The Nature Of Saving Faith

Posted on July 31, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Екатерина Салимова: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-shot-of-orange-treasure-flowers-in-bloom-7832256/

Turn with me in your Bibles to James chapter 2.

Someone asked the question,

“Why is Church Attendance – Gathering with other Christians – important? Is it important?”

If you view Christian salvation as just being saved from hell and receiving the promise of Heaven – if that’s all “being saved” is – then Church attendance is NOT important. After all, once you purchase and receive a ticket from a travel agent, you don’t need to go back to the travel agent. You’ve got what you came for. So if salvation is like getting a ticket to Heaven from Jesus, Incorporated – and if the Church is where you purchase that ticket – then there’s no need to go back to Church. Your ticket’s been paid for. Transaction complete. You don’t need to even look at this Bible anymore. After all, it’s just a brochure about a place you’ve reserved to be. Right?

That’s how many people look at Christianity. You’ve bought a ticket on the “Good Old Gospel Ship”:

I’m a gonna take a trip,
In that good old Gospel Ship,
I’m a going far beyond the sky.
I’m gonna shout and sing,
Till all of Heaven rings,
When I bid this old world goodbye.

Since the Gospel is only about going to Heaven, let’s close up shop and get to the fried chicken! That’s how many believe. Yet this is a false gospel. The Apostle Paul severely condemned those who perverted the Gospel of Christ. He said:

Galatians 1:8-9 (ESV) even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

Those are very strong words. So what was the Gospel that Paul preached? In that same chapter I just quoted the Apostle said:

Galatians 1:3-5 (ESV) Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Jesus came not just to get us into Heaven, but to “deliver us from the present evil age”. The Christian is a person who has been:

Colossians 1:13-14 (NASB1995) … rescued … from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of {God’s} beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

We are members of Christ’s Kingdom. We who are saved by the Grace of God through faith in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:8) no longer belong to this world. We are a Kingdom People – and Jesus is our King. The day you received Jesus as your Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9-10) you were called out of darkness and into God’s marvelous light. The Bible says:

Ephesians 5:8 (ESV) for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light

James was martyred for his faith and for preaching Jesus. James was not only the stepbrother of Jesus, but he was the first Pastor of the Church in Jerusalem. The reason we come together as Christians is so we can mature as Christians, and walk in a way that is pleasing to our God. We learn from the Book, just as the early Church did. The early Church

Acts 2:42 (ESV) … devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

It is God the Father’s intent that every child of God by faith in Christ be like Jesus. We are challenged to:

Ephesians 5:1-2 (ESV) … be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

James focuses on the output of the Christian life. If you are a Christian, you should in some way look like Christ. Your behavior should be increasingly Christ honoring. Are you at James chapter 2? We read:

James 2:17-20 … Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. 19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

Saving Faith effects the TREE of your life

A genuine saving faith will always produce the fruit of righteousness, not of darkness. Our Lord Jesus said:

Luke 6:43-45 For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, 44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. 45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Those who are saved by the Grace of God are “good trees”. The saved want to produce good fruit, fruit honoring to God. The saved want to follow Jesus. Jesus said, “Why do you call Me Lord, Lord, and do not what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46). Those who are saved, are saved out of darkness and evil. Those who are saved, are saved to both follow and be like the Lord. Jesus told the religious Pharisees:

Matthew 12:33-37 (ESV) “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

The Pharisees were religious, but unsaved, for they rejected Jesus Christ. They followed the portions of the Law of God that suited them, but ignored the whole of the Law. Why? Because their hearts were corrupt. They were in the darkness of sin, bound to it, enslaved to it. How do you “make the tree good and its fruit good”? We cannot do it in our own strength.

We must come to Christ, broken as we are, and give our lives to Him. When we give our lives to Him, He gives His life to us. God comes to indwell us. God’s Word becomes our textbook, and we students of Christ.

James 2:17 … Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

Genuine saving faith will always effect the output of the life. What does saving faith do?

Saving faith effects the TONGUE in your head

James 1:26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.

James says that if we are genuinely believers, then our tongue will be “bridled”. We have all made remarks that we wish we could take back. The difference between a Christian and a lost person is that the Christian will feel discomfort and guilt and the conviction of God the Holy Spirit when we misspeak. The Psalmist prayed:

Psalm 141:3 Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!

This actually happens when you are saved. When a person receives Christ as Lord and Savior, Jesus sends the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, into our lives (1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Titus 3:5; 2 Peter 1:4). The Spirit encourages us to …

Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Word Study: If a person has a tongue that is perpetually uncontrolled, then “this man’s religion is VAIN”. That word translated “VAIN” is the Greek μάταιος mátaios, (pronounced mat’-ah-yos), which means “useless, of no purpose or good”.

Your tongue was given you so that you can TASTE good food, and TALK good and truthful words.

Our standard is to be “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15). Your words have the power to build up or destroy. Use your words in a way that honors Jesus Christ our Lord. In Chapter 3 James says:

James 3:3-8 Behold, we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. 4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. 5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. 7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: 8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

When James says, “the tongue can no man tame”, he is talking of the tongue of the unsaved person. The lost use their tongues and lips to speak darkness. But the saved are to speak the Word of God and the Light of God. A lost person is rarely concerned about their tongue and its output. The saved are. James says:

James 3:10-12 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. 11 Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? 12 Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.

If you are saved by Grace, born again of the Spirit, you are called to be “wells of living water”. Remember what Jesus said?

John 7:38-39 (ESV) Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

An unconverted mouth is a sure sign of a useless faith.

Saving faith effects your TREATMENT of others

James tell us:

James 2:1 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.

What is “respect of persons”? It is when we treat one person because of their

Color
Nationality
Fame or Popularity
Financial Status
Position in the Community

better than we treat another. James gives us an illustration:

James 2:2-4 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; 3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: 4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?

James starts with “if there come unto your assembly”. When believers are gathered together in συναγωγή synagōgē or synagogue, and a stranger comes in, we are not to value that person higher because they dress better, or have a better economic status. Every life is valuable to God. We are not to devalue a person who is well off, but we are not to devalue another person who is not well off. To see someone shabbily dressed – perhaps a homeless person – and to tell them “Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool” is an affront to God. Jesus Christ died for the whole world. Jesus gave His life so that “whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Every life is valuable. Every life is precious. James quotes the Royal Law we as Christians are under:

James 2:8-9 If ye fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well: 9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.

The Christian is very much under the Law of Love. Jesus told us that the Great Commandment is:

Matthew 22:37-40 (ESV) You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.

These are the twin pillars of the Christian faith. Love God with your all. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. Treat people as valuable, for they are valuable. After all, Jesus died for all:

2 Corinthians 5:14-17 (ESV) For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. 16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.[b] The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Every life has value. To put someone down under your footstool because they are poor is the action of a lost person. When our Lord Jesus taught on the Doctrine of Hell, what image did He give us?:

Luke 16:19-23 (ESV) There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side.[f] The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.

Did the rich man go to hell because he was rich? Absolutely not. He went to hell for devaluing Lazarus, a human being created by God, a human being for whom Jesus died. Every life is precious, for every person is made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). Jesus often emphasized this by using Samaritans in His parables, for the Jews hated the Samaritans. My Beloved,

Romans 2:11 there is no respect of persons with God.

When God caused Peter to go to the Gentile Centurion named Cornelius, that Apostle said:

Acts 10:34-35 … Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: 35 But in every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him.

There is no room for racism and hatred in the Christian faith. We are saved so we can share the Gospel with every person, regardless as to their person.

We have seen that:

Saving Faith effects the TREE of your life.
Saving faith effects the TONGUE in your head.
Saving faith effects your TREATMENT of others.

Now we see that

Saving Faith Effects That Which You TREASURE

James 2:20-24 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? 23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. 24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

In order to explain what saving faith is, James goes to an illustration that will be understood by everyone. He speaks of “Abraham our father”. The Prophet Abraham is known and studied by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Though each of these faiths see Abraham differently, he is nonetheless revered by all three.

Why is Abraham important in the study of saving faith. Abraham was childless, married to a woman incapable of giving him a child. Though Abraham was well to do, Abraham’s greatest desire was to have a child. God came to Abraham one day and promised him:

Genesis 12:1-3 (ESV) … Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

This childless man was promised that – if he followed God – then God would “make of you a great nation”. That means that Abraham would have to have at least ONE CHILD to call his own. So Abraham began to follow God. He focused his heart on following God. God was not incidental to Abraham’s life.

James 2:23 … Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

As Jesus said to us all, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Abraham loved God. He followed God, though often, as an imperfect person, he made errors and sinned. Yet he followed God. And though Abraham had to wait until he was 100 years old (Genesis 21:5). Abraham treasured Isaac his son. After all, he had waited most of his life for that child. Then one day God came to Abraham and told him:

Genesis 22:2 (ESV) … Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.

Abraham is given a choice. Abraham, Who do you love more? Is Isaac your treasure, or is God your Treasure? Abraham didn’t question God. The next morning he woke up early, “saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac” (Genesis 22:3). Abraham didn’t ask God any questions. He took his son to a mountain where God led him, and laid his son down to sacrifice on the altar.

Needless to say, God stopped Abraham before he killed Isaac on that altar. Why did God do this? To show us all that our greatest Treasure – if we are saved by faith in Christ – should be our God. When God settled Israel in the Promised Land, all of the tribes of Israel were given a portion of land. All the tribes, that is, except for Levi. God said of Levi:

Deuteronomy 10:9 (ESV) … Therefore Levi has no portion or inheritance with his brothers. The Lord is his inheritance

The Psalmist said,

Psalm 73:26 (ESV) My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Abraham’s “portion”, his greatest Treasure, was the relationship he had with God by faith. When God told Abraham to offer up Isaac, Abraham remembered the promise that God made,

Hebrews 11:18 (ESV) Through Isaac shall your offspring be named

Abraham believed that – even if he killed Isaac as God asked, that God would be able to raise Isaac from the grave (Hebrews 11:19). Abraham trusted God. Abraham treasured God. God was where his greatest Treasure was.

What do YOU treasure? Are the things of this life your treasures? Jesus said:

Matthew 6:20-21 (ESV) … lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

If your Treasure is God, if you are saved by faith in Jesus Christ, then you will live your lives to please Him. Are you saved? If you are, you are members of His KINGdom. My prayer is that each of you insure through God’s Word that God is your portion, and you are His. May God the Holy Spirit drive this Word deeply into your hearts. For the glory of God. Amen and Amen!

Posted in General, James, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Our God Will Fight For Us

Posted on July 29, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Patricia McCarty: https://www.pexels.com/photo/jesus-saves-neon-signage-1769691/

Please turn with me in your Bibles to Nehemiah chapter 4.

The Bible tells us that “we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). As a nation, we came through two years of COVID – and are still being plagued by COVID. I suspect that COVID is something that will be with us forever, much like Influenza. How can this be “good”? But COVID was, indeed, good. COVID exposed a great deal of evil that was going on in our country, evil we were unaware of. Our children were being taught something called “Critical Race Theory”, which postulates that all who are “white” are evil, whereas people of color are inherently “good”. The group “Moms For America” in an article entitled Critical Race Theory Teaches Our Children To Hate Their Country, Neighbors, and Themselves notes:

“A national organization named “Black Lives Matter at School” (BLMS) is infiltrating our children’s schools with a “new uprising for racial justice” which includes teaching globalism, transgender and queer affirming agendas as well as promoting racism and sexism. The program has already been endorsed by the National Education Association, the largest teachers’ union in the United States.

Our schools have become a very dangerous place for our children. It has been reduced to a propaganda breeding ground where our children are taught they are either oppressed or the oppressors. The left says, if you’re Black you’re told you’ll never succeed because White people won’t let you; If you’re a girl you’re told you’ll never succeed because men will always hold you down; If you’re a boy you’re a future rapist and if you’re a White man you’re a racist rapist.

Is it any wonder our kids are depressed and suicide is on the rise—especially among teenage boys?”

If COVID and the mandatory closure of schools had not occurred, most parents would have remained unaware of CRT and what their children were being taught. COVID brought a number of things to light, not just CRT. COVID brought into the light how wide spread sexual perversity has grown in America, and has exposed both “Cancel Culture” as well as “Identity Politics”. The government is not helping matters, but is in fact promoting evil.

How can we fix this nation? We cannot, but Jesus can. Jesus is the Messiah, the King of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God MUST come if America is to right itself.

Nehemiah is a good study for all Christians now. Only united, in love with God and with one another, can we build the Kingdom of God on this earth. Jesus said in Luke 17:21, “The Kingdom of God is within you”. As God’s people work together for the glory of God (and not the placating of man) the Kingdom of God grows, much as leaven or yeast works within bread dough (Matthew 13:33). When God rules in the hearts of His people, and His people live for Him no matter where they are, there is nothing the devil or this world can do to stop us. Where King Jesus rules, the world cannot overcome. Jesus has overcome the world (John 16:33).

When God’s Work Goes Forward,
Expect The Enemy To Grow And Attack

Nehemiah 4:1-3 But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews. 2 And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned? 3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall.

Nehemiah has – through the Grace of God – been allowed to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls around the capital city. Because God has blessed the work, King Artaxerxes has financed the rebuilding of the wall. This is amazing because Artaxerxes was one of the reasons the wall had been torn down for some 7 decades! God is in it, and so it will go forward.

But darkness will always oppose the Light of God. We read in verse 1:

Nehemiah 4:1 … when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews

“Sanballat” is the governor of Samaria, the capital city of Northern Israel. During the reign of King Rehoboam (the son of King Solomon) Israel divided into the Northern (10 tribes) and Southern Kingdoms (Judah & Benjamin). Jerusalem is the Capital City of Southern Israel, and Samaria the Capital City of Northern Israel. Sanballat is against the repair of the walls of Jerusalem. It is not to his advantage to have Southern Israel regather as a nation.

Sanballat and Tobiah the Ammonite (see Nehemiah 2:10) were “grieved that Nehemiah came to seek the welfare of the children of (Southern) Israel. As Nehemiah encourages the people to build, the forces of evil grow. Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arabian (Nehemiah 2:19) not only mocked the rebuilding of the wall before it was started, but also bore false witness, claiming that the rebuilders were actually rebelling against Artaxerxes. When the darkness attacks Pastor Gregory Brown in his article “Recognizing The Tactics Of The Enemy” notes:

“How do we prepare for the attacks, and how do we defeat these attacks? Yes, we must put on the armor of God, which is primarily a righteous life. But along with that, we must be aware of the enemy’s tactics. Satan wants to immobilize us and keep us from progressing in our spiritual lives, and therefore, he will come with many different attacks. {Satan} wants to keep us from building and completing the work that God has called us to.”

How did the darkness attack Nehemiah? We read “Sanballat … was wroth”. The word “wroth” is the Hebrew חָרָה chârâh, {pronounced khaw-raw’}, which means “to BURN WITH ANGER, to BE KINDLED”. He approached Nehemiah in a white hot rage. He was hopping mad, and showed it in his voice and body language. How many times have we seen the enemy have a “melt down” over something they do not like. Last Sunday we studied in James where we are told:

James 1:20 … the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

The Way of Christ and the Kingdom of God do not operate on “meltdowns”. Our work is to bring in the Kingdom of God on this earth.

Sanballat – whether he knows it or not – wants to STOP the KINGDOM OF GOD from coming on the earth. He is not speaking in private to Nehemiah, but in the presence of many. He is like the young woman I saw the other day on Social Media having a “meltdown” over something that bothered her. The Psalmist (37:8) said, “Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil”.

What else did Sanballat do to thwart the Kingdom? We read:

Nehemiah 4:1 {He} .. took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.

Sanballat made fun of and mocked the Kingdom of God and it’s workers. We read:

Nehemiah 4:2 And {Sanballat} spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?

Sanballat mocks the rebuilding while inciting the “army of Samaria”. This army was standing nearby – close enough to hear – while Sanballat ridiculed the builders. The Bible says that Satan is the accuser of the Child of God (Revelation 12:10). The Bible says,

Romans 8:33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies …

Satan Does Not Want God’s Kingdom To Come

Satan uses people to discourage the work of God. He uses Sanballat to try and stop the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. Notice the five question that Sanballat asks. These five questions have a dual purpose: they encourage the darkness, while discouraging the light.

  1. What do these feeble Jews? This question addresses the strength of the workers. These workers are “feeble” (ămēlāl, pronounced am-ay-lawl’), pitifully weak. These people do not have the strength necessary to rebuild a wall of any value. At the most, it will be but a facade. It is true that the workers are weak. Yet God tells us that “My Grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). The Bible tells us that “I can do ALL THINGS through Christ Who strengthens me”. If God is in the work with us, it will be done. The power is of the Lord!
  2. Will they fortify themselves? This is actually a subtle threat. If the work continues on, Sanballat is hinting that he will mobilize his army, and wipe out the workers.
  3. Will they sacrifice? The work before them is impossible. Will the workers sacrifice to God, and convince God Himself to rebuild the wall? It’s impossible, so they might as well give up. Beloved, Jesus said:

    Luke 1:37 (ESV) For NOTHING will be impossible WITH GOD

    When Igor Sikorsky, the inventor of the first helicopter, was a child his parents told him that human flight was impossible. When he built his first helicopter plant in America he had a sign put up for the workers to see. It read, “According to recognized aerotechnical tests, the bumblebee cannot fly because of the shape and weight of his body in relation to the total wing area. The bumblebee doesn’t know this, so he goes ahead and flies anyway”. Our God is the God of the impossible!
  4. Will they make an end in a day? Here Sanballat points out that the job is no simple one, that it will take a loooong time to finish, and the people will run out of energy. The Enduring Word Commentary notes:

    “Discouragement is such a powerful weapon because it is somewhat the opposite of faith. Where faith believes God and His love and promises, discouragement looks for and believes the worst – and tends to pretty much forget about who God is and what He has promised to do.”
  5. Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned? Here Sanballat talks about their lack of materials. The original wall of Jerusalem was built of “white limestone. When this material is burned it loses its strength and hardness and turns to powder”.

The workers have no hope. As Sanballat finishes his diatribe, Tobiah pipes up:

Nehemiah 4:3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall.

Even if you build up a wall, it won’t stand up to the slightest pressure. A fox will be able to jump up on it (it won’t be that high), and when he does, it will fall down (it won’t be that strong). But Tobiah refers to the wall as “their stone wall”. This isn’t “their stone wall”, it’s GOD’S stone wall. How does Nehemiah respond to Sanballat and Tobiah? We read:

Nehemiah 4:4-5 Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity: 5 And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee: for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders.

Nehemiah doesn’t even address his critics. He goes directly to God in prayer. Pastor Steven J. Cole writes:

“When the enemy opposes us as he surely will, we should respond with prayer, work, vigilance, and focus on the Lord”.

Nehemiah uses prayer as a weapon against fear. “Hear, O our God” begins his prayer. The word “Hear” literally means “to hear so as to do”. Nehemiah is calling on God to mobilize, and to defeat the enemy. The Bible tells us that we are not to take vengeance on the enemy, but to “give place to wrath”.

Romans 12:19 … for it is written, Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, saith the Lord ..

We are called to serve our God, to glorify Him with our lives. Nehemiah has done his part. He went to King Artaxerxes. He made the long trip to Jerusalem. He shared and organized the rebuilding project with the refugees. Now Nehemiah asks God to do to the enemy what the enemy wanted to do to them. Nehemiah asks that they be defeated. He also said,

they have provoked thee to anger before the builders

Nothing angers God like those who will stand against His Kingdom and His Son. When you are doing the work God called you to do, and someone speaks against it, they are not speaking against YOU but against GOD. God told the Prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 8:7):

“it is not you they have rejected, but they
have rejected Me as their king”

Nehemiah and the workers are doing what God called them to do. To attack them is to attack God. So Nehemiah prayed, recognized that the work they were doing was God’s work … then they all went back to work.

I love that. Nehemiah prayed, then went back to work. He did his part, and left God to do His part. We are not called to do God’s part. It is foolish to try. Only God can changed the heart of the wicked. Only God can protect us from the wicked. So Nehemiah and the workers went back to rebuilding the wall.

Keep Your Minds On Kingdom Work,
Not On Worldly Distractions

Nehemiah 4:6 So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.

Verse 6 covers a undistinguished length of time. Sanballat and his men left the area, and the work continued unabated. We read “the people had a mind to work”. The people with Nehemiah were not discouraged, but their minds were united in wanting to serve the Lord in this project. This should be the Spirit in every Christian’s heart. The Holy Spirit is given to us to teach us the things of God. “We have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). United in their mindset, the workers passed the halfway mark of repairing the wall. Yet evil is persistent. The wall is only half as high as it should be.

Nehemiah 4:7-8 But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth, 8 And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it.

Sanballat first attacked the Kingdom of God, then Tobiah, then came along Geshem the Arabian. NOW WE SEE FIVE GROUPS have gathered together, and are conspiring to destroy Jerusalem and its workers. Though these five groups are all distinctive and different, that which unites them is that they HATE THE LIGHT OF GOD. They want to “fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it”. The word translated “hinder” is the Hebrew words ʿāśâ tôʿâ, {pronounced aw-saw’ to-aw’}, which means “to manufacture error or confusion”. Satan loves to bring confusion into the Kingdom of God. God is not the Author of Confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33), but of peace. What did Nehemiah and the workers do?

Nehemiah 4:9 Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.

Nehemiah and the people prayed, and “set a watch against them day and night”. They asked God to do His part, and they did their part. By praying and doing, the people signaled that they were committed to following the Lord. The people also sent a message to the enemy. “We are not afraid of you, and will keep working no matter how much you threaten. The people also showed God their faith was in Him, not in themselves.

Nehemiah 4:10 And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall.

At the halfway mark there was so much debris on the ground that it was getting impossible for the workers to build. The work went smoothly until the debris piled up. Now it is critical that this rubbish be taken away. It is “Judah”, the Ruling Tribe of Israel, who suggests that the work cease because of the rubble on the ground. The enemy knows about this buildup of rubbish, and says:

Nehemiah 4:11 And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease.

To the workers, the rubbish on the ground was a tripping hazard, something that could stop the work. To the enemy, the rubbish on the ground is an opportunity to “cause the work to cease”. Not only this, but people from outside of the workers and Sanballat’s forces come into the city to discourage Nehemiah:

Nehemiah 4:12 And it came to pass, that when the Jews which dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times, From all places whence ye shall return unto us they will be upon you.

What did Nehemiah do in response to this further discouragement?

Nehemiah 4:13-14 Therefore set I in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places, I even set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows. 14 And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.

Nehemiah arranged the workers so that those working on the lower parts of the wall were guarded by “swords and spears and bows”. Nehemiah asked to keep looking unto God, and keep on looking out for one another. Together Israel will win, or together Israel will die. The workers were to keep their focus on the God Who loved them so. “Remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren”. Love God, love your brothers and sisters in the faith. Nehemiah tells them:

Be not ye afraid of them, For
Our God Shall Fight For Us

Do not let fear drive you. Let faith drive you. Our God is “great and terrible”. He is far more powerful than any force that can be allayed against us. They are to be ready to “fight for your brethren”. The twin commandments of God’s Kingdom is:

Matthew 22:37 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

Matthew 22:39 Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

Now Nehemiah gets everyone working together. We read:

Nehemiah 4:16-18 And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the habergeons {širyôn, breastplates, armor}; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah. 17 They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon. 18 For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me.

Nehemiah divided the workforce into DEFENSIVE and OFFENSIVE. The DEFENSIVE worked on the wall, while the OFFENSIVE watched over the builders and prepared to fight the enemy. As the wall building progressed, the workers got spread out far enough apart to where the work crews could be attacked. Nehemiah kept the person who “sounded the trumpet” near himself. Nehemiah told the people:

Nehemiah 4:19-20 The work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another. 20 In what place therefore ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our God shall fight for us.

God promises to fight for His people, for those in covenant with Him. Nehemiah reminded the people that our God is a Covenant Keeping God. God tells us:

Deuteronomy 3:22 (ESV) You shall not fear them, for it is the Lord your God who fights for you.

Deuteronomy 20:4 (ESV) the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.

We may wield the weapon, but God controls the outcome. He looks after those who trust in Him. In Luke chapter 22, our Lord Jesus prepares to go to the Cross to die for our sins. Jesus tells His disciples:

Luke 22:36-38 (ESV) … But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one. 37 For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors.’ For what is written about me has its fulfillment.” 38 And they said, “Look, Lord, here are two swords.” And he said to them, “It is enough.”

Jesus must go to the Cross and be “numbered with the transgressors”, that is, die between two thieves. So Jesus told His disciples to make sure they had a sword so they could thwart the enemy from killing Him before His time. There was an interesting article in the Journal of Biblical Literature 137, no. 2 (2018) {the article “Double Edged: The Meaning of the Two Swords in Luke 22:35-38}.

“… nothing must deter God’s salvific plan. In Luke 22:38, taking up the sword ensures Jesus’ safe transit to the Mount of Olives in prayerful preparation for His ensuing arrest; in Luke 22:51, putting away the sword ensures the arrest will proceed.”

Why must the wall be built around Jerusalem? Why must swords and spears be used, if necessary, to ensure that the wall is built? Because God’s grand plan to save this world requires that Jesus Christ be born of a virgin into this world through the nation Israel. If the wall of Jerusalem is not built, the Capital City will never be rebuilt. If the Capital City is never rebuilt, the Temple will never be built. If the Temple is not built, Israel will cease to be, and all prophecy related to the coming of Christ will be overturned.

But the wall must be built. Christ must come. Jesus must die on Calvary, and rise again. If He does not, the Kingdom of God will never come. And this, God will cause to come. “our God shall fight for us”.

The Kingdom of God MUST come. It must come to America, or our nation will fall. It must come through Christ’s people. Nehemiah and the workers understood that God’s Kingdom must come, and God’s will must be done. We end with these words:

Nehemiah 4:21-23 So we labored in the work: and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared. 22 Likewise at the same time said I unto the people, Let every one with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and labor on the day. 23 So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard which followed me, none of us put off our clothes, saving that every one put them off for washing.

May we so labor faithfully for our God. Let us bring in His Kingdom, and labor for the Master. For the preservation of America, and the salvation of our world. In Christ’s name I pray. Amen and Amen.

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Saved, You Will Be Sanctified

Posted on July 26, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by nappy: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-child-reading-holy-bible-935944/

Whereas the Apostle Paul was used by God to talk about salvation, James is used of God to talk about sanctification. What are the differences between the two?

Salvation Is What Jesus Does FOR Us
Sanctification Is What God The Holy Spirit Does TO Us

We are saved by faith in Christ. Receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior, Jesus sends the Holy Spirit into our lives. The Holy Spirit causes us to be “born again” as new creatures in Christ. The Holy Spirit causes us to be adopted into the Family of God. The Holy Spirit stays with us, guiding us into daily being more like Jesus.

The saved by faith are always sanctified by works

James focuses on the process of Sanctification, a real part of a genuine Christian’s walk with God. When we studied the first twelve verses of James chapter 1, we saw how God uses trials (the KJV renders it as “temptations”) are used of God to make us like Jesus. James makes the point that genuine faith “endures temptation” or trials.

James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

The Greek Noun πειρασμός peirasmós, {pronounced pi-ras-mos’} refers to “a trial or difficulty that proves the genuineness of saving faith”. Those who will not endure the tests of life will not get the crown of life!

As water tests whether a creature is aquatic or a land animal, the trials that God allows us to go through prove our salvation. Trials can be initiated by God, or allowed by God, always with the intent of SANCTIFYING us. The truly saved “endure TRIALS”. A hurt child runs to its parent. A suffering believer runs to Jesus, calling on the Father. Those under the Sanctification of the Holy Spirit cannot fall away. The Scripture says:

1 John 3:8-10 (ESV) Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

The saved are changed by God the Holy Spirit, and the Law of Christ is written in their hearts by the action of Sanctification (2 Corinthians 3:3). Christians are called “Saints”, which literally means “Sanctified Ones”. This is what God prophesied in the Old Testament, saying

Jeremiah 31:33 I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

TRIALS Grow The Believer, And Are From God.
TEMPTATIONS Are NOT From God.

James 1:13-18 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. 16 Do not err, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. 18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Word Study: Here James is not using the noun peirasmos, but has switched to the verb peirazo. Though this verb can be used in a good sense, in most uses in the New Testament it is something that only the evil do. For instance, before Jesus began His earthly ministry, Matthew tells us:

Matthew 4:1, 3 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted {peirazo} of the devil. … And when the tempter {peirazo} came to {Jesus}, he said, If Thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

Though God the Holy Spirit led Jesus to the wilderness, it is Satan who peirazo, tempted Jesus to do evil. Later on in His ministry we see the Pharisees and Sadducees trying to destroy Jesus’ ministry:

Matthew 16:1 The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting {peirazo} desired Him {Jesus} that He would show them a sign from Heaven.

As these religious unbelievers continued to attack Jesus, our Lord called them out:

Matthew 22:18 … Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt {peirazo} ye me, ye hypocrites?

When Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Church, the Apostle said:

Acts 5:9 … How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt {peirazo} the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.

Trials may come on believers, initiated by either the world or by God, to grow the believer. Such trials are governed in duration and dimension by God our Father. But temptations to sin do not come from God, but solely from Satan, the world, or our flesh. God may allow Satan to tempt you to sin, but God has nothing to do with the temptation.

James 1:13-14 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

Temptation to sin – peirazo – never comes from God. In fact, part of the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray focused on asking God to lead us away from temptation:

Matthew 6:9-13 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

The Soniclight Commentary notes:

“No good earthly father would deliberately seduce his child into sin by trying to make him or her sin. However, every good father will deliberately allow his child to enter situations in life in which the child must make moral choices. We realize that sending a child to school or into the community, at the proper age, is good for a child because it matures him or her. Likewise God grows us up spiritually by allowing certain experiences, including temptations, to assail us—though He Himself only gives good gifts to His children …”

The devil and this fallen world often sends enticement to do evil. As humans, we can be enticed to evil by our own darkened sin nature. Every person in this room – saved or unsaved – has an “old sin nature”. Every person “is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed”.

God is never the Author of sin

People today try to make out that God is sin’s Author. They say, “God made me thus, so how can God judge me?”. God did not make us “thus”. We were born in sin, children of Adam. Each one of us was born with a propensity toward one sin or another sin. Sin draws us away from God. “Our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away” (Isaiah 64:6). Sin itself comes short of the glory of God.

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.

Sin is darkness, not light. Sin is death, not life.
Sin never brings glory to God, so God will never entice to sin.
Death and darkness do not exist in God.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

James 1:15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

If what you perceive as a trial draws you to a place of lust, it draws you away from God. This is not God’s will for our lives. God wants us to walk WITH Him, not apart from Him. God will not put something in our paths that will draw us into sin. If it entices to sin, it is of Satan, not of God. James says:

James 1:16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.

Word Study: “DO NOT ERR” is the Greek πλανάω μή planaō mē, which means “do not wander away from God, do not be seduced, do not go astray”. The same phrase is used in:

1 Corinthians 6:9 (ESV) … do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived {planaō mē} …

1 Corinthians 15:33 (ESV) Do not be deceived {planaō mē}: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

Galatians 6:7 (ESV) Do not be deceived {planaō mē}: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.

1 John 3:7 (ESV) Little children, let no one deceive you {planaō mē}. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.

There is no sin nor darkness in God. God is Light. The first command that God gave in the Bible was “‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” If it is evil, if it is sinful, if it dark, it is not of God, but of Satan and the fallen world.

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

If it is evil or dark, it comes from Satan or fallen humanity. If it is “good” and “perfect”, it is from God our Creator and Father. The word translated “perfect” is the Greek τέλειος téleios, {pronounced tel’-i-os}, which means “complete, finished, lacking nothing necessary to completeness, of full age or mature”. God does not do things by halves.

God always does everything for His own glory
and for our growth in Christ.

God is forever unchanging. He cannot do evil, nor be tempted to do evil. Everything that God brings into our lives is for His glory and for our growth. God is called “the Father of lights”, that is, He is the Creator of not just the Sun, the Moon, and the stars, but also of light. Most people do not realize that – in the Creation account – God created light, and named the light “Day, and the darkness He called Night” (Genesis 1:5). This occurred on the first day of creation. But God did not create the Sun, the Moon, nor the stars until the fourth day (Genesis 1:14-19). Light’s Source is NOT the Sun, the Moon nor the stars. The Source of Light is God Himself. He made Light itself, in all its forms, apart from the lights we see in our solar system. Darkness does not come from God – only Light.

In the True God our Bible speaks of there is “no variableness, neither shadow of turning”. Too many people assume that a “mean God” wrote the Old Testament, but over time God became more mellow and wrote the New Testament. One commentary notes:

“God gave you every single good thing in your life. He is the source of all the good you have and all the good you crave. Who God is does not change when our circumstances change. He doesn’t go from being a good God to a bad God when our trials began. He is still the source of all the good in our lives; He never changes.”

As a Church we often say, “God is good – all the time. All the time – God is good”. God gives nothing that is not good. God leads us no where where it is not for our good. If we are led to a bad place, a place where sin has us in its grip, this is not where God led us, but where evil trapped us and we sinfully walked. In God there is no “shadow of turning”. With ordinary light – like the light that comes from our sun – the earth turns or rotates so that we move into darkness a few hours every day. Normal light casts shadows. But God’s light is shadowless. Though Israel often wandered away from God, and often broke His covenant, God’s promises stood true. God told Israel:

Malachi 3:6 (ESV) … I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.

We change daily – but God never changes. The promises He makes to us are promises He is bound to keep. God does not wander from the path of light – nor will He lead us to wander away from light. I read this and loved it:

“If there is darkness in your life, it’s not because God, the Father of Lights is turning; it’s because you are turning. He is the Father of Lights and in Him there is no shadow. There is no darkness in Him.”

The Apostle said:

1 John 1:5-7 (ESV) This is the message we have heard from {God} and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

God’s purpose in our lives is that we walk with Him in the light. God will never lead His child into darkness, into sin, into the ways of evil. When King Solomon wandered away from God, our Beloved Heavenly Father punished him. God punishes His children whom He loves. Solomon wrote in

Lamentations 3:1-6 (ESV) I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of {God’s} wrath; 2 He has driven and brought me into darkness without any light; 3 surely against me He turns His hand again and again the whole day long. 4 He has made my flesh and my skin waste away; He has broken my bones; 5 He has besieged and enveloped me with bitterness and tribulation; 6 He has made me dwell in darkness like the dead of long ago.

The chapter continues in this vein, as Solomon complains about the pain and the suffering he has undergone because he turned from God. But then, in the middle of the text, Solomon writes:

Lamentations 3:21-26 (ESV) … But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: 22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” 25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. 26 It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

If “The Lord is your portion”, if you are His child by faith in Christ, then He will never abandon your cause. “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning”. God never forgets the child that He purchased with the Blood of His dear Son. God watches over us morning and evening. God only allows things to come our way that are for our ultimate good. God made us to be with Him – in companionship with Him – not just in Heaven, but every day we walk on this earth.

James 1:18 (ESV) Of His own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

“Of His own will” God caused us to be born again when we responded to the Gospel in the affirmative. God was not forced to give us new birth. We did not coerce God when we believed on Jesus, receiving Him as our Lord and Savior. God freely and of His own will made the promise of the Gospel:

Romans 10:13 ..everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

When we broken creatures were convicted of our brokenness, and heard the wooing of the Holy Spirit, when we cried out to Jesus to heal us, God was not coerced. He wants us. He loves us. He bids us come to Him and receive life. He wants us to walk with Him daily, moment by moment. We are not called to a Sunday go to meeting religion, nor a religion of empty rituals. We are called to walk with God in the light, not to remain in the darkness of sin. The Scripture says:

2 Corinthians 4:6 (ESV) For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

God did not save us to sin, but to serve Him in the light, to walk with Him through this present life.

Since God Is Sanctifying Us,
How Should We Then Live?

James 1:19-20 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: 20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

There is an old saying among students of Scripture, which is “When you see a WHEREFORE, ask yourself “What is it THEREFORE”? If we are saved by faith in Christ, and sanctified daily by the operation of the Holy Spirit of God, then we are to work with God. We are to intentionally walk with God. What does an intentional walk with God look like? James gives us three directives:

be SWIFT to HEAR
be SLOW to SPEAK
be SLOW to WRATH

We are called of God to imitate Jesus in controlling our tongues and our emotions. As Americans, we have a First Amendment right that gives us freedom of speech. But as Christians of the Kingdom of God, we are to glorify God our Savior in all that we say and do. Thus we are to be SWIFT to HEAR. Open our ears, listen to others completely. If you exercise your tongue too soon, you may, by that tongue, drive away a potential lost soul. You may also hurt the sanctification process in a fellow brother or sister in Christ. LISTEN to others, then carefully consider your words. Be SLOW to SPEAK. Our mouths are always getting us into trouble. King Solomon said:

Proverbs 17:27 Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

Proverbs 21:23 Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.

Proverbs 10:19 When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.

Just because you have the freedom to say it, doesn’t mean that you should say it. Restrain your words. Also, restrain your temper. We are to be SLOW TO WRATH. Again, Solomon said:

Proverbs 14:29 Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.

Proverbs 16:32 Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.

As God’s Children we are commanded to:

Romans 12:19-21 (ESV) Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Trust that God will look after you. He will. God is faithful. He will never leave us, nor forsake us. If offended, let God deal with it. Follow the method that Christ gave us in Matthew 18:15-17. I pray you’ll read that text, and do as God says do. And Beloved, if your walk in life is not that of a child of God, then dear one, you probably still need to be saved. Do not assume you are going to Heaven because you performed some ritual that the local Church endorsed. Those who go to Heaven are the same ones who walk with God on this present earth. As Christians we are not perfect – but God is our portion.

Is He yours? May God the Holy Spirit draw you close to Christ this very day. Amen and Amen.

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Repent, Receive, And Do

Posted on July 26, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Ian Turnell: https://www.pexels.com/photo/assorted-fruits-stall-709567/

Please turn with me in your Bibles to James Chapter One. This morning we talked about the difference between Salvation and Sanctification. Salvation is a place we enter when we repent and turn to Jesus, believing Him to be our Lord and Savior. Giving our broken lives to Him, Jesus sends the Holy Spirit of God to us to begin a lifetime work in our lives.

We repent of being our own god, and turn to God the Son, Jesus Christ.
We receive the Scripture as God’s Word – especially what Jesus decreed.
We reflect in our lives the life of Christ, for we are God’s children.

The “religion” that gets a person into God’s Heaven cannot be divorced from the way of Christ. Jesus taught us the twin pillars of our faith is to love God supremely, and to love others the way that Jesus has loved us (Matthew 22:36-40; John 13:34).

Opening: On July 11, 1656, two Quaker Missionaries Ann Austin and Mary Fisher arrived in Boston Harbor, New England. A Christian denomination called the Puritans ruled Massachusetts, much like the Pharisees ruled Israel in Jesus’ day. The Puritans believed the Quakers to be a cult. Deputy Governor Richard Bellingham boarded the ladies ship, ordered the women to stay on board, and confiscated 100 books the ladies brought with them. The books were burned, the women imprisoned without counsel or the ability to speak to anyone, and were stripped naked. The window of their cell was boarded up, and they were allowed no candle for light. No arrangement was made by the government to feed them. Bostonians were warned that any attempt to speak to these ladies would be heavily fined. A Christian innkeeper named Nicholas Upsall bribed the jailer five shillings a week to take food and water to the prisoners. Another ship owner, William Chicester, after 5 weeks agreed to take the women to Barbados. When they left, the jailer kept their Bible and bedding as his payment for “watching over” them. Nicholas Upsall was banished from Massachusetts for protesting the treatment of these Quakers – though Nicholas was a blameless Puritan and a faithful churchgoer.

This is not the way of Christ!

By the Grace of God we who are Christian are changed from children of Adam to “becoming” Children of God.

Preach! As Children of God, we do not walk in darkness, but in the light of Christ. We walk in love (Romans 14:15; Ephesians 5:2), realizing that we have no worthiness, but we are saved by Grace. We not cherish sin, nor do we hate people that are around us. We “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15), always tempering our actions by a constant knowledge that we are all fallen short of the glory of God. We resist sin, knowing it caused the death of our Master on Calvary’s Tree.

The Christian Will Put Away All Of What “We Think”, And Put On All Of What God Has Said!

James 1:21-25 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. [22] But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. [23] For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: [24] For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. [25] But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

“Wherefore”. When you see a “Wherefore”, ask yourself “What is it THERE FOR?” The “Wherefore” brings a conclusion. IF everything James shared with us from verse 1 to verse 20 is true, THEN there is something that God commands us do.

The Lord expects those who are His to heed His Word and to turn from the distractions and pretty baubles of this world. We are born again not by our works, not by our rituals, but by faith in Jesus Christ. We put our total trust in the person of the Lord Jesus, and

Ephesians 2:8-9 … by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: [9] Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Salvation is entirely an act of God. Just as Jesus healed the leper, the blind, the deaf, the cripple … He will change the life of those who believe on Him. The Scripture promises …

Romans 10:9-13 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. [10] For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. [11] For the Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. [12] For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. [13] For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Adrian Rogers said, “Salvation is not a plan, but a Man”. We are saved by receiving what the Lord Jesus Christ – for God’s glory – did for us on that Cross of Calvary. But salvation, dear friend, goes beyond the tomb.

Jesus died for our sins, but rose again to live through us. The Christian is not saved to COAST into Heaven. The Christian is saved to be a CHILD of Heaven.

Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love” (John 15:10). We are called to follow Jesus. Jesus believed the Scripture. Jesus came to fulfill God’s Word. If we follow Jesus, we follow God’s Word.

  • For Jesus sake you are kings and priests before God.
  • For Jesus sake you are adopted children of God.
  • For Jesus sake your sins are forgiven.
  • For Jesus sake you are indwelt by the Spirit of the Living God.
  • For Jesus sake God has prepared for you a mansion
  • For Jesus sake you are made a part of the Body of Christ, the Church.
  • For Jesus sake you have stewardship of the Gospel of Christ.
  • For Jesus sake we live as lights in this present world.

God’s people and God’s Church has a mandate to LIVE for Jesus, to LABOR for Jesus, to LONG for Jesus,
and to LAST for Jesus.

James 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness

Word Study: If you are a Child of God, you are to first of all – every day – to “lay apart” {ἀποτίθημι apotíthēmi, pronounced ap-ot-eeth’-ay-mee} that which does not honor Christ. The Christian is to honor Christ in all that we say and do. The word apotíthēmi is used for that which does not belong to us who believe and love Jesus. For instance,

Romans 13:12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off {lay apart, apotíthēmi} the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.

The “works of darkness” that we are to cast off is lovelessness and doing evil to others. We are told that “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:9-10). We cannot win the world for Christ by being hateful, but loving. We must love as Jesus loves. We are to

Ephesians 4:22-24That ye put off {lay apart, apotíthēmi} concerning the former {way of life} the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Before we came to Christ we followed our own path. Now in Christ we follow Jesus, doing that which the Bible says, loving others whether they love us or not. We are told in …

Colossians 3:8-10 But now ye also put off {lay apart, apotíthēmi} all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; 10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

The old ways of the world are not what we imitate. We imitate God. We DO His Word, His Teachings. The writer of Hebrews puts it this way:

Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside {lay apart, apotíthēmi} every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us..

Cast away every weight AND the sin that so easily trips you up. Put away anything that hinders your walk with God. Sometimes people come to me and ask me if this is a sin, or that is a sin. Dear friends, the Bible says that anything that stands between you and your Lord is to be cast off as filthy.

James 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness

Word Study: James tells us to cast off “all filthiness”. This is the Greek υπαρία rhyparía, {pronounced hroo-par-ee’-ah}, and it refers to the things that, if you touch them, they will defile you. Under the Old Covenant there were certain times when people were forbidden to touch something:

  • Those with leprosy were not to be touched. Leviticus 13:46 “He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp” (ESV). Nor was a dead body to be touched. “Put out of the camp everyone … who is unclean through contact with the dead” (Numbers 5:2, ESV)

The reason God had Israel forbid the touch of the infected or dead was to limit exposure and infection among His people. Under the New Covenant we do not exile people for disease, sickness, or death. We are, however, to put away from us anything that might defile our walk with Christ. The words translated “superfluity of naughtiness” is Old English, and better translated today as “all that remains of wickedness”. The devil often entices us from the path of righteousness with touch.

Sin enters the mind through the senses – touch, taste, hearing, sight, smell. But TOUCH is the thing that most often draws us away from the light of God.

God tells us today as His children:

2 Corinthians 6:14-18 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? 15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? 16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. 18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

“touch not the unclean thing”.

  • Do not handle poison ivy if you don’t want to scratch.
  • Do not pick up the pornographic magazine.
  • Do not continue to watch sexual encounters on the television.
  • Do not type a reply to a sensual temptation on social media. “God for Christ’s sake has forgiven {us}” (Ephesians 4:32).

Put away that which God has said is filthy, lest you become defiled by it. I heard an old Pastor say one time,

“If you play in the toilet, you’ll catch something!”

Preach! What do we often see? There are professing Christians running around with the Ku Klux Klan and Black Lives Matter. This does not honor Christ! There are professing Christians out drinking and partying with the lost. This is not what Christ came for. There are professing Christians who vote without regard to what the Scripture says. Does your candidate support what Christ supported? If not, REPENT. There are professing Christians suing other professing Christians in court, totally in violation of Christ’s decree. My Beloved, these things must not be!

Bind yourselves to the Lord Who loves you, and gave Himself for you. The Apostle said:

1 John 2:15-17 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. [16] For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. [17] And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.

Lay aside the things that are worldly and unendorsed by the Scripture. The world may normalize it, but we must not abide it in our lives. When sin is in the believer’s life, this sin grieves the Spirit of God and quenches the Spirit of God.

Ephesians 4:30 (ESV) do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.…

1 Thessalonians 5:19 (ESV) Do not quench the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit empowers us to do the work of Christ, to live in the Kingdom of God. Do not alienate the Spirit. “Walk in the Spirit”, not in the flesh (Romans 8:4; Galatians 5:16). Lay aside the sin that is in your life, for it blocks your ability to hear the Word of God. Examine yourselves. If you have sins that need to be cast off, cast them off. God cannot grow you to the next level of discipleship until you put away that residual sin in your lives! If you have things that are not necessarily sin, but these things are impeding your service for God, put these things away also. If it blocks the hearing of God’s Word it should not be in the believer’s life.

Putting Away Sin, We Open The Word Of God In
Partnership With The Spirit Of God

James 1:21 … and receive with meekness the engrafted Word, which is able to save your souls …

Word Study: The word translated “meekness“ is the Greek PRAUTES (prauthj pronounced prah-oo’-tace), which means “an attitude or disposition to humility, a receptive spirit”. Not only does sin in your life keep you from receiving God’s instruction, but a hard hearted or “I already know that” arrogance of spirit also binds you from the Word of God. In this text the Scripture is called the “engrafted Word“. The Greek for “engrafted” is EMPHUTOS (emfutoj pronounced em’-foo-tos), which is a gardening term meaning to “place a graft“. The Bible tells us that the Church is God’s farm or field. The Apostle wrote:

1 Corinthians 3:9 (ESV) … you are God’s FIELD, God’s building.

When we submit to God’s Word, and allow the Holy Spirit to plant that Word in our lives, then God can cause our field to bloom. God gave us the Holy Spirit “to guide us into all truth” (John 16:13-14).

The Word of God, the Scripture, doesn’t just save our souls from hell. But the Scripture received can save our souls from a hell on this earth!

When The Scripture Is Received, It Brings Forth Fruit
Unto God From The Field Of Our Lives

James 1:22 But be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

The person who will not DO what God has said is dangerously deceiving themselves. Though works of righteousness do not SAVE a person, once a person is saved they will DO works of righteousness. This is consistently taught in both Old and New Covenants. God said to Israel:

Exodus 20:5-6 (ESV) You shall not bow down to {false gods} or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

To those who serve the false gods of this world, God allows their iniquity to – karma-like – come back to them. But to those who love the Lord and “keep {God’s} commandments”, to those the Lord shows “STEADFAST LOVE”. Now I’m sure some will say, “But this is the Old Covenant. We are not under the Old Covenant! I don’t have to obey God if I am saved by Grace – I am not under the Law!” No, dear friend, you are utterly confused. For under the New Covenant we read the words of Jesus:

John 14:15-17 (ESV) … If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 AND I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth

The Holy Spirit only comes to those who keep Jesus’ commandments. To make sure we understood this, Jesus repeated Himself shortly after this, saying:

John 15:10 (ESV) If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.

The Son of God is to keep God’s Commandments. This is true whether under the Old Covenant or under the New Covenant. Christ must not be just received as your “Savior”, but Christ must also be received as your “Lord”. We who are saved are citizens of the Kingdom of God. The citizen of the Kingdom of God on this earth will one day be transferred to be a citizen of the Kingdom of God in Heaven.

Jesus is Lord! God is Lord!

Illustrate: Let me tell you a story. In a certain Kingdom, the King decreed a series of laws that He expected all of His subjects to adhere to. The penalty for rejecting the King’s Law was to be cast into a dungeon, a place of darkness and separation and suffering. Then one day the King offered to adopt as many as would come to Him into His Family. Some heard the offer of adoption, but decided they did not want to be that close to the King. But others heard this message, and came to the King’s Throne. Kneeling before Him, they pledged their lives to His Family, and the King received them as His own sons and daughters. The King’s Children are not LESS responsible for following the King’s Law, but are MORE responsible – because they love the King. They are not worthy to be the King’s Children, but by His magnificent Grace they are. And their hearts overflow with joy in following their King.

Christian, our identity is not in ourselves, but in the Kingdom of God. James emphasizes this.

James 1:23-25 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

The “believer” who is a HEARER but not a DOER is like a lost person. They look in the mirror, and then try and decided what manner of “person” they are to be. This is the world we live in today. People look in the mirror at themselves divorced of God and His Rule, and say “I feel that I identify as …”. One magazine I read noted:

“There are many different gender identities, including male, female, transgender, gender neutral, non-binary, agender, pangender, genderqueer, two-spirit, third gender, and all, none or a combination of these.”

Other worldly sources say that there are three genders, or seven main genders, or fifty two genders, or 72 genders. Why all the confusion? It is because people are looking in the mirror at themselves, and are listening to other lost people tell them how to be found. A lost person looking in the mirror at their lostness, and listening to a lost world, will be confused and lost. But a Child of God does not look in the mirror, but at the “perfect law of liberty”, the Law of the Family of God. My identity is tied to my Heavenly Father, to the Lord Jesus Who saved me, and to the Holy Spirit Who indwells me. James emphasizes:

John 1:25 … whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed

I serve a Risen Savior. You do, too, if you are saved.

I thought I’d end with a poem written by Jonathan Blake Carmac called Victa (conquered):

Out of the night that covers me
Into resplendent light that makes whole,
I thank my God in Jesus Christ
For conquering my wretched soul.

In the hands of Almighty God,
I have oft winced and cried aloud.
Yet due the bludgeonings of God,
Christ’s head is bloodied, mine is bowed.

Within this place of wrath and tears
A Father whose strength is a shade,
And so the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me unfraid.

Hard the way and narrow the gate,
Yet payed the charges on my scroll.
Christ is the Master of my fate:
Christ is the Captain of my soul.

May God the Holy Spirit use His Word to reach other for Christ’s Kingdom. Amen and Amen!

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The Wall Is Repaired Through Unity

Posted on July 21, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Atypeek Dgn: https://www.pexels.com/photo/destroyed-stone-monument-in-dry-desert-5799243/

Please turn with me in your Bibles to Nehemiah chapter three.

We have been studying the Book of Nehemiah, and how that wonderful Book relates to the Church today. God expects His Church not to languish, but to grow. As the Church we are called to promote the Kingdom of God in this present world. Jesus sent us with a specific commission to tell others about Him and His Gospel, and to be the light of God in this present darkness.

Israel was destroyed because they got away from the Word of God, and started to love themselves more than they loved God.

God sent a series of enemies into Israel – Babylon, Assyria, and Medo-Persia – to punish His people and awaken them from their sinful slumber. The Church in America today is in much the same place. We are a “Post Christian” nation because we as Christians have not stood at our post. Years ago the great Evangelist Dwight L. Moody said:

“A great many people have got a false idea about the church. They have got an idea that the church is a place to rest in … to get into a nicely cushioned pew, and contribute to the charities, listen to the minister, and do their share to keep the church out of bankruptcy is all they want. The idea of work for them—actual work in {and through} the church—never enters their minds.”

This is a poor concept of the Church. God calls His Church to work together for His glory. The reason that God gave us ministers:

Ephesians 4:11-13 And {God} gave … apostles; and … prophets; and … evangelists; and … pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting {καταρτισμός katartismós, [pronounced kat-ar-tis-mos’] meaning equipping or maturing} of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect {τέλειος téleios, [pronounced tel’-i-os], complete} man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ …

Every member of the Church is called by God to serve God, to glorify God, to be like the Son of God.

A Christian not serving God is an abnormality. There is coming a judgment day for every Christian where we will give an account to Jesus as how we used the Grace He gave us. We are not to be judging our brothers and sisters in Christ, but are to be working together:

Romans 14:10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at naught thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

We are called to “judge ourselves, so we will not be judged” (1 Corinthians 11:31). Whether saved or lost, everyone will stand before Jesus and be judged one day. The Christian’s salvation will not be judged, for our salvation was settled at the Cross. But Beloved, God did not give us salvation so we could coast into Heaven. We are called to live for God, to work for God. The Scripture says:

2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

Together We Can Fix The Wall

As Nehemiah called on Israel to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem, we read:

Nehemiah 2:17-18 … Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that WE be no more a reproach. 18 Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king’s words that he had spoken unto me. And THEY said, Let us rise up and build. So THEY strengthened their hands for this good work.

Nehemiah wanted Israel to understand that they were in this mess TOGETHER. What you are feeling and suffering is not someone elses’ problem. It’s ALL our problem.

They were all in a mess. The walls of Jerusalem, some two miles long, were totally destroyed. With the walls down the inhabitants of Jerusalem were at the mercy of the criminal element. The Temple could be rebuilt, but it would be easily ransacked by invading unbelievers. So Nehemiah told the people the scope of the problem … and pointed to God as the solution. Nehemiah made sure the people understood that HE did his part, and GOD did His part.

Nehemiah 3:1 Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel.

“Eliashib the high priest” along with the priests of Israel were the first to rise up and build. Eliashib is the grandson of the High Priest Jeshua, who first entered the land with Zerubbabel and Ezra. The name Eliashib actually means “The God of Conversion”. As High Priest, Eliashib rose up to build, and his brother priests followed his example. The words “rose up” is the Hebrewקום ,qum, (pronounced koom), which means “to rouse oneself, to lift up, to approach with excitement”.

They started at “the sheep gate”, an area where sheep were brought into Jerusalem to be sacrificed in the Temple. There is a pool near this market called Bethesda, and around that pool were five porches that overlooked the water. It was here that Jesus met a crippled man that had laid there 38 years, unable to get into the healing waters. Jesus told this man “Rise, take up your bed, and walk” (John 5:8). This is the incident that led to the Pharisees to attacking Jesus because Jesus healed people even on the Sabbath Day. We are told in:

John 5:16-17 … therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day. 17 But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.

If “Eliashib the high priest” along with the priests of Israel had not risen up to do their work of repairing the gate and the wall where they did, the Temple would have never been rebuilt.

If the Temple had never been rebuilt, the sick and infirm would have never gathered around the Pool of Bethesda.

If the people had never gathered around the Pool of Bethesda, Jesus would never have revealed His deity and Himself as the Son of God, sent to pay for the sins of the world.

When Eliashib and his fellow priests did their work for God, they had no idea that the area they built on would one day be visited by the Son of God. We do not know how what we do today will be used by God in the future. As God’s priests (and every believer is a priest unto God – for “Christ hath made us Kings and Priests unto God” – Revelation 1:6) we are to rise up in love and work for our Lord. We read:

they sanctified it …

Word Study: They “sanctified” the gate and the wall that they worked on. This is the Hebrew קָדַשׁ qâdash, {pronounced kaw-dash’}, which means “to hallow, to consecrate, to dedicate to God as sacred”. Though the High Priest did not know how God would use his work and the work of his brethren, he knew that the work was for the glory of God. The Bible says:

Colossians 3:17 (ESV) And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:23-24 (ESV) Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

“We serve a Risen Savior. He’s in the world today! I know that He is with me, no matter what men say!” The Priests worked together for the glory of God. Again, Paul encourages us:

1 Corinthians 10:31 (ESV) So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

The “Sheep’s Gate” is where Jesus Christ, “The Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29) would one day walk. Jesus said:

John 10:7-9 … I am the Door of the sheep. 8 All that ever came before Me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the Door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

Commentator and Preacher Harry Ironside saw each of the Gates mentioned in Nehemiah chapter 3 as an allegory, or something with a hidden Biblical meaning. I don’t think it’s wrong to see it this way.

In the Old Testament the Jew went to God by the Law, bringing in animal sacrifices through the “Sheep’s Gate”. But because Jesus Christ came through this Sheep’s Gate to Bethesda, and eventually to the Cross, we have the promise that …

Hebrews 10:10 we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Thank God for the Sheep’s Gate. But also thank God for the “fish gate”.

Nehemiah 3:2-3 And next unto him {the High Priest} builded the men of Jericho. And next to them builded Zaccur the son of Imri. 3 But the fish gate did the sons of Hassenaah build, who also laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.

The “sons of Hassenaah“ worked on the “fish gate”. This was a commercial gate through which fish from the Jordan and the Sea of Galilee entered Jerusalem. Since their name means “thorny” or “prickly” these possibly could have been fishermen. They were, it is certain, hardened workmen. Jesus told us:

Matthew 4:19 … Follow Me, and I will make you “fishers of men”

God used a variety of people to rebuild the wall in Jerusalem. In like manner, it takes a variety of people – diverse in education, ability, station, and color – to make up a Church. The Bible says of the Church:

Galatians 3:28 there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

Colossians 3:11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

Together We Honor God

God brought people from all walks of life together to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. God brings people from all walks of life to build His Church.

Nehemiah 3:4-5 And next unto them repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of Koz. And next unto them repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabeel. And next unto them repaired Zadok the son of Baana. 5 And next unto them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord.

We may not know these people, but we can identify with them. They were people from all walks of life who loved God and loved one another.

What binds people together?
Love of God, and love for one another.

You see the phrase “next unto them” repeated over and over throughout Nehemiah chapter three. This is what God expects of His people. Before our Lord Jesus went to the Cross He prayed:

John 17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

When God’s people are in turmoil, fighting among themselves, complaining and self seeking, they are not being good witnesses for Christ. Jesus prayed that His people would be unified in their mission of love toward God and toward one another “that the world may believe” that Jesus Christ is indeed the Messiah. God’s people are to be distinguished by unity. “God is not the Author of Confusion, but of Peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33). God’s Kingdom is filled with various gifted and talented people,

1 Corinthians 12:4-6 … there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.

If God is in the people, they will be unified in the mission. People are saved by God to love God and love others. We are to …

Ephesians 4:1-6 … walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2 With all lowliness and meekness, with long suffering, forbearing one another in love; 3 Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Not all, however, were working for God. We read:

Nehemiah 3:5 … but their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord.

Word Study: Who are the “nobles”? This is the Hebrew אַדִּיר ʼaddîyr, {pronounced ad-deer}, which means “the powerful, famous, glorious, lordly, godlike”. This was the “privileged class”. Like the Pharisees, Scribes, and Sadducees of Jesus’ day, these people thought themselves too good to get their hands dirty. They felt that they should be waited on, instead of “putting their necks to the work of their Lord”. God spoke of these people through the Apostle, saying:

Titus 1:16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

There are many on the rolls of the Church that pretend to be saved, and pretend to know God, but do not. One day these “nobles” shall stand before God and give an account for their lives. God help them!

Nehemiah 3:6-11 Moreover the old gate repaired Jehoiada the son of Paseah, and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah; they laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, and the locks thereof, and the bars thereof. 7 And next unto them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon, and of Mizpah, unto the throne of the governor on this side the river. 8 Next unto him repaired Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, of the goldsmiths. Next unto him also repaired Hananiah the son of one of the apothecaries, and they fortified Jerusalem unto the broad wall. 9 And next unto them repaired Rephaiah the son of Hur, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem.

God took note of who worked – and who didn’t! We see at least 7 different vocations of people listed in the building:

1. Priests Nehemiah 3:1
2. Goldsmiths Nehemiah 3:8
3. Apothecaries (druggist) Nehemiah 3:8
4. Rulers Nehemiah 3:9
5. Nethinims (water carriers) Nehemiah 3:26
6. Gate Keepers Nehemiah 3:29
7. Merchants Nehemiah 3:32

I’m not going to go through every name of every person who worked on the walls and gates. But I do want to note some interesting aspects in this section.

People Worked On The Gates And Walls
Nearest Their Homes

Nehemiah 3:10 And next unto them repaired Jedaiah the son of Harumaph, even over against his house. And next unto him repaired Hattush the son of Hashabniah.

Nehemiah 3:23 After him repaired Benjamin and Hashub over against their house. After him repaired Azariah the son of Maaseiah the son of Ananiah by his house.

Nehemiah 3:28 From above the horse gate repaired the priests, every one over against his house.

Nehemiah 3:29 After them repaired Zadok the son of Immer over against his house. After him repaired also Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah, the keeper of the east gate.

Nehemiah had people working on the walls and gates nearest their own homes. Why was this smart? First, it was closest to you. They didn’t have to waste time traveling every day, and could start on their project earlier in the day. Second, you will take greater care of the wall nearest your home and your loved ones.

The Enduring Word Commentary brings out an interesting point about the men’s names who made repairs in front of their homes. I quote:

· Nehemiah 3:10 mentions Jedaiah, and his name means “He who calls unto God”. Our homes must be places of prayer, where the family calls unto God.

· Nehemiah 3:23 mentions Benjamin, and his name means “Son of my right hand”, speaking of a protector. Our homes must be places of protection and peace.

· Nehemiah 3:29 mentions Zadok, and his name means “Justice”. Our homes must be places of justice and integrity, especially with integrity regarding our marital vows and promises.

· Nehemiah 3:30 mentions Meshullam, and his name means “Devoted”. Our homes must be places of devotion and separation to God.

What is in our homes will be in our Churches. Let us, as God’s people, realize that rebuilding the walls that have fallen begins by rebuilding the walls in our homes. As goes the home, so goes the Church. As goes the Church, so goes the nation. May God the Holy Spirit light a fire in our hearts to love and serve our God. For the glory of Jesus! Amen and Amen!

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How To Be Sure Of Heaven

Posted on July 19, 2022 by bibleteacherorg

Great post!

Sheldon Bass's avatarSpirit Writer

heaven

The question weighs heavy on the hearts of many people: “Am I really saved? If I died today or Jesus returns today, will I go to heaven?”

Romans 10: 9-10 promises that if we confess with our mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead that we will be saved.

Someone may ask, “But preacher, what about Matthew 7: 21?”  There Jesus said:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”

One verse says I just believe and confess, and the other states that I must also do the will of the Father. Is this a contradiction? What is the will of the Father?

During Jesus’ earthly ministry the people asked him an important question which weighed upon their hearts, and…

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Alcohol For Christians

Posted on July 19, 2022 by bibleteacherorg

Excellent and balanced Bible study here

Sheldon Bass's avatarSpirit Writer

alcohol

According to Google, among the most frequently asked bible questions have to do with what it says about drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, and getting tattoos. Today I’d like to focus on the first one: Alcohol.

Let’s say I drank a couple fingers of 18 year old Macallan scotch. Have I sinned? Answers from pastors around the world are as plentiful and varied as the shoes in Nick Cannon’s closet. But we can’t settle for fallible people’s opinions. As believers we want to know what God has to say, and so we look to the bible under the Spirit’s guidance for answers. After all, God is the one we want to please.

If you wonder how God feels about you drinking, I strongly suggest you take a moment right now. Pause from reading this post, and pray—ask God for discernment and clarity on this issue once and for all. And then…

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Water Baptism An Act Of Obedience

Posted on July 17, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Andrii Ishchenko: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-woman-being-baptized-in-a-lake-6672761/

Acts 2:38-41 36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. 37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? 38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. 40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. 41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

Baptism In Water Settles The Issue Of Who Jesus Is

In this part of Acts we are seeing Peter preach the Gospel on the Day of Pentecost. This is around fifty days after Jesus was crucified on the Cross, and around 10 days after Jesus rose from the Grave and ascended into Heaven. Jesus told His disciples to “wait for the Promise of the Father” (Acts 1:4), that is, to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. For 10 days, 120 disciples prayed in the upper room – probably the same room where Jesus gave His Lord’s Table.

The Holy Spirit came on the Church in a mighty way, anointing the disciples with fire. Peter, on fire for the Lord, went out and began preaching the glorious Gospel of salvation. Fifty days before the crowd in Jerusalem cried out for the crucifixion of Jesus. Pilate, the Governor of Jerusalem asked the people:

Matthew 27:17 Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?

The Bible says that the “the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus”. So when Pilate asked that question, the crowd, incited by the religious leaders, said “Release Barabbas, but let Jesus be crucified”. Though Pilate asked more than once, the crowd was adamant. Jesus must die!

So Jesus died. The soldiers “stripped Him, and put on Him a scarlet robe. And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon His head, and a reed in His right hand: and they bowed the knee before Him, and mocked Him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. And after that they had mocked Him, they took the robe off from Him, and put His own raiment on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him” (Matthew 27:28-31). They did not lead Jesus away to sit upon a throne, but to hang upon a tree. The soldiers led Jesus to a mock palace on a hill called Calvary. The Bible says:

Matthew 27:34-37 They gave Him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when He had tasted thereof, He would not drink. 35 And they crucified Him, and parted His garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted My garments among them, and upon My vesture did they cast lots. 36 And sitting down they watched Him there; 37 And set up over His head His accusation written, This Is Jesus The King Of The Jews.

Jesus’ Lordship was a mockery, something the unbelieving world made light of. The unbelievers mocked Jesus as He suffered shame and agony on Calvary. “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself” (Luke 23:37). “If You are God’s Son, come down from that Cross. Save Yourself (Matthew 27:40). Jesus is just another Man to these people. He might have been a Rabbi, a great Teacher. But King? Pshaw! No such thing is true. Jesus is just a misguided Jew, a Heretic, a False Teacher.

But then, crucified on Calvary, Jesus died between two thieves. Laid to rest in a borrowed tomb, a guard was set on that Tomb. And three days later, that Tomb was empty. Jesus Christ rose from the grave.

As Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost, he preached that Jesus Christ is the Risen Savior. He said:

Acts 2:22-24 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a Man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by Him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: 23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: 24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that He should be holden of it.

Jesus Christ did die on that Cross, mocked and shamed. But Jesus did not stay dead. He was raised from the grave by God, and was seen of many. Death could not hold Him. Though it was God’s Will that Christ die on that Cross for our sins, it was wicked hands that crucified Him. Those who should have known better killed Jesus out of jealousy. Men killed Jesus on a Cross, but God raised Jesus up to sit on the throne of Heaven. The Man that the Israelis killed was not just a Jewish Teacher, but He was, is, and will always be more than this.

Jesus Is Lord Of My Life

The Jews had been hoodwinked into believing Jesus was no more than a heretic, a false prophet. But Jesus is no false prophet/ Jesus Christ is THE Son of God. Jesus Christ is THE LORD of His people, as well as the SAVIOR of His people. Peter declared plainly:

Acts 2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

They mocked Jesus when He declared Lordship while on this earth. But Peter presents to us all that Jesus is “both Lord and Christ”. The word “Christ” is a reference to Jesus’ saving work. Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus is the ONLY Messiah. God caused Jesus to rise from the Grave on the third day, and Jesus went out and taught His followers for 40 days before ascending to Heaven. Peter preached in

Acts 4:10-12 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. 11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which {Jesus} is become the head of the corner. 12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Jesus Christ Is The Cornerstone On Which
The Kingdom Of God Is Built

Salvation is freely available to all, but only through faith in Jesus Christ. It is Jesus Who died for our sins. It is Jesus Who, after three days, rose from the Grave. There is “none other Name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved”. Only by faith in Jesus as “both Lord and Christ” can anyone be saved.

Realizing that they had been duped by the priests and scribes, the Bible says that those whom Peter preached to asked:

Acts 2:37 … they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?

We have killed God’s Son. We have crucified the One and Only Messiah! We are guilty of the most atrocious murder in all of human history. “What shall we do”? How can we fix this? Peter is very clear:

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Peter outlined the plan of salvation very clearly here. How are we saved? What do we DO to contribute to our salvation?

We REPENT and OBEY JESUS

Dr. J.I. Packer said of what Peter preached:

“It is easy to miss the full force of this. Peter was prescribing not a formal gesture of regret for the crucifixion (of Jesus), but total renunciation of independence as a way of living and total submission to the rule of the Risen Lord”.

Tonight we will baptize some young people “in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”. Why are we doing this? Why are the young people coming forward to be baptized? It is because Jesus said to do so, and they are obeying Jesus. God commands baptism in water for those who have received Christ as Savior. Baptism is an act of obedience.

When John the Baptist was baptizing converts in the Jordan, Jesus came to John and said “baptize Me”. John told Jesus, “I have need to be baptized of You, Jesus, not to baptize You”. Jesus told John,

“Baptize Me – for we must fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15)

Baptism is an act of obedience to the Lord Jesus. Jesus commanded that His followers be “baptized in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). Following baptism, Jesus said “teach them to observe ALL THINGS WHATSOEVER I HAVE COMMANDED YOU” (Matthew 28:20). We are baptized because Jesus is our Lord. We OBSERVE all that Jesus commands us to do. The first thing we are to do is be baptized in water. But baptism is not the entirety of what we are to do. We are to obey Jesus.

Jesus made baptism an issue for every Christian. The Bible says:

Philippians 3:20-21 (ESV) our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

We are citizens of Heaven, and Jesus is our Lord. Jesus said:

Matthew 23:8 (ESV) … you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers

What Jesus says is true, and the Scripture is authoritative.

Ephesians 4:25 … having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.

We are all parts of the Body of Christ, the Church. We love and honor one another as we love and obey our Jesus.

Galatians 3:28 (ESV) There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

These young women are making an open profession of their faith in Jesus tonight. By following Jesus in baptism they are declaring that Jesus Christ is their Shepherd and King.

Blessed be the Name of the Lord!

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This Do In Remembrance Of Jesus

Posted on July 17, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Pavel Danilyuk: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-pastor-removing-the-cover-of-a-communion-tray-8815229/

Luke 22:15-22 And {Jesus} said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer: 16 For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. 17 And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: 18 For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. 19 And He took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is My body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. 20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you. 21 But, behold, the hand of him that betrayeth Me is with me on the table. 22 And truly the Son of man goeth, as it was determined: but woe unto that man by whom He is betrayed!

I always enjoy celebration of “the Lord’s Table” (1 Corinthians 10:21), also known as “The Lord’s Supper” (1 Corinthians 11:20) or “Communion” (1 Corinthians 10:16). Some people call this celebration “The Last Supper” or “The Eucharist”, and that’s fine, but I prefer “Communion” or “The Lord’s Supper”.

Jesus could have established His “Supper” at any time, but specifically chose the Jewish time of the “Feast of the Passover”. Why? Because

Our God is a Covenant Keeping God

God has made Himself known to us through His Covenants or contracts that He made with man. The very first Contract God made with mankind is commonly called “The Covenant of Eden” or “The Edenic Covenant”. In that Covenant God told Adam:

Genesis 2:8-9 And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Adam and Eve had limitless sources for food. In the middle of that Garden, God put two trees – the Tree of Life, and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. God told Adam:

Genesis 2:16-17 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

This is a very simple CONTRACT or COVENANT. God said “Eat anything BUT the Tree of Knowledge, and you can eat of all the other trees INCLUDING the Tree of Life. You will have life – a blessed life with God – as long as you DO NOT eat of that one tree.

Adam broke the contract, and was evicted from Eden. “By one Man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and death by sin” (Romans 5:12). Sin came into the world and became mankind’s master. Because sin was our Master, death reigned (Romans 5:14). “By one man’s offense death reigned” (Romans 5:17). “By one man’s disobedience many were made sinners” (Romans 5:19). “Sin hath reigned unto death” (Romans 5:21). Sin became the Master of mankind, the king of a dark kingdom.

Adam thought that by disconnecting from God, he could be God. Adam was wrong. Disconnected from God,

Sin becomes our master, and Satan our Messiah!

But God would not leave us here. God loved us, and reached out to connect to us through Abram, a.k.a. Abraham. Here God established the Abrahamic Covenant, saying…

Genesis 12:1-3 (ESV) Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, … in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

God promised to make of Abraham a mighty nation – this would be ISRAEL. This is called the Abrahamic Covenant. God promised that THROUGH ISRAEL, HE WOULD BLESS THE WORLD. It was God’s intention to bring The Messiah, Jesus Christ, to humanity through Israel. Our God is a Covenant Keeping God.

God allowed Israel to grow IN Egypt, and to be eventually be enslaved BY Egypt. Only when Israel cried out to God, seeking to reconnect to Him, did God deliver His people.

God told Israel to take a Lamb without spot or blemish, and “kill the Passover Lamb” (Exodus 12:21). The Blood of that Lamb was to be placed on the doorway of the home of God’s people. God said:

Exodus 12:23 … the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.

Our God is a covenant keeping God. He passed through Egypt that night, and where ever He did not see the Blood of the Lamb, the Lord took life. Where the Lord saw the Blood of the Lamb He PASSED OVER judgment. This is GRACE. The Lamb was slain to save those who believed in God’s Covenant.

God established the Feast of the Passover as a memorial for Israel within it’s law. A Commentary notes:

Exodus 13:9. “This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that the law of the LORD is to be on your lips. For the LORD brought you out of Egypt with His mighty hand.” The purpose of the Passover as a memorial is for the people, “This day is a memorial for you.”

You will notice that there is a relationship in the Bible between remembering how God has delivered His people and the obedience of God’s people. If the people forget that they belong to the Lord and how Jehovah has delivered them, then they will show no regard for God’s law. If God’s law is going to be on their lips, then they must remember that they belong to the Lord because He has saved them from the tyranny of slavery. They are holy because they belong to the Lord.”

The Passover Meal Is A Memorial

Exodus 12:14 (ESV) This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast.

And again Exodus 13:9 (ESV) … it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth. For with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt.

Israel was enslaved to the world. But with the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb, Israel was freed from slavery. They were no longer bound to Egypt – that is, as long as they killed the Passover Lamb. The Lamb died so that Israel might live.

Our God is a Covenant Keeping God.

God made a Covenant with Adam. Adam broke it.
God made a Covenant with Abraham. Abraham kept it.
God made a Covenant with Moses and Israel.
God gave Israel the Passover Lamb.
Jesus will keep this Covenant.

Luke 22:7-13 Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the Passover must be killed. 8 And {Jesus} sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the Passover, that we may eat. 9 And they said unto Him, Where wilt Thou that we prepare? 10 And {Jesus} said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in. 11 And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the Passover with My disciples? 12 And he shall shew you a large upper room furnished: there make ready. 13 And they went, and found as He had said unto them: and they made ready the Passover.

Before there is there is the Lord’s Supper, there must first be God’s Passover. Our God is a Covenant Keeping God. Jesus told Peter and John to go to Jerusalem and find a man “bearing a pitcher of water”. Back in these days there was no running water in a home, and it was a woman’s duty to gather water for the family. You would often see women going down to the river or to a well to draw water. But Jesus said, “you’ll see a man with a pitcher of water – follow him”. They followed this man back to a place where they could do as God demanded, and celebrate the Passover.

Luke 22:14-16 And when the hour was come, {Jesus} sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. 15 And He said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer: 16 For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.

The Passover was fulfilled year after year by believing Jews, a reminder that they were supposed to be God’s people. The Passover Lamb was killed and eaten, a reminder that it was by Grace that God saved Israel from slavery to Egypt. Jesus said,

Luke 22:15 With desire I have desired to eat this Passover
with you before I suffer

With Jesus, The Old Covenant Ceases
And The New Covenant Begins

Jesus honored the Covenant that God made with Moses. But Jesus is now going to establish another Covenant with Israel, and with us. God is going to change things. Under the Old Covenant, man had to sacrifice a Lamb for forgiveness of sin. Man had to keep a feast for the forgiveness of sin. Jesus Himself Who came to “fulfill all righteousness” must honor the Passover Feast. But Jesus is going to establish a NEW COVENANT. This Covenant is not based on the Blood of an animal, but on Jesus Himself.

God foretold the New Covenant that we today have through Jesus. God said:

Jeremiah 31:31-34 (ESV) Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

As Jesus sat with His disciples, He ended the Old Covenant and started the New Covenant. The Old Covenant relied upon animal sacrifices, feasts, and rituals. The New Covenant relies entirely on Jesus. We read:

Luke 22:19 And {Jesus} took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is My body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.

What is it that makes us right before God? It is the Blood, not of an animal, but of the Christ.

God told Israel, “Kill the Passover Lamb in remembrance of My love for you”. God now tells the Church,
“Jesus Christ is the Passover Lamb. His Blood brings the New Covenant, where God’s Law is written in our hearts.
See Jesus and remember how God loves you.”

This is My body which is given for you

Remember that no one made Jesus go to the Cross for our sins. Jesus willingly went. Jesus chose the nails.

1 John 3:16 (NLT) We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.

Remember that no one took Jesus life. Jesus willingly died for us.

John 10:17-18 (ESV) … I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.

The Father did not make the Son die for us. He laid His life down. Jesus Christ is “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29, ESV). His Body was broken for us. Jesus said,

John 6:51 (ESV) I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this Bread, he will live forever. And the Bread that I will give for the life of the world is My flesh

Adam ate, and took away our Paradise, took away the Tree of Life. Jesus Christ came down from Heaven to give up everything so that we can have access to the Tree of Life in glory, and access to God Himself RIGHT NOW.

Luke 22:20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament (COVENANT) in my blood, which is shed for you.

Remember that Jesus Christ gave His Body and His Blood to deliver us from sin and darkness. The Bible says:

Titus 2:14 (ESV) {Jesus} gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

Remember that Jesus did not save us by His horrific suffering that we might continue on in the darkness of this world. He saved us to deliver us from Egypt. He saved us to build the Kingdom of God on this earth. The Apostle said:

Galatians 1:4 (ESV) {Jesus Christ} gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

The Lord’s Table reminds us that we have been freed from the dominion of darkness.
A sinning Christian is an anomaly.

Yes, we do slip, we do fail. But we do not revel in sin. Sin is no longer our Master, but God is our Master. The Apostle said:

1 Peter 2:24 {Jesus} himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

The Apostle wrote in another place:

Romans 6:16-18 (ESV) Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.

We who have received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are called to “walk in the light”.

1 John 1:5-7 (ESV) … God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

The Lord’s Table is a reminder to us that we are members of His Kingdom. We obediently follow Jesus. We live through Jesus, and love Jesus. Our Lord said “This is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:28). His Blood was not shed so that we might wallow in sin, but that we might be freed from sin.

We belong to Jesus.

I do not like to call this Communion, this Lord’s Table “The Last Supper”, for it was not.

After Jesus died on Calvary, He rose from the grave three days later. The Bible testifies that Jesus ate with His disciples following His resurrection. Jesus

  • Ate with disciples at Emmaus the Sunday evening He rose from the grave (Luke 24:30-32).
  • Jesus also ate with His disciples in a locked room that Sunday He arose from death (Luke 24:36-43)

The Apostle Peter – preaching at the Roman Centurion Cornelius’ home, said:

Acts 10:40-41 {Jesus} God raised up the third day, and shewed Him openly; 41 Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before God, even to us, who did eat and drink with Him after He rose from the dead.

Remember that the Lord’s Table is a memorial to us all. Death is dead to us who have received Jesus. We live now, and will live into eternity with Jesus. We sometimes fail, but sin is never our Master. Jesus is our Master. We live because He lives. Do you know Him? If Jesus your Lord and Savior? If not, receive Him now. Give your life to Him Who gave His life to you. May God touch your hearts with His Word! Amen and Amen.

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Working For God

Posted on July 16, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Madison Inouye: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-brickwall-1101125/

Please turn with me in your Bibles to Nehemiah chapter 2. 1&2 Samuel, 1&2 Kings, 1&2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah. Nehemiah is the Cup Bearer or the Butler of the King Artaxerxes (a Persian King and conqueror of Judah). God has moved on the heart of Ezra and Zerubbabel to lead Jewish exiles back to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple. Some 12 years later some of these exiles return to King Artaxerxes palace and tell Nehemiah that the walls of Jerusalem are destroyed, and the gates burned with fire.

When the walls of the nation are fallen and the gates burned, the criminal element rule the nation. The walls must be rebuilt if righteousness will return!

Nehemiah seeks first God’s permission to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls. Receiving permission from God, Nehemiah asks King Artaxerxes for help – who willingly gives it! Nehemiah travels to Jerusalem, surveys the damage done, then gathers the refugees in exile to present the facts to them. We read:

Nehemiah 2:17-18 Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach. 18 Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king’s words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.

What Are YOU Doing To Build God’s Kingdom?

Jesus told us “a house divided will not stand” (Mark 3:25). This is so very true. If the work of God will be done, then

God’s people must stand together for the glory of God, and work together for the Kingdom of God.

It has been my experience that people fall into various categories when it comes to doing the work of God:

  • There are COASTERS. These are people who coast around doing nothing, but they look like they are working.
  • There are COMPLAINERS and CRITICS who add nothing positive to the work, but drag the spirit of the workers down. Like the “murmurers” of wandering Israel, these people are like a cancer on the Body of Christ.
  • There are COMMISSIONERS who love to find work for people to do, but are unwilling to do the work themselves.
  • There are COUCH POTATOES who know what to do and know what they are called to do, but will not do it.
  • There are COMPROMISERS that believe that the light can make peace with the darkness.
  • Then there are COOPERATIVE CITIZENS of God’s Kingdom who, attentive to the call of God, move in unison with the Body to do the Lord’s work.

Nehemiah was very clear with the exiles. He said “Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire”. Nehemiah did not sugar coat the problem. The capital city of Judah is as helpless as a 3 year old girl in a snake pit. While the walls are down and the gates are destroyed, the Temple cannot be completed and God cannot be honored. Jerusalem cannot be fixed with good intentions. Though we are called to pray (for the Scripture commands us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17-19)), there must also be willing hands to work.

Nehemiah spoke constructively to the people. We read, “I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king’s words that he had spoken unto me”. God had already worked to bring Nehemiah from the Palace of Shushan to Jerusalem. Nehemiah stepped out on faith. The Scripture tells us:

James 1:5-8 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

Nehemiah stepped out on faith and did his part. He stepped outside his comfort zone – and God blessed him for it. Encouraging the people, the exiles united, saying:

Nehemiah 2:18 Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work

Sometimes the King James (which I love) adds words that are unnecessary. If you have a King James you’ll see the words “this” and “work” are italicized. What the text literally says is:

they strengthened their hands for good

How did they “strengthened their hands for good”? They started with “Let us rise up and build”. First of all, it is “Let us”. Who is “US”? “US” is first of all me and God.

1 Corinthians 10:31 (ESV) … whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

If we are walking with God, doing the will of God, then nothing can stop us. “If God be for US, who can be against US?” (Romans 8:31). Let God be in the “US”. Doing as Nehemiah did,

  • The people sought God’s will in prayer. If the work is OUR work then it will fail. But if God is in the work it cannot possibly fail.

Psalm 127:1 Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

The work might be possible without God – but it will be much harder, and might be IMPOSSIBLE.

God must bless the work.
God must want the work.
God must be in the work.

God sent Judah into exile because Judah kept cutting Him out of their lives. God prophesied and promised His people, saying:

Ezekiel 36:33-36 Thus saith the Lord God; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded. 34 And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. 35 And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited. 36 Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the Lord build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it.

  • The people drew strength from God’s Word, and turned away from the wayward word of man. God promises us that …

Proverbs 30:5 Every word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him.

The people held onto the promises of God and focused on the Lord Who led them. The Scripture says:

Hebrews 12:1-3 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

The “Way” of God is not an easy way. It is a narrow way that few in this world want to walk. The world walks in darkness – but God’s people are to walk in LIGHT. Jesus said:

Matthew 7:13-14 Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

The people put away the “sin that so easily binds”. They put away unbelief, and doubt, and fear. They focused on the Lord Who saved them, and committed themselves to working together for His will.

  • The people committed to the “US” of fellowship. God’s work has always required more than one person. The Scripture says:

1 Corinthians 1:10 (ESV) I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.

God will not operate in the midst of a people who have no respect for one another. Jesus told us to “love one another, as I have loved you” (John 13:34). To serve God, all things must be “done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40), for “God is not a God of confusion, but of peace” (ESV, 1 Corinthians 14:33)”. The Scripture says:

2 Corinthians 13:11 (ESV) Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.

The Devil Will Always Stand Against God’s Work

Nehemiah 2:19 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”

In the earlier part of this chapter we saw that:

Nehemiah 2:10 When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.

“Sanballat” was a Moabite, and “Tobiah” was an Ammonite. These are cousins to the people of Judah, from the lineage of Lot (not Abraham). Neither Sanballat nor Tobiah wanted Judah released from exile in Persia. But now we see another person, “Geshem the Arab”, has joined the battle against God’s people. The Arabs are the children of Ishmael, the son of Hagar and Abraham. Ishmael was not the promised child that God would give to Abraham – Isaac was. Nonetheless God blessed the Arabs, just as He blessed the Jews. Yet the Arabs retained a hatred for their cousins the Jews.

Word Study: These three unbelievers come together to stand against the work of God. They “jeered at us and despised us”. In the Hebrew we see that they “jeered”, the Hebrewלָעַג lâʻag, (pronounced law-ag’) or “mocked them, held them in derision”. They also “despised”, the Hebrew בָּזָה bâzâh, (pronounced baw-zaw), said they were worthless. Jesus warned us against attacking others, saying:

Matthew 5:22 (ESV) … I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

People are not to be mocked, but loved and encouraged. We are commanded,

Matthew 7:12 (ESV) … whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Jesus was quoting Leviticus 19:18 (you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord) as well as Zechariah 8:16-17 (do not devise evil in your hearts against one another).

When the devil wants to destroy a work of God, he always tries to make us feel worthless, and unloved of God.

What did the devil say to Adam and Eve?

Genesis 3:4-5 … Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

You are worthless. You are no good. God is depriving you. God does not love you. These are tactics the devil uses to stop the work of God. Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem also throw in this:

Nehemiah 2:19 … “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”

To rebel against the King is to court death. The intent of these three men is to plant fear in the hearts of the people so that they would do nothing. Jesus told us:

Matthew 5:10-11 (ESV)… Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

The darkness will always accuse the light of evil. Pastor David Mathis wrote:

Unbelievers “are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery” — so what do they do? “They malign you” (1 Peter 4:4). After all, should we not expect the world, under the power of the devil (1 John 5:19; Ephesians 2:2), to lie about us? The Greek for devil (diabolos) actually means slanderer (1 Timothy 3:11; Titus 2:3). As Jesus said to his revilers in John 8:44, “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. . . . When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

The world will do its best to hinder the work of God. “Homophobe”, “Hater”, “Holy Roller”. Please notice that Nehemiah did not attack these men back. We read:

Nehemiah 2:20 Then answered I them {Sanballat, Tobiah & Geshem}, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.

This is exactly what the Bible tells us to do. We are not to wrestle with pigs. If you wrestle with a pig, you’ll just get muddy … and lose in the end. Or as I heard someone say once,

“If you waste time arguing with a fool,
they’ll end up beating you with experience”

Nehemiah kept his eyes on the promise of God. We are not to be part of the problem, but part of the solution. The Scripture says:

1 Peter 2:12 (ESV) Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

Titus 3:2 (ESV) … speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.

We are to “entrust ourselves to our God, Who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:23). This is what our Lord Jesus did. “When Jesus was reviled, He did not revile in return” (1 Peter 2:23). Nehemiah, like Jesus, focused on the project. “The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build”. Nehemiah told these three enemies:

Nehemiah 2:20 … ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.

Nehemiah is not arguing with these men, but stating the facts for the people to hear. These men are unsaved. They care nothing for the work or the glory of God. Sanballat, Tobiah & Geshem have “no portion” (חֵלֶק chêleq, pronounced khay’lek, a “share”). As the neither the land nor God is theirs, they have no “right” (צְדָקָה tsᵉdâqâh, pronounced tsed-aw-kaw’), no “righteousness” or “moral standing” in the matter. They also have no “memorial” (זִכְרוֹן zikrôwn, pronounced zik-rone’). They are living their lives without God, and when they are gone they will have accomplished nothing for the Lord.

What about you? When you leave this life, will you leave a legacy, other than a tombstone? Oh, I pray you will! If Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior, when you leave this life you will leave a legacy in the lives that God has changed through your life. But if not, then you will have no memorial. Let us give our lives to Jesus as both Lord and Savior, and let us work – together – to grow His Kingdom on this earth. May God the Holy Spirit drive this Word deep into your hearts. Amen and Amen!

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