Examining "A More Christlike Word"
by Brad Jersak
Day 73
“For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.” (Paul’s concern from 2 Corinthians 11:4)
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The False Filter |
The Biblical Filter |
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The word OR the Word |
The Word THROUGH the word |
My Introduction to Part 2 of BJ’s garden path
I’m
heading into Part 2 of BJ’s book with this conclusion:
The purpose of the BJs’ writings is to
demoralize people’s faith in the authority of Scripture as the breathed-out
words of God. They continue the serpent’s question in the garden, “Did God
actually say…?” to replace what God said with what the “evil people
and imposters” are peddling for unjust gain.
I believe I have given ample evidence of this, but if anyone is not convinced, I continue to ask you this, if Jesus and the apostles warned us about “many” deceivers (Matthew 24), and many who would be deceived (II Timothy 3:13), in your worldview, who are these people?
If it is not the BJs who tell everyone that their “another Jesus” must rewrite historical descriptions of God because they can’t stomach God carrying out vengeance against evil people, then who is it?
If it isn’t someone like Brad Jersak who has misrepresented every Scripture
he has used to make points contrary to what the Scriptures say, then who are
the ones Peter warned would “twist” Scripture “to their own destruction” (II
Peter 3:16), or that Paul warned would “arise” from among the church leaders “speaking
twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them” (Acts 20:30)?
I
would urge everyone who has bought into what the BJs are peddling (II
Corinthians 2:17) that you not venture beyond this book without making a list
of who the “many” false teachers are in your worldview because if we don’t know
how to discern the difference between truth and masquerade, we don’t know how
to “test everything; hold fast what is good” and “abstain from every form of
evil” (I Thessalonians 5:21-22).
An
Exercise in Details
This
morning (of writing this) was an exercise day, so I was able to listen to about
12 chapters of Exodus read to me. The first thing that stood out is that the
details resonate with “history” not “allegory”. Anytime we know for certain
that the Bible is using figurative language, the focus is not on giving every
fine detail of who, what, when, where, why, and how. Allegory is apparent from
the context, and it serves as an illustration in word-picture form to help us
understand spiritual truth. It is not filled with details that interpreters can
run with in any direction they please (as Origen did with his exaggerated
interpretation of the Good Samaritan!).
The
second thing that stood out was the glaring revelation of Yahweh in response to
the whole Golden Calf incident. You can read all about this beginning in Exodus
32. In summary, the people got bored waiting for Moses to come down from the
mountain, so they urged Aaron to “make us gods who shall go before us” (23:1).
So Aaron gathered all their gold ornaments, fashioned everything into the
golden calf, told the people that it was this idol that delivered them out of
Egypt, and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD (meaning Yahweh)”
(23:5).
Okay,
hit “pause” on the video and think about that. Aaron, Moses’ brother, lets the
people urge him to make an idol (it appears to not have required much urging).
Aaron gets right to the project as if he really needed something to do. And
when he made this idol, he calls it… YAHWEH! The name God gave Moses to identify
who he was in coming to deliver his people. And now Aaron is saying that this
golden calf they just made from the accumulated collection of their jewelry is
Yahweh, the god who delivered them.
God
warned Moses that this was taking place down in the camp. But when Moses came
down and saw this for himself, he was horrified to see what the people had done
while he had been up on the mountain receiving the covenant from God. What
follows in the Scripture below is how the narrative describes Moses' response.
However,
remember that this is in context of Jesus affirming “that everything written
about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled”
(Luke 24:44), without even once correcting anything from the Hebrew
Scriptures.
And
remember that BJ had asked us (p. 159),
“As an
exercise, why not think of a story or symbol from the Old Testament…” The
golden calf incident is clearly a his-story from the Hebrew Scriptures.
“…and
ask yourself which of these three categories it falls into: Is it a trial?” Yes,
the people are going through the trial of waiting for Moses to come down from
the Mountain, and their sin turns into a grievous trial of justice being
carried out on the people.
“An
injustice?” Yes, the people are crediting an idol of gold made out of their own
jewelry for delivering them out of Egypt and offering this object of gold their
subservience to lead them on their continued journey.
“A
victory?” First, it is a huge defeat for the nation of Israel as they turn back
to the gods they left behind in Egypt, but then a huge victory as God’s
faithful ones carry out God’s justice against their evil and wicked brothers.
Now
let’s look at the God-breathed account of how God handled this, and then we can
answer the rest of the questions:
And when Moses saw that the people had broken loose (for Aaron had let them break loose, to the derision of their enemies), then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, “Who is on the LORD's side (Yahweh’s side)? Come to me.” And all the sons of Levi gathered around him. And he said to them, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘Put your sword on your side each of you, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you kill his brother and his companion and his neighbor.’” And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And that day about three thousand men of the people fell. And Moses said, “Today you have been ordained for the service of the LORD (Yahweh), each one at the cost of his son and of his brother, so that he might bestow a blessing upon you this day” (Exodus 32:25-29).
This
record is in the midst of all the revelation about the Law given to Moses, all
the details of the Tabernacle, all the detailed rules about how to handle every
conceivable sin-problem among the people, and yet it is something the BJs would
claim needs “A More Christlike Word” because there is no way that Scripture describes
Jesus’ Father.
And my
question is, “Says who?!!!”
However, let’s continue with BJ’s questions from page 159 of his book:
“How does
this story prefigure Christ?” The apostle Paul gives us a very Scriptural
answer to how Moses dealing with the idolatry in the camp prefigured how Jesus would
save people from idolatry.
For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. (I Thessalonians 1:8-10).
“What aspect of the gospel does this signify?” What Moses did in judging God’s people for their idolatry shows how the gospel will save people from idolatrous lifestyles, but also how there will be final judgment on idolaters. Paul wrote,
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God (I Corinthians 6:9-10).
Clearly, idolaters will be condemned as Jesus described
in John 3.
Paul
even uses the golden calf incident in I Corinthians 10:6-11 to warn us, “Do not
be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, ‘The people sat down to
eat and drink and rose up to play’” (I Corinthians 10:7). And John includes
them in those whose “portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and
sulfur, which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8).
“How does reading this story as gospel (the spiritual sense) address and transform my life (the moral sense)?” The sin of the people serves as an example to urge us to avoid idolatry in the church. And the example of the men who were “on Yahweh’s side” urges us to be faithful to Jesus, his true gospel, and the kingdom of God, no matter who we must treat as enemies of the cross of Christ.
Of course, taking up swords under the new covenant could be interpreted allegorically
to signify taking up the word of God as the sword of the Spirit to test
everything and treat each person on the basis of their handling or mishandling
of the Scriptures.
Anyway,
I just wanted to share how God used the golden calf incident to show again that
there is nothing allegorical about these historical events. Paul used this
specific event to warn us, “Now these things took place as examples for us,
that we might not desire evil as they did.” When he continued, “Do not be
idolaters as some of them were;” he speaks of this as history, not allegory. He
quotes the Exodus record of this stating, “as it is written, ‘The people sat
down to eat and drink and rose up to play’” affirming the Scriptural account.
He
then applied this to the church with the exhortation, “We must not indulge in
sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a
single day.” Again, when he said “as some of them DID”, he meant they "did". When
thousands “fell”, it’s because they really were put to the sword by the
faithful.
So he continues, “We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer.” Again, he treats these events as history. It is applied to the church to “not put Christ to the test” ourselves, and affirmed that this was what “some of them did”, meaning, they “put CHRIST to the test” with their idolatry! Yes, for real, not for allegory!
And so Paul repeats his challenge, “Now these
things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our
instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.” When Paul said “these
things HAPPENED to them”, there is no way to take that allegorically. Plus,
when Paul was making an allegorical application of a historical event… HE SAID
THAT’S WHAT HE WAS DOING!
I know
that Part 2 of BJ’s book is going to try to solidify hearts into his “another Jesus”,
“different spirit”, and “different gospel” of his “different Emmaus Way” than
the one we read about in Luke 24. Hearing the golden calf incident read to me
while I was exercising left me so grieved that BJ is convincing people that
these are only allegorical accounts that his “another Jesus” has to make “more
Christlike”.
Instead, we are to take these historical events as very serious warnings
just as Paul told us to. And the writer of Hebrews wrote in 12:15-17, “See to
it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no ‘root of bitterness’
springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled”. That is
referring to idolatry as a “root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit” in
Deuteronomy 29, treating it like real history with a real ongoing threat to the
church. He continues with the warning, “that no one is sexually immoral or
unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that
afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he
found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.” No allegory, but
huge applications!
An Illustration
in Context
The
golden calf incident certainly serves as a huge reproof to BJ’s allegorizing of
the “sacred writings”, and God’s judgment is on him as surely as on the ones
Paul was dealing with in his day. The next encouragement specifically related
to bringing BJ’s false teachings into the light came as I was exploring a new
resource called “The Bible Course” presented by the Canadian Bible Society.
While
I viewed their introductory video, this statement jumped out, “A text out of
context is a con”. And that is exactly what BJ has been doing with his book,
conning people out of the truth by sharing texts without context because the
context denies his interpretation of the texts!
Here
is a link to the Bible Course.[1] I haven’t explored it enough to know if I can endorse it, although
well-known Canadian pastor Charles Price has a 2 minute endorsement here.[2] And here is their free Session 1 video.[3] I share these as context to their statement that warns us about the “cons”,
or “peddlers” of God’s word who use Scripture way out of context to lead people
down the garden path to their “another Jesus”, “different spirit”, and “different
gospel”.
The
Justice that Lifts Up and Casts Down
The
BJs present their “another Jesus” as someone who does not carry out justice on
evil people. Whenever Yahweh shows his righteous judgment on criminal nations,
the BJ’s put their hand in their “another Jesus” puppet and tell everyone that
we need a more Christlike version of that Scripture, and a more Christlike
Yahweh than Scripture describes.
I have
already shared that the “Experiencing God” course from Blackaby Ministries
International is so vastly superior to what the BJs peddle. Henry Blackaby
always handled the Scriptures as the word of God and applied them “according to
sound doctrine” to the ways we can walk with God. On the second morning of
working on this day’s journal journey, they had this verse waiting for me:
“Great
is our Lord, and abundant in power;
his understanding is beyond measure.
The
LORD (Yahweh) lifts up the humble;
he casts the wicked to the ground”
(Psalm
147:5-6 – ESV).
his understanding is beyond measure.
The LORD (Yahweh) lifts up the humble;
he casts the wicked to the ground”
(Psalm 147:5-6 – ESV).
This
is ALWAYS the case, that God relates to the humble by lifting them up, and he
relates to the wicked by taking them down. That is justice. There is no justice
toward the humble without justice towards the wicked. My recent journey through
Israel’s deliverance out of Egypt showed the same picture, that God delivered
his people who trusted in him, and he destroyed the Egyptians who were unrelenting
in trying to stop God from doing his work.
This
dual-sided justice is affirmed all through the New Testament, but very
specifically by James and Peter who both presented the same quote, “God opposes
the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6; I Peter 5:5). This seems
to be a paraphrase of Proverbs 3:34, “Toward the scorners he is scornful, but
to the humble he gives favor.” There is NEVER a time when God’s justice cares
for the poor in spirit without standing against the proud in spirit.
In fact, it comes to mind what happened when Israel first entered the Promised Land. We see how Rahab, a prostitute from Jericho, was saved and added to the people of God, while Achan, a Jew by birth, was put to death for stealing plunder from God. God is just, and his justice is without partiality.
When I
opened BJ’s book to my next page, it reads “Part II Scripture as Epic Saga”.
The rest of the page is blank. It would have been better for BJ if the whole
book had been left that way. The seriousness of joining the serpent with, “Did
God actually say…?” is terrifying. If BJ meant “Scripture” as what Paul meant,
the breathed-out words of God, we wouldn’t have the garden path saga BJ has
written. If BJ meant “epic” as a narrative of God’s awesome deeds rather than
an allegorized and watered-down synopsis of things God didn’t really do, again,
this book wouldn’t have been written. And, if what he meant by “saga” was a
dramatic retelling of the redemptive work of the Triune God, we wouldn’t have
had to endure the twists (literally) and turns of BJ’s garden path.
So, to
prepare for the next leg of the journey, I leave this interlude of truth in
love in the hope of restoring “in a spirit of gentleness” anyone who realizes
they have been caught in a transgression and needs help getting back on the
narrow path of the kingdom of heaven (Galatians 6:1). Nothing of God’s truth
needs to be sacrificed to know God as Christlike as he has always been, always
is, and always will be.
© 2024
Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8
Email: in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the
English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text
Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of
Good News Publishers.)
A More Christlike Word © 2021 by Bradley Jersak Whitaker House 1030 Hunt
Valley Circle • New Kensington, PA 15068 www.whitakerhouse.com
Jersak, Bradley. A More Christlike Word: Reading Scripture the
Emmaus Way. Whitaker House. Kindle Edition.
Definitions from the Bible Sense Lexicon (BSL) in Logos Bible Systems
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