Book Review: Basic Christianity

Stott, John

Basic Christianity.

Downers Grove, Illinois:

IVP Books, 2008.
174 pages.

     In November, 1952, when he was 31 years old, a mission was held at Cambridge University and John Stott was invited to be “chief missioner”. Part of his responsibility at that time was to give eight evening lectures at the University Church—so he chose as his theme, “a systematic unfolding of the gospel.” Over the years he conducted fifty such university missions, gradually refining his material until he was able to publish, in 1958, Basic Christianity.

     Stott’s preface and first chapter set the groundwork for the rest of the book. Without trying to explain him, we can string quotes together from these first twenty-five pages to show his direction: “Large numbers of people…see a contradiction between the founder of Christianity and the current state of the church he founded…was he true?...the meaning of what we call “salvation”…God reaching out to us…we would have remained forever agnostic…God has done something…have we listened?...We have to be ready not just to believe, but to obey.”

     In Part 1, Who Christ Is, Stott gives a clear-sighted and logical review of Christ’s claims to deity, of his character and of his death and resurrection. I particularly enjoyed Stott’s paragraph proving that “we can make our own estimate” of Christ’s character. “The moral perfection that was quietly claimed by him…is clearly shown in the Gospels.”

     Part 2, What We Need, deals with sin and its consequences. Stott leaves us in no doubt about the universality of sin as he reviews the ten commandments, then indicates the consequences, specifically,  alienation from God, bondage to self, and conflict with others. “A lecture will not solve our problem; we need a Savior.”

     There can be few sweeter devotional works than Part 3: What Christ Has Done. Here we learn that Christianity is “a rescue religion”, we learn why the cross was necessary, and we realize that “we need more than an example; we need a Savior.” Here we also learn that, to put it bluntly, “Our sins sent Christ to hell.” But God’s plan of salvation is “first to put right our relationship with him, and then progressively to set us free….”

     Part 4 is a light on salvation that I have seldom heard in a public gospel presentation and never with such clarity. How To Respond! Here Stott talks about “Counting the Cost” and “Reaching a Decision”. “Having heard his voice, we must open to his knock. To open the door to Jesus Christ is a graphic way of describing an act of faith in him as our Savior, an act of submission to him as our Lord.” Stott’s last chapter is “Being a Christian” and points to even greater treasure: “an intimate...an assured …a secure relationship”.

    Basic Christianity is so well-written and so graciously written, and Christianity itself is so reasonable that I came away wondering how anyone could read the book and not become a Christian on the spot. Atheists and agnostics come at Christianity from the wrong end— they want to prove (or disprove) God from science or philosophy. In fact, that was the way God allowed things to go in a past era (in Job’s day perhaps) but none of that really worked. So God has bypassed that method and come all the way to earth. He has reached out and shown us himself, in Jesus.

     So finally, a recommendation in the strongest possible terms—if you haven’t read this book, read it—if you’ve read it before, read it again!

Crossword Puzzle: A Botanical Bible

Behold your God!

     Last time, I mentioned my friend’s belief that Jesus is the highest of all God’s creation, but still only created. The grammar of the Bible (although perhaps not proof) strongly points to his Deity. But we have the statements of John, Paul, Peter, and Thomas (not to mention Matthew, Mark, and Luke) that show absolute belief in his Deity. This month we want to outline four more proofs of the Deity of Christ:

4. Statements by Jesus that were claims to Deity

     In the synagogue at Nazareth, reading from Isaiah, Jesus finished with the comment, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”  Luke 4:21. This was far more than a claim to Messiahship —the people became furious and, again, they saw it as blasphemy. He was claiming to be God.

      In Sychar, he made the same claim, but low key. The woman talked about worshipping God in Samaria or in Jerusalem. Regarding the Messiah, Jesus said, “I who speak to you am he.”  John 4:26. But this whole incident goes beyond “the Messiah”. The Samaritans realize that Jesus “really is the Saviour of the world.” To be Saviour, he has to be Deity. See item 7, below.
     A third example would be at the grave of Lazarus. “Jesus called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’” John 11:43. This action is described as seeing “the glory of God.”
     A final example for now might be John 17:5—“glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” This would in essence be “before anything was created!”

5. Occasions when Jesus shows Divine attributes.

     One of the first divine characteristics that comes to mind is omnipotence. And Jesus shows this power in abundance. Skimming through the gospel of Mark, we see him healing leprosy or paralysis or a withered hand or a haemorrhaging woman. He even raises the dead.

     If we look at only two other descriptions of Deity, Jesus is the only one who fulfils them. Job 9:8 describes God, who “alone…treads on the waves of the sea.” Mark 6:48 is the fulfilment. A second example is John 9:32, where the man born blind, but now healed, says, “Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind.” But Jesus quoted Isaiah 61 about himself, saying, “He has sent me to proclaim…recovery of sight for the blind.”

6. Scripture statements showing two or three Persons acting in unity.

     Countless verses confirm the participation of Jesus in the Godhead. For instance, in the Old Testament, Zechariah 13:7 (KJV) says, “Awake, O Sword, against… the man that is my fellow…” What is “a fellow”? It is essentially “an equal.”  In John 14:9, he said, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” He said, “I and the Father are one.” John 10:30.  “As the Father has life in himself so…the Son to have life in himself.” John 5:26. “All I have is yours and all you have is mine.” John 17:10.  1 Cor.10:9 (KJV) tells us about the exodus from Egypt, “We should not test Christ, as some of them did.” So he was there, at the exodus, and he was God. Hebrews 1:2,3 talks about Jesus, “through whom he created the universe.” Finally (for the moment) Hebrews 1:6 tells us, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” See item 7, below.

7. Theoretical principles

     This seventh way of looking at Scripture should probably come first, but it’s an assortment of large scale principles:- 

(i) For starters, we should NEVER worship another creature, no matter how high above us he may be. Revelation 19:10 says, “I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, ‘Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you…Worship God!’” This principle is re-iterated in Rev. 22:9.

(ii) What is the (negative) value of one sin? Logic would tell us that if one sin can land a person in eternal punishment, the value of one sin must be infinite. The corollary to that would be that we need an infinite Saviour. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” 1 Tim.1:15.  He is the infinite Being we need.
(iii) God is Love! One Person alone could never be the epitome of love— it takes two or preferably three! For God to be love and yet dwell alone before creation is a contradiction in terms.
(iv)“A body you prepared for me.” Heb.10:5. The Scriptures take this statement in two ways. First, they claim that Jesus existed prior to Bethlehem and this refers to his incarnation, into humanity. “He is before all things.” Col.1:17. Secondly, every person, when he or she becomes a believer, is placed into the mystical Body of Christ. 1 Cor.6:15. It boggles the mind to imagine a finite, created being so great that all Christians are “in him”, but he is not God. This is impossible!
(v) We know, of course, that Melchizedek had a “beginning of days” (although not recorded) but the writer to the Hebrews pushes the statement to show the belief of the disciples and the early church: “without beginning of days or end of life” (Heb. 5:6-10; 7:3.)—Jesus is eternal, he is God, he had no beginning.

Conclusion

     We’re sending this study to our friend in the UK—pray for us. As we look back over this article we see that it’s a combined discussion of both the Trinity, and the Deity of Christ. These are deep subjects and can’t be glossed over with a handful of proof-texts; they are embedded in the fabric of Scripture and the more we study them the more details come to light. May this effort be to God’s glory!

“I am God and there is no other.”

     At a seniors’ luncheon, I recently met a lovely old gentleman—he was friendly, he was gracious, he was interested in life, he was happy to talk about his experiences and, as we parted, he had the five of us hold hands as he prayed at the table. Then I asked him where he worshipped and he said he was “a fringe Christadelphian.” How disappointed I was! He said he didn’t believe in the Trinity, and the beginning of Jesus’ existence was only at Bethlehem. In fact, he had written a book defending his (dis)belief. In spite of this he still seemed to have complete faith in Jesus as his Saviour. Without critiquing his book item by item, I want to re-examine the doctrine of the Deity of Christ. Other excellent discussions are presented in the Precious Seed 2011 Supplement Behold your God, and in Wayne Grudem’s Bible Doctrine.

 “Deity” and “Trinity” in Scripture

     The word “trinity” never occurs in the Bible although it well indicates the concept of “three in one and one in three.” This is an idea that’s too big for us, so we make all kinds of analogies, like St. Patrick’s shamrock (three lobes but one leaf) or an egg (shell, yolk, white) or space (length, width, height). Even so, all these analogies break down and, in the end, Muslims still accuse us of worshipping “a three-headed god.” This was the controversy in the church in the 3^rd and 4^th centuries— Arius taught that “the son of God was created by the Father.” (Oxford Dictionary.) Athanasius countered with his classic work, The Incarnation of the Word of God (c.318 AD). Let’s look at the Scriptural doctrine from several different viewpoints:

1.The Grammar of the Bible

        There are several details of grammar that point subtly toward a plurality of Persons in the Godhead. The very first is the word “elohim” (Gen.1:1), a plural form for God, but taking a singular verb. Anti-Trinitarians will admit that it is a plural noun, but then think that we want a plural verb to go with it. Of course we don’t—we believe that the Trinity is so truly one and in agreement on every thought and action that a singular verb is only appropriate. Another grammatical construction is Genesis 1:26, where God says, “Let us make man in our image.” Only God could make man; he wasn’t talking to the angels— he was talking to the other Persons of the Holy Trinity. A third concerns the deity of Christ: “Before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8:58) This may sound a little ambiguous to English readers but the reaction of the Jews confirms that Jesus was claiming deity—“They picked up stones to stone him.”

2.Express Statements of the Bible

        Multitudes of verses come right out and say that Jesus is God. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Romans 9:5 says, “…Christ, who is God over all, forever praised!” Titus 2:13 refers to “the blessed hope— the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.” Colossians 2:9 says, “in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.” Finally, 2 Peter 1:1 talks about “the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ.”

3.Biblical responses to Jesus

        Without always specifically claiming Deity, Jesus acted as only God could act. For example, in Mark 2:5, he says, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” The response of the scribes was, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?”  Another interesting response came from the rich young ruler who addressed Jesus as “Good teacher.” Jesus countered with, “Why do you call me good? No one is good—except God alone.” Note that he did not say, “Do not call me good.” He obviously wanted the young man to acknowledge his Deity. (Mark 10:17,18) A third incident is John 10:30-33. The Jews wanted to stone him but not because of his miracles; rather, “for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” One final response to Jesus is highly appropriate: Thomas saw his nail-imprinted hands and said, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28)

        If (or since) we trust Jesus to be true, honest, and faithful, how could we ever deny his claim to Deity (and the claims of his apostles for him, too)? If we deny his Deity, we are calling him a liar! Next time, we will look at several more proofs of his Deity, not omitting several theoretical principles as well.Ì

A Visit to Langham Place, London

        On Sunday, June 19, 2011, we visited All Souls’ Church, Langham Place, London. It was the only time we’ve ever been there and it was significant for several reasons. First of all, from the announcements at the beginning of the service, we learned that the members are gearing up for major evangelism at the London Olympics of 2012. They talked about a “gentle presentation” of the gospel at various events, including setting up good quality monitors so people can come into the church at various times during the work day to see these competitions.

        The sermon itself, by Hugh Palmer, came to me as confirmation directly from the Lord because, a few days previously, I had chosen Colossians 1:13 as my theme for another article: “He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.” Mr. Palmer spoke on “Thanks be to God” and this verse is, “The Ultimate Transformation.”

        After the service, we had a cup of tea downstairs, and I bought John Stott’s 51^st book, The Radical Disciple. As the lady took my money, she said, “This is John’s last book. He’s very fragile now.” On July 28^th, I learned that John Stott, of All Souls, Langham Place, had passed away the previous day.

        Finally, in the nature of a little pilgrimage, this is the home and head office of Christianity Explored. Although we didn’t meet him, we caught a glimpse of Rico Tice in the audience, and talked with a couple who are deeply involved in the program and committed to much prayer for it.

        We enjoyed our two hours there and observed some differences in practice from other churches we have been in. For instance, (i) they made special mention of the 400^th anniversary of the King James Version of the Bible and the men who suffered to bring it about, (ii) they projected all their hymns onto a screen but updated some of the wording, for instance, “Holy, holy, holy, all the saints adore you…you were and are and evermore shall be.” (iii) They presented some details of what could only be called “God at work”, (as opposed to “us” at work!), and (iv) they suggested (and summarized) what the sermon had been last week (there’s a challenge!).

        Our visit to Britain in general, and London in particular, overwhelmed us with how much God DOES NOT figure in people’s lives. Here is a church where He really does matter to people and they’re doing everything they can to serve Him. May God bless them! Ì

Animals of the Bible (NIV)

There are at least 55 animals in this word search. See how many you can find. Words can be across, down, diagonal up or down, but not backwards or up. Have fun!

In Memory of John R. W. Stott 1921-2011

      John Stott passed away on July 27^th of this year. He was one of the brightest Christians of his generation—so much so that in 2005, Time Magazine included him as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

My first awareness of John Stott came in the 70’s, when I bought his Basic Introduction to the New Testament (1964). Eight years ago, I bought Why I am a Christian (2003) in audio format, and listened to it countless times on drives all over the continent. In June, at his home church, I purchased his last book, The Radical Disciple (2010).

This is just a sampling of his literary output— he produced over fifty books during his career. But writing was only part of his story— Stott was born in London in 1921 and attended Rugby School, then Trinity College, Cambridge. In February, 1938, Eric Nash presented the Christian Union at Rugby School with the question, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called the Christ?” Stott says, “…that night at my bedside I made the experiment of faith, and ‘opened the door’ to Christ.”

Stott attended his local church, All Souls, Langham Place, from childhood. Working with such an inner city church, he took as his model these five criteria (says his online biography): the priority of prayer, expository preaching, regular evangelism, careful follow-up of enquirers and converts, and the systematic training of helpers and leaders.

A few other details of his life are worth noting:

·         “He once disguised himself as homeless and slept on the streets in order to find out what it was like.”

·         He “turned down opportunities for advancement in the church hierarchy,” even a bishopric.

·         He “served as a chaplain to the queen from 1959 to 1991.”

·         He never married, though “he came close to it on two occasions.”

·         “He has been a keen bird watcher and photographer” and published The Birds Our Teachers, illustrated with his own photographs, in 1999.

To give the flavour of Stott’s writing and to let him have the last word, here is a quotation from Your Mind Matters (1972):

“…readings from the Old and New Testament together with a Scripture exposition are an indispensable part of public worship today. Only as we hear again what God has done are we ready to respond in praise and worship..”

And from The Authority of the Bible (1974): “The overriding reason for accepting the divine inspiration and authority of Scripture is plain loyalty to Jesus.”Ì

Book Review: ORIGINS: A Reformed Look at Creation, Design, & Evolution

 

Haarsma, Deborah B., and Haarsma, Loren D.

Faith Alive Christian Resources,

Grand Rapids, Michigan 2007

255 pages

        At last, a book on the creation/evolution discussion that should bring light and no heat! Deborah and Loren Haarsma were commissioned by Faith Alive Christian Resources, “to aid Christians who want to learn about creation, design, and evolution.” Wife and husband are both professors at Calvin College in Grand Rapids. They were both raised in young earth creationist circles, obtained graduate degrees in the sciences, and later began to investigate all sides of the controversy. This work is an attempt to lay all the cards on the table, so to speak, and logically show which are the strengths and weaknesses.

        The Haarsmas’ Introduction lays the groundwork to show what Christians believe in common and where they differ. For instance, they say about their students, “They share a common belief about who created the universe. But they believe very different things about how God created the universe.” Some would have us believe that there are only two options, atheist on one side, using science, and Christian believers on the other side, discounting science. The authors’ stated purpose is “to lay out a wider variety of options and to examine what both the Bible and the natural world can teach us about these options.”

        Two subordinate components of their purpose are to summarize (i) what they believe God’s Word teaches about origins when it is studied using sound principles of interpretation, and (ii) what they believe God’s world can reliably reveal about origins when it is studied using sound scientific principles.

Creation       

        The many views of Genesis are summarized in the attached chart, which they, of course, greatly enlarge upon, showing both pros and cons. To take just two of their interpretations—for Appearance of Age, they comment: “God could have created the earth last week, complete with history books on library shelves…but this seems dishonest… ‘The heavens declare the glory of God’ (Ps.19:1). This verse and many other Scripture passages teach that God reveals himself to us truthfully through the natural world.” Looking at Ancient Near East Cosmology, they say, “if Christians wish to interpret Genesis 1 completely literally, they must believe that the earth is flat rather than spherical; the earth rests on pillars rather than orbiting the sun; the sky is a solid dome rather than a transparent atmosphere; an ocean of water is above the sky.” The Haarsmas then conclude this section of the book with strong scientific evidence that the universe is vast, dynamic, old, and had a beginning.

Evolution

        Now the book tackles that bug-bear, evolution. The authors define five meanings of the word but dispense with evolutionism, which is atheistic philosophy and not scientific at all. The next step is to define where Christians agree and disagree about evolution: young earth creationists, progressive creationists, and evolutionary creationists. The Haarsmas then remind us of the most basic Christian principle of love: “By maintaining a charitable attitude toward each other, Christians who advocate different responses to evolution need not break their unity as believers who work side-by-side to advance God’s kingdom.” Sadly, they have to warn us of a danger: “When students are forced to choose between [only two options: young earth creationism and atheistic evolution], they may either turn away from a career in science or pursue science but turn away from God.” They finish this section with strong scientific evidence for evolution: fossils, comparative anatomy, biogeography, and genetics.

Design

        “Intelligent design theory claims that there is evidence of design in nature and that the theory of evolution is inadequate to explain what is seen in the natural world.” But all Christians “believe that God designed the universe and that God designed life. The universe and everything in it are not the result of some cosmic accident or some impersonal process. God created them intentionally. This shared belief does not make any particular claim about when or how God brought these things into existence.” With these premises in mind, the authors finish this section with discussions of “fine tuning” and “biological complexity”. 

Human Origins

        The final section of this book turns to “Scientific and Theological Issues of Human Origins”—five possible scenarios of Adam and Eve; the human soul; original sin. The Haarsmas finish up with two honest statements that I think we all have to agree with. Their first conclusion is, “Not satisfied with any of these scenarios? Neither are we!” Their second is, “Questions about how and when God created the earth are important but they are not essential to our salvation.” How true! Let’s all remember that.

Reviewed by Glenn Wilson

October 24, 2011 

The Cowper and Newton Museum in Olney, England

     As the bus wound its way through the fields, hedgerows and roundabouts, our first sight of Olney was the magnificent spire of the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul. Five minutes later we stepped off into the village square and there, only 100 yards away was “Orchard Side”, the home of William Cowper from 1768-1786.

   We paid admission and passed through the house into the garden behind. As we sat quietly on a bench and admired the stonework of the garden walls and the tiled roofs in front of us, we could almost believe that it was 1780 and the gardener working nearby was Cowper himself.

     Later we passed through a door in the garden wall and found ourselves facing a little shed—Cowper’s summer house and “verse manufactory.” In his letters, he described it as being just big enough for a table and two chairs. It looks much the same now as it did 230 years ago— but the walls and ceiling are covered with the signatures of hundreds of visitors over the centuries.

     We then entered the house through a door (duck if you’re over 5’6”!) leading into the kitchen. Cooking seemed to be done over an open fire, using hooks and handles to get the cooking pots into place. Our next stops were the parlour and the hall, then up a tapering stair to Cowper’s bedroom. Not much of the original furniture remains— we did see an “architect’s desk” where he did some of his writing; his shoe buckles; his pocket watch and its stand; his washstand and shaving mirror; a stuffed hare (he had three as pets); his genealogy; and a replica of the strange hat he wore.

     We took lots of pictures, because there was too much to remember. As we left, one last view from the street looked through an arched, gated passageway to the garden and beyond, once again, to the church spire.

     Around the corner, through the car park, and down the pathway through the common brought us past the “Old Vicarage”, home of John Newton and, in about a quarter mile, to the church where he was curate. Built in the 14^th century, it is awe-inspiring. We have nothing in Canada to compare. We peeked into the church since it wasn’t locked, and walked around outside, past hundreds of gravestones.   A little printed sign on a stake directed us “to John Newton’s tomb” and we found the monument. His remains were moved here from London in 1893— one side reads, “JOHN NEWTON DIED 21^ST  DEC^R 1807…” and the opposite side reads, “JOHN NEWTON, CLERK, ONCE AN INFIDEL AND LIBERTINE, A SERVANT OF SLAVES IN AFRICA, WAS, BY THE RICH MERCY OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST PRESERVED, RESTORED, PARDONED AND APPOINTED TO PREACH THE FAITH HE HAD LONG LABOURED TO DESTROY. NEAR 16 YEARS AS CURATE OF THIS PARISH AND 28 YEARS AS RECTOR OF ST. MARY WOOLNOTH.” 

     We sat for a few minutes on the warm grass by the tomb, looked up at the marvellous spire and the blue sky, then moved on, as the bells in the tower chimed three.

     Tea, scones with jam and clotted cream, and delicious French-pressed coffee at a shop in the square rounded out our time in Olney, and we caught the 1608 bus back to our rooms.

     Looking back over two centuries, we have to say that God brought together two men with great spiritual and literary gift, but vastly different backgrounds, to bless many generations of believers. Scripture says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” (Prov.27:17.) Newton wrote “Amazing Grace” at Olney and Cowper, in one of his “Olney Hymns” says,

“Such Jesus is, and such His grace;

       Oh, may He shine on you!
And tell Him, when you see His face,
       I long to see Him too.”
 
XXXIV—Seeking the Beloved   Ì

“Jesus is greater than Moses”

     Back in May, we looked at a few of the ways that Jesus is like Moses: they were “almost” killed in infancy; they both interceded for their people; and they both showed the glory of God in their faces. Now we want to go one step further—we want to note how Jesus is still “like” Moses, but greater. Three examples should make the point:

     They both produced water from a rock. The children of Israel camped at Rephidim but there was no water so they started to grumble and quarrel. They were ready to stone Moses, so God intervened: “I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” Ex.17:6.  —A physical solution to a physical problem. But when did Jesus ever do such a thing? Was it at Cana, when He turned water into wine? I don’t think so. Now we move into the spiritual realm. The apostle Paul tells us that “they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.” 1 Cor.10:4. Christ Himself is the Rock and he gave the Samaritan woman “living water” (John 4:10) —water that would cause her to “never thirst again!”

     They both provided a source of healing on a “tree”. As the Israelites travelled up the Red Sea road to bypass Edom, they started to grumble again: “There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!” Num.21:4-5. Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. When they repented, Moses prayed for the people and the Lord said, “Make a snake and put it on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” Num.21:8.—A unique instance of physical healing, but what is the greater parallel with Jesus? Again we move into the spiritual realm: “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” John 3:14-15

     They both went up through clouds and promised to return. In the days of the exodus, “Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai.” Ex.24:14-18. His parting words were, “Wait here for us until we come back to you.” Moses stayed on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights and he came back to a real mess and a total loss of faith by the people—“this fellow Moses…we don’t know what has happened to him.” Ex.32:1,27. What a parallel we have in Jesus—He too went up into a cloud (Acts 1:9) and two men dressed in white promised, “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” Acts 1:11. He, Himself, promised, “I will come back and take you to be with me.” John 14:3. And what will be the attitude of people when the Lord returns?—“When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” Lk 18:8. We know from Rev.2,3 that He will, but it may be very weak and hidden. In any case, “we will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” 1 Thess.4:17, 18.

     I hope that these great comparisons will encourage us. Three more suggestions worth looking at (out of many) are (i) the Spirit on them passed to others. [Moses in Num.11:1,17 and the Lord in Acts 2:1-18—God, of course “gives the Spirit without limit.” John 3:3.] (ii) they both participated in an “exodus”. [Moses, in Ex.12:31, and the Lord, when He died on the cross and ascended to heaven, and will lead many others there as well. Lk.9:31] and (iii) they both provided bread from heaven. [Moses, for physical life, John 6:31-32, Ex.16:12, and Jesus for our eternal life. He is the Bread from Heaven. John 6:32-51]

     Once again we have to say, “Jesus has been found worthy of greater honour than Moses.” Heb.3:3.  Ì

“Jesus is like Moses”

Who was the first preacher of the good news after it became fact,
that is, after the crucifixion and the resurrection? Of course, it was Jesus Himself. On the road to Emmaus, “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” Luke 24:27. Later, Peter, in the temple, quoted Moses: “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you.” Acts 3:22 (quoting Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15).

Later still, Stephen, in his speech to the Sanhedrin, recounted Israel’s history then said about Moses, “This is the same Moses whom they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself.” “This is that Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will send you a prophet like me from your own people.’ ” Acts 7:35,37.

This verse is the key—“a prophet like me!” There are dozens of prophecies and clear parallels with Moses, but Scripture goes much deeper than simply spelling out the details for readers to itemize and check off their lists. The story of Jesus is built right into the fabric of Scripture and the very life of Moses is a prophecy of Christ, not necessarily in the details but in the parallels and contrasts.

To get us started, here are a few parallels:

They both came under the sentence of death in infancy. You remember the children of Israel in Egypt. God blessed their families and the population grew until they became a threat to Pharaoh and the Egyptians. The king of Egypt told the Hebrew midwives, “if it is a boy, kill him.” Ex.1:16. He got even more specific: “Every boy that is born, you must throw into the Nile.” Ex.1:22. And what is the most famous story of Jesus, right after His birth? Probably Herod’s order to kill! “Kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old or under.” Mt.2:16.

They both interceded for their people. The Israelites in the wilderness had tempted God once too often so He decided to wipe them out: “I may destroy them…and I will make you into a nation stronger and more numerous than they.” Deut.9:14. Moses turned down God’s offer! “Please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.” Ex.32:32. Now we turn to our Lord, in John 17, especially verse 24. “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am.” He prayed for all His people: He wouldn’t give up any of us and He eventually “became obedient unto death— even death on a cross!” Phil.2:8.

They both showed the glory of God. Moses went up Mount Sinai and talked with God face to face. Deut.34:10. When he came back, his face shone to such a degree that he had to wear a veil to hide the fading of God’s glory in himself. Ex.34:29,35. On the other hand, we get a glimpse of the Lord’s glory on the Mount of Transfiguration. Lk.9:29. “As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.” Then Paul tells us that “God…hath shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Cor.4:6. Moses’ glory was reflected, but Jesus’ glory is His own and will never fade. In a sense God’s glory is reflected and “bounces off” Moses but it emanates from Jesus because that is His nature.

When we compare Christ’s life to Moses’, we find parallels that no impostor could ever match. The amazing thing is that they aren’t spelled out in advance— we see them only as we look back. In every instance we have to conclude, as the book of Hebrews does, “Jesus has been found worthy of greater honour than Moses.” Heb.3:3.

Next time we will look at a few contrasts. In the meantime, here are two more examples to think about:

• The people wanted to stone them both. Ex. 17:4; Jn.8:59.

• They were both cradled in very different and unusual places. Ex.2:3; Luke 2:12. 

Book Review: What’s So Great About Christianity

D’Souza, Dinesh.

What’s So Great About Christianity.

348 pp

Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois, 2008

There are at least two important things to note about this book and its author. First, there is no question mark in the title— it is answers, not questions. Second, D’Souza has written seven or eight other books, some of which could almost be described as politically sensationalist, so our first approach is with some caution. Examples of his work: The Enemy At Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11, The Roots of Obama's Rage, and articles like The Self Esteem Hoax, and Two Cheers for Colonialism.

D’Souza was raised in India, as a Catholic, but now describes himself as an evangelical Christian. In 1988 he served as an advisor on domestic policy in Ronald Reagan’s White House. Over the years D’Souza has appeared on CNN, Glenn Beck, ABC’s Nightline, and CBS’s Face the Nation, and has debated such noted atheists as Daniel Dennett, Peter Singer, and Christopher Hitchens.

When we turn to D’Souza’s own words, we are reassured by the apparent sincerity and forthrightness of his message. For instance, this book is dedicated: “For Bruce Schooley, stricken with cancer, who has found in Jesus Christ a cure for death.” And he shows to my satisfaction that, “As space and time are within the universe, the creator is outside space and time, which is to say, eternal.” In fact, “the entire universe with all its laws appears to be a conspiracy to produce, well, us.”

D’Souza has divided his book into eight parts, covering such subjects as “The Future of Christianity”, “Christianity and Science”, “Christianity and Philosophy”, “Christianity and Suffering”, and finally “Christianity and You.” Page three presents the Scriptural challenge to believers, of 1 Peter 3:15, “Always be prepared to give an answer…” D’Souza believes that, “Instead of engaging this secular world, most Christians have taken the easy way out. They have retreated into a Christian subculture…But a group of prominent atheists… has launched a powerful public attack on religion in general and Christianity in particular; they have no interest in being nice. A new set of anti-religious books— The God Delusion, The End of Faith, God Is Not Great, and so on— now shapes public debate.”

This book is immensely wide-ranging— its specific subject-matter is truly “Christianity.” There are statistics on the global Church (in not too many years, China may be the country with the largest Christian population); statistics on missionary effort (Britain has more than 250 churches run by foreigners, typically preachers from developing nations); statistics on the scientific illiteracy of young people; dozens of quotations of the subversive intentions of the prominent atheists mentioned earlier; and on and on.

Part II switches to history and shows how Christianity is “the spiritual basis of limited government.” Christianity is also the basis of “our culture’s powerful emphasis on compassion, on helping the needy, and on alleviating distress.” In contrast, he quotes the Chinese proverb, “the tears of strangers are only water.”

D’Souza looks at “the theological roots of science”, then at what he calls “the invention of invention”, then at “a universe with a beginning” and “man’s special place in creation.” He progresses to “the limits of reason”, “why miracles are possible”, and “the reasonableness of faith.” Many parts of this book are truly a mental feast. Quotations, statistics, arguments pile up so quickly that we often have to re-read and muse.

The climax of the entire work is Chapter 25: “Jesus Among Other Gods: The Uniqueness of Christianity.” For an unbeliever or a seeker, this is where D’Souza finally shows his hand. This is where he reaches the heart of the matter: “The propensity to sin is in man’s nature…The wages of sin is death… It is impossible to atone for one’s past sins…God decided to pay the price himself for human sin…Hell is where God is eternally absent… when every earthly hope of redemption has failed…it is at this point that God’s hand reaches out to us, steady and sure. All we have to do is take it.”

On the very last page, D’Souza presents this thesis, “Ultimately we are called not only to happiness and goodness but also to holiness…Yet holiness is not something we do for God. It is something we do with God. We couldn’t do it without Him.” We want that holiness too; and, even more intensely, we concur with D’Souza’s very last line: “Even so, come, Lord Jesus. We are ready.”

Reviewed by Glenn Wilson 