Jesus Didn’t Die For You To ‘Be King'

The Missing Link: Your Journey with Peter from Self Power to Holy Spirit Power Author: Sam Hunter

Publisher: High Bridge Books, Houston, Texas, 2019

For those of you that have read Lloyd C. Douglas’s 1948 epic historical novel called The Big Fisherman, this book will bring back memories. However, while Douglas’s book was more novel than history, Sam Hunter’s is more history than novel. In The Missing Link, Hunter takes poetic license in how he delivers scriptural texts – when, who, in what order, etc., but sticks very closely to words uttered by Jesus and the various apostles in the New Testament. With those passages, he takes the opportunity to let his main character, the Apostle Peter, share some personal (Hunter’s) views on key issues facing Christians and the Body of Christ today. I’ll let you discover them for yourself. But as a teaser, let me just ask you, “Where is the Biblical support for (local) church membership?”

The book is indeed an account of a journey or should I say two journeys.

The first and obvious one is Peter’s journey of life with Christ (what he learned and what he did not learn while Jesus was with the Disciples) as well his account of facing life without Christ after His ascension. It was at that time that he tried to understand what Jesus had meant when he uttered the words, “And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.” This first journey goes on to explain how that happened and what it meant to him, and to other followers of Jesus. Peter, now an old man in the story, provides a description that is historical in nature – all this had already happened.

The second and slightly less obvious, but still very intentional journey, is a portrayal of a potential or future journey – your journey and my journey of having the Holy Spirit live within us and allowing us to exhibit His Power.  Some readers may already be on that journey and they will easily identify with what Peter shared about his journey. To others, it may be all brand-new thinking.

In the book’s prologue, again writing as Peter, Hunter makes several keys observations, but his main one (attributed to Pastor Jack R. Taylor) is this: The Holy Spirit “is, in fact, the only God left on earth.” If that doesn’t get you wanting to read the book, nothing will.

Hunter does a masterful job of developing a character that is like so many of us – we want to be in charge of our lives; we think we’re pretty good; we’re often in a hurry; and we get things done. And then he shows us, through “king Peter” that being like that does not work if our desire is to be Holy Spirit filled.

The majority of the book’s background is the account of the New Testament book of Acts which Hunter (through Peter) says we’ve misnamed it ‘the Acts of the Apostles’. Peter says a much better name would be ‘the Acts of the Holy Spirit’ and Hunter shows us why.

The author focuses on Christ’s instruction to His disciples to “wait” and tells us what we are to wait for.

In part two of his book, Hunter describes how seeking and receiving the Holy Spirit is not for the faint of heart. In essence, when the Spirit comes to dwell in you, the Enemy strikes back. In effect, he shows us that we have two choices when that happens. We can either react in fear or respond in faith. With great detail he describes for us what that looks like. This section of the book would not be complete without an account of Jesus’ challenge to Peter and to us – “Who do you say that I am?” With whatever answer we give, Hunter (through Peter) moves us on to a section of handling tribulation, suffering, even ‘flogging’ in Peter’s case and ‘stoning’ in Stephen’s case.

The third and final part of the book is an account of the conversion of the persecutor of Christians (Saul) to being one of the greatest proponents of Christ (the Apostle Paul), and Peter’s relationship with him. It is a fascinating section that gives us an interesting perspective on Paul’s early life after his conversion. The weight of his past acts is, to say the least, a heavy burden for him.  Together, Peter and Paul and others learn about each of the Spirit’s Fruits.

And readers won’t want to miss Hunter’s treatise on the difference between ‘aphiemi’ forgiveness and ‘charizomai’ forgiveness.  That alone is worth the price of the book.

If you, like many of us, are stuck in your spiritual life, and your relationship with God is not growing, this book will move you to the next step – no matter where you are in your journey.  It is easy reading, but full of practical suggestions that could have a great impact.

Highly recommended. Very different from the other (at least 17 by my count) books out there with the identical or basically the same title. 

n  Ken B. Godevenos, President, Accord Resolutions Services Inc., Toronto, Ontario, Feb. 1, 2020, www.accordconsulting.com

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Have We Been Missing the Apostle Paul's Intent for Writing Romans?

Hope For The Nations: Paul’s Letter to the Romans, A Corporate Reading

Tom Holland, Apostolos Publishing Ltd., London, UK, 2015

                                              

This is a book that presents both traditional concepts as well as new ones on what the Apostle Paul was intending for his audience to fully grasp.  That sounds mundane but I must admit I could not put it down.  It’s written by a scholar but within easy reach of a layman like me.  Tom Holland, Senior Research Fellow in Biblical Studies at the Wales Evangelical School of Theology, has given us a well researched and extremely well written book that speaks to every believer in a valuable and timely way.

His theory is that it is all about “context” and he shows us why time and time again.  Holland says for years we have taken the letter to the Romans as one speaking primarily to “individuals” in the church – to you and me.  But he shows us why Paul was writing about, and to, much larger groups – Israel, the Gentiles, and the new combined Church as an entity. He is careful to point out that this position does not exclude the idea that the points which Paul is making to the Roman Church are not as applicable to the individual Christian – they are, but when studying the Epistle we must remember his intended audience.

Holland argues and shows that Paul, in just about every key phrase in the letter, was drawing from the Old Testament, and especially Isaiah.  He talks about the first, second, and third Exodus of the people of Israel, the Jews, and how God has led them out of slavery, gave them a great part to play in history of all mankind’s salvation, and now is calling them to be part of the Gospel that they themselves ushered in.  He is careful however to distinguish between all of the Jewish people and those that were (and will be) a “remnant” and those that still will accept the Gospel.

He points out the various “covenantal” themes we find in Romans tied to the rest of Scriptures.  He helps us see and understand why when reading Romans we need to look at the references therein to the Old Testament from the perspective of how the early Church read it.

This is a great book for those studying Romans, teaching it in a group or to a class, or preaching a series on it.  For the individual student, it serves as a modern commentary on each verse.  Holland takes great effort to not put down the thoughts of others, but also shows us why he personally tends to go with a particular view.  I like that.

He deals extensively with the tension caused by the requirement that converted Jews placed on Gentiles to be circumcised. He also deals with the issue regarding the eating of meat sacrificed to idols and explains particularly well why that may be a problem to Gentile converts and not to Jewish ones. (The answer he provides was instrumental, by extrapolation, in helping me understand why certain Christians object to alcohol today and why some do not.) Both issues he addresses were major contributors to the discord between the two sources of origin for the original Christian Church.  In the process he deals with how Paul sees the purpose of the Law in the Old Testament and for the new Church, as well as for us today.

The book is full of gems of knowledge and wisdom for the taking. Issues that I personally struggled with were helpfully explained time and time again.  My copy of the book is filled with my notations on new insights.

You can listen to preacher after preacher and teacher after teacher on Romans and never really understand the “big message” or see the “big picture” of what the author is trying to share.  Getting a hold of a scholarly work rewritten for non-scholars yet communicating the secrets of historical and contextual hermeneutics to bring alive God’s Holy Word allows you to stop and think and question and reflect.  Tom Holland does just that for you.  I very highly recommend it to all.  I will be looking for more of his books.

The author’s bottom line (and his own desire for writing) is given away in the very title of this book – there is indeed “Hope for the Nations” of both Gentiles and Jews.

    -- Ken B. Godevenos, Accord Resolution Services Inc., Toronto, Ontario. 15/10/08  

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Jacob’s Prediction About Benjamin - Genesis 49:27

“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; In the morning he devours the prey, And in the evening he divides the spoil.”

We now come to the blessing of Jacob’s last child, the second from his beloved Rachel, Joseph’s younger brother, Benjamin.  It is nowhere near the length of the blessing spoken over Joseph or Judah, but nonetheless the blessing, as well as the tribe it describes, packs a punch.   Later on in scripture we see that Benjamin’s was indeed one of the toughest fighting tribes of them all.  They were almost erased due to wickedness and all the other tribes joined forces against them to defeat them, although just.  But at the same time this is the tribe that gave Israel Ehud the second judge, and Saul, its first king, along with Esther and Mordecai who were very instrumental in destroying the enemies of the Jews.  And this was the tribe that gave us the great apostle, Paul.

Some, like Matthew Henry, argue that this blessing is more proof that “a spirit of prophecy” not just his personal feelings, was indeed guiding Jacob, as otherwise he would have spoken with greater tenderness and love towards Benjamin, a child which he dearly cared for as was evidenced by his reluctance to let him go to Egypt in order to get grain.

Instead he speaks of Benjamin as one who would lead a great warrior tribe that would take and use well the spoils of its conquered enemies who feared it greatly.

So, what are we to take from all this?  What is the message for you and I today?  I suggest that in the tribe of Benjamin we learn that we can never underestimate the ways of God.  God, in accomplishing His divine purpose for individuals, groups, or mankind as a whole, can, does, and will use all manner of men and women, with different dispositions and temperaments, some good, some not so good.   In fact, as Charles Stanley pointed out recently, Romans 8:28 does not say, “And we know that God causes all good things to work together for good,” but it says, “God causes all things to work together for good,” including things that happen to you and I that we don’t like, things that stem from our enemies or Satan himself, and things that we wouldn’t wish on anyone else.

Here is more evidence then, through the history of the tribe of Benjamin (without which we would not have the great teachings of Paul in the New Testament today), that God is fully in control of all circumstances, aware of what schemes of the Enemy He allows, and by so being, can and does ultimately bring about His purpose.   Being confident of that very fact should bring incredible solace to an otherwise anxious life.  I pray you have that peace today.

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