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Five Truths About the Wrath of God

21 Nov

What Does Romans 1:18 Mean?

The doctrine of the wrath of God has fallen on hard times. In today’s world, any concept of God’s wrath upsets our modern sentiments. It’s too disconcerting, too intolerant.

We live in a day where we have set ourselves as the judge and God’s character is on trial. “How can hell be just?” “Why would God command the Israelites to destroy the Canaanites?” “Why does God always seem so angry?”

The fact that so many people struggle with these questions, and many more like them, means that more than ever right thinking is needed about the doctrine of God’s wrath. It is needed for motivation for Christian living, fuel for proper worship, and as a toolbox to confront objections to Christianity.

Here are five biblical truths about the wrath of God:

  1. God’s wrath is just.

It has become common for many to argue that the God of the Old Testament is a moral monster that is by no means worthy of worship.

However, biblical authors have no such problem. In fact, God’s wrath is said to be in perfect accord with God’s justice. Paul writes, “But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed” (Romans 2:5). God’s wrath, then, is in proportion to human sinfulness.

“God’s wrath is his love in action against sin.”

Similarly, Proverbs 24:12 says, “If you say, ‘Behold, we did not know this,’ does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work?”

J.I. Packer summarizes: “God’s wrath in the Bible is never the capricious, self-indulgent, irritable, morally ignoble thing that human anger so often is. It is, instead, a right and necessary reaction to objective moral evil” (Knowing God, 151).

  1. God’s wrath is to be feared.

God’s wrath is to be feared because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). God’s wrath is to be feared because we are justly condemned sinners apart from Christ (Romans 5:1). God’s wrath is to be feared because he is powerful enough to do what he promises (Jeremiah 32:17). God’s wrath is to be feared because God promises eternal punishment apart from Christ (Matthew 25:46).

  1. God’s wrath is consistent in the Old and New Testaments.

It is common to think of the Old Testament God as mean, harsh, and wrath-filled, and the God of the New Testament as kind, patient, and loving. Neither of these portraits are representative of Scripture’s teaching on the wrath of God.

We find immensely fearful descriptions of the wrath of God in both the Old and the New Testament. Here are just a few examples:

“God must act justly and judge sin, otherwise God would not be God.”

Behold the storm of the Lord! Wrath has gone forth, a whirling tempest; it will burst upon the head of the wicked. (Jeremiah 30:23)

The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord is avenging and wrathful; the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies. (Nahum 1:2)

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. (Romans 1:18)

From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. (Revelation 19:15)

  1. God’s wrath ishis love in action against sin.

This is counter-intuitive, but hear me out.

God is love, and God does all things for his glory (1 John 4:8; Romans 11:36). He loves his glory above all (and that is a good thing!). Therefore, God rules the world in such a way that brings himself maximum glory. This means that God must act justly and judge sin (i.e. respond with wrath), otherwise God would not be God. God’s love for his glory motivates his wrath against sin.

Admittedly, God’s love for his own glory is a most sobering reality for many and not good news for sinners. It is after all, “a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).

  1. God’s wrath is satisfied in Christ.

“In saving us from his own wrath, God has done what we could not do, and he has done what we didn’t deserve.”

Here we have the ultimate good news: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). Because of Christ, God can rightly call sinners justified (Romans 3:26). God has done what we could not do, and he has done what we didn’t deserve. Charles Wesley rightly exulted in this good news:

And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Saviour’s blood?
Died he for me, who caused his pain!
For me, who him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be
That thou, my God, shouldst die for me? by Joseph Scheumann

 
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Posted by on November 21, 2024 in Romans

 

“A Biblical Response to the ‘Transing’ of America” – Romans 1:18-28

14 Nov

What does a culture of any nation look like when it excludes God? Take a look around at American culture right now. It looks like  what Paul wrote in Romans 1.

First  century A.D., is just as apparent now. When man removes God from the equation, man resorts to his  base nature, and our base nature is  pretty perverse.

How should we respond to the cultural chaos and the corporate controversy that has overtaken our country with gender confusion, sexual perversion, and a “woke” agenda?

How can we navigate all the madness without losing our hearts for those who are caught up in the madness?

We should be outraged by all the cultural evil, but we should never lose the mission of the church because of our outrage over the madness of the world.

At the same time, we must never condone the evil or affirm the delusion. Pastor Gary explains the “why” behind the madness and what we should do in response.

Read Romans 1:18-28

When a society rejects, removes, or replaces God:

God gives them over to a “depraved” or “debased” mind: madness Romans 1:28 – “… Since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.”

People become deceived and delusional:

2 Thessalonians 2:9-11  “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie…”

It unleashes the demonic:

1 Timothy 4:1 – “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.”

Lies  people believe today

  • Those who believe that he can be “she,” and she can be “he,” and anyone can be “they” are dishonoring their bodies and exchanging the truth of God for a
  • Those who no longer refer to women who give birth as mothers but instead “birthing people”—to account for  women who identify as men who can give birth—are dishonoring their bodies and exchanging the truth of God for  a
  • Those who dismiss reparative or conversion therapy as emotionally damaging or dangerous—therapy that can help people heal from the wounds that led to same-sex attraction—but simultaneously say that puberty blocking drugs, hormone treatments, chemical castration, and surgical reassignments are normative, reasonable, and rational are dishonoring their bodies and exchanging the truth of God for  a
  • Those who believe biological men who identify as women should be allowed to compete in women’s sports (while shaming female athletes who object) are dishonoring their bodies and exchanging the truth of God for a

What can we do?

A holy life

Peter 3:10-12a – “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.”

A healthy home

Deuteronomy 6:7 – “Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” 

A strong stance

2 Timothy 1:12b – “…I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.”

God’s Word is truth and the standard of all that is right and wrong John 17:17 – “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”

God designed us male and female

Genesis 1:27 – “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”

God designed each person with beauty and purpose, being “fearfully and wonderfully made”

Psalm 139:14 – “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.”

God designed sex within the confines of marriage between a man and a woman

Genesis 1:28 – “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’”

God designed all races with equal value and worth

Acts 10:34-35 – “Then Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.’”

God loves all and died for all in order to save all who would call upon the Name of the Lord

Romans 10:9-13 – “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For ‘whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.’”

A tender heart

Jude 22-23 – “And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.”

Ephesians 6:10-13 – “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”

When we  are too afraid to speak the truth in love,  we dishonor God, and we deprive people with same-sex attraction the good news of God’s grace, forgiveness, and wholeness that they can experience in Him. 

Proverbs 13:15b – “The way  of the unfaithful is hard.”

Matthew 11:28–30 – “Come to me,  all you  who  are  weary and burdened, and I will give  you  rest. Take  my yoke upon you  and learn from me,  for I am  gentle and humble in heart, and you  will find rest for your souls.  For  my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

There is nothing more satisfying and fulfilling  than a relationship with Jesus, as He is the One who brings wholeness to the soul, rest to the weary, and forgiveness to the sinful

Romans 5:8–9 – “But God  demonstrates His own  love  toward us, in that while  we  were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we  shall be saved from wrath through Him.”

1 Corinthians 6:9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

 
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Posted by on November 14, 2024 in Romans

 

Why Some People Won’t Obey the Gospel

04 Nov

A statement often said: ‘If a person really understood the gospel, I don’t see how he could reject it.’ His point was that if we could just make the gospel absolutely clear, everyone would perforce accept it.

Our minister was then preaching a marvelous series of sermons from Romans, making clear the message of justification by faith, and the all-sufficiency of the cross of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We thought that if only this saving gospel of Romans 1:16 could be made just as clear to all men, every heart would joyfully receive the gospel.

What has become painfully clear to me is that, no matter how clearly the gospel is presented, men will reject it. That brings us to ask the question: Why will men not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved?

Of course there is one answer, and there are a hundred answers.

We are asking what is the precise perversity and blindness in sinful man which leads him to reject the gospel of Christ? Let the answer come in the words of Thomas Boston, the eighteenth-century Scottish divine. The following notes are taken from Boston’s sermon on Isaiah 61:1 (Works, vol. 9, pp. 540-541).

Thomas Boston states that man’s rejection of the gospel is traceable to certain sinful weaknesses. We shall quote Boston’s main analysis phrase by phrase and then add explanatory comments of our own.

  1. ‘NO DUE SENSE OF SPIRITUAL WANTS’.

Proverbs 27:7: ‘The full soul loatheth the honeycombe’.

This is the old Laodicean sickness (Rev. 3:17). A man says, ‘I do not sense any great hurt or lack or failure in my life. I have a good education; I have achieved vocational success; my marriage and children are fine; my personal life is one of morality and integrity.

I have respect for the church, I believe in God, but I do not see any overwhelming need in my life — nothing that compels me to cry out to Jesus Christ to save me.’

This is the man who hears of the treasure hid in the field. He replies, ‘Yes, many people could really use that treasure, and I am sure they would find it good for them, but thank you anyway, I have enough treasure of my own.’

  1. ‘NO TRUE SIGHT AND SENSE OF THEIR OWN SINFULNESS’.

He says, ‘I’m no angel, I’m not perfect, sure I’ve done wrong, call it sin if you like, but. . .’ There is always that ‘but’.

Many method booklets prescribe that we ask a question such as, ‘Do you admit you have sinned?’ The usual answer is, ‘Of course I do.’

There is always the crossed finger, or a qualification, though. ‘It depends on what you mean by sin; I am no serial killer. I was not in the Nazi party, I am not a pervert.

So if you mean, have I been less than I ought, yes. But if you mean that I am some sort of depraved person, then no. Certainly God and religion could make me a better person, and we all need that. But I do not consider myself a ruined sinner, with a corrupt life, whose only hope is in the mercy of God.’

  1. ‘THEY DO NOT SEE THE CLOUDS OF WRATH WHICH ARE HANGING OVER THEIR HEADS’.

Our apprehension of our wretchedness is directly proportionate to our apprehension of the glory of God. The same ratio holds true for our sinfulness and God’s holiness.

What man comes before God as did the prophet Isaiah (chapter 6)? What man sees God as unapproachable, a consuming fire, a pure and utterly holy and excellent Being?

No, men have dealings with a ‘god’ who is much like themselves. How does a lost man react to Boston’s image of ‘clouds of wrath hanging above his head’? He replies, ‘Those are old-fashioned clouds and a new wind has blown them away.’

Now that those old clouds are gone, man imagines he can see God clearly. ‘He is a God who suits man’s self-indulgence, a God who is waiting to bless men in their sin.’ But such a view of God is drawn from man’s imagination.

  1. ‘THEY ARE STRANGERS TO THEIR UTTER INABILITY TO HELP THEMSELVES’.

Many people have heard the basic gospel message, and it ends with, ‘Now here is what you must do. . .  Exercise simple faith. Raise your hand. Say yes.’ Most men say, ‘I understand the steps. Now I can take the final step to salvation as and when I please.’

That ‘step’ however, is about ten miles. Men think it is just that last little step, into the kingdom. That ‘final step’ is a giant step, an impossible step for man to take of himself.

Consider a man trapped in a burning house. He senses no dire need, because he is just one doorway from his drive and from safety. What he does not realize is that the door is locked and he has no key.

  1. ‘THEY DO NOT FEEL THEIR NEED OF CHRIST’.

The natural man says, ‘I see that Christ could help me in many ways. I can see that his cross is the way for my sins to be forgiven.’

What he does not see, though, is his own need for Christ to save him. He does not painfully and sensibly ‘feel’ that he is lost, condemned and helpless before God.

He does not feel the horrible realization that if Jesus Christ does not do the saving work, he is going to an eternal hell of fire. He does not feel the desperate bondage in which his sins have chained him.

  1. ‘THEY SEE NOT THEIR OWN UNWORTHINESS’.

Self-worth is the catchword of our day.

Allegedly, men need to have a good ‘self-image’, a positive ‘self-­concept’, a strong ‘self-affirmation’. That is what popular Christianity tells them.

It is the language of popular psychology, popular media talk and popular paperback books. In fact, today’s gospel goes so far as to say that a poor self-image is hurtful. It is keeping you from the fulness of God’s blessing.

The whole point of the gospel, so it is now said, is to give a good ‘self-worth’. Obviously, men do ‘not see their own unworthiness’. In fact, it would nowadays be deemed wrong to do so.

Boston puts it in this way: ‘They cannot see how the Lord can reject (them). The thought that God may rightfully reject me, the very idea that I am unworthy of God — that is said to be a harmful subject to broach with sinners.

  1. ‘THEY HAVE NO ANXIETY FOR THE SUPPLY OF THEIR SOUL WANTS’.

Here are the foolish virgins, sleeping on through the night. Why do they sleep, when they know that the Bridegroom is coming? Because they have worn themselves out with the activities of the day.

They have been diligent, thoughtful and devoted to many things. They have built up their supplies of financial security, of pleasant housing, of physical fitness, of community standing, of family togetherness.

But what about their supply of ‘oil’? Time enough for that! They have felt no need to be anxious about the oil of grace which saves and supplies the soul. ‘God would not want us to be upset about religion or about spiritual matters. God does not lay a “guilt trap” on us. No, God wants us to be at peace.

He does not send nightmares or sleeplessness upon men. Surely spiritual anxiety could not be from God!’ With such language sinners deceive themselves and perish.

  1. ‘THEY ARE NOT CONTENT WITH CHRIST BUT ON TERMS OF THEIR OWN MAKING’.

Here Boston, with great perception, exposes the sinner’s fatal mistake. Man realizes he needs the gospel, but he has set a limit on the price he is willing to pay.

If the asking price is too high, he will go without. Or else, he will look for a ‘Christ’ who is less demanding. If the demand of Christ is to pluck out the right eye, the price is too great.

Man will look around for a gospel which allows him to keep his ‘eye’ — and also his ‘right’ hand, lusts, and riches — and still go to heaven.

If the gate is too narrow, then widen the gate! The terms of the gospel are now set by men, not by Christ.

Stephen Charnock wrote, ‘The happiness the gospel proposeth is naturally desirable. . . but not the methods which God had ordained for the attainment.’

EXCUSES

Today people might say, “It’s not my fault if I don’t understand Jesus’ message!” They may have a variety of excuses:

  • “It’s too difficult. I can’t grasp these abstract concepts.” Our responsibility is not to become theologians, just willing listeners.
  • “I’m not old enough to make life-changing decisions.” But even children understand love, doing right, and spiritual authority.
  • “I know too many ‘Christian’ phonies, jerks, and nerds.” The name “Christian” is used today by racist hate groups, political revolutionaries, and fraudulent money-making schemes. It’s sad that the name is detached so far and so often from the reality. But the reality is Jesus’ message, and that comes right from God to you, today, with life-changing power. Don’t fool with excuses. Embrace and receive Jesus’ message as the foundation of your life.

Bruce B. Barton, Matthew, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1996), 264.

Other thoughts

1) The gospel doesn’t fit their plausibility structure

Plausibility structures “are accepted beliefs, convictions, and understandings that either green-light truth claims as plausible or red-light them as implausible.” (41)

For example, most would red-light a claim of a UFO landing as implausible. Although Christians would green-light the truth claim of Jesus rising from the dead as plausible, such a claim may not fit into a non-Christian’s plausibility structure.

Chan explains how community, experience, and facts and evidence build such structures. And if the gospel doesn’t connect with these three buckets, people will often reject it.

2) Christians haven’t looked for common ground

When the apostles evangelized, they looked for some common ground that both they and their audiences already held to be true as an introduction to sharing the gospel. Chan writes: For a Jewish audience, that common ground was Scripture. But for a gentile audience, unfamiliar with Scripture, the common ground was God’s common grace, general revelation, universal human desires, and their cultural authors. (67)

This isn’t to say Christians shouldn’t use Scripture when presenting the gospel; we just don’t have to begin there. Instead, common ground is key to ensuring someone doesn’t reject the gospel outright.

3) They don’t understand sin and guilt

Though sin has a prominent place in gospel presentations, our culture doesn’t understand the main model we use to describe it: the guilt model of sin. Instead of guilt, “shame is becoming more prominent in our postmodern society.” (78) We need to leverage this insight when we share the gospel.

Chan has switched from using guilt language to shame language when he presents the gospel: “I’ve been using the language of shame—we have ‘shamed God,’ we have ‘not been honoring God’—and the room is silent. All eyes are on me. They get it. It’s personal.” (79)

If we don’t make the switch, people may reject the gospel because they don’t understand sin.

4) Their questions aren’t answered

In the 1980s, Chan grew skillful at answering tough questions about his faith. Soon he shared his strategies in church talks to help Christians answer tough questions like “How do you know there’s a God?” or “How do you know there’s life after death?”

But in the 2000s he gave the same talk at a youth conference, and the audience was neither impressed nor persuaded by his answers. What happened?

“I found out that they weren’t even asking—or being asked—the tough questions that I was answering. They had a new set of questions. And they wanted a new set of answers.” (102) When people reject the gospel, often we’re either answering questions they aren’t asking or not answering the ones they are.

5) Ethics are a barrier to belief

“When our non-Christian friends think of Christianity,” Chan reveals, “they don’t think of good news, salvation, forgiveness, restoration, justice, mercy, or love. Instead, they think of hate, fear, power, and violence.” (115) For a variety of reasons, they think Christians are unethical.

However, non-Christians consider their stances as ethical because they empower, liberate, and restore justice to the marginalized. Their ethics are about choice, equality, rights, or justice.

“In postmodernity, Christians are viewed as the oppressors and haters while non-Christians are viewed as the ones on the side of love, justice, and mercy.” (115)

In other words, we have an image problem, and people often reject the gospel because of it.

6) The gospel isn’t real in Christians’ lives

In past generations, the first question people asked was, “Is it true?” Now, another question is all that matters: “Is it real in your life?” In other words, do we walk the walk and talk the talk?

This should lead us to think about how we evangelize to our postmodern friends in a way that communicates authenticity. While the gospel is something we speak, words that communicate God’s truth, there is also a sense in which we ourselves are a component of how the message is communicated. (116)

When we speak words of truth, they must be embodied, and in love, so that it is real in our lives. According to 1 Thessalonians 1:5, the Thessalonians didn’t just believe the gospel to be true, they saw it was real by Paul’s authentic living. Similarly, people will reject the gospel if it isn’t real in our lives.

7) Wrong evangelistic pedagogical methods 

Evangelism in this postmodern day requires a lifestyle change when it comes to our pedagogy. Chan explains:

With moderns, we used to employ this logic:

Truth, Belief, Praxis

  • This is true.
  • If it’s true, then you must believe it.
  • If you believe it, now you must live it.

But with postmoderns, I believe a better pedagogical sequence is:

Praxis, Belief, Truth

  • The Christian life is livable.
  • If it’s livable then it’s also believable.
  • If it’s believable, then it’s also true. (125)

When our non-Christian friends see how the Christian life works they will discover it is livable, leading to believability. “And if they see that, they might also acknowledge that it’s true” (125).

This kind of pedagogical method is key to helping people embrace the gospel.

8) Culture’s existential cry goes unanswered

The gospel isn’t merely a set of propositional truths about Jesus.

It answers the existential cry of culture, and we need to “speak to the audience in their culture, using the language, idioms, and metaphors of their ‘cultural text.’” (158)

As an example of such ‘texts,’ consider the cultural phenomenon of serving drinks in cafés using Mason jars. Chan explains: The message of the Mason jar is that we need to be connected to a transcendent, grander narrative. God sends us his Son, Jesus, to offer us a grander narrative. If we connect ourselves with Jesus, then Jesus will connect us with God’s story, history, and tradition. With Jesus, we will find the transcendent narrative that we’ve been longing for. (166)

If we don’t connect the good news of the gospel to the existential cry of culture, people will often reject it.

9) Christians try to win the mind before emotions

If tomorrow you woke to the headline, “The Bones of Jesus Have Been Discovered!” would you believe it and leave behind your faith in Christ’s resurrection? Probably not. Why? “Because we have prior truth commitments that override what we are hearing and seeing.” (248)

Chan explains the point of this thought experiment: It’s to show…exactly what it’s like when we present facts, evidence, and data to our non-Christian friends about Jesus’ resurrection. It’s no different for them. When they hear us talk about Jesus and the resurrection and our belief in God and the Bible, we are announcing what is contrary to fact for them. (248)

Which is why “we need to win over the emotions before we win over the mind.” (248) When we win over emotions, the door is open to short-circuit prior truth commitments.

10) Prior beliefs aren’t adequately dismantled

After establishing common ground, we need to use reasoning and evidence to dismantle a nonbeliever’s presuppositions using a method to answer today’s defeater beliefs:

  • Resonate: Describe, understand, and empathize with their presuppositions.
  • Dismantle: Show a deficiency or dissonance in their presuppositions.
  • Gospel: Complete their cultural storyline with the gospel.

Unless we can dismantle someone’s faulty worldview and present the Christian worldview as an attractive alternative, they may reject the gospel.

TRAGEDY OF EVIL

Followers of Jesus do not fear God’s final judgment, but we must respond to it with

  • tears, for the separation and suffering that will fall upon evildoers. We must never gloat over or feel indifferent to the fate of those facing judgment. God mourns over lost souls, and so should we.
  • sharing the gospel, since many need to hear and all who respond in faith will be saved from judgment. Christians ought to always be witnessing people.
  • lifelong service, because no matter what your job, profession, or education, all you do should be dedicated to God. God uses your work to advance his kingdom and overcome evil.
 
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Posted by on November 4, 2024 in Miscellaneous

 

Paul: The Author of the Greatest Letter Ever Written

24 Oct

The study of the book of Romans has made a lasting imprint on a number of people.

“There is no telling what may happen when people begin to study the Epistle to the Romans,”1 says the noted scholar F. F. Bruce in the introduction to his commentary on the Book of Romans.

We must surely agree with the sense of expectation expressed by Bruce when we take a moment to reflect on the impact this book has had on men of the past.

History shows us that John Wesley, Augustine and Martin Luther …to name only a few, were changed from the inside.

This statement by John Piper is the one I think will “fire us up today (unless your wood’s too wet): “I have waited, wondering when the time would be for preaching through the Book of Romans. I have considered it over and over.

“I’ve walked up to the mountain and looked up into the clouds that surround the peak of this Everest and walked away to lower heights and contented myself with other things, because it is absolutely daunting to stand before these 16 chapters that have been so unbelievably used by God in the history of the church and think that God would give me grace and life to preach through this book.

“But in God’s patience and grace it seems to me that the time is right. The gospel of the glory of God in the face of Christ is brighter to me now, and it gets brighter with every precious saint who dies.

“This book is the place where the gospel of Christ shines most brightly and most thoroughly in all the Bible — the Book of Romans.

“Romans is solid. Romans is durable. Romans is reliable. Romans is unshakeable. Romans is old. Romans is thorough. It fits where I am in my latter chapter of life.”

Martyn-Lloyd Jones preached from the book of
Romans weekly for over 20 years. Those manuscripts were put into book form…14 in all. (I have them in my electronic library and plan to read them this year).

Romans Road: Paul makes plain the gospel and the need and the glory and the sufficiency. He does it. There are four things:

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

The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).

God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

Therefore, if you will confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord, and in your heart believe that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9).

The Book of Romans interprets life.

Interesting comment: ‘I like to preach at funerals more than marriages because at funerals, people lean on God. At marriages, idolatry can be rampant because everything goes right at wedding time and nothing seems to have gone right at funeral time.“

“The gospel is designed for people for whom nothing goes right. “

The transformation in Paul: Purchased, Called, and Set Apart

So here’s the question this morning. How did that happen? How did a former Pharisee who hated Christianity with all his might, breathed out threats and murder against it (Acts 9:1), participated in killing the first Christian martyr, and persecuted the church violently — how did that man come to write a 7,100-word letter, about 22 pages long in my Bible, that has changed the face of the world, and that every Christian leader for 2,000 years has lit his smoldering wick in for all these centuries?

How did a man like that come to write such a thing? The answer is given in verse 1 of chapter 1.

Romans 1:1 says: Paul, a bondservant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.

There are three phrases here. We’ll look at them. I want you to see the man, I want you to see his letter, and I want you to see his God.

I just have a feeling that the word that blurts itself out here is that what matters in this verse isn’t who Paul is; it’s whose Paul is. Do you see that in those three phrases? He’s a servant, bought by another; he’s a called one, called by another; and he’s a set apart one, set apart by another.

Paul looks like he’s what this verse is about, but this verse is not about Paul. It’s about the one who bought him, called him, and set him apart. There’s somebody lurking behind this man.

The big questions in life are not, ‘Who am I?’ Rather, the big question in life is, ‘Whose am I?’” And I told them to go home and ask mommy and daddy what that meant in order to force the parents to come to terms with it. So I just press this on you now. You have to answer that question: Whose are you? That’s the issue.

In the 21st century, we get bent out of shape about self-identity and stuff like that. We focus on who we are and our worth and esteem and value and all that. But when you read the Bible, the huge issue is being in right relation to the God to whom you belong. So let that be the question hanging over this verse.

Bondservant of Christ

The first phrase is “a bondservant of Christ Jesus.”

What does that mean to be the bondservant?

It means he’s bought by Jesus, owned by Jesus, and ruled by Jesus. I’ll show you where I get that. In 1 Corinthians 7:23 Paul says: You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men.

To be a slave of somebody is to have been bought by them, so he calls himself a slave or a bondservant of Christ, which means Christ bought him.

That’s what he says: “Christ bought me. And since he bought me, he owns me.” If you’re a Christian this morning, you are doubly owned by God. You are owned by virtue of creation and you are owned by virtue of purchase.

You are doubly not your own — doubly his. He owns you. He can do with you as he pleases, which leads us to the third thing it means, namely that he rules you and that what you want to do is please him.

Where do I get that? Galatians 1:10 says: Am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

That’s what Romans 15:2 is saying: Let us seek to please one another for edification that we might glorify God through bringing others to him.

But what’s driving this man is a radical orientation on Christ because Christ bought him, owns him, and rules him now. All of his thinking is, “How can I please him? How can I honor him? How can I magnify him?”

What we want to create in Farmerville is a church of people who are radically oriented on pleasing Christ, honoring Christ, magnifying Christ, and letting the chips fall where they will instead of being what most people are; namely, second-handers.

I get that phrase from Ayn Rand who wrote the novel Atlas Shrugged. She despised second-handers, which are people who have no vision and values of their own for which they live triumphantly and are always looking over their shoulder wondering, “I wonder what they think about this, and I wonder what they think about this, and I wonder what they think about that.”

They live their whole life in the place of a second-hander, always trying to get into other people’s good graces and be liked and stroked and praised and complimented and paid.

It’s a horrible way to live.

Paul said, “I am owned by another. I have been bought, I am ruled, and I have one person to please — Christ. He has revealed his Word to me and that’s my life.” Let’s be like that.

So we’re not dealing here with a man and his genius. Here in Romans, we’re dealing with a man and his owner, his ruler, and his God. This is no ordinary letter.

Called to be an Apostle

The second phrase is “called to be an apostle.” Notice the passive verb again. For every phrase here there’s somebody else at work.

He was bought and belongs to another, he was called by another, and he was set apart by another. Who is this other? It’s God in Christ. He’s the main actor here in verse 1.

We’re not dealing here with the work of a man. We’re dealing here with the work of God in a man. But what does apostle mean?

To be an apostle, you had to have seen the risen Christ with your eyes so that you could be an authoritative, authentic, firsthand witness. That’s the first qualification.

The second qualification is that you had to have been commissioned by Christ to be an authoritative spokesman and representative on his behalf. That’s what it meant to be an apostle, and Paul claimed to be that.

In 1 Corinthians 15:7 he says: [Jesus] appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

What Jesus did, breaking into Paul’s life on the Damascus road, standing forth and revealing himself in glory, was to enable him to join the 12 and be a latecomer in the apostolic band. He called himself “one born out of season.” Then Acts 26:16 describes the commission. Jesus says to him: I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you.

Then, on the basis of the seeing and the commissioning, Paul teaches that he and the other apostles are the foundation of the church (Ephesians 2:20). The church was founded on the apostles and the prophets.

The apostolic deposit was left behind, and they died. That is not a repeatable office — that authoritative seeing of Christ, being commissioned by Christ, speaking his authoritative word so that the church would be built on a rock. That’s over, and now we stand here as a church. If John Piper ever stands anywhere else than here, you go to those elders and get me removed fast.

Set Apart for the Gospel of God

Then the third phrase says Paul was not only bought, made a slave, owned, and ruled, and not only was he called to be an apostle, but he was also “set apart for the gospel of God.”

Now, when did that happen? When was Paul set apart for the gospel of God?

He answers that question in Galatians 1:15 like this: But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace…

Paul gives the answer to that in 1 Timothy 1:16, where he says: But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.

Godward Focus

Well, we come to the end here of this verse and we see the phrase “set apart for the gospel of God.”

Leon Morris (The Epistle to the Romans [Eerdmans/Apollos], p. 20) points out, “The thought of God dominates this epistle. The word “God” occurs 153 times in Romans, an average of once every 46 words. This is more than in any other New Testament writing (except the short 1 Peter and 1 John). …

And not only does “God” occur in Romans more frequently than in any other writing, it occurs more often than any other theme in that book.

Apart from a few prepositions, pronouns, and the like, no word is used in Romans with anything like the frequency of “God.”

He concludes (p. 40), “God is the most important word in this epistle.” He also points out (ibid.) that Paul uses gospel 60 out of its 76 New Testament occurrences, the most being nine times each in Romans and Philippians.

The gospel is the ultimate good news, that although we are sinners, God made a way through the sacrifice of His Son to reconcile us to Himself. And although it was costly for Him, it is absolutely free to all who believe in Jesus Christ!

Everything Paul touches in this letter he relates to God. In our concern to understand what the apostle is saying about righteousness and justification and the like, we ought not to overlook his tremendous concentration on God. There is nothing like it elsewhere.

So you see that God is at the bottom of his life, God is in the middle of his life, and God is at the top and goal of his life, which all sounds like Romans 11:36 — From him, and through him, and to him are all things in Paul’s life and your life. To him be glory forever and ever.

This letter is not a tract to be put into the hands of the sinning man in order that, believing what it says, he may be saved. It is rather a treatise to be put into the hands of Christian men in order that they may understand the method of their salvation. —G.Campbell Morgan

GOD’S LOVE Whenever we think that God’s love for us depends on our behavior or spiritual success, we put ourselves in a hopeless situation because we can never be good enough to deserve God’s love.

As Paul later explains in this letter, God’s love precedes everything. All of our attempts to earn his love will fail. That’s because perfect love would require a perfect effort, clearly beyond us.

It is also true that when we think of God’s love as conditional, we unwittingly transform it into something much less than love. Conditional love is an oxymoron. God’s love is unconditional.

The first delightful surprise in the gospel is that “God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8, nrsv). When you’re feeling spiritually dull or anxious, ask yourself, “Have I begun to think of God’s love as dependent on my effort?” Thank God for his unconditional, perfect love, and respond by living for him.

The chief purpose of this letter is to magnify sin and to destroy all human wisdom and righteousness, to bring down all those who are proud and arrogant on account of their works. We need to break down our “inner self satisfaction.” God does not want to redeem us through our own, but through external righteousness and wisdom; not through one that comes from us and grows in us, but through one that comes to us from the outside; not through one that originates here on earth, but through one that comes from heaven. —Martin Luther

The author, date, recipients, and purpose: When Paul wrote his letter to the Romans he was writing to a church which he did not know personally and in which he had never been. He was writing to a church which was situated in the greatest city in the greatest empire in the world. Because of that he chose his words and thoughts with the greatest care.

Romans is one of the rare New Testament books where liberal scholars have not challenged the authorship. Almost all agree that Paul wrote Romans, although he used a secretary named Tertius (16:22).

He wrote it from Corinth (Acts 20:2-3), probably sometime around A.D. 56-58, just as he was about to go to Jerusalem with the gift for the poor that he had collected from the Gentile churches in Macedonia and Achaia (15:25-26). Phoebe (16:1-2), who was from a port city near Corinth, probably carried the letter to Rome.

After his ministry in Jerusalem, Paul hoped to pass through Rome, minister there briefly, and then be helped on his way to do further missionary work in Spain (15:24, 28).

Probably the church began when some Jews who were present on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:10) got saved and returned home. By the time Paul wrote this letter, the church contained Jews, but was predominately Gentile (1:13; 11:13, 17-31; 15:14-16).

He was a missionary to the Gentiles (vv. 5–7). The churches in Rome were not founded by Peter or any other apostle. If they had been, Paul would not have planned to visit Rome, because his policy was to minister only where no other apostle had gone (Rom. 15:20–21).

Perhaps, also, he anticipated that the Judaizers, who plagued his ministry at every step, would try to inflict their errors on the Roman church. To head off that possibility and to defend the gospel of grace that he preached everywhere, Paul felt it necessary to write out a longer treatise, expanding on many of the themes that he had earlier written in Galatians.

He also wrote to help resolve any conflict between the Jewish and Gentile believers in Rome over various food and Sabbath laws (14:1-15:13).

 
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Posted by on October 24, 2024 in Romans

 

Faithful Until Death Series: Myths of Wealth

21 Oct

Myth #1: Money brings satisfaction (Ecclesiastes 5:10-17 (ESV) He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.

Myth #2 Wealth solves every problem

11  When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes?

Myth #3 Wealth brings peace of mind

12  Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.

Myth #4 Wealth provides security. Riches are never permanent (vs. 15). Hurst don’t pull U-Hauls (vs. 15)

13  There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt, 14  and those riches were lost in a bad venture. And he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand. 15  As he came from his mother’s womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand. 16  This also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so shall he go, and what gain is there to him who toils for the wind? 17  Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness in much vexation and sickness and anger.

 
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Posted by on October 21, 2024 in Ecclesiastes

 

Faithful Until Death Series: Why God Is Not Fair – Matthew 20:1-16

17 Oct

Matt. 20: 1-16 - a poem by Stevy Want - All Poetry

Doesn’t it make you mad when something is unfair—especially if you are on the receiving end?

Recently I read of a man’s complaint when he applied for a new health insurance policy. The company accepted him but charged a higher rate because of his allergy problems.

The application never asked whether he smoked or how much (never smoked). They didn’t ask if he regularly down a six-pack and then get behind the wheel (don’t drink at all). They never bothered to inquire whether he eat properly and exercise regularly (he does).

So some guy who smokes two packs a day, drives when drunk, eats junk food and never exercises could get the standard rate. But because he had hay fever, he had to pay more. He cried, “UNFAIR!”

We all want to be treated fairly. Most of us figure that if we do our best, God will deal with us fairly on judgment day. But Jesus taught that God does not operate according to our notion of what is fair.

In Matthew 20, Jesus told a story that we need to ponder often. This parable may sound to us as if it described a purely imaginary situation, but that is far from being the case. Apart from the method of payment, the parable describes the kind of thing that frequently happened at certain times in Palestine.

The grape harvest ripened towards the end of September, and then close on its heels the rains came. If the harvest was not ingathered before the rains broke, then it was ruined; and so to get the harvest in was a frantic race against time. Any worker was welcome, even if he could give only an hour to the work..

The pay was perfectly normal; a denarius or a drachma was the normal day’s wage for a working man; and, even allowing for the difference in modern standards and in purchasing power, 4 pence a day was not a wage which left any margin.

The men who were standing in the market-place were not street-corner idlers, lazing away their time. The market-place was the equivalent of the labor exchange. A man came there first thing in the morning, carrying his tools, and waited until someone hired him. The men who stood in the market-place were waiting for work, and the fact that some of them stood on until even five o’clock in the evening is the proof of how desperately they wanted it.

These men were hired laborers; they were the lowest class of workers, and life for them was always desperately precarious. Slaves and servants were regarded as being at least to some extent attached to the family; they were within the group; their fortunes would vary with the fortunes of the family, but they would never be in any imminent danger of starvation in normal times. It was very different with the hired day-laborers. They were not attached to any group; they were entirely at the mercy of chance employment; they were always living on the semi-starvation line.

As we have seen, the pay was 4 pence a day; and, if they were unemployed for one day, the children would go hungry at home, for no man ever saved much out of 4 pence a day. With them, to be unemployed for a day was disaster.

The hours in the parable were the normal Jewish hours. The Jewish day began at sunrise, 6 a.m., and the hours were counted from then until 6 p.m., when officially the next day began. Counting from 6 a.m. therefore, the third hour is 9 a.m., the sixth hour is twelve midday, and the eleventh hour is 5 p.m.

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard.”

In this parable, God is the landowner, believers are the laborers, and the vineyard is the kingdom of heaven.

This parable speaks especially to those who feel superior because of heritage or favored position, to those who feel superior because they have spent so much time with Christ, and to new believers so as to reassure them of God’s grace.

The landowner went out early in the morning to find some laborers. The workday went from sunup to sundown, so this “early morning” hour was about six o’clock. These laborers agreed to work for the usual daily wage (usually a denarius).

Bosses and managers should not overlook the fact that laborers had a fair role in the negotiation of wages at the beginning of this story. Owners do not hire workers on a “take it or leave it” basis here. They talk, and as the day’s work begins, both sides are pleased with the terms.

Fair bargaining today means that Christian managers talk with labor at a table where both sides recognize mutual interests, needs, and expectations. When the talk is done, both sides should say, “Good deal, let’s get to work.”

20:3–4 “When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went.”

The landowner went out about nine o’clock and hired more workers who were standing idle in the marketplace. (Some versions say “the third hour.” The day was divided from sunrise to sunset into twelve hours, so the third hour would be about nine o’clock in the morning; the eleventh hour, mentioned in 20:6, would be five o’clock in the afternoon.) Why the landowner went out and continued hiring people is not explained and is not essential to the point of Jesus’ parable. Evidently the landowner needed workers. The marketplace was the public square of the city where most of the business was done. Unemployed laborers could stay there waiting for an opportunity to work. If there was a lot of work to do, they might work right up until sunset, but never beyond, for there would be no light in the fields. So each successive group of laborers worked for less time than the group hired previously. The landowner promised to pay this second group of laborers whatever is right—which they probably considered would be the appropriate fraction of the denarius that matched the amount of time they worked.

20:5–7 “When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ ” The landowner went out and hired three more groups of workers: some at noon, some at three o’clock, and some at five o’clock. Whether these people were idle (which is a later addition) truly because no one had hired them or because they were lazy is an unknown detail and is not important for Jesus’ meaning in this parable. If people didn’t work, they would likely go hungry. So the landowner hired these people as well. They were willing to work, even for that last hour which they thought would not earn them much money at all.

20:8–10 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’ ”

At evening (referring to sunset), the workers were called to collect the day’s wages, which was required by Jewish law so that the poor would not go hungry (see Leviticus 19:13; Deuteronomy 24:14–15). The landowner purposely asked that the last ones hired get paid first. This is not a normal reaction; it would have surprised the workers and it surely surprised Jesus’ listeners. So  “when those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage.”  

When those who worked less time received a full day’s wage, the laborers who had worked throughout the day expected to get paid more than that, even though the daily wage was what they had agreed upon when they were hired (20:2). Certainly those listening to the parable expected the same thing, although all would wonder at the astuteness of a businessman who would pay a full day’s wage to laborers who had worked only an hour.

20:11–12     “When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’ ”

Everyone who had been hired during the day received the same—the daily wage. The laborers who had worked all day in the hot sun received what they had agreed upon. They began to grumble against the landowner, not because he hadn’t kept his bargain with them, but because he had been generous to everyone else. They thought it wasn’t fair that those who had worked only one hour received the same amount of pay as (were made equal to) those who had borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.

20:13–15 “But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you.’ ”  While the laborers did not address the landowner with any respectful title, the landowner responded to one of them as friend. He pointed out that he had not done wrong by these laborers who had worked hard all day; he had paid them the agreed amount. Besides, he added, “‘Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ ”

Obviously, the landowner could pay whatever he chose as long as he cheated no one—it was his own money. So what was the real problem? The early workers were envious that the landowner had been generous with everyone else. In this parable, Jesus pointed out that salvation is not earned, but given freely only because of God’s great generosity, which goes far beyond our human ideas of what is fair. The message of the parable is that God’s loving mercy accepts the lowest member of society on an equal footing with the elite. This parable may have been addressed in the presence of the religious leaders who “grumbled” because Jesus chose the “lowly” disciples and spent time with those considered unclean and sinful (Luke 15:1–2). Those who come to God—regardless of social strata, age, material wealth, or heritage, and no matter when in life they come—will all be accepted by him on an equal footing. All will receive their inheritance in the kingdom of heaven—no one will get less than what they expect, and some may receive more. Such generosity, such grace, ought to cause all believers great joy—no one should be in the corner grumbling.

It is in one sense a warning to the disciples. It is as if Jesus said to them, “You have received the great privilege of coming into the church and fellowship very early, right at the beginning. In later days others will come in. You must not claim a special honor and a special place because you were Christians before they were. All men, no matter when they come, are equally precious to God.”

There are people who think that, because they have been members of a Church for a long time, the Church practically belongs to them and they can dictate its policy. Such people resent what seems to them the intrusion of new blood or the rise of a new generation with different plans and different ways. In the Christian Church seniority does not necessarily mean honour.

There is an equally definite warning to the Jews. They knew that they were the chosen people, nor would they ever willingly forget that choice. As a consequence they looked down on the Gentiles. Usually they hated and despised them, and hoped for nothing but their destruction. This attitude threatened to be carried forward into the Christian Church. If the Gentiles were to be allowed into the fellowship of the Church at all, they must come in as inferiors.

“In God’s economy,” as someone has said, “there is no such thing as a most favored nation clause.” Christianity knows nothing of the conception of a herrenvolk, a master race. It may well be that we who have been Christian for so long have much to learn from those younger Churches who are late-comers to the fellowship of the faith.

Here also is the generosity of God. These men did not all do the same work; but they did receive the same pay. There are two great lessons here. The first is, as it has been said, “All service ranks the same with God.” It is not the amount of service given, but the love in which it is given which matters.

The second lesson is even greater–all God gives is of grace. We cannot earn what God gives us; we cannot deserve it; what God gives us is given out of the goodness of his heart; what God gives is not pay, but a gift; not a reward, but a grace.

     Jesus repeated a principle that is recorded in 19:30. There he used it to respond to the disciples’ amazement that wealth was not a gauge of acceptance with God. Here he said, “So the last will be first, and the first will be last” as the moral of the parable of the workers (20:1–15). Clearly, Christ rejects the widely accepted notion: “first come, first served.” Why? Here are three possible reasons:

1.    God isn’t impressed by our achievements. The workers did no more than they were asked to do. The landowner gave them work they did not merit and fulfilled his promise. Those who worked all day were not cheated. Those who worked an hour had no reason to brag. The idea that God “owes” us something is wrong. Instead of complaining, we should be grateful that God seldom gives us what we deserve.

2.    God rejects our comparisons. To understand our sinfulness, we should examine our tendency toward discontent and ungratefulness. Like children, we demand equal treatment when we think that we have received less than others. Yet we are rarely concerned for others when we’re ahead of them. Like the landowner, however, God holds us to our agreement. God keeps his promises. Comparing ourselves to others will not help our defense when we stand before God.

3.    God’s rewards are his domain. The landowner held the right to be generous to whomever he desired. If we are not astonished at God’s grace toward us, we will miss it completely.

Are there areas of ungratefulness in your life? Use this list to remind yourself of what God has done for you.

20:16  “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

The reversal noted in these words (and in 19:30) points out the differences between this life and life in the kingdom.

  • Many people we don’t expect to see in the kingdom will be there.
  • The criminal who repented as he was dying (Luke 23:40–43) will be there, along with people who have believed and served God for many years.
  • The Jews were promised the kingdom first, but the Gentile believers will share the kingdom along with them.

Just over a century ago, a man named Shamel was the leader of a guerilla group fighting against the Czarist regime in Russia. The unity of his group was threatened by a rash of stealing amongst the members, which included the soldiers’ families. So Shamel imposed a penalty of 100 lashes for anyone caught stealing.

Not long after that, Shamel’s own mother was caught stealing. He didn’t know what to do. He loved his mother and didn’t want her to suffer, but he also knew he had to uphold his law or anarchy and infighting would ruin his army. He shut himself in his tent for three days, agonizing over what to do.

Finally he made up his mind: For the sake of the law and the whole society, his mother must pay the penalty. But before three blows had fallen on her back, Shamel had his real and final solution.

He removed his mother and he himself took her place. The full price had to be paid, but he bore the penalty she deserved. His law stood, but his love prevailed.

Even if you’re a pretty good person, one who has been at work in the vineyard since early morning, you’ve violated God’s holy law. You’ve got sin that must be paid for. Maybe the guy coming in at five in the afternoon has more sin than you. But if God is just, both men’s sin must be paid for.

Either you pay (the merit system), or God pays (the grace system). God’s grace doesn’t seem fair to the self-righteous, but for those who recognize how undeserving they are, it is truly wonderful!

 
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Posted by on October 17, 2024 in God

 

Faithful Until Death Series: Two Views of Money

14 Oct

1 Timothy 6:6-10 (ESV)
6  But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7  for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8  But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9  But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
1 Timothy 6:17-19 (ESV)
17  As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18  They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19  thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

 Our lesson today is on a topic that you know something  about.  Our  topic  is  money.  Yes, money, money, money. I cannot open my eyes without seeing money. You are wearing clothes and they cost money. The roof of this building, the brick walls, the lights came about because of money. You have eaten or you will eat food today. It will be in your stomach. In other words, money is not only something you see, it is something within you. Food costs money.

The parking lot costs money. If we had in our church treasury the money that our automobiles cost, it would be one huge chunk of money. Money got us here. Money will keep us here. Money will take us back home. Money is as close as our bread. The idea that we could live without money is absurd. The idea that money within itself is evil is absurd.

Thank God for money. It puts food on our tables, clothes on our backs; it brings us the necessities and the privileges of life. So, when I talk about money, I am talking about that which even little children can understand. God has nothing against money.

It is not only necessary, but Paul says God gives it to us richly, so that we might have things to enjoy. God is happy to bless His people. He wants us rich, not poor. He wants us fed, not hungry. He wants us happy, not miserable. He wants us to be better, not worse. He wants us to be more responsible, more blessed, and more generous. If He can use money to reach these goals, wonderful!

Now I want to make a statement. I hope by the time our sermon is concluded you will have memorized it. It is a simple statement. It is what Paul said in the two passages that we have read today. Will you please listen to it. “If you have money, that’s good; if money has you, that’s bad!” That is all Paul taught in 1 Timothy 6. “If you have money, that’s good; if money has you, that’s bad!”

Money, Paul says, is a great servant. Missionaries can be sent out with it. Orphans and widows can be fed with it. God can be glorified with it.

But money is a bad master. It ruins, destroys, alienates, and corrupts. Money is a blessing, a responsibility. The Bible plainly says in 1 Timothy 6:19, as well as in Matthew 6, that you cannot take money with you but you can send it on ahead.

Jesus said we can lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven. Paul says in verse 19 that while you can’t “bring it in” and you can’t “take it out,” you can “lay it up” in heaven. You can send it ahead. We can open an account in heaven’s bank.

  1. “IF MONEY HAS YOU, THAT’S BAD!”

In the two paragraphs I have read there is no contradiction.  Two  distinct  truths  are  being taught in these two paragraphs. Somebody has said, “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.” That is true. We can know just enough to make fools out of ourselves.

Many people think that money within itself is bad. We think it is bad to be rich. We think it is bad to have money. We think God does not want us  to  have  money.  But  we  have  misquoted 1 Timothy 6. We have said money is the root of all kinds of evil. The Bible doesn’t teach that notion. The Bible says, “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” Nowhere does the Bible teach that money within itself is evil.

A lot of people have read the two passages I have read and concluded that the Bible contra- dicts itself. They think Paul teaches us in the first passage to avoid being rich. Then he turns around and says in the second passage that if you are, here is how to live.

Listen to what Paul taught in 1 Timothy 6:6-10. Will you look at verse 9. If we would read what the Bible says rather than read our preconceived ideas, we would learn the truth about money. A lot of times when we read the Bible we are reading it out of our minds rather than with what our eyes are seeing again. Paul said in verse 9, “They that are minded to be rich. . . .” Some of you have said, “That doesn’t apply to me.” You

say, “Brother Hodge, I am not rich, and Paul said those that are rich had better watch out.” That is not  what Paul said. Paul said, “They that are greedy. . . .” We need to restore an old Greek word here: avarice. That is Greek for greed. Here is  a  man  who  grabs.  He  is  selfish.  He  has “wantitis.” His eyes are bigger than his tummy. He says, “I’ve got to have this. I’m gonna have this.” He is a covetous man, a lover of money. Paul did not say, “They that are rich. . . .” He said, “They that are minded to be rich. . . .” A man as poor as Job’s turkey is in verse 9 as well as a man that has a jillion dollars. He is not talking about what you  have;  he is talking about what you want.  A man without a dime in his blue jeans who wants a million is condemned in verse 9, and a man who has a million and wants a second million is condemned in verse 9. The million is not the issue; the greed, the lust, the avarice; the covetousness is what God is condemning.

Then verse 10 says, “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” He is talking to all of us. What is our attitude about money? He says if you want it, if it leads you around by the nose, you will be tempted. Oh, there are all kinds of temptations for people who don’t know how to handle money. He says you will be in a snare— that is an animal trap. Remember how we used to try to trap mink and fox with all kinds of manipulations. He says a man who craves money will find himself in all kinds of bear traps. Paul mentioned “hurtful lusts.” A covetous man faces temptations which drown men. He says it is not worth it. There is not a friendship on earth that is worth money. Your own honesty, integrity, and self-respect are not worth the price of money. He says these men, these men that lust and covet, these greedy men, selfish men, yes, they will err from the faith. They will leave the simplicities of the New Testament life and they will “pierce themselves through with many sorrows.” Paul is showing us the pathetic conditions men find themselves in, not because of money but because of their lust and desire for it. One man said, “To whom little is not enough, nothing is enough.”

I want to throw out real quickly a word we don’t  use  anymore,  the  word  content.  I  have never heard that word in a prayer. Maybe you have. Maybe I have missed it. I have never had parents come in to me and say, “Preacher, I just hope my children turn out to be contented.” I never get in a meeting of the men of the church where we say, “Wouldn’t it be wonderful to teach contentment.” How many of us today can honestly say, “I am content”? Did you know Paul commands this of everyone of us? He says if you have food and raiment, you need to be content. There is not an adult here today that doesn’t have food in his tummy, clothes on his back, and a roof over his head. I am not talking about the Rockefellers and the sheiks of Araby. I am talking about us. If we have enough to eat and have health, what more can a man want? What more can a Rockefeller have than I have?

There is not one thing more he can have. I am healthier than he is. I eat as well as he eats. My car will get here just about as fast as his. Paul says, “Hodge, you had better be content.” The more a man has to keep, the more a man has to lose. “If you have money, that’s good. If money has you, that’s bad!”

  1. “IF YOU HAVE MONEY, THAT’S GOOD!”

Let us drop down to our second reading in verse 17. He says, “Charge them that are rich.” Verses 9 and 17 are about two different people. Verse 9 refers to “they that will be rich”; verse 17 refers to “they that are rich. “ Here is a blessing that is now a responsibility.

God says Christians can be rich. Paul didn’t say, “I charge them that are rich that they have to give every penny of it away.” We read where Jesus told one young man, the rich young ruler, “Your problem is avarice.” His problem was not money. It was his love and trust in money. Jesus was trying to do that boy a big favor. He said, “If you will get ‘moneyitis’ out of your eyes and heart and come and be a Christian, you will be a good  man;  but  until  that  time  you  have  got trouble.” No, Paul didn’t say that if you have money, you have to give it away. Some people say, “Christianity is Communism.” No, no, no, folks. Communism says, “What is yours is mine; I’ll take it.” There is no volunteering in Communism. Communism says, “If you have a dollar, I’ll take it.” Paul didn’t say if a man in the church is rich, take it away from him. No, the Bible doesn’t teach Communism in any form or fashion.

Paul says, since God has blessed you and you have a talent, you have a privilege, you have an opportunity. He says, “I want to give you a special charge; I want to give you some special commands.” Notice what these three truths or commands are.

Number one, be not highminded. Somebody says, “I’ll out-dress my fellow Christians. I’ll out-diamond my fellow Christians. I’ll live in such a way that I can look down my nose upon the brethren.” This attitude gets into the church more than we want to admit. We run harder after rich men than we do after poor men.

As far as I can detect, the little widow didn’t have much to say in Mark 12. But Jesus said that little old widow had more religion than all of them put together.

Brethren,  we  are  rich.  If  you  look  at  the world’s economy, any man that makes over five hundred dollars a year is rich. Compared with almost any place, the poorest man in Rosemont is a rich man. Somebody says “He’s taking about jillionaires and all those guys downtown who own the banks.” No, Jesus is talking to me. By any kind of a worldly standard, Charles Hodge is rich. People on Social Security in the United States are rich, so some of you had better wake up. You say, “He’s talking to somebody else.” No. Jesus is talking to you and me and He says money in your hip pocket ought not go to your head. Just because you can write a big check should not do anything to your mind. It doesn’t make you better. It doesn’t give you a right to run the church. It doesn’t give you superiority. Paul says it ought to humble you that God has blessed you, that God can use you, that you have the privilege of sharing your blessings with less fortunate men. Paul says if you have money, don’t let it go to your head.

Number two, trust not in money. There is the problem. A man believed in God and said, “God, I’ll go with you all the way.” Then, when he got some money, he said, “God, I don’t need you.” I remember back in World War II that a P-47 got out of control. That was a fighter plane, which was also called the F-47. It had a four- blade prop and two thousand horsepower. It dived out of control and the man blacked out. They estimated he exceeded the speed of sound. He approached nine hundred miles an hour, which back in the early ’40’s was a rare occurrence. Someway, the plane rode it out. The boy, of course, had on his oxygen mask and in a minute or two he came to. He looked out and everything was all right. He said this: “Thank you, God. Now I’ll take back over.” I was a little boy when I read that, and I have never forgotten it. This is kind of the way we live life. We want God in a dark night, when we are between a rock and a hard place, but in level life, in everyday life, we say, “I’ll just handle it. I don’t need anybody.” But God says, “I want rich people always to put their trust in Me.” I don’t care if you have a million dollars. It does not give you one reason less for trusting God. You need God even more than you did when you were poor.

Number three, use it—be givers, be communicators, be distributors. If God gives you a mil- lion, it is not for your own selfish indulgence, for your own little sandpile castle down by the beach. But you are to look around and see boys and girls who need God. You are to see widows and orphans who need God. You are to see the less fortunate people and you are to have a compassionate heart. You are to have a generous pocketbook and write many big-sized checks. Why? God has given. And the Bible says of those to whom much is given, much is required. God gives me money, not for me but for everybody. I am a channel, a dispenser. I am a bank through which God can allocate His funds. You didn’t bring anything in; you are not going to take anything out. But Paul says to the rich, “You can send it on ahead.”

Do you have money? If so, that’s good. Does money have you? If so, that is bad. Do you want money? Are you greedy and covetous  after  money  and  power?  Have  you used the blessings that God has given you? We are all rich today. We are all filled. We are all blessed. We are the world’s richest people. We

need to thank God today and say: “God, give us money. Help us then to share it, to distribute it, and to give it. Teach us compassion and humility.”

Money as a Master – Paul says greed is a form of idolatry (Colossians 3:5; Ephesians 5:5). Luke is teaching us the same thing in his gospel. In Luke 12:15 Jesus says to listeners: “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed, for a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

What is greed? In the surrounding passages of Luke 11 and 12, Jesus warned people about worrying over their possessions. For Jesus, greed is not only love of money, but excessive anxiety about it. He lays out the reason our emotions are so powerfully controlled by our bank account—”a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

To “consist” of your possessions is to be defined by what you own and consume. The term describes a personal identity based on money. It refers to people who, if they lose their wealth, do not have a “self” left, for their personal worth is based on their financial worth.

Later Jesus comes right out and calls this what it is. “No servant can serve two masters; either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.”

Luke 16:13–15 Jesus uses all the basic biblical metaphors for idolatry and applies them to greed and money. According to the Bible, idolaters do three things with their idols. They love them, trust them, and obey them.

“Lovers of money” are those who find themselves daydreaming and fantasizing about new ways to make money, new possessions to buy, and looking with jealousy on those who have more than they do.

“Trusters of money” feel they have control of their lives and are safe and secure because of their wealth. Idolatry also makes us “servants of money.” Just as we serve earthly kings and magistrates, so we “sell our souls” to our idols. Because we look to them for our significance (love) and security (trust) we have to have them, and therefore we are driven to serve and, essentially, obey them.

When Jesus says that we “serve” money, he uses a word that means the solemn, covenantal service rendered to a king. If you live for money you are a slave. If, however, God becomes the center of your life, that dethrones and demotes money. If your identity and security is in God, it can’t control you through worry and desire. It is one or the other.

You either serve God, or you become open to slavery to Mammon. Nowhere is this slavery more evident than in the blindness of greedy people to their own materialism. Notice that in Luke 12 Jesus says, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed.” That is a remarkable statement.

Think of another traditional sin that the Bible warns against—adultery. Jesus doesn’t say, “Be careful you aren’t committing adultery!” He doesn’t have to. When you are in bed with someone else’s spouse—you know it. Halfway through you don’t say, “Oh, wait a minute! I think this is adultery!” You know it is. Yet, even though it is clear that the world is filled with greed and materialism, almost no one thinks it is true of them. They are in denial.

Sin in our hearts affects our basic motivational drives so they become idolatrous, “deep idols.” Some people are strongly motivated by a desire for influence and power, while others are more excited by approval and appreciation. Some want emotional and physical comfort more than anything else, while still others want security, the control of their environment.

People with the deep idol of power do not mind being unpopular in order to gain influence. People who are most motivated by approval are the opposite—they will gladly lose power and control as long as everyone thinks well of them. Each deep idol—power, approval, comfort, or control—generates a different set of fears and a different set of hopes.

“Surface idols” are things such as money, our spouse, or children, through which our deep idols seek fulfillment. We are often superficial in the analysis of our idol structures. For example, money can be a surface idol that serves to satisfy more foundational impulses.

Some people want lots of money as a way to control their world and life. Such people usually don’t spend much money and live very modestly. They keep it all safely saved and invested, so they can feel completely secure in the world.

Others want money for access to social circles and to make themselves beautiful and attractive. These people do spend their money on themselves in lavish ways.

Other people want money because it gives them so much power over others. In every case, money functions as an idol and yet, because of various deep idols, it results in very different patterns of behavior.

The person using money to serve a deep idol of control will often feel superior to people using money to attain power or social approval. In every case, however, money-idolatry enslaves and distorts lives.

 
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Posted by on October 14, 2024 in God and money

 

Faithful Until Death Series: Jesus and Materialism – Luke 12:13-21

10 Oct

Avoid The Trap of Materialism If You Want To Succeed In Life - New Trader U

13  Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14  But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15  And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16  And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17  and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18  And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19  And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ 20  But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21  So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Jesus had no qualms talking about materialism. There are 196 verses in the Gospels on money. Jesus actually talked about materialism more than anything else. Our greatest temptation and sin is materialism. The word  materialism  makes us feel uncomfortable. We all have one huge problem handling materialism. It also reveals that Jesus confronted life out on the streets-not down at the seminary. Jesus confronts us in daily living.

USED. A man attempted to “use” Jesus. This aspect in preaching is seldom taught in “preacher schools.”

Aristides (1st century):“They walk in all humility and kindness, and falsehood is not found among them, and they love one another. They despise not the widow, and grieve not the orphan.  He  that  hath, distributeth liberally to him that hath not. If they see a stranger, they bring him under their roof, and rejoice over him, as it were their own brother: for they call themselves brethren, not after the flesh, but after the spirit and in God; but when one of their poor passes away from the world, and any of them see him, then he provides for his burial according to his ability; and if they hear that any of their number is imprisoned or oppressed for the name of their Messiah, all of them provide for his needs, and if it is possible that he may be delivered, they deliver him. And if there is among them a man that is poor and needy, and they have not an abundance of necessaries, they fast two or three days that they may supply the needy with their necessary food.”

In this context came Jesus’ advice on materialism: “beware of covetousness.” This is the real issue. Covetous members can put preachers in “hot water.” Covetous preachers keep themselves in “hot water.”

ABUSED. Materialism is deceitful (Matthew 12:22). In the foundation parable Jesus said the deceitfulness of riches kept people from faithfulness. It literally “chokes out” spirituality. If Satan cannot get you with adversity he will use prosperity. Prosperity is the acid test. In my experience I have cried watching good brethren lose their faith over riches. “I  liked them better when poor.”

In the Parable of the Rich Fool Jesus said therich man mistook his soul for his body. You do not feed your soul with stuff stored in barns. Barns do not give security to the soul. A bigger barn usually makes a shriveled soul. The rich man also mistook himself for God. He thought he was in charge of life. Life is a vapor, a cloud, a cut flower. He also mistook time for eternity. He never saw beyond himself.What can we learn from Materialism? — Steemit

Men always think they can control money. I, personally, am scared of money. Money, in time, controls us. The tyranny of possessions! You have more to worry about and fret over. Barns really do not make men happy.

Material possessions are destroyed by moths, rust, and thieves (Matthew 6:19-21). Riches deteriorate in the form of inflation and the declining worth of the dollar. They ultimately fail. The rich fool had “eye trouble.” “I” was used six times in three verses. Paradoxically, the rich fool was a shining example of our success syndrome! He was  hard-working,  shrewd,  successful—yet empty. The rich fool expended all his wealth upon himself. Then, the Bible says, “He died.” The congregation that does the same “dies.”

1 Timothy 6:6–10 (ESV) But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

Colossians 3:5 (ESV) Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

1 Timothy 6:6-10 and Colossians 3:5 contain some frightening language. Brethren pierce themselves with many sorrows. You could go insane if you really knew the materialism in any given congregation. Beware of covetousness!

The Deceitfulness of Wealth

Friedrich Nietzsche had a theory. He wrote that, with the absence of God growing in Western culture, we would replace God with money.

What induces one man to use false weights, another to set his house on fire after having insured it for more than its value, while three-fourths of our upper classes indulge in legalized fraud . . . what gives rise to all this? It is not real want—for their existence is by no means precarious . . . but they are urged on day and night by a terrible impatience at seeing their wealth pile up so slowly, and by an equally terrible longing and love for these heaps of gold. . . .

What once was done “for the love of God” is now done for the love of money, i.e., for the love of that which at present affords us the highest feeling of power and a good conscience.

In short, Nietzsche foretold that money in Western culture would become perhaps its main counterfeit god. Innumerable writers and thinkers have been pointing out “the culture of greed” that has been eating away at no one thinks that change is around the corner. Why? It’s because greed and avarice are especially hard to see in ourselves.

Greed hides itself from the victim. The money god’s modus operandi includes blindness to your own heart. Why can’t anyone in the grip of greed see it? The counterfeit god of money uses powerful sociological and psychological dynamics.

Everyone tends to live in a particular socioeconomic bracket. Once you are able to afford to live in a particular neighborhood, send your children to its schools, and participate in its social life, you will find yourself surrounded by quite a number of people who have more money than you. You don’t compare yourself to the rest of the world, you compare yourself to those in your bracket.

The human heart always wants to justify itself and this is one of the easiest ways. You say, “I don’t live as well as him or her or them. My means are modest compared to theirs.” You can reason and think like that no matter how lavishly you are living. As a result, most Americans think of themselves as middle class, and only 2 percent call themselves “upper class.”

But the rest of the world is not fooled. When people visit here from other parts of the globe, they are staggered to see the level of materialistic comfort that the majority of Americans have come to view as a necessity. Jesus warns people far more often about greed than about sex, yet almost no one thinks they are guilty of it.

Therefore we should all begin with a working hypothesis that “this could easily be a problem for me.” If greed hides itself so deeply, no one should be confident that it is not a problem for them. How can we recognize and become free from the power of money to blind us?

 
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Posted by on October 10, 2024 in God and money

 

Straining Toward the Goal – Philippians 4:12-17

07 Oct

Your Purpose Green Road Sign Over Dramatic Clouds and Sky.

All of us want to be “winning Christians” and fulfill the purposes for which we have been saved. What are the essentials for winning the race and one day receiving the reward that is promised?

Paul saw the Christian life as a process. While believers are considered righteous when they accept salvation, their entire lives are marked by growth toward Christlikeness. Complete perfection will not be obtained until Christ’s second coming.

While Paul may have seemed like a nearly perfect Christian to his Philippian friends, he emphasized that he had not obtained perfect knowledge of Christ, the power of his resurrection, the fellowship of his suffering, and conformity to his death (3:10).

All of these were part of the process of sanctification—of getting to know Christ better and better as he lived the Christian life. And even Paul, despite all his sufferings and victories for Christ, still had much to learn. He had not yet been made perfect.

He knew that only upon Christ’s return would all believers be made perfect in knowledge and experience, but he was willing to press on to take hold of the goal—living and working for Christ—because of what Christ had done for him.

Dissatisfaction (Phil. 3:12-13a)

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own.

“Not as though I had already attained!” This is the statement of a great Christian who never permitted himself to be satisfied with his spiritual attainments.

Obviously, Paul was satisfied with Jesus Christ (Phil. 3:10), but he was not satisfied with his Christian life. A sanctified dissatisfaction is the first essential to progress in the Christian race.

Many Christians are self-satisfied because they compare their “running” with that of other Christians, usually those who are not making much progress. Had Paul compared himself with others, he would have been tempted to be proud and perhaps to let up a bit. After all, there were not too many believers in Paul’s day who had experienced all that he had!

But Paul did not compare himself with others; he compared himself with himself and with Jesus Christ! The dual use of the word “perfect” in Philippians 3:12 and 15 explains his thinking. He has not arrived yet at perfection (Phil. 3:12), but he is “perfect” [mature] (Phil. 3:15), and one mark of this maturity is the knowledge that he is not perfect!

The mature Christian honestly evaluates himself and strives to do better.

Self-evaluation can be a dangerous thing, because we can err in two directions: (1) making ourselves better than we are, or (2) making ourselves worse than we really are.

Paul had no illusions about himself. A divine dissatisfaction is essential for spiritual progress. “Pressing on” is a hunting term meaning to chase or hunt down. Christ Jesus took hold of Paul almost thirty years earlier when Paul was converted on the road to Damascus. Christ laid hold of Paul so that Paul could lay hold of the prize—knowing Christ completely.

Paul had not yet attained perfection or complete knowledge of Christ. Unlike the Judaizers, Paul did not consider that he had achieved spiritual maturity.

Devotion (Phil. 3:13b). But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind…

“One thing” is a phrase that is important to the Christian life.

  • “One thing you lack,” said Jesus to the self-righteous rich young ruler (Mark 10:21).
  • “One thing is needful,” He explained to busy Martha when she criticized her sister (Luke 10:42).
  • “One thing I know!” exclaimed the man who had received his sight by the power of Christ (John 9:25).

Like Paul, they should not dwell on the past. The past should not be used as a barrier to the future, as an excuse for dropping out, or for avoiding proper spiritual conduct in their relationship with God.

Direction (Phil. 3:13c). and straining forward to what lies ahead,

The unsaved person is controlled by the past, but the Christian running the race looks toward the future. Imagine what would happen on the race course if the runners started looking behind them!

We are accustomed to saying “past, present, future,” but we should view time as flowing from the future into the present and then into the past. At least, the believer should be future-oriented, “forgetting those things which are behind.”

It simply means that we break the power of the past by living for the future. We cannot change the past, but we can change the meaning of the past.

There were things in Paul’s past that could have been weights to hold him back (1 Tim. 1:12-17), but they became inspirations to speed him ahead. The events did not change, but his understanding of them changed.

It is possible to have dissatisfaction, devotion, and direction, and still lose the race and the reward. There is a fourth essential.

Determination (Phil. 3:14). I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Believers should be devoted to God whatever their present circumstances (Luke 9:62; 17:31–32) and should strain forward to what lies ahead.

Paul would forget his past with all its credentials and accomplishments (and sins) and, like a runner in a race with his whole body reaching for the finish line, would press on toward the goal (3:14).

As a runner straining every effort toward the finish line, Paul pressed on toward the goal. In Greek athletic games, the winner’s prize was a garland or palm branch. While Paul didn’t identify the prize, it seems from his writing above that the prize refers to gaining full knowledge of Jesus Christ (see also 1 Corinthians 9:24; 2 Timothy 4:7–8).

Paul aimed to win the prize, but all who finish the race win it as well. The full knowledge of Christ is the final prize for which believers gladly lay aside all else.

Like a dedicated athlete, Paul wanted to run the race and gain full knowledge of Christ. The first-time marathon runner has periodic thoughts about quitting, especially during the last six miles. By then, the novelty of the experience has faded to the dull regularity of the pace; early adrenaline has given way to soreness and fatigue. Others around him or her are limping along, and some have dropped out entirely. But dedicated runners must keep going. Somewhere out there is a finish line.

The same zeal that Paul employed when he persecuted the church (Phil. 3:6), he displayed in serving Christ. Come to think of it, wouldn’t it be wonderful if Christians put as much determination into their spiritual life as they do their golfing, fishing, or bowling?

There are two extremes to avoid here: (1) “I must do it all” and (2) “God must do it all!” The first describes the activist, the second the quietist, and both are heading for failure.

The Christian runner with the spiritual mind realizes that God must work in him if he is going to win the race (Phil. 2:12-13).

God works in us that He might work through us. As we apply ourselves to the things of the spiritual life, God is able to mature us and strengthen us for the race.

Toward what goal is the runner pressing with such spiritual determination? “The prize of the high [upward] calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:14).

When he reaches the goal he will receive the reward! Again, Paul is not suggesting that we attain to heaven by our own efforts. He is simply saying that just as the athlete is rewarded for his performance, so the faithful believer will be crowned when Jesus Christ returns.

The important thing is that we reach the goal He has established for us. No matter how successful we may be in the eyes of men, we cannot be rewarded unless we “take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of [us]” (Phil. 3:12, niv).

Discipline (Phil. 3:15-16).  Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

It is not enough to run hard and win the race; the runner must also obey the rules. In the Greek games, the judges were very strict about this. Any infringement of the rules disqualified the athlete. He did not lose his citizenship (though he disgraced it), but he did lose his privilege to participate and win a prize.

If the athlete breaks training, he is disqualified; if he breaks the rules of the game, he is disqualified. “No contestant in the games is crowned, unless he competes according to the rules” (2 Tim. 2:5, wms). The issue is not what he thinks or what the spectators think but what the judges say.

One day each Christian will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ (Rom. 14:10-12). The Greek word for “judgment seat” is bema, the very same word used to describe the place where the Olympic judges gave out the prizes! If we have disciplined ourselves to obey the rules, we shall receive a prize.

It is an exciting experience to run the race daily, “looking unto Jesus” (Heb. 12:1-2). It will be even more exciting when we experience that “upward calling” and Jesus returns to take us to heaven! Then we will stand before the bema to receive our rewards! It was this future prospect that motivated Paul, and it can also motivate us.

Ask yourself these questions:

  • What kind of race are you running for Christ? • What prize do you seek?
  • What kind of opposition do you face in your struggle to live as a Christian?
  • How can Christ help you stay on track and reach the goal?
  • What spiritual workout or training this week will help you run your Christian marathon?
  • In what way can you renew your commitment to press on toward the goal of being like Christ?

Those who were mature were to be committed to what Paul had said. And to anyone who thought differently about minor points, God would clarify the truth. God would lead them to the truth if they would keep their minds open.

Those who are mature should press on in the Holy Spirit’s power, knowing that Christ will reveal and fill in any discrepancy between what we are and what we should be.

Christ’s provision is no excuse for lagging devotion, but it provides relief and assurance for those who feel driven.

Live up (stochein) is a military term meaning “to keep in line” or “to keep step.” Paul knew the believers were in different stages, but everyone needed to be faithful to what they understood. The Christian community needed to march forward together. Paul did not want the believers in Philippi to fail to live up to what they already had been taught.

As they pressed on toward the goal, they should not use their lack of complete knowledge as an excuse for taking lightly what they knew or for getting sidetracked.

They should continue to learn and grow, while at the same time govern their lives by the light they had already received. Believers must live up to what they already know before they can expect to learn more.

Paul used these two key words for discipleship: “imitate” and “example.” “Imitate” means not only to become like but also to obey. “Example” means a model or blueprint to use as a pattern for your life.

Paul challenged the Philippians to pursue Christlikeness by imitating Paul’s own example and the examples of others whose lives were based on his (those “mature” believers in 3:15).

 

 
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Posted by on October 7, 2024 in Philippians

 

Faithful Until Death Series: Know the Truth About Trials and Temptations – 1 Peter 1:6-9

03 Oct

1 Peter 1 6-9 Nlt - Wellness info for pet parents

When Jesus appeared to the apostle John, in the book of Revelation, he was shown some things that would soon take pass (in his day) but we’re also given an admonition that needs to speak to us today:

Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days [indicating a ‘short’ time compared to a much longer time] you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. Revelation 2:10 (ESV)

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1 Peter 1:6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

10  As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace…

Jim McGuiggan, in his book Caution: Men at Work…”but if the sign says “GOD at Work,” there is hope: for that’s what undid the chaos in beginning.

DON’T won’t do; to merely adopt a “prophetic” tone by cursing the darkness encourages among us the spirit of self-righteousness or superiority.

James 1:2-8 (NASB) Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3  knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4  And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
5  But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
6  But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.
7  For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8  being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Jesus clearly indicated suffering would come our way as did Paul and other New Testament writers:

“Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me” (John 15:20-21).

And after they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:21-22).

But you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions, sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord delivered me! And indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:10-12).

The writer to the Hebrews likewise speaks of the suffering of the saints:

But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, partly, by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated. For you showed sympathy to the prisoners, and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and an abiding one. Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward (Hebrews 10:32-35).

Like other New Testament writers, Peter wants us to understand that suffering is a normal part of the Christian life. He tells us not to be surprised “at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12).

John 9:1-5 (NASB)
1  As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth.
2  And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?”
3  Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.
4  “We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.
5  “While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.”

Luke 13:1-5 (NASB)
1  Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.
2  And Jesus said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate?
3  “I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
4  “Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem?
5  “I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

 

Job 1:10-11 (NASB)
10  “Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.
11  “But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.”

21  He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.”
22  Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.

 Job 2 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord. 2 And the Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 3 And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.”

4 Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. 5 But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.”

6 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.” 7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes. 9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” 10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

 

 

 
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Posted by on October 3, 2024 in Faithful Until Death

 
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