Author Archives: Sam Hight

10 Nov

Christians and Division – Part 2: Interpretive Method

Often Christians divide because they are looking at the same text of Scripture and seeing it through different preconceived ideas. In cases like this, they might feel like the other person is being deliberately stubborn in refusing to see the plain truth in the Bible.

1 John 2:1-2

[1] My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. [2] He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

One person might read this and think that Jesus took the punishment for sins for every person. Another might read it and think that “world” actually means “not just Jews”, with the main idea being that both Jews and gentiles are saved through Jesus in a non-individualistic sense, i.e. Jesus took the punishment for sin for men of every nation.

In another situation, looking at Acts chapter 2 and the Day of Pentecost, one believes the miraculous speaking in tongues seen is an example for today to be copied. Another sees this as a special time in the history of the church that is a-typical and never to be repeated.

So how do we plot a path forward when different Christians will find different ways to read the same text? Well, this is not a fool proof solution as we are still fallen and sinful people trying to understand sometimes complex parts of God’s Word. However, we can try to understand our own preconceived ideas that we bring to the text as a start.

More importantly, we listen patiently to others and question carefully why they believe a text should be interpreted the way they are interpreting it.

Even more important is to see how Scripture interprets Scripture. Are there examples of Jesus and the writers of the New Testament interpreting Old Testament passages? If so, are we interpreting in the same way? Does the same author shed light on his own word usage somewhere else? Maybe John uses the word “world” in a particular way (and maybe not).

The science and art of interpreting Scripture is both simple enough that a child can learn the Good News of Jesus, and deep enough that scholars of many years experience can still find competing theories. However, if we can recognise the differences in preconceptions we bring to the text of Scripture, we may move a little closer to displaying the love and unity we should have between fellow servants of Christ.

10 Nov

Where does the misinformation come from?

“some of that misinformation is actually having an impact on teachers’ willingness to be vaccinated … often when we can provide good reliable information and combat some of that misinformation”

source: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/455328/jacinda-ardern-on-vaccine-mandates-hard-to-know-how-long-they-will-be-used?fbclid=IwAR3xRmHN0w9zsVKd6x1bAU2jdsox7ZU_rnznuyAkMJS-fIKEGUbu7_wMwCo

I dare say we know where the real misinformation is coming from… The people Hipkins is talking about have been asking plenty of questions but are not getting satisfying answers. Here are a few questions:

What is the infection fatality rate of SARS-CoV-2? (Deaths divided by infections as a percentage)

What is the infection rate in the general population? E.g. what percentage of people will catch the virus if it goes unchecked?

If asymptomatic transmission is real, which we are regularly told it is, how do we know how many people have actually had the virus?

If we don’t know how many people have actually had the virus, how can we know the infection rate or the infection fatality rate for certain? If more people could have had it then the fatality rate is surely much lower than that commonly reported.

On what basis was Comirnaty granted an exemption if there are massive gaps in testing data, especially long-term testing data?

What is the transmission rate of vaccinated individuals compared to unvaccinated individuals?

If there is only a marginal difference in transmission rates, why do we need to insist all staff are vaccinated at work?

If there is a significantly higher transmission in unvaccinated individuals, does that translate to a real increase in risk? E.g. If the virus has become endemic (everywhere without the possibility of eliminating it), doesn’t that mean everyone will catch it fairly soon anyway, vaccinated or not?

How come early stage treatments and preventative medications and advice has not been and is not being given? These medications and advice have been massively successful, are well established as safe, and deserve the title of “safe and effective” far more than Comirnaty.

Why is the Prime Minister talking about opening up Auckland before Christmas as the bottom line when health is supposed to be the bottom line and the media is reporting higher infection rates every day?

How can we trust statistics and advice from the government when they have demonstrably lied about aspects of their plans (conditions required for opening up again) and promises (no vax mandates) to the NZ people.

Here’s a biggie for me personally: Why do we care so much about all things Covid when more than 13,000 babies are killed through abortion every year. In one stinking day in NZ there are more of our most vulnerable killed than the entire NZ death count of this “pandemic”.

You might not agree with my position on abortion but at least you can understand why I might not be so concerned about Covid.

I know many who have lost loved ones overseas through this global crisis, but you have to put aside the emotional response for a moment and ask if they died from the virus or from mismanagement. Did they have access to early and effective treatment? Did they have a ventilator pushed on them too quickly? Were they dying from something else anyway?

06 Nov

Mandatory Vaccination Teacher Timeline 2021

Friday 1st October – final day of Term 3

Monday 11th October – mandatory vaccination for teachers announced

Tuesday 26th October – mandatory vaccination for teachers becomes law

Tuesday 26th October until Saturday 6th November – teachers (and others affected) frantically seek exemptions under section 7A of the newly established mandatory vaccination law.

Sunday 7th November – Section 7A removed from the law to prevent exemptions (except if granted by those changing the law).

It seems that our government can’t do much right, as they keep changing the law to match what they really intended, and they want to control, control, control.

Why not allow GPs to give exemptions based on their professional skill and judgement of a patient? Surely there is more than one single person in the country who is qualified to judge appropriateness of an exemption?

When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan. Proverbs 29:2

05 Nov

Dear Member

Dear member


I urge you to use your influence to make a way for religious exemptions to Comirnaty (Pfizer Covid vaccination). While the vaccine does not contain any fetal cells, aborted fetal cell lines were used in the testing phase. And while the Vatican may allow this without any other alternatives available, I am a protestant Christian who does not accept the advice of the Roman Catholic Church. You can read the Vatican’s statement on this here if you wish: https://www.catholicnews.com/vatican-without-alternatives-current-covid-19-vaccines-are-morally-acceptable/


I am a teacher at a Christian school (state integrated) who feels conscience bound before God not to receive this vaccine. My employer is sympathetic but is bound to follow MOE advice. As a result I have an uncertain future for myself and my family. I am attempting to support my family through other means once I am out of a job. You can read more about my situation here if you wish: http://pl.samhight.com/the-tea/


While other Christians may hold a different view, the historic Protestant Christian Faith does not allow Christians to compromise their personal conscience before God. To do so is sinful and a violation of the law of loving God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength (Luke 10:27). To compromise conscience also sets a bad example for those who see these actions, which is also sinful as it violates the law of loving my neighbour who will see me compromise.


Christians should be free to follow their own consciences before God, and other Christians do come to different conclusions regarding the use of aborted fetal tissue lines. I can accept their conscience differs from mine, but my conscience is my conscience and theirs is theirs. Each of us is answerable to our Maker for our own conscience.


It is interesting to note that the Vatican position is a compromise due to their understanding that there is no other treatment available. I wonder if they would revoke their advice if they were aware of other treatment options. 


I am disappointed to see that other cheap, safe, and well-tested medications for use with Covid have been blocked from use and importation in New Zealand. Some of these have been enormously successful overseas, e.g. in India with their widely used home kits. Unfortunately, misinformation has been spread about these medications, perhaps deliberately.


Dissatisfaction with the government is rising in many quarters. It is clear that some big changes are needed.


Thank you for your consideration of this position. I am happy receive replies or to engage in discussion with you regarding these issues.


Kind regards
Samuel Hight

—
Sam Hight
www.samhight.com

18 Jun

Abortion in 2018

“Stats NZ has released its official data around terminations in 2018, showing there were 13,282 abortions performed last year”

Source: https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2019/06/one-in-five-new-zealand-pregnancies-end-in-abortion.html

If these are babies, how insane is this?

If these are not babies, when do they become babies and why?

If you believe they are not babies and you can’t say when they become babies and justify why, then you shouldn’t be supporting such insanity! At the least you should be insisting that we halt all abortions until we know beyond reasonable doubt…

Now, if you’ve realised your delusion only after participating in this terrible deed, you should know that there is forgiveness before your Maker who made those little lives which were destroyed in the womb.

This forgiveness comes through Jesus, the divine Son of God who lived a life of perfect righteousness and then died on a cross. His perfect record is granted to you if you put your trust in him, and he takes the punishment you deserve in his death.

His resurrection to life on the third day is a declaration by the Spirit of God of the Father’s acceptance of the Son’s work of redemption. Because Jesus work was accepted, you don’t need to work to earn your forgiveness. Simply come to Him in faith and your guilt will not be counted against you on the Last Day.

Abortion is a terrible evil, but our hope through this and any other evil is in the unshakable work of Christ our king.

28 Nov

Time

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

– Genesis 1:1

While it is tempting for most Christians to jump into a debate on whether the six days of Creation were literal, whether the earth is ‘young’ or ‘old’, or some other such issue; we should first note something else about God.

See if you can see it for yourself:

In the beginning, God created…

Do you see?

God was there in the beginning… In fact, he is noted as creating the heavens and the earth in the beginning. And when we look carefully at this verse, we can see that the beginning itself is the creation of the heavens and the earth. It is not as though time started, like a stopwatch, when someone yelled “go”, and then the heavens and the earth were created as a secondary event (as the runner starts to run). It is more that the creation of these things was God yelling “go”, that their appearance out of nothing was the beginning itself. The stopwatch starts as soon as the runner decides to start running.

The big implication for this is that God was there, if we can say it in such a way, before the beginning. He, who caused the beginning, existed prior to that event that marked the beginning of time, the beginning of our universe. The runner was waiting patiently before the start of the race on his marks.

One fascinating part of this reflection is that we lack the language to speak of God’s existence prior to existence. We speak of something that existed in the time before time existed, yet, this is nonsense. How can there even be a ‘before’ if there is no time to reference it? The same is true about the location. There is no physical location for God to exist in and there is not even ‘empty space’ as space itself has not yet been made by God.

Let me state plainly what your spiritual response to this concept should be. You should be in awe of God, your mind should be blown, you should realise the futility of comparing the eternal God to yourself. You are merely a created being who needs time in the universe in order to function. You should be humbled and God should be magnified in your consideration of this.

The futility of self-worship should also be obvious, as should the clear need for a Creator who is beyond our existence of cause and effect. Yet these are two things that mankind gets wrong over and over throughout all of history.

May these words be a blessing to you.

In Christ

Sam

26 Aug

Jesus As God (From The Old Testament)

I talk with Jehovah’s Witnesses when they come knocking. We also have some Unitarians who attend the Christian school where I teach (I teach Science, Bible, and Electronics at a high school level). These families do not sign our trinitarian Statement of Faith, though they are some of the loveliest people you might ever meet. Combined with a growing knowledge and desire to live the Christian life, and to worship God, from a trinitarian perspective, these things lead me to spend a lot of time meditating on the Trinity and on scriptural proofs that the Trinity is an accurate representation of God.

 

I want to share with you, and explain the significance of, two Old Testament passages mentioning YHWH (the name of God in Hebrew, pronounced Yahweh). These two passages are referred to by the New Testament writers and used by them to identify Jesus as YHWH. YHWH is usually translated in smaller sized capitals, LORD, so that the reader does not make the same association as the word Lord (without the extra capital letters).

 

I will attempt to clearly show that the biblical Christian God with the name YHWH is the same as the person Jesus. This will demonstrate that Jesus is indeed the divine God, an essential building block toward the full doctrine of the Trinity.

 

Giving credit where it is due, I have heard these two links in several places but the most recent, and clearly presented, was from Dr. James White of Alpha and Omega Ministries. I thoroughly recommend regular watching of his Dividing Line webcast to keep in touch with what is happening in the apologetics scene and to keep sharp with your own arguments.

 

First, let us take a look at Psalm 102 and I am considering verses 18 to 27:

 

“18  Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD: 19  that he looked down from his holy height; from heaven the LORD looked at the earth, 20  to hear the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die, 21  that they may declare in Zion the name of the LORD, and in Jerusalem his praise, 22  when peoples gather together, and kingdoms, to worship the LORD.

23  He has broken my strength in midcourse; he has shortened my days. 24  “O my God,” I say, “take me not away in the midst of my days — you whose years endure throughout all generations!”

25  Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. 26  They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, 27  but you are the same, and your years have no end.”

 

The key thing to note here is that the context is clearly about God and His eternality. YHWH, the LORD (verses 18, 19, 21, 22), is referred to as He (verse 23), God (verse 24) and “you” (verses 24 to 27). To emphasise the point, the LORD is the person from verse 27 of who it is said, “you are the same, and your years have no end.”

 

Now we turn to Hebrews chapter 1 in the New Testament, and we consider verses 8 to 12:

 

“8 But of the Son he says,

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. 9  You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”

10 And,

“You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; 11  they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, 12  like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.”“

 

Verse 12 in Hebrews chapter 1 is quoted from Psalm 102. I have included from verse 8 immediately above because you should be able to see, quite clearly, that the Son is being spoken of, in these verses from Hebrews chapter 1, saying that his years will have no end. Hebrews chapter 2 identifies the Son from chapter 1 as Jesus. So we can see that Jesus is YHWH.

 

Where this text from Psalm 102 is stronger than the previously mentioned “God” in Hebrews 1:8, is that Jesus is not just called God. Jesus is also called YHWH. There are a few rare uses of the word god which are not applied to YHWH, and context must determine whether the God or god is YHWH or not. Context is usually clear enough but, by using the stronger link to divinity of the name YHWH/LORD, we demonstrate a clearer understanding from Scripture that Jesus is divine.

 

Our second Old Testament passage is from Isaiah chapter 6. Consider verses 1 to 5:

 

“1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;

the whole earth is full of his glory!”

4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”“

 

Once again, we see the name LORD used to describe the person who Isaiah saw, not in verse 1 but in verse 3. This is straightforward, so we’ll jump quickly into John chapter 12 to compare. Consider verses 36 to 43:

 

“36 When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. 37 Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, 38 so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

“Lord, who has believed what he heard from us,

and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

39 Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said,

40  “He has blinded their eyes

and hardened their heart,

lest they see with their eyes,

and understand with their heart, and turn,

and I would heal them.”

41 Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him. 42 Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.”

 

Verse 36 establishes that this section is talking about Jesus. If you follow the section down to verse 41, you can see that Isaiah saw “his” glory and spoke of him. Again, to emphasise the obvious, Isaiah saw Jesus’ glory and spoke of him. This is a clear link to the passage from Isaiah chapter 6, where Isaiah saw the LORD (YHWH). The verse from John above which directly quotes Isaiah (verse 40) is taken from the same chapter in Isaiah when Isaiah saw YHWH (Isaiah 6:10).

 

These two Old Testament links to Jesus as the divine LORD, or YHWH, are very strong. I haven’t heard anything remotely solid that addresses this particular defense of Jesus as fully God. If you do hear of, or know one, please let me know. Otherwise, may these words be a blessing to you, a strengthening to your faith in Jesus, and a useful tool for your defense of the true Christ – the only one who is able to save.

 

God bless

Sam

 

21 Nov

Who Goes To Heaven? by Sam Hight

It bothers me. A famous person dies. While they are not known for their Christianity, they may have made a significant contribution to their local community, or even the world, and everyone of faith is so eager to support the notion that they have gone to heaven. Sure, they may even have contributed a great deal to curing cancer for small children, but how do you make any sort of judgement either way? What actually gets a person into heaven?

We could take a look at certain aspects of their life. Every few years they divorce and remarry, they make foolish sounding boasts in the media about ridiculous goals which they are most definitely not going to achieve. They join religious groups which are known for weird practices… Yet they are known for having a vague sort of faith and that seems to be enough in the eyes of the adoring masses.

Is it enough to just have faith? Is it fair to judge, even hesitantly, based on media reports alone?

Now look, it seems obvious to me that the details of the paragraph above are fairly indicative. This does not sound like a born again believer to me. It doesn’t sound like a person who was saved and is being discipled towards being more like Jesus.

Granted, you can never know for sure, and who knows what has run through a person’s mind immediately prior to death. However, we know that the number one purpose of salvation is to glorify God. That’s why he saves us. He saves us to show his saving power and his character in forming a people who will represent that character faithfully.

The mark of a person who is saved is their growth in Christ-likeness, their practice of righteousness which trains them to become more holy. If that doesn’t come through in their life it is highly unlikely that they have the Spirit at work within them. It is unlikely that they are saved.

Yet again, that is ultimately God’s domain so I won’t go quite so far as to undercut all hope. But there isn’t much. Seriously.

I don’t believe that true deathbed conversions are common or reliable for the same reasons. God wishes to show his glory by changing people – not just by ticking up numbers for the kingdom.

I urge you to look at the fruit of a person’s life by the standard that scripture sets. I urge you to look at the things that a person is known for believing.

If the Spirit of truth is teaching them and revealing truth to them, if he is growing godly character in them, then you can have a measure of certainty. But at the same time, we can’t make an absolute call in this direction either. It’s a matter of confidence and a weight of evidence.

Consider these scriptures:

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  (Galatians 5:19-24 ESV)

Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer. (1 Timothy 4:1-5 ESV)

I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. (1 Chronicles 29:17 ESV)

May God bless your thinking on this matter.

Sam

 

25 Oct

The Sovereignty of God in Creation, Revelation, Redemption, and Final Judgement by Sam Hight

This is a devotion I presented to my colleagues at Hamilton Christian School expounding the second point in our statement of faith. It was well received by staff and again with students later, so I thought I would share it here also. I pray it is edifying to your soul.

Traditionally, when we come into the presence of a King, we must be on our best behaviour. If we offend the King, he has authority and power to have us beheaded! If we travelled to a far away country, ruled by a monarch, we become subject to his rules as soon as we cross the border and enter his land. This is the sovereignty of a ruler: to have ruling authority and power over his dominion.
Now, the sovereignty of God is not limited the way it is for a mere man. God’s sovereignty is perfect and absolute. There is no sneaky revolt or resistance against God. You cannot overthrow the rule of the King of the universe.
Creation, revelation, redemption, and final judgement. God rules over these things perfectly, and accomplishes his purposes perfectly. 

God’s sovereignty in creation is expressed in his totally free choice whether to create or not. Nobody existed in eternity past to persuade him to create. He did not need to create as he is totally self-sufficient within his own triune being. It is ultimately a mystery to us why he did choose to make the universe, but we do know that his creation exists to glorify himself, and that the fall of all creation was no surprise to him but is a part of his perfect purpose in glorifying himself.

All this talk of self-glory sounds awfully arrogant and lacking of humility to our human ears, but God is right to seek his own glory because he is God! He rightly loves himself the most, and gains the most joy out of loving himself perfectly within his triunity… I wish we could even begin to comprehend what that looks like!

God’s sovereignty in revelation is shown in his totally free choice to reveal truth to humanity. This is not only the special truth of his personal self and the gospel in the Bible, but is general truth as seen in the natural order of things too. The Spirit of God is active in a more personal sense also, revealing himself to each of us who believe through his word. God would have been well within his rights to leave us ignorant of any truth, fumbling around in existence without a clue about the difference between our back and our front… Yet he goes so far to bless us with the wonderful knowledge of himself!

God’s sovereignty in redemption is shown in his totally free choice to save us from our sin by sending Jesus. This is closely linked with his free choice to judge sinful humanity and justly punish all that offends him. God freely chose to create hell, as the deserving punishment for sin and the necessary consequence of his free choice to allow the fall to happen. He freely chose to take the weight of hell upon himself in Christ, his Son. This was an uncoerced deed expressing absolute love and glory for God in:

  1. His ordaining this plan through the Father 
  2. Carrying it out in obedience through the Son, and  
  3. Effectually applying it to those who are born again through the power of the Spirit.  

God’s love for us, even in salvation, is firstly love for himself, as all expression of our love for others should be too. We love because he first loved us and loving him can’t help but lead to loving our neighbour.

Finally, why is this in a statement of faith that separates us from the world and from liberal forms of so-called faith? Because this foundational knowledge of God is essential to everything we should seek to do in life. There is no purpose in serving ourselves or some godless philosophy. Ours is a life of joyful service to our sovereign and most worthy ruler, the eternal King Jehovah.

12 Oct

Jude 3

The end was a bit rushed as I was about to get interrupted. The complete devotional applications are below:

Three final applications

  1. It’s a wonderful thing to rejoice in our common salvation and to marvel at our Saviour together – don’t avoid church, don’t avoid the company of other believers. If you find yourself alone as a believer, get to church every Sunday and make sure you try hard to talk with others. Get involved in a weekly Bible study group or find a mentor that you can grow under.
  2. If other believers are not up to the standard, maybe even making you feel that church is a waste of time, do what Jude did and encourage them and support them to weed out false teachers and false ideas, then stand firm in the truth. Only once they are doing this will it be possible to enjoy our common salvation. Love them and do what you can to win their hearts and lead them from error.
  3. Make sure that you know The Faith delivered to us by Jesus Christ. This is the only way to protect it. Be diligent to study the unchanging truth of what God has revealed about himself in the Bible 2000 years ago. By knowing the truth, it will be much easier to stand firm in the face of attacks, both secret and obvious. There are many attacks today, so be prayerful and diligent to keep watch.

Thank you for listening. If what you have heard has encouraged you, please share it with others.


God bless you.