Pastor Shaun Marksbury

Last week, we spoke about the irony of the mockery Jesus faced ( you can listen to that sermon here ).  Toward the end of that message, we noted the irony of the unsuspecting disciple, Simon of Cyrene.   He just happened to be in Jerusalem for the feast when Romans forced him to pick up a cross and follow Jesus. So, we have Jesus, a near-eastern or Palestinian Jew in Israel.  Simon's hometown in modern day Tripoli, Libya; he's Jewish, but from North Africa.  Later, in the Book of Acts, we meet the Ethiopian Eunuch, another African who was likely of non-Jewish descent.  As the early church carried out its missionary journeys, converts and churches appeared in diverse cultures throughout the ancient world. Such an important heritage reminds us that the gospel and worship of the early church transcended any particular people group.  However, some have wondered if the doctrines of worship found in Reformation Europe too restricted the church to "white...

It’s not a sin to be religious.  Here is a man, like Paul, who is a Pharisee and yet a believer.  The problem Jesus called out in the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin was hypocrisy — claiming to follow God and displaying piety while holding onto unrepentant pride and worldliness.  In the case of Joseph, we are reading about a man who is concerned with cleaning both the outside and the inside of the cup! It’s not a sin to be powerful.  This was a man of true religious conviction who also held authority.  He was a member of the Sanhedrin and a prominent one at that.  He even used his influence to dissent and not condone the death of Jesus.  It may be that Joseph’s position is what swayed Pilate to turn over Jesus’s body.  Just as the Scripture calls on elders to rule “well,” God allows men authority that requires righteous execution.  He was concerned with the kingdom of God, not building his own fiefdom.  It’s not a sin to be wealthy....

We just finished Acts 21 in our Sunday morning Bible readings, a chapter which includes the prophecy of Agabus and its fulfillment with Paul's arrest.   Is there something you may have missed? Some believers of the Charismatic persuasion see inaccuracies in the details Agabus's words.  These supposed inaccuracies evidence a more fallible nature of New Testament prophecy: God doesn't hold the same standard of 100% fidelity and veracity as He did in the Old Testament.   In other words, someone today claiming the gift of prophecy doesn't need to be right all the time.  Prophecy today can be fallible and even non-authoritative. That argument may seem convincing until we look a bit closer at Acts 21.  Does the text actually highlight or even demonstrate inaccuracies in the prophecy?  Have Christians in church history agreed with this modern reading of Agabus?   Dr. Nathan Busenitz answers these questions in a blog art...

In Mark 14:36, Jesus prays, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will.” But, if Jesus is God, then isn't His will God's will?  Why does it appear that His will has to conform to God's? Remember that, in the incarnation, Jesus became like us in every way.  That includes developing a human will.  As such, while He never sinned in His flesh, His will had to learn submission by facing temptation and overcoming it. In fact, the teaching that Jesus only has a single will (divine) rather than two wills (human and divine) is heretical.  Calvin explains, This passage shows plainly enough the gross folly of those ancient heretics, who were called Monothelites , because they imagined that the will of Christ was but one and simple; for Christ, as he was God, willed nothing different from the Father; and therefore it follows, that his human soul had affections distinct from the secret purpose of God. ...

Someone sent me this question: "Who are the sons of God in Job 1:6?"  The term "son of" speaks of both generation and creation.  God indeed has only one Son (Psalm 2:7; John 3:16), because only Jesus bears exact likeness of God (Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:3).  However, special creation also speaks of sonship.  For instance, Adam is called a son of God (Luke 3:35) because God made him.  Israel is also called God's "son" (Deuteronomy 14:1) because God created the nation.  It speaks of God as direct Creator. None of these are referenced in Job here.  This is another group of beings specially created by God known as angels.  Because God created them directly, they get to bear the honorable term "sons of God." What we've skipped in all this is one key other usage, though it's not applicable to Job 1:6.  In the New Testament, Christians who repent and trust in Christ as their Lord and Savior are also called "sons of God" (...

In the parallel to what we're studying in Mark 13, we read this: So you also, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near (Lk 21:31). This parallels Mark 13:29 specifically, which the NASB translates, “Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that He is near, right at the door.”  The “He” can just as easily be translated “it” (as noted in the NASB); based on the parallel, “it” is correct. With that in mind, both Mark 13:29 / Luke 21:31 plainly mean that the kingdom of God is only “near” in arrival after the abomination of desolation and return of Christ.  Why is that important?  Remember that some Christians read the events of Mark 13 as referring exclusively to AD 70.  Let's grant that for a moment.  That means that the kingdom was only “near” and therefore hadn’t started on Pentecost or by the end of Acts.  The church started before the kingdom began. Moreover, since the Book of R...

We’re continuing to examine a question Jesus was asked by a scribe.   His question is, “What commandment is the foremost of all?” (v. 28), and we saw Jesus’s response yesterday.   Unprompted, Jesus went on to list the second in v. 31.   What do we learn? This is the second, not the second and third.   One of the most common misconceptions about this command is that it’s actually two commands.   The reasoning goes that you cannot love a neighbor “as yourself” if you do not love yourself, so Jesus is commanding that you must love yourself and your neighbor.   However, Jesus gives no indication that this command contains a hidden one, nor does Scripture ever command someone to self-love. The second command is to love one’s neighbor instead .   This command sums up the last six commandments, the ones which either positively or negatively tell us to deny ourselves and care for others (our parents, spouses, or neighbors).   When James talks ...