Apologetics in Real Life

My wife and I started our first podcast on the topic of apologetics as it is used in our everyday lives and when we are out witnessing with the gospel of God's grace.

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The Surpassing Wealth of His Grace

Ephesians 2:5-7 says,
"...and you, being dead in trespasses, he made alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and he raised [you] together and seated [you] together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, in order that he might show in the coming ages the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus."

The very next verse following this long sentence is this: "for by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you, it is the gift of God" (v. 8).

What did Paul want his readers to understand about the "surpassing wealth" or "riches" of God's grace? Well, first of all, that for us who have been saved by faith in God's Son, the ages to come are going to be a showcase of the super-abundance of His favor (grace) and kindness toward us in Christ. It is through Jesus Christ that the ages to come in eternity will display how much of an abundance of favor and kindness we have received from God. He died on the cross, the perfect Savior, God in human flesh, paid the penalty for our sinful crimes, rose from the dead and lavished this favor upon us.

All the abundance of favor, the riches of God's kindness and mercy, His never ending, age-enduring, ever-bestowing love is ours in Christ. Jesus is truly awesome! God our Father is truly loving! The Holy Spirit is truly our Comforter!

We Christians have a lot to be thankful for and a lot to look forward to. May all the glory be to God and to the Lamb!

Why and How to Read the Bible, part 2

“Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!”

(Psalms 96:3 ESV)

The Bible is not just a book. It is a book of books... made up of many writings by different writers, from different ages and different cultural settings. That's all it is from most non-religious points of view.

But from the Christian's perspective, the Bible is the Book of books, because it is the very Word of God (1 Thes 2:13; 2 Tim 3:16)! It is God's message to humankind in the timeless form of writing, so that all people around the world are able to understand it if they have access to a good translation. Ancient Scripture certainly must be understood in light of the time and culture in which it was originally written, but a lack of that knowledge should not stop any of us from perceiving the main subject and theme.

God is the main subject of the Bible, and the theme is his glory. Sure, it does focus on many different characters, such as Abraham and his wife, Sarah; their son, Isaac; Jacob; Jacob's family; Moses and the Israelites; Jesus and his apostles, and so on. However, it is God who constantly makes himself known to every new generation throughout Biblical history. As God was revealing himself to his people through his Word, those who were called were able to know him more intimately and were changed by that experience of knowing him.

This is why we must read the Bible: to know God as he has revealed himself in Scripture as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. How we read the Bible will determine whether we know him rightly. As Peter said, there are those who, because of their ignorance, twist the Scriptures to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:16). Christians, of all people, should be the most careful and humble of its readers.

We don't read everything in the same way. We don't read the newspaper like we read a text book, or a historical biography as if it were a fictitious novel. There are certain things we need to know before we begin reading anything. We need to know what we are reading and why it was written.

When you pick up a newspaper, you already know that it's a newspaper, and you know what it is intended for as a whole--to inform you about the news. It is a compilation of different kinds of literature, such as reports, articles, advertisements, announcements, and entertainment, which are intended to provide readers with a variety of news, facts, opinions, entertainment, coupons, and other information. You don’t read every section of the newspaper in the exact same way, but you take into account the differences in type of literature and purpose. We must do the same with the Bible.

By understanding what kind of book the Bible is and what it intended to make known to its original readers, things become significantly clearer to us. Learning these basic facts isn't hard if you have some basic information available. People often go wrong when they fail to take some of that information into account. We’ll look at ways that often happens later.

You can find helpful information about the Bible in study Bibles, Bible dictionaries, Bible encyclopedias and Bible handbooks (all of which can be accessed free on the Internet). They can help provide you with historical background to what you are reading, as well as other important facts to help you better understand Scripture. Such tools are meant to assist, not hinder your reading of God's Word. Wise disciples should put them to good use, seeking to handle God's Word with great care (Prov 18:15; 1 Tim 1:6-8; 2 Tim 2:15; 3:15).

Why and How to Read the Bible, part 1

Is reading the Bible necessary for everyone? Is this question even important?

First, yes this question is important. Here's why: only in the 66 books of Holy Scripture is God's perfect will and purposes revealed to human kind concerning our relationship to Him. This may sound bold, or even radical, but it is the testimony of Scripture itself. When people tell me they can believe in Jesus without accepting the Bible as the authoritative Word of God, I ask them, "And how is it that you came to know what you do about Jesus, if it was not passed down through people who read the Bible?"

Now to answer the first question, I don't want to say that all people must be able to read and possess a translated copy of the Bible if they will be saved. But rather, what I will say is that the information the Bible communicates to us, as creatures made by God in His own image, is absolutely essential for us to be saved. Note the word "message". It is not the physical Bible, or the ability to read that is necessary, but the message contained in the Scriptures that all people must know to be saved.

Do you read it or listen to it? Do you tell it to others?

The fact that we have this communication given to us from our Maker and God is absolutely wonderful. Something we ought to give heartfelt thanks to the Savior for over and over again.

Grace to all in Christ Jesus our Lord!

I'm Dead and I'm Not Dead!

Dead to the passions and sins I once walked in, I've been made alive to God in Christ! (Romans 6:1-4; etc.)

I'm also still alive as far as blogging goes, even though my blogging has slowed down considerably. It may not gain me a lot of followers, but that has never been a big goal for me. Rather spreading the Word of Christ together with those faithful believers who love our Lord God and Savior has always been the main thing here.

God bless to all who read this post! :)

-Penn Tomassetti, a sinner, saved by the grace of God (Ephesians 2:1-10).

Spiritual Giftedness

Each Christian is called and gifted by God according to His will, not according to their own will or the will of other people. It is God who determines the function of each part of the body of Christ (see 1 Cor. 12:1-12).

According to 1 Corinthians, it is a good thing for us to pray and ask God to give specific gifts and equip us for the correct use of them. God is indeed glorified in the healthy function of all the various parts of the body, as well as in all the various gifts in the Church. Therefore, as Paul warned the Corinthians, we must not despise others for their gifts and calling from God, but we must rather edify one another with the gift of brotherly love after the example of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Brothers, show your spiritual health by your love for the parts of Christ's body that do not have the exact same function as you do. Show your love as members of Christ and of His diverse Church, and not as members of "the Church of Discerning Eyes", or "the Church of Sensitive Noses", or "the Church of the Working Hands", for such divisions do not glorify Christ.

You know what I am referring to. One gifted brother in the church looks at fellow Christians with great suspicion and doubt for the genuineness of their salvation because they are not gifted as he is. Such spiritual arrogance is not only evidence of the clear absence of love (the greatest gift), but is also greatly damaging to the health and upbuilding of Christ's Church.

May our God and Savior make you abound in His grace, truth and love.
Amen

ETERNAL SECURITY

ROMANS 8:29-39

-----------------------

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” [Psalm 44:22]

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

(English Standard Version)

10 Motivations to Read the Scriptures in 2011

We ought to delight to read the Bible for a number of reasons. Here are just a few from the Bible itself...

1) Because it is God's revelation of Himself (1 Samuel 3:21; 2 Peter 1:19,20-21).

2) Because it is by the Word of God that faith comes to us (Romans 10:17), and in it we hear God speaking to all the world (Micah 4:2).

3) Because as a result of the regenerating grace of the Holy Spirit through the Word (1 Peter 1:23), our new nature craves the sincere milk of the Word like newborn babies (1 Peter 2:2-3).

4) Because Jesus considered it necessary to live by every Word of God and not by bread alone (Luke 4:4).

5) Because the Word of God's grace and truth is able to both sanctify and build up those who are His Church, who are joined to Jesus Christ, so that they may receive an inheritance among the saints (John 17:17; Acts 20:32).

6) Because God's love is manifested in us by keeping His Word (1 John 2:5).

7) Because we are able to cleanse our way by taking heed according to His Word and avoid sin by hiding it within our heart (Psalm 119:9,11).

8) Because God's Word is delightful and is able to revive the downcast soul (Psalm 119:16,25,50,162).

9) Because His Word is a light for our path and it gives understanding, knowledge and wisdom (Psalm 119:130; Proverbs 2:6).

10) Because Scripture points us to Jesus Christ, who is our very source of life (Luke 24:44-45,46-47; John 5:39-40; 14:6).

If we follow a regular pattern of reading Scripture, let us remember to keep an attitude of love for God through prayer, and that we need the powerful grace of God not only to save us, but to keep us saved by means of His Word and Spirit.

Thank you, Father, my GOD, for your precious Word. May I honor it by faith and so live for your glory and praise alone, by the grace of your glorious Son, Jesus, and by your Holy Spirit!

My 27th Year Living on Earth

I was born on the earth, created from the DNA of my father and mother, devoloped within my mother's womb and born into the world on a cold, icy day in 1983. If Jesus Christ does not return in the next 100 years, my physical body will die on the earth.

But praise and thanks be to the God of Israel, to Yahweh, that He came to earth through the birth of His Son, Jesus Christ, more than 2,000 years ago, suffered for my sins, was killed and raised back to life again, so that by the power of His Spirit and the faith that is in Him, I have become a new man, a child of God, a citizen of another world, to which my body will be raised to inherit with Christ!

Was this something I did by my own choice, my own superior intellect, the strength of my own will?
No!
The Bible says it was by the mercy and grace of God alone!
(See John 1:12-13; 3:3; Titus 3:5-6, 7-8; Ephesians 2:1, 4-5, 8-9; 1 Cor. 1:30-31; etc.)

Link for Logic and Argumentation: Basic Lessons for Christians

Jamin Hubner began a series of posts on the Alpha and Omega Ministries blog about basic lessons in logic and argumentation. These lessons will help any Christian who wants to understand better about how to communicate accurately with the gospel, as well as in other areas of life.

This first lesson was very short and outlined the differences between what an argument is and what a quarrel is, as well as what a debate is.

Here are the links:
Lessons in Logic and Argumentation (can be found under the tag: "Godly Disciplines")
1) Introduction
2) Types of Interactions
3) Types of Arguments

Jamin Hubner's Real Apologetics blog

Some Intrestin', Relatively New, & Funny Stuff

This post is sort of a blog-list, linking to places I don't want to forget to return to.

It all started when I was on facebook today, jest mindin' my own bizziness, when I saw these words... "You've just been HTed", and I wanted to find out what that meant, so I followed the link to Dan Philips' Hither and Thither blog post for today... well, to make a long story short, come to find out that mi amor was there today, too, readin' paraprosdokians, which are figures of speech that are meant to surprise you at the end of the sentence, after you have figured out what the first part of the phrase really meant. Here are a few examples we chuckled over together:

"Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience."

"Dolphins are so smart that within afew weeks of captivity, they can train people to stand on the very edge of the pool and throw them fish."

"I want to die peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather, not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car."

"The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on the list."

"Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak."

"If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong."

"A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory."

"We never really grow up; we only learn how to act in public."

"Evening news is where they begin with 'Good evening' and then proceed to tell you why it isn't."

"A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. On my desk, I have a work station."

"I didn't say it was your fault; I said I was blaming you."

"Behind every successful man is his woman. Behind the fall of a successful man is usually another woman."

"When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember that the Fire Department usually uses water."

"Some people hear voices. Some see invisible people. Others have no imagination whatsoever."

And here's some extra examples from Wikipedia:

"I haven't slept for ten days. Because that would be too long." — Mitch Hedberg

"On the other hand, we have different fingers." — Jack Handey

[Note to Reader, Wikipedia's examples are mostly bad]

I have recently discovered the free ebooks and other helpful stuff referenced by Money Saving Mom, where I just learned about a thing called BAHG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal).

To top it all off, my darling and I had some good entertainment viewing well-crafted creative posts at The Sacred Sandwich, a blog I think I may visit more often... now that I know about it.

All said and recorded for memory to remind myself in the future of what I just read... now, I should go to bed.

Buenas noches!

Gutie nacht!

Grace Abounding: Summer Grace Produce

Here is a list of summer fruits of grace that God my Father has mercifully abounded toward me, a chief of sinners among those saved by grace.

1). First of all, my third evangelism trip to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, was the most fruitful and rewarding of all, having been built upon each past evangelism trip there. It was blessed with closer relationships with the folks from the Biblical Church of the Lord Jesus (www.ibsj.org), and the wonderful opportunity of meeting and training so many fellow Christians in evangelism. I met people again who I had witnessed to in the past, and even have been keeping in touch with David, who I met in the park while preaching under a tree as it rained. David has blessed my heart with his zeal and eagerness to learn the gospel.

I am also truly amazed at how far a little blogging has taken me. Rita Martínez and I met through blogging two years ago, and now, not only have we been able to work together in the fields of evangelism together with our churches, but we are engaged to be joined together in holy matrimony as well. This is God's gracious gift to us and the answer to many prayers for a godly partner. If it is His will, we will live to marry and labor by His grace together in our Christian calling in life.

2). After two years of vigorous study, I have pretty well grasped the Spanish language... my first foreign tongue! I still make a lot of mistakes and still have to practice a lot to pick up and learn more, but by God's grace, my dream of speaking another language has come true.

3). As my interest in languages grows, I have also found the joy of learning to read the New Testament in the language it was originally written... there are some amazing resources on the internet for learning New Testament Greek for free (see links below). If anyone is interested in purchasing learning material for NT Greek, www.christianbook.com or wtsbooks.org has a lot of affordable resources, including Greek New Testaments.

Often I would make use of such resources as concordances, Bible dictionaries and online Bible study tools, in order to find out a little more about an original Greek word used in the New Testament when studying the Bible. But those tools, as good as they may be, do not remove the limitation of not understanding Greek as a language.

One must learn grammar, the structure and order of a language, before one can fully comprehend what is being said. Learning Greek grammar can literally look like a nightmare, since it is more complex than anything I have ever seen. But with the many free online resources, one can learn a lot, as long as ardent desire and dedicated determination continue to flow through one's veins into the brain... for if this inertia stops, all else may very well be hopeless!

1). http://greattreasures.org is a translation website that gives you a lot of essential information about the words of the New Testament. Just select a Koine Greek translation that contains word information or parts of speach, for example, use the Tischendorf (with parts of speech) Greek translation. You can then select parallel translations in any other language, including many good English ones.

2). http://ntgreek.net NT Greek is a free, easy-to-follow beginner's course in New Testament Greek, with lessons.

3). http://www.ibiblio.org Little Greek 101: Learning New Testament Greek is very easy to understand and helpful for anyone interested in NT Greek.

Well, there are many more resources out there, but these are good for anyone seriously interested in learning to read the New Testament in Greek.

~ Penn, a seriously guilty sinner, mercifully saved and justified by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.