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| How can God be both “one” and “three”? God is “one” and God is “three”, but God is not “one” in the same sense that God is “three”. It is in this way that God can be both one and three. God is “one” in the sense that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all of the same God substance. This is what is meant in saying that there is “one” God. To say that there is “one” God is to say that there is one what – one divine substance. We see this in John 1:1 when we read, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The Word is not God the Father (John 1:14), but the Word was with God the Father (John 1:18); this is what the text means when it says that “the Word was with God”. When the text says, “the Word was God”, it speaks of what the Word actually was – the Word was divine. The Bible teaches us what the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are. What they are is divine. What they are is God. In discussing what God is, we have already mentioned three divine Who’s. These three divine Who’s (Matthew 28:19) are God the Father (2 Thessalonians 1:2), his Son – Jesus Christ (John 5:18), and his Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3-4). While these three are one in substance, Scripture teaches us that they are three separate persons (2 Corinthians 13:14). In other words, the Father is not the Son (2 John 1:3), the Son is not the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-17), and the Holy Spirit is not the Father (John 15:26). It is because of this teaching of the co-existence of the members of the Triune Godhead that Christians have been led to speak of God in these terms – as one divine What and three divine Who’s. Question Answered by Mark L. Dickson – 2007 | | |
| Is Mark 16:16 sufficient proof that water baptism is a pre-requisite of salvation? Mark 16:16, which says, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned,” does not support the idea that water baptism is a pre-requisite of salvation. Nowhere in Scripture do we read that people are condemned on the basis of their failure to be baptized. Instead, we see people condemned because of their failure to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Speaking of Christ John 3:18 says, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” As Christians we should be careful to emphasize just how necessary it is to believe in Jesus Christ to be saved. However, we must be careful not to take belief as something that is undemanding. Belief requires obedience. We see this in John 3:36 when Jesus says, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” If we desire to be an obedient disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, we must be willing to be baptized. We must do this because this is what he has commanded us to do in making disciples (Matthew 28:19). Jesus did not tell his disciples to be baptized in Mark 16:16 because he believed that baptism was a pre-requisite of salvation. He told his disciples to be baptized because he believed that water baptism was an outward sign of an inward reality – an obedient heart to the will of God. Question Answered by Mark L. Dickson – 2007 | | |
| My Grandfather’s Metallurgy Books My friend Ben and I went to Longview Friday to look at some metallurgy books that my late Grandfather had in his library. It’s safe to say that Ben found a few (or a boxful) that peaked his interest. My Grandmother was glad that these books were going into the hands of someone who would be able to use them greatly. I think back when my Grandfather died and I had been placed in charge of the library. I remember how I thought all of the books were sellable except for the books on Metallurgy. Who in the world would I ever cross paths with that would ever be interested in Metallurgy? God has a funny way of answering our questions. God brought Ben Bussard into my life, a Corrosion Technology student at Kilgore College. He’s interested in God and Metallurgy. How cool is that? Ben has been a great friend to me this past year. He has seen me in my high times and in my low times and remained a faithful friend through it all. I am definitely blessed to have his friendship. Three Finals Down, One to Go! Finals week at Kilgore College starts Monday, but your loveable charismatic, Calvinistic, supralapsarian, baptist friend Mark (who professes the labels of Christian and Trinitarian Monotheist above all labels), has already taken three of his four expected finals. Hopefully when my last final is over tomorrow I will be able to devote long hours in the summer to reading and writing. The last final I have is tomorrow and I’m not worried about it at all. Book Shopping at Books-A-Million Despite finals not being over, I still managed to spend my Saturday night at Books-A-Million. It had been quite some time since I had actually stopped to look at the books on the shelves, so this proved to be quite an overwhelming experience. Many books rested on the shelves that surprised me. One of these books was David Yonggi Cho’s 4th Dimensional Living in a 3 Dimensional World. David Yonggi Cho is the senior pastor of Yoido Full Gospel Church – the largest church in the world. Stationed on Yeouido Island in Seoul, South Korea, Yoido Full Gospel has over 800,000 members. I didn’t expect to see his book here, but maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. His message is similar to that of the health / wealth / prosperity crowd. I refrained from buying his book on this trip to the bookstore, but perhaps I will check it out in the near future. A book I found even more interesting than David Cho was entitled The Physics of Christianity by Frank J. Tipler. This author of this book takes a scientific approach to some of the essential tenets of Christian faith and attempts to prove them scientifically. The virgin birth, the resurrection, the incarnation and miracles in general – he attempts to prove these truths scientifically. These attempts are interesting but I am not sold on the idea that these truths can be proved scientifically. Another book that caught my eye was a book entitled 10 Things Your Minister Wants to Tell You (BUT CAN’T BECAUSE HE NEEDS THE JOB) by Rev. Oliver “Buzz” Thomas. The chapter I was drawn to in this book written by a Baptist pastor was the chapter on homosexuality. Rev. “Buzz” is of the persuasion that homosexuality is a matter of genetics and not a matter of choice. Despite my interest in these books, I chose not to buy them because I did not have the time or the energy to engage in the subjects. Instead of buying these books I bought MySpace / MyKids: A Parent’s Guide to Protecting Your Kids & Navigating MySpace.com by Jason Illian. Jason Illian played on ABC’s The Bachelorette and was named one of the top 20 students in USA Today. I thought the book looked interesting and since Jason Illian was for MySpace rather than against it (like most of the media has been over the year), I thought it would be worth my time. I really do need to contemplate more about how God is involved in every aspect of my life – even MySpace. A Conversation on the Divine and Human Natures of Jesus After I had bought a Sprite and sat down with my book I couldn’t help but overhear some familiar phrases. Phrases like: “The Holy Ghost” and “The Name of Jesus” and “Baptism in Jesus’ Name”. As soon as I heard this, I thought that what I had behind me was a conversation between a United Pentecostal and someone who either wasn’t a United Pentecostal or was in the process of becoming one. As politely as possible, I asked them if it would be okay if I sat in on their discussion. Their names were Jason and Tricia. Jason was from Louisiana and Tricia was from the Dallas area of Texas. My presumption was accurate. Jason was a United Pentecostal speaking to someone who wasn’t a United Pentecostal. In this discussion Jason spoke about the oneness of Christ and spoke in such a way that had I not known the implications behind his statements I would have agreed with him wholeheartedly. However, since United Pentecostalism changes what “the two natures of Jesus” mean, I cannot affirm with Jason that I believe that Jesus has two natures – one being human and the other divine. Do I believe that Jesus has two natures – one human and one divine? Yes, I do! The difference that Jason and I had was not one of minor significance. Our difference centered around rather or not the divine nature was the Father and the human nature the Son. Jason believed that the divine nature was the Father and the human nature was the Son. Taking this interpretation, Jason believed that when Jesus uttered the phrase, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” He was uttering this phrase as humanity speaking to divinity. With this interpretation, Jason had to conclude that the divine nature had left the humanity on the cross. This view reminds me of the early church heresy known as Nestorianism (see online definitions). If this was the case, then the two natures of Jesus were separated and if they were separated how then could the death of the humanity of Jesus save anyone? Do we not need a Savior who is connected both to man and to God? Does not the one who is being sacrificed need to accurately represent both parties: the party that was offended and the party that offended? I would think so. This reminded me of how important this subject is and how young men and women like Jason, Tricia, and myself, need to have these conversations about the person and work of Christ – for if we don’t I’m afraid we may never partake in the most beautiful and delightful reality that God has put before us. I pray that God would continue to draw people to his word and I pray that those whom he draws to his word would be radically changed by the reality of who Jesus Christ is in all of his splendor – the eternal Son sent by the Father to liberate a people for his glory! | | |
| No, We Shouldn’t Belittle Christ on Sundays . . . Or Any Other Day of the Week Today I helped with a fundraiser for the Wesley Foundation. Surrounding me were many beautifully aged women. It was a pleasure to serve with them collecting trays, washing trays, drying trays, and wiping tables. Though I served in silence for the majority of these three and a half hours I did hear murmurings here and there that concerned me. One of the beautifully aged women made a comment to me about how one of the men in attendance looked as if he had his share of hamburgers. This comment was made in regard to his weight. I will admit, the man did appear to be of a greater weight than myself and this beautifully aged woman combined, but that is really no reason to make a comment behind this man’s back. I responded in an amusingly disinterested fashion. The beautifully aged woman then expressed to me that she guessed that she should not make comments of this nature on Sunday. Her comment left me speechless. “I guess I shouldn’t say those kind of things on Sunday?” No, woman, you shouldn’t say those kind of things any day of the week, if indeed you are a Christian. Oh, “how great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!” Our tongue, as little as it is, is a fire. The Apostle James describes it as such when he wrote in James 3:6, “And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.” Our tongues are powerful. James continues to say in James 3:7-8, “For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” Would it be too much to remind ourselves often that our tongue is able to say incredibly depraved things? James says that it is with the tongue that we “bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.” How can this be? Has God not done a change in our hearts? If he has given us a new heart, and if it is true that “out of the heart the mouth speaks”, then shouldn’t our words be words that you would expect to hear from a redeemed heart rather than a depraved one? The apostle James continues saying, From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. (3:10-12) So what kind of heart do you have? Do you have a depraved heart or a redeemed one? If your heart is redeemed then you have no excuse as to why you should be belittling others in your speech. Christian, we could use our tongues to build people up. So often many of us will use this tongue of ours to tear people down. We will make comments to their faces or behind their back. Sometimes we do both, and for those of us who profess Christ, we not only have succeeded in belittling the person we were insulting but we also succeed at belittling Christ. I grieve when I belittle Christ with my tongue. I grieve when I belittle Christ on Sundays, but not just on Sundays, but every single day of the week. Belittling Christ is MOST CERTAINLY NOT something I wish to succeed in on a daily basis. After things slowed down at the fundraiser I received the opportunity to sit down and to eat that which we had been serving. The cheeseburger and the beans satisfied my hunger, while the cool cup of ice water quenched my thirst. Sara Knight, a great friend, came in to volunteer around this time. I received the honor of being able to have her join me in the eating of the delicious cakes that had been prepared for the fundraiser. I thank God for friends like Sara. Sharing at the Nursing Home the Greatest Treasure of My Life Upon leaving the fundraiser, I went straight to Highland Pines Nursing Home, where I delivered a message from Matthew 19 on the rich young ruler. I spoke about how the rich young ruler walked away sorrowful with all of his possessions and challenged these even more beautifully aged people to examine what they view as valuable in their life. It was Saint Augustine who once said, “Wherever the soul of man turns, unless towards God, cleaves to sorrow” and “If Christ is not valued above all, he is not valued at all.” We are never too old to evaluate our lives and to consider what our greatest treasure is. We are never to old to trust in Jesus Christ, receiving him as our treasure. Jesus is the greatest treasure in my life right now. When placed next to Christ, everything else means nothing to me. Jesus is my everything, what else do I need besides him? Speaking in tongues does not save you – nor is it a necessary result of your salvation. Following the service, a dear beautifully aged woman by the name of Sylvester Carpenter asked me if we had to speak in tongues to be saved. Joyfully, I sat down with her and opened up my Bible, walking through Scripture testifying of the truth that speaking in tongues does not save us, but we are saved by coming into a right relationship with God through his Son, Jesus Christ. ‘Speaking in tongues’ is not a necessary result of salvation either. By the end of the conversation she thanked me and asked me to pray for her for her understanding of the Scriptures. I share this to testify of the fact that nursing homes are not a lost cause. There are still people here who need to hear the Gospel. There are people here in these nursing homes that have questions like Sylvester Carpenter, and they need answers. We are never too old to grow in the Lord. Time with Grandma Afterwards I spent time with my Grandmother. We went to Fazoli’s to eat. She expressed to me that she thought this was the first time she had been here since my Grandfather’s passing last year. She and Grandpa used to eat at Fazoli’s usually twice a week. We had a great talk. It had been a while since I really spent some time with her. Thank God for great grandmothers and the time we get to be with them. After visiting my cousin Misty, her husband Daniel, and their daughter Sommer I went to my Grandmother’s house and spent some time reading. I read in my Social Problems textbook about Homosexuality and in Sex and the Supremacy of God, by John Piper, about rather the Puritans were religious prudes or Christian Hedonists. Due to how tired I was at this point of the day, I ended up falling asleep on a bed in one of the back rooms of my Grandmother’s house. Brookshire’s and Xanga My day concluded with a trip to Brookshire’s with my Mother (thank God for loving Mothers) and a long overdue Xanga post. I plan on allowing this Xanga to be the place where I share more Journal type entries. Facebook will be reserved for the completed articles or devotionals that I write. Many of those will be birthed out of what you hear me talking about in my journal entries here. I will not be as detailed about my life as I was today, expressing most of what I did today, but there will be days where that is expressed. Why? Because it’s my journal, and these moments that I experienced today are moments that I don’t want to forget anytime soon. Soul-Saving Advice from Colossians 2:16-17 I delight in the soul-saving advice found in Colossians 2:16-17, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” | | |
| What do you do when you break your New Year’s Resolution within the first week of the New Year? You know what I mean? I broke my New Year’s Resolution on Day Three of the New Year. That’s pathetic. And you know what’s even more pathetic than breaking your New Year’s Resolution on Day Three?
Attempting to convince yourself that there is always next year. (And I'm so guilty of this!)
Think about it. When we break our New Year’s Resolution, why do we even seek to try to convince ourselves that there is always next year? It’s for comfort right? It’s a way that you tell yourself that you didn’t really mess up all that bad. The idea behind this is that you can always give your resolution another shot next year.
At first that sounds comforting to me. But how comforting is it? Is it comfortable like a sofa, or is it comfortable like a cactus?
When you’re New Year’s Resolution is to flee from certain lusts, the very idea of giving your failed resolution another shot next year is as comfortable as a cactus. Here’s why: there may not be another New Year. And if there is not another New Year, then you aren’t going to be able to make another “New Year’s Resolution”. And if you’re struggle is with fleeing from certain lusts and if the Bible says in 1 John 2:15-17 that those who pursue lust do not know God (or at least not as they ought), then do you think that someone who is struggling with lust can really afford waiting another whole year? I don’t think they can. I know I can’t.
That’s one of the reasons why I’m abandoning this whole “New Year’s Resolution” idea.
Why don’t we start each day with an “Each Day’s Resolution”?
You know what a Christian’s “Each Day’s Resolution” should be?
It should be to live each day for the glory of God.
And how is that done? By denying the lust of our flesh, the lust of our eyes, and the pride of life. Only when we deny these things, will we be denying ourselves. And only when we deny ourselves will we be doing the will of God.
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