This past month, we sent out a new newsletter. We hope you all had a blessed Christmas and a happy New Year. Please take a look at our latest newsletter. December 2013 Newsletter

Sermons on the Road

While on vacation with family, John taught twice at Church of Hope in California. Both sermons are accessible on the Sermons on the Road page.

Study in James Continued

The Water of Life class met for the first time in 2014. This year, we will be reading through large sections of the Bible to give a historical context for our studies. The plan for our readings is: 2014 Bible Reading Plan.

Excursus (The Prophesied Messianic Line): Audio and Notes

14th study (James Review): Audio and Notes

15th study (Slow to Speak Part 1): Audio and Notes

16th study (Slow to Speak Part 2): Audio and Notes

17th study (Genesis Study and the Church): Audio

18th study (Levirate Marriage in Genesis and Let Every Man Be Slow to Wrath Part 1): Audio and Notes

19th study (Let Every Man Be Slow to Wrath Part 2): Audio and Notes

20th study (Epilogue to James): Audio and Notes

21st study (Walk Thru To Exodus): Audio and Notes

Mid-Year Newsletter

We completed our mid-year newsletter. Click this link to view it. God's grace has been apparent throughout 2013. The Message of Life has gone out!

Study in James Continued

After a brief hiatus, the Water of Life Bible Study is returning to the study in the book of James.

1st study (Introduction to James): Audio and Notes

2nd study (James: Count It All Joy): Audio and Notes

3rd study (Free at Last and James: Count It All Joy): Audio and Free at Last Notes and Count It All Joy Notes

4th study (Be Doers of the Word): Audio and Notes

5th study (Be Doers of the Word Review): Audio and Notes

Excursis (Imam Karim Abu Zaid Objections to Christianity): Audio and Notes. The video John responds to.

6th study (No Discrimination over the Trivial): Audio and Notes

7th study (The Meaning of Faith Without Works Part 1): Audio and Notes

8th study (The Meaning of Faith Without Works Part 2): Audio and Notes

9th study (The Meaning of Faith Without Works Part 3): Audio and Notes

10th study (The Meaning of Faith Without Works Part 4): Audio and Notes

11th study (The Meaning of Faith Without Works Part 5): Audio and Notes and Script

12th study (The Meaning of Faith Without Works Part 6): Audio and Notes

13th study (The Meaning of Faith Without Works Part 7): Audio and Notes

Water of Life Bible Study Continued

John is teaching a series on Reformed Theology:

Reformed Theology's Proof-Texts Pt 1: Audio and Notes.

Reformed Theology's Proof-Texts Pt 2: Audio and Notes.

Order of Some Key Resurrections and Judgments: Audio and Notes.

Consequence (Warning) Passages in Hebrews Part 1: Audio and Notes.

Consequence (Warning) Passages in Hebrews Part 2: Audio and Notes.

Consequence (Warning) Passages in Hebrews Part 3: Audio and Notes.

Consequence Passages Part 4: Sacrifice No Longer Remains: Audio.

Consequence (Warning) Passages in Hebrews Part 5: Audio and Notes.

Consequence (Warning) Passages in Hebrews Part 6: Audio and Notes.

The Two Stage Healing: Audio and Notes.

He Who Believes and Is Baptized: Audio and Notes.

Sermons on the Road

Recently, John went on a trip to the Northwest. He taught 9 times on many different topics. You may want to check out these sermons which are under Sermons on the Road. Not all sermons are posted yet. As we finish editting sermon audios, we will post more. Notes will be posted soon. Among these is a new approach to John 21, completely revised from the previous John series: When You Grow Old You Will Stretch Out Your Hands.

Water of Life Bible Study

John started a new Bible study which we will be posting online. Until we develop a new webpage for the study, you can access the studies here on the front page:

1st study (Persuasion): Audio and Notes.

2nd study (Bible Walkthrough #1): Audio and Notes

3rd study (Bible Walkthrough #2): Audio and Notes

4th study (The Rapture): Audio and Notes

5th study (Cornelius and the Mystery): Audio and Notes

6th study (Propitiation): Audio and Notes

7th study (Those Who Have Done Good): Audio and Notes

8th study (Introduction to James): Audio and Notes

9th study (James: Count It All Joy): Audio and Notes

10th study (Free at Last and James: Count It All Joy): Audio and Free at Last Notes and Count It All Joy Notes

11th study (Be Doers of the Word): Audio and Notes

Audios for Conference and Sermons Updated

John and Diane recently traveled to Texas for the 2013 GES Conference. You can now listen to the two papers he presented at the conference. You can also listen to a sermon he presented which is a completely new take on John 21. These can be listened to in Sermons on the Road.

2013 GES Conference Plenary Session Paper

Welcome to Message of Life Ministry's website. Here is the paper for today's plenary session: Free at Last! Liberty in Jesus' Footsteps. The paper will be updated to include an appendix regarding a question that came up regarding John 10:4. We will announce an updated version when that appendix is added.

Further Explanation on "Does Jesus Really Want Believers to Be Born Again

One article in our latest Lifeline, has created some discussion, "Does Jesus Really Want Believers to Be Born Again?"

Several have asked, "If people are born from above after being born physically, is it not true that they are then born again?"

Absolutely! We can accurately say both that believers are born from above and are born again. However, the question is not whether both are true. The question is whether Jesus wanted Nicodemus to understand: (1) born from above, (2) born again, or (3) both born from above and born again.

I understand Jesus in John's Gospel to present the idea that unbelievers are dead (that is, they lack life). For example, see John 5:25 in parallel with 5:24 (Amen, amen, I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes the One who sent Me has eternal life, and will not come into judgment, but has [already] passed from death to life. Amen, amen, I tell you, a time is coming, and is now here, when the dead [unbelievers] will hear the voice of the Son of Man, and those who hear will live.). The dead status of unbelievers is the basis for John 3:18 saying that they are judged already. John 3:16 expresses the idea that only believers possess life; unbelievers are in a perishing spiral that (unless they believe prior to the grave) will continue for all eternity in a conscious state of perishing. Revelation 20:10 and 14 refer to the everlasting (conscious) torment in the lake of fire as the second death.

Jesus calls unbelievers dead. I do not see John 3:3 and 7 using physical birth and physical life as a basis for announcing the need to be born again. Instead, He said that a birth from above would give life.

Although both ideas (born from above and born again) are true, I believe that Jesus aimed at one idea: born from above. The next section offers further clarification.

A few asked, "Why Is This Important?"

If both 3:3 and 3:7 aim at born from above, then 3:5 becomes simple to explain. I agree with Zane Hodges that both "born of water" and "born of pneuma" (Spirit/spirit/wind) refer to being born by the Spirit. Both water and pneuma refer to things above. In that case, there is smooth continuity between 3:3, 5, and 7:

3:3 born from above = born from above

3:5a born of water = born from above

3:5b born of wind = born from above

3:7 born from above = born from above

The continuity in these verses makes the exposition of this passage simple. Those struggling with whether 3:5 refers to water baptism may take a second look. Water is the term in 3:5 that is a little difficult, unless one thinks of water and wind as things from above. If we understand 3:3 and 7 as referring to birth from above, the passage flows nicely.

A few asked, "Does Acts 26:5 Support the Idea of Again?"

No. Acts 26:5 speaks of people that knew Paul from the first, not those knowing him again. Though it has a temporal sense, it does not mean again.

A few asked, "Does Galatians 4:9 Weaken the Case?"

No. Galatians 4:9 is normally translated as again. That is certainly conceivable, but the heavy lifting on the idea of again comes from palin (earlier in the verse). If anothen actually is seen as again, it merely reinforces palin. I could imagine it restating palin (again), but that is not my first choice.

However, that is not my view of what actually does. I understand anothen in Galatians 4:9 as "from the top [to the bottom]." In other words, it suggests "completely." The verse would mean: "How do you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire to be completely [from the top] in bondage?"

December 2012 Newsletter

Have a Blessed Christmas! The Lord is good. His grace has been evident throughout 2012. Lifeline, the Message of Life newsletter, contains updates and expositions of Scripture. May Christ's message of life (John 3:16) spread abroad in the coming year.

Ryan Korver Radio Interview

We have known Ryan Korver for a several years. He has always searched for ways to give out Living Waters in mass quantity. This interview he gave is uplifting. We wish to encourage everyone to share Living Waters with both unbelievers and believers and find ways to pass them out in quantity. Ryan Korver Living Water Radio Interview

ETS Conference

John Niemela recently presented a paper at the Evangelical Theological Conference on Early Publishing Technology. We wanted to provide the link to the paper for all those who wish to read through it. Early Publishing Technology: Scrolls vs. Codices

I am the Vine: Interpretation versus Implication

We all know how perseverance distorts John 15, suggesting that unproductive "believers" are really not believers, so the Father cuts them off and sends them to the lake of fire. Incredibly, much of evangelical Christendom would say "Amen" to that approach to John 15! Fortunately, many grace people know that verse 2a negates that view. The verse should be rendered: Every branch in Me which does not produce fruit He props up (not cuts off). A document by Pliny the Elder (first century A.D.) speaks of vineyardists placing stones under unfruitful branches to hold them above the ground, so they can become productive. Unproductive here means pre-productive. Depending upon locale, vineyardists use wires, trellises, or even rocks to enable pre-productive branches to produce seed-bearing fruit (grapes). This is well-documented, so it is not the thrust of this article. Another issue requires attention.

Despite handling 15:2 correctly, many grace people are two-handed Christians, as one of my professors called them. He said that some accept a truth "on the one hand," but immediately compromise it "on the other hand." Precision on 15:2a is like two steps forward, but imprecision on verse 3 is a backwards step.

The referent of you in verse 3 is also important. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. No eyebrows raise when preachers say: "What Jesus told the disciples is that all Christians are clean because of Christ's word they have heard [and believed]." Is this the interpretive point of the verse? Or is it an implication from the interpretation"? This is crucial.

Those present were His disciples. The eleven were clean because of what He had spoken to them. No one alive today was present as a hearer during Jesus' earthly ministry.

By way of interpretation, Jesus said, You [the eleven] are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you [the eleven]. By way of implication, the eleven are not the only ones cleansed by Christ's word. However, interpretively, Christ declared His immediate hearers clean.

What is the point? The eleven were the interpretive focus of Jesus' assertion: Every branch in Me which does not produce fruit He props up. The definition of fruit is important. Later in this same context (15:16) Jesus said, You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go out and produce much fruit and that your fruit should endure. His purpose for choosing the eleven was to spread the message of life after He ascended to the Father. Jesus elsewhere (e.g., the Parable of the Soils) equated seed with the word. Is not fruit (other than Thompson seedless grapes) seed-bearing.

How much seed (the message of life) did the disciples sow during the fifty-two days between John 15 and Pentecost? Probably very little, as they awaited the Holy Spirit empowering them as Christ's witnesses (cf. Acts 1:8). This is when the Father propped up the eleven (John 15:2), so they would (later) bear much fruit. Indeed, Acts speaks of the apostles spreading much seed-bearing fruit. That is, they sowed the message of life throughout the world.

Perseverance people rightly object when grace people announce that the big idea of this passage is that the Father sustains worldly Christians who are entangled in sin. Under such a model, immediately after speaking about Himself and the Father (verse 1) the first topic Jesus raises (verse 2) is the unproductive carnal believer. Eventually, He gets around to talking about productive believers. Years ago, a Reformed person responded to me, "You have got to be kidding." Though not wanting to admit it to him, he was right (on this one issue). Eventually, the answer became clear.

Jesus was addressing the eleven with something quite germane to them. During the fifty-two days before Pentecost, the Father would support them. Soon, all of them, even Thomas saw the resurrected Christ. Truth replaced their doubts and they regained fellowship with the Lord. However, it was not until Pentecost that they became fruitful branches (ministering the seed-bearing fruit) to a lost and dying world. Christ instructed them to await the Spirit enabling them. Within that context, John 15:2a is a great encouragement: although the eleven were unfruitful (pre-productive) the Father would sustain them. Many other passages speak of God sustaining them as they fearlessly proclaimed Him, even under the threat of death.

By implication, we can still draw encouragement from this passage. Yes, the Father supports all believers, even if immaturity or carnality hinders them from ministering seed-bearing fruit. However, the thrust of verse 2a is that the Father sustained these pre-productive apostles even during great despair, the time between the cross and His resurrection appearances to them. Let us not forget that the Good Shepherd ministered to His own in their darkest hour.

More Transitions

For the first seven months of this year I was interim pastor at Harvey Park Baptist Church. We emphasized sharing the message of life through John's Gospel and saw believers start to emphasize sharing the message of life. We were greatly encouraged.

The pastoral search committee compiled a candidate list. Church bylaws declare interim pastors ineligible, so I stepped down effective July 31 as part of applying for the permanent position. The committee wanted a level playing field, so they requested for us not to attend until a candidate was selected.

The search committee deadlocked on October 1. It dismissed the four finalists and began advertising for new candidates. We decided against reapplying and are praying for the church as the search continues. We are pursuing a closer working relationship with the Denver Rescue Mission (DRM).

Actually, even during my part-time pastorate, Harvey Park's Evangelism Committee partnered with DRM to create a twelve-week Gospel-of-John-based basics class. We met for months designing the course. Harvey Park is presently hosting the first offering of this course. About two-dozen men, mainly from the DRM, have almost completed it. The consistency of attendance and the men's enthusiasm are encouraging. God's word never returns to Him void.

Projects

We are working closely with the DRM in seeking ways to minister to believers and unbelievers alike. They share our conviction of the centrality of John's Gospel. We anticipate the Lord working.

We are busy writing and editing. GES has returned portions of my first draft for the introduction and technical notes for Zane Hodges' forthcoming Romans commentary. We are resubmitting sections for further editing.

The big project is a simplified form of my dissertation for publication. My dissertation applied elementary statistics to an old argument (discovered in the 1770s). Unfortunately, a low percentage of those interested in the synoptic problem understand statistics. Gradually, we are learning how to put the cookies on lower shelves. We look forward to publishing this and related projects.

We have done some travel. I spoke on John and Ephesians at Minneola (KS) Community Church, pastored by Shawn Leach on September 2. I also had seven sessions on James at Yampa Valley Baptist Church, Craig, CO (September 14-18). This was a return trip; Steve Lewis and I spoke there last September. Diane particularly enjoyed catching five trout at Lake Avery. Pastor Dale is a part-time hunting and fishing guide, so he knows where to fish and lots of tricks of the trade. Diane regards having a fish on the line as almost millennial.

Upcoming Travel

On November 14, I will present a paper at the ETS (Evangelical Theological Society) national conference at Milwaukee, WI. The topic is "Early Publishing Technology: Scrolls versus Codices. (An earlier version of the paper is on our website as a sermon and sermon notes: Audio and Sermon Notes). On the way to ETS, I speak on November 11 at Community Bible Church of Washington, IL, pastored by Chuck Replogle. After ETS, we will have a Bible study in George, IA, on November 16. In the morning of November 18, I speak at Grace Bible Church in Omaha, NE, pastored by Dan Hauge. That evening I speak at Jansen (NE) Bible Church, pastored by Paul Carpenter. We will start out with a full load of Living Waters and return home with only a handful.

Prayer Requests

Health and strength to minister as the Lord gives open doors

Safety in travel

Wisdom in choosing between opportunities in the Denver area

Continuing partnership with the Denver Rescue Mission in reaching believers and unbelievers

Bringing current writing projects to successful conclusion

Financial provision from the Lord

Children's Illustrated Gospel of John

For those who have been interested in this book, Amazon carries an illustrated Gospel of John. The publisher is also providing this same book in an online format free (as well as videos that can be downloaded and burned to DVD).

GES Conference

John presented two papers today at the GES Conference in Ft Worth, Tx. The notes for these papers are: That I May Attain to Whose Resurrection? and Those That Have Done Good.

Series on the Book of Ruth

John has started a new series on the Book of Ruth. The old series is still accessible and is archived on a different page.