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| The Holy Bible |
Time with Jesus - Tuesday, 07 May 2013
Hi all,
When we read a verse or a
portion of Scripture, how do we know that what we are reading is a correct
reflection of the original? Bear in mind, the New Testament Scriptures were all
originally completed by ±100AD. As a further
complication, we no longer have the original documents; called the Autographs.
A simple illustration of this would be any of Paul’s letters. No doubt, he only
wrote the original of each of his letters. In his wildest dreams he would not
have thought that any of them could ever be considered to be Scripture.  |
| Scribe at Work |
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| Dr Westcott |
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| Dr Hort |
The Jews were well aware of
this. When copies of Old Testament documents were being written out by hand,
each “page” would be meticulously scrutinized,to ensure the copy was exactly
same as the original. If an error was found the “ink” was “scratched off” the “page”
and the correction made. One method was to count every letter, jot and tittle of
their “original” and see if this corresponded with the scribe’s copy. In this
way, accuracy was ensured. It is interesting to note that the Dead Sea Scrolls
indicated that the “modern versions” are remarkably accurate.
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| Dean Burgon |
Similar precautions were taken
when the New Testament manuscripts were copied. Sadly, we also know that in
some instances, the original text was interfered with and changed to comply
with the opinions and doctrine of the self-appointed interpreter/s. Such people
are guilty of a grave sin. They have led people astray by changing The Word of
God to fit in with what they thought it should read! Two of these men were reported
to be Dr Westcott and Dr Hort, two 19th century textual critics who
compiled a New Greek text which is now in circulation. This accusation was made
by an eminent scholar and textual critic of those days, Dr Burgon. To change
God’s Word is utterly immoral.
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| King James Version |
Is this a fair criticism? From
the little I’ve read it seems to be the case. This explains why much of the New
Testament English translations of recent years have omitted passages from the
New Testament found in the Authorised Version (KJV) Does this make translations
such as the NIV unreliable? I can’t answer that. What Phyllida and I do is to
continue to read the NIV. Where we struggle with what we read, we compare it
with the KJV. This seems to clear up our difficulties. It’s a system well worth
trying. See for yourself. Get your own on e-Sword and compare.
Our meditation today looks at
the topic of immorality.
Shalom,
Jim & Phyllida Strickland
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Time with Jesus – Tuesday,
07 May 2013
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These devotionals are the intellectual
property of Jim Strickland and copyright protected. You are welcome to copy
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INTRODUCTION
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DAILY
LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES
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IMMORALITY?
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Today we are looking at the question of morality.
Was it morally correct for Jesus Christ to die for me? The question is valid.
If we see it as immoral, then Jesus would not have done it.
Dr Hort, a late 19th century Theologian
rejected it out of hand. God would never do anything immoral. As far as he
was concerned, if it was immoral, it would never have happened. In terms of
human morality, for someone else to die for my sin is immoral. If I committed
the sin, I should be held responsible for it and not the Lord Jesus Christ.
On the surface this is clearly true. If I am jailed for a crime you
committed, its wrong! So how do we deal with this seeming miscarriage of
justice?
The first thing we must get to grips with is the
fact that moral standards vary from nation to nation.
A couple of Biblical incidents demonstrate this
clearly. One of them is what happened to the people who returned to Jerusalem
after the Babylonian captivity. During this period, a number of Jewish men
had married non-Jewish women and were the father of their children. There may
have been good reasons for this. However, they should not have done so. Ezra
the priest told these men to divorce their foreign wives. They did. Now that
shocks our 21st century sense of morality. Was it right or was it
wrong? Was it acceptable to God in those days? The fact is, they did it with
or without God’s approval. So my thinking is being challenged by the Lord.
One of the tragedies of the Book of Judges is the
way Jephthah sacrificed his daughter; his one and only child because of a
foolish vow he had made. Read about it in Judges 11. This could never happen
in our 21st century culture. But it happened back then. Thus in my
culture, it was wrong. In that culture, it was the right thing to do.
These illustrations of differences are sobering. In
terms of my culture it would be wrong for someone to die for me! But in this
instance, my culture is not the same as God’s culture. Frankly, His is the
only one relevant.
Of course, He is God and is free to do wherever He chooses.
He does not require my or Dr Hort’s approval.
There is another aspect to this. Our cultural
standards vary from generation to generation. In the 1960’s the idea of a man
and woman living together was never considered. Having children without being
married was not even on the radar screen of most young men and women. The men
might have liked the idea! But for the
women and her parents it was a “No No!” Today, nobody cares. Many just shack
up and live together. Personally, I don’t like it or approve. But my approval
is never required. Phyllida and I are just a couple of “old fogies” who are
not “with it”!
But what is God’s view? His perfect “qualities” –
love, mercy, and justice to mention only three, are never in conflict with
each other. He is able to be 100% consistent with Himself. In terms of this,
for me to even try to comment on Him, would be arrogance of the worst order.
All I can say is, if He approves, who am I and who is Dr Hort, to disapprove?
His omniscience means He is always error free. So we must bow to His better
judgement.
Jim &
Phyllida
Strickland
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26 They attack those you have wounded. They talk
about the pain of those you have hurt.
Psalms 69:26 NIrV
1 Jesus told
his disciples, "Situations that cause people
to lose their faith are certain to arise. But how horrible it will be for the
person who causes someone to lose his faith!
Luke 17:1 GW
23 But God knew what would happen, and His prearranged
plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of lawless
Gentiles, you nailed Him to a cross and killed Him.
Acts 2:23 NLT
67 Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some
slapped him, 68 saying, "Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is
it that struck you?"
Matthew 26:67-68 ESV
41 In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the
law and the elders made fun of him. 42 "He saved others," they said. "But he
can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the
cross! Then we will believe in him.
Matthew 27:41-42 NIrV
26 The kings
of the earth prepared for battle; the rulers gathered together against the
LORD and against His Messiah.' 27 "In
fact, this has happened here in this very city! For Herod Antipas, Pontius
Pilate the governor, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were all united
against Jesus, Your holy servant, whom You anointed. 28 But everything they did was determined beforehand
according to Your will.
Acts 4:26-28 NLT
4 But
the fact is, it was our pains he carried-- our disfigurements, all the things
wrong with us. We thought he brought it on himself, that God was punishing
him for his own failures. 5 But
it was our sins that did that to him, that ripped and tore and crushed
him--our sins! He took the punishment, and that made us whole. Through his
bruises we get healed.
Isaiah 53:4-5 MSG
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Have you ever noticed God is
wonderfully unfair?
If things were any different, I would
be hanging there;
And all who ever lived on earth,
should be in one great line;
Then, after I was dead and gone, each
one would have their time,
Of suffering and dying on that cruel
Roman tree.
Instead, the Son of God was there, in
place of you and me!
It shouldn’t be permitted. It
shouldn’t be allowed.
The truth is only sinners were members
of the crowd,
That spat on Him and beat Him and told
Him “Prophesy
If You are the Son of God, You do not
have to die!
Prove You’re King of Israel by kindly
stepping down.
If you choose to do it; that proves
Yours is the crown.”
But Jesus Christ said nothing. I think
I would have screamed,
For someone to awaken me from this
nightmarish dream.
But no one would have answered. They’d
know that it was right.
I am the one who should have died upon
that Friday night.
Then, when I had departed, they should
have come for you.
This was the opportunity for God to
really do,
Everything He stated was the penalty for
sin.
And then it should continue for all
our kith and kin.
Do you think it’s immoral for Jesus
Christ to die,
To save a sinful monster as bad as you
and I?
Of course it is immoral! That’s surely
what I see.
But Jesus and His Father see things
quite differently.
Humanity in general could never change
their ways.
Many folk have tried it and wasted all
their days.
One sin in a lifetime is all it takes
to fail,
And be condemned for ever, to some
quite hellish jail.
God saw that as immoral. He knows
we’re only dust.
The devil had us captive and He
thought He should bust,
A hole in Satan’s kingdom so we could
walk away.
Yet that was not the answer, for us to
come to stay.
I think He had a problem. A problem
with no cure.
Unless someone has lived a life that’s
infinitely pure.
And then we both trade places. He gets
my sin and pain;
And I receive a pardon for which I
have no claim.
That person must be human or there
could be no trade.
But if that man was also God, a way
would have been made,
For everyone who ever lived, be told
they could go free;
That God would take the punishment for
all humanity.
The answer was accepted. The Trinity
agreed.
We may say it is immoral. But it was
right indeed!
They thought that it was excellent.
Whoever would, may come;
And find their full salvation through
Jesus Christ, God’s son.
Decisions of morality are never mine
to take.
It’s only His that matter. They’re
always His to make!
Jim Strickland
Written 7th May 2012
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