Dr. John Hartmann

In this study Dr. Hartmann looks at the necessity of endurance in the race. God promises the Victor’s Crown to those who love Him, who endure in faith and the pursuit of holiness. To win the prize one must run and finish the race, which requires the strength of endurance unto the end.

The author of Hebrews addresses a group of saints who were in danger of drawing back in unbelief and losing the crown promised to those who endure. Salvation here involves the regaining of the lost dominion and glory of Adam (Hebrews 2:5-8a), which Jesus, God’s Second Adam, has already regained (2:8b-9).

With this in view, Dr. Hartmann briefly surveys some key NT passages that present us with what might be called an “Incarnational Theology”. Jesus, in the Incarnation, became:

1) the Revealer (exegete) of the invisible God (John 1:1-18),

2) the Model of true humility and submission to God, the path of servanthood and suffering that lead to glory ( Philippians 2:5-11),

3) the Mediator Who so completely identified with our weaknesses, temptations, trials, and sufferings that He is able now to bring us to God and come to our aid when we are tempted with sin or unbelief (Hebrews 2:5-18)

End result: Jesus, through identification with us in the Incarnation, has become “perfected” through His sufferings to be the Great High Priest Who sympathizes with our weaknesses, Who comes to our aid when we are tempted, and Who brings us to God. We endure in the race by drawing near to the throne of grace, where we find mercy and grace to help us in time of need.

This timely message addresses the saints at many levels, bringing encouragement, rebuke, warning, and healing where needed. He who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying through this message, to each heart.

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Dr. Hartmann examines Jeremiah 20 and compares the USA today with the days of Jeremiah and finds striking similarities.

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Dr. Hartmann looks at the life of Joshua, and finds relevant application and exhortation for believers today.

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Dr. Hartmann delves into the Book of John.

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This study is a primer for reading the Gospel of John, as our teacher introduces us to the apostle John’s eyewitness testimony concerning Jesus in John chapter one, which contains: a Prologue (1:1-18), the witness of John the Baptist (1:19-34) and the calling of Jesus’ first disciples (1:35-51).

The Prologue (1:1-18) covers some of the most fascinating fundamentals of apostolic orthodoxy: that Jesus, before the Incarnation, was the Eternal Word, Who was in the beginning with God, and was God, thus affirming the unabridged Deity of Jesus Christ, Who also was the One through Whom the Father created all things (1:1-3). In Him was “life”, which our teacher explains as being “the eternal, uncreated, Divine Life”, and that “life”, manifested in human form in the person of Jesus Christ (cf. 1 John 1:1-2), was “the light of men”, the revelation of the invisible God to those otherwise in darkness (John 1:4). This “Light”, manifested in the Incarnation, shines in the darkness, and the darkness does not overcome it, thus cryptically proclaiming the ultimate victory of God based on the Word having become flesh (1:5), though the victory will ultimately come via death, resurrection, exaltation, and coming again. This is followed by the witness of John the Baptist, a man sent from God to bear witness concerning the Light, so that all men might believe through his testimony (1:6-8), brought out in more detail later in this first chapter (1:15, 19-34). That Light (Jesus, the Incarnate Word), coming into the world, enlightens every man (1:9). Some do not receive the Light (1:10-11), the reason for which will be explained at various points throughout this Gospel (cf., e.g., 3:18-21). Those who receive the Light, i.e. who truly “believe”, are given the “right” to become children of God, begotten of Him through the Spirit (1:12-13; cf. 3:5-6). In the Incarnation, the Word tabernacles with men, who behold His glory, the revelation of the invisible God, Whom He “exegetes” (1:14-18). The pre-existence of the Christ as the Word is affirmed even in the testimony of John the Baptist (1:15).

John the Baptist’s three-fold witness to the Light appears in 1:19-34, where we learn that Jesus is: 1) the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world, the true and final Passover, 2) the One Who baptizes His followers with the Holy Spirit, so that out of their innermost being will flow rivers of living water (7:38-39), and 3) the promised Messianic Son of God, whose ministry is described in Isaiah 42:1-4 (cf. Matthew 3:16-17; 12:15-21).

The stage thus is set for further discovery of John’s eyewitness testimony concerning Jesus in the remainder of this Gospel, a testimony designed to bring the reader to a true faith in Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, and through that faith into participation in Divine Life (John 20:30-31).

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This timely message begins with an exhortation for the church to be awakened to it’s priestly and prophetic calling. This is followed by a discussion of what is involved in being persecuted “for righteousness’ sake” (Matthew 5:10-12), which includes living a righteous life and maintaining the testimony of Jesus, as “light in the Lord” that exposes darkness (Ephesians 5:8-14). Jeremiah the prophet provides an example, as we find that he was beaten and put in stocks for having spoken God’s Word of judgment against the nation of Judah (Jeremiah 20:1-2).

The prophet had warned the nation of God’s judgment and called it to repentance, in hope that God might relent of the calamity purposed against it and show mercy (Jeremiah 18:1-11).  With the offer of mercy rejected (18:12), the prophet proceeds to describe the nature of Judah’s sin and of the judgment that was about to fall (18:13-17). The nation’s chief sin was idolatry. They had “walked after emptiness and become empty” (2:5). Forsaking the Lord “days without number”, they had rejected the fountain of living waters, and had hewn for themselves broken cisterns that could hold no water (2:13). God had promised to bless His people in great fashion if they would but obey His voice and walk in His ways (Leviticus 26:1-13; Deuteronomy 28:1-14), the ancient paths He had set for them. He also warned of very severe consequences for disobedience, the curse of the Law (Leviticus 26:14-33; Deuteronomy 28: 15-68). Leviticus 26 is unique in that it reveals the progressive nature of God’s judgment, in which He seeks to bring discipline with a view to repentance (cf. Amos 4:6-13; Psalm 94). We gain see the truth of Proverbs 14:34, that “righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people”. We also see that God disciplines nations, with a view to fulfilling His long-range redemptive purpose to bless all nations in Jesus, Abraham’s true “seed”.

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Judgment and Mercy: Calling the USA Back to the One Creator God

What the Word of God has to say about our present situation in the USA.

Principles of God’s Government of Nations

We must hear again the revelation of God’s will for nations found in the writings of the Prophets, which expound the principle that “righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Proverbs 14:34). This is not a flight into fantasy: our problems as a society are first and foremost moral and spiritual. The inspired Word reveals that God blesses and judges collective entities, nations and people groups, not arbitrarily, but in accordance with those standards of righteousness and justice by which He, the Moral Governor of the Universe, rules all things (Psalm 89:14; 103:19). He executes lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness in the earth, because He delights in these things (Jeremiah 9:23-24). Herein are the principles of divine governance: collective righteousness brings collective blessing; collective sin brings collective judgment.

If so, it may be that the economic and political chaos of our times are but symptoms of the nation’s real disease. Corruption has infiltrated every sector of our society, whether it be politics, business, education, media, entertainment, or even the church. The reason seems plain: we have forsaken the fear of God and cast His Law behind our back, so that lawlessness manifests itself in almost every important aspect of our lives. Worse yet, the compromised church, instead of offering a critique of culture based on clear distinctions in the Word of God (Jeremiah 15:19), has preached a sloppy grace that appeals to a people who want nothing required of them in terms of moral obligation. But here are the sobering words of Jesus: the way leading to life is narrow, and is primarily not about what we say but about what we do (Matthew 3:8-10; 5:17-20; 7:24-27; 25:41-46; Luke 8:19-22; James 1:22-27; 2:14-26; Acts 26:20; 2 Peter 1:3-11; 1 John 3:7). Behavior has consequences, and we do reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7). Upon us is the fulfillment of Paul’s forecast that men would be lovers of pleasure, money, and self, more than lovers of God (2 Timothy 3:1-5). The man of God who faithfully rebukes, reproves and exhorts from Scripture has become the exception (4:1-2), as many flock to teachers who pander to their desires and tell them what they want to hear (4:3-4). Jesus minced no words in saying that many would take the broad road that leads to destruction, and that few would find the narrow path that leads to life (Matthew 7:13-14), following this with a warning about false prophets and the many who on the day of judgment would hear His pronouncement “Depart from Me, workers of lawlessness; I never knew you” (7:15-23).
The Consequences of National Sin

Deuteronomy 28:15-68 reveals the consequences of national sin. One can hardly read this portion of Scripture without thinking that we are experiencing at some level what occurs when a nation turns to false gods and breaks God’s laws. And it may be that we have only begun to reap the consequences of our national sin (Hosea 8:7). The judgment of God, already in motion, will come in ever-increasing stages, as God vies for our attention without violating our free moral agency (Amos 4:6-13; Leviticus 26:14-33). Scripture reveals that God causes fruitful places to dry up because of the iniquity of it’s inhabitants, advising the wise to heed these things (Psalm 107:33-43). If our theology is such that judgment for national sin applies only to the theocracy of Israel we perhaps need to think again. The major writing prophets devote significant space to oracles of judgment against Gentile nations (Isaiah 13-23; Jeremiah 46-51; Ezekiel 25-32). Amos opens with judgment speeches against Gentile nations to be punished for war crimes and slave trade (Amos 1:3-2:3). Jonah’s announcement of the impending judgment of Nineveh demonstrates that God righteously judges nations, while all along executing His long-range redemptive purposes (Gen 12:1-3; Rev 5:9-10). If we wish to speak the Word relevant for our times we will need to reconsider what the prophets have to say about our present situation.

An Urgent Call to Pray and Proclaim Truth

The church, “the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15), must shine the light of God’s truth into the darkness and expose the nation’s sins (Isaiah 58:1; Ephesians 5:11-14). Scripture reveals that God indicts and judges nations for idolatry (Jeremiah 2:4-13), sexual immorality (Leviticus 18), shedding innocent blood (Numbers 35:29:34; 2 Kings 24:3-4; Ezekiel 36:18), haughtiness and arrogance (Ezekiel 16:48-50), economic exploitation and oppression of the worker and the poor (Isaiah 3:13-15; 58:1-14; Malachi 3:5; James 5:1-6), war crimes (Amos 1:3-5, 13-15; 2:1-3), slave trade (1:6-10), governmental corruption (Isaiah 1:21-23; Micah 7:2-4), and unfaithful spiritual leadership (Jeremiah 5:30-31; Malachi 2:1-9). This prophetic task today belongs to the redeemed community anointed with the Spirit to be witnesses of Jesus’ death, resurrection, exaltation and return as Judge and King (Acts 1:8; 2:16-21; Revelation 19:10). The church must rebuke sin, proclaim the judgments of God, and call men to repentance and faith in light of the final judgment to which present judgments point as a warning.

We should with relentless importunity ask God for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:5-13; 18:1-8; 1 Thessalonians 5:17), Who convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:7-11). Revivals of the past were marked by such a work of the Spirit convicting sinners unto repentance and faith in a crucified and risen Jesus Who saves us from wrath (Luke 3:7; 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10). Paul’s “gospel of the grace of God” called for repentance toward God and faith in Christ (Acts 20:21-24), and involved discussion of righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come that effected “trembling” in the hearer (Acts 24:22-25). This gospel delivers from the penalty and power of sin, and brings one into the experience of God’s transforming grace. A gospel in which salvation is confirmed by the gift of the indwelling Spirit, which inevitably results in fruit that corresponds with true repentance (Romans 8:9-14).

Hope for God’s Mercy

The governing principles that determine whether a nation will be blessed or come under judgment for disobedience are ever at work, whether recognized or not. Some, knowing these principles, see our situation as hopeless, that the nation must experience God’s judgment in ever-increasing measures. While judgment will increase, if we do not repent, Scripture teaches that God’s judgments can have a redemptive end, training us to value righteousness once again (Isaiah 26:9-10). We must examine Scripture to see if there is a reason for hope and why.

In the parable of Jeremiah 18:1-12 God is the Potter, and the nations the clay that He fashions on the wheel. While He can do with the clay as it pleases Him, His work is not arbitrary, but directly related to whether a nation turns from evil and does righteousness, or, conversely, turns from righteousness and does evil. These principles of divine government come into play, without exception, in God’s dealings with nations. When a nation marked for judgment turns from wickedness, God says “I will relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it” (18:7-8). This inviolable truth informs Joel’s prophetic call for national repentance (Joel 2:12-17), and was historically manifest in God’s dealings with Nineveh (Jonah 3:10). But the reverse is true as well. When a nation marked for blessing turns from the one Creator God and practices wickedness, He says “I will think better of the good with which I had promised to bless it” (Jeremiah 18:9-10). God does not govern nations capriciously, but blesses those that pursue righteousness and brings calamity on those who impenitently practice evil. Justice and righteousness remain the foundation of His throne and the standard by which He governs His creation.

In accordance with these principles God warned Jerusalem: “I am fashioning calamity against you and devising a plan against you” (Jeremiah 18:11a). He would withdraw His favor and without pity allow them to reap the fruit of their sin, showing them His back and not His face (18:17). No intercession for mercy would be heard as long as they did not amend their ways. Having long endured their recalcitrance, the season of forbearance was now over. The only hope was that God would show mercy if they would repent in quick and decisive fashion.

Hence the call for true reformation: “Oh turn back, each of you from his evil way, and reform your ways and your deeds” (18:11b). But morally bankrupt Judah, though very “religious”, was riddled with falsehood and hypocrisy. They would worship false gods, steal, murder, commit adultery and swear falsely in the Lord’s name and then come to the Temple to worship, thinking this would protect them from calamity (see Jeremiah 7:1-15; cf. Hosea 4:1-6), despite the warning of 2 Chronicles 7:19-22. The false prophets proclaimed that God would bless and protect them as they walked in the stubbornness of their hearts (Jeremiah 23:9-32; cf. Deuteronomy 29:14-28). Thus, the Lord’s call through Jeremiah was like that later given through John the Baptist: bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance (Matthew 3:8-10). Amend your ways, and I will relent concerning the calamity I had purposed to bring against you. The response was appalling: “It’s hopeless! For we are going to follow our own plans, each of us will follow the stubbornness of his evil heart” (Jeremiah 18:12). God offers mercy if they will amend their ways; they tragically say, “no, it is hopeless”. The consequences of not turning were severe: exile, desolation, shame, removal of Divine favor.

Vote Wisely, Proclaim Fearlessly, Pray Incessantly

As we enter an uncertain national future we should vote wisely and elect candidates who will fight for constitutional governance, the overthrow of unjust statutes (Isaiah 5:20-24; 10:1), and purgation of bribery (Isaiah 1:21-23), with reprisals for all offenders, since the bribe “blinds the eye, and perverts justice” (Exodus 23:8; Deuteronomy 16:18-20; Proverbs 17:23; Isaiah 5:22-23). That said, God’s main concern lies in reforming the church purchased with Jesus’ Blood, to give Him, as the reward of His sufferings, a people destined to reign with Him as a kingdom of priests on the earth (Revelation 1:6; 5:9-10; cf. Exodus 19:4-6). What must emerge is “a people for God’s own possession” who will proclaim the excellencies of Him Who called them out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9), holding forth the Word of Life in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom they shine as lights in the world (Philippians 2:14-16). The true church must, at this critical hour, return to and seek the Lord with our whole heart, in hope that He will turn us from our iniquities and again show mercy (2 Chronicles 7:13-14; 16:9; Psalm 85; Joel 2:12-17; Revelation 2-3). As the prophet said, “Who knows” (Joel 2:14)?

The Parable of the Potter and the Wheel in Jeremiah 18 lays out the great principles by which God governs nations. If a nation marked for judgment turns from its wickedness God will relent concerning the calamity He had purposed to bring upon it. The reverse is true as well. If a nation marked for divine blessing turns from righteousness to the practice of evil God will think better of the blessing He purposed for that people.

In The Shattered Water Jar: a Prophetic Look at the Nation of Judah in Jeremiah 19 we come to a new stage in the story of Judah, as the prophet is about to act out the last stage of the nation’s spiritual hardening. There comes a time in a nation’s history in which constant hardening and opposition to God (in essence, refusal to listen to His Word) must result in that nation experiencing the severe judgment of God, resulting in it being shattered to pieces or even overthrown. Thus whereas Jeremiah 18 teaches the possibility of Divine Mercy for a nation that repents, Jeremiah 19 teaches the terrible truth that Divine Judgment can and will at some point come upon a nation that refuses to listen to God’s call for repentance and hardens itself against Him, for it is indeed “a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb 10:31).

The Lord thus instructs the prophet to go once again to the Potter’s House. In Jeremiah 18 he was sent there to see soft clay that had been spoiled being remade on the wheel, thus underlining the possibility of an evil nation marked for judgment being “remade” if it will but turn back to God. This time he is sent to purchase a clay jar that had already been fashioned and hardened, and which cannot be remade into another vessel. There thus is a significant difference between the parable of Jeremiah 18 and the prophetic act about to be carried out in Jeremiah 19. In Jeremiah 18 the clay, though spoiled on the wheel, is still soft and able to be remade by the Potter. In Jeremiah 19 the clay has already been permanently fashioned and hardened, so that whatever it has become cannot be remade. If acceptable, it becomes a useful vessel for containing and dispensing water. If unacceptable, it remains only to be broken in pieces and sent to the place where shattered pottery is thrown away.

The sins of Judah that brought such judgment are plainly spelled out throughout Jeremiah (and the other prophets). In this case idolatry and shedding of innocent blood are specifically said to be the sins that brought God’s severe judgment on this apostate nation.

Jeremiah takes some of the elders and senior priests with him to witness the prophetic act he is commanded to carry out at the gate to the field where broken pottery was scrapped. He there breaks the clay water flask he had purchased and announces that God would in like fashion shatter the nation of Judah as a worthless vessel that is shattered and placed on the scrap pile.

This message is relevant for our times. Do we stand in the place of Jeremiah 18, where there is still the possibility of Divine Mercy if we repent? Or have we come to the place of hardening pictured in Jeremiah 19? If the latter then all that remains is to be shattered under the hand of God’s judgment. We must seek the Lord at this hour with a sober and whole heart, in accordance with the call of Joel 2:12-17. Who knows?

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In this study Dr. Hartmann expounds the principles of God’s Judgment with nations, as laid out in the parable of the Potter and the Wheel in Jeremiah 18:1-12. While God can do with the nations as it pleases Him, His work in fashioning them is not arbitrary. God governs the nations in accordance with His own nature, as proclaimed in passages like Exodus 34:6-7; Deuteronomy 32:1-4; Psalms 89:14; Jeremiah 9:23-24. If a nation marked for judgment (because of its wickedness) turns from its evil, God promises to relent concerning the calamity He had purposed to bring upon it (Jeremiah 18:7-8; cf. Joel 2:12-17; Jonah 3:10). The reverse is true as well: if a nation marked for blessing turns from righteousness and practices evil, God will think again about the good with which He had purposed to bless them (Jeremiah 18:9-10). The Lord thus warns the nation of Judah that He has purposed calamity against them because of their wickedness and calls them to repent so that He might relent and show mercy (Jeremiah 18:11). The people in Jeremiah’s time did not respond in a proper way, but said “it is hopeless” and “we will continue to walk in the stubbornness of our hearts” (Jeremiah 18:12).

This study gives guidelines for understanding what God will do if persons and nations will truly turn to Him in repentance and sorrow over sin, with intention to amend their ways. God will always respond to a sincerely repentant people. Our study also shows that God is not mocked, that whatever is sown is what will be reaped (Galatians 6:7), hence, that His judgment against wicked persons and nations slumbers not. From this we learn the fear of the Lord and gain knowledge of how to co-labor with Him in prayer for the accomplishing of His purposes in our time

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In this study Dr. Hartmann explores the relationship between the gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12-14) and the Church’s calling in the eternal purposes of God as laid out by the apostle Paul in Ephesians 3. Paul was given a stewardship to preach the “revelation of the mystery” concerning Christ and the Church, which had been hidden in God for ages, but which is now being revealed through His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit. The apostle has been commissioned to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery, so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavenlies, in accordance with the eternal purpose He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord, through Whom the church has been given boldness and confident access to the throne of grace through faith in Him. This drives Paul to his knees, to pray for the fulfillment of all that God has purposed for His people, the God Who is able to do (what He has said concerning the Church) exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, and to Whom belongs the glory in the Church and Christ Jesus to all generations, forever.

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