Billy Graham

   Standing in a thrift store in my hometown of Annandale, Virginia, looking at books on a shelf, I saw a paperback written in 1961 entitled Billy Graham: The Man Who Walks With God, by Glenn Daniels.  I had only been a Christian a few years yet I had become a student of the Bible.  Yet I had only read three Christian books to that date, and I decided that since I was now a Christian I had better learn something about the man who was the most well known Christian in my country.  I then read that influential book on subway rides to work.

   Soon after I attended the memorial service for a woman in our church named Dula.  She had a physical challenge which had inhibited her physically in many ways and which was the cause of her physical death at a rather young age.  Yet her focus was not on her physical challenges, and she was a kind and caring woman.  I really liked her.

   I learned at the memorial service that Dula had come to believe in Jesus after hearing Billy Graham preach at a stadium.  I was grateful for his ministry which had resulted in her life being changed!

   Then in Virginia a few years before my call into ministry work, there was a blessed evening when I sat with my dad in his living room watching Billy Graham preach with such conviction.  It was beautiful father and son time.

   Years later I would learn that my friend, Dr. David Beckman, was a freshman at Wheaton College the same time Billy Graham was a senior there, and they were friends.  During a challenging time in my life, I read the autobiography by Billy Graham, Just As I Am, which was a tremendous encouragement to me and an influence on me.  His honesty in that book was fantastic, and he showed times of struggling in his life, during which he turned to God with a sincere desire to trust Him.  Blessings resulted.

   Billy Graham had guts for God.  Willing to rely on the Holy Spirit, he preached with conviction, never neglecting the topic of sin.  Yet the aim of his sermons was the love of God and the opportunity to turn to Jesus for salvation.

   Billy Graham loves Jesus, and the result was the saving of many.  Billy Graham was an evangelist, an evangelist who desired to preach Christ in whatever country he could.  What an incredible journey with Jesus he traversed in this world.  He is now home.  And I say, “Thank you Billy.”

   This past Sunday, I was honored to preach at my church.  On the pulpit at my church are the words, “We preach Christ crucified, and risen.”  At the core, this is what Billy Graham preached.  And he preached that all people have a decision to make of whether to receive Christ or not.

   If you are not in a personal relationship with Jesus, you can know Him as your Savior and Lord even today.  Jesus Christ died on a cross for the forgiveness of sins of anyone.  Jesus was the atonement for the consequence of sins, which is spiritual death.  If you believe in Jesus, you will have eternal life in heaven with the Holy God.

Hunter Irvine

A student of Scripture

   When I studied at Virginia Tech, I took several law classes with a distinguished professor in the Political Science department, Dr. J.W. Tubbs.  He had been a successful lawyer, yet then moved into teaching due to a muscle disease.  That move was into a profession which was also a calling.  The muscle disease once caused him to be bed ridden for an entire year.  His saintly wife cared for him.  During that year he read every Supreme Court decision ever decided.  Incredible.

   In the second constitutional law class I studied under him, during the fall of 1987, we started the semester with his instruction on how to do a detailed examination of a Supreme Court case.  This is what he taught:  First, get the facts.  Second, get the decision.  Third, get the reasoning supporting the decision, and even the reasoning of the Justices who dissented with the decision.  Fourth, get the precedent.  For that quarter, I enthusiastically applied that methodology to successfully studying Supreme Court decisions.

   Several years later, less than a year after graduating from Virginia Tech, I turned to Jesus.  Then I started reading the Bible.  As a young adult, I knew less about the Bible than most of the people in my church.  Yet as a Virginia Tech grad, I employed, and still employ, lessons I learned in Dr. Tubbs’ class.

First, I get the facts.

Second, I get the message.

Third, I get supporting Scripture and reasoning supporting the message.

Fourth, I get an application.

   I steadily started learning more and more about the Bible.  And that continues here twenty-seven years later, and with further principles for gaining messages.

   Studying the Bible involves a rich dynamic, yet the bottom line is I want to gain messages God has in His revelations for us.  The point of that large book is to learn from God so we can gain messages for our lives, starting with salvation, and the lives of others.  So what we need first and foremost is content!

   The Bible is an ancient text containing sixty-six books which were written over a period of over 1500 years, which had numerous authors, and which were written in different literary styles.  The entrenched disagreement concerning certain Biblical messages between various Christian communities shows that Biblical interpretation is challenging.  Yet for me, learning from God’s revelations are of upmost importance.  After reading a number of Christian books in my early Christian days, I developed further principles, praise be to God.

   Four critical principles for Biblical interpretation are:

First, be willing to be guided by the Holy Spirit.  He is the One who inspired the Biblical writing.

Second, to get the message, take a verse in the context of the passage, a passage in the context of the chapter, a chapter in the context of the book, and a book in the context of the entire Bible.  More simply put by many, interpret Scripture with Scripture.

Third, gaining context may include learning some historical information.

Fourth, gain the message, not getting derailed by semantics.

   Regarding the fourth point, messages can be missed if you are caught up in some practice such as diagramming sentences like I had to do in the 8th grade.  And in my opinion, sometimes there is a passage in Scripture which is not clear, and trying to force a doctrine out of such a passage is a mistake.

   Details are still important!  For example, in most cultures there is a difference between a town and a city.  This was the case in Biblical times. (1)  But if there is not a difference between a town and a city in a culture, then that student of the Bible would need to learn a Biblical history fact, which leads back to my third principle for Biblical interpretation.  Once understood, the reader will recognize the distinction between the “City of David,” a term used in 1 Kings 8:1 along with a number of other passages, and the “town of David,” a key term used in Luke 2:11.  City of David refers to Jerusalem, whereas the town of David is Bethlehem.

   Taking the class "Interpreting the Bible" at Colorado Christian University, I learned that context is an important element of content, but becoming preoccupied with context can lead to missing the messages of God.  God’s purpose of Scripture for us goes back to the content, so we may gain messages from Him and apply them in our lives.  For a person who follows Jesus, we are to be carrying on with the Biblical story.

Hunter Irvine

Scripture Love Blog

(1) Patricia Dutcher-Walls, Reading the Historical Books: A Student’s Guide to Engaging the Biblical Text (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2014), 31.

Rebecca St. James has long been one of my favorite musical artists, and this is one of my favorite songs of all time, Lest I Forget:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYNeO7y5rBk

Christmas faith

   It has been a tough year for me.  And in my opinion, it has been a tough year in various manners for my home country, the U.S.A.  I prepare for and anticipate an enjoyable Christmas for one reason: a believer in Jesus can have joy and peace as he or she relies on the love of Jesus.  Thus it does not even mean my Christmas will be filled with fun or romance.  Yet come what may, my Christmas can be filled with the love of Jesus.
   Talking about the joy and peace of Jesus is easy to express but hard to live, yet I take this moment to recall there have been many occasions when I have had joy and peace in the past twenty-seven years of following Jesus in the midst of crummy circumstances, which I believe was solely due to the love of Jesus I knew in my heart.
   My ministry calling has been a unique one, and though I like kids, I was never blessed with my own children.  Yet I have been tremendously blessed to be true friends and like an uncle to the two children of my dear friends who are like family.  When the boy was very young, I frequently took him and his sister on walks.  My little buddy was quick to let go of my hand to examine things I would point out such as bugs or mushrooms.  Yet whenever I would start walking again, he was quick to say, “Hand!”  I would always stretch my hand out to him and he would clasp it.  In following Jesus for over twenty-seven years, I have learned I am never too old to exclaim to Jesus, “Hand!”
   There is a Father in heaven who loves everybody.  God the Father sent his one and only Son, the babe born to a virgin in a manger in Bethlehem over two thousand years ago.  Jesus was Immanuel, which means God with us.  Though a helpless little baby, He was the Christ, and though about thirty-three years later He submitted to being helpless on a cross as He was crucified by Roman soldiers, He was the Christ.  In fact, Jesus died on a cross for the forgiveness of sins of anyone.  He was the atoning sacrifice for sins.  Then He was resurrected.  If you believe in Jesus, you will have eternal life in heaven with Him.
Merry Christmas, love, Hunter

(Three friends, a picture taken just under a decade ago.)

500 years ago on October 31, 1517

   In one week from today, 500 years ago on October 31, 1517, a monk named Martin Luther posted his Ninety-Five Theses on a church door in Wittenberg.  Issues involved were critical, and the result was epic.  Here I simply state the denomination which had dominated in the West had distorted Biblical soteriology teaching to the tragic point of insisting that salvation involves buying forgiveness.  Yet Martin Luther courageously took the stand that the Biblical truth is salvation is a loving gift from God, as Jesus was the sacrifice for the sins of people.

   One Saturday this early fall, I went to the library of my Alma mater Colorado Christian University where there are over fifty volumes of Luther’s writings.  Having only read excerpts from him, I wanted to see what was in the depths of those volumes.  I was surprised how brash and degrading he could be.  It was not what I was expecting.  Yet in what little I read, he was making key Biblical points, convictions which went against the church authority.

   Regarding gaining a good historical overview of Luther’s ministry, I recommend chapter seven of the book Turning Points, by Mark Noll.(1)  This was one of three textbooks assigned for my "History of Christianity" class with the superb Dr. Megan DeVore at CCU.  Though I have some disagreements with Dr. Noll in the first chapter, his chapter on Luther gives a wonderful overview, and he is gracious in his treatment.

   I remain in utter disagreement with numerous Roman Catholic doctrines even in this age in the wake of their Second Vatican Council.  Granted I am also in disagreement with certain doctrines of certain Protestant groups, such as certain doctrines of “TULIP Calvinist” theology.  Yet just this year my friend Dave, who is Roman Catholic, has blessed me more than I can describe, being a caring friend and supporting my ministry calling.  I am thankful for the love today between Christians who have major theological differences.  We are to care about everybody, while not compromising our convictions.  May we Christians rely on the Holy Spirit to continue to courageously stand firm in our Biblical convictions!  And may we Christians rely on the Holy Spirit to tell the truths of Jesus Christ to everyone in love!

Hunter Irvine

Scripture Love Blog

(1) Mark Noll, Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1997), 151-174.

Ask

Luke 11:9-13   “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.  Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?  Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?  If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (NIV).

   It is imperative we put this verse into context.  Jesus is teaching there is something specific which will be given to all who ask the heavenly Father, and that is the Holy Spirit!
   When I was a new Christian, I was a bit confused about why there are some teachings recorded by Matthew which are similar to teachings recorded by Luke, but which have some differences also.  Many scholars attribute these differences to their claim Luke copied some of Mark and Matthew.  If that had been the case, Luke the doctor was a poor copier.  Yet if you look closely, Jesus simply gave teachings on different occasions which had similarities, yet differences also.  His teaching was not rote!
   For example, in Matthew, Jesus gave what is popularly termed the Sermon on the Mount.  Preceding that teaching, Matthew tells: “Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down…” (Matthew 5:1 NIV).  Whereas before giving similar teachings recorded by Luke in chapter 6: “One of those days, Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God” (Luke 6:12 NIV).  Then in verse 17, Luke states: “He went down with them and stood on a level place.”  The teaching in Luke is a different location, thus a different occasion.
   Going back to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:7-11, Jesus gives a similar teaching to the passage we are pondering, then goes on in verse 12 to give what people often term the “Golden Rule;” do to others what you would have them do to you.  But can anyone truly live the “Golden Rule” without help from God?  I think Jesus wanted to get people thinking here.
   The teaching captured by Luke gives us a more direct statement about what, actually “who,” we are able to receive: the Holy Spirit.  What Jesus was teaching on both occasions is that people need to ask to receive Him, the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.
   There have been plenty of times in my 27 years of following Jesus when I have asked our heavenly Father for something, and I never got it.  Yet God will always give Himself to anyone who asks!  And that gift results in eternal life, and results in more and more blessings to come.
   Receiving Jesus results in eternal life, because Jesus died on a cross for the forgiveness of sins of anyone.  He was the substitute for the wages of sin, which is spiritual death.  If you believe in Jesus, He will forgive you of your sins, He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit, and He will be your forever Father.
Hunter Irvine

Fulfillment

Luke 9:28-36   About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray.  As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.  Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus.  They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.  Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.  As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here.  Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)
   While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.  A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.”  When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone.  The disciples kept this to themselves, and told no one at that time what they had seen (NIV).

   What was really going on with this “transfiguration?”  Fulfillment is what was taking place!
   First, the final book of the Old Testament Scriptures is Malachi, and that prophet concluded with the statement: “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes.  He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse” (Malachi 4:5-6 NIV).
   Elijah came!  In this passage Elijah came and talked with Jesus.  Plus I am convicted Elijah was the one who talked with John the Baptist (see John 1:32-33 and Luke 1:17).  The prophecy of Malachi was fulfilled!
   And the mission of Jesus which resulted in eternal fulfillment was prophesied here!  Jesus would fulfill the Law and Prophets.  Jesus stated, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17 NIV).  Only Jesus, who never sinned (see 2 Corinthians 5:21), was completely obedient under the Mosaic Law.
   And Jesus completely fulfilled the Mosaic Law and Prophets by being the substitutionary atonement on the cross.  How?  The Mosaic Law demanded sacrifice for sins.  Jesus was the Lamb of God.  The Prophets spoke of the need a Savior.  Jesus was the Savior.  This is what Jesus, Elijah, and Moses were talking about; they were talking about Jesus’ coming death on the cross.
   Jesus Christ died on a cross for the forgiveness of sins of anyone.  He was the perfect sacrifice, accomplishing what animal sacrifice under the Mosaic Law was unable to accomplish - the permanent atonement for sins.  Because Jesus was God the Son, because He had perfectly obeyed the Law, and because He died in the place of all people as their substitute, He was the Lamb of God.  If you believe in Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord, you will have eternal life in heaven.
Hunter Irvine

Forgiveness of sins

Luke 7:36-50   Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table.  When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears.  Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.  When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
   Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
   “Tell me, teacher,” he said.
   “Two men owed money to a certain moneylender.  One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.  Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both.  Now which of them will love him more?”
   Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.”
   “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
   Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman?  I came into your house.  You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.  You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet.  You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet.  Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much.  But he who has been forgiven little loves little.”
   Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
   The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
   Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace” (NIV).

   Wow.  Jesus was frequently criticized and persecuted by Pharisees, yet He accepts the invitation of a Pharisee named Simon to have dinner at his house.  That was nice of Simon to have Him over for dinner.  But then Simon the Pharisee doubts Jesus is special because Jesus allows a “sinful” woman to touch Him.
   After telling a short parable, Jesus emphasizes how much the woman has done for Him.  First, Simon the Pharisee did not give Jesus water to clean His feet.  A dinner host in those times in the Middle East would often do so since people’s primary transportation was good old fashion walking, people were in sandals, and people wanted clean feet when “reclining” at the dinner table, which was near ground level as people sat on pillows.
   The woman however, cleaned Jesus’ feet with her tears and hair.
   Second, Simon the Pharisee did not greet Jesus with a kiss.  The common greeting in the Middle East two thousand years ago among men was kissing on the cheek, first on the right and then on the left.  Ironically ancient kissing is an area of expertise, not because of experience; no woman ever kisses me unfortunately.  Rather I did a paper on the “holy kiss” when studying at Colorado Christian University.  In my Research Writing class, our great professor, Dr. Petrie, said she wanted each student to come up with a thesis which was original.  I sure did, picking a Biblical topic I had never heard any Christian discuss, the “holy kiss” mentioned in Romans 16:16, I Corinthians 16:20, and I Thessalonians 5:26.  And in I Peter 5:14, Peter mentions the “kiss of love.”
   Today in “Western” culture, a common greeting is shaking hands.  But two thousand years ago it was not common in the Middle East, rather men would greet one another by kissing on the cheek.  But it was not done between men and women as a casual greeting.  This was a difference between the “holy kiss,” which was done in corporate worship between both genders as brothers and sisters in Christ, to express the love of Christ.
   So appropriate to Middle Eastern culture, it would have been a caring greeting by Simon the Pharisee to greet Jesus with a kiss on both cheeks, but he did not.  The woman however, kept kissing Jesus feet!
   Third, Simon the Pharisee did not pour oil on Christ’s head.  Last year CCU hosted a speaker, Dr. Eric Welch from the University of Kansas, who gave a talk on olive oil.  An entire talk on olive oil?  Yes, and it was fascinating because olive oil was crucial in the Middle East daily life in ancient times.  On top of olive oil’s numerous uses, it was apparently common to pour a bit on the head of a dinner guest.
   But no such action by Simon, yet the woman poured perfume on Jesus’ feet!
   After this whole wild scene of this woman pouring out expressions of love at the feet of Jesus, Jesus does the ultimate.  Jesus states, “Your sins are forgiven.”  Only God can forgive sins, and Jesus is God the Son, and He forgives the sins of the woman.
   Scripture states the woman had lived a “sinful” life.  We also know from Scripture that all of us people have sinned.  This week I did some Scouting work.  In my youth, I was utterly devoted in Boy Scouts.  I did more activities than any other Scout in my troop from 1978 until 1985.  I am an Eagle Scout, I earned 36 merit badges, and I was quite “decorated.”  Most importantly in retrospect, I learned some skills and principles I have utilized throughout my life!  Yet I never perfectly lived up to the Scout Law.  And I sinned against our perfect God; I needed salvation for my soul.  Jesus reveals here that faith in Him results in the forgiveness of sins and salvation.
   Jesus Christ died on a cross for the forgiveness of sins of anyone.  He was the perfect substitute for the consequences of wrongdoings, which is spiritual death in h-ll.  If you believe in Jesus, your sins are forgiven, and you will have eternal life in heaven.
Hunter Irvine