Thursday, October 31, 2013

He Became Poor

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.”  2 Corinthians 8:9

The doctrine of Christ’s kenosis, or self-emptying, is one of the most amazing of all biblical truths. The extent to which He Who was not only “in the form of God,” but also “[equal] with God,” condescended to “but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men” (Phil. 2:6-7) is utterly beyond human comprehension.

He Who once sat on the throne of the universe came to the earth “lying in a manger” (Luke 2:12). Throughout His public ministry, He had “nowhere to lay His head” (Matt. 8:20). Because He had no money to pay the tax, He had to catch a fish with “a shekel” in its mouth (Matt. 17:27). In His agony at Gethsemane, none of His friends would pray with Him, and when He was arrested, they all “left Him and fled” (Matt. 26:40, 56). No one defended Him and His trial.

On the cross, the soldiers stripped away His only personal possessions - the clothes on His back - and then “divided up His garments among themselves, casting lots for them to decide what each man should take” (Mark 15:24). When He died, His body had to be buried in a tomb belonging to Joseph of Arimathea (Matt. 27:59-60). No home, no money, no possessions, no defenders, not even a tomb of His own in which to lie.

But He had a cross on which to die, and because He was obedient to the death of the cross, “God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name” (Phil. 2:9). Through His poverty, we become rich; through His homelessness, we have a mansion in heaven; through His terrible death on Calvary, we have everlasting life. Yes, we do know the grace of Christ!

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Resisting the Devil

“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.”  1 Peter 5:8-9

The devil is far more powerful and intelligent (as well as subtle and seductive in his malignant purposes) than any combination of human enemies we could ever face, and we would be utterly unable to defeat him with our own human resources. Yet God’s Word makes it plain that we are neither to yield to him nor flee from him. Instead, the admonition is: “Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

But how can we resist such a mighty foe? As in our text, we must constantly maintain sobriety and vigilance against his enticements, careful to remain “firm in your faith.” Otherwise, the pseudo-intellectualism and social peer pressure to which we are subjected daily could quickly persuade us to compromise the faith, or even to depart from the faith.

We are commanded not to yield and not to compromise. Instead we must “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil” (Eph. 6:11). “In addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one...and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Eph. 6:16-17).

This mighty sword with which we can make Satan flee from us, is literally “the saying of God” - that is, an appropriate individual word from the complete Word of God. This was the instrument with which the Lord Jesus Himself resisted the devil, parrying each temptation with an incisive thrust of Scripture. The result then - as it will be now with us also - was that the devil “left Him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13).

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Saints and Sinners

“Then Job answered the Lord and said, ‘Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You? I lay my hand on my mouth.’”  Job 40:3-4

It is remarkable how the saintliest of men often confess to bring the worst of sinners. The patriarch Job was said by God Himself that “there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil” (Job 1:8). Yet when Job saw God, he could only say, “Behold, I am insignificant.”

And consider Abraham, who is called “the father of all who believe” (Rom. 4:11). When he presumed to talk to God, however, Abraham said that he was “but dust and ashes” (Gen. 18:27).

David, “the sweet psalmist of Israel” (2 Sam. 23:1) and “a man after His own heart” (1 Sam. 13:14), said: “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5). Isaiah, the greatest of the prophets, testified when he came into God’s presence: “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6:5).

The angel recognized Daniel the prophet as a “man of high esteem” by God (Dan. 10:11). Yet when Daniel saw God, he fell on his face and said: “my natural color turned to a deathly pallor, and I retained no strength” (Dan. 10:8).

In the New Testament, the apostle Peter said: “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!” (Luke 5:8), and Paul called himself the “foremost of all (sinners)” (1 Tim. 1:15). God dwells “in unapproachable light” (1 Tim. 6:16).

The closer one comes to the Lord, the more clearly one sees his own sinfulness and the more wonderful becomes God’s amazing grace. No one who is satisfied with his or her own state of holiness has yet come to know the Lord in His state of holiness! None dare face the Lord except by His grace through the mediator Jesus Christ.

Monday, October 28, 2013

Catastrophe or Cataclysm

“[God] did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter.”  2 Peter 2:5-6

 These two verses speak graphically of two different kinds of terrible physical convulsions, both of which were divine judgments. The volcanic upheaval that sent fire from heaven pouring over the wicked cities of the plains was called and “overthrow” (Greek “katastrophe,” from which, obviously, we get our English word “catastrophe”). Great upheavals such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and hurricanes are rightly called catastrophes.

But such events are only local or regional in extent, and occur relatively often. There was one event, however, which was unique in all history. When God brought the flood upon the ungodly antediluvian world, the word used to describe it was the Greek “kataklusmos,” and this word is never applied in Scripture to any event except the terrible Genesis flood, when “the world at that time was destroyed [Greek “katakluzo”], being flooded with water”
(2 Pet. 3:6). From these Greek words we derive the English word “cataclysm.” There was never any flood like this flood! It covered all the world’s mountains, and everything on the land died, leaving great deposits and great beds of lithified sediments all over the world.
   
There has been only one worldwide cataclysm in the past, but another is coming - global fire instead of global water. Jesus said, “For as in those days before the flood [i.e. kataklusmos]...they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Matthew 24:38-39).

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Dividing Light from Darkness

“Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.”  Genesis 1:3-4

Initially, the created cosmos was in darkness - a darkness which God Himself had to create, “I am...the One forming light and creating darkness” (Isaiah 45:6-7). But then the dark cosmos was energized by the Spirit’s moving, and God’s light appeared. The darkness was not dispelled, however, but only divided from the light, and the day/night sequence began, which has continued ever since.

This sequence of events in the physical creation is a beautiful type of the spiritual creation, “new things have come” (2 Cor. 5:17). Each individual is born in spiritual darkness, but “For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6). We are now “qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Col. 1:12-13).

However, the light in the primeval darkness resulted only in a division of night and day. The night still comes, but God has promised that, in the coming Holy City, “there will no longer be any night” (Rev. 22:5).

Just so, even though we have been given a new nature of light, the old nature of darkness is still striving within, and we have to be exhorted: “for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light” (Eph. 5:8). Nevertheless, “the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day” (Prov. 4:18). When we reach that city of everlasting light, all spiritual darkness will vanish as well, for “nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it” (Rev. 21:27), and we shall be like Christ.

Friday, October 25, 2013

Savor of Life or Death

“For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?”  2 Corinthians 2:15-16

It is remarkable how the very same testimony can have such dramatically opposite effects on its recipients. A lecture on the scientific evidence of creation, for example, or on the inspiration of the Bible will be received with great joy and understanding by some, provoke furious hostility in some, and generate utter indifference in others. This seems to be true of any message - written or verbal, or simply demonstrated in behavior - which has any kind of biblically spiritual dimension to it. It is like the pillar of cloud in the wilderness, which “came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel;
and there was the cloud along with the darkness, yet it gave light
at night. Thus the one did not come near the other all night”

(Ex. 14:20). A Christian testimony draws and wins the one, repels and condemns the other. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him” (John 3:17).

Thus the wonderful message of the gospel yields two diametrically opposite results. “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36). Christ came to bring both unity and division. “‘Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone’...This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, ‘The stone which the builders rejected, This became the very corner stone,’ and, ‘A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense’; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word” (1 Pet. 2:6-8).

But the wonderful thing is this: Whether a true testimony generates life or condemns to death, it is still “a fragrance of Christ to God.”

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Eternal Life

“These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.” 
1 John 5:13


Although this powerful, five-chapter letter from the Apostle John is full of vital insights into the Christian life, it is written to “little children” (1 John 5:21) so that they might “know” the majesty and wonder of eternal life.

John begins his epistle with a reminder that he knew this Jesus from whom the promise of eternal life came (1 John 1:1-3). John was an eyewitness to Christ’s resurrection (John 20), which is the most powerful proof of the claims and promises of the Lord (Acts 17:31).

Much of that which is applied in John’s epistle is based on the precise teachings of the Lord Jesus Himself, heard by John and recorded in John’s gospel under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (John 20:31).

Those who believe “shall not perish” (John 3:15-16).

The “water” of Christ springs up to “eternal life” (John 4:14).

Whoever has eternal life “has passed out death into life” (John 5:24).

Those who come to Christ will “not hunger” (John 6:35).

No one is able to “snatch” the believer out of the Father’s hand
(John 10:28-30).

“Everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:26).

Based on the Word of God, John gives us several experiential tests by which we can know that we “live.”

We love and “keep His commandments” (1 John 2:3).

We know and love the Truth (1 John 2:20).

“We love the brethren” (1 John 3:14).

“We abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit” (1 John 4:13).

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

The ‘Light’ Equation

“...God is Light...”  1 John 1:5

The biblical text is rich with metaphors and similes, one of which often appears in John’s writings. God is said to be “Light” - the most constant, clearly observable, and all-pervasive experience in our universe.

God’s life is “the Light of men” (John 1:4).
God’s light is not conquered by darkness (John 1:5).
God’s light attracts men who love truth (John 3:21).
Jesus is the “Light of the world” (John 8:12).

John’s emphasis in his epistle is focused on the application of the “Light” in our lives. Since God is Light (see also 1 Tim. 6:16), we can never be a participant in the life of God apart from the light of God (1 John 1:6). If we claim fellowship with God, we must “walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light” (1 John 1:7). Since God is the “true Light” (1 John 2:8), we are not part of His family if we despise those He loves (1 John 2:9).

It is equally obvious that since God is holy (Psalm 99:9) and righteous (Dan. 9:14), the light that we are to “shine” (Matt. 5:16) must be “like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day....for you are all sons of light and sons of day” (Prov. 4:18; 1 Thess. 5:5).

Our “breastplate of righteousness” (Eph. 6:14) should blind the ungodly with the brilliance of our lifestyle of holiness - so much so that even if we are spoken against by those who hate God, they will be forced “because of your good deeds...[to] glorify God” (1 Pet. 2:12).

Because the God of our salvation is “the Light of the world” (John 9:5), and we have been made “children of Light” (Eph. 5:8), “you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9).

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

The Stars Forever

“Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.”  Daniel 12:3

The setting of this beautiful verse is after the resurrection of the saved “to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt” (v. 2). Its glorious promise to those who “have insight” and who “lead the many to righteousness” through Jesus Christ is that of shining forever, like the stars.
   
Evolutionary astronomers believe that stars evolve through a long cycle of stellar life and death, but this idea contradicts God’s revelation that he has created this physical universe to last forever. Speaking of these stellar heavens, the majestic 148th Psalm, centered on God’s creation, says that “He has also established them forever and ever; He has made a decree which will not pass away” (Psalm 148:6).

It is true that, because of sin, “the whole creation groans...together until now” (Rom. 8:22), and the heavens “will become old like a garment, and they will also be changed” (Heb. 1:11-12). In fact, the earth and its atmospheric heaven (not the sidereal heaven) one day will “pass away” (Matt. 24:35), and then will be transformed by God into “new heavens and a new earth” (2 Pet. 3:13), which will never pass away.

But the infinite cosmos of space and time, created in the beginning by God, was created to last forever, and God cannot fail in his purposes. “I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should fear Him” (Ecclesiastes 3:14).

The stars are innumerable, each one unique, each one with a divine purpose, and they will shine forever. We can never reach them in this life, but in our glorified bodies, we shall have endless time to explore the infinite heavens.

Monday, October 21, 2013

True Freedom

“Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.”  1 Peter 2:16

We who live in what the song writer called the “sweet land of liberty” have a great responsibility to preserve that freedom which our forefathers obtained for us at great cost over two centuries ago. At the same time, we must not turn liberty into license. It would surely hurt those brave and godly men if they could see how we now use “freedom of choice” to justify murdering multitudes of innocent children before they are born, and how we use “freedom of speech” to warrant fouling the eyes and ears of children with widespread pornography and to promote all kinds of immoral behavior in our society in general. No nation can remain free very long after such practices become widely accepted by its citizens. We need to pray for revival!

The same warning applies to the abuse of our spiritual freedom in Christ. As the Apostle Paul said and repeated: “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable” (1 Cor. 6:12). Also, in 1 Cor. 10:23, he added that “but not all things edify.”

As Peter says in our text, even though we are “free” and have real “liberty,” we are nevertheless “bondslaves of God.” Our liberty in Christ is not freedom to sin whenever we so choose, but rather freedom from our former bondage to sin. “Having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness” (Rom. 6:18).

Although our nation is rapidly becoming anti-Christian in belief and practice, we Christians can still best serve our nation and our Savior by practicing and proclaiming Christ’s wonderful saving gospel of free salvation from sin and regeneration unto righteousness.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Look Back

“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,
Who seek the Lord:
Look to the rock from which you were hewn
And to the quarry from which you were dug.”  Isaiah 51:1


While it is not good to dwell too much on the past - whether in pride of past accomplishments, or despondency over past failures, or grieving over past losses - it is well never to forget what God has done for us. In this passage, Israel is reminded of Abraham and Sarah who had been dug out of the pit of paganism, and cut out of the rock of idolatry, and God had greatly blessed.

David, looking back, had written that, “He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay” (Psalm 40:2). Paul looked back and said: “For you have heard of my former manner of life...how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure...But when God...called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me...they were glorifying God because of me” (Gal. 1:13, 15-16, 24).

Whatever our own background may be - bigoted skeptics, or flagrant sinners, or self-righteous hypocrites - God has indeed, if we are now saved by His grace, dug us out of a pit and set us on a solid rock. We were “strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12). But “He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Col. 1:13).

“Such were some of you,” wrote Paul of such gross sins as fornication, idolatry, homosexuality, adultery, and thievery, as well as covetousness and drunkenness - “but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:9-11). An occasional look back will help us to remember more often to look up in humble thankfulness for the grace of God.

Friday, October 18, 2013

The Moments of God

“‘For a brief moment I forsook you,
But with great compassion I will gather you.
In an outburst of anger
I hid My face from you for a moment,
But with everlasting lovingkindness I will have compassion on you,’
Says the Lord your Redeemer.
‘For this is like the days of Noah to Me,
When I swore that the waters of Noah
Would not flood the earth again;
So I have sworn that I will not be angry with you
Nor will I rebuke you.’”  Isaiah 54:7-9


This gracious promise to Israel gives a beautiful insight into both God’s character and the relation of time to eternity. God can be a God of wrath, for He must punish unforsaken sin in His people, but He is much more the God of mercy. He prolonged judgement on His chosen people of Israel is only “for a brief moment” compared to His “everlasting lovingkindness” toward redeemed Israel in the ages to come.

This theme occurs a number of times in Scripture. “For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5). To the people faithful to God during a time of judgment against their nation or against the world, God says: “Come, my people, enter into your rooms...Hide for a little while until indignation runs its course” (Isa. 26:20). Thus, a time of testing or judgement may extend over many days, or years, or even centuries, but this is only a moment in relation to the endless ages of blessing yet to come.

As applied to Christians, this concept is stated explicitly in the only occurrence of the Greek “parakutika” (“moment”) in the New Testament. “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison” (2 Cor. 4:17). “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind....They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain” (Isa. 65:17, 25).

May God give us eyes of faith to see these “moments” of God in their eternal setting.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Things of the World

“Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”  1 John 2:15

We must be wary of the world’s “things,” because we are “in the world” not “of the world” (John 17:11-16). The command in our text is that we are not to love the world or its things, not that we should remain blissfully ignorant of them. We are to “be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matt. 10:16).

There are big things of the world like nations and kingdoms (Matt. 4:8; Luke 12:30) as well as worries and riches (Mark. 4:19) which can sap our focus and drain our loyalties. And there are “elements” (Col. 2:20; Gal. 4:3) that can twist our thinking and spoil us (Col. 2:8).

We are warned that friendship with the worldly lifestyle and that which espouses the things of the world, makes us an “enemy of God” (James 4:4). That is because such people embrace the “spirit of the world” and not “the Spirit who is from God” (1 Cor. 2:12). Those people speak about the things of the world, and the world listens to them (1 John 4:5).

God’s people may be “base” and “weak” - even “foolish” - in the eyes of the world (1 Cor. 1:27-28). Since the Father has chosen us out of the world (John 15:19), it should not surprise us that the world “hates” those who belong to the Lord Jesus (John 17:14). Hence the ungodly passions that drive the ungodly behavior of the world, “the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world” (1 John 2:16).

Those passions and the people who embrace them will “pass away.” But “the one who does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:17).

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Working Out Our Salvation

“So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”  Philippians 2:12

We are not told here to work for our salvation, but to work it out - that is, to demonstrate its reality in our daily lives. Our salvation must be received entirely by grace through faith, not of works (Eph. 2:8-9), or else it is not true salvation. Works can no more keep our salvation than they can earn it for us in the first place. It is not faith plus works, but grace through faith.

Nevertheless, a Christian believer, if his salvation has been real, can testify that “I will show you my faith by my works” (James 2:18). Good works - consisting of a righteous and gracious salvation. We have been “created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (Eph. 2:10).

The context of our text, in fact assures us, on the basis of Christ’s sacrificial death, glorious resurrection, and exaltation (Phil. 2:8-11) that “it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (2:13). God is thereby enabling us to “work out” our salvation in visible practice, through the indwelling Holy Spirit of God.

Thus, it is beautifully appropriate that the life of a genuinely born-again Christian, possessing true salvation, should be “blameless and innocent, children of God...as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life” (2:15-16). We do need to “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith” (2 Cor. 13:5), and we are admonished that “we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments” (1 John 2:3).

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

If I Perish

“Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa, and fast for me; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maidens also will fast in the same way. And thus I will go in to the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish.”  Esther 4:16

This is the courageous testimony of Queen Ester as she prepared to risk her own life in order to save the lives of her people. It was a capital crime for anyone to intrude into the king’s throne room unbidden, but she was willing to do so in order to do the will of God, knowing that “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).

In the same spirit, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were willing to enter the fiery furnace rather than to worship the humanistic gods of Babylon, testifying to Nebuchadnezzar that “our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up” (Daniel 3:17-18).

God did deliver Esther and the three Jewish youths, but there have been many through the ages who have died for their faith rather than deny their faith. All the apostles (except John) died as martyrs, for example, and so have countless others through the centuries. “They did not love their life even when faced with death” (Rev. 12:11) - if it meant denying their Savior.

Believers in many nations are suffering such persecutions even today, and the time is coming when the last great God-rejecting king of the earth (called the “beast” in Scripture) will “cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed” (Rev. 13:15). If a similar choice should ever confront us, may God give us the grace to say with Paul that “Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death” (Phil. 1:20), and with Esther: “if I perish, I perish.”

Monday, October 14, 2013

To the Fourth Generation

“You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me.”  Deuteronomy 5:9

This seemingly unwarranted penalty imposed on the innocent grandchildren of the idolater cannot possibly negate the later promise of God through the prophet Ezekiel: “The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father’s iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son’s iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself” (Ezekiel 18:20).

And certainly it cannot obviate the clear promise of Christ Himself in the last chapter of the Bible: “let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost” (Rev. 22:17). Anyone who desires to do so may accept the Lord’s gracious offer of salvation, regardless of the possible wickedness or anti-Christian religion of any of his ancestors.

At the same time, a man should realize that his decision to follow a false religion and then bring up his children in that false religion will almost certainly affect his grandchildren and great grandchildren, as well. Many of the latter will actually be children while their great grandfather is still alive. It is a simple fact that most children (though not all) will continue in their parents “religion.” They can, if they wish, choose to leave their parents’ religion and become Christians, but most will not.

What a great responsibility, therefore, each father has! And what a great responsibility the church has to take the gospel to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of good things (Rom 10:15).

Sunday, October 13, 2013

You Shall Not

“You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.”  Exodus 20:4

Many secularists criticize Christianity as being a religion of negativism filled with prohibitions. In response, Christians often try to blunt this criticism by stressing Christian love and freedom from the law.

The fact is, however, that the New Testament also contains many prohibitions, including a restatement of all those in God’s laws as expressed in the Ten Commandments. The first of these in our text prohibits idolatry. Six others also begin with “you shall not.” “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain....You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet” (Ex. 20:7, 13-17).

It is inappropriate for any Christian to ignore these commandments. Godly behavior is more important now than every before. Not only are these prohibitions all repeated in the New Testament, but there are numerous other “shall nots” as well, all directed to Christians saved by grace, apart from the works of the law.

For example: “do not get drunk with wine” (Eph. 5:18); “Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger” (Eph. 4:26); “do not be haughty in mind...Do not be wise in your own estimation” (Rom. 12:16); “Never take your own revenge” (Rom. 12:19); and many, many others.

There are numerous positive aspects to the Christian life, of course, but there are also things a Christian should not do. We do not work for our salvation, but we must work out our salvation, putting off the works of the flesh and putting on the works of a regenerate life.

Friday, October 11, 2013

Young Men

“I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.”  1 John 2:14

There are two commendations about the “young men” (typically applied to those under forty) that John notes. They are “strong” (vigorous, healthy, both physically, and mentally) and the word of God “abides” (remains, endures) in them. These are those who have come through their believing childhood, no doubt guided counseled by the “fathers” in their lives, who are now active in the “good fight of faith” (1 Tim. 6:12).

Like Abraham, they are “strong in faith” (Rom. 4:20), not staggering under the burden of unbelief. Like the leaders in the church at Rome, they are willing to “bear the weaknesses of those without strength” (Rom. 15:1), and to be alert, standing “firm in the faith” (1 Cor. 16:13). Even though they would have faced opposition from among professing Christians, they were “strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 2:1).

These are the ones who “have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God” (2 Cor. 4:2), but gladly received it as “it really is, the word of God” (1 Thess. 2:13). They know that “the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword” (Heb. 4:12), and have taken time to treasure the Word in their heart (Psalm 119:11). These “young men” know that if God’s “words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7).

Those attributes make possible the result you “have overcome the evil one.” Safe in the secure saving faith of God, guided by the great truths of the Word of God, these young men have not been “overcome by evil,” but have “overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:21).

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Prepared Hearts

“For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.” 
Ezra 7:10


It does not come naturally into our hearts to seek, obey, and then teach others the words of God as found in the Scriptures. Therefore, like Ezra, we must prepare our hearts. One’s natural “heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick” (Jeremiah 17:9) - not at all inclined to stand up for the Word of God. But Ezra did, even in the court of a pagan king and in the midst of the enemies of God’s people in a far county, and even among the backslidden people of his own nation. He prepared his heart, fixing it in the firm laws and promises of God. And, because he did, he could testify: “I was strengthened according to the hand of the Lord my God upon me” (Ezra 7:28).

On the other hand - we read, for example, of King Rehoboam whose rebellion and sin led to the dividing of Israel into two kingdoms and eventually into the captivity. These judgements came because, unlike Ezra, Rehoboam “did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the Lord” (2 Chron. 12:14).

Thus, our hearts need to be prepared to seek God and His Word, but how do we get them prepared? First, we must come to Him in true humility. “O Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear” (Psalm 10:17).

God is then the One Who actually prepares our hearts! “The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord” (Prov. 16:1). We can only prepare our hearts to seek and serve God if we humbly call on Him to do the preparing.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

The Meaning of “Day”

“God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.”  Genesis 1:5

Many people today, professing to believe the Bible, have compromised with the evolutionary philosophy which dominates our society by accepting its framework of geological ages. This system interprets the rocks and fossils in terms of a supposed 4.6 billion-year history of the earth and life culminating in the evolution of early humans perhaps a million years ago. In order to justify this compromise, they usually say that the “days” of creation really correspond to the geological ages, arguing that the Hebrew word for “day” (“yom”) does not have to mean a literal solar day.

Oh, yes, it does - at least in Genesis chapter one! God, knowing that the pagan philosophers of antiquity would soon try to distort His record of creation into long ages of pantheistic evolution (as in the Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek, and other such ancient cosmogonies), was careful to define His terms! “God called the light day,” and that was the first day with its evening and morning. All subsequent days have followed the same pattern - a period of darkness (night), then a period of light (day).   

One may quibble about the exact length of the day if he insists (e.g., equatorial days versus polar days), but there is no way this definition can accommodate a geological age. This is the very first reference to “day” (or “yom”) in the Bible, and this is given as an actual statement of the meaning of the word.

This ought to settle the question for anyone who really believes the Bible. One may decide to believe the evolutionary geologists if he wishes, instead of God, but he should at least let God speak for Himself. God says the days of creation were literal days, not ages. “In six days the Lord made heaven and earth” (Ex. 31:17).

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

In a Moment

“Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.”  1 Corinthians 15:51-52

This is one of the greatest promises in the Bible, assuring us that “we” (i.e., all believers, whether dead or living when Christ returns) shall suddenly be changed, with our dead or dying bodies instantly transformed into incorruptible, immortal bodies, which can never die again.

This great change, when it finally occurs, will take place “in a moment.” The Greek here is “en atomo” (“in an atom of time”). This word, implying the smallest entity conceivable by the Greeks, is used only this one time in the New Testament. It is further described by “the twinkling of an eye,” where “twinkling” is the Greek “rhipe,” also used only this once.

Evidently there is nothing else in this present world comparable in rapidity to this miraculous change which will be called forth when “the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thess. 4:16-17).

The great shout (probably uttered by Christ Himself as at the tomb of Lazarus) will instantly create new bodies for both dead and living believers. “The dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive” (1 Thess. 4:16-17).   

Our new bodies will be like Christ’s resurrection body. He “will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself” (Phil. 3:21).

Christ is able, thus, to create new bodies for us in a moment, just as when He created all things in the beginning: “For He spoke, and it was done” (Psalm 33:9).

Monday, October 7, 2013

He Who is Spiritual

“But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one.”  1 Corinthians 2:15

The word rendered “spiritual” is the Greek word “pneumatikos,” from which theologians have coined the term, “pneumatology,” the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Thus a “spiritual” person is one who is not only born again spiritually through faith in Christ and the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit, but also tries diligently to follow the leading of the indwelling Spirit and to understand and obey the precepts of the Bible inspired by Him.
   
A spiritual person will have “the mind of the Lord” (1 Cor. 2:16), able to judge all things by spiritual standards and biblical revelation. He or she will “not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit,” knowing that “the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace” (Rom. 8:4, 6). As such, spiritual believers prayerfully make decisions seeking God’s will, they are “led by the Spirit of God” (Rom. 8:14). And since they “walk by the Spirit,” they “will not carry out the desire of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16).   

They will often and repeatedly be “filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18) for Christian service. Furthermore, they will manifest “the fruit of the Spirit” in their lives and personalities - that is, “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22-23).

Yet while “he who is spiritual” is thereby able to discern and evaluate all things by such divine standards, he will find himself often misunderstood by unsaved relatives and acquaintances, for “a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised” (1 Cor. 2:14).

Nevertheless, “the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life” (Gal. 6:8).

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Things We Should Do

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.” 
Matthew 23:23


This sharp rebuke by Jesus to the legalists of His day should also be taken seriously by us today. Although we are saved by grace alone, there are many things we ought to do, not as a matter of credit toward salvation, but as a gratitude for our salvation. Surely judgement, mercy, and faithfulness are high on such a list.
   
The following is a partial list of other things we should be or ought to be doing -

Prayer: “at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart”
(Luke 18:1).

Obedience to God as Priority: “But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than men’” (Acts 5:29).

Working and Sharing:
“by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’”
(Acts 20:35).

Gracious in Speech: “Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person” (Colossians 4:6).

Walking with God: “as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more” (1 Thessalonians 4:1).

Heeding God’s Word:
“we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it”
(Hebrews 2:1).   

Sanctified Behavior:
“what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness” (2 Peter 3:11).

Friday, October 4, 2013

What to Put On

“And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”  Luke 24:49

People give much attention to what material clothes they should put on, but the New Testament tells us what spiritual clothes to put on. We are to put on power, and this is imparted only by the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8), according to Christ’s departing promise.

“Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light...put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts” (Romans 13:12, 14). “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ” (Galatians 3:27).

Along with this, we are to “lay aside the old self,” and then to “put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (Eph. 4:22, 24). Then, we must “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11).

These items of spiritual clothing - the power of the Holy Spirit, the light of God’s presence, the new man in Christ, the resurrection life of the indwelling Christ, His imputed righteousness and holiness and all our spiritual armor - provide the foundation clothing for beautiful spiritual jewels and accessories. “You laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him....put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience....Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity” (Col. 3:9-12, 14).

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Coming Like The Flood

“So they will fear the name of the Lord from the west
And His glory from the rising of the sun,
For He will come like a rushing stream
Which the wind of the Lord drives.”  Isaiah 59:19


The great enemy of our souls, “the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Yet he also “disguises himself as an angel of light,” and so can “his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness” (2 Cor. 11:14-15). He and his servants are perhaps most dangerous when most deceptive, quoting Scripture and spiritual sentiments in a superficial show of piety, yet distorting the “Scriptures, to their own destruction” (2 Pet. 3:16), and we must use the sword of the Spirit against them.

Then there are those times when, angered that their deceptions (sometimes even their own self-deceptions) are not persuading the true people of God to compromise their stand for God’s truth and His great salvation, they resort to great pressure and overt opposition -even persecution-seeking to silence their testimony. The enemy comes in like a great flood, and the waves seem about to engulf us, and we cry with the psalmist: “Had it not been the Lord who was on our side when men rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us alive, when their anger was kindled against us; then the waters would have engulfed us, the stream would have swept over our soul” (Psalm 124:2-4).

But God is on our side, as long as we are on His side and hold fast to His clearly revealed Word. Before the demonic flood can overwhelm us, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up His standard (or, more literally, “put him to flight”), and God will prevail once again, for “the firm foundation of God stands” (2 Tim. 2:19), and “greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).   

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

The Proof of Obedience

“By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.”  1 John 2:3

Jesus once said: “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46). Poignant question. A familiar complaint of those who despise Christian teaching is that “Christians” don’t act like Christians! It is a sad commentary on the condition of the Lord’s family when the ungodly are more aware of the expected behavior of God’s people than the Christians are.

Of course, the issue is not unique to the New Testament times. Israel’s historical saga is replete with seasons of rebellion and repentance - so much so that the psalmist prayed: “That the generation to come might know...That they may arise and tell them to their children, That they should put their confidence in God and not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments, And not be like their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that did not prepare its heart and whose spirit was not faithful to God” (Psalm 78:6-8).

The emphasis by John in his first epistle, however, is not on the reasons for willful disobedience, but on the results of willing obedience:
  - Walking in the “light” ensures fellowship (1 John 1:7).
  - Constant and willing obedience produces an effective prayer life
    (1 John 3:22).
  - A lifestyle of obedience brings an awareness of the Holy Spirit’s
    indwelling (1 John 3:24).
  - Loving God produces obedience, which in turn brings joy in that
    obedience (1 John 5:3).

Our deeds show whom we serve (1 John 3:7). Our righteous deeds prove whom we serve (Matt. 7:16-20).

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Honoring Our Fathers

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.” 
Exodus 20:12


This familiar command was the fifth in God’s list of Ten Commandments, the law of God, and it has never been abrogated. It was quoted by Christ as His own command when He said: “Honor your father and mother” (Matt. 19:19). The Apostle Paul also cited it as of special significance: “Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise)” (Eph. 6:2).

This all indicates that God considers the honoring of parents by their children to be of great significance. Since the father has been charged with primary spiritual responsibility for his family, it is of supreme importance that fathers lead their children properly and the children follow that lead with all due respect and diligence. God blessed Abraham as “the father of us all” (Rom. 4:16) because He could say concerning Abraham: “For I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice” (Gen. 18:19).

It is not easy being such a father, but it is vital if our children are to come also to honor their heavenly Father. “For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?...Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live?” (Heb. 12:7, 9).

“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). If we fathers diligently follow God’s word in leading our children, then they will honor their fathers - not only while they are children, but all their lives.