John Nelson Darby (1800-1882) was a pastor among the Plymouth Brethren.  He was the first to majorly develop the eschatological system of Dispensationalism (more {here}), whose primary emphasis (one of two) is a distinction between Israel and the church.  In a recent Bibliotheca Sacra article, writer Paul Wilkinson shares some interesting things about him:

The immediately following account is of Darby visiting a deathly-ill boy and sharing the Gospel with him:

“…’After upwards of an hour’s toilsome walking…over steep hills…[and]…heavy marshes,’ Darby arrived at a peasant’s cottage and found the young lad with his mother, lying on a bed of straw ‘in a state of extreme suffering and exhaustion.’  The boy stared at Darby ‘like a frightened animal.’  Darby was immediately ’struck with dismay and almost despair,’ not knowing how to reach this lost soul who was close to death, illiterate, and ‘altogether ignorant of the way of salvation.’  Darby records how he ‘raised up’ his heart in prayer, asking the Lord to direct him ‘in this most difficult and trying position’ and to open to him ‘by His Spirit of wisdom a way to set forth the glad tidings of salvation so as to be understood by this poor benighted wanderer.’  As Darby enquired about his condition, the boy told him how he had fallen ill after searching the mountains in inclement weather for one of his father’s sheep, which had gone astray.  Having found the distressed animal, the boy, whose lungs had been pierced by ‘the cold mountain blast,’ lifted it on his shoulders and carried it home, much to the delight of his father.  As the boy declared, ‘I did my best to save the sheep.’  The Lord had provided ‘this happy opening’ for Darby, who proceeded to use the story to tell him the parable of the lost sheep (Luke 15:1-7). ‘The Lord mercifully opened not only his understanding, but his heart also, to receive the things spoken.  He himself was the lost sheep, Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd,  who was sent by the Father to seek for him….My poor sick lad seemed to drink it all in.  He received it all; he understood it all.  I never saw a clearer proof of the power of the divine Spirit to apply the Word of God….He accepted Christ as his Savior [and] earnestly prayed to be carried home like the lost sheep in the heavenly Shepherd’s arms.  He died humbly, peacefully, almost exulting, with the name of Jesus, my Savior and my Shepherd, the last upon his lips.’”

Wilkinson with Philip Hallie in Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed and David Brog in Standing with Israel: Why Christians Support the Jewish State points out  that Darby’s influence among some villagers in the French village Le Chambon led these villagers to harbor some 5,000 Jews during the Holocaust.  They loved the Jews, and they were willing to risk their own lives to help them.  One account in this village includes a German Jewish lady visiting a farm of some Darby followers.  When the Jewess asked to buy some eggs, the farmer’s wife asked her if she was Jewish.  She affirmed that, only to have the farmer’s wife summon the whole family down to where the two women were standing.  The Jewess, who had become very nervous,  was completely taken aback when the farmer’s wife gladly showed her family this representative of the Chosen People.  They loved the Jews, and this love came through John Darby’s influence.  The main organizer of this effort to save the Jews in Le Chambon was Andre Trocme, who was posthumously honored as a Righteous Among the Nations in 1972 by Yad VaShem (Israel’s Holocaust memorial museum).

Quotes by Darby:

Darby loved the church all his life, but “there was, however, another flock that Darby took into his heart,  a flock despised, neglected, and rejected not only by the world, but by many in the church.”  This was, of course, the Jews.

“Israel is always the people of God [and] cannot cease to be the people of God.”

“The Jews are the habitual object of the thoughts of God; for, although He cannot recognize them for the moment, as being under His chastening hand, they are nevertheless still His people…”

Material taken from Wilkinson, Paul R. “John Nelson Darby and His Views on Israel.” Bibliotheca Sacra 166, no. 661 (January-March 2009): 84-99.

Paul has written a book with Thomas Ice on John Darby’s influence in supporting the Jews and Zionism: Wilkinson, Paul and Thomas Ice. For Zion’s Sake: Christian Zionism and the Role of John Nelson Darby. Wipf and Stock, 2007. {here}

This week, as you well know, is Passion Week.  This past Sunday was Palm Sunday, this coming Friday is Good Friday, and this coming Sunday is Resurrection Sunday (Easter).  That means that this week commemorates the last week of Jesus’ life before His crucifixion and resurrection.

One helpful thing to do this week as you remember these most significant events is to retrace what Jesus did on each of the days of His last week.  I just attended a seminar with one of my favorite college professors that dealt with this very topic, so my excitement with this remembrance scheme is quite timely.

Dr. Doug Bookman’s basic Passion Week chronology, which I 99.9% agree with, is:

Sunday: Triumphal Entry
Monday: Cleansing & Controlling the Temple
Tuesday: Confronting Enemies, Olivet Discourse
Wednesday: Silent day
Thursday: Passover, Arrest, Trials
Friday: Crucifixion
Saturday: Body in Tomb
Sunday: Resurrection

{Here} is someone’s chronology chart which agrees with the above.  Other very helpful charts are {here}, {here},  and {here}, with only minor differences. [I cannot fully endorse any of these since I have not fully reviewed them, but a cursory review of them seemed satisfactory.]

Thus, I think it would be most appropriate to read the corresponding Gospel accounts of these events on each day of this week to powerfully remind ourselves of our Lord’s death and resurrection for you and me.  I have been intending to prepare a list of readings for two years now, but still haven’t gotten around to it…  However, a very good friend’s blog post and list is {here}.

Below is a list of audio sermons you can listen to by Dr. Bookman wherein he amazingly communicates the chronology of the Passion Week: {here} [11.22-11.24.02], {here}, {here} [2.21-2.22.09], and {here} [10.24-10.26.08].  Dr. Bookman is definitely one of my favorite and most influential teachers ever.  He will make your reading of the Gospels come alive!  I really encourage you to take the time to download and listen to the sermons to which I have linked.

I posted this on my personal blog the other day: I don’t know if you would be, but perhaps you may be interested in a paper I wrote recently for a Church History class.  The paper is a discussion and contrast of the ecclesiology (the theology of the church) of the Reformers and the Anabaptists. Their views of the church were very different. The Reformers held that the church is composed of the Corpus Christianum–all those who had been baptized (usually as infants). The Anabaptists held that the church was composed of the Corpus Christi–only those who had believed in Christ as Savior. These two differing views led to vastly different worldviews which affected their evangelism, their view of the church & society, their use of coercion, their view of baptism, and their conduct. After reading some of the things Calvin said so harshly against the Anabaptists, I prayed that the Lord would always keep me from being so fiercely and dogmatically wrong. He hated the Anabaptists, but from our perspective in history, the Anabaptists were right! It serves to remind us that we must be careful, cautious, and humble about what we believe. You can read the paper {here} if you would like.

If you are interested in having a very small part in standing up against abortion in our nation, please see this website {here} for information on how to make your voice heard with many thousands of others on March 31, 2009 by sending an empty red envelope to our President.

A good friend of mine, Jon, lent me a book by one of my favorite authors, J.C. Ryle.  The booklet is entitled How Readest Thou? Ryle, though living in the mid to late 1800’s, could have written this booklet yesterday.  It is a phenomenal little treasure, as are all of Ryle’s writings, and it really presses home a powerful message.  Ryle develops throughout this book the theme of how important the Bible is.  I will share his basic outline:

1. There is no knowledge absolutely needful to a man’s salvation, except a knowledge of the things which are found in the Bible.
2. There is no book in existence written in such a manner as the Bible: with extraordinary unity and harmony in the contents; extraordinary accuracy in the facts and statements; extraordinary wisdom, sublimity, and majesty in the style; and extraordinary suitableness to the spiritual wants of all mankind.
3. No book in existence contains such important matter as the Bible: with extraordinary depth, fullness, and richness in the contents; giving a reasonable account of the beginning and end of the globe on which we live; giving us true views of God; and explaining the state of things we see in the world around us.
4. No book in existence has produced such wonderful effects on mankind at large as the Bible: it turned the apostle’s world upside down; it turned Europe upside down in the Reformation; and the world owes every humane and charitable institution in existence to the influence of the Bible.
5. No book in existence can do so much for everyone who reads it rightly as the Bible: it leads to the saving of the soul; it leads to the sanctification of the saint.
6. No gift of God to man is so awfully neglected and misused as the Bible.
7. The Bible is the only rule by which all questions of doctrine or duty can be tried.
8. The Bible is the book which all true servants of God have always lived on and loved.
9. The Bible is the only book which can comfort a man in the last hours of his life.

After developing all of these points very pithily, he frequently asks the questions: “If the Bible is this important, what are you doing with it?  Are you reading it?  How readest thou?”  His great emphasis is challenging the reader to actually read the Bible.  We may agree with others that the Bible is important; we make ourselves love the Bible, but if we aren’t reading the Bible, then we aren’t really living out our profession.  “To have a Bible is not the same thing as to read the Bible,” Ryle points out.  The Word of God does us no good if we don’t read it.  It is not a magic talisman to keep evil away.  It is only effective when it is absorbed in our mind and heart and reflected in our actions.  He also seeks to emphasize how we read it.  It is not enough just to read a few verses or chapters at night coldly out of duty.  We must love it; we must pray over it for guidance; we must cherish it.  This is God’s very Word to us, and we must read it carefully for it to be of any benefit to us.

Some good quotes:

Your neglected Bible is a plain evidence that you do not love God….God will reckon with you for your neglect of the Bible in the day of judgment.

Begin reading your Bible today!….Read the Bible with earnest desire to understand it….Read the Bible with deep reverence….Read the Bible with earnest prayer for the teaching and help of the Holy Spirit….Read the Bible with childlike faith and humility….Read the Bible in a spirit of obedience and self-application….Read the Bible every day….Read all the Bible in an orderly way….Read the Bible fairly and honestly….Read the Bible with Christ continually in view.

The person who does not read the Bible regularly is the person: who will get little comfort from the Bible in time of need; who will make mistakes in life; who will likely be carried away by false teaching.

To have the Bible is not the same as to read the Bible.

So, I would challenge you to read this short but powerful little booklet.  Then, answer the questions: “What are you doing with the Bible?  Do you read it?  How do you read it?”

John Charles Ryle (1816-1900) {biography} | Find How Readest Thou? {here} | Another outstanding book by him is Holiness {here} or {here} or print it {here}.  Everything by Ryle is worth getting!

The new American President-elect has promised to sign the Freedom of Choice Act immediately upon gaining office. This act removes all restrictions from abortion procedures. Please consider signing the petition {here} to try to prevent this from happening.

Thanks to Todd for pointing this out.

Listen to the words of Isaiah 58:

1 “Shout with the voice of a trumpet blast.
Shout aloud! Don’t be timid.
Tell my people Israel of their sins!
2 Yet they act so pious!
They come to the Temple every day
and seem delighted to learn all about me.
They act like a righteous nation
that would never abandon the laws of its God.
They ask me to take action on their behalf,
pretending they want to be near me.
3 ‘We have fasted before you!’ they say.
‘Why aren’t you impressed?
We have been very hard on ourselves,
and you don’t even notice it!’   “I will tell you why!” I respond.
“It’s because you are fasting to please yourselves.
Even while you fast,
you keep oppressing your workers.
4 What good is fasting
when you keep on fighting and quarreling?
This kind of fasting
will never get you anywhere with me.
5 You humble yourselves
by going through the motions of penance,
bowing your heads
like reeds bending in the wind.
You dress in burlap
and cover yourselves with ashes.
Is this what you call fasting?
Do you really think this will please the Lord?
6 “No, this is the kind of fasting I want:
Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;
lighten the burden of those who work for you.
Let the oppressed go free,
and remove the chains that bind people.
7 Share your food with the hungry,
and give shelter to the homeless.
Give clothes to those who need them,
and do not hide from relatives who need your help.
8 “Then your salvation will come like the dawn,
and your wounds will quickly heal.
Your godliness will lead you forward,
and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind.
9 Then when you call, the Lord will answer.
‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply.
“Remove the heavy yoke of oppression.
Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors!
10 Feed the hungry,
and help those in trouble.
Then your light will shine out from the darkness,
and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.
11 The Lord will guide you continually,
giving you water when you are dry
and restoring your strength.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like an ever-flowing spring.
12 Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities.
Then you will be known as a rebuilder of walls
and a restorer of homes.
13 “Keep the Sabbath day holy.
Don’t pursue your own interests on that day,
but enjoy the Sabbath
and speak of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day.
Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day,
and don’t follow your own desires or talk idly.
14 Then the Lord will be your delight.
I will give you great honor
and satisfy you with the inheritance I promised to your ancestor Jacob.
I, the Lord, have spoken!” (NLT)

This was written to Israel long ago, but I think there are lessons we can glean from it for us today.  The character of God as reflected in this passage has not changed, and, thus, as Christians, we should strive to honor God in the areas He mentions here.

Notice the following principles we can apply today:

• Sin must be confronted (v. 1)
• Hypocritical/false religion is an affront to God (vv. 2-7)
• Going thru the motions of “spirituality” with wrong motives is absolutely worthless to God (vv. 2-8)
• True religion is not bondage to servitude or sin (v. 6)
• True religion feeds the hungry, helps the homeless, and clothes the naked (v. 7) (cf. Mt. 25.31-46; Rom. 12.19-21, et al)
• When true religion is practiced, it is beautiful, as the dawn, and the Lord blesses and helps (vv. 8, 10)

Israel would be blessed materially for her obedience to these matters, but we must do them as those whom Christ has redeemed out of love for Him.  It is our privilege to serve Him.  So make sure your religion is true and not hypocritical.  Help those who are in need.  Let God be seen in you!

Passage from BibleGateway.com

Another thought from David Baron gleaned from Israel in the Plan of God {here} about believers who live in the present world:

…And finally,  to complete the parallel,  we too [believers] are His ‘anointed ones’ and His ‘prophets’ in the New Testament sense of the words, to whom is entrusted the Word of Life, that we may be witnesses for Him in the world.  ‘God’s people,’ to quote from an old writer, ‘have ever been but “men of number” (a little minority), often accounted as vile, but they are precious in His sight.  They are not distinguished by external dignity, numbers, and power, as Rome [Catholic church] sets forth the marks of her communion: they are in the midst of kingdoms, but not of them.  They form usually the humblest portions of most communities, and yet they receive honor from God.  Despised by the world, but unto God, kings and priests,  ordained and anointed to reign with Christ for ever.’

These words are a reminder that God’s people are rarely those whom the world considers “great.”  Believers are usually disdained by the world.  They are usually the minority.  But don’t forget that this life is not all that there is!  God will honor those who live for Him in this present life, especially if it is difficult.

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.   But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;  God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,  so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. (1 Cor 1:26-29)

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JPost has an article about Christians being targeted in Gaza with acts of violence and terrorism. Find the article {here}.

Here are two share-worthy quotes from David Baron’s Israel in the Plan of God {here}:

And the story of the self-corruption of Israel [Old Testament Israel], and their progressive departure from the living God who had made Himself known to them, is also in miniature the history of the whole human race.

What a fascinating quote!  He elsewhere suggests that Biblical Israel is something of an object lesson to the rest of the world about God’s dealings with mankind.  This is not to detract anything from Israel’s significance; she is, after all, still God’s chosen people.  But because of her unique position, she is also an example to the world.  Reading about her failures as an unholy people before a holy God is like looking at ALL unholy people of the world before the holy God.

Not only does Jewish history prove the fact that man cannot by his own searching find God, but it teaches also the fact that, apart from Divine grace and power, man is incapable of retaining the knowledge of the true and living God,  even after it has been divinely communicated to him.

No matter how hard Jews struggle, they cannot find God on their own.  Romans 10.2-4:

I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. (ESV)

They follow their Tanakh, but this is not the way to God.  It is through Jesus alone.  “I am THE way, THE truth, THE life,” Jesus said.  “No one comes to the Father but through Me.”  So, no Jew or Gentile can find God on their own.  It is absolutely essential that God condescends to man’s level to search for man.

But, the Jew is also a reminder that even after God has revealed Himself to men, they do not always abide in that revelation.  It’s the Second/Third Generation Problem.  Faith is too easily forgotten.  One generation is not always faithful to pass on their faith to another.  Thus,  the second or third generation knows nothing of God, even though the first generation were “saints”.  This happened time and time again in Israel’s history, and it’s a lesson to us all now too.  How many godly people do you know whose children are completely ungodly?  Man cannot find God on his own,  nor can man retain this knowledge of God on his own.  The Jew is a good lesson of both of these principles.