In the early years of the Second World War, Nazi Germany had developed a code machine which they called "the Enigma." It was highly sophisticated for that era, and the German high command thought the Allies would never be able to break the code. But in one of the greatest intelligence coups of all time, the Allies learned the secret of the Enigma machine, without the knowledge of the enemy. This gave the Allies an enormous advantage. But they knew that they could not allow the Nazis to learn that their machine had been compromised. This was perhaps the most closely-guarded secret of W.W.II. On one occasion the cryptographers intercepted and decoded a message indicating that the Nazis had learned of a secret schedule and route of an Allied airplane carrying a top military figure and his staff. The Nazis intended to blow the plane out of the sky. The Allied leaders were faced with a dilemma: Warn the plane back and let the enemy know their code was broken OR let the plane continue to certain doom and retain the most valued secret. The gut-wrenching decision was made - let them destroy the plane and the officers aboard! How could the Allied leadership justify such a decision? Simply because they were looking at the "bigger picture." As a point of fact, the Nazis never learned that their Enigma had been compromised and the Allies knew Germany's plans before they were executed and were thus able to respond advantageously. No telling how many months or years the war was shortened or how many lives were saved as a result of that dreadful decision. Some historians have speculated that the final outcome of the war might have been different had we not maintained the secret of the Enigma.
Being able to see "the Bigger Picture," in a perfect
way, is a characteristic of God's omniscience. This is one of
the most important lessons seen in the Book of Job: when
God allows human suffering, He is always taking into account the
Bigger Picture. In the first two chapters we read of God's
statement of confidence in Job, Satan's denial and challenge,
and God's agreeing to allow Satan to afflict Job. We know
about that conversation between God and Satan. But, as far as
we can determine, Job himself never learned the reason,
yet God expected him to remain faithful. That's the greatest challenge
of all: when God allows Satan to afflict us, we need to have
enough confidence in the sovereignty and integrity of God to understand
that there is a Bigger Picture involved which God alone can see. -- Bob West, The Milpitas Messenger, June, 1996
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"Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?"- 1 Corinthians 15:29
The question above was recently submitted from an Internet visitor to The Bible Page with particular reference to the Mormon claim that this passage is the proof text for their unique practice of being baptized in their temples in the place of disobedient dead relatives in order that they might be saved. Let me make some preliminary remarks regarding the Mormon teaching:
There is little question that this is a difficult passage. There are well over 20 distinct interpretations of the exact meaning. Much of this difficulty is occasioned by the rather imprecise translation of the Greek word HUPER by the ambiguous English word "for." The word can have any of the following meanings: "over, beyond, about, above, concerning, for the sake of, in behalf, with regard to, with reference to, on account of", etc. Baptism "with reference to" or "with regard to" the dead, could mean something entirely different than baptism "in behalf of" the dead. When faced with a difficult, obscure passage, it is a good practice to first consider what the passage cannot mean. Let me give you this illustration: If a woman walks into the back of the church building and someone asks me, "Is that your wife?" I reply, "No." The questioner says, "Then who is she?" I reply, "I don't know." He says, "Well, if you don't know who she is, then how do you know she's not your wife?!" You see, I might not know for sure who that one IS - but I do know for sure who she is not! I might not know for sure what 1 Corinthians 15:29 IS teaching. But I do know for sure what it is not teaching - because of other plain passages of scripture and from the context. So what is 1 Corinthians 15:29 definitely not teaching?
Now, what follows is my studied opinion of what the passage teaches. I know definitely that it doesn't teach the Mormon doctrine. Here's what I think it does teach - which I believe is consistent with the meaning of the word, and the context. In the Corinthian church there apparently was a group of folks who had been influenced by the old Sadducee doctrine and were saying that there is no resurrection (v. 12); that dead people remain dead. Paul, in this context, is presenting a series of arguments which show that the dead are indeed raised, the terrible consequences if they are not raised, and the inconsistency of the no-resurrection doctrine. Verses 29-30 are the two inconsistency arguments. The one at v. 30 is clear: Paul is arguing, in effect, 'If (as some of you say) the dead aren't raised, then why would we place ourselves in harm's way for the sake of a false and hopeless gospel.' This is much the same thought as v. 19. Now, to the real meat of the nut - vs. 29. First, let's speculate, "what if" HUPER were translated "with reference to?" "Else what shall they do which are baptized [with reference to] the dead, if the dead rise not at all?" I ask myself, 'When I was baptized into Christ, was there any sense in which I was baptized with reference to dead people?' The answer is yes. The thought that people were dying all around me (I was working in a funeral home at the time) and that some day I was going to be among them, was a key element in my decision to become a Christian. Why do folks become Christians? Because they know they're going to die and they want to be ready to meet the Lord when that time comes. Right? So in a very real sense, every time one is "buried with Christ in baptism" he is being baptized "with reference to" dying, death, the dead. Why would anyone be baptized if he didn't believe he was going to be resurrected from the dead? Why are they, (folks submitting to baptism [with reference to the dead]) being baptized if the dead aren't going to be raised?
Those are my conclusions on this subject. What this view has going
for it, is that it is consistent with the context, consistent
with the meaning of the word HUPER, and consistent with other
plain passages which bear on the subject. -- Bob West, The Milpitas Messenger, June, 1996
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Sir Winston Churchill is one of the best-known names in history and one of my favorite characters. He had a remarkable facility for sharp and witty retorts when under pressure. He had his failings, of course, one of which was to sometimes over-imbibe "adult beverages." On one occasion he arrived at a large party hosted by a leading London socialite. This was one of those times when he had over-indulged. His embarrassed hostess confronted him angrily saying, "Sir Winston, you are drunk! You are very drunk! You are very, very drunk!" Churchill looked blearily over his ever-present cigar and replied, "Madam, you are ugly! You are very ugly! You are very, very ugly! Furthermore, tomorrow I shall no longer be drunk - but you, Madam, will still be ugly!"
In this humorous account, I see a serious lesson. Christians are
often confronted by non-Christians with accusations of sin, inconsistency
and hypocrisy in our lives. The sad truth is that they are probably
correct in most of their accusations. We are worthy of their reproach
and rebuke when we do not practice what we preach and believe
to be true. However, without excusing our behavior or resorting
to the insulting sarcasm of a drunken diplomat, we need to remember
that if we are striving to walk in the light (1 John 1:7-9) the
blood of Christ will cleanse us of our sins. But the ugliness
of guilt will remain with the one who refuses to obey the Lord.
'Sin is ugly. Sin is very ugly. Sin is very, very ugly. But the
Christian is forgiven though the blood of Jesus, while the rebellious
sinner remains lost!' -- Bob West, The Milpitas Messenger, June, 1996
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One of the most immature and petty of human practices is that of harboring a grudge against our fellowman. The nature of the offense is even more aggravated when we observe the practice among brethren in Christ.
What is a grudge? It is merely the leftovers of an unforgiving heart. It is a clear manifestation of a lack of love. While most of our Bible translations don't contain the word, the following passages deal with the subject:
"And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you" - Ephesians 4:32.
"Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye" - Colossians 3:13.
"If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also" - 1 John 4:20-21
If these and a host of other similar passages were observed, the harboring of grudges and its antecedent evils would not exist.
All sins have a deteriorating effect upon those who commit them. But none seems to effect such a rapid corruption of character and personality as that of harboring grudges. Unfortunately, the guilty party is usually the last one to realize that any change has taken place.
So, brother or sister, turn loose of that grudge you have carried
all these years. Repent of your lack of love. Forgive and be free
from that horrible weight of both the grudge and the guilt of
sin. -- Bob West, The Milpitas Messenger, June, 1996
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