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1. SON OF THE LIVING GOD
The Bible says, concerning Jesus, "Thou shalt call his
name Emanuel, which being interpreted means, God with us."
(Matthew 1:23) Jesus lived a short life as man. And as man "he
was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin."
(Hebrews 4:15) As such, he was referred to as "the Son of
man." But even as man, he was "God with us." Therefore
he is often referred to as "the Son of God." That is,
he retained his Godhood or his deity.
One of the things in becoming a Christian a person must do
is that he must come to the realization that Jesus is the Christ,
the son of the living God. The apostle said in John 20:30-31,
"Many other signs truly did Jesus in the midst of his Disciples
that are not written in this book, but these are written that
ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living
God, and believing, have life in his name." Among the signs
in which he demonstrated that he was God's son; he was in control
of the elements. To the raging sea he said, "Peace be still."
(Mark 4:39) He was in control of the material things of this
world and he demonstrated that by multiplying the loaves and
fishes. (Matthew 14:19-20) He was in control of spiritual matters
so he said, "son, thy sins be forgiven thee." (Matthew
9:5-6) All the people testified that only God (deity) can forgive
sins. You can become a child of God by hearing the gospel, believing
the gospel and obeying the gospel.
2. THE VIRGIN BIRTH
The Bible says, "Now all this was done, that it might
be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a
son." (Matthew 1:22-23).
Many people, even theological scholars, who claim to believe
the Bible, deny that statement. If a person, will not accept
the virgin birth then they simply do not believe the Bible regardless
of what they may claim. Others will not accept the statement
because they say the virgin birth of Jesus is a Catholic doctrine.
It is not. It's a Bible doctrine; it's the doctrine of Christ.
The Catholics got it from the Bible.
If we accept the Bible as being God's word, then we accept
it all. If we deny that certain parts are not true, we are saying
that none of it is true. We believe it or else we don't. The
Bible says in 2 John verse 9 "Whosoever goeth onward and
abideth not in the teaching of Christ, hath not God:" The
one who goes onward is the one who is not willing to accept the
teaching of the Bible. If he will not accept it, he has not God.
There are many in the religious world today who know very
well what the Bible says but will not accept it. The Bible says,
"Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things
that he suffered; and being made perfect, He became the author
of eternal salvation to all those who obey him." What about
you? Do you believe the Bible? If you believe it, obey it.
3. IS IT A CONTRADICTION?
The Bible says "And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
art not the least among the princes of Judah: for out of thee
shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel."
(Matthew 2:6). But in Matthew 2:15 the Bible says, "...Out
of Egypt have I called my son."
On the surface these two verses sound contradictory, but when
we hear the divine explanation, from the Bible, they become clear.
The first, the Bible says, is a fulfillment of scripture concerning
the birth of Jesus, while the second prophecy, the Bible says,
is a fulfillment of scripture pertaining to the flight of Joseph
and Mary to escape the decree of Herod to destroy all Jewish
children under the age of two. After the death of Herod, God
sent Joseph a revelation concerning a safe return, thus, as the
Bible says, the scripture was fulfilled which says "out
of Egypt have I called my Son."
The lesson! Be careful when someone begins telling what some
prophecy means for which they have no Bible interpretation. We
would do well to do that for which Paul commended the people
of Berea: ".... they searched the scriptures daily, whether
those things were so" (Acts 17:11). If I fail to give a
Bible reference for what I teach, then you are under no obligation
to hear what I have to say. There are many false teachers in
the religious world today. That's the reason we have so many
religions. "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear what
the Spirit says..." And the Spirit speaks to us today through
the written word, the Bible.
4. THE NAME OF GOD'S PEOPLE
The Bible says: "And he came and dwelt in a city called
Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the
prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene" (Matthew 2:23).
Jesus was called a Nazarene simply because he lived in Nazareth.
We are called Texans because we live in Texas. Sometimes we are
called by a particular name because we follow a particular teaching.
For instance one is called a Buddhist because he follows the
teaching of Buddha. One is called a Mohammedan because he follows
Mohammed. So it is if a person is a follower of Christ, he should
be called a Christian.
This word is very often abused and misused. It is never used
as an adjective in the Bible, that is, to describe something
or somebody; it is always used as a noun; that is, to name a
peculiar people. They were not referred to as some kind of Christian;
they were simply Christians or not Christians. We read in Acts
11:26, "... the disciples were called Christians first in
Antioch." The Jew and Gentile had been brought together
in one body, the body of Christ. Peace had been declared between
them and in making peace with one another, they made peace with
God. (Please read the second chapter of Ephesians.) Now this
one body of people were united under one name, the banner of
Prince Emmanuel, the Christ, and that name was "Christian."
We should wear with honor and dignity the name Christian.
5. PREPARATION FOR THE KINGDOM
The Bible says, "In those days came John the Baptist,
preaching in the wilderness of Judaea" (Matthew 3:1). There
seems to be some misunderstanding concerning the mission of John.
First, he was called the Baptist simply because he baptized people.
He could just as well been called "the baptizer."
His was a ministry of preparation for the kingdom which was
soon to come. He cried out for the people to "Repent ye
:for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 3:2). The
phrase, "is at hand" means that it was near. Thus Jesus
taught his disciples to pray "thy kingdom come." John
was preparing a people for that coming. This preparation was
based on repentance. Repentance had to do with a changing of
the mind that caused one to turn back to God. He warned them
to "Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance"
(Matthew 3:8). Or, show by their works that they were repenting.
In preparing themselves by turning back to God through repentance
and baptism they would have the remission of their sins when
the Lord made the sacrificial offering of the cross. The Bible
says, "John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the
baptism of repentance for the remission of sins" (Mark 1:4).
Jesus said in Matthew 26:28, "For this is my blood of the
new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."
In just 50 days after that he would ascend to his throne and
be crowned "King of kings, and Lord of lords."
6. SOME THOUGHTS ON HOLY SPIRIT BAPTISM
The Bible quotes John: "I indeed baptize you with water
unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than
I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you
with the Holy Spirit, and with fire" (Matthew 3:11). There
is a misunderstanding concerning Holy Spirit baptism today. John
was not extending a promise of Holy Spirit baptism to his listeners
nor to anyone today. He was contrasting his power with the power
of the one who would come after him. Anyone can baptize with
water, but only one had the might, the power to baptize in the
Holy Spirit and that one would be Jesus.
Those who later became apostles were likely in this multitude
and the only ones of this number who ever received Holy Spirit
baptism. In Acts 1:5, the Lord reminded them of John's mission
and makes this statement: "For John truly baptized with
water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many
days hence." They received this baptism 10 days later and
through this power of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, they were
enabled to reveal heaven's plan for the salvation of mankind.
No one has this power today, and, actually, no one needs this
power today. God's perfect will has been revealed and a curse
is placed on anyone who adds to it or takes away from it. One
of the statements made to these men, these apostles, not to you
and me, was: "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all
things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever
I have said unto you" (John 14:26).
Then, by the power of the Holy Spirit, these apostles wrote
"all things" down for our benefit and we have them
in what is called the New Testament.
7. THE BAPTISM OF JESUS
The Bible says, "Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan
unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying,
I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And
Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus
it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered
him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out
of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and
he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting
upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved
Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:13-17).
Did Jesus, the perfect man, have anything to repent of and
receive the promise of remission of sins? John recognized the
fact that Jesus did not need John's baptism and so states. But
the Jew, in making preparation for the coming kingdom was commanded
to submit to John's baptism. Had Jesus refused that baptism,
then he would have sinned like the lawyers and Pharisees who,
it is said, "... Rejected the counsel of God against themselves,
being not baptized of him" (Luke 7:30). So, he makes the
statement already quoted, "Suffer it to be so now: for thus
it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness."
People today who will not do what God commands, also reject
the counsel of God against themselves. Those who teach that baptism
is not essential to salvation (and that is the doctrine of denominationalism
and, now, some of my preaching brethren) falls into that category
even though they may have been baptized. They reject the purpose
of baptism, remission of sins, and in so doing, reject the counsel
of God against themselves.
8. JOHN INTRODUCES JESUS
"And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway
out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him,
and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting
upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved
Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:16- 17).
Jesus was baptized in Jordan. Not near Jordan, but IN Jordan.
All denominational scholars agree that "the ancient mode
of baptism was immersion." Immersion is pictured as a burial
in Romans 6:4: "We are buried therefore by baptism into
death." Man, not God, has changed it. But Jesus was immersed
in Jordan.
The Godhead or deity is made up of three persons; the Father,
the Son and the Holy Spirit. In these verses we hear the Father
acknowledging Jesus as being His Son; we see the Holy Spirit
descending "in a bodily form" and joining with the
Son. This is indicative of the three persons of the Godhead all
working together for the salvation of mankind.
This voice from heaven and the descent of the Holy Spirit
was witnessed by John so he could later say with all assurance,
"I saw and bare record that this is the Son of God"
(John 1:34). He could declare with all boldness, "Behold
the lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world" (John
1:29). This taking away of sin is not automatic. God's grace
makes it possible for one to have salvation but one must hear
what he says, believe what he says and do what he says.
9. "THY HEART IS MY THRONE"
The Bible says, "Now when Jesus had heard that John was
cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; From that time Jesus
began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven
is at hand" (Matthew 4, vs 12 & vs 17). John the Baptist
was gone but Jesus preached the same message of repentance, preparing
people for the coming of the kingdom wherein there would be eternal
salvation.
There are many ideas being advanced concerning the kingdom.
The outstanding teaching is that the kingdom is still in the
future, but that is a false concept. Let's continue to study
our Bibles and believe what we find there and we won't go wrong.
We hear John; we hear Jesus; they both testify that the kingdom
is near at hand. The question is, how near?
Jesus says to his disciples in Mark 9:1, "... Verily
I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which
shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of
God come with power." The apostles were among that number
and the kingdom would come in the lifetime of most of them. Like
many today, they were looking for an earthly kingdom. But Jesus
said in John 18:36, "... My kingdom is not of this world:
if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight
..." It would not be like Caesar's kingdom which was established
and maintained with carnal weapons; it would instead, be a spiritual
kingdom. In fact, the record of Luke 17:20-21 says, "And
when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God
should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh
not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo
there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." The
King of kings rules in the hearts of all his people. As the spiritual
song says, "Thy heart is my throne."
10. CATEGORIES OF TEMPTATION
The Bible says: "Love not the world, neither the things
that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of
the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust
of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life,
is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth
away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God
abideth for ever" (1 John 2:15- 17). These are the three
broad categories into which temptations fall.
In Hebrews 4:15 we read: "For we have not an high priest
which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities;
but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin."
This high priest, of course, is Jesus. In Matthew 4:1 we read:
"Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness
to be tempted of the devil." The three broad categories
mentioned by John are seen in these temptations.
First, an appeal to the fleshly appetite. "If thou be
the son of God, turn these stones into bread." But Jesus
answered, "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."
Second, the pride of life. Satan said, in the way we would put
it, "I dare you." But Jesus answered, "It is written
again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." And the third
category, the lust of the eyes: The Bible says, "He showed
him." The answer: Matthew 4:10: "It is written, Thou
shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve."
He "was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without
sin."
We are tempted in all these points. But, "No temptation
has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is
faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you
are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape,
that you may be able to bear it" (NKJ 1 Corinthians 10:13).
These three categories will cover the things in which we will
be tempted; nothing new will be added. The way of escape from
all temptation -- "It is written." Remember, "he
that doeth the will of God abideth for ever"
11. THE POOR IN SPIRIT
The Bible says: "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3). This is
the first of what are commonly called The Beatitudes. These,
put together, constitute a condition of supreme happiness.
Here he speaks of one who is "poor in spirit." One
of the definitions of spirit is: "the disposition or influence
which fills and governs the soul of any one." The disposition
of the person in this verse seems to be a spirit of arrogance.
It could also be a spirit of pride. But the happy individual
is one who is poor, poverty stricken, destitute of this spirit
of arrogance or pride.
We sometimes forget who is responsible for the good gifts
we possess and begin to brag on ourselves. In our moment of self
exaltation, we forget God. So, we need to dispossess ourselves
of all pride, arrogance or haughtiness and then we can expect,
not only supreme happiness, but citizenship in the kingdom of
heaven. (NKJ Philippians 3:20) "For our citizenship is in
heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord
Jesus Christ." The Lord Jesus, is coming from heaven. (1
Thessalonians 1:7) "... when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed
from heaven with his mighty angels" He will receive unto
himself the citizens of his kingdom.
But, remember, this is only one of the attributes a person
must have to enjoy supreme happiness both here and hereafter.
Read all of The Sermon on The Mount in Matthew chapters 5, 6
and 7. Jesus concluded by saying, "He that heareth these
sayings of mine and doeth them shall be like a wise man."
12. COMFORT FOR THE BROKEN-HEARTED
The Bible says in Matthew 5:4: "Blessed are they that
mourn: for they shall be comforted." It has been said that
this verse pertains to mourning for lost souls even as the weeping
prophet, Jeremiah, wept for Israel. The comfort Jeremiah received
was God's promise of a redeemer for both Israel and Judah. Their
turning back to God and their acceptance of that redeemer, Jesus
of Nazareth, through gospel obedience, would give to them, and
to all mankind, deliverance from their sins and the promise of
a better land than they had had before, a heavenly dwelling place.
We, too, should not only weep for a land filled with darkness
but do something to alleviate it. It has been said, "It
is better to light only one candle, than to curse the darkness."
It would not violate scriptural principles to accept the above
explanation of the verse but I believe that this verse is more
individual in application. It's not interceding or weeping for
someone else. It's you who becomes aware of your own sins and
mourn because of these sins, you can have the comfort of having
your sins forgiven.
If you're not a child of God, you can have this promise through
faith, repentance and baptism for the remission of your sins.
If you are a child of God, you can be forgiven for the sins over
which you mourn by repentance and prayer.
I think the verse will also include our own personal sorrow.
We weep over the death of a loved one. But Paul said, "Wherefore
comfort one another with these words." Don't let sorrow
eat at your heart until it destroys your life and those round
about you.
13. THE WORLD IS MINE
The Bible says in Matthew 5:5, "Blessed are the meek:
for they shall inherit the earth." Meekness has been variously
defined as shy, backward, retiring or weak. It is none of these.
Other words used as synonyms for meek or meekness are kind, gentle,
humble and considerate. These better define the word. We can
be gentle but aggressive, humble but strong, considerate but
honest.
Moses was described like this in Numbers 12:3: "(Now
the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon
the face of the earth.)" But we see, in Moses, a man who
was not shy, backward nor weak. We see humility as he tries to
tell God he is not capable of the great task God has chosen for
him. We see a man who is considerate when he listens to the advise
of Jethro, his father-in-law. We see a gentle man as he makes
provision from God for the needs of his people. We see a strong
man as he stands courageously before and against a rebellious
group. But, the Bible says, Moses was the very epitome of meekness.
The meek shall have the world as their inheritance, something
to be used now, something we must develop as we live. I think
the idea suggested in that statement is summed up nicely in a
poem by an unknown author, which is called The World is Mine!
There's a lot more to it but I quote the last verse to make my
point:
With feet to take me where I'd go,
With eyes to see the sunset's glow,
With ears to hear what I ought to know,
Oh God, forgive me when I whine,
I'm blessed indeed -- the world is mine!
14. SEEKING FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS
The Bible says in Matthew 5:6 "Blessed are they which
do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled."
A person who is really hungry will go to great lengths, even
robbery, to satisfy that craving. I am told that one who is really
thirsty will kill, if necessary, to fulfil that desire. I wouldn't
advocate such dire efforts as those mentioned to obtain righteousness
but the Bible does say that we can obtain if the desire is great
enough.
Righteousness had been defined as "being right with God,"
and that will do for our discussion. Do you really want to be
right in God's sight? You can be but only if you have the appetite
for it. It will come only by an honest, diligent and thoughtful
search. Your search must begin and end with the Bible. Peter
said in 1 Peter 2:2: "As newborn babes, desire the sincere
milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby." Jesus said
in John 5:39: "Search the scriptures...these are they which
testify of me." The apostle Paul said in Acts 17:11, "...They
received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the
scriptures daily, whether those things were so." Don't allow
other people to do your searching.
Hear Paul once again. (1 Corinthians 4:6) "And these
things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and
to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think
of men above that which is written ..." I believe that I
teach the truth. But don't take my word for it. Search the scriptures
to see if what I say harmonizes with Bible teaching. If it does,
obey it. If it doesn't, reject it.
15. ARE YOU MERCIFUL?
The Bible says in Matthew 5:7, "Blessed are the merciful:
for they shall obtain mercy." The words "merciful"
and "mercy" comes from the same root word from which
we get eleemosynary. That word defined means "of, relating
to, or dependent on charity, or benevolence." So, one who
is merciful or full of mercy, is one who does charitable works
or is benevolent.
He is concerned about the welfare of others. He is the blessed
one we read about in Matthew 25: "I was hungry, you fed
me; I was thirsty, you gave me drink; naked, you clothed me;
sick, you visited me." He is the one who Paul exhorts to
be concerned about the needy in Ephesians 4:28: "... Let
him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that
he may have to give to him that needeth."
This is what is being discussed in James 1:27: "Pure
religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To
visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep
himself unspotted from the world." Bear in mind that all
these verses pertain to individual action. Personal responsibility
such as we find stated in 1 Timothy 5:16: "If any man or
woman that believeth have widows, let them relieve them, and
let not the church be charged; that it may relieve them that
are widows indeed."
These verses are not talking about making a donation; they
are talking about personal contact with misery. However, there
are times when we hear of a situation about which we can do nothing
more than make a donation such as the recent flood and hurricanes
disasters. In such cases, be merciful. You may need mercy someday.
16. PURITY OF HEART
The Bible says, in Matthew 5:8, "Blessed are the pure
in heart: for they shall see God." Purity is an attribute
culminated when God, working with ME, purifies my heart.
Two passages need to be considered. One deals with God cleansing
our life of all past sin and the other has to do with how this
cleansing continues.
No. 1 Listen to the apostle in 1 Peter 1:22-23: "Seeing
ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the
Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love
one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not
of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God,
which liveth and abideth forever." You are now a member
of God's family. Your past sins have been forgiven. You are a
new creation. How did it happen? By your hearing of what God
said and doing it. That's all in the verse.
I hope to see God. But I must remain pure if I am to see Him.
How can we possibly do this? (1 John 3:3) "And every man
that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure."
This is a continual process of purification. You, now as one
of his children, with His help, can keep yourself pure.
No. 2 How? We have the answer in 1 John 2:1: "My little
children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And
if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ
the righteous." Now look at 1 John 1:9: "If we confess
our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and
to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Remember, first part, non-Christian; second part, Christian.
(NRS, 1 Timothy 5:22) "... do not participate in the sins
of others; keep yourself pure."
"Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God."
17. BLESSED PEACEMAKERS
The Bible says in Matthew 5:9: "Blessed are the peacemakers:
for they shall be called the children of God." It's good
to have peacemakers in world affairs; much happiness can prevail
when one makes peace between warring factions in court room battles;
great can be the happiness of one who makes peace between husband
and wife, parents and children. But I believe this is a secondary
application. Making that kind of peace is good, but hardly a
prerequisite for one becoming a child of God. Check that out
in Galatians 3:26-27: "For ye are all the children of God
by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized
into Christ have put on Christ."
But, back to our verse. I believe that Jesus is talking about
the peace that comes between God and man. The greatest happiness
or blessing that can come to a person is when he causes another
to make peace with God. "Peace on earth, good will toward
man" was the message of the angels. Jesus came not for the
above reasons except as a by-product of his teaching. But putting
people in touch with God through gospel obedience, thus making
peace between that person and God would sometimes disrupt households
and make enemies of those who had been friends.
So, he says, in Matthew 10:34, "Think not that I am come
to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword."
He didn't come for the purpose of making domestic or civil peace;
he came to make peace between man and God. (Ephesians 2:14) "For
he is our peace ..." (vs 17) He "... came and preached
peace to you which were afar off, [Gentiles-bc] and to them that
were nigh [Jews-bc]." The children of God, those who help
man make peace with God, will be happy, blessed people and will
be richly rewarded.
18. SERVE ONE MASTER
The Bible says, in Matthew 6:24, "No man can serve two
masters ..... You cannot serve God and mammon." Mammon is,
literally, material things or desire for material things. Service,
in this verse, has to do with what controls your life. The decisions
you make are motivated by something or somebody. If one is determined
to serve God, then each decision will be made by considering
how that action will affect one's service to God. The clothes
you wear, the company you keep, the job you are seeking, the
pleasures you indulge in, the language you use, the school you
attend. Ever aspect of your life will revolve around who or what
it is you serve.
So, it's not just mammon you must avoid serving; mammon may
be your master or it could be something else. The main lesson
is, "You cannot serve two masters!" You must determine
where your allegiance is. It isn't necessarily money nor the
desire for money that is wrong; it's allowing that concern to
control your decision making. There is nothing wrong with moral
pleasure; what's wrong is for it to interfere with my life.
Do we choose a lifestyle that will include God as a partner,
or does our lifestyle just make provision for God to share an
alcove of my life? God just be the senior partner, the primary
stockholder in our life or else something else will be. "You
cannot serve two masters." Do as Joshua did a way back yonder.
"Choose ye this day whom you will serve. As for me and my
house, we will serve God."
19. CONSIDER THE LILIES
In Matthew 6:28-29, Jesus said, "... Consider the lilies
of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was
not arrayed like one of these." In some of our present day
language Jesus might have been saying, "Slow down; stop,
and smell the roses." Yes, consider the lilies!
This statement was made in the midst of a lesson concerning
being overly anxious concerning things of which we sometimes
feel are of great moment. The clothes we wear, the kind of food
we eat and, above all things, what about tomorrow? The Lord wasn't
saying we should not be concerned about these things; he was
making a contrast between what we consider to be important and
what is actually important.
When he said, "take no thought," he wasn't forbidding
people from making plans or being concerned but what he was saying
was, "don't let these things possess you." Stop awhile.
Consider the lilies. Where did they come from? Who clothed them?
Who cares for them? In fact, I don't think Jesus was forbidding
us to not worry at all, as some teachers would want us to believe.
He was telling us that there are more important things to be
concerned about, than the trivial things of life.
Actually, it's all summed up in one of these "not, but"
situations when the important thing is contrasted with the less
important: not-- "take no thought," but, "Seek
ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and these
things (food, clothing and shelter) will be added unto you"
(Matthew 6:33).
Don't let worry about tomorrow consume you. If it contains
a matter we can do something about, make your plans to do it.
If it is outside my power to control, worry will not help. Go
to sleep considering the lilies of the field.
20. MAY WE JUDGE?
The Bible says in Matthew 7:1, "Judge not, that ye be
not judged." This verse of scripture has been quoted and
then misused more than any other of which I am aware. If you
will read the context you will see immediately that the Lord
is speaking of hypocritical judgment. The idea is, not that you
can have no judgment concerning another, but before you judge
another, look at yourself. Get rid of your sins before you condemn
sin in another.
Read the 5th chapter of 1 Corinthians. There they were to
judge the fornicator among them and withdraw themselves from
him. Jesus said, "Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know
them" (Matthew 7:20). If a person steals, he is a thief.
If he murders, he is a murderer. If he commits fornication or
adultery, he is a fornicator. Their own works condemn or judge
them. Of course, final judgment belongs to the Lord. He will
take care of that we can be sure. Notice Acts 17:31: "Because
he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world
in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained."
But some immediate judgment has been given to man. Look at
1 Corinthians 6:2: "Do ye not know that the saints shall
judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are
ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?" Certainly we
need to be careful with our judgments. Judgment must not be based
on prejudice, bias or even consensus. Be sure you are judging
by facts, not allegement and, above all things, be sure your
life is above reproach before you judge another.
(Romans 2:21) "Thou therefore which teachest another,
teachest thou not thyself?"
21. "LOVE THY NEIGHBOR"
THE BIBLE SAYS in Matthew 7:12, "Therefore all things
whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so
to them." This is commonly called the Golden Rule and is
probably one of the better known verses of the Bible even though
we usually quote it like this: "Do unto others as you would
have them do unto you."
It is also one of the least applied in our lives. I suggest
two other rules the world in general use. The first, I call the
Iron Rule. "Do others before they do you." We feel
like other people are out to get to us so let's just get to them
first. This is the general rule of the world; dog eat dog. This
is the evolutionary rule of "the survival of the fittest."
The second one I call the Silver Rule. It sounds better. "Do
unto others as they do unto you." In other words, if people
treat me kindly, I will treat them kindly, but if they treat
me badly, I'll treat them badly. Actually, we're saying, I'll
get on their level. He treats me badly. I hate that but I'll
return kind for kind. He's mean to me so I'll be mean to him.
But the application of the Golden Rule applied, would make
this a better world in which to live. How do you want to be treated?
Well, why don't you start treating people like you'd like to
be treated. The girl at the check-out counter; the waitress at
the restaurant; the fellow who is trying to get off an entrance
ramp onto the freeway; the people who work for you and the people
you work for. It's all summed up like this in the Old Testament
as well as the New: "Love thy neighbor as thyself."
22. "HE THAT DOETH"
THE BIBLE SAYS in Matthew 7:21, "Not every one that saith
unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven;
but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."
Many people in the world today are paying lip service to the
Lord. They cry out, as these did, "Lord, Lord," or
shout loudly, "praise the Lord." On TV we hear them
moan and groan out songs like, "Oh, Jesus." These people
may be sincere in their cries, however loudly, will not take
the place of "doing the will of the Father."
The New Revised Version is even more emphatic than the reliable
old King James Version. It says, "... but ONLY the one who
does the will of my Father in heaven." Notice the emphasis,
"ONLY the one." It sounds a whole lot like the apostle
in 1 John 3:18: "My little children, let us not love in
word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth." John
wasn't forbidding us to say with the tongue, "I love you."
He was critical of the one who said it but never followed up
with action to prove this love. So it is with serving the Lord.
It's all right to say you are his servant so long as we show
our discipleship by action. We'll notice later that that action
must be "the will of the Father which is in heaven"
or, as stated in another devotional lesson, "by his authority."
The so-called Lord's Prayer says, "Thy will be done on earth."
His will is made known only the pages of the Bible and, in particular,
the New Testament division.
23. "DEPART FROM ME ..."
The Bible says in Matthew 7:22, "Many will say to me
in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?
and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many
wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never
knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."
Many, many, today fall into the category mentioned. They are
making all kinds of claims of doing "worthy works"
and always, "in the name of the Lord." Just to make
a declaration that a thing is "in the name of the Lord"
or by his authority, doesn't make it so. Some of these have been
exposed as religious frauds. The word "iniquity" as
is used in the quoted verse is translated by the word "lawlessness"
in several other translations. That is, these people the Lord
was talking about were spiritual "outlaws." They were
doing their "wonderful" works outside the realm of
Bible authority.
But hear what the Lord says their end will be: "And then
will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye
that work iniquity [or lawlessness]." They will appeal to
you on street corners; they will come knocking on your door;
they will overcome you with ranting and raving verbiage on TV
and radio. What shall I do? Do as directed by the apostle in
1 John 4:1: "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try
the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets
are gone out into the world."
24. BROTHERLY LOVE - By James DeVoll
"But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write
unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another."
(1 Thessalonians 4:9) The term love is vastly misunderstood by
society today. To many, love means that you accept the actions
of a person without question. You dare not criticize anyone for
what they do, particularly in regard to moral conduct.
Jesus teaches us that we are to love for our fellow man. As
John, the apostle wrote: "...God is love; and he that dwelleth
in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." (1 John 4:16)
This divine love, which we learn from God, always seeks the highest
good of the other. Thus, we are to put God above self and our
fellow man before self. This love cannot be selfish.
When a person learns this love which is from God, a noticeable
change will occur in the life of that person. They will speak
and act with greater kindness to their wife or husband. They
will speak more gently to their children. Speech directed to
neighbors and friends will be "seasoned with salt."
Learning this divine love will necessitate a change in your conduct
toward other folks.
Also, this love will change your view regarding your friends
and associates. Because you love them, and have their "highest
good" in mind, you will be concerned about sin in their
life. Through Paul, Jesus teaches us that the wages of sin is
death. (Rom 6:23) Understanding the penalty of sin, you will
be concerned about the moral conduct of others and will do what
you can to help them overcome sin that will put their souls in
jeopardy. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:11 "Knowing therefore
the terror of the Lord, we persuade men...."
Have you truly learned this divine love?
25. THE WISE MAN
Listen to a passage with which nearly everyone is familiar.
Parents teach it to their youngsters; the kids sing a song about
it and I've even heard TV weathermen make fun with it on occasions.
(Matthew 7:24-27) "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings
of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which
built his house upon a rock: 25 And the rain descended, and the
floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and
it fell not for it was founded upon a rock. 26 And every one
that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall
be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the
sand: 27 and the rain descended and the floods came, and the
winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell; and great
was the fall of it." Well, it's not a fun thing. It's a
graphic illustration of the power, the authority behind all these
things he has been talking about in what we call the Sermon on
the Mount. It's what I talk about in nearly every lesson--authority
and obedience.
Jesus is contrasting a wise man and a foolish man. A wise
man will find out what Jesus says in the New Testament just as
a wise man will build his house on a good foundation. He will
hear, which means he will understand the teaching and then he
will DO what Jesus authorizes. He will obey the Master teacher
and not what some man says. He who hears and does not obey, is
a fool and none of us want to be in that class. The 7th chapter
ends like this: "... the people were astonished at his doctrine;
for he taught them as one having authority; and not as the scribes."
26. LOVE IN ACTION - By James DeVoll
Our thoughts are centering around the subject of "love,"
that is, the love that we learn from God. Remember that this
love always seeks the highest good of another; it is not turned
toward self. The importance of possessing this love is seen in
the writings of the apostle Paul. I would like to read for you
from 1 Cor 13:1-3. Listen closely to what he says about the necessity
of this love.
"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels,
but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging
cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand
all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith,
so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though
I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me
nothing."
We should be impressed with the importance of learning this
divine love. Please understand that it goes contrary to what
we would naturally do in life. The world basically tells us to
love ourselves and do as we please. Don't worry about the other
person. Do that which makes you feel good. This will make you
happy and content in life.
We learn a different kind of love in scriptures. It is this
love that should underlie all that we do. This love does not
revolve around self but is directed toward God and others. This
is not a "feeling good about yourself" concept, but
is rather, an attitude of a caring that become the motivation
for all our actions. In 1 John 3:18 it is written: "My little
children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in
deed and in truth."
Our love for others, as well as for God, is shown by what
we do. Jesus said, "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall
abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments,
and abide in his love." We'll have more about this tomorrow.
Do your actions demonstrate a real love for God and for others?
27. LOVE DEMANDS OBEDIENCE - By James DeVoll
Our thoughts are centering around the subject of "love,"
the love that God teaches us in His word. Remember that this
love always seeks the highest good of another; it is not turned
inward to self. This is the love spoken of when we are told to
love God with all our heart, soul, and mind. Jesus said, "This
is the first and great commandment." [Matt 22:37-38]
Love is active, not passive. Paul states in Romans 5:8 that
"God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us." The word commendeth signifies:
"to show, prove, establish, exhibit." 1 John 3:18 John
wrote: "My little children, let us not love in word, neither
in tongue; but in deed and in truth."
Since love is seen only in the actions it prompts, how do
we manifest our love for God. 1 John 2:5 "But whoso keepeth
his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby
know we that we are in him." 1 John 5:2 "By this we
know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and
keep his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we
keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous."
John 14:15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments...21 He
that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth
me...23 Jesus continues by saying: If a man love me, he will
keep my words....."
Understanding that our love is manifested or proved by our
actions, do you think that obedience to God is necessary? You
love God only when you keep his commandments.
28. THE LIMITED COMMISSION
In Matthew the 10th chapter, we read of that which is called
the limited commission. Jesus had chosen the men who would later
be called apostles. They are named in verses 2, 3, and 4. At
this time they were limited in their ministry. We read in Matthew
10:5-6: "These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them,
saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city
of the Samaritans enter ye not: 6 But go rather to the lost sheep
of the house of Israel." We have the negative, "go
not," which excludes and limits and the positive "go
rather," which authorizes and also limits.
The personal ministry of Christ on earth was an extension
of John's mission, i.e., preparing the people for the coming
of the kingdom. John preached. "Repent ye ,for the kingdom
of heaven is at hand." Jesus and his disciples preached
the same thing. The phrase, "for the kingdom of heaven is
at hand" meant that it was nearby. Soon. So a people needed
to be prepared to receive it when it came and the logical ones
were some among those who had been chosen of God to bring forth
the Messiah -- the Israelites. Now they would be the first citizens
of his kingdom. All things were in readiness for that coming
event.
John, the forerunner; "the voice of one crying in the
wilderness." Jesus, the Messiah was about to make known
his kingship. It was an apt situation. Jesus told these twelve
he had, in a particular manner, chosen,"Say not ye, There
are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto
you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are
white already to harvest." (John 4:35) All things were ready.
"Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
29. A HEART SOVEREIGNTY
In another article I wrote about the coming kingdom. It wasn't
the kind of kingdom the Jews had hoped for. They wanted a restoration
of the kingdom likened to that of David and Solomon, so most
of them rejected the teaching of the Christ and finally crucified
him.
He had tried to tell them what it would be like. Look at Luke
17:20-21: "And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when
the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The
kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21 Neither shall
they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of
God is within you." The kingdom of God would be a heart
situation. When people enthroned him as the sovereign of their
hearts and exalted him in their lives, then he would rule as
King of kings and Lord of lords. We transfer our allegiance from
Satan to Jesus.
Yes, the kingdom did come and people became citizens of it.
We read in Colossians 1:13, "Who hath delivered us from
the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom
of his dear Son:" Not a political kingdom like most people
wanted then and many still do; not a kingdom advanced and maintained
either by bullets or ballots, but by the mightiest weapon of
them all. "The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of
God." Jesus answered," in John 18:36, "My kingdom
is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then
would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the
Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence."
30. THE KINGDOM IN REALITY
As you read the parables of Jesus, you will find most of them
beginning with a phrase something like this: "the kingdom
of God [or kingdom of heaven] is likened unto," and then
a lesson on how to conduct ourselves in that kingdom. Remember,
the kingdom of God is a spiritual rulership in the heart of man.
Jesus said, "the kingdom of God is within you."
Many people today believe that the kingdom of God is out yonder
in the future. No, it is here now. People are in it. They have
been translated or carried over from the rulership of Satan to
the rulership of Christ. In Colossians 1:13 it is stated that
"you have been translated out of the kingdom of darkness
into the kingdom of his dear Son." The apostle John was
in that kingdom. We read in Revelation 1:9, "I John, who
also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the
kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ." The apostle stated
in Hebrews 12:28, "Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which
cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God
acceptably with reverence and godly fear:"
We can see, that is, if we are to be guided by the scriptures
we can see, that the kingdom of God is in existence now. John
the Immerser and his disciples, Jesus and his disciples, announced
that it was at hand, that is, nearby. How near? "There be
some of you standing here which shall not taste of death till
they have seen the kingdom come with power." (Mark 9:1).
Jesus taught them to pray "thy kingdom come." He taught
them in parables, lessons of conduct for citizens of the kingdom.
He died on the cross but arose on the third day; ascended to
the right hand of the Father and was crowned King of all kings,
and Lord of all lords!
31. YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN
Jesus made a simple statement in John 3:3: "Ye must be
born again." No explanation of how that was to be accomplished
and that's about as far as most read in conjunction with the
new birth. So various speculative theories come forth.
In John 3:5, he gives us a little more information: "Jesus
answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born
of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom
of God." Still, we have no specific information about how
this is accomplished, but this we know; a person must be born
again to enter he kingdom of God.
Jesus had told Peter, "I will give you the keys of the
kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have
been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have
been loosed in heaven" (NAB Matthew 16:19). Peter used those
keys on the Pentecost of Acts 2. Speaking by the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit he loosed and bound in his speech. People
heard and learned the gospel of Christ. Believing what they had
heard, they asked the question, "... Men and brethren, what
shall we do?" (Acts 2:37). Peter answered, "... Repent,
and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ
for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). 3000 did what Peter bound upon
them. They were added to the church, the kingdom. The Spirit
works through the word as we read in Ephesians 6:17: "...
take ... the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
They were born of the Spirit. They were baptized in water. They
were born of the water and of the Spirit.
The new birth is that simple.
32. A NEW CREATURE
Just what does it mean to be born again? Now forget all the
answers that you get from the opinions of men. What does the
Bible say? To start with, one must undergo a change. But this
change is dependent on a decision I make about whether I am going
to start serving the Lord. It means a change of faith. I change
from putting my trust in material things to putting my trust
in the Lord. (Mark 16:16) "He that believeth .. shall be
saved."
It means a change of will or a change of mind that results
in a change of conduct. That's called repentance. (Acts 17:30)
"... but now commandeth all men every where to repent:"
It means a change of your position in life. It means where
once you were "... without Christ ... having no hope, and
without God in the world" (Ephesians 2:12), you can now
be in Christ. "For as many of you as have been baptized
into Christ have put on Christ" (Galatians 3:27).
It means you are a new person, a new creation. "Therefore
if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: (a new creation)
old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new"
(2 Corinthians 5:17).
It means that all past sins have been forgiven. You are as
innocent as when you were first born into the world. Ir means
that you are in his kingdom. As a new creature in Christ Jesus,
I submit my will to His. He guides me with the Holy Spirit, but
this has nothing to do with miraculous works. Remember, the Spirit
works in the lives of men through the medium of the word. "Taking
up the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God" (Ephesians
6:17).
Peter summed it up like this in 1 Peter 1:23: "Being
born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by
the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever."
33. PATIENCE DEMONSTRATES LOVE - By James Devoll
We are instructed in the scriptures that we are to learn the
type of love that is from God. This love always seeks the highest
good of the other person. And in 1 Cor 13 we find Paul picturing
the character or conduct of this divine love. Let's focus on
the first trait that Paul gives: love suffers long.
The term suffereth long is defined in this manner: 1) to be
of a long spirit, not to lose heart 1a) to persevere patiently
and bravely in enduring misfortunes and troubles.
Let's notice a couple of passages which illustrate the meaning
of our term.
In Matthew 18:26, the story is given of a master that called
his servants into account. One did not have the necessary money
to settle his debt to his king. Notice how the king reacts. It
says: "The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him,
saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and
loosed him, and forgave him the debt." The master had great
patience that, coupled with compassion, cause him to dismiss
what the servant owed him.
In James 5:7 we find another illustration. "Be patient
therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the
husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath
long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts...." There are
many things that are beyond our ability to control and it does
no good to fuss and fret about the situation. We must learn not
to lose heart, but to endure whatever is necessary.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:14 there is a commanded of the Lord for
us to "be patient toward all men." As we incorporate
this characteristic into our daily living, we are developing
one expression that divine love.
Are we not negligent some times in this regard, especially
to family members. Don't we easily loose patience with our spouses,
our children, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, etc.
Let us be impressed with Paul's command: we are to be patient
toward all. And until we have learned to suffer long with others
we do not practice the divine love.
1 John 4:8 "He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God
is love."
34. KINDNESS DEMONSTRATES LOVE
In 1 Cor 13 Paul shows the various elements that make up the
divine love that God teaches us. Again, I would remind you that
this love always seeks the highest good of the other person.
It is not selfish.
In 1 Corinthians 13, the second characteristic of love that
Paul addresses is kindness. The word kindness is defined in this
way: 1) to show one's self mild, to be kind, use kindness. Let's
look briefly at two other passages where a form of this word
is used.
Luke 6:35: But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend,
hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and
ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto
the unthankful and to the evil. {As God is kind, so you and I
must learn to be kind, even to our enemies.)
Romans 2:4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and
forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness
of God leadeth thee to repentance? (Please note that it is God's
kindness that leads men repent.)
The antithesis or the opposite of kind would be unkind: indicating
that one is "lacking kindness; they are inconsiderate or
unsympathetic....they are harsh or severe.
Thus, when one practices this divine love their actions toward
others will always be considerate, filled good. In the Word of
God, when addressing the subject of man's character, we are instructed
how to behave ourselves, regardless of what others might do.
Such excuses as: "Well, they didn't treat me right and therefore
I was justified"; or "Everybody does it," fall
by the way when we have truly learned to love the divine way.
Just prior to kind, Paul said that love suffers long. When others
do not act properly toward you, being longsuffering will help
you to be kind, regardless. Their actions will not cause you
to loose control and act badly toward them. Love is always kind.
Do you practice this divine love? Learn to always be kind.
35. THE UNLIMITED COMMISSION
"And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying,
All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth.
Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing
them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit" (Matthew 28:18-19). This statement is a complete
contrast with the statement I used in my lesson on "limited
commission" where Jesus said, "... Go not into the
way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter
ye not: 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel"
(Matthew 10:5-6). That statement I called the "limited"
commission because it specifically forbade the disciples to preach
to the nations.
But the new statement, from Matt. 28, I will call the "Unlimited"
commission. No boundary, no border, Jew or Gentile, black or
white, brown or yellow; all are included. The limited commission
was a call for the Jews, who had departed from God, to repent
and turn back to God. Prepare themselves for the soon to come
kingdom.
The king had appeared. This was the fulfillment of Old Testament
prophecy. We hear the prophet in Zechariah 9:9 saying, "Rejoice
greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem:
behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation;
lowly, and riding upon a donkey, and upon a colt the foal of
a donkey." Jesus would soon be crowned as King. Read the
second chapter of Acts which reaches a climax at the 37th verse
when Peter declares, "Therefore let all the house of Israel
know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have
crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36 ). Christ the
anointed King of kings and Lord of lords.
36. MAN -- A CREATURE OF CHOICE
God made man to be a creature of choice. He allowed Adam to
make his own decision in the garden of Eden, and he made the
wrong one. Cain was later faced with a decision and he, too,
made the wrong one. And man has been making unwise decisions
ever since. But God still allows him to make them. He wants people
who will make their own decision to serve him. Sometimes we blame
God for our mistakes, but the blame must be placed where it belongs,
with man himself. If He should make a decision for us in any
way, by a direct operation of the Holy Spirit, or by some better-felt-than-told
experience, he would have deserted this principle.
So his Son begs, pleads and gently invites us to make the
decision to serve God and shows us the way. "Come unto me,
all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly
in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke
is easy, and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30). "Behold,
I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and
open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him,
and he with me" (Revelation 3:20). "And the Spirit
and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come.
And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him
take the water of life freely" (Revelation 22:17). And the
whole situation is summed up in a statement made by the apostle
in 2 Peter 3:9: "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise,
as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward,
not willing that any should perish, but that all should come
to repentance."
37. CONFESSING CHRIST
We here Jesus saying in Matthew 10:32-33 "Whosoever therefore
shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my
Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before
men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven."
Jesus was speaking to his immediate disciples, but the lesson
taught them becomes a lesson for us as well. He was sending them
forth among the enemy. They would be taunted, ridiculed and abused.
Their faith, like ours, would be challenged. How would they or
we, react?
We can say the words, "I love you," but until that
love is made known by our actions, it is an unconfirmed love.
The same thing could be said about a confession or denial. We
could say words, confessing Christ as our king, but until those
words have met the challenge of an hostile world and stood firmly
entrenched, it is an unconfirmed confession. The same thing would
be true in regard to a denial. We could, with the mouth, deny
that we knew him, like Peter did, or we could turn and run, like
the other disciples did. Either way, our actions will likely
speak as loudly or perhaps more loudly than our mouth. How do
we react when Christ or Christianity is maligned in our presence?
Do we come to his defense or do we remain the silent majority?
Do we let people know where we stand by the good conduct of our
lives or do we just go along with the crowd. Our young people
often go along with the crowd. Why? Perhaps because that's what
they see their parents do.
38. PEACE, PEACE, WHEN THERE IS NO PEACE
We hear the prophet saying, "... his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father,
The Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6). We hear the angels singing
of "Peace on earth, good will among men." But we hear
Jesus saying in Matthew 10:34, "Think not that I am come
to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword."
There comes a time in the life of most people when they must
make a choice of which road they will take. "For this cause
shall a man leave father and mother and cleave unto his wife,
and the two shall be one flesh." Time to cut apron strings
and build your own life. Also there comes the time when we must
declare allegiance to either God or mammon, Christ or Belial?
Family and friends or King Jesus? The decision MUST be made;
it cannot be both. So, we cut some strong ties and cleave unto
the Lord. And when we do, often warfare is the result.
But Jesus said that that's the way it would have to be. In
Matthew 10:37 we hear him saying, "He that loveth father
or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth
son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." Truth
and righteousness and the Cause of Christ have always been, and
shall always be, a battleground. When one takes a forthright
stand for Christ, he will make enemies and sometimes, they will
be his own household. Peace between man and God is what's important
of which Christ is the Prince, the author of that kind of peace.
You can have that kind of peace through gospel obedience.
39. HEART RELIGION
The religion of Christ makes its appeal through the intellect
of man. By intellect I don't mean that a person has to have a
college education. Not even a high school education. I mean that
he must have a responsible intellect. "Intellect" is
defined like this: "The ability to learn and reason; the
capacity for knowledge and understanding."
That would mean that only the person who has mature brainpower
is subject to the call of God. That would eliminate the little
child or the grown person who has never reached maturity because
of some mental disability. They are not responsible for sin therefore
have no need of salvation. They are not lost. They are safe in
the arms of Jesus, but those who have matured intellectually,
that's you and me, we are responsible for our sins and responsible
for hearing the gospel, heeding the call of Christ's invitation
and obeying the gospel's commands.
The religion of Christ revolves around the mind of man, the
intellect of man. Many times the mind of man is referred to as
the heart. The word "heart" is used 830 times in the
Bible. Three times and, possibly, four times, the word is used
in reference to the physical blood pump. The other 826 times
it has reference to some action of the mind or intellect. That
figurative concept begins like this in Genesis 6:5: "And
GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and
that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only
evil continually," and ends like this in Revelation 18:7:
"... for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no
widow, and shall see no sorrow."
40. "COME UNTO ME ...."
In Matthew 11:28 Jesus invited all mankind to "Come unto
me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you
rest." Jesus was not promising rest from one's daily chores
but rest from carrying the burden of sin. But no matter how inviting
that plea was, he didn't elaborate on just how it was to be done.
He told his disciples to "go ye therefore and teach all
nations." So now let's tie that "great" or "unlimited"
commission to the "great" or "unlimited"
invitation.
"Go teach" was the charge; "come unto me"
was the plea. So in John 6:44-45 he ties the two together when
he says, "No man can come to me, except the Father which
hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of
God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of
the Father, cometh unto me." So, we get it altogether; "come,"
Jesus said. But one cannot come unless the Father draws him.
How does he draw people? Now the teaching comes in. "You
(disciples) go teach." The Father will draw people. They
will be drawn by that teaching; they that will hear and learn
are the ones who will come to Jesus; The thing heard and learned
is, of course, the gospel. That gospel has power. In fact, it
is the only moving power that God uses in bringing men to Christ.
Paul put it this way in Romans 1:16: "...the gospel of
Christ ...is the power of God unto salvation to every one that
believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." Obedience
to the gospel is essential in coming to Christ and thus being
relieved of your burden of sin.
41. USE OF THE WORD "HEART"
I mentioned before that the religion of Christ appealed to
the intellect of man. In regard to that statement I suggested
that the word "heart" was used primarily in the Bible
in association with the intellect. I also said that the word
"heart" was used 830 times in the Bible. Twice the
word is used in a figurative sense to indicate the "depths"
of a thing or in the "midst" of a thing such as in
Exodus 15:8: "And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters
were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap,
and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea,"
or as in Matthew 12:40: "For as Jonas was three days and
three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be
three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."
Perhaps five times it is used to indicate the physical blood
pump. I question two of these. One is Exodus 28:29: "And
Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate
of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place,
for a memorial before the LORD continually." He may be talking
about these things being in his mind, his intellect, or he may
be discussing the actual placing of a plaque upon the chest area.
Another questionable verse is 1 Samuel 25:37-38: "But it
came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal,
and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within
him, and he became as a stone. And it came to pass about ten
days after, that the LORD smote Nabal, that he died."
Three times when the word "heart" is used, it definitely
means the physical heart of man and the other 823 times it has
to do with the things of the mind, the intellect. Just some interesting
thoughts you might keep in mind as you study your Bible.
42. THE ABUNDANT HEART
In Matthew 12:34, Jesus speaks concerning a principle that
had been true, was then true, and shall be true in the future.
That principle is: "... out of the abundance of the heart
the mouth speaketh."
The heart of man, as used in this verse, is the mind, the
intellect, of man. When a person speaks something evil, he gets
it out of an evil mind. Or if he says something good, it comes
forth from a clean mind or heart. He says further in verse 35,
"A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth
forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth
forth evil things." The mind of man is a storehouse. He
uses this storehouse to keep his treasures. He may treasure good
things or he may treasure evil things. But you can be sure, whatever
kind of language he uses, he gets it out of his storehouse. He
put it there some time or another. So the wise man, Solomon,
admonishes people to "Keep thy heart with all diligence;
for out of it are the issues of life" ( Proverbs 4:23).
We are responsible for what is put into our hearts, our minds,
our storehouses. We are sometimes told, when something bad is
said or done, "The devil made me do it." No, you did
it because it was put in your storehouse sometime or another.
We can't blame our shortcomings on someone else. "Keep your
heart." That is, guard it. You are the only one who can
control your thinking or your speaking or your actions. It takes
effort and energy to keep your heart pure and clean but whatever
effort we put forth in keeping our heart will be most beneficial
for, remember, "out of it are the issues of life."
43. NOT THIS -- BUT THIS
"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where
moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and
steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither
moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through
nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart
be also (Matthew 6:19-21). In these two verses we have comparative
statements. Jesus says, "Not this," but, on the other
hand, "this."
In the first verse, verse 19, he wasn't forbidding the people
to lay up any treasures at all. He was making a comparison between
the more important things and the less important things. In comparison
to "treasures on earth" with "treasures in heaven,"
there should be little doubt in our minds concerning which is
more important, but sometimes we forget. We get mixed up on priorities
and allow ourselves to expend all of our time and effort on "earthly
things," and forget the importance of the other.
So Jesus was reminding the people of his day, along with we
of the present, that treasures on earth are necessary, but treasures
in heaven are much more necessary. Your heart will be where your
treasure is and we are told to "keep your heart with all
diligence," for out of it are "the issues of life."
There's nothing wrong with trying to make a little money so
long as that pursuit doesn't become the ruling factor in our
lives. Don't let material things take priority in your life.
44. THE SOWER PARABLE
Jesus said in Matthew 13:18, "Hear ye therefore the parable
of the sower." He had used the sower of the seed a little
earlier in parabolic form and now he explains what it means.
He has had a lot to say about the heart of man and now he likens
the sower and the seed to the word of God being planted in various
kinds of hearts.
The first was like seed sown by the way side or the hard packed
earth through the field used as a pathway. The seed can find
no penetration of such soil or that kind of hard heart so it
has no depth and the devil has no problem snatching away that
which was sown.
Some found lodging on stony ground which is likened to a heart
that seemingly is overjoyed at the first hearing of the word,
but his interest seems to be all emotional so the seed has no
root and when some little something that he might call persecution
arises, he falls away.
The next heart is like thorny ground. This heart receives
the word but allows the material things of life to choke out
heavenly treasures so he becometh unfruitful.
The fourth heart is as good soil; a good and honest heart.
The word is received, understood and is fruit bearing. It produces
a good harvest because it is good ground; a good heart. It produces
more fruit in one place than in others; some a hundred fold,
some sixty and some thirty; each person doing what he has the
ability to do. This doesn't indicate that some were less diligent
than others. But it means that some have more ability than others.
All are working hard but some are just not able to produce as
abundantly as others. The lesson: give diligent effort, do the
best that you can with what talent you have and your reward will
be the same as the others. No one can do more than that.
45. SAFE PREACHING?
It's not always safe to be a preacher. That is, a preacher
who preaches what people really need. Herod the tetrarch was
living in a state of adultery. Some say he was guilty of incest.
Maybe a little of both. But he was living with his brother's
wife, Herodias, and John said to him, "It is not lawful
for thee to have her" (Matthew 14:4).
Some of our present day preachers say, "John shouldn't
have judged him." In fact, just down the street from me,
a church advertises on their reader board, "Come. We neither
judge nor condemn." Well, Herod had judged himself. He's
the one who was the adulterer. Jesus said, "By their fruits
ye shall know them." John taught, "Bring forth fruits
worthy of repentance." The fruits he saw here was rebellion
to God's law of marriage.
There are so many today that are living in rebellion to God's
law of marriage that it is not wise for preachers to say anything
about it, so they remain silent and accept anything into their
fellowship that comes along.
John had a mission. That was to call people back to God. Preachers
today have the same mission; call people back to God. Herod laid
hold of John and put him in prison. He would have put him to
death but he feared the people. Salome, the daughter of Herodias,
danced before Herod and pleased him immensely. So much so, that
he promised her anything. At the instruction of Herodias, Salome
requested the head of John. Her request was granted and John
lost his head all because he had enough courage to preach what
he knew would please God. He could say with the apostle
Paul, "Woe unto me if I preach not the gospel."
I believe he could also say with Paul, "I have fought a
good fight .... henceforth, there is laid up for me a crown of
righteousness."
It's not always safe to preach the truth and, sad to say,
most present-day preachers have learned that lesson.
46. DEITY OF JESUS
Jesus delegated power to his disciples that enabled them to
"Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast
out devils" (Matthew 10:8). They received power to do almost
anything Jesus could do. But there are at least three things
the disciples never performed that Jesus did. These three things
were reserved for deity.
We read of two of them in Matthew 14. There has been some
controversy concerning whether Jesus retained his deity when
he was on earth. But the Bible says, "Thou shalt call his
name Emmanuel, which, begin interpreted means, God with us,"
do that ought to settle that.
Jesus demonstrated that he was deity in these three ways.
He demonstrated that he had control of material things when he
multiplied the five loaves and two fishes to feed 5000 people.
The apostles never did this. He demonstrated that he was in charge
of the elements when he commanded the wind and the waves to "be
still." And in Luke 5:21-23 we read: "And the scribes
and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which
speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? But
when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them,
What reason ye in your hearts? Whether is easier, to say, Thy
sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk? But that
ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive
sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee,
Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house."
No man then, nor any man today, has the power to forgive sins.
That is reserved for deity alone.
47. TRADITION IS NOT AUTHORITY
Nearly all religious groups agree, at least to some extent,
that we must have authority for what we do. But they are not
agreed on how to establish that authority. I agree that we must
have authority for all that we preach and practice in religion.
And I further affirm that this authority must be the word of
God.
We can establish that authority in three ways: we must have
a direct command or statement of fact; or we must have a divinely
approved example; or we must have a necessary implication. Some
want to add another --- tradition. The Jews of Jesus' day tried
to establish authority by their traditions but Jesus rebuked
them for it. After they had tried to bind their traditions on
the disciples of Christ, he asked them, "Why do you also
transgress the commandments by your tradition?" (Matthew
15:3). He continued the rebuke in verse 9 by saying, "But
in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrine the commandments
of men." These commandments he speaks of were the traditions
he mentions in the 3rd verse.
The conclusion from these statements of the Lord is that anyone
establishing authority by binding traditions, may be worshiping
but their worship is in vain. The word "vain" means
empty or hollow. Tradition, within itself, is not wrong. It's
a good tradition that we celebrate a day we call "Thanksgiving."
Nothing wrong with that tradition but should we try to bind it
as law we would be wrong. There are other traditions that may
be right in their proper place, but to use them to establish
authority for service to God puts us in the category of the scribes
and Pharisees.
48. PRECIOUS PROMISES
The importance of experiencing the new birth or being born
again is revealed by the Lord in John 3:5: "Jesus answered,
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water
and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."
Without the new birth, one cannot be a citizen of the kingdom.
And if one is not in the kingdom he has no access to the great
and precious promises the Lord has in store for us. Those promises
might be summed up as having the forgiveness of our past sins
and the hope of an eternity of bliss in the after a while.
Jesus stressed the importance of the kingdom in two parables
we find in the 13th chapter of Matthew. The first: Matthew 13:44:
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid
in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for
joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that
field." Here we are told of a man, likely one interested
in real estate, who upon investigation has found a piece of property
with this buried or hidden treasure. He recognizes it value to
such an extent that he gathers together all that he has and invests
it in this one portion of land. He now has the kingdom of God,
the valuable treasure.
Then he likens the kingdom to a merchant who dabbles in jewelry.
He is always looking for the ultimate in gems and now he has
found one pearl of great price. (Matthew 13:45) "Again,
the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly
pearls: 46 Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went
and sold all that he had, and bought it." He must have it.
Its value exceeds any jewel he has ever seen before. So, like
the real estate man, he invests everything he has in this one
pearl because, having it, he has everything that can make this
life better and give him the hope of joy beyond measure in the
hereafter.
49. SAYING AND DOING NOT
Jesus criticized the scribes and Pharisees and branded them
as hypocrites. He reminded them of a principle that was good,
not only for people of their day, but had been used by the prophet
in days gone by, and is an abiding principle for people of this
present day. (Matthew 15:8) "This people draw nigh unto
me with their mouth, and honor me with their lips; but their
heart is far from me." This is the mark of a hypocrite.
Many people today make sounds with their mouths telling people
how much they love Jesus and cry out with raised hands, "Praise
the Lord," but their lives indicate that they are of those
who say and do not. TV and movie stars call on people to join
them in prayer while living in adultery or practicing pre-marital
sex with a live-in partner, paying no attention to the conditions
of prayer. We hear Peter in 1 Peter 3:12: "For the eyes
of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto
their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that
do evil." The Lord will only hear the prayers of the righteous.
James says, "... The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous
man availeth much" (James 5:16).
It sounds good to talk about prayer (It is also politically
correct.) and how much one loves the Lord, but it means something
only when we put the love of the Lord into doing what he says.
Hear the apostle John in 1 John 5:3: "For this is the love
of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are
not grievous."
50. PURIFY YOUR HEART
Solomon said, "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for
out of it are the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23). Jesus
elaborates on the reason why we should "Keep our hearts,"
in Matthew 15:18-20: "But those things which proceed out
of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries,
fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: 20 These are
the things which defile a man."
Since the heart is the source, the fountain-head of all that
we do, that heart must be kept pure. We sometimes think that
the only thing conceived in the heart is evil thoughts, but Jesus
places all kinds of evil actions as emanating from the heart.
Remember, the heart is the mind of man. We develop murders, adulteries,
fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies and all evil
works from within our hearts, our minds.
Contrariwise, we develop good things within our hearts. So,
a big question would be, "What kind of heart do you have:
a good and honest heart out of which comes good things or an
evil heart that leads us into all kinds of mischief? John echoes
the same admonition that Solomon does but he puts it this way:
"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet
appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear,
we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every
man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he
is pure" (1 John 3:2-3). Combining the two, we can say,
"Keep your heart pure, for out of it are the issues of life."
51. HYPOCRISY
Jesus said in Matthew 16:6, "... Take heed and beware
of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees." His
disciples misunderstood. They thought he was talking about bread
as a physical food. He was talking about the influence of the
scribes and Pharisees.
The word "leaven" is often used like that. "A
little leaven leaveneth the whole lump." Seven times in
the 23rd chapter of Matthew Jesus brands the scribes and Pharisees
as hypocrites. In fact, if you will examine his teaching, Jesus
says more about hypocrisy than anything else. Evidently there
were quite a few hypocrites then just as there is now.
In the early part of his ministry Jesus warned his disciples:
"... That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness
of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into
the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:20). Their righteousness
consisted of saying many things that were right but never making
the correct application to their sayings. This was hypocrisy
and Jesus said, in so many words, "You must do better than
these scribes and Pharisees do or you shall under no circumstances
enter the kingdom of heaven." Paul, in his letter to the
Romans put it like this: "Thou therefore which teachest
another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man
should not steal, dost thou steal?" (Romans 2:21). We are
forbidden to judge another when we are guilty of the same thing
or something just as bad. A wise person is one who hears and
does.
52. IS JESUS DEITY?
We read this passage from Matthew 16:13-16: "... Jesus
... asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son
of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist:
some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He
saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered
and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Peter could make his answer with all boldness because he had
seen him walk on the water and still the stormy sea; he had seen
him multiply the loaves and fishes and heard him forgive a man
of his sins. All the other eleven had seen these miracles therefore
they would qualify as competent witnesses after Jesus had been
put to death; after his resurrection from that death; after his
ascension into heaven. So, we have their testimony in what we
call the New Testament.
In spite of their being competent witnesses, we still have
people today who question the deity of Jesus. Some say he was
a great man but not deity. Others say he was a great philosopher
but his philosophy is to be considered alongside that of other
great philosophers. But the testimony of eye-witnesses was and
is "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Not all of his great works are recorded but enough has been written
that we, too, should and must make the confession that Peter
made. Hear the apostle in John 20:31: "... these are written,
that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God;
and that believing ye might have life through his name."
53. LOOSING AND BINDING
We read from Matthew 16:18: "And I say also unto thee,
That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church;
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will
give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever
thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever
thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Three things I want to consider briefly: He said, "I
will build my church." He did that. He built HIS church.
He paid the price of blood for it. Please read Acts 20:28. We
hear of it as a reality in Acts 2:47: "The Lord added to
the church daily such as should be saved." He told Peter,
"I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven."
Seemingly the word "church" and "kingdom of heaven"
are used interchangeably. Keys are symbolic of the power of entrance.
Peter used these keys on the Pentecost of Acts 2 when he announced
the terms of entrance into the church, the kingdom and again
at the house of Cornelius when he opened the door of salvation
to the Gentile.
"Whatsoever thou shalt bind ... and whatsoever thou shalt
loose." The binding and loosing, of course, was the message
of heaven for the salvation of mankind given into the hands,
not only of Peter, but of all the apostles. (Please read Matthew
18:18.) Whatever they bound and loosed would not be from their
own minds, their own wisdom, but the Holy Spirit would reveal
heaven's message. Whatever they bound and loosed would already
have been bound and loosed in heaven. So, then, we hear Paul
saying in Romans 10:17, "So then faith cometh by hearing,
and hearing by the word of God," the heavenly message.
54. GOD'S POWER IN ACTION
We hear the apostle Paul saying in Romans 1:16-17, "I
am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of
God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first,
and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God
revealed from faith to faith:" We can be saved from the
guilt of our sins ONLY by the power of God. No one else has that
power. No man can forgive our sins. God has devised a source
of energy or power that he uses in this salvation and that is
the gospel of Christ. Paul says, IT, that is, the gospel, is
the power of God unto salvation.
We hear him again in Romans 10: 16-17: "But they have
not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed
our report? 17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by
the word of God." In other words, the word of God is the
gospel and all had not obeyed that word. Faith is produced by
hearing the gospel. Faith is confidence, trust. So we hear what
God has to say in the gospel. We believe it with all our heart.
And that kind of trust or confidence leads us to do what he says.
People who had that kind of trust, asked Peter and the other
apostles, "What shall we do?" A simple answer was given
in Acts 2:38: "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be
baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the
remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit." They would then have the two greatest gifts that
God can bestow upon mankind: the forgiveness of their past sins
and the hope of eternal life after a while. For what more can
we ask?
55. THE UNLIMITED COMMISSION
In Matthew 28:18-19, we have what is sometimes called the
Great Commission. "Jesus came and spake unto them, saying,
All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore,
and teach all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." It was the charge
received by the apostles to be carried out after his resurrection
and ascension into heaven.
I prefer to call it the UNLIMITED commission inasmuch as it
was to be taken to all men. These same men had been sent out
about three years before only to those referred to as "the
lost sheep of the house of Israel." But this new charge
had no boundaries. The teaching referred to would be the gospel
in its fullness. People who were obedient to it would be in a
relationship or fellowship with the Father, the Son and the Holy
Spirit. In this relationship there would be no ethnic limitations.
Read with me from Galatians 3:28: "There is neither Jew
nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male
nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." There would
be no color barrier nor gender barrier. These Galatians had obeyed
that teaching so Paul explains how it all happened in verses
26 and 27 of this same chapter: "For ye are all the children
of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been
baptized into Christ have put on Christ." This is the way
true gospel obedience always takes place. Hear the gospel, believe
the gospel, obey the gospel. If someone preaches it some other
way, then he is not preaching the gospel of Christ. Let all the
human race hear what the Bible has to say.
56. HEAR, BELIEVE, OBEY
Yesterday I read what I called the unlimited commission from
Matthew 28:18-19. Today I want to look at the same commission
except as recorded by Mark in Mark 16:15-16: "And he said
unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to
every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;
but he that believeth not shall be damned." These verses
harmonize with the ones read from Matthew. The language used
is a little different but the same thing is being said.
"Into all the world" and "to every creature"
in this passage is the same as "teach all nations"
in the Matthew passage. "All the world" can be summed
up rather concisely as "Jew and Gentile." He wasn't
saying that their duty was to cover the globe with the gospel,
but, rather, they were to draw no lines in their preaching. This
was a contrast to the LIMITED commission under which they had
labored the first time. (Matthew 10) It was the same as the invitation
extended by the Lord when he said, "Come unto me, ALL ye
that labor and are heavy laden." ALL were included; none
were excluded. The blessing was great; "He shall be saved."
The conditions were simple: "He that believeth and is baptized."
Salvation, being saved, was placed after obedience, not before.
They were to also remind all people that to neglect to meet
the conditions would be disastrous. "He that believeth not,
shall be damned" or condemned. Many people of this present
day do not believe what I have read. They want it some other
way -- but -- this is what the Bible says. Hear it, believe it
and obey it and receive the blessing.
57. FELLOWSHIP WITH BLOOD
We have a third record of the unlimited commission in Luke
24:46-47: "Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ
to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that
repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name
among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." Even though
faith and baptism are not mentioned, they are understood as being
a part of the preaching.
The Hebrew writer says, "But without faith it is impossible
to please him" (Hebrews 11:6). Repentance and any other
condition is based upon faith. So when he says "repentance"
we understand that the same preaching that produces repentance
would first of all produce faith.
"Remission of sins" was to be preached. "...
without shedding of blood there is no remission" (Hebrews
9:22). He explains that he is talking about the blood of Christ.
But there is only one way to share in the benefits of Christ's
blood and Paul shows us the way in Romans 6:3-4:"Know ye
not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were
baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by
baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the
dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk
in newness of life." In his death is where he shed his blood
and the Bible says that we are baptized into his death. We have
fellowship with his blood, his death, by doing as stated in the
accounts of the unlimited commission in Matthew 29:19 and Mark
16:15-16.
Peter sums it all up in Acts 2:38: "Then Peter said unto
them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of
Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive
the gift of the Holy Spirit."
58. CALLING ON HIS NAME
We read in Joel 2:32, "And it shall come to pass, that
whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered:
for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the
LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call."
Joel prophesied several hundred years before the Pentecost of
Acts 2 but we hear Peter quoting from him and saying that the
prophesies of Joel were being fulfilled on that occasion. (Read
all the chapter.) His concluding statement from that prophecy
was "that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall
be saved." (vs 21)
To "call on the name of the Lord" sounds like calling
out in prayer and that's the way that many people look at it.
In reality, "to call on his name" means to put one's
trust and confidence in all that pertains to the Lord.
Let's look at it from a backward standpoint. Who were the
ones saved on Pentecost? Why, the ones who obeyed the preaching
of Peter. He had said to the ones who believed his preaching
and were smitten in their hearts and said "what shall we
do?", "repent and be baptized, every one of you in
the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." "They that gladly
received his word were baptized and there was added unto them
in that day about 3000 souls." In other words, 3000 were
saved on that occasion. What had they done? Prayed? What had
they been told to do? Pray? Peter didn't mention prayer in his
answer to their question.
When they completed their obedience they were saved. They
had "called on the Lord" when they put their trust
in him and did what he said. People today need to "call
on the Lord." Hear what he says and do what he says.
59. THE PREACHED EVERYWHERE
We read in Acts 8:4, "Therefore they that were scattered
abroad went every where preaching the word." Christians
in the first century were persecuted because of their faith in
the crucified Christ. Instead of allowing this persecution to
stop them from worshiping in harmony with the Lord's will, they
felt an obligation to let others know of Jesus. At this time
the scattering abroad included only the regions of Judea and
Samaria. So, according to the context, they didn't go everywhere
in the known world of their day, but just to a limited area.
I think the verse would read better like this: "everywhere
they went, they preached the word."
Their zeal for Christ was unlimited even though their territory
was limited. This attitude should be the attitude of people today.
Peter and John were warned to no longer preach in the name of
Jesus. The threat of death hung over them yet they still preached
the word. Paul suffered all kinds of hardship, yet he never wavered.
In fact, ever since men began to call on the name of the Lord
they have been persecuted because of their faith in God.
We, today, have freedom of religion just as we have freedom
of speech. How do we use it? Some use that freedom to blaspheme
God; some use it to deceive people and to fleece them of their
money; others use it in some watered down version of the gospel.
We are not commanded to cover the globe with the gospel. But.
we must use it like those people of Acts 8:4 did: "Everywhere
they went, they preached the word."
60. FOUR GREAT SERMONS
There are, at least, four outstanding sermons recorded in
the book of Acts. They are the sermon of Peter on Pentecost of
Acts 2, Peter's sermon on Solomon's porch in Acts 3, Stephen's
discourse in Acts 7 and Paul's sermon on Mars Hill in Acts 17.
The climax of the sermon on Pentecost was Peter's answer to the
question, "What must we do?" (Acts 2:38) "Repent,
and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ
for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the
Holy Ghost." He told the people basically the same thing
in Acts 3:19: "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that
your sins may be blotted out."
In Acts 7, Stephen went back over the history of "the
fathers" of these Jews and then made an application that
they didn't like. So, "When they heard these things, they
were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth."
Then, they "cast him out of the city, and stoned him."
In Acts 17, Paul, standing on Mars Hill in Athens, delivered
a masterpiece to these scholarly people. He reached a climax
in verses 30 and 31. "And the times of this ignorance God
winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the
world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof
he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised
him from the dead." All four sermons were for the benefit
of the hearers. Some heard. Some didn't.
61. THE GOOD CONFESSION
We read from Romans 10:9-10: "That if thou shalt confess
with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart
that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with
the mouth confession is made unto salvation." This is the
only confession required of the person who desires to become
a child of God. Man must make a declaration of his allegiance
to a resurrected Jesus in becoming a Christian. This allegiance
is of the complete person, both inward and outward. The heart
bears witness to the sincerity of the mouth.
Paul, in exhorting Timothy concerning the fight that lay before
him in obtaining eternal life, reminded him of his confession
in 1 Timothy 6:12: "Fight the good fight of faith; take
hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made
the good confession in the presence of many witnesses."
Philip preached the word to the Ethiopian eunuch. The eunuch
was convinced and asked,"... See, here is water; what doth
hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest
with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said,
I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God" ( Acts 8:36-37).
Upon hearing that good confession, Philip baptized him. This
is the confession that Peter made in Matthew 16:16: "...
Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Faith,
confession and baptism are not all a person must do. He must
also repent. But we have read that from other verses.
Remember, the good confession is not just a little cut and
dried formula that a person repeats, but a declaration of his
allegiance to the Master, the King of kings.
62. THE KINGDOM HAS COME
(Matthew 16:28) "Verily I say unto you, There be some
standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see
the Son of man coming in his kingdom." There are many groups
in the religious world who are anxiously awaiting the coming
of Christ into his kingdom. Some have made pronouncements that
it will be very soon.
Nearly all the denominational world, in some way, teach that
the kingdom has not yet come. But, actually, the Bible is very
clear and plainly teaches that the kingdom of Christ has come.
The verse you read in the beginning says very plainly that the
kingdom would come in the lifetime of some who stood there. John
the immerser had said that the kingdom was "at hand,"
or near by. Jesus gave the keys of the kingdom to Peter. Jesus
told Nicodemus that he could be a part of that kingdom by being
born again.
Jesus also told his disciples that his kingdom would not be
a physical kingdom but a spiritual kingdom. (John 18:36) "Jesus
answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were
of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not
be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence."
He explained it further in Luke 17:21: "Neither shall they
say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is
within you." God's sovereignty, his rulership, is in evidence
when God sits in the throne room of our hearts. We read in Colossians
1:13 where people had been translated into the kingdom of his
dear Son. They were in the kingdom. The kingdom was in them.
63. THE TRANSFIGURATION
In the seventeenth chapter of Matthew we have an event depicted
which is called "the transfiguration." We find it recorded
in verses 2 through 5: "He was transfigured before them:
and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white
as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and
Elias talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus,
Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make
here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and
one for Elias. While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed
them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is
my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him."
The Bible has numerous places where the phrase "the law
and the prophets" is used. In the transfiguration scene,
we have Moses as representing the law and Elias or Elijah as
representing the prophets. Peter suggested that three worship
structures be erected honoring Jesus, Moses and Elijah. But the
law and the prophets had fulfilled their course. Jesus said Matthew
5:17, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the
prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil." And
again, Luke 24:44: "These are the words which I spake unto
you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled,
which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets,
and in the psalms, concerning me." Moses and Elijah had
done their work and were numbered among the glorified saints.
So, the lesson for us today is: "This is my beloved Son,
in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him." "Therefore
whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will
liken him unto a wise man."
64. TAKE UP YOUR CROSS
In Matthew 16:24, Jesus said to his disciples, "If any
man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his
cross, and follow me." Some misunderstand this verse and
think that Jesus is saying that his disciples are to take up
the cross of Jesus, but if you will notice carefully, he is saying
"take up your cross." No mortal man is able to take
the cross of Jesus. We could carry it physically, as Simon the
Cyrenian did, but spiritually, no one can bear the cross of Jesus.
The cross of Jesus is not a splinter of wood nor a medallion
one wears around his neck or exalts in some other way; the cross
of Jesus is the redemption of mankind. No person can do that.
Bear your own cross. What does it mean? First, let us deny our
own self. Such denial means to forget one's self, lose sight
of one's self and one's own interests, and then, take up our
own cross and follow him. That would mean that we put our own
interests second and wrap ourselves in the things that please
him and that would include suffering, if necessary. (2 Timothy
2:12) "If we suffer, we shall also reign with him."
And as stated in Galatians 3:27, "For as many of you as
have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ."
Some say that baptism is optional, nor essential. But notice,
the Bible says baptism is the consummation of obedience that
translates us into Christ and where we clothe ourselves in the
clothing of Christ. Looking at the above verse, what would YOU
say? Is baptism essential? Is being in Christ essential? Is wearing
the clothing of Christ essential? Deny yourself; take up your
cross and follow the Lord.
65. WHAT IS THE PRICE OF YOUR SOUL?
In Matthew 16:26, Jesus asked two questions that every person
should ponder. "For what is a man profited, if he shall
gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a
man give in exchange for his soul?" The whole world can
probably be summed up with, all the wealth in the world, all
the power in the world and all the pleasure in the world.
No man has ever had all three, but Solomon comes about as
close as a person could. He had enough wealth to buy anything
he desired; he had as much power as anyone of his time could
have; he had ever pleasurable thing that man might enjoy. But
after he tried all these in the refinery of life, he could say
in all truthfulness, they are "vanity and vexation."
Vanity is defined as "vapour, breath," i.e., nothing,
while vexation is defined as "longing, striving." Solomon
might have said that his life was made up of longing or striving
for nothing.
Howard Hughes almost reached the heights of Solomon as one
who had enough money to buy anything he wanted, especially the
pleasures of life. His demise is well documented as one of misery
and debauchery. Adolph Hitler and Mussolini sought after world
conquest and where did they end? One hanging upside down on a
utility pole aside his mistress while Hitler ended up a suicide
in a hole in the ground alongside his mistress. Now Bill Gates
has a corner on the wealth of the world. How will he end? We
don't know. Saddam Huissian would seemingly like to be a world
power. We'll see.
You and I will not have these experiences so Jesus asks us
little folk, "What will WE give in exchange for our souls?"
And some would give theirs just for a "mess of pottage."
66. THE HELPING PSALM
When you have the Monday blues, you're disgruntled or depressed,
downhearted or discouraged or you just need to meditate, or sometimes
when you can't go to sleep, it's always good to read or recite,
slowly, and from the King James translation, the 23rd Psalm.
Commit it to memory. Here it is:
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to
lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness
for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of
the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table
before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my
head with oil; My cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy
shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in
the house of the LORD for ever. Amen.
67. CONVERSION AS A LITTLE CHILD
We hear Jesus as we read from Matthew 18:3: "Verily I
say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children,
ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." Jesus is
not teaching in this passage that the kingdom of heaven is made
up of little children. He is using the analogy of a little child
to teach grown people a lesson. This was a lesson on humility.
There was some discussion among the disciples concerning who
would be greatest in the kingdom. Even his disciples needed the
lesson. The word "converted" means to "turn again"
or to "turn back." For one to be a part of the kingdom
he must empty himself of all arrogance and self-esteem and put
himself completely into the hands of the Savior of mankind. The
little child epitomizes the character of the one who desires
to enter the kingdom. A child is completely innocent, guiltless
and has none of the attributes of what he will later possess.
So grown people are to divest themselves of pride, put their
trust and dependance upon the Lord. Basically, this is accomplished
in the act of repentance -- a change of mind, of attitude, of
disposition.
Some say the little child is guilty of Adam's sin and therefore
stands condemned before God. Not so. We grown people are to become
"as a little child." Not doomed and damned as some
say a little child is, but humble and obedient, trusting and
dependent. If we will not "turn back" from all the
ways of a wicked world and "become as a little child,"
heaven cannot be our eternal abiding place.
68. ADMONITION AND DISCIPLINE AMONG BRETHREN
We read from Matthew 18:15-17: "If thy brother shall
trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee
and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two
more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word
may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell
it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let
him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican." This
is a lesson for all of us to hear and use in establishing peace
between me and some brother who has wronged me.
The steps are simple and almost impossible to misunderstand.
Step one: keep the problem between the two of you. Don't run
and tell others: "tell him his fault between thee and him
alone." If you two cannot settle your problem, take two
or three witnesses so there can be no mistake about what's said.
If he will not repent of his misdeed before these witnesses,
then it is necessary that others be brought in, so tell it to
the assembly. If he will not repent before the assembly, then
let it drop, but have no fellowship with that person, until and
unless he repents.
If we will follow these divinely inspired instructions, then
most difficulties between brethren can be solved. Leave "against
thee" out of it as does the Nestle Greek Text and the New
American Standard, then the above becomes true with cases where
I am not the one sinned against. If I see a brother sin, whether
against me or not, my duty is to admonish him. If he will not
hear me, then the above procedure prevails. And verse 18 gives
the apostles power to approve appropriate acts of discipline
as well as maintaining purity of doctrine.
The admonition as stated by Paul is, "If it be possible,
as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all ..." (Romans
12:18).
69. RENEWING YOUR FRIENDSHIP
Yesterday I talked about how to make peace with the brother
who has wronged you. Now, suppose you are the one who committed
the wrong. What is your obligation? Read with me from Matthew
5:23: "Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and
there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave
there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled
to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift."
Now you are the transgressor. You are the one who has, in
some way, wronged your brother. Don't wait for the brother to
come to you with the problem. You know you are wrong. So, go,
make the first move in the direction of peace with him. You cannot
offer acceptable worship when you have something wrong in your
life that stands between you and your brother and, actually,
you are the only one who can do anything about it. When you sin
against a brother, you have sinned against God. That's the reason
your gift is not acceptable.
The word "reconciled" means literally, "making
friends again." So, be reconciled to your brother. Make
friends with him again. He may reject your efforts for reconciliation
at first, but try again. If he continues to reject your advances,
then he is at fault. He's the one who has a problem. You have
done the best you could, but, remember, it's your first move.
70. FORGIVE, REGARDLESS
A discussion has arisen among the public concerning whether
one is obligated to forgive some person who has raped you or
murdered and/or raped some member of your family. The preachers
nearly all say, "yes," Christians must forgive regardless
of the circumstances. Well, what does the Lord say?
In Matthew 18:21-22 Jesus says, "forgive." In Luke
17:3-4 he gives the conditions of forgiveness. Let's read Luke
17:3-4: "Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass
against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. 4 And
if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times
in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive
him."
As I mentioned before, the words "against thee"
are not in the Nestle's Greek in the Luke reading and have been
dropped out of nearly all the more recent translations, the ASV,
the NAS, the RSV, the NRSV, thus making the statement a general
obligation. But we are not obligated to forgive anyone unless
they repent. And true repentance is sometimes hard to distinguish.
But if someone genuinely repents, then we must forgive.
In fact, until and unless a person repents of his misdeed,
forgiveness CANNOT be complete. Maybe he doesn't care whether
he is forgiven or not. But two parties are involved, the sinner
and the one sinned against. Actually, three parties, because
God has been sinned against also. We are separated by a wall.
That wall is the sin or misdeed of the sinner. The sinner must
do his part in removing his portion of that wall by repentance
and I must remove the other part by forgiving. But until both
parties act, that wall remains even if a person says, "I
will forgive him whether he wants to be forgiven or not."
God doesn't say that. No, forgiveness cannot be consummated until
that which separates the sinner and the one sinned against is
removed. There must be action on the part of both.
71. PURPOSE IN MARRIAGE
From the beginning of creation, in the marriage relation,
God intended for it to be one man and one woman for a lifetime.
(Matthew 19:4-6) "And he answered and said unto them, Have
ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them
male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father
and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall
be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh.
What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder."
There are given three purposes for this relationship: (1)
it was not good for man to be alone (Genesis 2:18) and (2) for
procreation (Genesis 1:28) and (3) to avoid fornication (1 Corinthians
7:2). Many religious people want to stop with No. 2, for procreation,
but we must not deny No.3. God made man with a sexual appetite
that longs for satisfaction. God provides for this appetite to
be satisfied within the boundaries of the marriage relationship.
If satisfaction of the sexual appetite was to be confined to
procreation then once a wife was impregnated, there could be
no more sex for about a year. If that's the case then man might
seek for satisfaction outside the marriage relationship but NO!,
to avoid fornication he has been given a wife. God didn't intend
for one man and one woman to fulfill Genesis 2:18. But some have
misunderstood and are seeking to "replenish the earth"
all by themselves. There is nothing more beautiful than one man
and one woman joining hands and hearts and walking together as
husband and wife all the days of their lives. Tomorrow I will
read a poem I wrote concerning this perpetual relationship.
72. THINGS WE'VE LEARNED
First anniversary!
We've learned what marriage is all about,
We're ready to testify,
It's huggin' and kissin' and makin' out,
That's what marriage is all about.
Tenth anniversary!
We've learned more than we knew before,
We're experts in our line,
It's kids and bills and maybe a doubt,
That we knew what marriage was all about.
Fortieth anniversary!
We've made it this far and now we're sure
We don't have all the answers to life,
The nest is now empty and we're not sad,
'Cause we've done a fair job with the clay we had.
Sixtieth anniversary!
Here's how it is with sixty years gone,
Love has deepened and each day is a song,
A song of compassion that always forgets
The trivial things of our lives.
A gentle kiss that speaks of a love,
That no words could ever convey,
The tender touch of a brown-spotted hand,
That always could find a way.
A morning caress, so delicate now,
That speaks of a time long ago,
Soft-spoken words that barely are heard,
Adds up to tell of our lovely world.
Now we are sure and there is no doubt,
We know what marriage is all about.
73. WHAT GOD HATH JOINED
I mentioned in another lesson that one of the reasons for
the marriage relationship is "to avoid fornication"
(1 Corinthians 7:2). I also mentioned from Matthew 19:6 that
"what God hath joined together, let not man put asunder."
Only God has the power to join together and only God has to power
to put asunder.
When a man or woman violates the marital relationship by committing
fornication, which is "sexual immorality," God delegates
the wronged husband or wife the right to "put away"
or "put asunder" that spouse and to marry another.
The guilty party, the one who has violated that relationship,
has shown disrespect for God's law of marriage and has not been
granted the right of remarriage. Jesus puts it this way in Matthew
19:9: "And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his
wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another,
committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away
doth commit adultery."
Most churches no longer make any distinction between those
who are guilty of fornication and illegal remarriage, than with
those who honor his law. Many preachers are forbidden to preach
on marriage, divorce and remarriage and they bow to the wishes
of the people. We need to be teaching our boys and girls about
the sanctity of the marriage relationship and the perpetuity
of the relationship instead of seeking ways and means of justifying
divorce for every cause. We need to teach our boys to respect
and honor girls and girls need to be taught to honor and respect
themselves in keeping themselves pure. The disintegration of
the family relationship helped in the decline and fall of the
Roman Empire and will do the same to us.
74. A MAN AND MONEY
Jesus makes this statement in Matthew 19:23: "Verily
I say unto you, It is hard for a rich man to enter into the kingdom
of heaven. Verse 24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for
a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to
enter into the kingdom of God." Some then, and some now,
thought that Jesus was saying that it was impossible for a rich
man to go to heaven. In verse 26 he explains that "with
God, all things are possible." God can get a camel through
the eye of a needle and, with God's help, a rich man can go to
heaven. The rich man doesn't have to give up his riches like
the man of Matthew 19 was told to do, but he must use these riches
wisely and, under no circumstances, put his trust in "uncertain"
riches like the rich man of Luke 16. If so, then he would be
wise to give it all away in order to enjoy eternity.
But, there's another group that probably includes people like
you and me. (1 Timothy 6:9-10) "But they that will BE rich
fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful
lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the
love of money is the root of all [kinds of] evil: which while
some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced
themselves through with many sorrows." These are not rich
but that's what they are seeking for. Their will is to "be
rich." Money, riches, is not the root of all evil, but the
"love of money" is the thing under consideration. Desire,
covetousness. That's the problem. This love for money detracts
us from love for God and things heavenly. Remember, Jesus said,
"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth
and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither
moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through
nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart
be also" (Matthew 6:19-21).
75. CARE OF FAMILY
The fifth of the ten commandment law was, "Honour thy
father and thy mother ..." This commandment is carried over
into the New Testament. (Ephesians 6:2-3) "Honour thy father
and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) 3
That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the
earth." This commandment is a part of what we sometimes
call the moral law. It has been in existence since the beginning.
We do not have a codified statement in regard to it in the Patriarchal
dispensation but we have a demonstration of it in the case of
Noah and his sons. Read Genesis 9:20-27. Children were warned
about cursing their parents.
Children are to love and respect their parents and above all,
care for them. We read in 1 Timothy 5: 8, "But if any provide
not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he
hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." Infidelity
is bad but not caring for the needs of family is worse. This
would include child abuse and neglect of child care assessments.
Paul continues in verse 16 of that same chapter: "If
any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them relieve
them, and let not the church be charged; that it may relieve
them that are widows indeed." A local church has an obligation
to those who are labeled "widows indeed," but the first
obligation toward a widowed mother or father belongs to the son
or daughter and woe unto the man of woman who neglects such an
obligation. Visit one of the nursing homes and witness the state
of elderly men and women who have been provided physical relief
from sons and daughters by paying their bills, but have neglected
to provide the love and compassion that goes along with it. A
visit, a hug and a kiss would surpass many a dollar's worth of
physical relief.
76. THE LORD HATH NEED
We would have you consider a scripture portion of Matthew
21:3: The portion is "The Lord hath need of it." The
Lord has no need in His overall supremacy of the universe but,
in his plans for mankind, there are certain things needed. At
the time of the verse we read, he had need of a place in which
to eat the passover feast. It was supplied. But in his plans
for the salvation of mankind he also has some needs.
He needed volunteer laborers. He said, "... The harvest
truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore
the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into
his harvest." (Luke 10:2). He needs people such as we read
of in Acts 8:4: "Therefore they that were scattered abroad
went every where preaching the word." That is, literally,
"every where they went they preached the word." They
were busy making known the good news of the gospel everywhere
they went. The Lord needs good moral people to show people the
reality of serving in the kingdom. These good people would be
"the light of the world" which is surrounded with the
nefarious works of the prince of darkness, Satan, and light dispels
darkness.
There is much darkness round about: there is the darkness
of ignorance. Most people have no idea what the New Testament
teaches. There is also the darkness of evil. Jesus said, "Men
love darkness because their deeds are evil." There is the
darkness of depression, despair and pessimism. The Lord has need
of people who hate darkness and are determined to do all that
they can to turn on the light of divine truth.
77. HOW TO VOLUNTEER
I made the statement that the Lord needs volunteers to dispel
the darkness of the world and we often sing the song that contains
"he needs brave volunteers." How do I become such?
Where do I volunteer? First, your faith must be made known. This
is not a ritualistic confession, but one made from a sincere
heart. We read of an Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8 who is in a Bible
study with an evangelist. After some study he makes the observation
and asks a question: "See here is water. What doth hinder
me to be baptized?" The evangelist answers, "If thou
believest with all thine heart, thou mayest." The student
confesses: "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."
We, as the apostles were, are authorized to baptize believers.
"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved."
(Mark 16:16)
There had been quite a bit of Bible discussion so we assume,
and I think it is a necessary assumption, that the man had been
instructed concerning repentance. That he must change his will,
his thinking, to such an extent that he will turn about and serve
God rather than Satan.
Now, here was a believing, penitent man, anxious to volunteer
for service in the Master's kingdom. So Philip immersed him and
this immersion put him in the condition in which we find the
Romans of Romans 6:3-4: "Know ye not, that so many of us
as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that
like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the
Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."
Now his attitude should be in harmony with the principle laid
down by the prophet in Isaiah 6:8: "Also I heard the voice
of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?
Then said I, Here am I; send me." As the old song says,
"He needs brave volunteers."
78. THE LORD'S BUILDING
We read this little story in Matthew 21:12: "And Jesus
went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold
and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers,
and the seats of them that sold doves, 13 And said unto them,
It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer;
but ye have made it a den of thieves." Under the law of
Moses the house of God was a building made with hands. Of course,
it was built according to a pattern given to Moses by God. It
was for a particular purpose and that was a spiritual purpose.
A place of worship; a house of prayer. But it had been corrupted
by self-serving people and the Lord was displeased.
The law of Moses, which authorized the temple, was taken away
and in its place we have the church of the living God. The church
of the New Testament if not a building. A building is simply
a place where the church meets because the church is people.
But just as it was in the long ago, today ministers of darkness
have made the church into something that will serve their needs.
Remember, we are not talking about a building but the church
(the people) has made arrangements for gymnasiums, restaurants,
secular teaching, day-care, and have taken his government of
elders ruling over one congregation and made them into bishops
overseeing at least a part of the work of other congregations.
If Jesus were here personally, he could possibly straighten
it all out but he has left it in the hands of men. They are to
teach truth but their teaching is to be tried by the scriptures
and when they corrupt the church, their mouths are to be stopped
(Titus 1:11) and we are to have no fellowship with such. (2 John
10). The Lord's house must be swept clean and scriptural works
must take the place of false teaching.
79. A LITTLE MORE ON MATTHEW 24
Questions have been asked concerning the events of Matthew
24. (Please read all the chapter.) In verse two Jesus told his
disciples, "There shall not be left here one stone upon
another, that shall not be thrown down." Their questions.
"Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be
the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" His
first statement of verse two was literally fulfilled in 70 a.d.
when the Roman army invaded Jerusalem and completely destroyed
the temple and the city thus bringing to an end the nation of
Israel.
So all the things in the chapter, however strange they may
sound, (eschatological [s-cat-o- logical] language, I am told
by the scholars,) these are the signs the disciples asked about.
And all of these things were to take place in the lifetime of
those disciples. Verse 34 says, "Assuredly, I say to you,
this generation will by no means pass away till all these things
take place." It is agreed on by most, if not all, competent
scholars, that the word "generation" as used here is
about 40 years. Jesus was probably 32 years old when he makes
the statement so by 72 a.d. these things will have taken place.
Keep that in mind in particular.
But keep this in mind also as you study the chapter; Jesus
was NOT talking about the end of time nor of a rapture period
nor the millennial reign of Christ, as most present day preachers
would have you believe. You can understand that if you will carefully
consider what is actually being said. Thousands of words have
been written and thousands more will be written about Matthew
24. But this little treatise, if followed closely, will bring
you to a better understanding of what is actually being said.
80. LONGSUFFERING OF GOD
The apostle Peter said in 2 Peter 3:9, "The Lord is not
slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but
is
longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish,
but that all should come to repentance." The Lord is very
patient toward mankind. He gives man time to repent of his misdeeds.
If you or I died today and happened to die in an impenitent
state, it could not be said that God was impatient with us. We
have had time up until this present moment to right any wrong
that we have committed against God or man. God waited for the
people to repent in the days of Noah. Sometimes people accuse
God of being unjust in destroying the people of that day. But
the Bible says that God waited. Look at 1 Peter 3:20: "Which
sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God
waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing ..."
How long? Some say 120 years. I don't know just exactly how long
but the Bible says, "while the ark was a preparing ..."
A long time. So God was not impatient nor unjust. Noah preached
to the people and, evidently, warned them while God waited. God
is now waiting for you -- for me.
Various parables are given by the Lord warning us that he's
coming and the urgency of being prepared. There will be no further
signs of the times. The time is now. Hear the apostle in Hebrews
3:15: "... Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your
hearts ..." Believers --- "Repent, and be baptized
every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission
of sins ..." (Acts 2:38).
81. USE WHAT YOU HAVE
We have an outstanding lesson in the parable we read from
Matthew 25:14-31. Read it. It might be titled "Use What
You Have." I hear so many people, in speaking of serving
the Lord, whining because they don't have the ability to do more.
In fact, those who whine the most, use their lack of ability
for their excuse of doing nothing.
The Lord has never required me to do anything that I was not
capable of doing. He never told me personally, anything, just
as he has not told anyone else, personally, to do something.
But he taught me in the pages of the Book which were given by
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that if I could preach publicly
to do so. He told me in the same Book, if I couldn't do that
but I could teach, do that. He told me in the same Book that
I would not be required to do anything I could not do. But, the
same Book he told me that I would be accountable for whatever
I could do. I can't use that which I do not have so I am told
to use what I have..
The one talent man of Matthew 25 was condemned, not because
he didn't do more, but because he didn't use the little ability
he did have. He and I were told, "And whatsoever ye do,
do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men." I like
the old song we so often sing, "Have you lifted a stone
from your brother's way, have you walked with a slower tread?"
The song is saying, maybe I can't do much, but am I doing it?
Take an honest inventory and see what you find.
82. WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE?
"Then shall the king say to them on his right hand, Come,
ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you
from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye
gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink ....."
(Matthew 25:34-35). They asked, when, Lord? (vs 40) "Inasmuch
as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren,
ye have done it unto me." And then, vs 42: "For I was
an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave
me no drink ...." When, Lord? "Inasmuch as ye did it
not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me."
Read all of Matthew 25:31-46.
In these verses we see a great judgment scene. People are
being judged on the basis of their benevolence. Jesus puts himself
in the place of the one in need. Then he talks about people's
reaction to his condition. "I was hungry." You fed
me or fed me not. "Thirsty." Gave him or didn't give
him something to drink. "Stranger." Hospitality or
no hospitality. "Naked." Clothed him or clothed him
not. "Sick or in prison." Visited or didn't visit.
The word "visit" with its synonyms "came unto
you" and "ministered" used here and in other places
means "to look upon with a view of helping." It indicates
that we need to come into personal contact with destitution and
suffering; to know what it is like.
Notice also that the things to be done were just little things.
Things that nearly every one of us could do. All the ability
one needs to accomplish these deeds is "compassion."
If we don't have it, we stand condemned. That's actually what
the story is all about. As stated, Jesus used himself as the
Recipient of these deeds. If you would help some person in need,
you would help Jesus. A failure to be benevolent or compassionate
carries with it the penalty of a just condemnation. He doesn't
require much and all can comply. Some will, some won't. So, the
final verse, 46: "And these (those on the left hand, the
goats) shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous
(those on the right hand, the sheep) into life eternal."
83. THE BETRAYAL OF JESUS
One of the saddest stories of the Bible is the story of the
betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot. We read where Jesus predicted
that one of his disciples would betray him and then he says,
"That thou doest, do quickly."
The story continues in Matthew 26:14-16: "Then one of
the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,
15 And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver
him unto you? And they contracted with him for thirty pieces
of silver. 16 And from that time he sought opportunity to betray
him." This incident was prophesied by Zechariah many years
before this occurrence in Zechariah 11:12: "And I said unto
them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear.
So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver." The
enemies of the Lord had unwittingly fulfilled the scripture.
The opportunity for betrayal came when Jesus prayed in the
garden of Gethsemane and my Lord was given the kiss of death.
The contract of Judas was, "Whomsoever I shall kiss, that
same is he: hold him fast. And forthwith he came to Jesus, and
said, Hail, master; and kissed him" (Matthew 26:48-49).
He was taken, tried and put to death. Of course, this is what
he said would happen. But the woe of God was upon the one or
ones who fulfilled the prophecy.
84. THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS WITHIN YOU!
The Bible says, "Now when Jesus had heard that John was
cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; From that time Jesus
began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven
is at hand" (Matthew 4: vs 12 & vs 17).
John the Baptist was dead but Jesus preached the same message
of repentance preparing people for the coming of the kingdom
wherein there would be eternal salvation. There are many ideas
being advanced concerning the kingdom. The outstanding teaching
is that the kingdom is still in the future. But let's continue
to study our Bibles and believe what we find there and we won't
go wrong. We hear John; we hear Jesus; they both testify that
it is near at hand. The question is, how near? Jesus says to
his disciples in Mark 9:1, "... Verily I say unto you, That
there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste
of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power."
Like many today, they were looking for an earthly kingdom.
But Jesus said in John 18:36, "... My kingdom is not of
this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants
fight ..." It would not be like Caesar's kingdom which was
established and maintained with carnal weapons; it would, instead
be a spiritual kingdom. In fact, the record of Luke 17:20-21
says, "And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the
kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom
of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo
here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within
you."
85. NOT ME, LORD, NOT ME!
Upon hearing a story of what someone has done, we often make
the remark, "If that had been me I wouldn't have done that."
Well, that's what the apostle Peter thought. Jesus had said,
"All ye shall be offended because of me this night ..."
(Matthew 26:31). Peter was outspoken in his reply. "Though
all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be
offended" (vs 33). "Jesus said unto him, Verily I say
unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt
deny me thrice" (vs 34).
"Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee,
yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples"
(vs 35). Peter said, not me, Lord. Maybe everyone else, but not
me. Judas betrayed him in Gethsemane and they took him away to
be tried and crucified. The last page of the story goes like
this: "Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel
came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee.
But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest
..... another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there,
This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. And again he denied
with an oath, I do not know the man. And after a while came unto
him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art
one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee. Then began he to
curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately
the cock crew. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which
said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
And he went out, and wept bitterly" (Matthew 26:69-75).
Not me, Lord, not me!
86. JEWISH LEADERS CONSENT TO CRUCIFIXION
The Jewish chief priests and elders, along with the Jewish
multitude, appeared before the Roman governor, Pilate. Barabbas,
a notable prisoner and Jesus were there also. Pilate asked this
gathering, "whether of the twain will ye that I release
unto you? They said, Barabbas. Pilate saith unto them, What shall
I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto
him, Let him be crucified" (Matthew 27:21-22). Pilate said,
"I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye
to it. Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on
us, and on our children" (vss 24-25).
This same group came to see him crucified. Some of his last
words were, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what
they do" (Luke 23:34). Someone has said, "See, he forgave
them and we should forgive whether a person wants to be forgiven
or not." The Father heard his prayer and made provisions
for them to be forgiven but they were not forgiven on that occasion.
How do we know that? They would be forgiven on the same terms
that everyone else can be forgiven.
We see them later at the feast of Pentecost in Acts 2 and
they are still in their sins.. Peter preaches to them and concludes
with these words: (vs 36-38) "Therefore let all the house
of Israel know ~ that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye
have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this,
they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to
the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one
of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins,
and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Their
sins were forgiven (remitted) when they met the conditions.
87. THE EMPTY TOMB
"... The chief priests and Pharisees came together unto
Pilate, Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while
he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. Command
therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day
..." (Matthew 27:62-64). Pilate said, "Ye have a watch:
go your way, make it as sure as ye can. So they went, and made
the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch"
(vss 65-66).
This watch was made up of Roman soldiers. (Matthew 28:12)
They were under severe penalties if they did not fulfil their
duty, their watch. So, the tomb was made as sure as possible.
A huge stone was rolled over the entrance, a seal was placed
on it and a watch of Roman soldiers was assigned to see that
the tomb was in no way violated.
The women came to the tomb on the first day of the week which
was the third day after the crucifixion and burial and found
an angel and an empty tomb. The angel said, "He is not here:
for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord
lay." The soldiers had been paid to say, "His disciples
came by night, and stole him away while we slept." (vs 15)
"So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and
this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day."
Anyone, hearing that story, ought to immediately see the fallacy
of it.
Who knows what happens while one sleeps? Before the soldiers
slept, if they did, the body was in the tomb and it was secure.
When they awoke, the tomb was empty. The angel said, "He
has arisen." The sleeping soldiers said, "His disciples
stole him away." Whose testimony shall we accept? I, for
one, will accept the angel's word rather than the sleeping soldiers.
88. THE RESURRECTED SON OF GOD
The angel of Matthew 28 said that the Lord had arisen. The
soldiers said that his disciples had stolen the body away while
they slept. Who shall we believe? I believe the resurrection
story. We have competent witnesses of the resurrected Lord.
He was first seen by the women. (Matthew 28:9) "Jesus
met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the
feet, and worshipped him." Jewish law and, seemingly Roman
law also, required two or three witnesses for their testimony
to be considered. So, we have two Mary's whose competency as
witnesses was never questioned by those of their day.
Then we have inspired testimony from the apostle Paul in 1
Corinthians 15:3-8: "For I delivered unto you first of all
that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins
according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that
he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And
that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he
was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the
greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And
last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due
time."
The competency of these witnesses was not questioned nor challenged
in those days. In fact, Paul was a certified officer of the Jews
at one time. No one of our day, 1998, has the right nor the information
necessary to question their competency. Even the high priest
and the elders of their day did not deny the resurrection. They
just used their high offices to try to keep the witnesses from
testifying. Why? Because they knew that their testimony was true.
As every first day of the week dawns, we should remember "the
empty tomb." Thus we bow our knee to the resurrected Son
of God, the King of all kings and the Lord of all Lords.
89. DO YOU WANT A MISERABLE LIFE?
I suggest that you read all of 1 Corinthians 15 regarding
the resurrection. I'm taking portions of the 15th chapter from
verses 12 through 19. "... how say some among you that there
is no resurrection of the dead? if there be no resurrection of
the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen,
then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain."
vs 16 "For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your
sins and they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men
most miserable."
Some extremely pertinent questions are asked in this section
of scripture and a epochal conclusion is drawn. The first question
is one that many are propounding today: "There is no resurrection
of the dead." When we die, that is the end of our existence.
But to say there is no resurrection is to vilify Christ and his
apostles. Their preaching of the resurrection brought about severe
persecutions, especially from the Saducees, who, like the Saducees
of today, say there is no resurrection.
Why, if there is no resurrection, would these apostles continue
preaching it and forfeit their lives? And the big conclusion:
if all we have to live for is what we see round about us, then
there is no use living because we will have a miserable life
and a more miserable death. We hear the politicians pleading
for legislation to make life better for our children and the
people echo the cry. But this world will get no better. That's
been demonstrated in our life and in history. I, myself, want
something better than what I now have. Heaven is my goal, and
should be yours, so that we and our children can have a better
life of peace and joy in eternity.
90. EVOLUTION VS CREATION
I'm reading from John 1:1: "In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The
same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by
him; and without him was not any thing made that was made."
The battle between creationism and evolutionism concerning the
beginning of things continues to rage. But whenever the beginning
was, God, deity, was there.
The Word became flesh (vs 14) and was know as Jesus, but the
Word was there in the beginning and the Word was deity. Deity,
that which we commonly call the Godhead, collaborated in bringing
into existence all things. In Genesis 1:1 it says, "In the
beginning God created the heaven and the earth." The Hebrew
word for God in this verse is "elohim," a plural word.
It includes all the Godhead. We understand this better by looking
at verse 26 where it says, "Let US make man in OUR image,
after OUR likeness ..." So we have the Father, the Son and
the Holy Spirit working together in bringing forth all things.
I like to think of the Father as the grand architect of the universe,
the Son as the agent through which it is accomplished and the
Spirit as the driving force behind it all.
The evolutionist objects saying, "All you have is the
Bible." Well, it just so happens that the Bible is all that
we need, but we have the results. (Psalm 19:1) "The heavens
declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork."
Until and unless it is proved false, then it still stands as
stated. In the beginning deity brought forth all the beauties
of spring, summer, fall and winter. The evolutionist speculates
and theorizes that it all began from a bunch of slime. I'll take
the Bible.
91. DARKNESS VERSUS LIGHT
They lived in a world of darkness. (Matthew 4:16) "The
people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which
sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up."
The light that sprang up was Jesus beginning his personal ministry
on earth. The apostle in John 1:4-5 describes Him like this:
"In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And
the light shineth in darkness;and the darkness comprehended it
not."
This kingdom of darkness is in the grip of Satan and the fight
of Christians is against Satan and his world of darkness. Notice
Ephesians 6:12: "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood
... but against the rulers of the darkness of this world."
(2 Corinthians 10:4) "(For the weapons of our warfare are
not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong
holds;)" The mighty weapons at our disposal are described
in Ephesians 6:10-18: "Finally, my brethren, be strong in
the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour
of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the
devil ... 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with
truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And
your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be
able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take
the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is
the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication
in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and
supplication for all saints."
Hostages are released one at a time as the sword of the Spirit
penetrates the darkness and touches their hearts. When obedience
is completed then it can be said that he "hath delivered
us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the
kingdom of his dear Son" (Colossians 1:13), the kingdom
of light.
92. THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD
"Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light
of the world: .." (John 8:12). In John 9:5 he said, "As
long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world,"
but he was going away and in his place there would be some of
whom he said, "Ye are the light of the world .."(Matthew
5:14).
The closing part of John 8:12 says, "he that followeth
me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."
Faithful members of the Lord's church will be those lights and
shall bear the light of the gospel to others by teaching and
by their conduct. Hear Paul in Philippians 2:15: "That ye
may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke,
in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye
shine as lights in the world; 16 Holding forth the word of life;
that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run
in vain, neither laboured in vain."
Remember, we are completely surrounded by the darkness of
the world, but, the apostle said, "Have no fellowship with
the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them."
In fact, he asks a rhetorical question in 2 Corinthians 6:14:
"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for
what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and
what communion hath light with darkness?" Since God's people
are to be lights in the darkness, to have fellowship or have
partnership with darkness would be to diminish the force of their
light. Light has nothing in common with darkness. Remember, it
is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.
93. THE MISSION OF JOHN THE BAPTIST
In John 1:6 the Bible says, "There was a man sent from
God, whose name was John." This man was called the Baptist.
Even though there were many people who baptized others, there
was only one of these baptizers that was called the Baptist.
He was not called the Baptist because he was a member of the
Baptist church. There was no Baptist church until 1605. Remember,
the words baptize, baptizer, baptist or baptism all come from
the same root and are defined as immerse or dip.
Have you ever thought it strange that only one man was called
the Baptist. He was called THE Baptist because of his peculiar
mission. Remember, "There was a man sent from God, whose
name was John." Why did God send him? Well, he had a primary
and secondary mission. The secondary mission was stated when
the Pharisees asked him, "Who art thou?" His answer:
"... I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make
straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias"
(John 1:23).
But his primary mission was stated in verse 31: "...
but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I
come baptizing with water." That's the reason he was called
the Baptist. His primary mission was to introduce Jesus to the
world as "the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the
world." The question the Pharisees asked was, "Who
art thou?" He stated his mission himself.
His introduction of Jesus was consummated when he baptized
him and saw the Spirit descending and abiding on him and when
he heard the voice out of heaven saying, "This is my beloved
Son in whom I am well pleased." John fulfilled his mission
had he baptized no other one. So he told the people, "He
must increase, but I must decrease" (vs 30). There was just
one who was called the Baptist and he would decrease and then
there would be none.
94. ANDREW, THE GREAT APOSTLE
We read from John 1:40-42: "One of the two which heard
John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.
41 He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him,
We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ,
42 and he brought him to Jesus." We know very little of
Andrew. He is mentioned only once in the Book of Acts and that
is when all the eleven apostles are listed in Acts 1:13. I am
sure that Andrew was just as active as any of the others but
we have no record of any of his activities except one: "He
findeth his own brother Simon (who was also called Peter) and
brought him to Jesus."
Had he never done anything more, this would have been enough
to make him great. Even though we don't hear any more of Andrew,
this one he brought to Jesus, became a very important part of
the ministry of Jesus and in the formulation of the church of
the living God.
I have baptized several people in my life span, a few through
my own personal contact, most because someone else was concerned
about them as Andrew was about his brother. We hear of Pyramid
schemes used to sell products. Well, it really works in the spiritual
realm. I baptize a person. He becomes a preacher of the gospel.
He teaches and baptizes others. One or more of them becomes a
preacher and baptizes others. There is just no end to this chain.
I baptized a few but there is no way to know how many, perhaps
thousands , that can be traced back to those few that I baptized.
But one doesn't have to be a preacher. Andrew wasn't a preacher
when he found his brother Peter, and brought him to Christ. Andrew
was indirectly responsible for at least 3000 souls who obeyed
the gospel of Christ on the Pentecost of Acts 2. It can be the
same with you. Obey the gospel of Christ and bring someone along
with you.
95. GOD'S CHOSEN PEOPLE
God chose Abraham to father the progenies through which he
would "bless all nations." They would be named for
his grandson, Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel. That blessing
was fulfilled in Jesus, the Christ. It culminated in the giving
of the unlimited commission to the apostles, "go ye therefore
and teach (disciple) all nations, baptizing them ...."That
nation of Israel had been preserved, held together, by a covenant
given them by God. Now their task had been accomplished; the
law had been fulfilled; that law had acted as a supervisor to
keep them together until the seed, the Christ and the faith should
come. The nation was no longer needed; the nation was no longer
needed. "It is finished."
Technically, the law of Moses with its oblations and sacrifices
came to an end at the cross when the veil of the temple was rent
asunder and the way into the holiest (heaven) was opened to all
mankind and the God's chosen nation ceased to be. But the Jews
would not have it that way and continued to try to serve God
like that law demanded. Jesus foresaw what would happen and told
them about it in the closing part of Matthew 23 beginning with
verse 29 and on into Matthew 24. We take it up at 23:36 "Verily
I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and
stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have
gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens
under her wings, and ye would not! 38 Behold, your house is left
unto you desolate. 39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me
henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the
name of the Lord."
"Jerusalem" stood figuratively for the nation (the
house) of Israel. Jesus condemned all Israel for their rejection
of Him. So, he says, "your house is left unto you desolate"
and in Matthew 24 describes the destruction of their icon, the
temple and their city, indeed, their nation. God's nation, Israel,
is no more. The United Nations Israel, is what we read about
today.
96. A CLOUD OF WITNESSES
(Hebrews 12:1) "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed
about with so great a cloud of witnesses ....." We, with
the Hebrews, are also surrounded by these numerous witnesses.
Witnesses are people who bear testimony. This great number of
witnesses are the people we read of in chapter eleven. They were
not present in New Testament times to personally testify concerning
the great things that happened and they cannot personally testify
to us. But they all speak even as it is said concerning Abel:
"..... he being dead yet speaketh" ( Hebrews 11:4).
The lives and often their deaths tell us the story of faith.
Over and over the statement is made that "by faith"
they acted and endured. Faith was the motivating factor in their
lives. They were intent on serving a God that they could not
see or experience personally. Like Abraham, they were searching
for an unseen reward; something better, something more permanent.
And they, like Isaiah, said, "Here am I Lord, send me!"
Some recognized that they would have no certain resting place
here on earth but still they moved on as pilgrims in a strange
land. Many of these suffered hardships and were killed for their
faithfulness.
Each tells his story, bears testimony, not with words, but
by his actions which was always predicated on the premise of
faith. They each believed God. We need to read their story and
let their testimony be, partially at least, the motivation that
will cause us to ready to serve God to the extent of our ability.
Jesus told Thomas, "... because thou hath seen me, ye
have believed, but blessed are those who have not seen yet believed."
"We walk by faith." Not blind faith. We have the testimony
of many witnesses; their lives and their deaths, that tell us,
"that there is something better over there."
97. SAVE THAT WHICH WAS LOST
(Luke 19:10) "For the Son of man is come to seek and
to save that which was lost."
The Lord Jesus had one mission on earth, a positive mission
--- that was "to seek and save that which was lost."
Many other projects have been attributed to him, but the fact
is set before us in positive language --- "to seek and save
that which was lost."
He lived at a time when there was corruption in government.
Small kings were grasping for more power and the Emperor of Rome
position was a political treasure to be gained and retained by
the strongest. Even most of the little tax collectors (publicans)
were crooked. But Jesus was not derailed from his purpose, to
straighten out this governmental mess. He had a more important
mission.
His mission was not to heal. The healing of the sick and raising
of the dead were merely signs by which the world would know him
as Jesus the Christ. He healed only a few of the sick and his
power to raise the dead saw limited use.
He didn't come to play games. Even though we find him enjoying
the gaiety of a wedding and partaking of the hospitality of various
homes, he did not come to entertain nor to be entertained. He
said by his Ambassador, "... for bodily exercise is profitable
for a little; but godliness is profitable for all things, having
promise of the life which now is, and of that which is to come"
(1 Timothy 4:8 ).
He didn't come to dispel poverty nor to free the slaves. He
said, "the poor you have with you always." The principles
he taught and which he authorized to be taught would teach mankind
how to react toward poverty and conduct toward bond servants
but there were more important things to deal with --- "to
seek and save the lost."
The mission of the churches and of individual Christians is
the same --- to seek and save the lost. But sometimes churches
and individuals, some preachers, lose sight of our primary purpose
and waste a lot of time dabbling in politics and protest marches,
community welfare and bodily exercise and forget about our primary
mission.
98. BLESSINGS OF REVELATION 1:3
(Revelation 1:3) "Blessed is he that readeth, and they
that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which
are written therein: for the time is at hand."
Notice that there are two parties in this verse: "he
that readeth" and "they that hear." Not too many
people could read so this reader is one who has that ability.
John is not pronouncing blessings on one of us today in answer
to the exhortation to be "daily Bible readers." This
is a public reading of the "words of this prophecy."
The word "hear" carries the idea of understanding.
And, of course the only way they could "keep those things"
which were written, first they would have to be understood. So,
it logically follows that someone would do as they were told
to do in Old Testament times, "So they read in the book
in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused
them to understand the reading" (Nehemiah 8:8).
So, since there are hundreds of explanations for the Revelation
today, it would have been the same back there, UNLESS someone,
probably the reader, was an inspired person who could not only
read but he, by inspiration, could "give the sense"
and "cause them to understand." Thus they would be
able to "keep those things which were written." My
thought is, and this is an assumption, that likely this was the
one who was referred to as "the angel of the church."
An inspired messenger!
We have many commentaries on Revelation written by scholarly
men that are all different. About the only thing we can be absolutely
sure of, and this is the one thing that all these commentators
agree on, is that the overall message we can gain from the book
is, in spite of all the trials, tribulations and persecutions
God's people will be called upon to endure, ultimately there
will be a compete victory over Satan and death. The King of kings
will overcome the enemy and his people will enjoy an eternity
of heavenly peace.
99. THE GREAT APOSTASY
The apostle warned the people of his day and the days following
of a great apostasy. In Thessalonica and other places, they were
concerned about the immediate coming of the Lord. But he satisfied
their minds by telling of this great apostasy that must develop
before the coming of that great day. (2 Thessalonians 2:3) "Let
no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come,
except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be
revealed, the son of perdition." The word "apostasy"
is an anglicizing of the Greek word "apostasia" which
is translated, "falling away."
He further warns that "this mystery of iniquity doth
already work" (2 Thessalonians 2:7). He warned Timothy that
"the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times
some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits,
and doctrines of devils" (1 Timothy 4:1). "Latter times"
did not refer to the distant future but future from the time
in which it was written.
He gave warning to the elders of Ephesus in regard to how
it would develop. (Acts 20:28-31) "Take heed therefore unto
yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost
hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he
hath purchased with his own blood. 29 For I know this, that after
my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing
the flock. 30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking
perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. 31 Therefore
watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased
not to warn every one night and day with tears."
Well, the falling away came and out of it we have 100's of
brands of religion. But the seed of the kingdom (the word of
God) has been planted in good hearts down through the years and
has brought forth and will bring forth the same harvest; people
who are dedicated to serving Him in harmony with that word. Let
us all strive to serve God fervently with purity of hearts. "Keep
thine heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of
life."
100. AN EXHORTATION TO YOUNG PREACHERS AND OTHERS
I am sure that those who desire to learn more concerning God's
Word can get some valuable information at a Bible seminary. I
never went to one operated by my brethren nor by others. I have
followed much better instruction from a better source. We have
divinely given instruction in regard to obtaining Bible knowledge
and I want to mention some Bible exhortation that will help.
Paul told Timothy the most important thing was to "Study
(ASV: give diligence) to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman
that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (ASV: handling
aright) the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15). It's not easy.
It takes diligent effort on our part but the result is worth
any little energy we expend --- the approval of God! Read these
further instructions from the same chapter: "Flee also youthful
lusts," "foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing
that they do gender strifes," "the servant of the Lord
must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,"
"In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves."
Then more: "continue thou in the things which thou hast
learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned
them," "exercise thyself rather unto godliness. For
bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable
unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and
of that which is to come," "be thou an example of the
believers," "give attendance to reading," "Meditate
upon these things," "not think of himself more highly
than he ought to think," and above all things and in every
situation, "preach the word." Don't waste your time
and the time of others in pointless illustrations, comedy and
showmanship.
If you apply these things, you "will be a good soldier
of Christ Jesus." And, remember, you will have God's approval
and that's all you need. May God bless and amen!
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