Why should Christians keep the Passover?

In ancient Israel the first Passover was a time of deliverance, the rescuing of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. The blood of the Passover lamb was smeared on the doorposts of those Israelites who put their trust in God, and He promised to deliver them from harm (Exodus 12:13-14 and 23). The Israelites were spared, while the firstborn of the Egyptians were slain.

The bread and wine of the annual Passover service was instituted by Jesus Christ.

Many years later, during Jesus Christ’s final Passover with His disciples, He introduced new symbols, which commemorate Him as “our Passover, [who] was sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7). The observance of the New Testament Passover was revealed as the first step toward salvation. It reminds Christians not only of how God delivered ancient Israel out of Egypt, but of our deliverance from sin today.

All human beings are in slavery to corruption and death caused by sin: "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23), and the Bible says, "the soul who sins shall die" (Ezekiel 18:4 and 20). Only the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, frees us from the bondage of sin. God will not compromise with His perfect law, and no human (other than Jesus Christ) has kept God's law perfectly.

God the Father willingly gave up His firstborn Son, and Jesus willingly poured out His life's blood, because there was no other way to save humanity from the consequences of our sins: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). We also read that the wages of sin is death, “but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

The Bible makes it clear that all who follow Christ should observe the New Testament Passover annually, as He did, in remembrance of His love and sacrifice for our sins and as a reminder of our commitment to God for what He has done in our lives. The Passover, and all the other annual Holy Days are permanent observances. God never intended them to be temporary observances we could discard at a later date, as is commonly taught today. (See Bible Insights Issue 273 What Did Paul Really Say in Colossians 2:16? for more detail)

Paul shows the earliest Christians not only observed the Passover annually—with its new symbols of bread and wine, instituted by Jesus Christ to represent His suffering and death—but that all Christians should continue observing it until Christ returns. Jesus indicated it will also continue to be observed in His Kingdom (Matthew 26:29). The Passover should be observed once a year as God has commanded on the annual date which is the anniversary of Christ's death for our sins. In 2026 the Passover will be observed on the evening of March 31 after sunset (For the correct dates for all of God's festivals see "The Annual Festivals of God"). 

Christ's supreme sacrifice by means of His crucifixion —which occurred precisely on the biblically commanded Passover date—is the foundation of the Christian faith. It reflects the all-encompassing love God has for His creation and His concern for the ultimate well-being of every human being.

• Source:

  The Good News magazine (Mar-Apr 1998)

• https://www.ucg.org/the-good-news/why-should-christians-keep-the-passover

Speaking In Tongues

In some churches worship involves an emotional display of movement and sound as participants begin to “speak in tongues.” But is this really what is meant by biblical references to those who speak with the gift of tongues?

The New Testament describes the practice of Christians in the first century speaking in languages other than their own, which is generally referred to as speaking in tongues. The most dramatic episode is described in the book of Acts chapter 2, as mentioned in the previous article Pentecost And Our Need For The Holy Spirit.

We are told that: “At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem...and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers” (Acts 2:5-6). The Greek word here for language or tongue is “glossa,” meaning a known language. The miracle involved speaking in “known languages,” not mysterious babbling no one could comprehend.

These Jews and others who were called ‘God-fearers’ were from various countries in the Roman empire including Parthia, Media, Mesopotamia, Libya and Rome and would comprise the first peoples to begin spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God. God showed by this miracle the message of salvation was to go to all nations in the world.

Another notable passage where speaking in tongues is addressed is in 1 Corinthians 14. Scripture suggests the Corinthians lacked understanding regarding spiritual gifts and, combined with the influence of their pagan past, it resulted in the problems Paul had to address.

Their worship services were disorderly, with members speaking with the “gift” of a foreign tongue being shouted down by others (1 Corinthians 14:26). This led to divisions with some feeling spiritually superior to others, and visitors being turned off by the disorder (1 Corinthians 14:23). Paul explains the gift of tongues or speaking in a foreign language was meant to be helpful and edifying, conveying knowledge, understanding and love. Those who spoke in tongues were meant to be instrumental in furthering the work of God, as was the case in the book of Acts.

Paul instructed if anyone spoke in a tongue or foreign language, there must be someone to interpret, so the congregation can understand (I Corinthians 14:6-17). Instead of several people talking at the same time, they were to take turns speaking while the congregation listened (ICorinthians 14:27-31). Finally Paul writes, “God is not the author of confusion,” (I Corinthians 14:33), leading to the obvious conclusion God was not the source of this chaos.

The Apostle Peter in his sermon on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2) outlines how Christians are to receive the Holy Spirit. He told them to repent and be baptized, in order to receive the gift of God’s Spirit (Acts 2:36-38). Some may think charismatic speaking in tongues is a sign of God’s presence,but speaking in tongues is the gift of being able to communicate in “known languages,” which God gives when He deems appropriate, and those who hear are edified and educated by what is said

• Source:

  Beyond Today Television

• https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-today-television-program/speaking-in-tongues

 

Why does God allow evil in the world?

Perhaps the main reason some people are atheists is they cannot satisfactorily reconcile a good God and an evil world. Julian Huxley wrote that the existence of evil "is a challenge to God's moral character" (Religion Without Revelation, 1957, p. 109), concluding that divine revelation and a divine Revelator do not exist.

In our supposedly enlightened society we've relegated Satan, the Devil, to the status of myth. (Image source: Envato)

English theologian Edwin Hatch queried: "How did a God who was almighty as well as beneficent come to create what is imperfect and evil?" (The Influence of Greek Ideas and Usages Upon the Christian Church, 1995, Peabody, Massachusetts, p. 194). While physicist Paul Davies asked why God, if He truly is all-powerful, does not simply intervene and stop all evil: "Is God free to prevent evil?...If he is omnipotent….Why then does He fail to do so" (God and The New Physics, 1983, p. 143).

In our supposedly enlightened society we've relegated Satan, the Devil, to the status of myth. Through the centuries, people's belief in his existence has waxed and waned. Europeans devoutly believed in him in the Middle Ages and throughout the Renaissance, but in modern times the idea of a deceiving devil went out of style. On this subject, however, the only information that really matters is what the Bible provides, which tells us the devil exists as a powerful, evil being. But if Satan is responsible for evil, why doesn't God stop him?

The Devil is a created angel who rebelled against God and became His—and mankind's—adversary. (See Bible Insights Issue 136: The Origin Of Satan And His Demons for more information.) Once Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they immediately began to experience life on Satan's level. Where God's focus is love and peace, Satan's is hate and violence. His primary purpose is to destroy humankind by enticing them to follow his way of destruction, abuse and murder. Through thousands of years of recorded history, Satan has influenced human beings to perpetrate the unimaginable against each other and, in wartime, against whole nations and peoples.

Jesus confirmed the Devil seduces people into committing atrocities, clearly identifying the source of the evil motivations of those who wanted to kill Him: "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the Truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it" (John 8:44).

God's gift to us "is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). This is why Jesus Christ came and died. But before we can inherit eternal life, we must resist and overcome the temptation to do evil with the help of God’s Holy Spirit: "Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been proved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him" (James 1:12). (See the following article in this issue: Salvation Is Creation.)

God is all powerful. Yet He allows Satan to carry out his deceitful and destructive activities—within certain limits—for a purpose. God tests the character of every human being. Paul wrote, "We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts" (1 Thessalonians 2:4, NIV). God’s desire is for mankind to learn the only way of life that will work is the way of life He reveals in His Word, the Bible. He wants humanity to learn that "the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps" (Jeremiah 10:23) and that Satan's way leads to misery and suffering.

When Jesus Christ returns to earth, He will immediately expel Satan from his position of influence and deception, and restrain him (Revelation 20:1-3), preparing the way for the establishment of His Kingdom on earth.

• Source:

  The Good News Magazine (Nov-Dec, 2010)

• https://www.ucg.org/the-good-news/did-god-create-people-evil