Luke 7:29,30

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On Mon, 19 Aug 1996 13:33:05 -0500 (CDT), you wrote:

>  (All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus'
>  words, acknowledged that God's way was right, because they had been
>  baptized by John.
>
>  But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God's purpose for
>  themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.)
>
>  --Luke 7:29,30 (NIV)
>
>The implications are awesome, eh?

Sure. Baptism justifies or proves the validity of the word God as it
has come to our ears. The KJV is even better with:

"And all the people that heard [him], and the publicans, justified
God, being baptized with the baptism of John.  But the Pharisees and
lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not
baptized of him. 

Remove the italicized "him", and clearly the division comes in
response to hearing. All hear, some judge God true, and some judge
themselves true. 

For those interested, the word "rejected" translates from:
atheteo {ath-et-eh'-o} meaning
1) to do away with, to set aside, disregard
2) to thwart the efficacy of anything, nullify, make void, frustrate
3) to reject, to refuse, to slight

And is also translated: AV - despise 8, reject 4, bring to nothing 1,
frustrate 1, disannul 1, cast off 1; 16

Also, the words "against themselves" comes from a reflexive pronoun
and the word "eis", which you scholars will realize illuminates the
difference between one thing and another translated variously into,
unto, toward, or against. It simply means the cousel of God was turned
to judgement when rejected (see John 12:47-48, covered below)

To reject the counsel of God will ultimately be to have brought
accusation against yourself as a railer or blasphemer. That is God's
counsel is compared with our actions, and there is evidence of a
prefered authority. It is one thing to dismiss unbelief as natural,
but another to recignize that the counsel of God is clearly pronounced
inferior when the anointed preaching and teaching of God's word
reaches human ears, and the hearer choose to neglect it.  Some imagine
that it is a matter of having poor understanding, but God leaves us
with no such option. 

Poor understanding is always denounced with  rebuke as the Lord
maintains the power and responsibility of the those to who the light
comes.

I believe that Americans and European descendants in todays world are
deathly afraid of conflicts and therefor have imagined a sad condition
of "hardness of hearing" or improper understanding. The way the US
church works, the teacher is usually blamed for being an indequate
messenger. Then conversly, we proclaim the one who has a little
success as a GREAT preacher or teacher! But Jesus condemned the
unhearing ear, and the tree without fruit. Biblically the
responsiblity for response is on the one who hears the word, not on
the teacher who ought to wax more eloquent.

But FAITH develops (if it will at all) through the hearing of the
Word. (Rom 10:17). In the Word is the power of God, the seed of
transforming belief, the setting forth of judgement (i.e. the dividing
of soul/spirit and the discerning of the thoughts). The WORD together
with the Spirit also has the power to loose unhearing ears.

Why is the rule of Spirit inhibited ?

3  But if our  gospel  be  hid , it is  hid  to them that are lost:
In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which
believe not, lest the light of the glorious  gospel  of Christ, who is
the image of God, should shine unto them.

Because there is no mechanism to convey the truth living in us to the
soul of the lost, as we are separated from thier ears by one of 2
things:

1. Distance - which the great commission calls us to cover to reach
that soul.

2. Unbelief - over which we have NO power.

Attending this passage  is from John 12...

47  And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge  him  not:
for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.  He that
rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath  one  that  judgeth
him : the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge  him  in the
last day.  For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent
me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should
speak.  And I know that his commandment is life everlasting:
whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I
speak.

If we speak the commandment of Eternal Life, according to the
instruction of God, Light comes to the soul. If light is rejected, the
soul has dynamic interaction with the results, and the spirit working
as one with the WORD, convicts.

I have enjoyed meetings with Bro Robert Bayer in which the doctrine is
delivered with such power that he is able to say in conclusion, "there
is nothing to think about, and nothing to pray about.. You have heard
the truth, and it will never change. All that is waiting is for you to
act like you heard it.".  

Now that's good, bold, gospel preaching.

-mwb