The Ukrainian Church: What Is God Teaching Us?

            How is God blessing the Ukrainian church during the Russian invasion? What can we learn from it?

1. Stay

            Although the directive is for the missionaries to exit Ukraine, some missionaries are choosing to stay back in their mission field. These missionaries are not only risking their lives but the lives of their family members as well.

            Vasyl Ostryi - Pastor at Irpin’ Bible Church and Professor of youth ministry at Kyiv Theological Seminary writes, “My wife and I have decided to remain in our city near Kyiv. We want to serve the people here along with Irpin Bible Church ...In anticipation of coming disaster, we’ve bought a supply of food, medicine, and fuel so that, if necessary, we’ll be able to help those in need rather than burden them.

            Ours is a family of six. We’re raising four daughters. What I worry about the most is my 16-year-old who travels to college every day for an hour and a half, one way, by public transportation...Thankfully, her classes have now gone online.”¹

            To stay back to serve the people in need, while potentially sacrificing their lives and that of their families, is indeed remarkable, “...if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.” (Isaiah 58:10, NIV)

2. Serve

            Churches in Ukraine are in a state of readiness to serve (cf. Matthew 25:34-40), “The All-Ukrainian Union of Evangelical Baptist Churches, the largest Protestant community in Ukraine, reports among its ranks 2,272 churches, 320 missionary groups, and 113,000 adult believers.

            Many of these believers are mobilizing. Bandura explained that plans are underway to turn church basements into refugee centers, as they stock up on supplies. Members with medical backgrounds are readying for service.

            “We very much hope that our house of prayer will not be needed to shelter people...But we are preparing so that people can come here, if necessary, to find safety and shelter.”²

            Christianity Today reports, “Valentin Siniy, president of Tavriski Christian Institute (TCI) in Kherson, about 50 miles from Crimea, had to evacuate his seminary along with a team of Bible translators as Russian helicopters attacked local targets.

            “The majority of old pastors of the churches stayed in the cities. Youth leaders started evacuating young people,” he told CT. “We managed to purchase a van with 20 seats in order to evacuate people. About 30 people are in a safe place now, in western Ukraine. There are about 40 more people driving west [in] vehicles that are in bad condition.”

            Meanwhile his church has opened its basement to shelter neighbors living in multi-story buildings from bombings.

            “I and all ministers stay in Kyiv,” said Yuriy Kulakevych, foreign affairs director of the Ukrainian Pentecostal Church. “We continue our intercessory prayers, talk to people to reduce panic, and help those in need.”³

3. Pray

            The Ukrainian church is praying for unity, peace, wisdom, and the blessing of Ukraine and even her enemies, “...the focus turned to prayer: for wisdom, courage, ministers in the occupied territories, the national army—and even the enemies of Ukraine...And on Sunday evening at Grace Church of Evangelical Christians in Kyiv, over 1,000 people gathered to pray for the unity, peace, and blessing of Ukraine.”⁴

4. Preach

            Even before the Russian invasion, the Ukrainian church was preaching for peace, calm, and protection, “Preaching on the Sermon on the Mount’s injunction toward peacemaking, Kulakevych continued his laser-sharp focus on the possible Russian invasion. Five weeks ago, as the separatist conflict in the eastern Donbas region began to escalate, he surveyed the Bible for its teaching on “wars and rumors of war.”

            He followed that with an application of “Do not let your hearts be troubled” and, on the next Sunday, a treatise on worry. Last week, he tried shifting to include more mundane examples in a sermon on Jesus calming the storm, such as pandemic, career, and relationship difficulties. But the Russian threat did not dissipate.

            “Protect yourself and your family by all possible means,” Kulakevych told the church. “And serve as a mentor for people in a bad state.”⁵

5. God Rules

            God continues to bring HIS people into HIS presence even during this invasion, “But even amid this conflict, we’re hearing stories of people who’ve been prayed for over the years now coming to faith and making huge steps forward. In a word, what the Enemy has intended for evil, God is using for good.”⁶

Endnotes:

¹https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/church-stayed-ukraine/

²https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2022/february/ukraine-russia-churches-donetsk-luhansk-putin-independence.html

³https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2022/february/russia-ukraine-invasion-putin-war-christian-churches-prayer.html

⁴https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2022/february/ukraine-russia-churches-donetsk-luhansk-putin-independence.html

⁵Ibid.

⁶https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/church-planter-ukraine/

Websites last accessed on 28th February 2022.

 

Five Credible Reasons To Believe The New Testament

             Find below five credible reasons to believe the New Testament.

            1. Internal Evidence: The New Testament claims to be truthful and factual (Luke 1:1-4; 2 Peter 1:16; 1 John 1).

            2. External Evidence: Archaeology affirms the New Testament. There is ample evidence to corroborate the credibility of the New Testament. A recent discovery (in December 2021) of a 2000-year-old second synagogue that may have been visited by the Lord Jesus is a classic case in point.¹

            3. Confirmation by Eyewitnesses: Another instance is that of Apostle Paul’s affirmation of Jesus’ resurrection, “...historians trust that Apostle Paul preserved an oral tradition about Christ’s resurrection that goes back to the early Christian church or the Jerusalem apostles, who were eyewitnesses to Christ’s resurrection. Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church narrates Christ’s resurrection from the perspective of the eyewitnesses and also as a written record of Christ’s resurrection closer to the time of Christ’s resurrection, “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.” (1 Corinthians 15: 3-7, NIV, Emphasis Mine).”²

            4. Criterion of Embarrassment: “If a report in the Gospels provides data that would have been embarrassing to the early Christian movement, we can have more confidence that the event had occurred, since it is unlikely that the author would have invented content likely to detract from the cause for which he wrote. This is called the criterion of embarrassment. For example, Mark reports that Peter rebuked Jesus and that Jesus in turn rebuked Peter, calling him “Satan” (Mark 8:31-33). Since Peter was a leader of the Jerusalem church, it seems unlikely that the early Christians would have invented and preserved a tradition that casts him in such an unfavorable manner.”³

            5. Criterion of Unsympathetic Sources: “If a source that is unsympathetic or even hostile toward the Christian faith provides a report that agrees with the Christian reports, we can have more confidence that the event had occurred, since the unsympathetic or hostile source would not have the bias carried by the authors of the Christian reports. This is called the criterion of unsympathetic sources. For example, Tacitus referred to Christianity as an evil and mischievous superstition (Annals 15.44). This identifies him as an unsympathetic source. So, when he reports Jesus’s execution by Pontius Pilate, a report entirely compatible with what we find in the Gospels, historians can have more confidence that the event had occurred.”⁴

            “Unsympathetic or hostile non-Christian sources have affirmed the following about Jesus Christ:

            1. Christ’s miraculous birth.

            2. Christ’s claim to be God and the Messiah.

            3. Christ performed the miraculous.

            4. Jesus was persecuted by the Jews.

            5. Jesus’ gory death through crucifixion.

            6. The empty tomb.

            7. Jesus’ resurrection, postmortem appearances to HIS disciples, and ascension.

            8. Disciples’ martyrdom.

            9. Early Christians’ regular worship. 

            Does the skeptic need more proof than this to believe in the existence of Jesus Christ? If after learning this information, if the skeptic refuses to believe in the Historical Jesus, then it seems that the skeptic is dishonest in his search for truth.”⁵

Endnotes:

¹https://rajkumarrichard.blogspot.com/2022/01/five-significant-biblical.html

²https://rajkumarrichard.blogspot.com/2016/03/why-should-we-believe-christs.html

³https://rajkumarrichard.blogspot.com/2020/02/reasons-for-existence-of-historical.html

⁴Ibid.

⁵Ibid.

Websites last accessed on 27^th February 2022.

If Jealousy Is A Sin, How Do We Understand God’s Jealousy?

 

            The Bible asserts that jealousy is a sin and at the same time it reveals that God is a jealous God. This, at first, seems to be contradictory, but how do we resolve this apparent contradiction?

            Dr. Norman Geisler and Professor Thomas Howe offer a clear and a concise solution:¹

EXODUS 20:5A—DOES GOD GET JEALOUS?

PROBLEM: The Bible not only says here that God is a “jealous God,” but it also declares His very “name is Jealous” (Ex. 34:14). On the other hand, jealousy is a sin. But, if God is absolutely holy, then how can He be jealous?

SOLUTION: God is jealous in the good sense of the word, namely, He is jealous for the love and devotion of His people (cf. Ex. 20:5). Paul spoke of a “godly jealousy” (2 Cor. 11:2). The verses on God’s jealousy are all in the context of idolatry. Like any true lover, God is jealous when anyone or anything else steals the devotion of His beloved.

Human jealousy is often coveting what does not belong to us. However, God’s jealousy is protecting what does belong to Him, namely His own supremacy. It is not a sin for God to claim allegiance of His creatures because He is the Creator. And He knows that it is best for them not to make an ultimate commitment to what is less than ultimate (idols). Only an ultimate commitment to what is really Ultimate will ultimately satisfy the human heart. God is jealous to protect this.

            Christian Q&A website Gotquestions.org offers a practical example to help understand this dilemma better: “If a husband sees another man flirting with his wife, he is right to be jealous, for only he has the right to flirt with his wife. This type of jealousy is not sinful. Rather, it is entirely appropriate. Being jealous for something that God declares to belong to you is good and appropriate. Jealousy is a sin when it is a desire for something that does not belong to you. Worship, praise, honor, and adoration belong to God alone, for only He is truly worthy of it. Therefore, God is rightly jealous when worship, praise, honor, or adoration is given to idols. This is precisely the jealousy the apostle Paul described in 2 Corinthians 11:2, “I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy...””²

            This subject has been studied more extensively in an article entitled The Jealousy of God on The Gospel Coalition’s website.  Please read this article if you desire further clarity on this subject.³

Endnotes:

¹https://defendinginerrancy.com/bible-solutions/Exodus_20.5a.php

²https://www.gotquestions.org/jealous-God.html

³https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/the-jealousy-of-god/

Websites last accessed on 25^th February 2022. 

How Could God Forget Sins If HE Is Omniscient?

             God is omniscient (Psalm 139:4; Acts 1:24; 1 John 3:20). God knows everything – the past, present, and future. The same God also forgives and forgets our sins (Isaiah 43:25; Hebrews 10:17). At its face value, these two doctrines may seem contradictory, but are they?

            This then is the dilemma. If God knows everything, how can HE not know (or remember) certain things? How do we resolve this apparent contradiction?

            Some theologians posit ‘God’s choice’ as a means to resolve this situation. They believe God “can choose not to remember something. In human relationships, we can choose to remember the offenses someone has committed against us, or we can choose to forget. To forgive someone, we must often put painful memories out of our minds. We don’t actually forget the sin, and it’s not that we are unable to recall the offense, but we choose to overlook it. Forgiveness prevents us from dwelling on past troubles.”¹

            Greater clarity is provided in another article on the website of The Gospel Coalition, “God ceasing to remember our sin is not voluntary amnesia. But, in his mercy, he does not act against us according to our sin. When the Lord forgives, he does not call our sins to mind to punish or berate us. He does not shake his head in disappointment as he whispers, “Shame on you.”

             Instead, God removes our sin from us as far as the east is from the west (Ps. 103:12). “I will remember their sins no more” doesn’t mean our sin slips his mind, but that he doesn’t hold it against us (Heb. 8:12). He treats us as if we never sinned.

            And so God’s omniscience remains intact. He knows, but he doesn’t call to mind. He sees, but he doesn’t chide. He abounds in love and compassion for his wayward children...

            He forgives, but he doesn’t clear the guilty. He doesn’t treat us according to our sins, but sins must be punished. How can this be? We find the answer in the cross of Jesus Christ.

            Jesus Christ is the Son of God who became man. He lived a life completely free from sin, yet took on himself the wrath of God that we deserved. He died for sins and was raised to life in victory over death. When we trust in him to save us from judgment, he becomes our representative. He no longer remembers us according to our sin, but according to Christ’s perfection. His righteousness becomes our own.

            We do not serve a God whose memory is erased at the sound of human confession. Instead, we serve a God who sees the sin that hides in the darkened corners of our hearts as bright as midday—yet who chooses to offer us mercy in Christ. We serve a Savior who knows us fully and still loves us deeply, even to the point of death.

            We have a far greater hope than a God who forgets. Our hope is a God who forgives.”²

Endnotes:

¹https://www.gotquestions.org/does-God-forget.html

²https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/god-forget-sins/

Websites last accessed on 22^nd February 2022.