What is the main purpose of the Church?

The Church’s Purpose

Q. I have a question regarding the Church’s purpose. I was in Church on Sunday, and I heard my pastor speaking on the purposes of different churches. For example, some churches teach prosperity as their main outreach, that is what they do. He said that our church’s main purpose was to seek the presence of God, which to our church is even more important in saving the lost. This somewhat confused me. Shouldn’t the main purpose of every church be to spread the Gospel and save the lost? What is the main purpose of the Church?

A. According to Matt. 28:19-20 the purpose of the Church is to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” John 20:21 agrees. On the first night of His resurrection, the Lord told His disciples, “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”

The Church is the body of Christ, and His life on Earth is the model for the Church. He was in the world but not of it. He devoted Himself to teaching people about the Kingdom of God. He was not concerned with programs or property or material wealth and yet never lacked for anything. When His time on Earth was over He ascended to the Father.

Website: www.gracethrufaith.com

Old Testament Salvation

How Were People Saved Before The Law?

Q. My father and I agree with dispensationalism and recently were discussing how those born before the Law were saved. For example: Adam and Eve. We understand that they had a personal relationship with God, having physically walked with Him, there would be little doubt to His existence. We know that when they first sinned they basically “confessed” to God and God then killed an animal, representing the first sacrifice.

My question would be: Is this how they were allowed into Heaven? That they “knew” Him and believed in their hearts even though the Law wasn’t written yet? Or is there a better way of understanding their salvation? Could you offer passages that we might read in reference to this?

A. The writer to the Hebrews explained that the Old Testament sacrifices were shadows of the good thing to come. (Hebr. 10:1-14) That means they represented the once for all time sacrifice that Jesus would make. From the earliest days of man God had told the people that He would send them a redeemer (Gen 3:15) The animal sacrifices they offered only helped people to the extent that they were offered in faith that this redeemer would one day take their sins away. Long before the Law came Abel, Noah, Abraham and others offered sacrifices to the Lord in faith of the coming Redeemer.

Website: www.gracethrufaith.com

The model of grace!

Cain and Abel

The mark of Cain… a model of grace.

Adam lay with his wife Eve and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.” Later she gave birth to his brother Abel (Gen. 4:1-2). The Hebrew root for Cain means to procure, while Abel means transitory or meaningless. From Eve’s comment and Cain’s name we discover that the Lord had delegated the procreation process, enabling obedience to His command to multiply and fill the earth (Gen. 1:28) with out requiring a direct act of creation for each person born. We can also assume from Abel’s name that she believed Cain would be her redeemer, and therefore felt Abel was unnecessary. (Discovering the meanings of Biblical names can be so fascinating! Whether it’s a person or place, you’ll almost always gain added insight into the passage.)

Now Abel kept flocks and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the first born of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry and his face was down cast. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you so angry? Why is your face down cast? If you do what is right will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it (Gen. 4:2-7).”

Everything Written In The Past Was Written To Teach Us … Rom.15:4

Here we learn that the remedy for sin was first taught to Adam in the Garden, not to Moses at Mt. Sinai. By offering the firstborn from his flock Abel illustrated the concept of innocent blood shed for the remission of sin, a model of the Messiah, while Cain brought the works of his own hands, an offering of thanksgiving. Because the Lord reminded Cain to “do what is right” it’s clear that He had instructed them on this. The sin offering, an act of confession, purifies us and permits our reentry into the presence of God. Only then will our offerings of praise and thanksgiving be acceptable. Formalized in the Levitical system, and simplified in 1 John 1:8-10 this was actually revealed at the instant of the first sin. It demonstrates our need for a Redeemer while teaching the futility of either providing our own remedy for our sins or ignoring them altogether (as Cain did) both of which are actually offensive to God.

Confess Early And Often

Now Cain said to his brother, “Let’s go out into the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Gen. 4:8-9) As was the case with his father Adam the Lord asked the question, not because he was seeking information, but because He was seeking confession. Adam gave a flimsy excuse (it was the woman’s fault) but Cain showed callous indifference. In fact, isn’t it hard to see anything good in Cain’s behavior? He ignored the Lord’s command about offerings and then became angry when his was rejected. Instead of confessing, he let his anger become jealousy toward Abel and lured him into the field for a pre-meditated act of murder. Then he lied about it, and expressed only indifference when confronted. Little sins, left unchecked, become big ones (James 1:15).

The Lord’s warning, “Sin is crouching at your door and desires to have you” bears a closer look. The Hebrew word translated crouching was used in ancient times to describe the way a demon would lie in wait for a victim, perhaps because of this passage, and the word desire is the same one used to describe Eve’s attitude toward Adam in Gen.3:16, meaning “to long for.” Our enemy has a passionate interest in us and will lie in wait, longing for the opportunities presented by our sins. Having failed to apply the prescribed remedy for sin, Cain was fair game and the enemy took full advantage. Please remember, Cain had a relationship with God, spoke with and was taught directly by Him, and still committed a grievous sin. It’s a striking example of the pervasiveness of the sin nature introduced into the human gene pool at the fall, and should remind us all of our tendency toward sin, no matter how “spiritual” we think we are, or how strongly rooted in our faith. (See 1 Peter 5:8 and 1 John 1:8-10).

The Mark Of Cain … A Model Of Grace

So Cain was driven from the land to live as a fugitive and vagabond. He was afraid that he would be forever banished from the presence of God and deprived of His protection. “Not so,” said the Lord, and put His mark on Cain saving his life (Gen. 4:15). The collective mind of scholarship has been probed in vain to determine the nature of this mark, but that’s not the point. All through the chapter the covenant name of God has been used, indicating the scope of Cain’s relationship with Him. Cain sinned and refused to confess, and therefore put himself out of fellowship with God. But God didn’t revoke His covenant, nor did He withdraw His protection. Unconfessed sin interrupts our relationship with God and causes us to wander in spiritual wilderness, but it doesn’t sever our family ties and it doesn’t put our eternal life at risk.

Cain serves as a model of so many Christians today; out of fellowship for refusing to recognize and confess their sins, but still in the family and still living protected (eternal) lives. Objects of the enemy’s passionate interest and fair game for his trickery but marked by the Grace of God as off limits to the stealer of their souls.

The Mark Of Cain

Q. Here’s a question I am sure has been asked and answered a million times. But, I have never seen an answer. Does God reveal to us anyplace in scripture what was the Mark of Cain? Many thanks for your answer.

A. The mark of Cain is mentioned only in Genesis 4:15. In the passage the Lord has banished Cain from the Garden for killing his brother Abel. Cain was afraid that one of his other brothers or sisters would find him and kill him, so God put a mark on him to warn others of the consequences of killing him. There’s no mention of anyone other than Cain receiving the mark, and the Bible doesn’t say what the mark was.

In the past, some speculated that Cain’s skin color was changed to make him look different from his brothers and sisters, but there’s no Biblical basis for this. Neither is there any basis for believing that any of Cain’s offspring inherited the mark. But even if they did we need to remember that all of them perished in the flood. There are no biological descendants of Cain on Earth today.

If You Do What Is Right, You’ll Be Accepted

Q. Re: Genesis 4:3-5.

In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

Why did God not have respect for Cain’s offering ?

A. After the fall God taught the first family how to prepare and present acceptable offerings to Him. We know this from Genesis 4:6-7

Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.”

God told Cain that if he did what was right his offering would be accepted. This proves that Cain knew how to present an acceptable offering. Abel’s offering was the life of an innocent animal, an early model of the Messiah. Cain’s was some of the produce he had grown, the works of his hands. From verses 6-7 we also learn that the offering was for sin.

From this passage we see that right from the beginning man was taught that the shedding of innocent blood was the only remedy for sin, and we also see that right from the beginning man has tried to justify himself with the works of his own hands. As Cain soon proved by murdering his brother, this always leads to death.

More On Cain And Abel

Q. I am teaching Sunday school ages 5-11. I am going to teach the story of Cain and Abel but, I’m not having a good understanding of it myself or I may be thinking too deep into the story.

When I get asked question why wasn’t Cain’s offering accepted is there an easy way for me to explain it or do I have to go deep into the whole thing about blood sacrifices. I don’t want them to get more confused. What offering was God initially looking for from Cain?

A. You don’t have to go into the whole blood sacrifice issue. Abel brought an acceptable sacrifice and Cain didn’t. God told Cain that if he did the right thing he’d be accepted like Abel was. So God was looking for the same kind of sacrifice that Abel had brought, because that’s what He had taught them.

But it’s not the sacrifice that’s important, it’s the principle, and that’s what you should focus on. If we do the right thing we’ll be accepted by God. What’s the right thing for us to do? That’s what the people asked Jesus and here’s what He told them:

Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” (John 6:28-29).

It’s a great opportunity to share the simplicity of the Gospel.

Website: www.gracethrufaith.com

Abraham

Were Abram, Nahor, And Haran Triplets?

I’m going through an exercise of charting the offspring of Adam by the dates of births and deaths provided in Genesis. The Scripture says that after 70 years, Terah had his 3 sons. Were Abram, Nahor, and Haran triplets, or is this verse saying that all three boys were born during those 70 years?

This continues to be a fun exercise. Never realized the huge overlap of generations. For example, Terah is the 9th generation from Noah, and Noah was alive for much of Terah’s life. I wonder if they had family reunions!

A. I believe the intent of the passage is that all three were born after Terah had reached age 70, but they weren’t all born at the same time. By the way, here’s a link to a similar study I did. You can use it to compare notes if you like. Let me know if you come up with any differences.

http://www.gracethrufaith.com/ikvot/from-adam-to-abraham

Website: www.gracethrufaith.com

Gospel in Genesis

Cain and Seth

The birth of civilization.

Cain lay with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city and he named it after his son Enoch (Gen. 4:17). Technically this account is not a children’s story but a fascinating continuation of Cain’s life from which we can draw much insight.

There is a principle in Biblical interpretation called “first mention.” It’s not a big deal but when you go to the place where important ideas first appear and read the passage in context, you’ll often pick up additional understanding. For example the first appearance of blood (Gen. 4:10) is in connection with Abel’s murder and introduces the idea that the blood is the life. In Gen. 9:4-6 this is expanded into instruction on proper meat eating (another first mention) and capital punishment (still another). Placing the blood of the lamb on their door posts preserved life for the Israelites at the first Passover, and the ultimate importance of this idea lies in the phrase “saved by the Blood of the Lamb.” His life exchanged for ours.

My Three Sons

The idea first mentioned in Gen. 4:17 is that of building a city. Disregard the fact that Cain married his sister (who else could she be) and focus on the parallel lines of Cain and Seth because that’s where the real story is. The seventh man from Adam in Cain’s line was Lamech, whose name comes from a root meaning “despairing.” He had three sons; Jabal a livestock breeder, Jubal a musician, Tubal-cain a toolmaker, and a daughter Naamah. We’re not given Naamah’s vocation, but her name comes from a root meaning pleasure. Maybe she founded “the Oldest Profession.” From these children came animal husbandry, manufacturing, the arts and music, and entertainment. In just 7 generations we see a recognizable civilization; cities in which to live, leisure and entertainment, and industry.

By the way, don’t be fooled into thinking of families as they are today with a mom and dad and two kids. These people had 800 year life spans. If on average they only bore children during 200 of these years and only had one every 5 years they would have died with over 2 million descendants each. Multiply that by just the number of people the Bible names and you have a huge population. Remember, they were told to be fruitful and fill the earth (Gen. 1:28).

I’m convinced this early civilization was the result of Cain’s efforts to find a way around the curse the Lord had pronounced on him. Since the ground would no longer yield crops, he and his descendants turned to livestock for their sustenance, wearing their skins and eating their meat, and banded together in cities for protection.

What’s My Line?

Adam lay with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted (appointed) me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him (Gen. 4:25).” This verse takes us back in time to introduce the line of Seth. His name means appointed and he assumed the role of redeemer since Cain and Abel had both been disqualified. The seventh man down Seth’s line from Adam was Enoch (Gen. 5:18). His name means teaching, and in Gen 5:24 we read that “Enoch walked with God then he was no more, because God took him away.” Three generations later came Noah and the Great Flood; 10 generations from Adam, 1656 years after the creation.

The story of Cain’s line is the story of unregenerate man. Exalting himself in defiance of God’s commandments (Gen. 4:23-24), using God given talents to build an Earth centered civilization in an attempt to glorify himself and defeat God’s plan. The line of Seth tells a story of the faithful (see for more info). Due to man’s sin nature (ever notice how cities are always more sinful than rural areas?) Cain’s line attracted many converts while Seth’s dwindled to a small remnant.

When the Great Flood came all the line of Cain perished along with all the accomplishments of their Earth centered civilization. From the line of Seth only Noah and his family were found faithful. They were preserved through the flood to begin again and the line of Seth ultimately fulfilled God’s promise and brought forth The Redeemer; the Son of God, born of Mary a descendant of Seth through Noah’s son Shem.

What About Enoch?

What we have in the story of Cain and Seth is nothing less than a model of the age of man. At the End of the Age the Great Tribulation will judge humankind according to spiritual lines. Those who have rejected God’s ways in favor of an Earth-centered life will perish (the spiritual line of Cain). A small remnant will be preserved through this judgment to begin again (faithful Israel descended from Seth through Shem). But as it was with Enoch, another group in the line of Seth will be taken by God before the judgement comes. That group is the Church. One body, as Enoch was one body, and like Enoch born at Pentecost, charged with teaching the Gospel (Enoch means teacher) and commanded to walk with God in an unbelieving world. The Church will be taken by God and spared the Great Tribulation just as Enoch was taken by God and spared the Great Flood.

And that’s the adult version.

Website: www.gracethrufaith.com

Genesis Story

Wisdom of the Ages: Part 1

Discarding our past makes our future uncertain.

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

I recently watched a video on the life of Abraham. First shown on one of Ted Turner’s cable networks, it was surprisingly faithful to the Bible’s account of Abraham’s life.

Richard Harris portrayed Abraham as a man of great sensitivity, with a yearning to know God. Eventually he did, for the Bible describes him as God’s friend. It does not tell us why Abraham sought God, or how he even knew there was a God. The people of Abraham’s time and place were not followers of this God. Who told Abraham about Him?

Creation Chronology

Genesis chapter 5 consists of a chronology of the heads of the first 10 generations of man. It is given without explanation or embellishment and covers the period from Adam to Noah and his 3 sons. Since the chronology is specific, calculating the life span of each is simple, as is the total time from Adam’s creation to Noah’s death - 2006 years. Chapters 6 - 9 then shift gears to describe the Great Flood, which occurred 1656 years after the creation of Adam. Chapter 10 is about the Tower of Babel.

Then in Genesis 11 vs. 9 the chronology abruptly begins again with Noah’s son Shem and continues to Abraham (then called Abram). Just as before, you can calculate both the life spans of each of 10 heads of family and the total time elapsed. By putting the two lists together you come to the amazing discovery that Noah was still alive when Abram was born and died when Abram was 58.

You further discover that if Adam recounted the story of his origin to his son Seth and his grandson son Enosh, (seems likely, as Adam’s origin was pretty unique) then Enosh could have told Noah. It seems 8 out of the first 10 family heads were still alive and well during Noah’s life. Only Adam and Seth had died. Since they all lived in the same general vicinity, Mesopotamia, any one of them could have passed on Adam’s story.

Hello Noah? This is Abraham

Only Noah and his three sons survived the flood, but any of them could have talked with Abram. In fact Noah’s son Shem, still around when Abram’s son Isaac was born, actually out lived Abram.

The notion that the Creation story came from fables told by illiterate primitives around campfires at night just isn’t so. There is even emerging evidence that Adam could not only read and write (he was created in God’s image after all) but wrote books that were used by Moses in compiling the Creation Story.

The chain of information from Creation to Abraham needed only 3 links; Adam, Enosh (Adam’s grandson, remember?), and Noah. It is no stretch of the imagination to surmise that Abram had heard about the Creator of the Universe through this chain and then sought Him out. You see, in those days there was great interest in the lessons of the past; the wisdom of the ages.

What’s the point?

Today in almost every field, great emphasis is placed on new thought. Nothing wrong with that per se, but in our quest for the “latest thing” are we losing our grounding in the wisdom of the ages? In our effort to find the newest trend in business management, for example, are we forgetting those basic principles that have always worked?

Every society has relied on the wisdom of its elders to instruct the young, guaranteeing that its heritage would remain intact; that simple truths would not be lost. Because we no longer venerate our elders and their wisdom, we live in a revisionist world, where even the past is becoming uncertain. (Was the Holocaust real … was Columbus a good guy or a bad guy?)

Keep it simple

Many of life’s simple truths are not only no longer taught, but often aren’t even factored into the success equation. Yet they have always been effective in building a successful life. There’s but a handful of them; just ask the great leaders of the past. They were first written down for us in the Bible, later confirmed in the biographies of successful lives.

Because Abraham sought the wisdom of his elders the Source of all Truth was rediscovered. Maybe the next “latest thing” of our time will be a rediscovery of the wisdom of our elders; essential business truths that have always worked. If so we’ll find them right there in the Bible, alongside the greatest truth of all. More on this next time.

Website: www.gracethrufaith.com

Gospel in Genesis

From Adam to Abraham

The Gospel in Genesis 5

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

(Read for background)

The Bible doesn’t speak of great human achievement coming from the line of Seth as it does from Cain’s line. But if you do some home work in the geneology of Genesis 5 you discover a profound achievement from God’s perspective that demonstrates the faithfulness of Seth’s descendants. On our way to this discovery let’s also look at an interesting time line I’ve developed to demonstrate the ease with which pre-flood knowledge and experience could have been made available to those who came after.

We’ll assume Adam was born in Year One and use Biblical life spans.

Name	Born	Died	Name Means
Adam	1	930	Man
Seth	130	1042	Appointed
Enosh	235	1140	Mortal (Lived 905 years. Only 821 when Noah was born)
Kenan	325	1235	Sorrow
Mahalel	395	1290	The Blessed God
Jared	460	1422	Shall come down
Enoch	622	987	Teaching (By tradition Adam, Seth and Enoch named the stars, putting the gospel story in the 12 constellations of the Mazzoroth … later perverted in the signs of the Zodiac)
Methusaleh	687	1656	His death shall bring (The flood came the year He died)
Lamech	874	1651	Despairing (56 years old when Adam died)
Noah	1056	2006	Rest (Still around when Abraham was born)

These 10 names contain the Gospel message.

“Man is appointed mortal sorrow. But the blessed God shall come down teaching that His death shall bring the despairing rest.”

I have not found any equivalent message hidden in the names of Cain’s descendants. They focused on the things of this world while Seth’s line was concerned with the things of God even to the extent of naming their sons.

Let’s continue.

Name	Born	Died
Shem	1557	2157	(out lived 8 of the next 9 generations including Abraham)
Arphaxad	1657	2095
Shelah	1692	2125
Eber	1722	2186	(Some see the origin of “Hebrew” in this name)
Peleg	1756	1995	(Earth was divided into continents during his life)
Reu	1786	2018
Serug	1818	2048
Nahor	1848	1996
Terah	1877	2082
Abraham	1947	2122	(First man to be called a Hebrew. 59 years old when Noah died)

If Adam related his eye witness account to his grandson Enosh, and Enosh repeated it to Noah, Noah could have taught it to Abraham. Could God have arranged this? Shem was also alive during all of Abraham’s life. Some believe Shem appeared in Genesis 14:18 as Melchizedek. At issue is whether Melchizedek (King of Righteousness) is a name or a title. Some also suggest Shem as the architect of the Great Pyramid in Egypt.

Website: www.gracethrufaith.com