My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

How long will you assault a man? Would all of you throw him down— this leaning wall, this tottering fence? They fully intend to topple him from his lofty place; they take delight in lies. With their mouths they bless, but in their hearts they curse.

Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation;

he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.

Lowborn men are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie; if weighed on a balance, they are nothing;

together they are only a breath. Do not trust in extortion or take pride in stolen goods; though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them.

One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done.

God is strong and God is loving. What more could you ask of one Who’s sworn to protect you. “And surely I am with you always,” Jesus promised, “Even to the end of the age.” (Matt 28:20) He’s also faithful, patient, forgiving, and the list goes on.

“Let not your hearts be troubled,” He told His disciples. “You trust in God. Trust also in me.” (John 14:1) He was speaking to us as well. He’s trustworthy.

“If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:31-32) Good question, Paul. Who can overrule God’s decisions or rescind His actions? No one can thwart His plan.

Our obstacles are right there in front of us, only too obvious, so Paul advised us to fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Cor. 4:18) To allow the tangible, physical things of this world, or the countering activities of our enemies to stop us is to yield to the temporary things while ignoring the permanent ones.

“What you do reveals what you believe,” wrote Henry T. Blackaby in his book, Experiencing God. “If you’re living a fearful anxiety-filled life, you’re proving your lack of confidence in God’s protection, regardless of what you say.”

When I was a young Sales Manager, a friend taught me, “Look at what a person pays conscious attention to, and you’ll learn what his sub-conscious intentions are.” No beginning sales people would ever consciously admit that they intended to fail in their new careers, but by watching their behavior I learned that I could accurately predict whether that would be the outcome. I saw that it always came down to one factor. Were they pro-active or reactive in performing their jobs?

Selling involves performing a series of learned activities in their proper sequence, and successful sales people quickly formed the habit of doing that (which allowed them to be proactive in dealing with their customers) while failures didn’t (which forced them to be reactive). It wasn’t that the failures couldn’t form this habit, but that they didn’t. It was that simple. The logic was overwhelming.

By learning the sequence so well they could follow it by habit, my successful sales people found they could be better listeners and could pick up on signals that buyers always transmit, indicating their readiness to buy or revealing their true objections. Since the next step in the sequence automatically came to mind, they were free to concentrate on what their customers were saying.

Over and over I watched others fail by skipping steps or taking them out of sequence as they worked with their customers. They had been taught the steps and their proper sequence but hadn’t practiced enough to make them into habits. Some didn’t believe it was that important, while others thought they were smart enough to “wing it.”

In the heat of the moment they often got confused and were forced into a reactive mode. Trying to remember what they were supposed to say made it impossible for them to listen to what their customers were saying and caused them to miss important buying signals. It wasn’t aptitude, intelligence, or education that determined the outcome. It was simply a matter of forming the right habits or not.

So it is with living the victorious life. If you haven’t formed the habit of trusting God in everything, and in believing what He said, you’ll get confused in the heat of an enemy attack. The things of this world will fill your mind, forcing the truth of God’s Word into the background. Remember you can only think one thought at a time.

To defend against these attacks, take the time to learn God’s promises so well that they’ll automatically come to mind in times of need. It’s critically important. You’re not smart enough to “wing it” when you’re up against Satan. My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

The post Psalm 62 appeared first on Grace thru faith.

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

After Jonathon and I parted, I went to the village of Nob where the Tabernacle had been relocated when the Philistines attacked and defeated the Israelites at Shiloh. As you may recall, Eli the priest and his two sons were killed that day and the Ark of the Covenant was captured by the Philistines. Shortly before this time, Samuel had been elevated to the position of Israel’s Prophet, and God had warned him that this would happen. It was a judgment against Eli for letting his sons make a mockery of the Lord’s offering. While the Ark was soon returned to the Israelites because of the trouble the Philistines experienced while they had it (a fascinating story in its own right) the Tabernacle had remained at Nob. (1 Sam. 2-6)

Ahimelech was the priest in charge now and he trembled visibly when he saw me at his door. Obviously, word of my problems with Saul had preceded me and Ahimelech was afraid for his life. To protect him in case Saul found out I had been there, I made up a story about the king sending me on such an urgent mission that I hadn’t had time to pack food or even a sword. I asked him if he had any bread.

“I only have the Bread of the Presence left over from yesterday,” he replied. “If you and your men have kept yourselves from women, you can have it.”

If you’re not Jewish, I’ll need to explain a couple of things here to help you understand. First, the Bread of the Presence consisted of 12 loaves baked fresh every morning and placed on a table in the Holy Place. (It was the larger of the two rooms in the Tabernacle. The smaller one was called the Holy of Holies.) There was one loaf for each tribe, a continuing sign of our gratitude to the Lord for providing our daily bread. When it was replaced the next morning by a new supply, the day old bread was available for the priests to eat. In the name of human kindness, Ahimelech decided he could give the Bread to us, even though it was technically illegal, as long as we were ceremonially clean. Later on Jesus would use this incident to remind the Pharisees that there are exceptions to the Law, even on the Sabbath. (Matt. 12:3-4)

Next, having sexual relations with a woman would have made us ceremonially unclean, since it involved the emission of bodily fluid, and would have disqualified us from partaking of the Holy Bread until we had been made clean again, a time consuming process. When I assured Ahimelech we’d had no such opportunity, being hunted fugitives, he gave me the bread.

And finally, right from the beginning I had attracted followers because of my acts of valor against the Philistines. Men who were in distress, burdened by overwhelming debt, or otherwise discontent with their lives began joining my growing band of guerilla fighters.

Before leaving, I asked Ahimelech for a sword, and he gave me the one I had taken from Goliath when I killed him. It had been wrapped in cloth and placed in the Tabernacle in honor of my victory.

That same day I headed southwest toward Gaza and arrived in Gath, one of the Philistine cities. I was hoping to hide from Saul there, but when Achish, the King of Gath, recognized me, I pretended to be insane so he wouldn’t do me any harm. My act was so convincing he sent me away from his presence to avoid looking at me. I made my escape from there and wound up in a cave at Adullam, about 8 miles east and a little south from Gath. During the time I was there my family came to visit, and so did many others. A lot of them stayed and my little band of brothers swelled to over 400.

Here’s another of the many events in my story that also have symbolic implications. Let Saul represent Satan, the already deposed king, determined to fight on till the bitter end and take as many as possible with him in defeat. I represent our Lord Jesus, the King God has chosen and whose victory is assured. The cave at Adullam is the Church. (The name Adullam comes from a root meaning the Justice of God.) And my 400 followers stand for you. They were debt ridden, distressed and discontent, and so are you. Like them you have a debt of sin you can never repay, you’re distressed about the condition of your godless world, and no matter how much wealth and pleasure you’ve experienced, you’re so discontent in the absence of the Lord that you’re willing to leave it all behind to dwell in His presence. I wrote Psalm 56 to describe my plight then and help you compare it to yours now.

I took my mom and dad to Mizpah in Moab and arranged political asylum for them there. Since my father Jesse’s grandmother was Ruth, a Moabite princess, the King of Moab agreed to keep them safe while my life was in such danger. On returning to my stronghold in Adullam, I was told by the prophet Gad to leave and go back into Judah. Gad became a life long associate and would later help me orchestrate the musical arrangements for the Temple services. After a time a priest, a son of Ahimelech and another refugee from Saul’s administration, would also join completing the official royal triumvirate of Prophet, Priest, and King.

From my time until the Babylonian captivity, over 400 years later, all three of these offices were manned in the governance of God’s people. The office of King was suspended then, the last legitimate king of Israel being Jehoiachin, or Jeconiah as he’s called in the New Testament (Matt. 1:11).

(Jehoiachin’s uncle Mattaniah actually presided over Jerusalem’s defeat by Babylon, but he was not in the royal line of succession and was therefore not a legitimate king. He was placed on the throne by Nebuchadnezzar, who changed Mattaniah’s name to Zedekiah in the process. 2 Kings 24:17)

The last legitimate High Priest, Onias III, was murdered during the time of the Syrian King Antiochus Epiphanes in 171 BC (Daniel 8:11 & 11:22). The Prophet Ezekiel wrote that these two offices would henceforth be vacant until the Messiah, to Whom they rightfully belong, came to fill them (Ezek. 21:25-27). The Prophet Zechariah confirmed this (Zech 6:12-13). In the mean time Jesus was also given the office of Prophet (Hebrews 1:1-2)

Getting back to our story, Saul discovered that Ahimelech, the priest from Nob, had helped me out. Summoning him, his family and all the other priests in Nob, Saul had them killed, 85 in all. Then he attacked and destroyed the whole town of Nob. Only one man escaped, the son of Ahimelech I mentioned above. When he told me what had happened, I was devastated and asked him to stay and help me make things right.

So many times I would rather have died myself than to have seen all those innocent people destroyed just for showing kindness to me. But that was my cross to bear. I had to trust God through this and leave the outcome in His hands.

I hope you’re beginning to see the clear parallels between my life and yours. Like it was for me, a throne is God’s purpose for you (1 Peter 2:9-12), a cross is his path for you (Matt. 10:37-39), and faith is his plan for you (2 Cor. 5:7). See you next time.

The post David’s Story, Part 3 – 1 Samuel 21-22 appeared first on Grace thru faith.

My name translates into English as “beloved” and Jonathon’s is “God has given.” God loved me so much that he gave me Jonathon as a friend.

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

After defeating Goliath and helping the Israelite army put the Philistines to rout, I was the focus of much celebration, but for some reason neither Saul nor his general Abner recognized me. Of course, they were both very important dignitaries and I was just a growing shepherd boy, barely into my teens, but I had played the harp for Saul and was one of his armor-bearers. When Saul told him to find out more about me, Abner had me brought to them where Saul asked whose son I was. “The son of Jesse of Bethlehem,” I replied. Then he remembered.

Saul’s son Jonathon and I quickly became such good friends that Saul kept me with them, not letting me return to my father’s house. Jonathon and I even made a covenant together, pledging our loyalty to each other forever. As you’ll soon see, in my day such a bond was stronger than even family ties.

Because of my bravery in facing Goliath, Saul gave me a high rank in the army. He put me in charge of some men and sent us against the Philistines again and again. Each time the Lord showed us favor and we were victorious. Before long I was commanding a thousand-man force, and we were really giving the Philistines a bad time.

As we came through the towns of Israel, the women would come out to cheer us, singing, “Saul has slain his thousands and David his tens of thousands!” When Saul heard this, he became exceedingly jealous and began devising ways to get rid of me, suspecting I was trying to take the kingdom from him. (I don’t think he really understood that the Lord had already given it to me.)

One of the rewards promised to the soldier who killed Goliath was to receive the King’s daughter in marriage, so Saul offered me Merab, his oldest. Don’t let his apparent kindness fool you. He continued to send me into the fiercest battles, having decided to let the Philistines kill me for him. This way he would get his daughter back and still look like an honorable man. But I said I wasn’t qualified to enter the king’s family, so Merab was married to Adriel of Meholah instead.

Discovering that his second daughter Michal was in love with me, Saul next offered her to me. He thought she’d distract me with her love and cause me to make a mistake in battle and be killed. This time I explained my situation more clearly. I didn’t qualify to marry one of the king’s daughters because being from a shepherd’s family, I was a poor man and couldn’t afford the dowry of a princess.

Saul made the dowry issue go away, while cleverly devising another scheme to have the Philistines do his dirty work for him. “Just bring me the foreskins of 100 Philistines,” he said, “And that will be dowry enough.” He knew that a Philistine would die before letting his foreskin be taken, and thought that surely 100 of them would be enough to overpower me.

But I was overjoyed. Now I could marry Michal. My men and I went out and slew 200 Philistines and I brought all their foreskins to the King, to be sure I had met the requirement. Soon I was the king’s son-in-law, but Saul was even angrier now. He began to realize that the Lord was with me, not him, and now both a son and a daughter of his were aligned with me as well.

Bringing his closest men together, he instructed them to kill me. Jonathon warned me of this and then tried his best to persuade his father to leave me alone. “He hasn’t done anything to you,” Jonathon told Saul, “In fact, he’s helped you a great deal. Why are you after him like this?” At that Saul promised Jonathon he wouldn’t try to kill me anymore, a promise he would soon break. Just a few days later, as I was playing the harp for the king the evil spirit overpowered him again and he flung a spear at me, trying to pin me to the wall of his house. I ducked and the spear missed, but that night I made my escape from Saul’s house.

But Saul wasn’t done yet. He sent assassins after me to watch my house all night and told them to kill me as soon as I left in the morning. Michal spotted them and pushed me through a back window, urging me to flee into the night.

“You’ll be dead by morning if you stay,” she cried. Then she took our terriphim and laid it in the bed, arranging some goat hair around its head, to make it appear I was sleeping there in case the men stormed our house during the night. (Obviously, Michal and I were not idol worshipers. Terraphim are statues carved in the image of a man. In our day it was a tradition left over from ancient pagan times to demonstrate property ownership. That’s why you’ll sometimes hear terraphim called household gods or household idols.)

Saul was livid when he discovered the next day that she’d helped me get away. “Why did you deceive me and let my enemy escape?” he screamed at his daughter. Michal lied, telling him that I had threatened to kill her if she didn’t let me go.

For my part, I headed straight for Samuel. I needed some protection fast! He was the head of a school of prophets and hid me in their midst. Of course, Saul found out and sent men to capture me. But as they came for me, the Spirit of God came upon them and they began prophesying. This happened with three different groups of Saul’s soldiers. Each time the Spirit of God prevented them from capturing me. Finally, Saul himself came after me, and would you believe this, the Spirit had him doing it too, prophesying all day and into the night!

Through the power of the Spirit, I wrote about the cross, but I actually lived over 1000 years earlier. Back then we didn’t have the indwelling Spirit advising us on every thought and action like you do. The Holy Spirit came upon us from time to time directing us to do things God wanted or preventing us from doing things He didn’t. While I can’t say for sure, it sounded to me like the Holy Spirit was making Saul and his men prophesy about my future as Israel’s king to prevent them from harming me. It was a temporary empowerment, not a permanent one, similar to the way the Holy Spirit came upon the Disciples on the Day of Pentecost making it possible for everyone to understand them regardless of the language they spoke.

Jonathon was still not convinced that his father wanted me dead, so together we contrived a test. It was the beginning of a new month, and according to tradition a time for celebrating. Saul and his family had scheduled a feast and as his son-in-law, I was invited. I told Jonathon I’d be absent and if Saul asked about me to say I was with my family in Bethlehem. If Saul didn’t get mad, we’d know everything was OK, but if he did, we’d know he still planned to kill me. As we hatched our little plan, we also extended our covenant to include our descendants.

On the first day of the feast Saul didn’t say anything about my absence, but on the second day, he asked Jonathon where I was. When Jonathon gave him the excuse we’d agreed on and told his father that he’d given me permission, Saul became furious. “What kind of a son are you?” he demanded, “Why are you shaming your mother and me? Don’t you know that David is trying to steal the throne that by rights should be yours someday? Don’t you care that you’ll never be king as long as he’s alive? Now go bring him to me so I can kill him!”

“Why do you want him dead?” Jonathon asked, barely able to contain his anger, “What has he done?” But Saul threw a spear at Jonathon, trying to kill him, too. Jonathon ran from the house in a rage, and missing the festival meal altogether, hurried to warn me. Upon hearing the news I bowed before Jonathon three times, as a subject before a prince, and we said an emotional goodbye, again vowing our undying friendship, even to our descendants, forever.

My name translates into English as “beloved” and Jonathon’s is “God has given.” God loved me so much that he gave me Jonathon as a friend. Truly without him, I could not have survived Saul’s attacks against me. After Jonathon’s death at the Battle of Beth Shan and my ascension to the throne of Israel, I would expend a great deal of energy finding a relative of his to whom I could show just how much Jonathon’s friendship meant to me. As the King James translators would say 2600 years later, our two souls were knit together in love. (1 Sam 18:1)

If you have such a friend I urge you to do everything possible to nurture and protect the relationship. If you’ve lost one like this, no price would be too great to pay in reconciling. God has given each of His beloved a Jonathon. Who knows but that he or she was meant to be yours. 03-12-05

The post David’s Story Part 2 – 1 Samuel 18-20 appeared first on Grace thru faith.

Obed was the father of my father Jesse, so Boaz and Ruth were my great-grandparents. My name is David, a former shepherd boy from Bethlehem who became Israel’s greatest King.

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

Note: In Jack’s series, The Bible through the eyes of its writers, he writes in the first person as if the person was writing to us themselves. Here is his story of David.

After forty years in the wilderness, the Israelites finally crossed the Jordan to begin their conquest of the Promised Land. Joshua sent two spies into nearby Jericho to see what the place looked like from the inside, but they were spotted and the King of Jericho sent soldiers to capture them. Rahab, a resident of Jericho, offered to hide the Jewish spies from the King’s men, and in return, they agreed to save her and her family from the coming destruction.

After the massive city walls suddenly came crashing down in a tremendous display of God’s power, Jericho was defeated. As promised, Rahab was spared and joined the Israelites, having earlier proclaimed her faith in God. Later she married an Israelite named Salmon and they had a son, Boaz. Boaz became a prominent man around Bethlehem and eventually married Ruth, a Moabite princess who had come to live there with Naomi, his widowed sister-in-law. Their son Obed was the father of my father Jesse, so Boaz and Ruth were my great-grandparents. My name is David, a former shepherd boy from Bethlehem who became Israel’s greatest King.

One day when I was barely into my teens and out tending our family’s sheep, the great prophet Samuel arrived at our home. He had come to anoint one of my father Jesse’s eight sons as Israel’s next king because the Lord was fed up with Saul’s disobedience.

The Lord hadn’t told Samuel which of us He’d chosen, only to show up and follow instructions. After inviting my father and brothers to join with him in sacrificing a heifer to the Lord, Samuel started toward my oldest brother Eliab, thinking that since he looked the part he was probably the Lord’s choice.

But the Lord told him He wasn’t interested in physical appearance alone, but the motive of a man’s heart, and had Samuel reject him. He did the same to all my other brothers as well. Finally, Samuel asked my father if he had any more sons.

“There is still the youngest,” my father replied, referring to me, “But he’s tending the sheep.”

Samuel said, “Send for him.”

When I was brought in, the Lord told Samuel, “Rise and anoint him; he’s the one.”

So Samuel opened the horn of oil he had brought and used some to anoint me in the presence of my father and brothers, and from that day on I felt the power of the Spirit of the Lord upon me.

Later, when the Lord withdrew His anointing from Saul, an evil spirit came to take its place. Saul’s advisors suggested that someone who could play soothing music on a harp would help him get through his periods of torment. One of them mentioned that he had heard me play and thought I could do the job. So once again I was called away from our family’s sheep. My father put me on a donkey, gave me some food and drink and sent me off to report to Saul.

Saul liked my playing, so he made me one of his armor-bearers and asked my father to let me stay with him. From then on, whenever Saul was being tormented I would play for him. My playing gave Saul relief and made him feel better, and the evil spirit would leave.

Several years later we got word that our enemies, the Philistines, were gathering for war. They’d given us trouble before, so Saul knew to get the Israelite army together for a big battle. The two armies wound up on opposite hillsides separated by the Valley of Elah, about 15 miles west of Bethlehem. It was there that the battle would take place.

The Philistines had adopted the strategy of having champions decide the outcome of their battles. It went like this. One man from each army would come to the center of the battlefield, where they would fight each other. Whichever man won would achieve the victory for the army he represented. The army of the loser would suffer the defeat and become subject to the winners. So the Philistines sent a giant of a man, Goliath was his name, to challenge the Israelites. He was huge! Over nine feet tall and possessed of incredible strength. The Israelites were so intimidated that they sat there cowering for 40 days while Goliath came out to taunt them every morning. Even the promise that they would be given great wealth, marry the King’s daughter, and have their family exempted from paying taxes wasn’t sufficient incentive for anyone to risk their lives against this monster.

I had left Saul’s service and returned home, but when my three oldest brothers joined the army to fight the Philistines, I sometimes came to the camp to bring them food. One morning I arrived in time to hear Goliath’s daily taunt. I was appalled!

“Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the Living God?” I demanded. My oldest brother lit into me for that one, telling me to be quiet and accusing me of shirking my duties to come and watch the battle. I think that he, like the others, was embarrassed by the taunts of Goliath. And even though I had been anointed as Israel’s next King, I was still his kid brother.

I went off and talked to others and soon word of my comments came to Saul, and he had me brought to him. Because it had been several years, Saul didn’t recognize me as the boy who had played the harp for him, and I didn’t remind him.

“Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine,” I told Saul, “I’ll go out and fight him.”

“You’re just a boy, and this giant has been a warrior since his youth,” Saul replied, “You can’t go out and fight him.”

“I’ve saved my father’s sheep from a lion and a bear,” I said, ” and when they turned on me, I killed them both. The Lord, Who protected me from them will protect me from this Philistine.”

And so Saul relented and gave me permission to go.

Now before you accuse me of an excessive dose of youthful bravado, consider this. The Lord had sent Samuel to anoint me as Israel’s next king. Then he empowered me to kill a lion and a bear, showing me that he wouldn’t let anything happen to me before His promise came true.

Plus, Goliath was offending the Lord by taunting His army. Someone had to give that monster his due. Who better than one who couldn’t be harmed?

Saul had me try on his armor, but since he stood a head taller than most grown men, and with me just a teenager, it was too big and heavy for me to maneuver in. Finally, I took it off and went out with just my staff, my sling, and five stones I had picked up in a nearby brook.

When Goliath saw me, he laughed at first then became angry that a boy had come to challenge him. It was an insult to his prowess as a warrior, and he threatened me and cursed me in the name of his gods.

I shouted back, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

I put a stone in my sling and ran toward him letting it fly with all my strength. It struck him between the eyes and sunk clear into his brain killing him instantly. Then I used his own sword to cut off his head and held it aloft for all to see. Whatever bravery the Philistine army previously had vanished in a flash and they took off headlong, some toward Gath, and others toward Ekron, the nearest fortified cities. Saul’s army chased them all the way and the road was strewn with their dead bodies. And so the Israelites defeated the Philistines in the Valley of Elah.

You know, in many ways you’re a lot like me. The Lord has set his seal of ownership on you and anointed you with His Holy Spirit. You too are destined to become a king, and no enemy can take your life before that time. Like me, you’ll have many battles along the way but no matter how big and powerful your attackers are, the Lord is bigger and in His strength, you will defeat them all.

Next time you’re in one of those battles, remember this. Saul’s entire army cowered before Goliath, but a shepherd boy brought him down with one small stone. Saul’s army represents you in your own strength, Goliath stands for Satan, and I was there as a model of the Holy Spirit. People at their strongest are woefully outclassed in a spiritual battle with Satan and can only cower before him in fear. But when the Holy Spirit takes charge, it becomes like child’s play. As the Apostle John would one day write, “The One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)

Well, we’re just getting started with the story of my life, so I hope you’ll join me again next time. Shalom. 03-06-05

The post David’s Story Part 1 appeared first on Grace thru faith.

Let’s Take A Look At What They Say

In Matt 11:14-15, the Lord informed Israel that if they chose to accept John the Baptist as “the Elijah who was to come” then he would be. The implications of their choice were staggering, requiring that Jesus is accepted as their Messiah as well since the mission of Elijah was to herald the coming Messiah. Had this happened, all of Israel’s Kingdom promises would have begun to come true. Israel’s leaders rejected both John and Jesus, and the result was a 2000 year pause in the fulfillment of Israel’s destiny.

In Matt 13:9, Mark 4:9, and Luke 8:8 the subject is the Sower and the four soils, which the Lord identified as a parable about His Word in the church age and the opposition it will encounter. The opposition obviously includes Satan, but also some ordinary people who refuse to become knowledgeable about His word, being too preoccupied with various earthly circumstances. Having chosen to place their emphasis on the things of this world, He proclaimed, many will find the next one to be distinctively not to their liking.

More Cause and Effect

In Mark 4:23 the subject is the revelation of things hidden, and the relationship between considering and understanding. There’s a connection here with the references above because the Lord clearly identified the cause and effect relationship between the effort we put forth in studying, and the depth of understanding we’ll attain. Every detail of God’s plan will be revealed, but only the diligent student will comprehend.

“Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you–and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” With the measure you use (time and effort in study) it will be measured to you (level of comprehension) Mark 4:24-25.

Mark 7:16, where the phrase is omitted in modern translations, has to do with clean and unclean foods. The Lord declared all foods clean and the heart of man incurably unclean, and warned us again that spiritual cleanliness is a matter of the heart, not of behavior. It’s another application of a principle we’ve discussed before. That which is physical and external in the Old Testament becomes spiritual and internal in the New Testament.

And Still More

Luke 14:35 is a parable about salt and saltiness. Salt was a preservative; retarding the effect of spoilage in the age before refrigeration. In the parable, it’s a model of the church. If salt loses its saltiness it’s useless. It has no other purpose. If the church loses its preservative nature, no longer retarding the spoiling effect of sin in the world, it too becomes useless. As He predicted, becoming too immersed in the things of this world has rendered the latter-day church all but ineffective in retarding the spoilage of the world due to sin.

Church History According to Jesus

The 7 references in Revelation 2-3 also describe the church age. Each follows an admonition to a group claiming to be part of the church. To those caught up in organized religion, He warns, “Come back to your first love (Rev. 2:5).” To those suffering persecution, He admonishes, “Be faithful (Rev. 2:10).” To those practicing idolatry, He commands, “Repent (Rev. 2:16).” To those wrapped up in cult-like systems, He threatens repayment according to their deeds (Rev. 2:22). He accuses mainline denominations of being spiritually dead (Rev. 3:1), comforts evangelicals with the promise of His return for them (Rev. 3:10), and condemns apostates to eternal loss (Rev. 3:16). For each group, a clear choice is given and each group is admonished to comprehend it.

The Times of the End

Finally, the variation “Let the reader understand” in Matt 24:15 concerns events that signal the end of the age. Here the Lord commanded us to understand eschatology; the study of the end times. The sad fact that so-called theologians have made this a controversial issue is no excuse. He wouldn’t require you to understand without giving you the capacity to do so (review Mark 4:23-25). Failure to do this, He implied, will result in us being mistaken about the purpose of those events, and woefully ignorant concerning the signs of His return. And so we are.

Truth or Consequences

In each case, those being addressed are offered a clear choice, consequences are foretold, and a commandment to understand is given. It is as clean cut a model as you’ll find anywhere in Scripture of the basis on which the Lord has determined to relate to us. Whether we’re a part of Israel, the Church, or the World, the underlying principle is choice.

Ultimately the consequences of our choices can be a matter of life or death.  We will either say to Him, “Lord, Thy Will be done” and accept His offer of eternal life with Him, or He will say to us, “mankind, thy will be done” and send us to a place where we’ll never have to hear His voice again. 06-30-03

The post He Who Has Ears, Let Him Hear appeared first on Grace thru faith.

In Matt. 6:31-33 Jesus said if we seek His kingdom and His righteousness, God will supply all our needs. Here’s a beautiful story from the Old Testament to show this wasn’t a new idea when Jesus spoke it, but was documented in their history.

The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the LORD. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.”

Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”

“Your servant has nothing here at all,” she said, “Except a little oil.”

Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the doors behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars and as each is filled, put it to one side.”

She left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.”

But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.

She went and told the man of God and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.” (2 Kings 4:1-7)

What’s The Meaning Of This?

In the time following the death of King Solomon and the division of Israel into two kingdoms, there was a period of general indifference and apostasy, especially in the North.  During this time men who maintained their faith in the Lord formed study groups in various places for the purpose of keeping knowledge of the Lord alive.  These study groups were called companies of prophets.  Although the men in these groups were not official prophets of Israel,  the Lord blessed them with spiritual gifts including the gift of prophecy.  Both Elijah and his successor Elisha maintained close relationships with these groups.

As our story opens, a man who had served the Lord by joining one of these companies of prophets has recently died.  His time of service obviously limited his income and at his death, he not only had no inheritance to leave but had actually gone into debt. Now it was the duty of his family to repay his creditor.

Having no property or money, they were facing indentured servitude, a legal form of debt repayment in those days. But since there were no jobs for women back then, if the sons were forced into slavery the widow would be left with no means of support.  It was a huge problem for which they had no remedy.  It was miraculously solved by the Lord’s increase of her small supply of oil, a valuable commodity.

Elisha told the widow to ask her neighbors for as many empty jars as she could get. Then the Lord supernaturally increased her supply of oil so that when she had finished filling all the jars she had collected, she had so much oil to sell that she could pay off all their debts and support herself and her family for the rest of their lives with the money she would receive.

The widow and her sons hadn’t done anything to earn this. It was a gift by the Grace of God, and it far exceeded their wildest expectations, solving not only their current problem but preventing any future financial problems as well. They were set for the rest of their lives, and all they had to do was to ask.

Concealed In The Old…

Paul wrote, “Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4).  It’s a statement of enormous significance to New Testament believers because it explains that the history of Israel (the Old Testament) is filled with events that are meant to instruct us in the ways of the Lord. It’s there to encourage us as well, as we bring a New Testament perspective to Old Testament events. The story of the widow and the oil is a great example, and even though it really happened, it can be interpreted as a parable where every character and thing represents something else.

The widow and her sons can represent the world.  Ever since the Lord had Moses anoint Aaron with special oil in creating the Levitical Priesthood, oil has traditionally been used to symbolize the Holy Spirit.  And the empty jars stand for unregenerate people just as they do in Jesus’ miracle of turning water into wine (John 2:1-11).

Revealed In The New

Financially speaking, the destitute widow and her sons were facing a life of slavery.  Spiritually speaking, when the Messiah came everyone in the world was facing a life of slavery to sin.  It was a huge problem for which they had no remedy. The only presence of the Holy Spirit to be found was in Jesus (John 7:37-39). Just as Elisha had told the widow and her sons to gather empty jars, Jesus told His disciples to go into all the world baptizing in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19).

As long as the widow had empty jars, her supply of oil expanded to fill them. As she filled each jar she set it aside.  As Jesus gave the Holy Spirit to His disciples (John 20:22) and they, in turn, gave Him to others, the availability of the Holy Spirit expanded beyond Israel to meet the worldwide need. From then until now every new believer receives the Holy Spirit at the moment of belief (Ephe. 1:13-14, 2 Cor. 1:21-22).  There is always enough for each one and there always will be for as long as people come. As each one of us comes and receives the Holy Spirit we are set apart.  Our debts are paid (past sins are forgiven) our appointment with slavery is canceled, and we will never be indebted again (our future sins are also forgiven). Colossians 2:13-14, 2 Cor. 5:17, Hebrews 10:12-14 all confirm this.

When all the jars the widow and her sons had collected were filled the oil stopped flowing.  The widow and her sons were set for life.  When the predetermined number of believers has come into the Church, the indwelling ministry of the Holy Spirit will end and we will be whisked off to our eternal home with the Lord (John 14:2-3, Romans 11:25).  We’ll be set forever.

Are you as amazed as I am at the New Testament theology in this passage from 2 Kings 4:1-7? Here is salvation by grace, the remission of sin, the redemption of the soul, the gift of life, and eternal security all rolled up and tied off in one neat package. Of course, you have to know something about the New Testament to see it. And if you didn’t know the Old Testament you wouldn’t know where to find the story. Proof again that the Bible isn’t two books, it’s one. And those who only read half, no matter which half, are missing the point. And that is,  what’s contained in the Old is explained in the New.  Put another way, what’s concealed in the Old is revealed in the New. To get the whole story, you have to read the whole book.  Selah 07-13-13

The post The Widow And The Oil appeared first on Grace thru faith.

For years the Lord has been done a terrible disservice over the issue of Paul’s complaint about the thorn in his flesh, and it’s time to set the record straight. If you’ve been taught that “My Grace is sufficient for you” was the Lord’s excuse for not healing Paul, then pay close attention. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then get ready for a great example of how folks distort the meaning of Scripture—either to satisfy their pre-conceived notions or justify their lack of faith.

Jack’s note from 2008: (This is an update of an article I first published in 1999.  I’ve received several emails lately questioning the views I expressed in my study entitled O You Of Little Faith.  In each of them, a misinterpretation of Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was used to support the theory that God sometimes refuses to heal us when we ask.   Sadly, this misinterpretation is all too common among Christians today.  I’ve updated and expanded the article and offer it in response to these questions.  Be blessed.)

My Grace Is Sufficient For You

To get the context, let’s read Paul’s words from 2 Corinthians 12:7-9.

To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Before we look at the problem, let’s review the popular interpretation. According to some, Paul’s eyesight was permanently damaged when he was blinded on the Damascus Road. Supposedly, this caused a disease of the eye common to the day, especially around Damascus. Its name was ophthalmia, and the visible symptom was a stream of pus running out of the eyes and down the face. It was nearly as repugnant as leprosy. The popular interpretation holds that this is the thorn in his flesh Paul was referring to when he asked the Lord for healing three times and was refused.

The “lesson” of this interpretation is that even the great Paul wasn’t healed when he asked and that the Lord had actually given him this disease to help him overcome his pride. We’re to understand that God gives us disease (and misfortune as well) to help us overcome our sins and that we shouldn’t ask for healing from something the Lord gave us for that purpose. If we do ask and don’t get healed, it’s because the Lord is dealing with us.  All this is wrapped up in the Father’s love, saying that He’s working for our good in spite of our selfish desires.

So what’s wrong with that view? Well, aside from the fact that the Lord handled our sin problem at the cross and now sees us as being without any imperfection (2 Cor. 5:21), and that it comes perilously close to the Eastern notion of karma, the context makes it ridiculous, and the translation is flawed.

What’s The Context?

Just imagine you’re the Creator of the universe. Out of your boundless love, you’ve given the life of your Son to redeem your creation from its bondage to sin, and you’ve gone to great lengths to recruit someone to go around telling people about it so they can be saved. You want this person to prove that you’re much greater than all their pagan gods so you bring him right up to your very throne and show him things no other man has ever seen so He can speak with authority. (2 Cor. 12:2-4) And you empower him to heal them from their diseases (Acts 19:11-12) and even raise some of them from the dead (Acts 20:7-12).

But every time he speaks of your wonderful love and miraculous power, he has to stand there with pus running out of both eyes and explain that you gave him this disease and won’t heal him because you’re afraid he’ll become too proud.  Would he have a credibility problem? I’d say so.

Now let’s learn what the passage really says. The word for thorn literally means a pointed stake and recalls a situation in Judges 2 when the Israelites failed to rid the land of all its previous inhabitants as God had commanded (Deut. 20:16-18).  Because of their failure to obey Him, The Angel of the Lord declared that these people would become perpetual enemies to oppose the Israelites physically and distract them spiritually.  He then coined the phrase “thorn in your sides” to symbolize their physical and spiritual opposition.  From that day to this, these people have inflicted incredible physical abuse upon God’s people.

The word torment actually means to rap with the fist, or buffet. It also comes from a root meaning to physically punish.

In both these words, there’s a clear implication of physical attack. So the real story of Paul’s thorn in the flesh goes more like this. Everywhere Paul went he was physically abused. Hear his own account from 2 Cor. 11:23-26:

“I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea. I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers.”

Is He Dead Yet?

I urge you to study these events carefully in Acts. For example, in Philippi, Paul and Silas were stripped and severely beaten with rods. The flesh on their backs was bruised and bleeding, and the pain was incredible, but they were taken to prison without medical attention, their hands and feet secured in stocks, forcing them to sit in an upright position, making sleep virtually impossible even if the pain would have allowed it.

But at midnight they were heard singing hymns of praise, and the doors of the prison broke open, freeing them. They went to the home of the jailer, who washed and fed them. The miracles he had seen caused his whole family to be saved that night. The next morning when they were officially released, they walked 30 miles to Amphipolis having received no medical treatment and having had no recovery time, not even a night’s sleep. (Acts 16:22-40) The Lord had healed them.

But an earlier incident in Lystra is perhaps the most dramatic.  A group of angry Jews from Antioch and Iconium had followed Paul to Lystra. When they caught up with him, they took up stones and stoned him. (Acts 14:19-20)  Remember, stoning was the Jewish method of execution. It consisted of immobilizing a person, sometimes by burying him up to his waist, and then hurling rocks at his head and upper body until he died.

Believing they had been successful and that Paul was dead, they dragged his body outside the city and left it there for the wild dogs to eat. But the believers gathered around him and prayed.  Paul got up and went back into the city with them. The next day he walked 25 miles to Derbe.  It’s like walking home from your execution; it just doesn’t happen.

These are incredible examples of God’s miraculous power. Contrary to the popular interpretation, Paul was physically healed by the grace of God over and over again.  He was rescued from the open sea and even raised from the dead.  It was a great testimony of God’s strength perfected in Paul’s weakness.

The idea that God doesn’t heal people anymore can’t be supported by this or any other scripture.  The real lesson here is that while God refused to eliminate the resistance to Paul’s ministry, He promised to see him through it successfully if Paul would walk in faith down the path God had set before him.  Imagine the faith Paul must have had, going into those towns knowing his enemies were waiting and would try to stop him again.  But each time it happened, and each time God healed him, his faith was strengthened, God’s glory was increased, and the Gospel was spread.

In the conquest of the Promised Land, God could have simply struck all of Israel’s enemies dead, but instead, He required Israel to fight, telling them in advance that they would achieve victory.  The only defeat they suffered was when they disobeyed, and as soon as they confessed He gave them that victory too. (Joshua 7-8)

Jesus said that in this world we will have trials, but to take heart because He has overcome the world.  (John 16:33) What He meant by that is He may not choose to deliver you from the trials you face in this world, but He will never leave you or forsake you as you go through them, and given the chance, He will miraculously restore you to show forth His glory.   The only reason Paul performed greater miracles than we do is because he had bigger faith.  The only reason he had bigger faith is because he fought bigger battles.  Selah 10-18-08

The post My Grace is Sufficient For You appeared first on Grace thru faith.

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. (James 5:16) The Bible has a lot to say about prayer. After all, it’s the way we communicate with our Lord. And all of it promises that God hears and answers prayers, especially those offered by two or more in agreement (Matt. 18:19). The Lord personally promised His disciples that He will do whatever we ask in His name so that the Son may bring glory to the Father (John 14:13, 15:7, 15:16). So why do so many otherwise faithful Christians have difficulty submitting their requests to God and waiting in faith for an answer? Why do we often pray only as a last resort after all our other strategies have failed, and then get upset when we don’t seem to get an answer?

Peace Beyond Understanding

In Phil. 4:4-7 we’re promised that if we rejoice in all our circumstances and fearlessly present our requests to God with thanksgiving, He’ll provide a peace that surpasses human understanding to guard our hearts and minds. There’s a lot of good stuff in those few verses, and by sincerely following this advice I’ve seen miraculous answers to prayer, in my own life and in others.

First, rejoice in all circumstances, even those you’d rather not be in. Remember the Lord warned that we’d have some difficult times in this world, but to take heart because He had overcome this world (John 16:33). He could have said, “Cheer up, this too shall pass.” Moreover, by rejoicing in all circumstances, not just the pleasant ones, we deprive the enemy of victory while making our own situation more tolerable. Besides, maybe the Lord’s going to use our problem to bring about some great blessing. He doesn’t contrive difficulties for us to make us into better people (we’re already perfect in His sight, remember?) but He is the Master at turning lemons into lemonade when we cooperate. Thanking Him in advance helps create the climate for blessing.

Next, we’re told not to be anxious about anything. We walk by faith, not by sight, remember? Just because we can’t see the happy ending doesn’t mean there won’t be one. Pray for it, thanking God in advance for seeing you through. Pray for everything, be fearful of nothing, and thankful for anything.

And here’s the best part. When you sincerely follow Paul’s instructions to the Philippians, the Lord will cause a peace to descend upon you irrespective of your circumstances; a peace that will guard your heart and mind, keeping you from having a meltdown while He works things out for your benefit. Never forget that He’s committed to working everything together for the good of those who love Him and are “the called” (the Church), according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). Your world could be coming apart at the seams, and yet you can be a paragon of peace and strength to those around you because of these promises made by One who cannot lie or change His mind (Num. 23:19).

So what’s the problem?

In John 15:7 we’re told that if we remain in Him and His words remain in us, we can ask whatever we wish and it will be given us. See the conditions? If we remain in Him means if we’re in fellowship, if we haven’t let our un-confessed sins create a disconnect in our relationship that has disrupted communication. Many Christians are big on knowing what God should do for them, but not so big on their responsibility to remain in fellowship. It’s not that it’s so difficult. Just be humble enough to admit you’re a sinner and sincerely ask for forgiveness. He’s promised in advance to grant it (1 John 1:9) and it’s how we become righteous again and restored to fellowship. If we claim to be without sin we deceive ourselves and the Truth is not in us (1 John 1:8). We can’t go more than a few minutes without sinning, yet I suspect many go through much of their lives without confessing and then blame God when their prayers aren’t answered. There’s another sin to confess.

His words remaining in us means we remember and claim His promises to us, several of which I’ve enumerated above. In all of God’s miraculous work, our faith is the variable, not His ability. In reading about the miracles in the Gospels, it’s always made clear that the faith of the petitioner facilitated the miracle. The Greek word for faith means to stake our lives on His promises. If we’re willing to stake our lives on His promise to save us from our sins and rescue us from hell, why can’t we trust Him to help us find a new job, or send the money to make our mortgage payment? The devil would like you to forget His promises, but faith requires that you remember them. They’re the foundation upon which your faith is built. Ours is not a blind faith, but one justified by His promises.

My daughter Jessica was almost literally on the way to the airport when the money arrived to pay for her ticket to Brazil (no I didn’t send it!) She believed the Lord was calling her to missionary work there, so she went. When I asked her about it, she simply said, “When it’s His will, it’s His bill.”

“Ah, the naiveté of youth,” you say. But she had spent months confessing her sins, preparing her heart, and seeking His will in prayer. She had done her part and trusted the Lord to do His.

Your Faith Has Made You Well

Allison was a young woman so afflicted by epilepsy that it was literally ruining her life. She couldn’t get her degree because the stress of finals always brought on a seizure causing her to miss the exams. Her fear of a public seizure kept her from making friends. In shame, she moved from the mid-west to Utah where she became a Christian. After months and months of studying the Bible and praying for healing she had a dream that she would come to our church (she wasn’t a member), suffer a seizure there and be healed. Imagine the guts it took to walk into that church for the first time knowing that she was going to disrupt everything and suffer huge embarrassment because of her disease. But she had confessed her sins and prepared her heart, so in faith, she came. Right in the middle of the lesson she let out a scream and keeled over, bringing the service to a halt. After recovering from the shock, I gathered people around me who believed God could work a miracle and as her face turned blue from oxygen deprivation we asked Him to heal her. She sat up with a start, and the paramedics who had been called just checked her over and left. Later her doctors tried unsuccessfully to induce a seizure and so they pronounced her cured. She threw away her medication and returned home to resume her interrupted life. Years later she’s still doing fine. She had remained in Him and His words remained in her. Her faith healed her. I could relate countless other stories of prayers in faith that produced miracles, all of which involved active preparation and participation by the petitioner.

But there’s one more problem. Usually, we’re not willing to let God answer our prayers in the way He thinks best. In my prayers, I’ve learned to put forth my solution to whatever problem I’m facing, but then “remind” the Lord that I know He might have a different solution in mind, and that it’s OK to do things His way. I know that He Who sees the end from the beginning has a much better perspective, and will ALWAYS come up with a better plan than any I could fashion. Mostly He lets me have my way, but once in awhile he’ll conjure up something that knocks my socks off.

What’s The Formula?

I’m not big on “formula” prayers, but here’s a prayer outline I was given years ago that’s held me in good stead. The teacher called it the ACTS method. It’s an acronym.

• A stands for adoration. Tell the Lord how much you love Him. You don’t do it nearly enough.
• C is for confession. Always invoke 1 John 1:9 and be restored to righteousness. Remember, the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
• T is for thanksgiving. Thank Him in arrears for blessings you’ve received in the past and in advance for those you’ll receive in the future. Finally
• S is for supplication. Having told Him how much you love Him, restored yourself to fellowship, and expressed your gratitude for all the ways He’s blessed you in the past, you’re now in the right position to ask for yet another favor.

To that, I’ll add one more thought. It pays to end your prayers the same way Jesus did in the garden, “Not my will, Father, but yours.” Of course, you have to truly believe the Lord can do a better job of running your life than you can. Selah

The post The Prayers of a Righteous Person appeared first on Grace thru faith.

That’s the question non-believers often ask after seeing “The Passion Of The Christ,” and it’s a good one. Why does there have to be so much violence?

The easy answer pertains to the movie. There’s so much violence in the film because Mel Gibson wanted to make it as realistic a portrayal of actual events as possible. And even a cursory look at the people and the times tells you they were both very violent. Remember, some of their mass entertainment in those days involved watching humans being torn apart by wild animals for sport.

The Romans were oppressive conquerors who brooked absolutely no violation of their enforced peace, the “Pax Romana.” Executions were public and hideously violent, and all punishment was bloody and life threatening. (The Apostle Paul, being a Roman citizen, was legally spared from the standard, excruciatingly painful forms of execution because it was believed that Roman citizens were too good for that. He was merely beheaded.)

Who Started This?

But the Romans weren’t the first, and by no means were they the most violent. The Assyrians, inventors of crucifixion, skinned people alive, chopped off their heads and mounted them on poles. The Babylonians threw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego live into a roaring furnace. They threw Daniel, an old man in his 80s, into a den of hungry lions. The Jews stretched Isaiah between two horses and sawed him in half. Mark was tied up and dragged into a fire to burn alive. Bartholomew was beaten with barrel staves, crucified and then beheaded. Peter was crucified upside down. Antipas was slowly roasted alive in a giant bronze kettle. Others were boiled alive, drawn and quartered, nailed to trees—and all this in public. It was thought to be a deterrent to crime. And we think our death by injection is barbaric.

Three Theological Thorns

The harder answer pertains to theology, specifically the difficulty in making the punishment fit the crime. Sins are crimes against God and His need for justice requires punishment. Jesus came to Earth as the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). So what do you have to do to adequately punish someone for all the sins of mankind? Man’s sins are stacked up to the heavens, and God cannot ignore them.

We say, “He’s God. He can do anything. Why doesn’t He just forgive us?” The problem is, He’s not like us. He can’t express any of His attributes at the expense of any other one like we can. In other words, He can’t be arbitrary, or two-faced. If He wants to show mercy, His righteousness must first be satisfied. Before He can express His love for us, His needs for justice have to be met. If He wants to forgive our debts, someone else has to pay.

It’s said that about half of the people ever born are alive today. Each one of us has committed enough sin to warrant the death penalty. That means 13 billion people deserve to die for their sins, and a just God simply cannot overlook that. But because He so loves the world, He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16) His Son would pay the penalty due us. So what does it take for God’s justice to be served, so that out of His love for us he can purchase 13 billion pardons? (Remember that although many will go unclaimed, 13 billion pardons were purchased on the cross.)

I Hate It When That Happens

Second, what sort of suffering must one man endure to demonstrate how much God hates sin? In this age of Grace, we have such a candy coated perception of sin that we’ve forgotten how much God hates it. He HATES it. He destroyed well over a million people in the Great Flood because of their sins. What would He have to do to His Son to assuage His anger over all the sins in the history of mankind?

I Told You So

And then there’s the issue of prophecy. To prove that He was the Messiah, Jesus had to fulfill all the prophecies about His life AND death. Some of them had been a matter of public record for nearly 1000 years when He arrived on Earth. Prophecies like these:

Your wrath has swept over me;
your terrors have destroyed me.
All day long they surround me like a flood;
they have completely engulfed me.
You have taken my companions and loved ones from me;
the darkness is my closest friend. (Psalm 88:16-18)

I offered my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;
I did not hide my face
from mocking and spitting. (Isa 50:6)

Just as there were many who were appalled at him-
his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man
and his form marred beyond human likeness- (Isa 52:14)

I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted away within me.
My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.
Dogs have surrounded me;
a band of evil men has encircled me,
they have pierced my hands and my feet.
I can count all my bones;
people stare and gloat over me.
They divide my garments among them
and cast lots for my clothing. (Psalm 22:14-18)

Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all. (Isa 53:4-6)

So There You Have It

Three huge problems to address. A lesser god would have washed his hands of us and gone away to let us die in our sins as we deserve. It took an unbelievable amount of punishment—punishment that in both intensity and duration exceeds what any other man has ever experienced—to make it possible for God to forgive us.

But Jesus, in all His love for us, agreed to endure it. And in all the blood and gore and pain and suffering let’s not forget this one thing. It was sufficient. His last words from the cross when translated literally come out “Paid in full!” And the fact that three days later He walked out of the tomb, having conquered death, proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that He had done it!

You see, if Jesus took upon Himself all the sins of the world as the prophecy above states (He literally became the physical embodiment of sin), and if God cannot abide the presence of sin, then the fact that He is alive at the right hand of God today proves that the price He paid was sufficient. For if even one little sin from all those that ever have or ever will be committed by man remained unpaid at the cross, He’d still be in the grave.

But since He came out of the tomb, you can make absolutely certain that you will, too. For if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)

The post Why all the Violence? appeared first on Grace thru faith.

As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. (Matt 4:18-20)

According to John’s gospel Jesus and Peter first met after John the Baptist introduced Jesus to two of his disciples as “The Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:35).  Andrew, one of those disciples, immediately rushed to inform his brother Peter that he had seen the Messiah. Peter and Andrew were fishermen from Bethsaida, a fishing village (Bethsaida means “House of Fishing”) on the northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus of course was known as a carpenter’s son who grew up in Nazareth, a town about a day’s walk up into the steep hills that separated the Galilee from the plains of Megiddo to the west.

Take Me To Your Leader

Andrew brought Peter to meet Jesus and within a day or two Jesus had asked them to follow Him.  James and John, another pair of brothers who were also fishermen, were the next two disciples chosen and these four became the closest ones to Jesus, forming an inner circle of sorts. And of the 12, Peter became the group’s informal leader.

Peter’s small town naiveté and unabashed machismo teamed up to make him a take charge kind of guy, and Jesus seemed to take a special delight in him. Peter’s periodic bouts of “foot in mouth” disease must have given the Lord countless hours of laughter.

But it was his courage that most distinguished him. When Jesus approached the disciples’ boat, walking on the water, it was Peter who got out of the boat and walked across the water toward him (Matt. 14:28-31). It was Peter who made the first public declaration of the Lords’ true identity as the Messiah of Israel (Matt. 16:13-16). When they were surrounded by a large contingent of armed temple guards on the night of the Lord’s arrest, it was Peter who drew a sword and cut off Malchus’ ear (John 18:10). He was ready to take on the whole bunch.

That’s why it was such a shock to everyone when a powerless servant girl scared Peter into denying the Lord three times later that night. It was so out of character for him. Jesus had anticipated this, predicting that Peter would do just that after hearing him boast that even if everyone else deserted the Lord, he would not (Matt. 26:33-34).

Reverting to Peter’s original name, the Lord had said, “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22:31-32)

What an amazing thing to say! First of all, notice that Satan had to ask permission before he could touch the disciples (the Greek word for “you” in the first sentence is plural) and then see that Jesus was already interceding for Peter. Not that he would be spared his ordeal, but that his faith would be strong enough to sustain him through it. Finally Jesus told Peter to strengthen his brothers after his ordeal was over, showing that the Lord’s prayers on Peter’s behalf had already been answered.

None of what Peter was going to do would catch Jesus by surprise, and from His perspective, none of it would cause the slightest change in their relationship. But Peter’s failure would humble him, give him more compassion and make him a better leader. And the other disciples would be comforted in that the failure of their courageous leader would somehow make their own failures easier to bear.

Paul would later write, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” (2 Cor. 1:3-4)

Someone has paraphrased these verses saying, “Our life is a ministry and our sorrows are our credentials.” Peter’s sorrows would make him a more effective minister to his flock. And the Holy Spirit would use Peter’s new-found compassion to demonstrate just how dramatic a change can be wrought in the life of a willing believer. His sermons in Acts 2:14-39 and Acts 3:11-26 must have astounded and amazed those listeners who had known him for any length of time.

Do You Still Love Me?

Perhaps the best way to understand the extent of the Lord’s faithfulness to Peter is to listen in on his so-called reinstatement. We’ll need to insert the Greek words for love to get the full impact.

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” The word He used for love here is “agapeo”, which in the Greek language is the highest and purest form of love.

“Yes, Lord,” he said, “You know that I love you.” But Peter used the word “phileo” which denotes a brotherly love or affection, a much less intense form of love.

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?” (agapeo)

He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” (phileo)

Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” (phileo)

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” (phileo)

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. (John 21:15-17)

By backing down to Peter’s all too human level of love, Jesus completed the reinstatement, in effect saying, “I know you’re giving me all the love you can and it’s enough.”

And so it is with us. None of what we’ll ever do can catch Jesus by surprise,  and from His perspective, none of it can cause the slightest change in our relationship with Him. He knew every one of our sins before He went to the cross, and gave His life so we could be cleansed of all of them. We can’t surprise Him, we can’t disappoint Him, and we can’t let Him down. If He chooses to deliver us from a situation, He can. If not, He’s at the right hand of the Father interceding for us, praying us through it just like He was with Peter (Romans 8:34).  And like he did with Peter, He’ll use the situation to make us a better model of what His love can accomplish in the life of a willing believer. Selah 06-11-05

The post Jesus And Peter appeared first on Grace thru faith.

Recently my belief that Jesus is God in human form was challenged again. This has happened to me several times in the past and while I’ve laid out the Biblical basis for my belief in several articles I’ve never specifically addressed the common objections others have put forth. In this study, I’ll do just that.

But first I want to lay a brief theological foundation that in my opinion proves that Jesus has to be God in human form. In fact, I think it will demonstrate that if Jesus isn’t God then none of us is saved. It’s based on three points.

1. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)

2. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin (Hebrews 9:22)

3. A righteous man for an unrighteous mankind (1 Peter 3:18)

All Have Sinned

Adam was created in the image of God. He had the freedom to choose right or wrong, the intellect with which to decide, and he was immortal. When he sinned he was exercising his right to choose, but one of the consequences of his choice was that he became mortal. Another was that all of his descendants would be born with a sin nature that would make it impossible for them to live a sin free life. That meant there was no way for them to live up to God’s standards and expect to spend eternity with Him. Without a means of redemption, they would all be hopelessly lost because since that time all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

No Blood, No Forgiveness

From cover to cover the Bible consistently teaches that it takes the shedding of blood to reverse the consequences of sin. When Adam and Eve became conscious of their sin and hid from God, He clothed them with the skins of animals. This symbolized “covering” them through the shedding of blood so they could stand before Him (Genesis 3:21). God also taught Cain and Abel that the only acceptable offering involved the shedding of blood. When Cain presented an improper offering it was rejected, and God admonished him saying, “If you do what is right will you not be accepted?” (Genesis 4:7). In Egypt, the Israelites were saved from the destroyer by the blood of a lamb applied to their doorposts (Exodus 12:7,13).

Later, after Moses documented it in the Torah we could see that the entire Levitical system was based on the shedding of blood. According to the amplified version of Hebrews 9:22, under the Law almost everything is purified by means of blood, and without the shedding of blood there is neither release from sin and its guilt nor the remission of the due and merited punishment for sins.

The Righteous For The Unrighteous

As the revelation of God’s remedy for the sins of the people progresses through the Old Testament we begin to see that the only animals acceptable for sin offerings were those that symbolize innocence in our minds. Who can think of anything more innocent than a year old lamb? It was this animal God chose to demonstrate the need for innocent blood to be shed for the remission of sin (Exodus 30:38). We also learn that these animals had to be perfect specimens, free from spot or blemish (Exodus 12:5).

From the New Testament, we learn that even these perfect innocent animals could only set the sins of the people aside temporarily. They were a model of the sacrifice God required, not the sacrifice itself. Eventually it would take the blood of a perfect, innocent man to pay for the sins of mankind (Hebrews 10:1-14). A righteous man would have to pay the price for the sins of unrighteous mankind to bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18).

The problem was there were no perfect innocent men. From the first children of Adam and Eve to this very day there has not been a perfect sin free man among their natural descendants who could be offered as a sacrifice for the sins of mankind. We are all contaminated by our sin nature and are not acceptable to redeem mankind even if we wanted to, because we’re not perfect innocent specimens.

Many people don’t realize this, but being sin free is not just a matter of preventing oneself from doing certain things. Sin begins in our heart, in our thoughts and desires, and the heart of man is incurably wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). Because of our sin nature, it’s impossible to prevent ourselves from having a sinful thought now and then. It only takes one, and no matter how fleeting it is, as soon as it comes we’re no longer sin free. The Pharisees were obsessive about keeping the Law, but Jesus said even their righteousness was not sufficient to gain them entrance into the kingdom (Matt. 5:20).

Angels can take on the appearance of men and according to Hebrews 13:2 some of us have entertained angels without knowing it. But it is strictly forbidden for angels to actually become men and those who did so in the past are even now chained in dark prisons awaiting their judgment (Jude 1:6). Even though the angels who remain faithful to God don’t sin, man cannot be saved by the sacrifice of an angel.

So then, the blood of animals could only temporarily set man’s sins aside. All natural born men are disqualified because of their sin nature. Angels are forbidden. There was only one way humans could be saved and it required God Himself to become human. And to be human, He had to come into the world in the way of all people. He had to be born of a woman.

But as we’ve seen above, when you combine the egg of an earthly woman with the sperm of an earthly man their offspring will inherit a sin nature and be disqualified. To maintain His purity, God had to be born of a woman but without an earthly father. In this way, He could be all God and all man, a perfect, innocent specimen of mankind. The one we know as Jesus is the only one in the history of mankind to be so.

Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens (Hebr. 7:25-26).

What Was The Question?

With that beginning, there are five places in the New Testament where testimony is given to support the fact that Jesus is God in human form. These are the verses I use to explain my belief in the deity of Jesus and naturally they are also the verses others focus on in denying it.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning (John 1:1-2).

The naysayers would have us believe that because the name “Jesus” does not appear in this passage my belief that its about Jesus is just a private interpretation that can’t be confirmed. Let’s see if they’re right.

John went on to explain who “the Word” is. I say “who” because John used the personal pronoun “He” in referring to him. Verse 3 tells us all things were made through Him and without Him nothing that has been made was made. That makes “the Word” the Creator of all. Verse 10 says He was in the world and though the world was made by Him the world did not recognize Him. Even His own people did not receive Him.

John 1:12-13 say that to all who received Him and believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God. In verse 14 John said the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Several translations of verse 18 (but not all) tell us that no one has ever seen God, but His one and only son, who is God Himself, has made Him known to us. Even without the testimony of verse 18, it seems clear to me that John was speaking of Jesus throughout. But there’s more.

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. (Colossians 1:15-16).

Here the argument is that Colossians 1:15 says Jesus is the image of God, not God himself and that verse 16 is describing God not Jesus. But what verse 15 means is that the Son is the visible form of the invisible God. And to say that verse 16 is describing God and not Jesus is a violation of the context. Colossians 1: 15-18 are all about Jesus. They only mention God as being the invisible One of whom Jesus is the visible image.

It’s worth noting that in Colossians 1:16 Paul attributed the creation of all things to the Son. John 1:3 says the Word made everything that was made. This confirms that “the Word” and “the Son” are one and the same.

I and my Father are one (John 10:30).

These are the words of Jesus Himself and the controversy is over the Greek word translated “one”. Here’s the position of those who deny the deity of Jesus.

“John 10:30 is quite a controversial verse however when you read it in the Greek you learn that the Greeks have different words for the word one. There is a word for one in the same and a word for one in purpose. The Greek word used here is the word for one in purpose not one in the same.”

Every major English translation agrees that this verse says, “I and the Father are one”. The Greek word translated “one” in this verse was used to say the number one when counting in Greek. A plain sense reading of the verse indicates that Jesus was saying He and the Father are one. Most Bibles offer no further explanation or clarification, indicating the verse means what it says. Only those who deny the deity of Jesus have trouble accepting this. And remember, the Jews wanted Jesus put to death for claiming to be God, not for claiming to have the same goals or purpose as God.

Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? (John 14:9)

This verse confirms Paul’s statement in Colossians 1:15 above and the statement in Hebr. 1:3 that, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being.” Jesus plainly told Philip that He is the visible form of the invisible God. But the naysayers use their interpretation of John 10:30 to justify their claim that in John 14:9 Jesus really meant we can see God in the works of Jesus Christ.

But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom (Hebr. 1:8).

This is God speaking about His son. Again, all the major translations are nearly identical and they all capitalize “God” to indicate the fact that the Father considers the Son to be a deity. Here’s the opposing view.

“Hebrew 1:8 is also very controversial however if you look at the previous context you can see the distinction between God and Christ. Calling someone god is actually an eastern custom. Moses was called a god in Exodus 7:1 and the children of God were also called gods in Psalms 82:6. Calling someone god is a form of respect when someone holds a high place of office. In the East servants to this day call their king lord or god. Wives also in the east refer to their husbands as lord. So calling Jesus God in this verse is just a misunderstanding from not recognizing eastern customs.”

Notice the writer of this opinion used the lower case “god” in every instance except where he was speaking of God the Father, and remember that in every translation of Hebr. 1:8 the word God is capitalized when speaking of the Son.

In the King James version of Exodus 7:1 God said when Moses went before Pharaoh with his brother Aaron, he would be “a god” (lower case “g”) to Pharaoh and Aaron would be his prophet. Other translations say he would be “as” God or “like God”. The idea here is that God was sending Moses in His place, and Aaron would speak for Moses like a prophet speaks for God. Moses was not being called God.

In Psalm 82:6 the word “god” appears in reference to the Israelites. Again note the lower case, which means it refers to a “ruler or judge”. And if you read the whole Psalm you’ll see how sarcastic God is being there. In the first verse, He referred to Himself as “God” who gives judgment among the “gods”. Then He accused them of faulty and corrupt practices and warned them to start defending the cause of the less fortunate among them and start showing mercy. In verses 6-7 He said, “You are gods but you will die like mere men, you will fall like every other ruler.” No one believes God was addressing the Israelites as deity.

It’s true that the word “Lord” is used as a term of respect for rulers, judges and perhaps even husbands in various parts of the world. But no one in these places believes the one they’re addressing is the God of the universe. The claim that a literal interpretation of Hebrews 1:8 is incorrect due to a misunderstanding of Eastern customs is an argument without merit.

I began by showing that Jesus could only be qualified to serve as the perfect sacrifice required to save us if He actually is God in human form. Now we see the testimony of John (John 1:1-2) Paul (Colossians 1:15-16) Jesus (John 10:30, John 14:9) the writer of Hebrews (Hebr. 1:3) and God Himself (Hebr. 1:8) all saying that’s the case.

I’ve said before that I don’t think you have to believe Jesus is God in human form before you can ask Him to save you. But the Bible is clear that after you’re saved you should come to understand that’s who He is. Because of the increasing presence of false teaching in the Church today and the lack of emphasis on personal study, many are not aware of the fact that it took the sacrifice of God himself to save them. When asked about it they can only repeat what they’ve heard, and sadly much of what they’ve heard is not consistent with sound doctrine.

If what you’ve read here is new information for you, I urge you to look up the references I’ve cited and study them for yourself. Paul warned us not to risk our eternal destiny on the opinions of others, but to search the Scriptures daily to see if what they say is true (Acts 17:11). It’s too important to take anyone else’s word for it. Selah 06-08-13

The post Is Jesus God In Human Form? appeared first on Grace thru faith.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

The Parable of the Lost Coin

“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The Parable of the Lost Son

Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ ” (Luke 15:3-32)

What’s Going On Here?

The Pharisees and Teachers of the Law were muttering among themselves, criticizing the Lord for fraternizing with sinners. They believed that even acknowledging a sinner’s presence was wrong, and sharing a meal with a one was a sign of acceptance to be avoided at all costs. Guilt by association, they called it. It’s an attitude that’s still around. Go bankrupt, get a divorce, or even lose your job and you’ll soon find out who your friends are. If you’re lucky, one or two will come around. The rest will avoid you like the plague, as if your condition is contagious and they might catch it.

The so-called righteous people of the day placed little or no value on the lives of sinners, believing their behavior had rendered them undeserving of any effort toward reconciliation. So Jesus told them three parables to explain God’s view that sinners were actually of more urgent importance to Him than the righteous.

On one occasion He told them that He had come to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10), and on another that it was the sick that needed a doctor, not the healthy. “I have not come to call the righteous,” He said, ” but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:31-32) Now He said, “If you had 100 sheep and one got lost you’d leave the 99 and search for the lost one wouldn’t you? And wouldn’t you be glad when you found it?”

“And suppose you had 10 coins and lost one? Wouldn’t you focus all your efforts on finding it? And when you did wouldn’t you celebrate?”

If they felt that way about material possessions that could easily be replaced, how much more important should a human soul be?

To our Creator each and every life is of infinite value; irreplaceable. He doesn’t desire that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) That’s why there’s more rejoicing in Heaven over redeeming one lost soul than over 99 who never got lost. And that’s why every time a sinner repents and receives the Lord the angels in Heaven sing for joy.

By the way, the Bible only mentions five events that cause the angels to sing. One was when God said, “Let there be light,” and the Earth came to life. Another was when the Lord Jesus was born, and then there’s the arrival of the Church in Heaven, and finally the Lord’s defeat of His enemies at the end of the age. That’s just four other times in all the history of man. But they get plenty of practice, because the fifth one repeats itself every time one of us comes to the Lord. In His view saving a single life ranks right up there with creating and saving the world.

Here’s The Point

But it’s the third parable that must have cut them to the quick, because it highlights the resentment the obedient son felt over the return of the disobedient one.

“The older brother became angry and refused to go in (to the celebration). So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

My guess is that this parable exposed their true motives for ostracizing the sinners among them. They worked hard to keep the Law and took pride in doing a good job. Those who didn’t were being disobedient and deserved to be punished. By shunning them the Pharisees were actually helping the Lord mete out the punishment. This made them feel all the better about themselves. Nothing like being on the Lord’s side to make one feel righteous.

Then comes this itinerant preacher giving these sinners all kinds of attention and actually making them feel good about themselves, giving them hope, and taking away their motivation to clean up their act. It wasn’t fair. The Pharisees worked so hard at being good and these sinners get all the attention. On top of that, the Pharisees labored to earn their ticket to eternity. If the sinners got a free pass, like Jesus seemed to be implying, what kind of example would that set? They were plainly jealous.

And so the Lord softened the blow with the last point in the parable. He had the joyful father say, “My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”

Rewarding sinners doesn’t penalize the righteous. The Lord doesn’t subscribe to the scarcity mentality that there’s only so much to go around and giving to one means taking from another. For everyone who asks will receive, all who seek will find, and to all who knock the door will be opened (Matt 7:7-8).

And Finally …

It’s easy to spot the Pharisees’ error. They thought salvation was something they could earn, and by attempting to do so they developed a self-righteous attitude that actually placed them further in their debt of sin. The only difference between the Pharisees and the sinners, is that the sinners knew they needed a Savior. But the Lord’s compassion for them, as expressed by the father in the parable to the older son, must have worked. On the Day of Pentecost, the newborn church picked up over 3000 members, many of them Pharisees and Teachers of the Law.

The Pharisees were a group from Biblical times, but they’re not all dead yet. There’s still plenty of that self-righteous “holier than thou” attitude around, and most of us harbor some of it. So next time you feel a little jealous when some undeserving sinner repents and is saved, remember … this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found. And in Heaven the angels rejoice. Selah

The post The Lost Sheep, The Lost Coin, And The Lost Son appeared first on Grace thru faith.

Part 5.  The conclusion of Paul’s case against combining Law and Grace

We’ve arrived at the final chapter of Paul’s letter to the Galatians, where Paul has presented a strong case against combining Law and Grace. In effect, he has said the two are like oil and water; they don’t mix. Jesus died to set us free from the Law. Therefore, believers who place themselves under the Law are denying the sufficiency of the cross. A little Law mixed into Grace is like a little yeast mixed into a batch of dough. Both eventually permeate everything and cause irreversible changes.

Galatians 6

Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:1-2).

In 1 Cor. 5:1-5 Paul took the Corinthian church to task for allowing a man to carry on a relationship with his father’s wife in their midst. They apparently thought they were expressing the Lord’s love by being tolerant, but he told them such behavior was not acceptable in a Christian fellowship and that as a group they should exclude the man from their fellowship.

Later, in 2 Cor. 2:5-11, Paul said their unified approach to this problem had worked and it was time to forgive and comfort the man and reaffirm their love for him. He said they should do this in order that Satan would not outwit them after all. In other words, their failure to restore him would result in just as much a victory for Satan as their earlier failure to exclude him had been.

Paul’s advice to the Corinthians gives us a model of the proper way for a fellowship to deal with sin in their midst. But in Galatians 6:1-2 he was speaking to individuals. Individual believers are called to gently restore those who are caught in sin, being careful not to become ensnared themselves. In this way, we support each other because none of us can know when we’ll be the ones needing support.

Paul mentioned the “Law of Christ” only here and in 1 Cor 9:21 where Paul said, “To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law.”

The Bible offers no specific definition of what Christ’s Law is, but I believe it refers to His statement in John 15:9-12. 

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”

In these references, both Paul and Jesus distinguished between the Law of God (my Father’s commands) and the Law of Christ ( Love each other as I have loved you.) Therefore I believe Galatians 6:2 is saying by lending spiritual support to a brother caught in sin and gently restoring Him we are fulfilling the Lord’s command to love each other as He has loved us. He always favors reconciliation and restoration.

If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, for each one should carry their own load. Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor (Galatians 6:3-6).

In these verses Paul identified the temptation he was warning them against in Galatians 6:1-2, and it’s the danger of thinking we’re spiritually superior to the brother or sister we’re trying to restore. Thinking we’re any better than someone else is self-deception. The only valid evaluation is self-evaluation. The exception is when the Lord gives us a deeper understanding of Scripture we’re being taught. In that case, we should share it with our instructor so he or she can benefit from it as well.

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers (Galatians 6:7-10).

We’ve all heard Galatians 6:7 used out of context. Now let’s learn what it really means. Paul had to be warning us that adopting an attitude of spiritual superiority in the process of restoring a brother who has sinned turns it into a work of the flesh that mocks God and makes us no better than an unbeliever. Otherwise, his statement here would be in direct contradiction to his other statements that our inheritance is guaranteed from the time we believe (2 Cor. 1:21-22, 2 Cor 5:5, Ephes 1:13-14, Ephes 4:30), and that God does not attribute our sins to us but the sin nature that lives in us (Romans 7:18-20).

We’re accustomed to having our leaders make statements that contradict things they’ve said before, but God is not like that. When He commissioned people to write His word, the Holy Spirit placed in their minds what He wanted them to say (2 Tim. 3:16). That way He could make sure they didn’t contradict themselves or each other.

By lifting Galatians 6:7 out of its context we could conclude that Paul was saying our salvation depends on our behavior and we can’t allow ourselves to grow weary of doing good if we want to reap eternal life. But because of his strong and clear statements about our security in the Lord, we can be sure that’s not what he meant. He had to be speaking in the context of Galatians 6:1-6.

Our motivation in helping others who have slipped or stumbled should always be the desire to do good in the eyes of the Lord. The harvest we will reap by not growing tired of doing good to all people will come in the form of treasure in heaven our good deeds help us accumulate (Matt. 6:19-21).

See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand! (Galatians 6:11).

Paul wanted the Galatian churches to be sure this letter had been written personally by him. He was concerned that his enemies would circulate forgeries in an attempt to lead new believers astray. This actually happened in Thessalonica. Between Paul’s first and second letters, the Thessalonians had received a forgery saying the Day of the Lord had already come (2 Thes. 2:1-2). 2^nd Thessalonians is Paul’s rebuttal to that forgery. Because of his poor eyesight, Paul usually had someone like Timothy write for him, but when he wanted there to be no doubt as to the authorship of a message, he wrote it himself.

Those who want to impress people by means of the flesh are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.  Not even those who are circumcised keep the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your circumcision in the flesh.  May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.  Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation (Galatians 6:12-15).

As we know, the Judaizers who hounded Paul and tried to undo his teaching on Grace were also converts to Christianity. Many were Pharisees who were trying to combine Judaism and Christianity. Teaching this kind of hybrid theology kept them out of trouble with Jewish congregations they visited; the kind of trouble Paul always encountered on his visits to them.

Paul was reminding the Galatians that the Judaizers who were trying to bring them under the Law were unable to keep the Law themselves. This is because the Law is impossible to keep. But causing the Galatians to be circumcised allowed the Judaizers to show tangible results for their efforts.

Paul was not concerned about keeping score on Earth. He rightly said that whether a man is circumcised or not means nothing in the eternal sense. What matters is whether a man is a new creation in Christ because that is what allows him to inherit eternal life.

Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule—to the Israel of God. From now on, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.(Galatians 6:16-18)

The rule Paul was referring to is, “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation”.

Paul explained his phrase “the Israel of God” in Romans 2:28-29.

A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.

Being physically circumcised identified a man as being of Jewish descent, but it did not mean he was saved. What identifies a person as being saved is the Holy Spirit dwelling within him, which Paul described as having one’s heart circumcised. Invisible to other people, this form of circumcision is visible to God, the only One who matters. This is what makes us Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise (Galatians 3:29).

Although Paul was circumcised, the physical marks he wanted to be known for were the scars he bore as a result of the beatings he had taken because of his faith in Jesus.

Paul closed his letter to the Galatians in the manner unique to him, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.”

In summary, let’s review Paul’s case.

Any so-called gospel message that contradicts the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith alone as presented in Paul’s letters is by definition a different gospel and puts those who teach it under a curse that dooms them to destruction.

Whether Jew or Gentile, we are not justified (rendered righteous) by the works of the Law but by faith in Jesus Christ. We know that Paul was not trying to marginalize the Law because in places like Romans 7:12 he said the Law is holy, righteous and good. But he was arguing against the improper use of the Law as the basis by which we are made acceptable to God. We are not justified by observing the Law but by faith in the completed work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Law cannot be fully obeyed. In order to be strict enough for God’s requirements, it has to be too strict for man’s abilities. Therefore, all who rely on the law are automatically cursed and cannot be justified before God.

Because of the cross, there is no longer any reason for anyone to go under the Law. God does not require it, and we cannot benefit from doing it. On the contrary, it could be counterproductive for us, a step backward in our spiritual growth.

That’s because we don’t get to decide which parts of the Law we want to obey. Picking any part of it obligates us to all of it. And the Law is not just the 10 Commandments. The Torah contains 613 commandments.

That means you can’t have a little bit of Law mixed with Grace. Just as a little bit of yeast will permeate the whole batch of dough to change its composition, a little bit of Law will work its way through the doctrine of Grace, changing it into something it was not intended to be. In effect, the Law cancels Grace.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. But in exercising that freedom we are to be aware of two statements the Lord made. First, He said the entire Law could be summarized in two commandments. One, we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind, and two, we are to love our neighbor as ourself (Luke 10:27). Second, He said He was giving us a new commandment, “Love each other as I have loved you” (John 15:12).

These are not things we do to justify ourselves before God. We are already justified by faith in the Lord’s atoning sacrifice on our behalf. These are things we do as a way of expressing our gratitude for what the Lord has done for us. So if you’re looking for some laws to keep so you can express your gratitude for the free gift of salvation without any risk of getting into trouble, these are the ones to keep. 06-13-14

The post Galatians 5 appeared first on Grace thru faith.

Part 4 of Paul’s case against combining the Law and Grace

By now you know that Paul’s letter to the Galatians was a vigorous rebuttal to the claims of the so-called Judaizers, Jewish Christians who taught that Gentiles desiring to become Christians had to put themselves under the Law and be circumcised to be saved.

As I said at the beginning of this series, the same teaching is once again coming into the Church. Among other things, this teaching stresses keeping the Saturday Sabbath, celebrating the Jewish feasts and festivals, and observing the Jewish dietary laws. On one hand, those who teach this deny that it constitutes a return to Jewish legalism, but is a demonstration of love and obedience instead.  But on the other hand, they teach that every Christian must be “Torah observant” to live a life that pleases God. (Being Torah observant means obeying the Law of Moses contained in the first five books of the Bible. In Hebrew these five books are called the Torah.)

Therefore Paul’s letter is as timely today as it was when Paul wrote it almost 2,000 years ago. We’ll continue our study now by taking up chapter 5, which in my Bible is subtitled “Freedom in Christ.”

Galatians 5

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. (Galatians 5:1-6)

First, Paul said it is for freedom that Christ has set us free.

To the Jews who believed in Him Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32).

Since the Law cannot provide a remedy for our sins but can only make us conscious of them (Romans 3:20),  anyone who is under the Law remains a prisoner of the Law and a slave to sin. By paying the penalty for our violations of the Law, the Son of God has set us free from the Law. And when the Son sets us free we are free indeed (John 8:36).

Then Paul made another powerful claim that sets the tone for the entire chapter. He said, “You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.”

In several other places Paul wrote that our eternal inheritance is guaranteed from the time we believe (2 Cor. 1:21-22, 2 Cor. 5:5, Ephesians 1:13-14, Ephesians 4:30). Therefore he had to be saying that the Galatians who were being enticed to go under the law were never saved in the first place. Otherwise, he would have been contradicting himself.

The Greek word translated fallen away here is not the more familiar apostasia, but ekpipto. One of its meanings is to fall from a place which one cannot keep. The only way we can keep our position of grace is through faith. Paul was claiming that the Galatians who were going under the Law never had the faith to be saved by grace. We are either forever saved or we were never saved.

Paul warned the Galatians that while neither circumcision nor uncircumcision was relevant in and of itself, it was being proposed to them as a sign of their acceptance of the Old Covenant. Therefore agreeing to it would obligate them to the whole Law.

This is an important point. We don’t get to decide which parts of the Law we want to obey. Picking any part of it obligates us to all of it. And the Law is not just the 10 Commandments. The Torah contains 613 commandments.

Attempting to keep the Law to justify ourselves before the Lord alienates us from Him because it denies what He’s done for us. It makes His death of no value, leaving us responsible for saving ourselves. Remember, it wasn’t the fact that the Jews had orchestrated the death of Jesus that caused their alienation from God. After all, He came to die for their sins. It was the fact that by rejecting His death as payment in full for their sins they made it meaningless to them, of less value than the animals they continued to sacrifice, that broke the relationship.

You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be. Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case, the offense of the cross has been abolished. As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves! (Galatians 5:7-12)

You can’t have a little bit of Law mixed with Grace. Just as a little bit of yeast will permeate the whole batch of dough to change its composition, a little bit of Law will work its way through the doctrine of Grace, changing it into something it was not intended to be. When Paul said, in that case, the offense of the cross has been abolished, he meant the Law cancels Grace.

(The Judaizers were hinting that Paul preached the Law among Jews but switched to a watered down version of the Gospel when speaking to Gentiles. His response was, “If I’m preaching the Law to the Jews then why are they persecuting me?” His frustration with them is evident.)

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. (Galatians 5:13-15)

Paul’s comments on “serving one another in love” and “loving your neighbor as yourself” tell us he was especially concerned about the Galatians’ arguments over Law vs. Grace. Their freedom was not an excuse to be argumentative to the point of sinfulness.  He called it “biting and devouring each other” and said that being in Christ meant they were free from the Law, but even the Law agreed they shouldn’t behave that way.

So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. (Galatians 5:16-18)

If we let the Holy Spirit guide us, our sin nature will not be able to rule our lives. But it’s an either /or situation because the two are opposed to each other and will never agree on what’s proper behavior for us. If we let our sinful nature guide our behavior we will invariably wind up doing things we don’t want to do. Even so, if we are led by the Spirit we don’t need the Law to govern our behavior.

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19-21).

Please read these next few sentences carefully. Nowhere does the Bible ever accuse the Pharisees of committing the sins Paul listed here. In fact, by human standards their behavior was exemplary. And yet, Jesus said unless our righteousness surpasses theirs we will never enter the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 5:20). No matter how good we think someone’s behavior is, unless that person is also born again, he or she cannot enter the kingdom (John 3:3). We’re saved because of what we believe, not because of how we behave.

Notice, Paul didn’t say “believers who practice the acts of the sinful nature,” in Galatians 5:21, he said, “those who practice the acts of the sinful nature.”

Also, when you see the word “practice” think of the doctor who practices medicine or the lawyer who practices law.  They are immersed in their professions all day every day.  This is what I think Paul meant by “those who practice the acts of the sinful nature.”  They are immersed in a sinful lifestyle all day every day.

Every believer has repeatedly committed one or more of the sins mentioned in Galatians 5:16-21, and Paul spoke of his own struggle with sin in Romans 7:14-20.  Therefore,  if he had meant to condemn every believer who sins he would have to condemn himself as well.  But in Romans 8:1 he said, “Therefore  there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

I believe Paul was referring to people who sin without regard for what the Bible says about it.  In my opinion, these people identify themselves as non-believers, because while I’ve never met a true believer who has no struggle with sin, neither have I met one who had a complete disregard for his or her sinfulness. The Holy Spirit convicts believers when we sin, and that conviction brings remorse which leads us to confession. Knowing how we’ll feel after we sin is part of what leads us to struggle against our inherent sinfulness.  Non-believers don’t feel any of that.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. (Galatians 5:22-26)

The differences between the acts of the sin nature and the fruit of the Spirit can be seen in the comparison of these two passages. In reading the first one we can all admit to periodically doing one or more of these things as believers, even though we strive to be led by the Spirit. In Romans 7:18-20 Paul said from God’s perspective when that happens, it’s not us but our sinful nature that’s to blame when this happens.

King David foresaw the incredible gift of Grace when he wrote,

Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit (Psalm 32:1-2).

Paul’s final words on the subject, to not become conceited, provoking and envying each other, confirm that he has been especially concerned about their arguing over who was right, Paul or the Judaizers. He said those Galatians who belonged to Christ should live by the Spirit and not become conceited but should stop provoking and envying each other. These are acts prompted by the sin nature and are not appropriate for believers.

Remember, the Law was only given to point out our sins and no one can be saved by keeping it (Romans 3:20). But through faith, we can achieve a righteousness apart from the Law and be saved (Romans 3:21-24). So there is only one way to live one’s life with the assurance of pardon, and that’s by Grace through faith. We can’t have it both ways.  If we’re under the Law we can not benefit from God’s grace. If we’re under Grace, the Law is not necessary. We’ll conclude this study next week. 12-06-14

The post Galatians Part 4 appeared first on Grace thru faith.

Part 3 of Paul’s case against combining the Law and Grace

Paul has been showing the Galatians that all believers in Jesus are children of God. We are also descendants of Abraham, and heirs according to the promise God gave to Abraham that all nations would be blessed through him. This blessing would come in the person of Jesus, also a descendant of Abraham, who would make it possible for the Gentiles to be justified by faith. Although the promise came before the Law was given, its fulfillment came later. In the interim, the Law was given to God’s people as a guardian. Now let’s resume our study with chapter 4.

Galatians 4

What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world (Galatians 4:1-3).

Paul compared the time between the giving of the promise and its fulfillment to the life of an underage heir, subject to guardians and trustees. Even though the heir really owns everything, he is not authorized to exercise any control over anything before reaching a certain age. Until then guardians and trustees appointed to act on his behalf control everything, and the heir has no more power than a slave would have.

So it was in the time between the giving of the promise to Abraham and its fulfillment in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The Law was given as a guardian for the people. It controlled every aspect of their lives and they had no more control than slaves. In effect they went from being prisoners of sin to being prisoners of the Law.

But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because we are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir (Galatians 4:4-7).

In both the Greek and Roman cultures, when an heir came of age, there was a formal adoption ceremony where he legally became a son, entitled to all of a son’s rights and privileges including the right of inheritance. After that, there were no more guardians or trustees telling the heir what he could or could not do. He was authorized to act on his own.

When Jesus came to redeem those who were held prisoners under the Law, God authorized everyone who believed in His Son to receive the full rights of adoption. John was speaking of this when he said, “To all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, or human decision, or a husband’s will, but born of God” (John 1:13-14). We call this being born again.

Paul made this even clearer when he said because of our faith we have been legally adopted into God’s family, signified by the seal of the Holy Spirit guaranteeing our inheritance. The Law no longer serves as a guardian telling us what we can or cannot do. We have the full rights of sonship including the right of inheritance, which is eternal life. Therefore, there is no longer any reason for anyone to go under the Law. God does not require it, and we cannot benefit from doing it. On the contrary, it could be counterproductive for us, a step backward in our spiritual growth.

Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you (Galatians 4:8-11)

In their pagan past, the Galatians had worshiped things they thought were gods. When they became believers they realized their former gods couldn’t save anyone. But Paul said that by going under the Law they were repeating their previous mistakes. The rituals they were following now were different but they produced the same result—enslavement. Instead of obligating themselves to observe the pagan festivals of their past they were obligating themselves to observe the Jewish festivals instead.

I have said before that there is great value in learning about the Feasts of Israel, especially as they reveal God’s prophetic plan. Seeing how the first coming of Jesus was clearly foretold in the spring feasts, the giving of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and the second coming in the fall feasts gives us an overview of God’s plan for all of mankind. But even if we only put ourselves under obligation to the Law out of “obedience” while claiming to be saved by grace, we’re doing something God neither commands nor desires for us.

In his letter to the Colossians, Paul cautioned his readers not to let anyone judge them by what they eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a new moon celebration or a Sabbath day. He said they were a shadow of things to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ (Colossians 2:16-17).

I plead with you, brothers and sisters, become like me, for I became like you. You did me no wrong. As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you, and even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself. Where, then, is your blessing of me now? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth? (Galatians 4:12-16).

The account in Acts 13-14 of Paul’s time with the Galatians makes no mention of this illness so we don’t know what it was. From extra Biblical sources I’ve read that the journey from the Mediterranean coast to the inland region of Galatia was an exhausting one, over rough terrain and fraught with danger, and one of these sources suggested that Paul suffered a bout of malaria as a result. Others say that because of Paul’s reference to the Galatians being willing to give him their eyes, it could have been eye trouble.

But Paul’s point was not the illness, it was the change in their attitude toward him. It looked to him like the Judaizers had succeeded in turning the Galatians against Paul. Remember, they said he was not an authentic apostle and accused him of giving the Galatians a watered down version of the Gospel in order to convert them.

Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may have zeal for them. It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always, not just when I am with you. My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you! (Galatians 4:17-20).

Imagine the frustration Paul must have felt. After spending nearly two years in the region (46-48AD), much of it in Galatia, Paul and Barnabas had returned to Syrian Antioch. It was now several years later, and He was responding to reports that the Judaizers had undone much of his work, teaching the Galatians to abandon the doctrine of Grace and submit to the Law.

There was no love lost between Paul and the Judaizers. In 2 Cor. 11:13-15 he said,

For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.

From his comments about still being in the pains of childbirth for the Galatians, it sounds like he’s wondering if they had ever experienced a new birth in the first place. He was obviously very concerned about the spiritual condition of people who, having been saved by Grace, would voluntarily go under the Law.

Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman.  His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a divine promise (Galatians 4:21-23).

Paul will now use three pairs of symbols to show the difference between Law and Grace; two sons, two women, and two cities. One son (Ishmael) was born in the natural way to a slave woman (Hagar). The other son (Isaac) was born according to a divine promise to the free woman (Sarah). Before you suggest that Isaac was also the result of natural childbirth, remember that Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born and Sarah was 90 (Genesis 17:15-17). Ishmael, whose mother Hagar was of childbearing age, was born in the natural way. But it’s no stretch of the imagination to say that Isaac, whose mother Sarah was long past childbearing age, was the result of a supernatural birth, the fulfillment of a promise God made to Abraham. This is just one way in which Isaac was a foreshadowing of Jesus.

These things are being taken figuratively: The women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. For it is written:

“Be glad, barren woman, you who never bore a child; shout for joy and cry aloud, you who were never in labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband.” (Galatians 4:24-27)

And finally, the two cities. Hagar, the slave woman, represents Jerusalem, the city of those who are enslaved by the Law. Sarah, the free woman, represents the New Jerusalem, the city of the redeemed Church, saved by grace and free from the law.

Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise. At that time the son born according to the flesh persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. But what does Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.” Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman. (Galatians 4:28-31)

In this example, Hagar and Ishmael represent the Law and its children. Ishmael persecuted Isaac, and along with his mother was sent away, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son (Genesis 21:8-14). Sarah and Isaac represent Grace and it’s children. The Law persecutes Grace and has been sent away, for the Law will never share in the inheritance of eternal life with Grace. The children of Grace have become the sole heirs of eternal life. We are those children.

It’s important to remember that although obedience to the Law was required in the Old Testament, it was powerless to save the people because they could never meet the standards it demanded. The requirement for obedience was intended to demonstrate that fact. In Romans 3:20 Paul said, “No one will be declared righteous by observing the Law; rather through the Law we become conscious of sin.”

Without the belief in a coming Redeemer who would pay the penalty for their sins, no one could be saved by obeying the Law. The children of the Law will never share in the inheritance with the children of the promise.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me” (John 14:6).  No matter what we were before, Jew or Gentile, male or female, slave or free, if we are in Christ we are a new creation. The old has gone the new has come (2 Cor. 5:17). If we belong to Christ, we are Abraham’s descendants and heirs according to the promise (Galatians 3:29). See you next time. 11-29-14.

The post Galatians Part 3 appeared first on Grace thru faith.

Part 2 of Paul’s case against combining the Law and Grace

In part 1 we established that the primary purpose of this letter was to contend against a group called the Judaizers, early Jewish Christians who taught that Gentile converts to Christianity also had to observe certain Old Testament rites, specifically circumcision. Some even argued that the only way for a Gentile to become a Christian was to first convert to Judaism and go under the Law.

In response, Paul presented a powerful defense of the essential New Testament truth that we are justified by faith in Jesus Christ alone. We do not sanctify ourselves by religious works or Jewish legalism, but are sanctified by faith in the grace and power of God, made manifest in the work of Jesus Christ, and energized in our life by the Holy Spirit.

There are many in the Church who need to be reminded of this today since modern-day Judaizers are once again teaching their followers the same things Paul fought against in his time. These teachers claim that Christ’s death on the cross did not end the Mosaic Covenant, but instead renewed it, and stress the need for every believer to live a Torah-observant life. Among other things, this includes keeping the Saturday Sabbath, celebrating the Jewish feasts and festivals, and observing the Jewish dietary laws. They advocate learning to understand the Scriptures from a Hebrew mindset, and some have rejected the traditional Greek based New Testament, claiming that Aramaic texts are older and more accurate.

On one hand, they deny that doing this constitutes a return to Jewish legalism, but is a demonstration of love and obedience instead.  But on the other hand, they teach that to live a life that pleases God, this Torah-observant walk must be part of every Christian’s life.

With that, let’s continue our study of Paul’s Letter to the Galatians with chapter 3.

Galatians 3

You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.  I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard?  Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?  Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain?  So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?   (Galatians 3:1-5)

Paul knew who had bewitched the Galatians. It was a group of Judaizers who had visited the Galatian churches. They showed up after Paul left, teaching these new Gentile Christians that Paul had not given them the whole story. If they wanted to be accepted as followers of Jesus they had to put themselves under the Law.

Paul asked the Galatians a question that many believers need to be asked today. After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? (Galatians 3:3).

Variations on the “saved by grace, kept by works” theme have been around throughout the Church Age. They all imply that Jesus only began the work of our salvation, and it’s up to us to complete or maintain it through human effort. But in Hebrews 7:25 we’re told that because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

Paul reminded the Galatians how they came to receive the Holy Spirit and witness God’s miraculous work. It didn’t happen because they were obedient to the Law. At the time they hadn’t been told they needed to obey the Law. It happened because they believed the Gospel.

So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness” Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham.  Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”  So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith (Galatians 3:6-9).

The statement that Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness is a quote from Genesis 15:6. Abraham was and is known primarily as the father of the Jewish people. But Paul said that all who rely on faith, Jew or Gentile, are Abraham’s children, And in another remarkable insight into Scripture, Paul said God was announcing the gospel with its justification by faith to Abraham when He said, “All nations will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3). The blessing that would come to all nations would be the same justification by faith that Abraham enjoyed.

For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law” (Deut. 27:26).  Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith (Habakkuk 2:4).”  The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them (Lev. 18:5).”  Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree” (Deut. 21:23). He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit (Galatians 3:10-14).

The Law cannot be fully obeyed. In order to be strict enough for God’s requirements, it has to be too strict for man’s abilities. Therefore, all who rely on the law are automatically cursed and cannot be justified before God. James said, “Whoever keeps the whole Law and yet stumbles on just one part of it is guilty of breaking all of it (James 2:10). By taking all of our violations of the Law upon Himself Jesus became a curse for us and redeemed us from the curse of the Law. This made God’s promise to Abraham available to all who believe. Therefore, like Abraham, our belief is credited to us as righteousness.

Brothers and sisters, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ. What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on the promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise (Galatians 3:15-18).

Once a contract has been agreed to it becomes binding and can’t be changed without the mutual consent of the parties. Therefore God’s promise to Abraham could not be set aside by the Law, which came later. God’s covenant with Abraham included a promise that called for a descendant of Abraham’s to be the one through whom all nations would be blessed. God didn’t say “descendants”, which would have included all Jewish people, but “ descendant” which pointed to one Jewish man, Jesus.

Let’s summarize what we’ve read so far. Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. When God promised Abraham that all nations would be blessed through him, He meant that one of Abraham’s descendants (Jesus) would make it possible for God to justify the Gentiles by faith. Therefore, He was announcing the Gospel in advance. The Law, which was given later, could not change or cancel this promise.

Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator.  A mediator, however, implies more than one party; but God is one (Galatians 3:18-20).

In Romans 3: 20 Paul put it this way. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in His sight by obeying the Law; rather through the law we become conscious of sin. If we’re driving on a highway at 70 miles per hour and there is no posted speed limit, we can’t tell if we’re speeding or not. But if we see a sign that tells us the speed limit is 65 then we become aware of the fact that we are speeding. In like manner, the Law is a sign that tells us whether we’re sinning.

The Law was a contract between God and Israel (Exodus 19:5-6), and established the conditions under which they would be able to enjoy the benefits of the land He was giving them. The land was theirs forever (Genesis 13:15), but to live there in peace and plenty they had to obey the Law. This was how God would deal with their sins until Jesus came. The mediator was Moses and God was one party. The other party was Israel.

Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law.  But Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe (Galatians 3:21-22).

The Law is only a shadow of the things that were to come (Hebr. 10:1). The reality, however, is Christ (Col. 2:17) The Law is not opposed to the promise, it’s purpose was to help God’s people maintain their relationship with Him until the promise was fulfilled. The Law can’t give us life because we’re prisoners of sin. Sin is our natural state and it prevents us from obeying the Law. Therefore, life can only come to us by faith in the promise, fulfilled in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed.  So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith.  Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian (Galatians 3:23-25).

The Law put very tight constraints on behavior such as a guardian might place on a child. But now that we are justified by faith, we don’t need a guardian. Our position before the Lord is based on what we believe not on how we behave. Our behavior is a sign of our gratitude.

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:26-29)

Our belief in Jesus gives us the right to be born again as children of God (John 1:12-13). No matter who we were before, if we’re in Christ we are God’s children and that makes us heirs to the promise God made to Abraham. Like him, we are justified by faith because our belief has been credited to us as righteousness.

We now see that the promise of justification by faith alone predated the giving of the Law by over 400 years. Once the Lord came to fulfill the promise, the Law was no longer necessary. It was a shadow of the good things that were coming, but the reality is Christ.

The Law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17). Through Him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses. (Acts 13:39). See you next time. 11-22-14

The post Galatians Part 2 appeared first on Grace thru faith.

Today we begin a study of Paul’s letter to the Galatians which I’ve subtitled “The Case Against Combining Law And Grace.” Scholars are divided as to the date of this letter. Some place it in the late 40s and others in the early 50s. Either way it one of Paul’s earliest letters, perhaps even his first, and predated the Council of Jerusalem where the issue of Gentile converts to Christianity was the main agenda item (Acts 15).

The primary purpose of this letter was to contend against a group called the Judaizers. This group was early Jewish Christians who taught that Gentile converts to Christianity also had to observe certain Old Testament rites, specifically circumcision. Some even argued the only way for a Gentile to become a Christian was to first convert to Judaism, be circumcised, and go under the Law.

The Judaizers said Paul was not an authentic apostle but a false teacher who, in order to make the gospel more acceptable to Gentiles, had ignored the legal requirements of Judaism in his presentations. They felt it was their responsibility to follow Paul around and explain the “real gospel” to the Gentile churches he had planted.

One of the things that prompted me to undertake this study now is the growing number of comments I’ve received from certain elements in Christianity voicing those same opinions today, and for the same reason. Some Christians are once again claiming that we are obligated to observe Old Testament rites and regulations and that Paul was not an authentic apostle.

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul presented a powerful defense of the essential New Testament truth that we are justified by faith in Jesus Christ alone. We do not sanctify ourselves by religious works or Jewish legalism, but are sanctified by faith in the grace and power of God, made manifest in the work of Jesus Christ, and energized in our life by the Holy Spirit.

This will be an in-depth study of the Letter to the Galatians and we’ll need several installments to get through it, so let’s get started.

Galatians 1

Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—and all the brothers and sisters with me,

To the churches in Galatia:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen (Galatians 1:1-5).

Acts 13-14 records the churches of Galatia as Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. They were all geographically located in the south-central part of what was then the Roman province of Galatia, known today as Turkey.

The Greek word translated apostle means a delegate or messenger, one sent forth with orders. Paul always took pains to say he was not appointed an apostle by men but by the Lord Himself.

According to Acts 13:2 the Holy Spirit commissioned Paul and Barnabas to begin their first missionary journey and led them to Cyprus and then into the cities of Galatia where they formed the churches mentioned above.

Paul’s letter was his response to the Galatian churches concerning the Judaizers who visited these churches after he left.

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse! (Galatians 1:6-9)

Pay attention to what Paul said here. He pronounced a curse on anyone who tries to promote a gospel other than the one he has presented. Some translations render this as Paul saying, “Let him be eternally condemned.” The Greek word is anathema and means cursed, doomed to destruction.

We would expect him to come out strongly against the pagan religions that were prevalent at the time, but that’s not what we’re dealing with here. Paul said any so-called gospel message that contradicts the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith alone as presented in his letters is by definition a different gospel and puts those who teach it under a curse that dooms them to destruction. That means they aren’t saved, nor can they be. Where did he get the authority to say something like that?

Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:10-12).

Paul said what has become known as the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith came straight to him from the Lord Himself. That’s where he got his authority.

For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers (Galatians 1:13-14).

Paul was a Pharisee, taught by Gamaliel who was one of the most highly regarded teachers of the time.  Paul was a rising star in Judaism who was gaining a reputation as a relentless pursuer of the followers of Jesus, showing no mercy to those he apprehended.

But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus (Galatians 1:15-17).

One of the great fears of the day in Jerusalem was that belief in Jesus would spread to Damascus, a major commercial hub in the region. It was feared that if this new faith took root there it would quickly spread in all directions and there would be no stopping it. Paul agreed to go to Damascus to make sure that didn’t happen. He was on the way when He had a personal encounter with the risen Lord that changed everything. Instead of rounding up the believers in Damascus when he got there, he began teaching that Jesus is the Son of God, which so angered the Jews that they conspired to kill him.

With the help of friends, Paul escaped from Damascus and traveled into Arabia. Some say he went to Mt. Sinai and stayed in the same cave Elijah had used during his time on the mountain of God (1 Kings 19:8-9). If so, the place where Moses received the Law would have been the same place where Paul received his revelation from the Lord concerning the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith. After that Paul returned to Damascus where he continued teaching.

Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother. I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie (Galatians 1:18-20).

Paul is going to great lengths here to differentiate himself from the Judaizers. They were simply repeating the traditions they had been taught by men. But Paul was sent by God with a gospel he received directly from the Lord Jesus.

Then I went to Syria and Cilicia. I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” And they praised God because of me (Galatians 1:21-24).

Paul visited Syrian Antioch and Tarsus in Cilicia, the city of his birth. While he was in Tarsus, Barnabas came to visit him from Antioch and took him back there. Together they spent a year teaching and ministering to the believers in Antioch. It was there that believers were first called Christians. And it was from there that Paul and Barnabas would later begin their missionary journey into Galatia under the call of the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:2).

Galatians 2

Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain. Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you (Galatians 2:1-5).

Apparently, the Lord told Paul to meet with the Church leaders in Jerusalem to confirm that the Judaizers were not speaking on behalf of the Church in Jerusalem. This is an interesting point. Paul was given a direct revelation from the Lord about the gospel he was to preach (Galatians 1:12). Even so, he was sent to the Church leadership for confirmation. Remember that the next time someone tells you he or she has a word from the Lord for you. Always seek confirmation. Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses (Deut. 19:15, 2 Cor. 13:1).

As for those who were held in high esteem—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism—they added nothing to my message. On the contrary, they recognized that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter had been to the Jews. For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles. James, Peter and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews. All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along (Galatians 2:6-11).

Paul’s revelation having been confirmed, he returned to Antioch and continued his work there.

When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray (Galatians 2:11-13).

There were six cities named Antioch in Biblical times. Of those, two are named in the Bible, Pisidian Antioch, the location of one of the churches in Galatia, and this one, sometimes called Syrian Antioch. It was the third most prominent city in the Roman Empire, behind Rome and Alexandria.

By the phrase “certain men from James” Paul meant Jewish Christians from Jerusalem. Some commentators identify these men as Judaizers but I don’t think so because Paul said they came from James. As we saw above, James and the other leaders had already confirmed Paul’s teaching. More likely they were Jewish Christians who were there on an official visit from Jerusalem. But either way, their presence caused Peter, Barnabas, and other Jewish believers, who had been fraternizing with the Gentile believers, to withdraw from them and resume their tradition of separation. Paul saw this as hypocrisy and called them on it.

When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?

“We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified” (Galatians 2:14-16).

Three times in two verses Paul stated in no uncertain terms that whether Jew or Gentile, we are not justified (rendered righteous) by the works of the Law but by faith in Jesus Christ. We know that Paul was not trying to marginalize the Law because in places like Romans 7:12 he said the Law is holy, righteous and good. But he was arguing against the improper use of the Law as the basis by which we are made acceptable to God. We are not justified by observing the Law but by faith in the completed work of the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 3:21-24).

“But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners, doesn’t that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker.

“For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” (Galatians 2:17-21).

I’m convinced that learning how the Levitical Feasts were observed in Biblical times, and how Jewish wedding customs provide insight into the relationship between the Lord and His Church, can be very helpful to our spiritual growth. I myself have benefited greatly from doing so. But for anyone who believes that keeping the Law is a necessary component of their salvation, I pray this study will convince them otherwise. Because if righteousness could be gained through the Law, Christ died for nothing.

So far Paul has made some pretty strong statements against combining Law and Grace, but as we’ll see next time, he’s just getting started. See you then. 11-15-14

The post Paul’s Letter To The Galatians appeared first on Grace thru faith.

This verse from the old hymn obviously refers to the Lord in His position as King of Kings. But did you know that you may also receive multiple crowns? There are five types of crowns mentioned in the New Testament that will be given to qualifying believers immediately after the Rapture. These crowns are identified as the Everlasting Crown (Victory) in 1 Cor 9:25, the Crown of the Soul Winner in Phil 4:1 and 1 Thes 2:19, the Crown of Righteousness in 2 Tim 4:8, the Crown of Life in Jas 1:12 and Rev 2:10, and the Crown of Glory in 1 Peter 5:4.

And You Thought the Emmys Were Something

The Awards Ceremony described in 1 Cor 3:10-15 clearly distinguishes these crowns from the free gift of Salvation by sequence and purpose.  Our Salvation is granted at the moment of belief (Ephe 1:13-14) before any good or bad behavior has occurred, and marks the beginning of our new life. The events of 1 Cor 3:10-15 take place on the believers’ Judgment Day, after the rapture, and reflect the fruits of our Christian life.  (It’s important to remember that everyone involved in this ceremony is a believer).  Simply put, salvation is the gift at the beginning that makes it possible for us to earn the crown at the end.

The requirements are simple. If the motives of our heart are pure when we perform certain “acts of righteousness,” we may be earning one or more of these special rewards. But if there’s any thought of personal recognition or of earning some special credit for ourselves, we’re disqualified. The Lord told us in no uncertain terms; if we perform for the praise of men, we’ve gotten all the credit we’re going to get. We’ll receive no reward from the Lord.  But if we keep our good deeds secret He who sees all things will remember and reward us (Matt 6:1-4).

Matters of the Heart

The only acceptable motive in earning these crowns is what I call an “attitude of gratitude.”  This attitude motivates selfless acts of love, performed for no other reason than to express the gratitude we feel for the free gift of salvation we’ve received.  Both the reactions of others and the observable outcome of our efforts are irrelevant.  It’s one of the few areas of our life where we’re not held accountable for results.  The motive of our heart is the only thing that matters.

I’m persuaded that the Lord’s ways are so different from ours, and our motives are so difficult for us to discern, that it’s hard to tell what crowns we may be earning.  And this goes double where the motives of others are concerned. Hence Paul’s admonition in 1 Cor 4:5.

Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.

Only the Lord is capable of judging the quality of of our works.  The things of which we’re proudest could be burned up in the fire, while little acts of kindness we don’t even remember could sparkle like precious gems in His eyes.

The Gift and the Prize

Understanding the difference between the Gift we’re given (Salvation) and the Prize we can earn (Crowns) gives us a great advantage in interpreting scriptures that speak of these things. The words themselves hold the clue. One doesn’t earn a gift. It’s freely given out of love with no strings attached. And it’s never taken back. So it is with our salvation.  It is the gift of God (Ephes. 2:8)

A prize  is something you qualify for and work to earn. It’s a reward for behavior, and you have to play by the rules to win.  In  2 Tim. 2:5 Paul wrote, “anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules”.  That’s how it is with our crowns.  And some of them are awarded on the basis of perseverance, requiring us to stay focused to the end.  Jesus said, “Hold on to what you have so that no one will take your crown” (Rev. 3:11).

When you understand that the Bible is God’s Word and therefore can not contradict itself, you know that if He says even once that our salvation is guaranteed, then its guaranteed. He can’t say it is in one place and then say it isn’t in another. If it appears that way, He has to be talking about two different things. And sure enough, He is. When He speaks of the gift of salvation, He says it’s unconditional, based on belief, and guaranteed (Ephes. 1:13-14).   When He speaks of the prizes we can win, He’s speaking of our crowns that are conditional, and require us to maintain certain behavior (Phil 3:13-14).  As an example, in 1 Cor. 9:24-27 Paul talked about bringing his own body under submission so that after preaching to others about the importance of living a victorious Christian life he himself would not be disqualified for the prize.

Where’s My Crown?

By the way, what do you suppose we do with these crowns, once we get them? According to Rev 5:10 we immediately turn and, bowing before His throne, place them at His feet.  In so doing, we acknowledge that even our “acts of righteousness” were made possible because of His gift to us.

If you’re working to earn the gift He’s already offered for free, you’re wasting your time and your life, and missing out on the joy of service. If you’re working to enhance or preserve His gift you risk offending Him, by showing that you think His effort was not sufficient. If you’re overwhelmed by the fact that He has accepted you just as you are, and just can’t restrain yourself; passing His love along every where you go with out any thought of reward, then one day soon He may crown you with many crowns. 08-31-13

The post Crown Him With Many Crowns appeared first on Grace thru faith.

As evening approached the disciples came to Him and said, “This is a remote place and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. “Bring them here to me,” he said. And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven He gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then He gave them to the disciples and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about 5000 men besides women and children (Matt 14:15-21).

I’m Only Going To Say This Four Times

This is the only miracle Jesus performed before His Resurrection that is included in all the gospels, and so it must be important. Reading all four accounts (the one from Matthew above plus Mark 6:32-44, Luke 9:10-17, and John 6:1-13) is necessary to gain the full impact of the story, because each writer included details unique to his version. (For my article on the need for four gospel accounts, read).

The basic premise is laid out in Matthew. There were 5000 men plus an undetermined number of women and children who had followed Jesus into a remote spot having heard that He was in the area. (Remember it was only the Jewish Leadership that rejected Him. He was enormously popular with the people. That’s one of the reasons the leaders feared Him.) Some of the disciples became concerned as evening approached that the people would be hungry and there wouldn’t be anything to give them. They had located 5 barley loaves and 2 fish, only enough for one or two. When Jesus took what they had and gave thanks for it, it became more than enough to feed the entire crowd. 12 baskets full of pieces were left over, more than they had started with.

Look For The Hidden Meaning

The feeding of the 5000 turns out to be as important symbolically as is it is factually. As is frequently the case the numbers given in these accounts are spiritually significant. (I encourage you to undertake a study of the Biblical use of numbers, “Number in Scripture” a book by E.W. Bullinger being a good reference to help get you started.) When the number 5 is used you’ll often find that it’s within the context of a manifestation of the Grace of God, and 2 is the number of witness (Deut. 19:15). 12 is the number of government and often refers to Israel as well. Add to these the fact that Jesus identified Himself as the Bread of Life given for us (John 6:35), and that the fish became the symbol for believers in His Word, a name also used of Him (John 1:1), and the hidden message begins to emerge.

With these insights, we can see the message Jesus was sending: “By the Grace of God you’ll be spiritually fed as the Bread of Life gives Himself to you. The witness of His Word will sustain you and enough of the Bread of Life will be given for all the House of Israel.” Jesus likened this miracle to the giving of the manna in the wilderness, indicating that it was a foreshadowing of Him (John 6:25-40).

Let’s See You Do That Again

By the way, on another occasion Jesus miraculously fed 4000 men plus women and children (Matt 15:29-31, Mark 8:1-10). There they found 7 loaves and a few small fish among the crowd. Again Jesus made it sufficient for all and there were 7 baskets full left over. Four is the number of the Earth because by day 4 the creation of Earth was complete, (Days 5 and 6 deal with populating it) and 7 denotes divine completion, for on the 7th day the creation was finished and God rested from all His work. Here the symbolism denotes that Jesus was giving Himself to all the Earth and there is plenty for everyone’s spiritual hunger to be completely satisfied. Many scholars see this miracle being Gentile in focus while the feeding of 5000 is aimed at Israel. Put the 2 together and see that there’s enough of Him for all the world, Jew and Gentile alike. The Feeding of the 4000 is carried in only 2 gospels, a witness to both Jew and Gentile.

Back To The 5000

In his account of this miracle Mark describes the crowd as being “like sheep without a shepherd” (Mark 6:34) and mentions that the grass upon which the people were made to sit down was green, recalling the phrase from Psalm 23, “He makes me lie down in green pastures.” And indeed Psalm 23 describes how the Good Shepherd tends His flock. Mark also inserts an additional use of the number 5, describing how the people were organized into groups of 100’s and 50’s.
And incredibly Mark hints that the disciples actually had enough money with them to buy dinner for the entire group (Mark 6:37). So much for the notion that Jesus and His disciples were penniless vagabonds living off the land.

Luke adds what I think is the most fascinating piece of information of all: the location of the miracle. It was near a town called Bethsaida. The name is usually translated “house of fishing” and denotes their proximity to the Sea of Galilee and the town’s major industry. But the Hebrew root words making up Bethsaida provide real insight into God’s sense of humor. Beth is Hebrew for house, and sayid literally means “box lunch.” This miraculous and instantaneous feeding took place near the “House of the Box Lunch” and was perhaps the real origin of the fast food industry (just kidding).

John says that the event took place near the time of the Jewish Passover, explaining why the grass was green (it was spring time) and let’s us in on what Jesus was thinking. Would His disciples who knew Him better than anyone suggest that He had the supernatural power to feed them all or propose a merely human solution? How like us they were. With all the power of the universe in their midst, they could only devise a response based on their own capability (John 6:5-9). John also gives us the crowd’s reaction. “Surely this is the Prophet Who is to come into the world,” they said. Jesus, knowing they intended to come and make Him king by force withdrew again to a mountain by Himself (John 6:14-15). They didn’t understand that Jesus needed to fulfill His role as the Obedient Servant by first dying for their sins before accepting His destiny as King of Kings. Later He accused them of only following Him because He fed them (John 6:26). Sounds like us again.

A Lesson In Nutrition

And so in these miraculous feedings, we see the gospel story told in a truly practical manner. By giving us His Son, our God brings life to all His people Jew and Gentile, completely satisfying our spiritual hunger and sustaining us through the power of His Word. Interesting that bread is a carbohydrate, a type of food that instantly energizes us, while fish, being protein gives us staying power.

Now you know the adult version.

The post Feeding the 5,000 appeared first on Grace thru faith.

Pentecost comes in the early summer (mid May-mid June). It’s the only Levitical Feast Day between the three spring feasts (Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits) and the three in the fall (Rosh Hashanna, Yom Kippur, and Tabernacles). The Hebrew name for this Day is Shavuot, which means weeks, so in Israel, it’s often called the Feast of Weeks.

This is because it’s supposed to occur seven weeks after the Feast of First Fruits (Lev. 23:15-16).  Deut. 16:9 confirms this.  “Count off seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain.” The first cutting of the grain took place on the Feast of First Fruits. Since First Fruits was the first day after the Sabbath that follows Passover, it was always observed on a Sunday. Shavuot, being seven weeks later, was always on a Sunday, too, and celebrated the beginning of the summer harvest.

But in 140 AD, following the final defeat of the Jewish nation after the bar Kochba revolt of 135 AD, the Sanhedrin changed the focus of Shavuot from the summer harvest to the giving of the Law. They did this because Shavuot was one of the three feasts all Jews were required to observe (Exodus 23:14-17 tells us Unleavened Bread and Tabernacles were the other two) and the defeated and dispersed nation would no longer have any national harvests to celebrate. From that time on, the countdown began from the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the day the Israelites left Egypt. So now Shavuot can come any day of the week and takes place on the 6th day of the Hebrew month called Sivan, which is the traditional day Moses received the Law from the Lord. Making this change placed the giving of the Law at Mt. Sinai exactly seven weeks after the Exodus from Egypt and preserved the Feast of Weeks in Jewish life.

Christians call this day by its Greek name, Pentecost. Pentecost comes from a word that means “50 days.” That’s because there were 50 days from the Sabbath that followed Passover to Shavuot (Pentecost).

Early Christians also changed the way the various dates are determined, although we’ve retained the Sunday requirement for Pentecost. Christians now start counting on the day we call Easter Sunday, which is officially the first Sunday after the first full moon that follows the Spring Equinox. We count Easter Sunday as day one, so Pentecost is always 49 days after Easter and always comes on a Sunday. By counting Easter Sunday on both ends of the span, we can arrive at 50 days (Pentecost) and still keep the celebration on the 7th Sunday after Easter.

What is Pentecost?

As I said, Jews now celebrate Pentecost (I’ll just use its Greek name to avoid any more confusion than necessary) as the day Moses received the Law on Mt. Sinai and the nation of Israel was born (Exodus 19-20). Christians celebrate it as the day the Holy Spirit came upon the Disciples in Jerusalem and the Church was born. (Some scholars see the historical and prophetic fulfillment of Pentecost in these two events.)

Acts 2 describes that day for us. On Pentecost, the followers of Jesus were all gathered together in one place when a sound like the blowing of a violent wind filled the house where they were staying and what seemed like tongues of fire separated and came to rest on each of them. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as He enabled them. Just before He ascended into heaven Jesus told them to expect this (Acts 1:8) and now it was happening. Since Pentecost was one of the feasts where attendance in Jerusalem was required, there were God-fearing Jews from many other countries in Jerusalem, swelling its normal population substantially. The sound of the wind had alerted those who were nearby and as they came closer to see what it was, each one of these pilgrims was amazed to hear the disciples, who were all Galilean, speaking in his own language.

Peter got their attention and explained what was going on. It was the first public presentation of the gospel since the Lord’s death and resurrection, and when Peter had finished, 3,000 of those gathered around had accepted his message and were baptized, and the Lord continued adding to their number daily.

If you agree with my view that the parables of Matthew 13 describe the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth and that the parable of the yeast (Matt. 13:33) predicts how the Church will be filled with sinners, you’ll be interested in the fact that unlike all the other Levitical Feasts that call for unleavened bread (no yeast), Pentecost calls for two loaves of bread baked with yeast (Lev. 23:17). In the Bible leaven, or yeast, is a model of sin because it causes the dough to begin spoiling.

Other Jewish Pentecost ceremonies also reveal a subtle hint of the coming Church. In synagogues, the Book of Ruth is read on Pentecost. The story of Ruth has been called “The Romance of Redemption.” It’s about Naomi, a Jewish woman from Bethlehem who lost her land due to a famine in Israel and was forced to flee into neighboring Moab (Jordan), where there was no famine.  Shortly thereafter her husband passed away leaving her penniless and alone in a foreign country.

After the famine had ended, she returned to Bethlehem accompanied by Ruth, a gentile woman who had sworn never to leave her. Ruth was a Moabite who had married one of Naomi’s sons (who also died) making her Naomi’s daughter-in-law and a destitute widow as well.

Once back in Bethlehem Naomi’s close relative, a prominent Jewish man named Boaz fell in love with Ruth and married her. In the process he also regained Naomi’s land as her kinsman-redeemer. Both these events were accomplished according to the Law. For Naomi it was the law of redemption (Lev 25:25), and for Ruth it was the law of leverite marriage (Deut. 25:5-6).

The modeling here is dramatic, with Naomi in the role of Israel, destitute and alone, Ruth as the Church, the gentile bride, Boaz as the Messiah, and the story itself as a prediction of the relationship that would involve all three of them. In the process of redeeming Israel, the Messiah takes a gentile bride. In doing so, He saves both from their destitute condition and restores Israel’s Land. The identification of the Church with Pentecost began in the prophecies of Ruth. To learn more about these incredible prophecies, and enjoy one of the world’s classic love stories, read Ruth’s Story.

By the way, Boaz was the son of Rahab, the harlot from the Book of Joshua (read “The Gospel in Joshua … The Story of Rahab“). His great-grandson David became the King of Israel. Rahab and Ruth are both listed in the genealogy of the Lord Jesus (Matt. 1:5), and King Solomon named one of the pillars at the entrance to the Temple after his ancestor Boaz.

When’s Your Birthday?

By tradition, Enoch, one of the patriarchs from Genesis 5, was born on the day later to be known as Pentecost. Enoch’s name means “teaching,” a primary function of the Church (Matt. 28:19-20). For this reason many scholars see him as a “type” of the church as well. Genesis 5:21-23 indicates that Enoch had a close relationship with God and was actually taken live (raptured) into Heaven before the Great Flood. Pre-Trib scholars see this event as one of several Old Testament hints that the Church will disappear from Earth before the Great Tribulation.

These same traditions also hold that Enoch was taken on his birthday. So here’s a man, identified with the Church, perhaps being born and raptured on the day that would become Pentecost, the day the Church was born. Will the Church be raptured on our birthday, too? Personally I don’t believe the Rapture of the Church will be the prophetic fulfillment of any of Israel’s Holy Days. But if I’m wrong and the Rapture does fulfill a Levitical Feast, Pentecost seems to be the most obvious candidate.

As you probably know, I believe the reason no one on Earth can accurately predict the day of the Rapture is because it’s a number specific event, not a date specific one. In Romans 11:25 Paul implied the church has a “full number,” when its ranks will be considered complete. When that number is reached the Church will “come in,” which means it will arrive at its scheduled destination, like when a ship “comes in.” Jesus said the destination of the Church is His Father’s house (John 14:2). Put it together, and I believe it means we’ll be raptured as soon as the predetermined number of Christians has been born again, no matter what day it happens to be.

Soon And Very Soon

No matter what day it happens to be, one day soon now, all who are in Christ, having heard and believed the Word of Truth, the Gospel of our salvation (thereby receiving the seal of the promised Holy Spirit) will suddenly disappear from the face of the Earth along with all children and others who are intellectually incapable of making informed choices about their eternal destiny. In one instant we will have been going about our daily routines here on Earth and in the next we’ll be standing in the presence of our Redeemer, our sins forgiven and forgotten, and all our imperfections gone. Among us will be all the faithful dead of the Church Age, reunited with perfected bodies and restored to eternal physical life. Together we will begin the most incredible journey of exploration and realization ever dreamed of, and it will last forever.

Neither we, nor the unbelieving world, will have received any advance warning of the timing for this event; it will have come totally by surprise. Maybe it will happen on Pentecost, maybe not. But one thing is certain, when it does happen, none of us will care one bit whether we had predicted it’s timing accurately. We will only express in unimaginable joy our gratitude for being there. For it is by grace you have been saved through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephe. 2:8-9)

As it is written: No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him – but God has revealed it to us by His Spirit (1 Cor. 2:9-10). You can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah. 05-23-15.

The post The Feast Of Pentecost appeared first on Grace thru faith.

As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable. (Romans 11:28-29)

In the final portion of his three-chapter explanation of the relationship between God, Israel, and the Church, Paul explains that though the Jews appear to be enemies of the Gospel, God’s promises to their Patriarchs are inviolable, not conditioned on their behavior. He has preserved a remnant for these times just as He did during the time of Elijah (Romans 11:1-6). And in fact, their opposition to the Gospel has brought great blessing to the Gentile world, opening the door to Salvation to all who would enter. (See Isaiah 49:1-6 for God’s promise that this would happen.)

How Many Times Do I Have To Tell You?

God had made this same point through the prophet Ezekiel 600 years earlier. This is what the Sovereign LORD says: “It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Sovereign LORD, when I show myself holy through you before their eyes.”

“For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” (Ezekiel 36:22-27)

This is one of several Old Testament passages explaining that the remnant of Israel would be born again in the latter days. This rebirth would take place both in the political sense (the nation would come into existence again after a 2000-year absence) and in the spiritual sense (they will be saved by grace just as you and I are). And then God will open the storehouse of blessings He has kept for just this time. Let’s let His Word speak for itself.

“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.” (Zechariah 12:10-11). As all the nations of the world gather against Jerusalem for the great and final battle of the age of man, the remnant of Israel will turn to their Messiah and petition His return. Having caused Him to reject them and leave them (Hosea 5:15) they will finally see the error of their way, admit their guilt, and petition His return (Hosea 6:1-2). “Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle.” (Zechariah 14:3)

Accepted. Finally And Forever

“In that day I will restore David’s fallen tent. I will repair its broken places, restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be, I will bring back my exiled people Israel; they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them,” says the Lord your God. (Amos 9:11, 14-15)

“For I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands. They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the Lord, they and their descendants with them.

Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,” says the Lord. (Isaiah 65:18-25)

A Time For Blessing

At that time the curse that’s afflicted Planet Earth since Genesis 3 will be lifted. The mountains and the hills will break into song and the trees of the fields will clap their hands. (Isaiah 55:12) There will finally be peace on Earth and good will toward men. Nation will not take up sword against nation nor will they train for war anymore. (Micah 4:3) Even the animals will live in peace. Long lifetimes will return as sickness and disease are dramatically curtailed and Earth is restored to its condition before the fall. In New Jerusalem there will be no more death, or mourning, or crying, or pain for the old order of things has passed away. (Rev. 21:4) And all the people of the Earth will be blessed. (Gen 12:3) For if Israel’s transgression means riches for the world, how much more will their fullness bring! (Romans 11:12)

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor? Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen. (Romans 11:33-36)

The post Commentary on Romans 9-11 Part 3 appeared first on Grace thru faith.

Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. (Romans 10:4)

Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. (Romans 10:1-4)

Our human nature makes us more task-oriented than results oriented. This means that it’s easier for us to identify what we need to do today than to remember what we’re trying to accomplish with our lives. (It’s easier to get the trash out every Sunday night than it is to schedule quality time with our kids each week.) Because of this tendency, we often confuse effort with results, especially with repetitive tasks. It’s no surprise then that the Israelites began to rely more and more on the religious tasks they were performing as time passed and less and less on the promise of a Redeemer. Little by little the form of their religion had overtaken the substance, and they lost sight of the fact that those tasks were designed as a daily reminder of their need for a Redeemer. Eventually the tasks became their redeemer and by the time of Jesus, many believed that their efforts at keeping the commandments were sufficient to earn their Salvation.

This was not unique to them or their time. Ask anyone today who believes in an afterlife, but isn’t Biblically literate, how they expect to get into Heaven and watch as they tick off their own list of commandments. Even though they made the list up, they believe by keeping it God will reward their efforts and they’ll go to heaven.

You’re Missing The Point

The Israelites missed the point that Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes, and that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10: 4,9). Speaking of the Messiah, Isaiah had told them that anyone who puts their trust in Him will never be put to shame (Isaiah 28:16) but having drifted away from a literal interpretation of Scripture, they lacked the knowledge to recognize Him when He walked among them. When the Lord rode into Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday He lamented, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.” (Luke 19:42) Later that week He indicated that their blinding would be temporary, ending when the time of the Gentiles had run its course. (Luke 21:24)

Who Rejected Whom?

“How, then, can they call on the One they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard?” Paul asked in Romans 10:14. And so the Messiah had to leave until they learned to recognize Him. “You will not see Me again,” He said, “Until you say Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord.” (Matt. 23:39). In the courtyard of the Antonia Fortress a few days later as Pilate condemned Him to death, they shouted, “Let His blood be on us and on our children.” (Matt. 27:25) And so it was. The people rejected Him. The Lord had no choice but to reject them.

The prophets had foreseen even these details of the Lord’s ministry: “Then I will go back to my place until they admit their guilt. And they will seek my face; in their misery they will earnestly seek me.” (Hosea 5:15)

But as the Apostles concluded at the Council of Jerusalem, this rejection would last only until the Lord had finished building His church (read ). The day will soon come when they will earnestly seek Him, saying, “Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence.” (Hosea 6:1-2) Many interpret this prophecy to mean that after 2000 years the Lord would revive them as a nation (with the Lord a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day, 2 Peter 3:8) and then restore them in fulfillment of their 1000 year Kingdom promises.

On that day the Lord will “pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.” (Zech 12:10) From that day on “Judah will be inhabited forever and Jerusalem through all generations. Their bloodguilt, which I have not pardoned, I will pardon.” The Lord dwells in Zion! (Joel 3:20-21)

Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring! (Romans 11:11-12) In our conclusion next week we’ll see how the elected and rejected will once again be accepted and the whole world will be blessed beyond our wildest imagination.

The post Commentary on Romans 9-11 Part 2 appeared first on Grace thru faith.

“I will have mercy upon whom I will have mercy,” He said, “And I will have compassion upon whom I will have compassion.” (Exodus 33:19).

When they finished, James spoke up: “Brothers, listen to me. Simon (Peter) has described to us how God at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself. The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written: “After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things that have been known for ages.” (Acts 15:13-18)

The occasion was a conference in Jerusalem to settle a dispute over whether Gentile converts to Christianity could go straight into the Church or whether they had to first become Jews. Peter, Paul, Barnabus and many other 1st century Christian leaders attended the conference chaired by James, brother of Jesus, who was by then the Bishop of the Church in Jerusalem.

What’s The Point?

The real point at issue was, if Gentiles don’t have to first become Jews, what’s to become of Israel? Has the Church replaced Israel as God’s people on Earth? James quoted from Amos 9:11-12 to remind them all that after the Gospel was preached to the Gentiles, God would return to rebuild “David’s fallen tent.” This reference was to the Nation Israel as well as its form of worship complete with Temple and ordinances. The phrase “after this” showed them that Israel was being put on hold while the Lord took from among the Gentiles a people for Himself, a reference to the Church, but that later He would again turn His attention toward Israel and restore both the nation and its worship system. Based on that conclusion these Messianic Jews, the Church’s first leaders determined that it was not necessary in the words of Peter to “put on their necks a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear. We believe that it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” (Acts 15:10-11) From that point on any person, Jew or Gentile, could be welcomed into the Church solely upon a confession of faith and not be subject to the rituals and ordinances of Judaism.

From this conference emerged the understanding in the early church that God’s dealings with Israel and the Church are mutually exclusive. While He was focused on building the Church, Israel would fade into the background, but once His work with the church was complete Israel would again become the primary focus of His attention. So Israel was not being replaced by the Church but would reemerge as the Church reached its predetermined number. (Rom. 11:25-27) (Note: A sign that God’s work in the church is nearly finished is the growing importance of Israel in world affairs. No other nation on Earth has commanded as much attention since its reemergence as a nation. In fact, 26% of all UN Security Council meetings since 1948 have concerned Israel.)

Later Paul expanded on this theme in his letter to the Romans, clearly explaining the relationships between the Lord, Israel, and the Church in chapters 9-11. Let’s review these chapters to gain the understanding of one who attended the conference and who was known as the Apostle to the Gentiles.

Elected

Speaking of the Jews, Paul said, “Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.” (Rom. 9:4-5). Their election as God’s chosen people was an act of His sovereign choice. He looked with favor upon Abraham, a descendant of Shem from modern-day Iraq, and offered to make of his descendants a great nation through whom all the peoples of the world would be blessed. 400 years later, when He brought them out of Egypt to Mt. Sinai the Nation Israel was born, and throughout the Old Testament, the idea is clear that God chose Abraham and his descendants simply because it was His right to choose whomever He wanted. “I will have mercy upon whom I will have mercy,” He said, “And I will have compassion upon whom I will have compassion.” (Exodus 33:19).

Your Mission, If You Choose To Accept It …

In Romans 9 Paul reminds us of an interesting condition. This election was never intended solely as a birthright, automatically inherited by the children of Jewish parents. “For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, ‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.’ In other words, it is not the natural children who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.” (Rom. 9:6-8) While they couldn’t choose their nationality, the children of Abraham had to choose to participate in the promised blessings by obeying His instructions and believing in His promise of a coming Redeemer. Remember God’s words to the recently released captives from Egypt: “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Exodus 19:5-6)

Isaiah explained that God chose Israel to accomplish a special fourfold mission on Earth:

to be a witness for Him (Isa 43:10),
to show forth His blessings (49:3)
to transmit the Scriptures (42:9)
to be a channel for the Messiah(49:5)

Though chosen for this mission, they had to accept it, obey His covenants, and keep the faith. Obedience would bring great blessings but disobedience would bring consequences (Deut. 30:11-20). Eventually, they disobeyed and suffered the consequences, but just how permanent would those consequences be? More next time.

The post Commentary on Romans 9-11 appeared first on Grace thru faith.

Paul’s letters to Timothy are the instructions from a mentor to a young pastor, one of the first ever, and contain advice on what to do and how to do it, as well as what not to do. It’s the kind of thing you’d expect given the relationship.

But for no apparent reason Paul tucked several warnings about the end times into various places in his instructions. These are things Paul knew Timothy wouldn’t have to deal with because he clearly described them as characteristics of the Latter Days. We’ll take them each in turn.

1 Timothy 4:1-2

The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.

When I read this one I always think of certain televangelists who espouse a perversion of the prosperity gospel. They know what they’re teaching is a compilation of half truths and outright lies, so in effect they’re twisting God’s word to steal from their followers. And without the least bit of shame they enjoy the lifestyles of the rich and famous at the expense of their contributors who, according to some reports, come primarily from the bottom 25% of the economic scale.

Taking advantage of their followers’ lack of Bible knowledge and misguided desire for a more abundant life , these predators foist one get rich quick scheme after another on their desperate flocks, bilking them out of the few discretionary dollars they have and leaving them worse off in the bargain. And they do it in the name of God. It makes you wonder what He’ll say to them come judgment time.

But the prosperity teachers aren’t the only ones in this category. There are others who teach things they know are contrary to what the Bible says. Some of these things come under the heading of conditional salvation, grace plus works, partial rapture, and other false teaching that can steal the joy of your salvation and rob you of your certainty. Their objective is to imprison you within boundaries of rules they themselves can’t follow. Read Colossians 2:8-23 for Paul’s opinion on these modern day legalists.

Then there are those who either treat the prophecies of our time as if they were already accomplished in history, or as if they’re never going to be accomplished because they’re all allegorical. These teachers also know what they’re saying can’t be reconciled with Scripture, but they ask you to believe it anyway, trusting in their superior intellect or advanced education instead of your own common sense. They take passages that can be clearly understood just as they’re written by anyone with an average intellect and make them hopelessly confusing by violating the rules of context, re-defining terms, and making that which is real into something symbolic.

2 Timothy 3:1-5

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.

Just as you become convinced that Paul is describing the unbelieving world in our time and are vigorously nodding your head in agreement, he says that these people have a form of godliness but deny its power. Then you realize he was writing about those believers in name only, who spend 6 ½ days each week living lives indistinguishable from unbelievers, grabbing all they can get from our material world by any means necessary while contributing little or nothing to the work of the Kingdom. These people lead two lives, the one they’re serious about, and the one that’s just for show. Guess which is which.

Paul was not blind to the behavior of these people, nor was this the only time he warned us to stay from them. Listen to what he told the Corinthians.

I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people – not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat (1 Cor. 5:9-11).

Notice he said “anyone who calls himself a brother” instead of “anyone who is a brother.” I think he was doubting that someone who behaves in this manner could have been saved in the first place.

2 Timothy 4:3-4

For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

Here the focus is on the emerging church movement in all its various forms. In business schools, students learn to develop strategies based on a driving force. One such driving force is the market. A market driven strategy requires the business enterprise to focus on what they perceive to be the wants and needs of their target customers and adapt themselves to meet these needs in a more effective way.

Correctly predicting the growing demand for a religious organization that could meet the needs of a self centered, self sufficient generation, the leaders of the emerging church movement developed such a strategy. They took the focus off God and put it on the congregation. Entertainment replaced worship, philosophy replaced theology, and good works replaced victorious living.

Borrowing a phrase from Dominion Theology they began calling it “bringing Heaven to Earth” to make it sound more appealing to their idealistic target market. Little do their followers realize that for believers, these good works will be burned up in the fire (1 Cor. 3:14-15), and for unbelievers they’ll be woefully insufficient for entry into the kingdom (John 3:3). God has His own strategy for bringing Heaven to Earth and it doesn’t include the emerging church. Commenting on their works in his letter to Laodicea, Jesus said, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” (Rev. 3:15-16) They’re excited about the great entertainment, the stimulating talk, and the good works, but not about the Lord.

Irrespective of that, both the seats and the coffers soon filled, signs that their market driven strategy was working, and for many the emerging church was soon the place to be. This was especially true for those who had become bored with traditional Church and wanted a place where they could feel good and do good with no messages about sin and salvation to convict them. The gospel was not missed in its absence.

Besides, “All of our attempts to define the right form of the Gospel are just human interpretations,” the movement’s leaders claim. “We must avoid a naive or excessive confidence in any telling of the Gospel story, since no articulation of the gospel today can presume to be exactly identical to the original meaning Christ and the apostles proclaimed.” In a sense, they’re saying since its impossible to know what the Gospel story really is we shouldn’t put too much faith in it.

Learning about the rapidly approaching End Times and the need to be ready for it has also been skipped. Instead, the “excessive” study of prophecy is called a distraction from the real work of the Church. These things were done by design, since the goal is to have non-believers make up at least half of their congregations. The market is much bigger that way and the non-believers help move the believers away from theological absolutes, like the need to be born again and the importance of prophecy.

In the next verse of His letter Jesus offered additional criticism. “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” (Rev. 3:17) His letter to the Church in Laodicea contains no commendation for their works and offers no escape from the end times judgments, just a plea to be allowed back into their midst (Rev. 3:20).

But Wait There’s More

Over fourteen years earlier in his second letter to the Thessalonians Paul had first warned us about the apostasy of the latter days, calling it one of the signs that would mark the end of the age. In 2 Thes. 2:1 Paul began to address their questions about two events, the (2nd) coming of our Lord, and our being gathered to Him (the rapture). He was responding to information they had received saying the day of the Lord had already come. He told them not to worry because several things had to happen first.

Paul didn’t go into things like the regathering of Israel, the beginning of Daniel’s 70th Week, or the building of a Temple. Israel had not been dispersed yet, and the Second Temple was still standing. He focused on events that are more gentile in nature.

A careful reading of 2 Thes. 2:3-8 shows the order in which he said these things would take place. He said the apostasy would happen first (verse 3), then the rapture of the Church when the Holy Spirit is taken out of the way (verse 7), and finally the revealing of the anti-Christ followed by the 2nd Coming (verse 8). (If you don’t read this passage carefully, you could become confused by Paul’s mention of the anti-Christ in verses 3-4. But verse 8 clearly places the official unveiling of the anti-Christ after the removal of the Holy Spirit.) Even a casual observation shows that we’re well into the time of the first sign.

What should be our reaction to this? First is to remember that God’s Word said this would happen so there’s no point in bemoaning the fact that it’s happening. Instead we should be encouraged to know the end of the Age is getting closer. Jesus said the true Church would become weaker and less influential as the end approaches (Rev. 3:8). As the world moves further and further from God, those of us who follow Him will naturally feel less comfortable and be less welcome here.

If you live in the United States, stop confusing your country with your church. No believer outside the US makes this mistake, and the fact is the Church has neither a home nor a land on Earth. Our citizenship is in Heaven (Phil. 3:20) and we look for a city whose architect and builder is God (Hebr. 11:10).

No matter where we live in the world we have to remember that we’re aliens here and our visit is about over. Soon we’ll be going home where we belong.

In the mean time we have to stop depending on organized religion to meet our needs. In some places the Church is being forced underground. In others we’re going willingly. But either way the gulf between religion and the Church is growing wider by the day.

If you can’t find a God worshiping, Bible teaching church where you live, don’t settle for what you can get. Gather a small group of like minded believers and worship at home. Paul and Timothy didn’t have a huge bureaucracy behind them. They didn’t have million dollar buildings or professionally designed programs. They didn’t even have the New Testament. Yet they found a way to worship God, and to help others do the same.

Stop supporting groups who are trying to bring Heaven to Earth and start sending your treasure to Heaven. I could tell you stories all day along about what God can do with a hand full of people He can trust. Ask the Lord to identify a need for you to meet in His name and then work in His strength to meet it. Apart from Him nothing you do has any value to the Kingdom (John 15:5).

Dig into prophecy. It’s the single biggest topic in the Bible and more is written about our life and times than any other period in history. Know what you believe and why you believe it.

Do these things and you can make the time we have left the most rewarding and enjoyable time you’ve ever known. You can almost hear the Footsteps Of The Messiah. 03-26-11

The post Paul, Timothy, And The End Times appeared first on Grace thru faith.

Here’s a good question. A website follower wrote, “For some time I have been discussing and studying Matt. 6:25-34 regarding what the Lord promised to provide for the believer. Taken literally, it seems to say that we are promised food and clothes and that’s it. Of course, that is a great deal if you do not have those things, but some argue that God has also included much more as well. I believe this but unfortunately, I can’t back this up with scripture. Can you help?”

First, let’s summarize the passage. In Matt. 6:25 Jesus said “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?”

I think one thing He was telling us is that we should eat to live, not live to eat. A sufficient quantity of wholesome healthy food is really all we need. What do we gain by overindulging in food and drink that can actually shorten our life? And as long as we have sufficient serviceable clothing, what else do we need? What benefit is there in strutting around like a peacock? Life should be much more important to us than these things.

And we’ll close with verses 31- 34. “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

The first thing we can see here is that life is far too important to be spent worrying about the future, especially where the basic necessities are concerned. And the second thing is if we’ll focus on seeking God’s Kingdom and His righteousness He’ll see that these needs are met. Therefore worrying about them is unnecessary.

Earlier in the same instruction, He had cautioned us against storing up treasure on Earth because it can be lost or stolen (Matt. 6:19-21). He said to store up treasure in Heaven instead, where that can’t happen. Many have also written asking how to do that, and the answer is in Mark 10:17-22. A rich young man had asked how to inherit eternal life. After the young man said he was already keeping the commandments, Jesus told him to sell everything and give it to the poor. Then he would have treasure in Heaven.

The two points to the discussion are that the young man was not happy with the answer because he had great wealth and was apparently reluctant to part with it. This proved the Lord’s point that we can’t serve two masters (Matt. 6:24). Excessive focus on material things will always get in the way of pleasing God. And the second point is that using our earthly treasure to help the poor is a way to build our store of heavenly treasure.

So far it doesn’t sound very practical. Many believe that if they don’t worry about taking care of themselves, then who will? And if we give away all of our excess what will we do when hard times come?

This is where some of the Lord’s other promises come into focus. Remember, we’re talking about life here. And what did He say about life? “I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).

Does living from hand to mouth, having nothing to fall back on sound like a worry-free abundant life? Hardly. So there must be more to this than meets the eye. And there is, because when you have the faith to live as He told you to, some other promises start to kick in.

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:38)

When our actions demonstrate generosity, then we’ll be blessed generously in return. It’s a classic cause and effect relationship. Generous giving is the sign of an abundance mentality. It shows we know the Lord has made unlimited resources available to us so we don’t have to hoard what we have. We can share what we have with those who have nothing because we know there’s more where that came from.

This is a good time to refute the false teaching sometimes called “giving to get.” Although Luke 6:38 says our generosity toward others will determine the Lord’s generosity toward us, giving with an expectation of receiving is not being generous, it’s being greedy. True generosity carries no expectation of future reward but is an expression of gratitude for rewards already received.

If our gratitude for having our needs consistently met in the past prompts us to give generously to help others meet their needs in the present, then the Lord will reward our generosity with more blessing in the future. But if we’re only giving to others because we want more for ourselves, the Lord, who sees our hidden motives, will not respond generously.

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:19). Here’s a case in point. The church in Philippi had responded generously by helping to meet Paul’s needs, and he promised that the Lord would see to theirs in return. He was applying the principle of Luke 6:38.

You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. (2 Cor. 9:11)

This verse speaks of the escalating effect of Luke 6:38. As our generosity toward others increases so does His toward us. But His generosity will always outpace ours so that after our giving, we’ll wind up with more than when we began. He does this so we can respond to more needs. The principle here is that we’re to be a channel, not a reservoir. We have to remember that His blessings are being channeled through us to reach others in need.  As soon as we stop giving to the needs of others, we become a reservoir, storing up what we’ve been given, and the flow of blessings will stop.

But if we stay focused on giving we’ll discover that this promise contains benefits on both sides. As we become more generous toward others, benefitting them, we’ll be made rich in every way, benefitting ourselves, while enabling us to provide even more help to those in need. As you can see, this involves much more than just having our basic needs met. I think the phrase “rich in every way” includes financial, physical, and emotional security, good health, good relationships, and a much more fulfilling walk with the Lord, too. This is the answer to the question we began with. This is the kind of life we can expect.

The times in which this advice was given were not unlike our own. There was uncertainty all around. Israel’s former greatness was a distant memory and the very survival of the nation was in doubt. Individual freedoms were being curtailed and taxes were steadily increasing.  Most people were living at basic survival levels.   It was a time when people’s natural instincts were to hang onto whatever they could get.

Yet to these people both the Lord and Paul preached faith in God and generosity toward one another as the path to freedom from worry. It was good advice then and it’s good advice now. Selah 03-12-11

The post What Kind Of Life Can We Expect? appeared first on Grace thru faith.