual guilt. You have a problem and you really don't have a solution unless it comes from somewhere else besides you.

 

Trying to overcome your problem on your own is a useless exercise. The famous preacher of the 1700s, George Whitefield, once said:

"What! Get to heaven on your own strength? Why, you might as well try to climb to the moon on a rope of sand!"

Like trying to jump one hundred foot hurdles, you simply cannot accomplish what God requires. So, how does God solve your problem?

First, He sets His heart on you from eternity past. Think about that! What an exciting thing to know that God has forever loved people just like you:

I have loved you with an everlasting love – Jeremiah 31:3

Next, He sends His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to cover the cost of your sins by dying on the cross in your place as final payment:

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners Christ died for us – Romans 5:8

In Christ's death the full payment for all the sins – past, present & future – of all who come to Him are fully met. In this way God's justice is satisfied and you are fully pardoned. This is why Christ is called the Savior of the world.

 

Finally, He pursues you by His Holy Spirit, convicting you of your sinfulness, teaching you about the nature of salvation, and drawing you to Jesus Christ's beauty and worthiness (see John 16:9-11; John 6:44 & John 6:45). Christ becomes absolutely irresistible to you. 

The Bible teaches that even the faith you exercise is a gift from Him:

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,  not of works, lest anyone should boast – Ephesians 2:8-9

You have a problem and God has the solution – the only solution. The God-man, Jesus Christ!

…Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,  and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures –  1 Corinthians 15:3-4

The people who have received God’s solution are called Christians – believers. They look away from themselves to Jesus Christ. They believe that God has loved them from eternity past. They believe that the payment of Jesus Christ's death on the cross for sins was for them. They find Jesus Christ irresistible and following Him the greatest privilege of all life has to offer. They have faith in Jesus Christ and what He has done for them. They trust Jesus Christ, looking outside of themselves to Him alone. They believe.

Now to you who believe, this Stone (Jesus Christ) is precious – 1 Peter 2:7

Do you believe?

Time is running out. Receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior now before your heart is so hardened, you are unable – or unwilling – to hear His voice. Please take heed to this warning! Jesus Christ is the ONLY way to the Father! These are His Words:

I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me – John 14:6

Without Jesus Christ's substitutionary death on the Cross of Calvary for your iniquities, you will die in your sins and face the Wrath of God at The Great White Throne Judgment. You will then receive your just sentence – a literal, physical and eternal place of torment, a place known in the Bible as Hell. Heaven will NOT be your final destination apart from Jesus Christ! Please heed this warning – time is running out!

 

If you have any questions about how to become a true follower of Jesus Christ, please contact me, another Christian or a Pastor – but please do not delay... Today is the day of Salvation!

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!

We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late! If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!

If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com

I love hearing from you. Keep reading Encouraging Concepts!

Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><

Encouraging Concepts

Truth for Today

"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"

Lighthouse Publications <><
"Dedicated to the Never Ending Search for the Creator's calling within You" (TM)

Science Speaks (Part 3 of 3)‏‏

Hello Friends!

Welcome back to our final journey of the excellent book titled Science Speaks. This week we will investigate the third and most famous section of Stoner's book concerning Messianic prophecy. His theme Scripture verse for this section is John 5:39 ~

"Search the Scriptures because... it is these that bear witness of Me."

 
As we will conclude, it will become quite obvious: Jesus Christ is indeed the Messiah - The Son of God…

Science Speaks – Part Three: Messianic Prophecy
 
Mr. Stoner proceeds to select eight of the best known prophecies about the Messiah and calculates the odds of their accidental fulfillment in one person as being 1 in 1017.

Stoner illustrated the meaning of this number. He asked the reader to imagine filling the State of Texas knee deep in silver dollars. Include in this huge number one silver dollar with a black check mark on it. Then, turn a blindfolded person loose in this sea of silver dollars. The odds that the first coin he would pick up would be the one with the black check mark are the same as 8 prophecies being fulfilled accidentally in the life of Jesus.

The point, of course, is that when people say that the fulfillment of prophecy in the life of Jesus was accidental, they do not know what they are talking about. Keep in mind that Jesus did not just fulfill 8 prophecies, He fulfilled 108. The chances of fulfilling 16 are 1 in 1045. When you get to a total of 48, the odds increase to 1 in 10157. Accidental fulfillment of these prophecies is simply beyond the realm of possibility.

When confronted with these statistics, skeptics will often fall back on the argument that Jesus purposefully fulfilled the prophecies. There is no doubt that Jesus was aware of the prophecies and His fulfillment of them. For example, when He got ready to enter Jerusalem the last time, He told His disciples to find Him a donkey to ride so that the prophecy of Zechariah could be fulfilled which said, "Behold, your King is coming to you, gentle, and mounted on a donkey" (Matthew 21:1-5 and Zechariah 9:9).

But many of the prophecies concerning the Messiah could not be purposefully fulfilled - such as the town of His birth (Micah 5:2) or the nature of His betrayal (Psalm 41:9), or the manner of His death (Zechariah 13:6 and Psalm 22:16).

One of the most remarkable Messianic prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures is the one that precisely states that the Messiah will die by crucifixion. It is found in Psalm 22 where David prophesied the Messiah would die by having His hands and feet pierced (Psalm 22:16). That prophecy was written 2,000 years before Jesus was born. When it was written, the Jewish method of execution was by stoning. The prophecy was also written many years before the Romans perfected crucifixion as a method of execution.

Even when Jesus was killed, the Jews still relied on stoning as their method of execution, but they had lost the power to implement the death penalty due to Roman occupation. That is why they were forced to take Jesus to Pilate, the Roman governor, and that's how Jesus ended up being crucified, in fulfillment of David's prophecy.

The bottom line is that the fulfillment of Bible prophecy in the life of Jesus proves conclusively that He truly was God in the flesh. It also proves that the Bible is supernatural in origin.

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!

We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late! If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!

If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com

I love hearing from you. Keep reading Encouraging Concepts!

Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><

Encouraging Concepts

Truth for Today

"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"

Lighthouse Publications <><
"Dedicated to the Never Ending Search for the Creator's calling within You" (TM)

Science Speaks (Part 2 of 3)‏‏

Hello Friends!

Welcome back to part two of Science Speaks. This week we will investigate the next remarkable section of Mr. Stoner's book in which he compares the Scriptures to actual history to prove Jesus Christ is indeed the Messiah - The Son of God...   

Science Speaks – Part Two: The Accuracy of Prophecy
 

The second section of Stoner's book is entitled "Prophetic Accuracy." This is where the book becomes absolutely fascinating. One by one, he takes major Bible prophecies concerning cities and nations and calculates the odds of their being fulfilled. The first is a prophecy in Ezekiel 26 concerning the city of Tyre. Seven prophecies are contained in this chapter which was written in 590 BC: 

1.     Nebuchadnezzar shall conquer the city (vs. 7-11).

2.     Other nations will assist Nebuchadnezzar (v. 3).

3.     The city will be made like a bare rock (vs. 4 & 14).

4.     It will become a place for the spreading of fishing nets (vs. 5 & 14).

5.     Its stones and timbers will be thrown into the sea (v. 12).

6.     Other cities will fear greatly at the fall of Tyre (v. 16).

7.     The old city of Tyre will never be rebuilt (v. 14).

Four years after this prophecy was given, Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Tyre. The siege lasted 13 years. When the city finally fell in 573 BC, it was discovered that everything of value had been moved to a nearby island.

Two hundred and forty-one years later Alexander the Great arrived on the scene. Fearing that the fleet of Tyre might be used against his homeland, he decided to take the island where the city had been moved to. He accomplished this goal by building a causeway from the mainland to the island, and he did that by using all the building materials from the ruins of the old city. Neighboring cities were so frightened by Alexander's conquest that they immediately opened their gates to him. Since that time, the city of Tyre has remained in ruins and is a place where fishermen spread their nets.

Thus, every detail of the prophecy was fulfilled exactly as predicted. Stoner calculated the odds of such a prophecy being fulfilled by chance as being 1 in 75,000,000, or 1 in 7.5x107. (The exponent 7 indicates that the decimal is to be moved to the right seven places).

Stoner proceeds to calculate the probabilities of the prophecies concerning Samaria, Gaza and Ashkelon, Jericho, Palestine, Moab and Ammon, Edom, and Babylon. He also calculates the odds of prophecies being fulfilled that predicted the closing of the Eastern Gate (Ezekiel 44:1-3), the plowing of Mount Zion (Micah 3:12), and the enlargement of Jerusalem according to a prescribed pattern (Jeremiah 31:38-40).

Combining all these prophecies, he concludes that "the probability of these 11 prophecies coming true, if written in human wisdom, is... 1 in 5.76x1059. Needless to say, this is a number beyond the realm of possibility...

Don’t miss next week’s final edition to this series as we investigate part 3 - of Science Speaks by Peter Stoner! 

 Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!

We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late! If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!

If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com

I love hearing from you. Keep reading Encouraging Concepts!

Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><

Encouraging Concepts

Truth for Today

"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"

Lighthouse Publications <><
"Dedicated to the Never Ending Search for the Creator's calling within You" (TM)

Science Speaks (Part 1 of 3)‏

Hello Friends!

There is an excellent book authored by Peter Stoner titled Science Speaks. It uses a remarkable illustration to show how Bible prophecy proves that Jesus Christ was truly God in the flesh. The book was first published in 1958 by Moody Press.

Peter Stoner was chairman of the mathematics and astronomy departments at Pasadena City College until 1953 when he moved to Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California. There he served as chairman of the science division. At the time he wrote this book, he was professor emeritus of science at Westmont.

The book is divided into three sections. Two relate directly to Bible prophecy. The first section deals with the scientific validity of the Genesis account of creation. This article (part 1) will investigate the first section and the two subsequent articles will cover the other sections (part 2 & 3). With that short introduction, let's get started with the first section…

Science Speaks – Part One: The Genesis Record

Peter Stoner begins with a very interesting observation. He points out that his copy of Young's General Astronomy, published in 1898, is full of errors. Yet, the Bible, written over 2,000 years ago is devoid of scientific error. For example, the shape of the earth is mentioned in Isaiah 40:22. Gravity can be found in Job 26:7. Ecclesiastes 1:6 mentions atmospheric circulation. A reference to ocean currents can be found in Psalm 8:8, and the hydraulic cycle is described in Ecclesiastes 1:7 and Isaiah 55:10. The second law of thermodynamics is outlined in Psalm 102:25-27 and Romans 8:21. And these are only a few examples of scientific truths written in the Scriptures long before they were "discovered" by scientists.

Stoner proceeds to present scientific evidence in behalf of special creation. For example, he points out that science had previously taught that special creation was impossible because matter could not be destroyed or created. He then points out that atomic physics had now proved that energy can be turned into matter and matter into energy.

He then considers the order of creation as presented in Genesis 1:1-13. He presents argument after argument from a scientific viewpoint to sustain the order which Genesis chronicles. He then asks, "What chance did Moses have when writing the first chapter [of Genesis] of getting thirteen items all accurate and in satisfactory order?" His calculations conclude it would be one chance in 31,135,104,000,000,000,000,000 (1 in 31 x 1021). He concludes, "Perhaps God wrote such an account in Genesis so that in these latter days, when science has greatly developed, we would be able to verify His account and know for a certainty that God created this planet and the life on it."

The only disappointing thing about Stoner's book is that he spiritualizes the reference to days in Genesis, concluding that they refer to periods of time of indefinite length. Accordingly, he concludes that the earth is approximately 4 billion years old. In his defense, keep in mind that he wrote this book before the foundation of the modern Creation Science Movement which was founded in the 1960's by Dr. Henry Morris. That movement has since produced many convincing scientific arguments in behalf of a young earth with an age of only 6,000 years.

Peter Stoner's Calculations Regarding Messianic Prophecy

Peter Stoner calculated the probability of just 8 Messianic prophecies being fulfilled in the life of Jesus. As you read through these prophecies, you will see that all estimates were calculated as conservatively as possible.

1. The Messiah will be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).
   The average population of Bethlehem from the time of Micah to the present (1958) divided by the average population of the earth during the same period = 7,150/2,000,000,000 or 2.8x105.
2. A messenger will prepare the way for the Messiah (Malachi 3:1).
   One man in how many, the world over, has had a forerunner (in this case, John the Baptist) to prepare his way?
   Estimate: 1 in 1,000 or 1x103.
3. The Messiah will enter Jerusalem as a king riding on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9).
   One man in how many, who has entered Jerusalem as a ruler, has entered riding on a donkey?
   Estimate: 1 in 100 or 1x102.
4. The Messiah will be betrayed by a friend and suffer wounds in His hands (Zechariah 13:6).
   One man in how many, the world over, has been betrayed by a friend, resulting in wounds in his hands?
   Estimate: 1 in 1,000 or 1x103.
5. The Messiah will be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12).
   Of the people who have been betrayed, one in how many has been betrayed for exactly 30 pieces of silver?
   Estimate: 1 in 1,000 or 1x103.
6. The betrayal money will be used to purchase a potter's field (Zechariah 11:13).
   One man in how many, after receiving a bribe for the betrayal of a friend, has returned the money, had it refused, and then experienced it being used to buy a potter's field?
   Estimate: 1 in 100,000 or 1x105.
7. The Messiah will remain silent while He is afflicted (Isaiah 53:7).
   One man in how many, when he is oppressed and afflicted, though innocent, will make no defense of himself?
   Estimate: 1 in 1,000 or 1x103.
8. The Messiah will die by having His hands and feet pierced (Psalm 22:16).
   One man in how many, since the time of David, has been crucified?
   Estimate: 1 in 10,000 or 1x104.

Multiplying all these probabilities together produces a number (rounded off) of 1x1028. Dividing this number by an estimate of the number of people who have lived since the time of these prophecies (88 billion) produces a probability of all 8 prophecies being fulfilled accidentally in the life of one person. This probability is 1 in 1017 or 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000. That's one in one hundred quadrillion!

Don’t miss next week’s edition as we investigate part 2 of Science Speaks by Peter Stoner! 

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!

We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late! If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!

If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com

I love hearing from you. Keep reading Encouraging Concepts!

Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><

Encouraging Concepts

Truth for Today

"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"

Lighthouse Publications <><
"Dedicated to the Never Ending Search for the Creator's calling within You" (TM)