OceanSide church of Christ

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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS (5)

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.             The word “asked” is used 65 times in the New Testament.

1.                It is found 56 times in the gospels.

2.                Thirty times, Jesus is the one being asked a question.

 

B.              Most of the time, Jesus responded with an answer to the questions He was asked.  He knew people gained knowledge and acquired understanding by asking questions.

 

C.              This is our night for questions and answers.  Several have posed questions.  We will be answering two questions in this lesson.

 

I.        HOW CAN GOD HATE ESAU IN ROMANS 9:13?

 

A.             The text (Rom. 9:13).

 

As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

 

B.              This verse is a quote from Malachi 1:1-3.

 

The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi.  I have loved you, saith the Lord.  Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us?  Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?  Saith the Lord:  yet I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.

 

1.                Esau was Isaac’s oldest son.  As the eldest, the birthright and blessing of his father were supposed to be his.

2.                Through God’s providential hand, both went to Jacob.  It would be through Jacob’s lineage the promised seed would come. 

3.                God favored Jacob over Esau.

a.         This is the sense in which God loved Jacob and hated Esau.

b.         Basically, he loved Esau less.

 

D.             Two other verses can help us to see this definition of the word “hate.”

1.                Luke 14:26

 

If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sister, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

 

a.         If the term “hate” literally means to loath and despise, we would have a contradiction in the Biblical text.

1)         Note that wives are included in Luke 14:26 as ones to be hated.

2)         Yet, in Ephesians 5:25, husbands are commanded to love their wives.

b.         The passage is telling us that we must not love our families more than we love the Christ when it comes to being a disciple.  In order to be a disciple of Christ, we must love our family less.

                        2.         John 12:25

 

He that loveth is life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

 

a.         Again, if this passage means that we must loath our lives, then we have a contradiction because Jesus told us to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matt. 22:39).

b.         If we were called upon to give our lives for Christ, we must hate our lives.  We must love them less than we love the Christ.  We must be willing to sacrifice our live on His behalf.

 

II.      IS HOLY WATER REAL?

 

            A.        There are two main places wherein one might learn about holy water today.

                        1.         The Old Testament (Num. 5:17).

 

And the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel…

 

2.                The Roman Catholic Church.

 

B.        The holy water of the Roman Catholic Church is the most common.

1.                This is water that is blessed by a bishop or priest that serves numerous functions in Catholicism.

2.                Some of the functions noted:

a.         Holy water is placed at the entrance of Catholic Church buildings so the members can dip their fingers in the water and then make the sign of the cross.  This is supposed to remind them of their cleansing received at their baptism.

b.         The Aspersion

1)         The holy water is used by the priest to sprinkle the people before Mass.

                                                2)         It is said that this is based upon Psalm 51:7.

 

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean:  wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

 

                                    c.         The baptismal waters of Easter are holy waters.

d.         Holy water is used to consecrate churches, altars, and altar stones.

e.         The sick can drink sips of holy water to help cure them of their afflictions.

                                    f.         Members can take some holy water home for their personal use.

3.         This water is believed to be so sacred that the only way to properly dispose of it is by pouring it directly onto the ground.

C.        Those who use holy water remind us that deity has always been associated with water.

                        1.         There are many examples that they set forth.

                                    a.         Psalm 29:3

 

The voice of the Lord is upon the waters:  the God of glory thundereth:  the Lord is upon many waters.

 

b.         At the Creation, …the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters (Gen. 1:2).

c.         In the days of Noah, the earth was cleansed from wickness by the waters of the flood (Gen. 6:17).

d.         At their dedication, Aaron and his sons were washed with water (Exo. 29:4).

e.         Before entering into the tabernacle, the priests had to wash with water at the laver (Exo. 30:20).

                                    f.         Jesus was baptized in the waters of the Jordan (Matt. 3:16).

g.         Jesus told the Samaritan woman that He possessed the living water (John 4:10, 14).

h.         At our Lord’s crucifixion, His side was pierced and blood and water flowed from His side (John 19:34).

i.          The bride and the Spirit invite those who thirst to come to His life-giving waters (Rev. 22:17).

j.          We are commanded to be buried in the waters of baptism for the remission of our sins (Acts 10:48; Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16).

k.         In the heavenly realm, John saw a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb (Rev. 22:1).

2.         Since water has been so commonly associated with deity, the thought is that there still must be some form of water, holy water, which is associated with deity today.  Thus, the priests exorcise and bless the water and use it for religious purposes.

 

            D.        There are two problems with the concept of holy water. 

                        1.         We are no longer under the authority of the Old Testament.

                                    a.         We do read of holy water in the Law of Moses.

                                                1)         Holy water (Num. 5:17).

                                                2)         Water of purifying (Num. 8:7).

                                                3)         Water of separation (Num. 19:9).

b.         Today, we are loosed from the OT.  Our authority comes from the New Testament of Jesus Christ (Rom. 7:4, 6).

 

Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ:  that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God…But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

                        2.         Since we live under the NT, we must abide by its authority.

a.         We are to consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ (I Tim. 6:3).  We are only to speak as the oracles of God (I Pet. 4:11).

b.         The NT makes no mention of any type of holy water to be used in any special way.

c.         Holy water is an addition by man.  Such additions are condemned in the Scriptures (Rev. 22:18).

 

For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophesy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book.

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.             In our discussion tonight, we have briefly mentioned two concepts that are very applicable to us today.

1.                First, we must love the Lord Jesus Christ supremely and hate all else, including our own lives.

2.                Second, water is associated with baptism and is essential for forgiveness.

 

B.              Tonight, someone may need to take that step and be baptized.  Someone else may realize that he/she has not loved the Lord supremely and needs to repent.  Remember, Jesus said that we either love Him or hate Him.  There is no in-between ground (Matt. 6:24).

 

No man can serve two masters:  for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.  Ye cannot serve God and mammon.