VOLUME 01 ISSUE 07________ ____________________________________AUG 2017
In the third year of the reign of
Jehoiakim king of Judah (605 BC),
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
came to Jerusalem and besieged
it.2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim
king of Judah into his hand, with
some of the vessels of the house of
God. And he brought them to the
land of Shinar, to the house of his
god, and placed the vessels in the
treasury of his god. 3 Then the king
commanded Ashpenaz, his chief
eunuch, to bring some of the
people of Israel, both of the royal
family and of the nobility, 4 youths
without blemish, of good
appearance and skillful in all
wisdom, endowed with knowledge,
understanding learning, and
competent to stand in the king's
palace, and to teach them the
literature and language of
the Chaldeans. 5 The king assigned
them a daily portion of the food
that the king ate, and of the wine
that he drank. They were to be
educated for three years, and at
the end of that time they were to
stand before the king. 6 Among
these were Daniel, Hananiah,
Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of
Judah. (Daniel 1:1-6)
Daniel chose to start with the
events of the year 605 BC, when
Nebuchadnezzar turned his
military attention to Jerusalem at
the edge of his empire. Its
rebelliousness angered the
emperor and so he laid siege to it.
Given the sheer military power
involved, the outcome was a
foregone conclusion. The city was
taken, the king of Judah became a
puppet ruler, and the first wave of
deportations to Babylon began.
Jerusalem itself survived at that
Gods warnings. The punishment
fit the crime. The nation had
compromised with immorality,
injustice and idolatry, and so it
would be taken into captivity by
the most idolatrous nation on
earth.
time, until Nebuchadnezzar eventually destroyed But why should these
it in 586 BC. These righteous young men (or we)
events are documented have to suffer for other peoples
in more detail in the actions? After all, they were
ancient stone tablets normal young people, full of
known as the Babylonian energy and ambition; yet already
Chronicles.
in their hearts they were
Why Does God Allow _____? determined to try to follow God.
In the end Daniel and his friends
The big question for someone with Daniels
came to understand that God is
background was: why had God allowed such a
interested not only in global
thing to happen? After all, was not his nation a
history but also in the personal
special nation? Was it not the nation of Moses,
who had been given the law directly by God? Was history of those who are often
it not the nation that that same Moses had led out innocently caught up in its tragic
of the slave labor camps of Egypt and brought to aftermath. Beginning right here
the land that God had promised them as an in the first chapter, Daniel
inheritance? If God is real, how could a pagan resolved not to defile himself
emperor like Nebuchadnezzar violate the sanctity (Daniel 1:8) and God honored
of Gods unique temple and get away with it? that: God caused the official to
show favor and sympathy to
The first thing that Daniel says about God in his
book is that God is involved in human history: a Daniel (Daniel 1:9). Just like in
statement of immense import, if it is true. Daniel is all our lives there are times of
not content to inform us of what happened; he is grief and joy. But overall, God
much more interested in why it happened. He is always takes care of His faithful
interpreting history. To assert that there is a God servants.
behind history is to fly in the face of the prevailing
wind of secularism, and therefore to invite pity, if It is certainly evident here, as
not ridicule certainly in a university environment. it is throughout the Bible, that
people who claim to be the
Not long before Nebuchadnezzar attacked children of God, resolve to not
Jerusalem, Jeremiah had given a direct warning of defile or stop defiling himself.
precisely what would happen, and why (Jeremiah
Was Daniel perfect? Though
22:3-9). Judah did not listen, and the morally
there is no evidence to say he
inevitable happened. Daniel draws attention to it
was not, Jesus said there is none
in the opening statement of his book, where he
records that Nebuchadnezzar besieged the city, righteous. That would include
and the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his Daniel. But we see here how
hand. That bit of history made sense when God rewards diligent effort.
analyzed from a moral perspective in the light of

Though you wont find the
word Trinity in the Bible, the
concept is biblical. This
doctrine emerges when all
of Scripture is surveyed and
three essential elements
come together. First, theres
only one God. Second, the
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
are distinct persons. Third,
each of these persons is
fully God.
Element #1: From Genesis
to Revelation, the Bible
clearly affirms
monotheismthat there is
only one God. Every
morning the faithful Jew
would repeat a prayer
known as the Shema:
Listen, Israel: The Lord our
God, the Lord is one (Dt
6:4). Isaiah also speaks with
clarity that there is no God
but one (Is 43:10; 44:6; 45:5;
see 1Co 8:4). Jesus too
affirms this belief when
explaining the greatest
commandment (Mk 12:29).
Element #2: The Father, Son
and Holy Spirit are clearly
The Trinity
distinguished from each
other by the way they
interact with one other in
personal ways. For example,
at Jesuss baptism, as the
Holy Spirit descends on the
Son, the Father says, You
are my beloved Son; with
you I am well-pleased (Lk
3:22).
Element #3: All three
persons of the Trinity are
fully God. The Father is
repeatedly called God (1Co
8:6; 1Pt 1:3). Paul writes,
Blessed is the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ (Eph 1:3). The Son is
called God on numerous
occasions (Jn 1:1; Rm 9:5; Ti
2:1315; Heb 1:8; 2Pt 1:1).
For instance, Thomas boldly
calls Jesus, My Lord and my
God (Jn 20:28). Finally, in
the inception of the church,
Ananias and Sapphira
dropped dead after lying to
the Holy Spirit since they
had not lied to people but
to God (Acts 5:14).
Therefore, if there is only
one God, and if the Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit are
distinct persons, and if all
are affirmed to be fully God,
then the only explanation
that makes sense of all the
biblical data is the Trinity.
What the Trinity Is Not.
The Bible does not teach
that three beings are one
being, or that three persons
are one person. The Bible
teaches that one divine
Being is also three persons.
Certainly, this is a mystery,
but its not a genuine
contradiction. While beyond
reason, its not against
reason (Dt 29:29).
The Trinity and Gods Love.
Most people agree with 1
John 4:8: God is love. Love
is one of the moral
perfections that are
essential to Gods nature.
Without love, He wouldnt
be God. Love necessitates a
deep affection for another.
But how could God truly be
love before he created
anyone to love? Only the
Trinity makes sense of the
perfect, eternal love of God. It is this
love that invites us into relationship
with Him.
The core of the Trinity Doctrine is
the reality of a triune Godhead - God
lives in fellowship and relationship
with Himself. This is a difficult
concept to grasp. But let's put a God-
sized doctrine into perspective --
God is beyond our comprehension.
"'For My thoughts are not your
thoughts, nor are your ways My
ways,' says the LORD. 'For as the
heavens are higher than the earth,
so are My ways higher than your
ways, and My thoughts than your
thoughts'" (Isaiah 55:8-9).
None of the popular illustrations are
completely accurate descriptions.
The egg fails in that the shell, white
and yoke are parts of the egg, not
the egg in themselves. The Father,
Son and Holy Spirit are not parts of
God, each of them is God. Likewise
the water illustration fails since
liquid, vapor and ice are forms of
water. The Father, Son and Holy
Spirit are not forms of God. So, while
these illustrations may give us a
picture of the Trinity, the picture is
not entirely complete. An infinite
God cannot be fully described by a
finite illustration.
The Gospel is offensive!
Some may think that is
heresy, but the apostle
Paul made that observation
in the first century (1
Corinthians 1:18; Galatians
5:11). Recognizing that, we
should be careful not to
make it worse by being
foolish or offensive in our
presentation of the Gospel.
Remember that the Bible
encourages us to be wise in
the we act toward
outsiders (Colossians 4:5)
and wise as serpents but
harmless as doves
(Matthew 10:16). That
includes sharing the Gospel
in a way that it will receive
the greatest possible
acceptance.
How do we determine
how deep we can go in our
conversation with others
about Christ, yet not burn
our bridges? Experience
has taught that the more
opportunities we have to
interact with unsaved
friends, family members, or
coworkers in social or work
settings, the more prudent
it is to follow the saying
less is more.
Church on the Net Journal
AUGUST 2017
Edited by: D.L. Wyer
Church on the Net Journal is published monthly by
ChurchOnTheNet.com, 11 Erman Drive, Sod, WV 25564.
Digital subscriptions are always available free of charge.
Being prepared to make a defense of the hope you have within
you.
st
(1 Peter 3:15)
We should be careful not to burn
bridges for evangelism, making it more
difficult for those who come after us.
However, in those situations where we
may have little opportunity to continue
the conversation at another time, it can
be more prudent to go further in our
discussion with others. With unsaved
family members, its more important for
them to see the Gospel in our lives
before they ever hear it on our lips. We
call this pre-evangelism. It also means
we need to ask our non-believing
friends and family questions that allow
them to find the Truth for themselves.
This is done with probing, thought-
provoking questions, allowing them the
opportunity to both evaluate the
strengths and weaknesses of their
beliefs and to come to the right
conclusions. This is an important part of
the pre-evangelism process of
cultivating the right soil in their life. The
ability to do this requires practice in
listening and thinking about responses
before speaking.
Sometimes the questions are simple,
Vol.1 Issue 07
-David Geisler
Have you come to any conclusions about
Jesus? Those who lean toward atheism
can be asked, Why is it more reasonable
to believe that something came from
nothing, by nothing, than to believe that
everything came from Something (or
Someone)?
Asking thought-provoking questions as
we witness to others is not anything new.
Jesus and His disciples used questions and
various approaches depending on the
audience they were addressing. In fact,
the Gospels record over 200 questions
that Jesus asked.
Jesus demonstrated the value in letting
others come to the Truth themselves. In
John 4, when He spoke to the woman at
the well, He didnt confront her with a
turn or burn warning. Instead He asked
her a series of questions in a way that
made her curious.
Jesus also knew that sometimes it was
best not to tell people things so directly.
He often used parables to keep from
overwhelming immature hearers.
Learn more: http://cotn.in/tacticsbook