UNBELIEF REBUKED

“Then He said to them, O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken” (Luke 24:25 NKJV).

In context, the Lord Jesus is walking with two disciples on the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus. In their conversation, these disciples spoke of their disappointment about the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus and their perplexity about the report of His missing from the grave. The Lord Jesus then rebuked their unbelief. Our verse is part of that rebuke. It speaks of the character of unbelief, the cause of unbelief, and the contempt of unbelief.

Character of unbelief - “Foolish ones.” The Lord Jesus described these disciples as foolish because they did not believe the Scriptures regarding the Messiah. In His rebuke of their unbelief, He used very strong language. We tend to back away from using such strong language about unbelief. But the Lord Jesus’ use of such language says something about the seriousness of unbelief. Our day honors unbelief, but the Lord Jesus does not honor skeptics. He condemns them, saying that unbelief belongs in the category of the “foolish ones.”

Cause of unbelief - “Slow of heart.” This phrase surprises many. Most would have expected the Lord Jesus to say, “Slow in the head.” But it is the heart more than the head that produces unbelief. Failure to believe God is not an intellectual problem but a heart problem. The heart simply wants to rebel against God, will not give affection to God, and will not honor God. Education will not solve the problem like devotion will.

Contempt of unbelief - “Slow . . . to believe in all that the prophets have spoken.” Unbelief despises the Scriptures and will believe just about anything as long as it is not the Bible. Unbelief reads newspapers daily, subscribes to many news magazines, and devours news programs on TV. Yet all these avenues of news are bias and unreliable. At the same time unbelief will not read the Bible because it says the Bible is untrustworthy. Unbelief shows contempt for Divine truth and in turn God shows contempt for unbelief.

(Adapted from Butler’s Daily Reading 3)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“It does not require great learning to be a Christian and be convinced of the truth of the Bible. It requires only an honest heart and a willingness to obey God!”

Albert Barnes (1798 - 1870)

American Theologian, Presbyterian Clergyman and Author

Word Study

Faithful

In Titus 1:9 we read, “Holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict" (NKJV).

“Faithful” is the Greek word pistós (πιστός = pis-tos'). It means trustworthy, reliable, credible, trusting, believing. In classical Greek, pistós is used to describes something or someone who is worthy of faith or keeps promises. In the Septuagint the word carries the idea of reliability. God is described as “faithful” (Deut. 7:9; Isa. 49:7). In the New Testament, pistós also carries the idea of that which can be trusted, reliable, true, and authentic. Theologically, it means that we can depend totally upon God because He is the Faithful One; He will do what He says, and He will fulfill what He has promised (Heb. 10:23; cf. 11:11).

“Fear Nots” Found in the Bible

“And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him” (Acts 20:10 KJV).

Did You Know…

With regard to the angels that sinned, (cf. Gen. 6;1-4), God “cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment” (2 Peter 2:4).

Bible Quiz

Which land did God told Abraham to leave and to travel to the land of Canaan?

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz: What animal does Solomon compares his lover’s hair to in the Book Song of Song? A flock of goats (Song of Song 4:1).

Names For the Lord Jesus in the Bible

“SOURCE OF SALVATION”

"And having been perfected, He became the author (source) of eternal salvation to all who obey Him” (Heb. 5:9 NJKV).

1. Meaning – SOURCE OF SALVATION refers to the Lord Jesus Christ as the source, fountain head, procurer and administrator of redemption.

2. Insights – The Greek word here for "author (source)," aitios (αἴτιος = ah'ee-tee-os), means that in which the cause of anything resides. The Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, in His death on the Cross is the Source from which our salvation proceeds. Because He is the sinless, eternal Son of God, and because He offered a perfect sacrifice, the Lord Jesus Christ is the “Author (source) of eternal salvation.” No Old Testament priest could offer eternal salvation to anyone, but that is exactly what we have in the Lord Jesus Christ. By His sacrificial death on the cross, the Lord Jesus satisfied God’s justice providing reconciliation and justification for sinners. Salvation is all in the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. Acts 4:12).

Did You Know – Christian History

Clovis I was born around 466, in Paris, France. He was the king of the Franks and ruler of much of Gaul (France) from 481 to 511, a key period during the transformation of the Roman Empire into Europe.

Although Clovis had married a Christian woman, his knowledge of Christianity was limited. He believed what Clotilda, his wife, had told him was a mixture of facts, fables and doubtful legends. Clovis was a violent and vindictive man, and felt that he had good reason to doubt the God of the Christians. Had not the Roman Empire converted to the new faith more than a hundred years earlier? And yet God had not protected it from the barbarians. Further, after he allowed Clotilda to baptize their first-born son, the boy got sick and died eight days later. In his estimation, what kind of God would allowed those baptized into his name to die? For her part, Clotilda bravely rejoiced that she had been considered worthy to bear a child who was now transported to the kingdom of heaven.

In spite his suspicion of baptism, Clovis permitted Clotilda to have their second son baptized. This boy also got sick and Clovis again became angry. But this time the boy was spared in answer to prayer. And then came the battle that forced him to make his desperate appeal to Christ. The gods were failing king Clovis and his Franks. A contingent of Germans was about to defeat them. In desperation, the king raised his hands in the air, praying: “Jesus, if you really are the Son of God as my wife tells me, grant me victory and I will believe in you.” At that moment the enemy broke ranks and fled. Clovis attributed the victory to the Christian God.

Clovis was as good as his word. He invited Bishop Remigius to instruct him in the new faith. On December 25, 496, he was baptized in Rheims. In celebration of the event, Remigius decked the cathedral with lovely carpets and hangings. Hundreds of candles lighted the building in contrast to the dark December evening. A breath of incense hung like enchantment in the air. Hearing the solemn chanting of Psalms, the king turned with awe to Remigius, asking if he had entered the promised kingdom of heaven. “No,” answered the bishop; “but it is the beginning of the way to it.” 3,000 of Clovis’ Frankish warriors also followed him in baptism. Remigius continued to instruct the warrior king in the faith. His understanding of what he heard must have lacked something, however. When Remigius described the abuse and death of Christ, the king started up angrily, exclaiming, “If I had been there with my Franks, I would have avenged His wrongs!”

A Little Humor

A four-year-old boy was eating an apple in the back seat of the car, when he asked, “Daddy, why is my apple turning brown?’ “Because after you ate the skin off, the meat of the apple came into contact with the air, which caused it to oxidize, thus changing the molecular structure and turning it into a different color,” explained his dad. There was a long silence. Then the son asked softly, “Daddy, are you talking to me?”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“We must ask ourselves, how much of eternity is in what we are doing today!”