THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

The Books Of Kings: The Kings Of Israel And Judah From Solomon To The Babylonian Captivity

II. The Divided Kingdom, 1 Kings 12:1-22:53

H. Heeding God's Assignment To KEEP ON Countering Apostasy

(1 Kings 15:25-16:7)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

In recent months -- especially this past week, we as a body have kept on facing theological errors from even the evangelical realm around us, and several of these issues of error we have even recently addressed from the pulpit:

(1) I have taught that Jesus in Luke 17:3 said we are to forgive those who repent, but Christian psychologists, counselors, radio pastors and area church leaders keep on teaching that we must forgive unconditionally like Jesus did when He allegedly said from the cross in Luke 23:34, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."

(2) I have taught that 2 Timothy 3:17 claims Scripture equips us to be fully equipped unto every good work, but many Christian psychologists and counselors keep on saying we need psychology along with Scripture to counsel.

(3) I have taught that Ephesians 2:8-9 claims one is saved by faith, not works, but people we have faced keep on claiming that Jesus in John 3:5 taught ee must be "born of water and of the Spirit," to be saved by water baptism!

(4) One of us last week asked me about Seventh-day Adventism, for relatives he has keep on facing it in life!

Need: So, we ask, "If we KEEP ON facing theological errors, what should we do about it, and why?!"

I. When Baasha came to rule over Israel, he heeded the Jeroboam dynasty's apostasy, 1 Kings 15:25-34.

II. God then sent a prophet to critique Baasha's failure to KEEP ON countering apostasy like Samuel did:

A. When prophet Jehu in 1 Kings 16:1-2a claimed that God had exalted Baasha out of the dust, that statement in view of the Old Testament context points directly back to the ministry of the prophet Samuel (as follows):

1. Only three Old Testament passages mention the Lord's raising up and exalting one from the "dust" ('apar), 1 Samuel 2:8, Psalm 113:7-8 and 1 Kings 16:2. (B. D. B., A Heb. and Eng. Lex. of the O. T., p. 779-780)

2. 1 Samuel 2:8, part of Hannah's song of praise for God's giving her a son named Samuel, is repeated in Psalm 113:7-8: both passages show God "raising up" (qum) one from the "dust" ('apar) and "exalting" (rum) one from the ash heap to dwell among "noble(s)" (nabid[im]), Kittel, Biblia Hebraica, p. 407, 1076.

3. Yet, 1 Kings 16:2 differs from the other two passages, presenting an enhanced shift in both (a) God's "exalting" (rum) Baasha directly from the "dust" ('apar) and (b) not just to be a "noble" (nabid), but "top man" (nagid) in Israel, Ibid., p 540; Ibid., B. D. B., p. 617-618; H. A. W., T. W. O. T., 1980, v. II, p. 550)

B. This comparison of Hannah with Baasha in the wide historical context shows God had raised Baasha up to keep countering apostasy even to a greater degree than in His raising up Samuel to counter apostasy in his era:

1. The Lord had caused Hannah to be barren to get her to give up her firstborn son as a lifelong Nazarite, which dedication fit God's plan to put Hannah's firstborn son, godly Samuel, into the tabernacle in holy contrast to Eli and his evil priestly sons and their dreadfully apostate ministry, 1 Samuel 1:1-28; 2:22-36.

2. Thus, when God through the prophet Jehu told Baasha He had lifted him up from the dust, alluding via Hannah to Samuel's ministry to counter the apostate priests at the tabernacle at Shiloh, God implied He had raised up Baasha to keep on countering apostasy, which in Baasha's era was Jeroboam's syncretism!

3. Yet, God noted He had directly exalted Baasha from the "dust" not to become just a "noble" like Samuel, but the "top man, leader" of God's people, equipping him as king GREATLY to influence Israel for God!

C. However, Baasha had miserably failed, eradicating Jeroboam's line BUT NOT his apostasy, 1 Kings 16:2b, 7.

III. Accordingly, God doomed Baasha and his house to suffer Jeroboam's terrible fate, 1 Kings 16:3-7:

A. Baasha's household would all die and be left unburied, being eradicated as in Jeroboam's case, 1 Kings 16:3-4.

B. For following Jeroboam's apostasy versus fulfilling God's calling to oppose it and for murdering Jeroboam's family in violation of the Law, Baasha would face Jeroboam's same fate, Ibid., Ryrie, ftn. to 1 Kings 16:1-7.

Lesson: For failing in his God-given assignment and opportunity to KEEP ON countering apostasy as Samuel had done in his former era, Baasha was condemned to experience former apostate king Jeroboam's terrible fate!

Application: (1) May we trust in Christ to be saved, John 3:16. (2) As believers, may we take seriously our accountability to God to KEEP ON performing His ASSIGNMENT to COUNTER APOSTASY in OUR era, especially as God raises us up to positions of influence that enable us affect other people around us!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message . . . )

While preparing this sermon, its application to me on my duty to keep upholding the truth before you on the issues listed in this sermon's introduction got so intense, I spoke out loud in amazement! I thus fulfill that duty now:

(1) On forgiveness, Luke 17:3 has no textual variations in the manuscripts (U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966, p. 281-282; Nestle-Aland, Novum Test. Graece, 1973, p. 201; He Kaine Diatheke [Kilpatrick ed., British & Foreign Bible Society], 1972, p. 240), and that verse claims we are to forgive conditioned upon the sinner's repenting!

As for the alleged statement of Jesus' unconditional forgiveness from the cross to his crucifiers in Luke 23:34, I testify that this statement does not appear in a number of the early manuscripts of three of the four major text types (Bruce M. Metzger, A Text. Com. on the Grk. N. T., 1971, p. xxix-xxx, 180; J. H. Greenlee, Intro. to N. T. Text. Crit., 1970, p. 117; U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966, p. xi-xxx), so no doctrine should be based upon it! Therefore, all other Bible verses on forgiving others must harmonize with Luke 17:3 to teach sinners must repent before we can forgive them!

[Note: We must never harbor malice toward anyone who wrongs us (Romans 13:8), but forgiveness is a legal term dealing with God's objective justice! Forgiving another is to be solely an objective issue, NOT one of malice!]

(2) On the sufficiency of Scripture in counseling, I testify that 2 Timothy 3:17-4:1 claims Scripture equips the believer to be thoroughly equipped unto every good work until at least Christ's return. Regardless of ongoing claims by Christian psychologists and counselors to the contrary, Scripture is sufficient for ministering to troubled people!

(3) On Christian water baptism in John 3:5, I testify that Jesus' listener, Nicodemus, spoke with Jesus in John 3 in the early part of Christ's earthly ministry before He told even His disciples about the Church in Matthew 16:18 (J. Dwight Pentecost, The Words and Works of Jesus Christ, 1991, p. 122, 248-249). Nicodemus thus did not know about Christian water baptism, so Jesus would not have referred to it by His use of the word "water" in John 3:5. We also know from John 3:9-10 that Jesus meant to be understood by Nicodemus in terms familiar to him as a leader in Israel, so Jesus must have alluded to the Old Testament in speaking with Nicodemus. If we turn to Ezekiel 36:25-27 in the Old Testament, we find a prophecy on washing with clean water to speak figuratively of regeneration (cf. Titus 3:5), the spiritual new birth (Ez. 36:26) and the giving of the Holy Spirit to believers (Ez. 36:27) to occur to Israel in the future Messianic Kingdom. Since Christians today enter into some of these future Kingdom spiritual blessings (cf. Acts 2:14-21), by His phrase "of water and of the Spirit" in John 3:5, Jesus alluded to Ezekiel 36:25-27 in telling of the spiritual new birth. Christ did not there [or anywhere else] teach salvation by Christian water baptism!

(4) On Seventh-day Adventism, I testify that (a) "(M)ost Seventh-day Adventists still consider Ellen White to be a prophetess of God, even though many of her prophecies failed to come true" (gotquestions.org; Seventy-Day-Adventism.html), a failure that Deuteronomy 18:21-22 reveals makes her a false prophetess! (b) Seventh-day Adventists say "worship services should be conducted on the 'seventh day' (the Sabbath) instead of Sunday" (Ibid.), but Colossians 2:13-17 calls us not to be subject to the Sabbath rule! (c) Seventh-day Adventists claim the "dietary laws . . . in Leviticus . . . carry with them an ongoing obligation" for Christians (Ibid., Seventh-day Adventists Believe . . ., p. 285), but Colossians 2:13-17 teaches believers are not subject to the Law on food and drink! (d) Seventh-day Adventists teach, "While Christ's death ended the authority of the ceremonial law, it established that of the Ten Commandments" (Ibid., p. 244), but Colossians 2:13-17 teaches Christ's death ended the authority of the Ten Commandments, for it directs believers not to be subject to the Sabbath law, one of the Ten Commandments! (e) In teaching that Christians are under any part of the Mosaic Law, Seventh-day Adventists counter Galatians 3:10 with 3:5 where Paul cited Deuteronomy 27:26 that claims that if one asserts he must keep any rule of the Law, he is obligated to keep the whole Law, putting him under legalistic bondage versus our freedom in Christ! (f) Seventh-day Adventists claim the soul sleeps at death (Jan Karel Van Baalen, The Chaos of Cults, 1973, p. 231), but Luke 16:22-30 has Jesus teaching both lost and saved are conscious in death! (g) Seventh-day Adventists believe in the annihilation of the soul of the lost at death so they will not experience hell, but 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9 with Revelation 20:10, 12-15 claims the lost will experience eternal destruction in torment in the lake of fire. (h) Some Seventh-day Adventists say "Satan is the 'scapegoat' and will bear believers' sins (The Great Controversey, p. 422, 485)" (Ibid., gotquestions.org), but 1 Peter 2:24 claims Jesus bore our sins in His own body on the cross! (i) Some Seventh-day Adventists identify "Jesus as Michael the archangel (Jude 1:9, Clear Word Bible . . . 1944)" (Ibid.) but John 1:1-3 teaches Jesus is the Eternal God and Creator of all that was made, what would include Michael! (j) Some Seventh-day Adventists say "Jesus entered a second phase of His redemptive work on October 22, 1844, as prophesied by Hiram Edson," (Ibid.), but Hebrews 9:12 states that Christ entered the heavenly tabernacle once-for-all (ephapax, Arndt & Ging., A Grk.-Eng. Lex. of the N. T., 1967, p. 330) with his blood, having obtained eternal redemption! In giving you this information, I merely seek to apply this sermon to keep countering apostasy in your behalf!

May we trust in Christ to be saved. May we fulfill our calling to keep on countering apostasy in our era!