Most likely, the earliest Gospel was written by John Mark of Jerusalem, helper to both Peter and Paul. The time was probably A.D. 65-67 and the purpose was to inspire believers in Rome against whom Emperor Nero had unleashed a wave of horrific persecution after having executed the two apostles mentioned above (see Acts 12:12; 2 Tim. 4:11; 1 Pet. 5:13). Mark's is the only canonical Gospel with a title: "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God" (Mark 1:1). Early church tradition says that Mark wrote what Peter preached. Peter himself hints at plans for something like that (2 … [Read more...]
GIFTS THAT KEEP ON GIVING
That's what you give loved ones when you give books by Edward Fudge. Choose from the following (see pictures and descriptions at www.EdwardFudge.com/written ). GracEmail: Daily Answers to Life's Big Questions (HillCrest Publications) The Great Rescue: The Story of God's Amazing Grace (New Leaf Books) The Sound of His Voice: Discovering the Secrets of God's Guidance (New Leaf) Two Views of Hell, co-authored with Robert Peterson (InterVarsity Press) The Fire That Consumes (Paternoster Press edition). To order using major credit card for shipment anywhere, call toll-free (in U.S.) … [Read more...]
WHY PREACH?
In an earlier gracEmail, I stated that God will judge all people by the light they had and not by truth they could not know. A missionary in South America asks, "If that is so, am I wasting my time here? Why preach the gospel today? Are you saying that people are saved apart from Jesus Christ?" * * * Not at all. I am saying that no one will finally be saved except through Jesus Christ and what God accomplished through him. That includes people who lived before Jesus and after Jesus -- within Israel and among the nations. That is not to say that all those saved people knew in this life the … [Read more...]
WHY EVANGELIZE IF GOD IS SOVEREIGN?
After I said that God must regenerate one who is "dead" in sin before that person can believe, a subscriber responded, "So, why worry about preaching the good news to them? Why worry about them believing it?" * * * The person who knows that salvation is of God's sovereign initiative doesn't "worry" about any of these things -- the whole process is in very good hands! All those whom the Father has given Jesus will come to him (John 6:37). Jesus will give them all eternal life, and they will be with him and share his glory (John 17:2, 24). People may join churches and perform religious rituals … [Read more...]
SIGNS WITH EVANGELISM
Someone asks about the "signs" that Jesus said would accompany his gospel as it spreads through the world. Mark 16:17-18 mentions casting out demons, speaking with new tongues, healing the sick and immunity from snakebite and from poison. Do these things still happen today? * * * In the oldest Greek manuscripts, Mark 16 ends at verse 8. The rest of the chapter has some ancient textual authority, however, and it is consistent with other New Testament teaching. Anyone who quotes Mark 16:15-16 should accept verses 17-18 as equally genuine. Jesus is not here describing "Reverend Barnum's … [Read more...]
THE GREAT COMMISSION — TO WHOM?
A gracEmail subscriber asks whether Jesus' commission to make disciples, then baptize and teach them (Matt. 28:18-20) applies to all Christians, only to duly ordained persons or only to the Apostles. * * * Both Matthew and Mark report Jesus commanding the Apostles to carry the gospel to the whole world (Matt. 28:16-20; Mark 16:14-18). Luke includes also "those who were with them" (24:33, 46-47). Jesus sends them all to wait in Jerusalem for heavenly power (Lk. 24:48-49). Luke later tells us that this group includes 120 people, among whom are "the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his … [Read more...]
GOD’S NEW REALITY
When Jesus came preaching, his message contained both announcement and imperative: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel" (Mark 1:14-15). This is not the word for clock-and-calendar "time" (chronos) that we can calculate in advance. It is a word (kairos) indicating the right time for a specific event, a fixed time. In Jewish and Christian literature this word particularly refers to a special era when God will send his anointed One (Hebrew -- "Messiah"; Greek -- "Christ") to break the destructive powers that oppose his will and bring harm on … [Read more...]
THE DRAGON SLAYER: A REVIEW
I have just read twice and highlighted The Dragon Slayer: Reflections On the Saving of the World (2004, privately published, 202 pages, paper), the latest book from my eloquent friend Jim McGuiggan of Northern Ireland. As usual, McGuiggan devotes his considerable mind and poignant pen to the profound realities that matter most, this time the atonement for sin which Jesus Christ accomplished once for all. For centuries the Irish have been noted as gifted story-tellers and McGuiggan maintains the Hibernian reputation, as seen in this passage reminiscent of Brennan Manning: "We built a wall … [Read more...]
SOME DOUBTED
While reading the very familiar final verses of Matthew's Gospel this morning, I was startled afresh by a phrase that seemed to jump right off the page. Matthew leads into what we sometimes call the Great Commission like this: "The eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. And when they saw Him, they worshiped; but some were doubtful" (Matt. 28:16-17). Who was doubtful? Some of these 11 men, hand-picked by Jesus to be his student-apprentices ("disciples"). These men who had lived with Jesus for three years, who had seen his wonder-inducing works of … [Read more...]
MY NEIGHBOR, THE JEW 4 – Our light & our duty
A gracEmail reader who is weighing the claims of Christ writes: "I cannot hold in scorn humans whom I know to be decent and caring, simply because they have a different belief about salvation. Is my Jewish friend a sinner because he practices his religion? He certainly does many of the very things we ascribe to Jesus as being virtuous." * * * I have discussed some of these points in more detail in several short articles and brief booklets on my website which I encourage you to read. Those would include "What Calvinists and Arminians Have in Common"; "The Saving Love of God"; One Life, Death … [Read more...]