He is either blind or a fool who can look upon a powerful thunderstorm without reflecting in trembling awe upon the might and majesty of the Lord. Immense reserves of strength beyond imagination break forth in the winds and hail and lightnings that sweep so suddenly over the resting world, and the stentorian voice of the thunder testifies to the solemn import of the display – and all this is but the breath of the nostrils of him who rides on the wings of the wind, as David here observes. What utter lunacy could permit a man to see so fearful a nostril-blast without ever trembling at the power of the God who so breathes, and pouring his whole being into answering the question of whether that perfect puissance will prove to be for him or against him?

This is a question to which David knew the answer full well. The mighty arm of the thundering God was wholly for him, and it cast all his enemies beneath his feet, so that he might run up against a whole troop of them and never stumble. There was already a king in the land, even Saul, whom the Lord had rejected, and who raged against the anointing of David with all his legions of warriors. They surrounded him and gnashed their teeth against him, and almost overwhelmed him – but then his God thundered, and drew him out of many waters, and made his steps firm like the feet of a hind. This David was anointed to be God's king, and all the power of God would ever work for him, to give him triumph over his enemies and salvation to his people.

But what a glimpse do we have, in the very last verse of this majestic psalm, of a greater salvation for a greater Anointed King! God gives great triumph to his King, and shows steadfast love to his Anointed (that is, to his Messiah), which is who? David, yes – and likewise his Seed after him, even forever! The triumph of the first anointed king was an earnest and pledge of the eternal triumph of the second Anointed King, who would be the Seed of David according to prophecy.

When this Messianic King came, there was at that time, too, already a king in the land, who opposed the anointing of Jesus and raged against him with all his minions. Finally, after years of fierce opposition, he had him all surrounded, and his legions were gnashing upon him with their teeth, they even lifted him up on a Roman cross, a curse and an object of scorn to the whole world!

But then, his God thundered. Lightnings flashed forth, hail came crashing down, thunders roared in the heavens – and the graves of all the godly dead were opened, and they walked forth again! The power of God, of which he gave the merest hint at the breath of his nostrils, was a resurrection power. It was a power that utterly destroyed Satan, and put him to an open shame, and forever saved his people to an eternal, resurrection life.

When you next see a thunderstorm, O reader, think of this resurrection power of God, and ask yourself, does the roar of the thunder testify to the wrath of God which will one day destroy you, along with all the enemies of the Anointed King – or does it testify to the power of God in your behalf, through which your steps will be made firm, and you will be enabled to leap over a wall and enter your eternal reward? “He is a Shield for all who take refuge in him” (vs. 30).

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. - Colossians 1:15-17

There is much that could be said about the title "firstborn". It is a title of honor and refers to Christ being given all "the rights and privileges of a firstborn son, especially the son of a monarch who would inherit ruling sovereignty. This is how the expression is used of David: “I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth” (Ps. 89:27)." (ESV Study Bible notes)

The phrase "firstborn" does not mean that Christ is a created being. We can establish that by reading the words that immediately follow in the text. Jesus is presented as the Creator of all things and He is before all things! This passage is in fact one of many that presents a clear affirmation of the Deity of Christ.

Here, and elsewhere, the "Bible" of the Jehovah's Witnesses (New World Translation published by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society) deliberately changes the scripture to obscure this truth. Rather than repeating the phrase "all things" over and over again, as Paul did, the Watchtower translation inserts another word, "other," into the text, making it read, "because by means of him all [other] things were created... All [other] things have been created through him and for him. Also, he is before all [other] things and by means of him all [other] things were made to exist."

The reason for the translation change is easy to understand: Their theology says that God the Father created Jesus and then Jesus created all other things and therefore, since Watchtower theology insists Jesus is merely a created being, this passage must be rendered this way.

Is there a legitimate reason in the text itself for this insertion? No, not at all - it is merely the blatant attempt to hide the truth.

Note once again the words of Scripture, "For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together." Jesus is the Creator of all things and holds all things together! That is what the text explicitly states.

But there is much more we can say here. Not only does Colossians 1:15-17 declare Jesus to be the Creator and sustainer of all things, but like so many things in Scripture, when we establish the context of a term or phrase, the truth about what is meant to be communicated becomes immediately apparent. As we continue on reading in the book of Colossians, we are told in the clearest possible terms of the full deity of Christ.

Paul was writing to combat the heresy of the Gnostics. The word Gnostic means "to know" and the boast was that these people were "in the know" having been enlightened with a special knowledge unavailable to the normal person.

The Gnostics developed a very elaborate system of gods called "aeons" and their "enlightened" chart showed how each one related to the next one in terms of authority and power. This made up chart was known as the pleroma. Elsewhere in the letter, Paul uses this very word employed by the Gnostics to speak of Christ when he writes "For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily" (Col. 2:9). The word "fullness" there is the Greek word pleroma. In other words, Paul was saying, "if you want a chart... if you want a pleroma, here's the only chart you need - Christ Himself!" In Christ "all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form" (NASB).

Knowing this then, it becomes clear that, to quote Dr. James White, "the position taken by those who deny the deity of Christ falls right into the trap of agreeing with the Gnostics against Paul! In other words, if we interpret this passage as saying Jesus is a part of the creation, and not the Creator Himself, we are left with a Jesus who looks very much like the Gnostic "aeon" that Paul is arguing against! The argument presented by deniers of the deity of Christ in fact guts Paul's entire argument against the Gnostics, leaving him arguing in circles! But when we allow the text to stand and speak for itself, Paul's point is devastatingly clear: the Gnostic cannot just stick Jesus into his "system" somewhere. Jesus can't be one of the "aeons" between the one true, good God and the evil demiurge who ends up creating the world. No, Paul makes it impossible for the Gnostic to hold onto his false beliefs about the world and try to make room for an edited "Jesus" by firmly asserting that everything that exists, including the physical universe, came into existence through the creative activity of Jesus Christ." (The Forgotten Trinity).

Understanding the context helps us avoid the misinterpretations rampant in non-Christian cults today. Some may consider these things too "complex" or "obscure" to be important. Yet, knowing these things, and being able to explain them to others, could well be used of the Lord to help deliver someone from deception.

Have you ever been involved in (or witnessed) a conversation where a reformed person is talking with an Arminian and there are what we might call dueling Bible verses? It goes something like this. The reformed person quotes a verse such as John 6:44 to say that no one has the ability to come to Christ unless God draws them and this is an effectual drawing because all those drawn in this way will be raised up to eternal life. Then the Arminian quotes John 12:32 which talks of Christ being lifted up and drawing all men to Himself. The conversation never gets any deeper than that and any on-looker might just shrug his or her shoulders and come to a conclusion that these things are just mysteries that we cannot fathom now but we will all likely see these things clearly when we get to heaven, but not this side of the grave. These people might well quote 1 Cor. 13:12 which says, "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known." Their theological stance is to have both feet firmly planted in mid air!

I understand. I have been there. I do believe there are many mysteries in this life that await a heavenly explanation. I also think that there are some things that might always be mysterious to us. Though we will be in a glorified state, we will still only ever be a glorified humanity, and there is a limit as to what human beings can comprehend. However, I dont believe the issue concerning the reformed v. arminian controversy is meant to be forever mysterious to us. I believe there is a consistent biblical position that allows us to embrace all that Scripture teaches. Its taken me a long time to come to that conclusion but here's my basis for saying this.

We as Christians believe the Bible is the word of God, and because the Author is Divine, He at least is not confused on these issues, even if we are. We believe there is a consistent message in the Bible - that it does not contradict itself. And so what do we do? Well some throw up their hands in despair and never look into these matters, but if we love the Lord and His truth, that is not really an option for us. We are to study the Scriptures and seek to find the consistent message that is there. So the question is - does research into the Scriptures provide us with a solution on these matters?

Some people are not interested in an answer even if there is one. I find that attitude hard to comprehend but there are actually genuine Christians who just dont want to study these things. They are not interested. They see these things as the source of division and controversy (perhaps that has been their experience), but I believe God has revealed this to us because He had a good reason to. He put words like election and predestination in the Bible not because He wanted us to have controversy but because He wanted to show us the ground and basis of His work of grace in the lives of His people; He wanted us to be sure of His love for us; and for our hearts and minds to be captivated by the amazing grace and glory of God in salvation.

So back to the dueling verses mentioned above. How are we to deal with them?

Well some time back I received a question from someone online that went like this: I read your article on John 6:35-45 entitled "The Perseverance of the Saints," and I understand the following to be a brief summary of Jesus' words regarding God's Sovereign purpose in election from John 6:35-45: Unless it is granted, no one will come to Christ. All to whom it is granted will come to Christ, and all of these will be raised up to eternal life on the last day. So, this being the case, can you please explain to me the meaning of John 12:32, where Jesus said: "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself."?

Here is how I answered:

What I will say here may surprize you, but the word "all" has a number of different meanings in the Bible. We tend to assume that when Jesus speaks of drawing "all men" that He is referring to every last person on the planet. Well, that may or may not be true, but it is in the CONTEXT where we find the phrase that tells us if this assumption is correct or misplaced.

Even today we use the words "all" or "every" in many different ways. When a school teacher asks the people in his classroom, "Are we all here?" or "is everyone listening?" we understand he is not talking about every one of the 6 billion plus folk on the planet, but all the students who have signed up for the class. Context determines the proper interpretation or meaning of words. When the word "all" is used, it is used within a context.

In this illustration, the "all" had a context of the school classroom, which did not include "all" the hockey players in Iceland, "all" the dentists in Denmark, or "all" the carpet layers in Atlanta, Georgia. To rip the word "all" out of its setting and say that the teacher was refering to all people everywhere, would be to totally misunderstand and misinterpret how the word was being used. Again, it is context that determines correct interpretation.

I believe you are correct in your understanding of what John 6:35-45 teaches. So how do we understand the nature of the drawing in John 12:32? Who is being drawn?

We find answers to these questions by refusing to be lazy, doing some serious study, and by consciously allowing our traditions to be exposed to the light of Scripture.

So if understanding the context plays such a major role in getting the correct interpretation, exactly what was the context in John 12? Well it is a very different setting than the one we find in John 6. In John 12, Greeks were coming to Jesus and believing in Him.

John 12:20-22 - Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast; these then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." Philip came and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus.

Dr. James White, in his book the Potter's Freedom (p. 163), describes the background as follows: "John 12 narrates the final events of Jesus' public ministry. After this particular incident, the Lord will go into a period of private ministry to His disciples right before He goes to the cross. The final words of Jesus' public teachings are prompted by the arrival of Greeks who are seeking Jesus. This important turn of events prompts the teaching that follows. Jesus is now being sought by non-Jews, Gentiles. It is when Jesus is informed of this that He says, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified." This then is the context which leads us to Jesus' words in verse 32:

John 12:27-33 "Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, 'Father, save Me from this hour '? But for this purpose I came to this hour. "Father, glorify Your name." Then a voice came out of heaven: "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, "An angel has spoken to Him." Jesus answered and said, "This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes. "Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself." But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die.

I believe that in its context the "all men" refers to Jews and Gentiles, not to every individual person on earth. Through His work on the cross, Jesus will draw all kinds of men, all kinds of people to Himself, including those from outside of the covenant community of Israel. We must bear in mind that this would have been an extremely radical thought to the Jews who were hearing Him say these words.

But lets look at this issue from another angle by asking the question, "Is it true that everyone on earth is drawn to the cross?" Is that what the Bible really teaches about the cross?

What does the scripture say? It says that the cross is foolishness to Gentiles and a stumbling block to Jews. 1 Corinthians 1:22-24 says, "For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God."

Question: Who views the cross as something other than foolishness or a stumbling block?

Answer: "...those who are the called, both Jews and Gentiles..."

Again, to quote Dr. White: "To whom is Christ the power and wisdom of God? To "the called." What is the preaching of the cross to those who are not called? Something that draws them or repels them? The answer I think is obvious. The cross of Christ is foolishness to the world. These considerations, along with the immediate context of the Gentiles seeking Christ, make it clear that if He is lifted up in crucifixion, He will draw all men, Jews and Gentiles, to Himself. This is exactly the same as saying that He has sheep not of this fold (John 10:16), the Gentiles, who become one body in Christ (Eph. 2:13-16)."

If we assume that God is drawing every single individual on the planet we run into a major problem when we use this interpretation of John 12:32 (out of its context) and to try to understand the drawing in John 6:44 in the light of it. Lets also bear in mind that we would need to demonstrate that the simple word "draw" MUST have the exact same meaning and objects in both contexts - something I don't believe bears out at all. What is the problem? Well, if we do this, we end up with the unbiblical doctrine of universalism (all people will be saved).

Why? Because Jesus said in John 6:44 "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day." The one drawn here is raised up to eternal life. If everyone on the planet is drawn, then all will be saved, which, I am sure you will agree is not a biblical position, for scripture teaches clearly that not everyone will inherit eternal life.

Rather than solving the issue, this interpretation causes severe problems and in fact undermines the truth of the Gospel. I believe we therefore need to discard this assumption, and interpret both passages in their biblical context. The result will be, as I believe I have shown, a consistent revelation of the Sovereign purposes of God in drawing His elect to Himself, for His own purposes, from every tribe, tongue, people and nation.

Russell D. Moore wrote an excellent article concering the Glenn Beck rally and the reaction of American Christians. He writes:

A Mormon television star stands in front of the Lincoln Memorial and calls American Christians to revival. He assembles some evangelical celebrities to give testimonies, and then preaches a God and country revivalism that leaves the evangelicals cheering that they’ve heard the gospel, right there in the nation’s capital.

The news media pronounces him the new leader of America’s Christian conservative movement, and a flock of America’s Christian conservatives have no problem with that.

If you’d told me that ten years ago, I would have assumed it was from the pages of an evangelical apocalyptic novel about the end-times. But it’s not. It’s from this week’s headlines. And it is a scandal.

Fox News commentator Glenn Beck, of course, is that Mormon at the center of all this. Beck isn’t the problem. He’s an entrepreneur, he’s brilliant, and, hats off to him, he knows his market. Latter-day Saints have every right to speak, with full religious liberty, in the public square. I’m quite willing to work with Mormons on various issues, as citizens working for the common good. What concerns me here is not what this says about Beck or the “Tea Party” or any other entertainment or political figure. What concerns me is about what this says about the Christian churches in the United States.

Continued here.

The Scripture says, "But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:7)

Question: God gives grace to humble people. How is this not grace given for the human merit (or work) of humility, which would be the very opposite of grace (unmerited favor)?

Answer: God works to will and to do of His own good pleasure, graciously bestowing upon His people all that He requires of them, even instilling humility in them, so that the humility He gives is not a work of merit undertaken by the recipient, but God's work of grace in the heart of His elect people, which He then crowns with the reward of more grace. - JS

"...in the covenant of grace he (man) is enabled to meet them (requirements of the covenant) only by the regenerating and sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit. God works in man to will and to do, graciously bestowing upon him all that He requires of him. It is called the covenant of grace, because it is an unparalleled revelation of the grace of God, and because man receives all its blessings as gifts of divine grace."

Berkhof. Found on p. 264 of his Systematic Theology:

Here is a short overview of the differences between the montheism of biblical Christianity and the polytheism of Mormonism, written by Justin Taylor.

Have you ever seen something like this in the Bible - God saying, "Go meet with the Baal worshippers' and arrange a huge rally, an ecumenical inter-faith service - talk about honor and integrity and family values.. and you can pray to Me, of course, and they can pray to Baal - in fact, hold the priest of Baal's hand as he prays.. that will be such a nice touch.. and its quite ok with me.. I, the Lord your God, the holy One, really don't mind.. that's because it will show so much love to people and it will open hearts to My religion and everyone will so appreciate you not being closed minded elitist bigots. It will do wonders for people's view both of you and of Me. Go do this in My Name."?

Ever seen that? Even a hint of it? No? Me neither. - JS

The Holman Christian Standard Study Bible is now available as an online resource for free. Though I am a novice in terms of using the HCSB, one noticeable and remarkable feature is that if you scroll your mouse over the words in the biblical text, you can see the Hebrew and Greek words and definitions and other important information about where else you will find that word in the Bible. This website is definitely something to bookmark and use, found here. (Since posting this, John Hendryx made a very good observation in the comment section below. I would agree and although I would still recommend the useful Hebrew and Greek word feature of the site, would caution discernment concerning the study notes). - JS

I really like Glenn Beck. Though I have never met him in person, I have often watched his television programs and thought it would be so nice to have that kind of a guy as a friend. I imagine that he is far too busy and way too inaccessible for that to become a reality, but I do genuinely like the man. He is insightful, articulate, funny, and seems to want some great things for his family and our nation. I do think that sometimes he has one or two conspiracy theories that may not be fully justified - we shall see - but all in all, Glenn seems to be a really nice guy.

I share many of the same goals as Glenn. I speak as one born in England but now very much a U.S. citizen. All my children were born here in these United States and I live and pray for America to become in all reality, "one nation under God." I love America. I sincerely believe Glenn does too.

But I do have a problem - not a problem with him as a person in any way at all, but when he asks me to join him in praying for the very same things I wish for my country, I just cannot. I can pray for these things privately, and with fellow Christians, of course, and I do. I just cannot stand with Glenn in a public setting and be comfortable while I know he is praying to a false god. How could I ever say "Amen" at the end of his prayer that people would turn back to the god he serves? I just cannot do it. That is because Glenn Beck is a Mormon. The "god" he prays to is not in any way the same God as mine.

I know.. I know.. even saying this is politically and religiously incorrect, but I cannot help but say it. When Glenn Beck speaks of "god" we need to remember that he uses a different dictionary to Christians. The God of the Bible is One in essence and eternally exists in three co-equal Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Mormons reject this completely, believing that there are many worlds controlled by different gods and the god of this planet was once a man. The Jesus of Mormonism is the begotten offspring of this exalted man in sexual union with one of his many wives, and this god lives on a planet circling a star named Kolob, and his "gospel" is the message of how you, too, can be exalted to godhood. Christianity is Monotheistic. Mormonism is the most polytheistic religion in the world. Doctrine matters folks and deceived people, deceive people!

A dear fellow Christian, in coming to understand where I am on this issue wrote to me today saying, "I like Glenn Beck and appreciate his effort to bring America back to her godly roots. He is doing a great job in uniting government, church, and media. He does speak from a Mormon perspective but still has a heart of seeing America return to God even though he might not have the same theological view as we do."

I responded by saying, " I understand you - but I cannot agree that Mormonism is in any way "godly." According to the Bible, there is nothing at all godly about false religion. Godliness is not just about acts of service, honor, integrity, courage and the like, as wonderful as these things are, but it also includes worship of the One true God and the avoidance of all forms of idolatry. Mormonism is idolatrous worship and when Glenn Beck prays, despite his intentions, he prays to a false god who cannot help either Mr. Beck or America."

I can remember reading about the worshippers of the golden calf. They had high family values and were absolutely sincere in their worship. Now I may not be the sharpest tool in the drawer, but I do tend to get the distinct impression that God didn't like the worship - yeah, the ground opening up and swallowing the worshippers.. hmmm... it does lead me to believe that God was somehow ticked, wouldn't you say?

And then I wonder what God would feel about a "prophet" in the Old Testament asking Baal to bring Israel back to its godly roots. I think in such times, he would be stoned. In Deuteronomy 18:20 God says to His people, "But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die."

God often tested His people by seeing if they would be true to Him even as false prophets tried to lure them away from Himself. God says, "If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slavery, to make you leave the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from your midst" (Deuteronomy 13:1-5).

Thank God for grace!!! (we don't stone false prophets now) but I believe God's feelings about false worship have not changed. As Glenn Beck calls this nation to pray for some very valuable, important and even vital things, I ask now, is God testing us in the same way today? Perhaps God has raised Glenn Beck up for this very purpose, to test our hearts. Just a thought!

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord, the one and only God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the eternal One, Yahweh, the great I AM, the Alpha and Omega, who is from everlasting to everlasting.

So, though I really like you Glenn, thanks for the invite, but I cannot join you.