Choosing Your Church Membership

Dr. Couch, why do believers stay in churches that do not fully teach the Word of God when they have an opportunity to attend a Bible teaching church down the street? ANSWER: The answer is complicated because of the nature of people. A lot of people stay in their Baptist church because that is their tradition and they are not looking for the right thing when it comes to selecting a church. They want to be in a "busy bee" church with a lot of activity. Or, they like the music and entertainment over against the teaching of the Word. They remain in a church because this is where grandma went, they like the people, the pastor is a good guy, they have a lot of supers and feeding, they like the social environment, they can be the big dog in a little kennel, etc. Generally, tradition is the main reason. They feel comfy there and do not evaluate what is really going on in the church. In other words, teaching is the last issue on the list, over against some of the things I've listed above. Most people have no idea how to evaluate a church doctrinally. Doctrine is the last on the list of how they look at a church. I know some people who returned to a Baptist church that does not teach the doctrines of the rapture of the church, the seven year tribulation, or the coming kingdom reign of Christ. These are not important issues to them. The Bible Knowledge Commentary makes an excellent point about 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 and those in the church who have fallen asleep. Paul is not referring to sin per se, but to the fact that the believer is asleep in regard to the important issue of the return of Christ and His earthly reign. They just don't care about or believe in His coming back to establish the Davidic kingdom is an urgent subject. They have spiritual lethargy, They are not watchful and soberly waiting for the Lord's return. They are not self-disciplined, they are passive and just marking time. They think they are "spiritual" but they are not! They go in and out of the church, having little response as to what is taking place around them. They are not spiritually awake! Thanks for asking. Dr. Mal Couch (11/10)

Jesus' First Miracle - Juice or Wine?

Dr. Couch, I have some "fundamental" friends who say that Christ at Cana turned the water into grape juice and not into alcoholic wine? What does the Bible say? ANSWER:  I do not know any scholar who knows his salt who would say that. I know of no reference that would speak simply of grape juice, though strong drink is mentioned, which was virtually liquor that was certainly addictive and harmful.    The Bible warns of whiskey in Proverbs 20:1: "Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise." In biblical days they fermented grapes by putting them in wine-skins. The water in the juice evaporated out through the skin leaving the fermented drink, which we call wine. The wineskin also expanded and that is why that same bag, or skin, could not be used again because it had expanded by fermentation as far as it could be stretched. Christ spoke of this process in Matthew 9:17.    The Bible approves of wine with moderation. The Bible is not advocating total abstinence but it is against excess. "Eat your bread in happiness, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart; for God has already approved your works" (Eccl. 9:7). And, "Men approve a meal for enjoyment and wine makes life merry" (10:19). "Wine makes man's heart glad" (Psa. 104:15).    This is not to say that wine is for everyone. Some Christians in Paul's day felt that the eating of meat and drinking wine was wrong. Therefore, the "stronger" brother, who had no problem with the same, was not to drink in front of the other brother lest he makes that one stumble. "It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles" (Rom. 14:21). "Do not get drunk with wine for that is dissipation" (Eph. 5:18).    The Bible argues for inner spiritual maturity and self-control. Wine in and of itself is not evil but the abuse of it is the problem. Paul says that whatever is sin to you is sin. For "whatever is not from faith is sin" (v. 23). So if you are convicted to not drink wine, then don't do it! But please do not go into the realm of foolishness and misinterpret the Bible because you are a legalist or a "fighting fundy."    I knew a couple who came out of the Funda_____ Baptist church movement. They never smiled, they were rarely happy, they were legalistic and would cut your gizzard out at a drop of the hat. They were self-righteous and wooden headed. They said that Christ could not have made true wine because alcohol in itself was evil. I pointed out to them that all Christians in Europe for two thousand years drank wine, thus I asked, "Were they all sinning?" And they answered "Yes." Can you imagine that every believer for two thousand years was sinning? The wife was a nurse and said there were two kinds of fermentations!!! How silly! They could not face the facts of John 2:1-11. They had a preconception that helped their legalism out!    In John 2:6 Christ called for the water-pots to be filled with water. Some argue that they did not have lids so what happened inside of them could not be fermentation. This will be a miracle. Christ did not have to have the pots closed with lids to do what He was about to do.    Notice when the wine was drawn out it was better than the first vats of wine, and people in those days served the best wine first and the not-so-good wine last. But Christ made wine that was better than at the first. "You have kept the good wine until now" (v. 10). This is not a group of Christians. It is just a wedding in which fermented wine was being served.    Remember the story of the calling of Matthew. He invited tax-gatherers and sinners to a three day banquet. Christ was reclining with them at the meal. The Pharisees came and said to the disciples: "Why is [your teacher] eating and drinking [grape juice] with tax-gatherers and sinners?" (Mark 2:16). No, this was not grape juice, and the Lord was partaking with them, and witnessing to them.    Because the industrial revolution in Europe, and in America, was so devastating on workers who went to the pubs and got drunk, in America Christians pushed for total abstinence. While this is a good practice for those who cannot take their wine, this is not what the Bible argues for.    In the Bible Knowledge Commentary put out by the faculty of "old" Dallas Seminary, there is an interesting statement. God yearly turns water to wine in the agricultural and fermentation processes. Here in John 2 He simply did the process immediately as a gift to the young couple getting married.    The great old Greek scholar Henry Alford gets angry with those who try to say Christ turned the water into grape juice. He says this is a "miserable attempt" made by some in that movement of narrowness to say that this was unfermented grape juice. This is a degradation of the Bible, he adds.    I too get angry when people misinterpret the Bible foolishly because of their legalism and self-righteousness. Get the main point of the Bible! Don't reinterpret it!    Now having written all of this, do what your conscience dictates. Remember, if it's sin to you, it is sin!    Thanks for asking.    Dr. Mal Couch (9/10)

Mystery

Dr. Couch, is the "mystery" of 1 Corinthians 2:7 the same as the "mystery" of Ephesians 3:1-7? ANSWER:  No, it does not seem to be the same. The "mystery" (musterion) of Ephesians 3 is about the fact that the Gentiles will be blessed by the gospel. Paul says this mystery was specifically made know to him alone. It was "the mystery of Christ which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, but now 'specifically' it is that the Gentiles are [now] fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel" (vv. 5-6). It is the "mystery according to the gift of God's grace which was given (or revealed) to me according to the working of His power" (v. 7).    The mystery of 1 Corinthians 2:7 seems to be specifically about the gospel not just about God's working with the church. Here, the mystery is God's hidden wisdom "which God predestined before the ages to our glory" (v. 7). The Bible Knowledge Commentary says: "The message which Paul proclaimed was God's revelation (Matt. 11:25). At the heart of this wisdom is the plan of salvation intended for our glory, determined before time began (Eph. 1:4)."    Thanks for asking.    Dr. Mal Couch (8/10)

Apostles and Prophets in the OT Economy

Dr. Couch, it seems to me the "apostles and prophets" in Ephesians 2:20 has to do with the apostles and prophets in the OT economy. How would you answer? ANSWER:  Remember we determine doctrine by "observation" of the context, and by the Greek grammar of the sentence. This issue is settled by the grammar of the passage. In the commentary written by Dr. John Witmer and myself, we point out (p. 150) that prophets are listed following apostles, church prophets are in view (cf. 3:5; 4:11; 1 Cor. 12:10, 28-29). Verses 19-20 say "We no longer are strangers (the church saints) and aliens, but you are fellow citizens ... having been built UPON the foundation of the apostles and prophets, ..." The same is repeated in 3:5. "What was (in the past) not made known to the sons of men, revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit." And, to the church He had given "some as apostles, and some as prophets, ..." (4:11). And to the church "God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets ..." (1 Cor. 12:28).    It is important to note that in 2:19-20 we have one proposition: "foundation OF the apostles and [EVEN] prophets." This virtually makes the two offices equal, that is, the same thing. So also in 3:5: "His HOLY apostles and [even] prophets." Though the offices are separated in 1 Corinthians 12:28 and in Ephesians 4:11.    The greatest commentary on Ephesians ever written is by Dr. Harold Hoehner (he took 20 years to finish it). He taught Greek that long at Dallas Seminary. He writes: "First, there is only one article for both nouns. ... The one article may indicate that 'groups more or less distinct are treated as one for the purpose in hand.'"    The old Greek scholar Armitage Robinson writes: "Paul is not taking us back from the New Covenant (which he is writing about here in Ephesians 2) to the Old—not speaking of Old Testament prophets in the past—when he says that the apostles and prophets are the foundation of the new House of God."    Even amillennialist Charles Hodge gets it right. He writes: "The prophets here mentioned are those of the new dispensation [of the church], is evident—first from the position of the terms. It would more naturally be prophets and apostles if the Old Testament prophets had been intended. ... The statement here made that the apostles and prophets are, or have laid, the foundation of that house of which the Gentiles are a part, is more obviously true of the New (Covenant), than of the Old Testament prophets. ... The apostle-prophets—or apostles who are prophets. ... Both apostles and prophets belong to the class of Christian teachers [not of the Old Testament]."    Finally, the Bible Knowledge Commentary (BKC) (old Dallas Seminary) says "The 'prophets' are of the New Testament era, not the Old Testament. 'Prophets' follows the word 'apostles' here and in 3:5 and 4:11. These men received the revelation of the mystery of the church in the present Age, which had been hidden in days past, that is, in Old Testament times (3:5)."    Thanks for asking.    Dr. Mal Couch (7-10)

Social Apostasy

Dr. Couch, I am being persuaded in what you say about a social apostasy coming upon the world. Can you explain a little more? ANSWER:  Yes, what I mean is that the culture, that in some places, to a large degree, has been blessed by biblical Christianity, will turn and be even more evil that previously. And this is exactly what happened in Europe some decades back, and has now happened in America during my lifetime. Christianity held back sin to some extent but now the roof has collapsed and sin is becoming more sinful!    And, the church then is becoming more like the world and the culture! We have some verses that I believe point this out. For example, 2 Timothy 3:1-2.    "But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money ..." The verses speak of "in the last days difficult times will come." Paul is not in those verses talking about church apostasy but about cultural apostasy and evil growing worse and worse. The Greek reads "Time of stress, fierce, savage times." Paul uses the Future Tense of the "to be" verb. "It will be this way ..."    Then in verse 2 he does not speak of the church folks, but of "the men" of the world, using the Greek word, with the article, "hoi anthropos." This will happen when "the time" (kairos, chronology) will come, and grow more savage, when the change happens in the culture. Paul connects this thought with 4:3 when he writes: "For that 'time' (kairos, chronological period) will come (Future Tense) when 'they' (supplied by the translator) 'will not endure healthy doctrine ... '" Paul here is not talking about true believers but about those in the culture who apostatize from what little they know of truth.    He is not talking about true"possessing Christians" in 3:13, as some think, but again, he is talking about the lost in the culture, when he writes "But evil men (poneeros anthropos) ... and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived." These are the lost men of the society, the culture, not those who are Christians (though the true believers will be deceived.). Indeed, the evil men are "impostors" (goees). This is the only place in the NT where this word is used. It's often translated "seducers." This is a better translation; they will be seducing and leading astray those who are professors, and who are taken down the wrong path, who go into apostasy and join them in their worldly sinfulness! "Goees" can be translated "a juggler, enchanter, one who uses incantations to deceive." This is happening and going on today. The church is getting like the culture.    "They will proceed" (Future Tense) is from the Greek word "prokopos" meaning "they will go forward, go forward hammering (as a smith hammers metal)," "promoting further" their evil agendas. And nothing will stop them; it will get worse and worse, as the apostasy takes over the culture even more!     The Bible Knowledge Commentary seems to agree with my thoughts on the passage. Several times it mentions "the people (the lost), when they the world will see terrible times of societal degeneration."    I believe we are now in religious, spiritual, and social degeneration and this is the sign that we are in "the last days."    Thanks for asking.    Dr. Mal Couch (Dec., 09)

What Do You Think of the Wycliffe Bible Commentary?

Dr. Couch, what do you think of the Wycliffe Bible Commentary? 

    ANSWER: This was first published years ago by Moody Press. I think it is an outstanding one volume commentary. It would be about the same value, maybe a little less, than the Bible Knowledge Commentary. I have both and use them frequently. 

   Thanks for asking.

   Dr. Mal Couch