Exodus Texts: Face To Face Prayer With God (Sermons For Mid-Week Prayer Service)

Posted on March 11, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash

Turn with me in your Bibles to Exodus Chapter 33. This will be our starting point, though we will travel through this Book tonight.

Last week we looked at the Father of Faith, Abraham, and his prayer life with the Lord. We saw how Abraham drew near to God, and interceded with God for Lot and his family. This week I want to look at Moses’ prayer life. The Bible says:

Moses Spoke To God Face To Face

Exodus 33:11 And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.

What does this mean, that “the Lord spake unto Moses face to face”? Does it mean that Moses saw God’s face? No, because just a few verses later God tells Moses:

Exodus 33:20 And {God} said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.

The Bible tells us that “God is Spirit” (John 4:24). As “Spirit”, God has no face as we do. I can look on your face and live, but God’s face is part of His immensity. God is everywhere, infinite. He told the Prophet Jeremiah (23:23-24), “Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.” (ESV). King Solomon, purportedly the wisest man who ever lived, said “Will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built!” (1 Kings 8:27, ESV). God is everywhere. God is fully present everywhere. God is fully powerful everywhere. God is not like us. No, HE IS GOD!

The text tells us that “the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend”. This means that

Moses and God were intimate friends,
just as Abraham and God were friends.

Isaiah 41:8 But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend. (see also 2 Chronicles 20:7 & James 2:23).

Was Moses A Friend Of God Because He Was Perfect?

Was Moses a perfect man? Let’s see. Moses was raised in the Pharaoh’s palace, by the Pharaoh’s daughter. When Moses was forty years old (see the words of Stephen in Acts 7:22-23) he discovered that he was not Egyptian, but Jewish, a Hebrew of Israel. We read in:

Exodus 2:11-12 And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren. 12 And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.

Moses murdered a man. Our text tells us that before he murdered that Egyptian, “he looked this way and that way”. Moses’ act was not in the heat of the moment, but an act that could be called “in cold blood”. Moses planned what he did. His action was calculated, first degree murder. The Lord has decreed:

Genesis 9:5-6 (ESV) for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. 6 “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image”.

Human life is sacred. As Moses was a resident of the Palace, he could have ordered the taskmaster to stop beating the Hebrews. But he did not. Moses took a life, breaking one of the earliest commandments of God. Moses ran away when the murder was discovered, and spent 40 more years in the land of Midian before meeting God at the burning bush (Exodus 3:4).

At 80 years old God calls Moses to go and represent Him in Pharaoh’s Palace (Exodus 3:4).

Moses was not a tower of faith when he was called. Moses made excuse after excuse as to why he could not go to Egypt and speak on God’s behalf.

“Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh”? (Exodus 3:11)
“Israel will not believe me, nor hear me”. (Exodus 4:1)
“I am, not eloquent, but am slow of speech” (Exodus 4:10)

Moses refused to go so many times that “the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses” (Exodus 3:14). God had to tell Moses that He would let Aaron speak, for “he can speak well” (Exodus 4:14). God spoke to Moses, and Moses spoke to Aaron, and Aaron would speak to Pharaoh and the people of Israel. No, Moses was not a tower of faith.

He was broken, just as we all are.

Moses Was God’s Friend Because He
Fully Relied On The Lord

When trials came to Israel and to Moses, Moses did not murmur – He cried out unto the Lord. When the waters of Marah were undrinkable,

Exodus 15:25 {Moses} cried unto the Lord; and the Lord shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet…

When Israel came to Rephidim and found no water there, Moses did not organize a well digging crew. What did he do?

Exodus 17:4 and Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? They be almost ready to stone me.

When Israel got to the base of Mount Sinai, God established His covenant with Israel through Moses. God told Israel:

Exodus 19:5-6 … Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: 6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. ..

Whatever God told Moses to tell the people, Moses told it. He did not embellish nor add to the Word of God. Moses exhibited absolute truth in God’s Word. We read:

Exodus 19:7 … Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him.

Moses was a faithful friend to God, so God treated Moses as a friend.

Exodus 19:8-9 And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord. 9 And the Lord said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the Lord.

Moses was the perfect go-between, a perfect mediator. He faithfully delivered the Word of God to the people, and faithfully relayed the people’s needs to God. Moses loved God, and Moses loved the people.

What God looks for in a friend is a person who understands and applies the Law of Love.

God is love (1 John 4:8, 16) and God is light (1 John 1:5). God tells us in His Word:

Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

God is a Friend to those who love Him. God said, “I will show mercy to thousands of them that love Me, and keep My commandments” (Exodus 20:6). When we obey God as God, we show our love to Him. “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). “If you keep My commandments, you shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love”. (John 15:10). We must love God if we want our prayers to be heard, if we want to have intimacy with God.

We love VERTICALLY.

We must also love OUTWARDLY. Jesus told us to “love our neighbor as ourselves”. We are to treat others in our periphery – whoever we come into close contact with in our daily lives – with the love we want to receive on ourselves.

Illustrate: Just the other day I was at Walmart (no surprise there), and went to get a shopping cart. Every cart I pulled on was stuck together. A nice lady came up who tried to help. She lifted up on the back of the cart as I pulled – then I noticed the babies seatbelt strap had become wedged in the grill of the carts. I reached in, dislodged it, and gave the nice lady that cart with a smile! “I’ll give you the first one – have a blessed day!” She smiled, thanked me, and walked away.

Did I mention this sweet lady was a person of color
with a “Black Lives Matter” mask on her face?

We must also love INWARDLY. We love OUTWARDLY people who might not be like us, but we love INWARDLY in the Household of Faith.

Jesus said in John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

John 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

Moses exhibited all the marks of the Friend of God. He loved God. He loved others, And He loved Israel. Moses was forty years in the Palace of Egypt, forty years in Midian, and at the base of Mount Sinai Moses went up to talk with God for forty days and nights.

Exodus 24:12 … the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to Me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.

Word Study: While on Sinai God gave Moses “tables of stone”, or the Ten Commandments (called the Decalogue) AND “a law” (tôwrâh) or a set of teachings, AND “commandments” (mitsvâh), specific Laws related to the nation Israel. God told Moses to not just “Come up to Me into the mount”, but also “and be there”. The phrase “and be there” is the Hebrewהָיָה שָׁם, hāyâ šām which means “to be in the moment, to be focused on, to wait solely on”. To be a friend of God is to come into intimate contact with God, and to focus on Him and Him alone. During that forty days and forty nights Moses was solely focused on God.

Moses pursued God, just as our Lord Jesus pursued God, fasting 40 days and 40 nights (Matthew 4:2).

Israel promised God “All that the Lord hath spoken we will do”. But as time passed, Israel became restless. Finally a delegation got together, went to Aaron, and said:

Exodus 32:1 … Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.

Word Study: The King James does not fully help us understand the depth of Israel’s depravity. They said “make us gods”. The word translated “gods” is the Hebrew ĕlōhîm (אֱלֹהִים). The word “ĕlōhîm” is the very first name of God revealed in the Scriptures. Genesis 1:1 tells us that “In the beginning GOD {ĕlōhîm} created…” This name of God refers to the Godhead, or the Triune God. Aaron agreed with the delegation, demanding their jewelry. Melting that jewelry down, Aaron made a molten calf (Exodus 32:4), and the leaders of Israel said,

Exodus 32:4 … These be thy gods {ĕlōhîm}, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

The leadership of Israel blasphemed Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The leaders – Aaron included – violated the Great Commandment (love ĕlōhîm with all your heart), and Christ’s Commandment to “love others as God has loved you”. They have broken all of the Law.

God Tests Moses’ Love: See How Moses Prays

Exodus 32:9-10 And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: 10 Now therefore let Me alone, that My wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.

Word Study: God calls Israel a “stiffnecked” people. This is the Hebrewקָשֶׁה qâsheh, {pronounced kaw-sheh’}, which means “hard hearted, cruel, grievous, difficult, severe, mean spirited”. When we reject God’s love and become selfish and self centered, we become mean spirited. Some might disagree with me, but these people – I believe – hurt God’s feelings. There was a song many years ago written by Gary S. Paxton called “I Wonder If God Cries”:

“I wonder if God cries, when we do the things we do?
Do love drops fill His eyes, cause He loves us oh so true?
Sometimes I feel such hurt, When I try to realize;
That even though He’s God, I wonder if God cries?

Israel has rejected the love of God, and rejected loving Moses as well. They were entirely self focused – and Moses be cursed! Would Moses allow the evil of Israel to flood his soul, so that he would call for the destruction of these cruel, hard hearted people?

No, Moses wouldn’t. This is why Moses was a friend of God. Given a choice for God to avenge himself – and Moses – Moses shows us Godly Prayer. He says:

Exodus 32:11 And Moses besought the Lord his God, and said, Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?

Word Study: Let’s look at the first phrase, “Moses besought the Lord his God”. The word “besought” is the Hebrewחָלָה châlâh, {pronounced khaw-law’}, which means “to make oneself weak or feeble before”. Moses humbled himself before God, before “Yᵊhōvâ ĕlōhîm”. The Scripture says,

James 4:10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.

Moses did not speak to God on the worthiness of Israel, for Israel was patently unworthy. What Moses did was remind God that it was HE that called Israel – broken as they were – out of Egypt. Pastor David Mathis of Desiring God Ministries said:

“When God announces to Moses the peoples’ sin, and the intention to destroy them and start over with him, Moses’s reflex is to lean into God’s own reputation. This is a good reflex. “Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’?” (Exodus 21:12). … Moses prays for God to turn from righteous anger and relent “from this disaster against your people,” for God’s own name’s sake.”

Moses loves God with all his heart. If God destroys the people that He just – some fifty days before – freed from Egypt, the lost world will mock God. His glory will be sullied, and Moses does not want this to happen. Mathis goes on to say:

“God loves for His people to pray in light of what He’s said to us, to make our pleas in response to His promises”.

Moses prays the promises of God. He said:

Exodus 32:13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.

God heard this prayer. We are told in verse 14, “the LORD repented of the evil {raʻ, the hurt or affliction} which He thought to do to His people”. But Moses does not stop here. After descending the mountain, he eradicates all the rebellious Israelites from the camp. Moses then returns UP the Mountain to see Elohim once more. Moses prays:

Exodus 32:31-32 Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods {ĕlōhîm} of gold. 32 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin–; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.

Moses prays much like the Apostle Paul prayed for Israel.

Romans 9:3 … I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:

Moses told the Lord, “Forgive Israel, Lord, or blot my name out of Your Book of Life”. God reminded Moses that each person bears responsibility for their own walk before Him. God goes on to tell Moses (who tells Israel):

Exodus 33:1-3 … Depart, and go up hence, thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it: 2 And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite: 3 Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way.

God promises to bring Israel into the land of Canaan – but tells them “I will not go up in the midst of thee”. God will send an Angel before them, but He no longer will lead them in pillar of fire and pillar of cloud. Israel has offended God. God will not be their King now, nor their Shepherd.

What a horrible thing this is!

Moses is not satisfied with this. God had previously told Moses He would destroy Israel, and make another Nation, another Israel out of Moses. Now Moses wisely prays:

Exodus 33:12-13 … Moses said unto the Lord, See, Thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and Thou hast not let me know whom Thou wilt send with me. Yet Thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in My sight. 13 Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in Thy sight, shew me now Thy way, that I may know Thee, that I may find grace in Thy sight: and consider that this nation is Thy people.

Moses reminds God of what the Lord said about himself. God told Moses, “I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in My sight”. Moses is saying, “God, You said You were my Friend. I believe you. As my Friend, I want You to go with me into the Promised Land. As my Friend, I want you to go with Israel into that Promised Land”. God replied simply:

Exodus 33:14 … My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.

Moses told the Lord:

Exodus 33:15-17 … If Thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. 16 For wherein shall it be known here that I and Thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that Thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and Thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth. 17 And the Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in My sight, and I know thee by name.

Lord, if You’re not with us, we don’t want the Promised Land. Can you pray the same thing? Lord, if You’re not with us:

we do not want to be healed of our sickness
we do not want our friends and family healed
we do not want a blessing, or a better job
we do not want more money or stuff

Moses’ prayer reminds us that the greatest answer to prayer is to have the Presence of God with us in a very real way. May we all learn to pray as Moses prayed. For the glory of God, and the love of Christ we ask this in His Name. Amen and Amen.

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Near To God, Built On The Rock

Posted on March 7, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Henry Be on Unsplash

This morning we studied the first part of Ephesians Chapter 2. Tonight we’ll be looking at the last half of this same chapter. Let’s start at …

Ephesians 2:11-13 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; 12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: 13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

Gentiles Remember!

Word Study: We start out with the word “wherefore”. Anytime I see a “wherefore” I always ask myself, “What is it there for?” The “wherefore” points back to what we saw this morning:

We were hopelessly and helplessly lost, unable to come to God. Then God reached out to us, opened our eyes, and called us to salvation through Jesus. Receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are “God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works”. We are to be the Light of Christ to a lost world.

Word Study: We just looked at “wherefore”. The “wherefore” looks back at the text that we previously studied. The second word “remember” is the Greek μνημονεύω mnēmoneúō, {pronounced mnay-mon-yoo’-o}, which means “to think back, be mindful of”. Jesus used this word to remind His disciples of spiritual truths. He said:

Matthew 16:9 … Do ye not yet understand, neither remember (mnēmoneúō) the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?

Luke 17:32 Remember Lot’s wife …

John 15:20 Remember the word that I said unto you …

Paul is telling the Gentiles, “think back how Israel treated you”. Now, I love Israel. It is through Israel that the Messiah came. The early Church of Acts chapter 2 was nothing but Israelites. Those 120 praying in the upper room on the Day of Pentecost were all Israelites. The original twelve Apostles were all Israelites. Do you follow that?

Just before Jesus ascended into Heaven, He told His Apostles:

Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Matthew 28:19 … Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy {Spirit} …

Jesus was speaking His commission to JEWS.

Jesus wanted the Jewish Church to witness His Gospel in Jerusalem (Jews), to then spread to Judaea (Jews), to go outward to Samaria (near Gentiles), and also to “all nations” (far Gentiles). What did the early Church do? It reached out to Jews. Did it go toward the Gentiles? No, other than a few isolated incidences (like Philip & the Ethiopian Ruler), Israel kept the Gospel for the Jews.

Ephesians 2:11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;

The Gentiles were known as “Uncircumcision”, a term of derision. The Church that Jesus built was suppose to be reaching out to “all nations”, but the Gentiles were being excluded.

God the Son is not pleased when His Church
does not reach out to all.

It was always God’s intent to save whosoever will by the Gospel, regardless of skin tone or ethnic background. When the Prophet Simeon saw the baby Jesus in the Temple, he prayed over the Child these words:

Luke 2:29-32 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: 30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, 31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; 32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

Though Jesus Christ is “the glory of {God’s} people Israel”, He is also “a light to lighten the Gentiles”. The Prophet Isaiah said of the Messiah:

Isaiah 42:1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.

Our Lord Jesus quoted this text in Matthew 12:17-21. The Gentiles were the “uncircumcised”.

Ephesians 2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:

Word Study: Paul reminds us how far away from God we Gentiles were. We were “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel”. We were “aliens” {ἀπαλλοτριόω apallotrióō, [pronounced ap-al-lot-ree-o’-o]}, “shut out from fellowship and intimacy” that Israel as a people had with God. We were “strangers”, {ξένος xénos, [pronounced xen’-os]}, “foreigners” to the covenant promises God made to Israel. Though it was God’s intent that Gentiles be reached with the Gospel of the Messiah, Israel kept her own country and to herself. We were “without hope” and “without God”.

Illustration: Every Jew in those days was familiar with the Temple of God. In the Temple there is a sanctuary, beyond the first veil. “And after the second veil, the tabernacle, the Holy of Holies, a place that only the High Priest went once a year to offer a Blood sacrifice for himself and Israel” (see Hebrews 9:1-8). The Holy of Holies was where God’s Shekinah Glory was, His manifest Presence on the earth. Oh, only the High Priest could go there! And then there is the Court of the Priests, just outside of the Holy of Holies. Here the Levites, the courses of priests came, to make sacrifices for the people. Beyond the Court of Priests was the Court of Men, where male worshipers could go. Then there was the Court of Women. Each Court in the Temple moved farther away from the Holy of Holies.

The Outermost Court was the Court of the Gentiles. The Lexham Bible Dictionary notes:

“{The}‘Court of the Gentiles’ is a later name not found in {the writings of the historian} Josephus, the New Testament, or Middoth {early treatise on the Temple}(Votaw, “Temple,” 176), the book of Revelation refers to “the outer courtyard … given to the Gentiles” (Revelation 11:2 NET). This court was where buying and selling of sacrificial animals took place … On its east side, the Court of the Gentiles had a 49-foot-wide covered walk called the Porch of Solomon or Solomon’s Portico (John 10:23; Acts 3:11; 5:12)…”

Anyone could enter the Court of the Gentiles or the Outer Court. It was the farthest from where the Holy of Holies or “God” was reckoned. But though far separated, the “Solomon’s Portico” or Solomon’s Porch was where out Lord Jesus routine taught classes while on this earth.

“The Court of the Gentiles was where Jesus did His public teaching (Matthew 21:23; 26:55; Luke 19:47; John 7:14) and might also have been where Simeon encountered Jesus as an infant and took Him in his arms (Luke 2:27; Bock, Luke, 92–93).”

As Gentiles, we were far from God. But God did not want us far from Him. Jesus taught on Solomon’s Porch in the Court of the Gentiles, reaching out to us who were considered so far away from God.

When The Early Church Would Not Reach Out
To The Gentiles, Jesus Forged A Way

Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

Word Study: Sometimes the King James Translation obscures our understanding of the text. Look at the word translated “sometimes”. When I hear “sometimes” I think of something that only happened periodically. That’s not what the text is saying. The Greek is ποτέ poté, {pronounced pot-eh’}, which means “in time past”. Now, that makes sense. “In time past we Gentiles were {μακράν makrán, [pronounced mak-ran’]} a long way from God”. But now, we are not. Why?

Because of the Blood of Christ.

When the Blood of Sheep and Bullocks and Goats was being shed in the Temple, the Gentile could not even get to the priests. The Gentile could not enter the Court of Women, nor the Court of Men. The Gentile could not enter the Court of Priests. No Blood could be shed to make payment for our sins. Jesus changed all that. Jesus taught in the Court of the Gentiles. And Jesus went to the Cross, shedding His Blood not just for the Jew, but for the Gentile who was without hope and without God in this world.

Jesus Christ became our High Priest and our Sacrifice for sin. The Scripture says:

Hebrews 9:11-14 … Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, … 12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. 13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Though the early Church was slow to reach out to the Gentile, Jesus intervened, and forced it to do so. Jesus started by converting a Rabbi named Saul on the Damascus Road. This Saul would become the Apostle Paul, the man God used to write the text we are studying today. Jesus said of Paul:

Acts 9:15 … {Paul} is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel …

When the Church will not do what Jesus commands, Jesus will make the Church do His command. He is Lord! He is Lord, I say! His Church will do His will, our Jesus, “the Only Potentate, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords” (1 Timothy 6:15). Right after calling Saul to be Paul, Jesus addressed the Head of the Apostles, Simon Peter. In Acts 10 we are introduced to a Gentile named Cornelius:

Acts 10:1-6 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, 2 A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always. 3 He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. 4 And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. 5 And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: 6 He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.

Cornelius knew there was God, and loved God, but knew nothing of Jesus. As He is praying an angel of God comes to Cornelius and tells him to send for Simon Peter. Once Peter came, “he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do”. Cornelius does this. He sends two of his soldiers to find out Peter, and to bring him back.

Now here’s a question: WHY didn’t the Angel of God just tell Cornelius to believe on Jesus? WHY have Cornelius send a delegation to Peter? Or, WHY not just tell Cornelius, “You go find Peter and he’ll tell you what you need to do”? WHY? WHY? WHY?

I’ll tell you why.

It is Jesus’ command that His Church
tell others about His Gospel.

This Jewish Church needs to be reaching out to Gentiles, just as Jesus commanded at the beginning. Jesus did not command the seeker to come to us, but for US to go to the SEEKER. Cornelius sends two soldiers to tell Peter to come see Cornelius. Love demands this!

But Jesus is not done. He wants to prepare Peter’s heart.

Acts 10:9-16 On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: 10 And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, 11 And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending upon him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: 12 Wherein were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. 13 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. 14 But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. 15 And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. 16 This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven.

Peter has a vision on his rooftop “about the sixth hour”. He sees a sheet lowered from Heaven, with all manner of creatures in it, both “clean” and “unclean” creatures according to the Law of Moses. The Lord tells Peter, “Rise and eat!”, but Peter, a good Jewish man, will not eat anything unclean. “Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean”. Jesus said,

“15 What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.”

Three times the Lord does this. This all occurs at “the sixth hour”. What is significant with “the sixth hour”, which would be roughly around noon? When Jesus went through Samaria and met a Samaritan woman at a well:

John 4:6 … Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.

Jesus witnessed that He was the Messiah, the One Who gives Living Water to this Gentile woman. But what else happened at the “sixth hour”? As our Lord Jesus hung on the Cross of Calvary, suffering, dying for our sins, the Bible tells us:

Matthew 27:45 (also Mark 15:33 & Luke 23:44) Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.

I’m sure Peter would never forget this. He who would never betray Jesus, ran away while our Lord went to that terrible Cross. And as Jesus hung on the Cross – at the noon hour till around 3 pm – what should have been the brightest time of the day, “there was darkness over all the land”. From the midst of this darkness our Jesus cried out:

Matthew 27:46 … Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Preach!: Jesus did not just die for the Jew. Jesus died for the Gentile. Jesus died for the homosexual. Jesus died for the transsexual. Jesus died for the sexual sinner. Jesus died for the pedophile. What does the Scripture say?

1 Timothy 1:15 … This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners …

Jesus died not to make our sins acceptable unto God. Jesus died to save us from our sins (Matthew 1:21). Evangelist Billy Graham said:

“Sex is front-page copy everywhere. [But] nothing can alter the fact that God calls perversion sin. … Be assured that there is no sin you have ever committed that the blood of Jesus Christ cannot cleanse.”

But the sinner must be told of Jesus. We must share His Cross, His Death, His resurrection, His commandments.

Peter went downstairs and, finding two soldiers, accompanied them to where Cornelius was. Peter told Cornelius:

Acts 10:28 … Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.

Following this, Peter shares the Gospel with Cornelius. The Bible says,

Acts 10:43-45 … through {Jesus’} name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. 44 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. 45 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Any Divisions That Exist Are Man Made

Ephesians 2:14-15 For {Jesus} is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

Going to the Cross, Jesus took away any divisions between those who believe. God’s Family is no longer just the nation Israel. God’s Family is a spiritual family that no longer makes animal sacrifices, nor observes feasts. We are not under the hygienic codes of the Law, nor the symbolic codes of “clean and unclean” meats. Our sins are covered, and we have peace with God because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Romans 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

Romans 5:6-10 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

Ephesians 2:16-20 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: 17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. 18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. 19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

There are no divisions in the family of God. If you have received Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior, your sins are covered, and you are a child of God with all others who have received Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior. Salvation comes to all by FAITH ALONE IN CHRIST ALONE.

We who were once represented by an outer court are “no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God”. What is our “foundation”?

Is it “wokeness”?
Is it “politics”?
Is it “political correctness”?
Is it a “denomination”?

No. “We are built upon the FOUNDATION {θεμέλιος themélios, [pronounced them-el’-ee-os]}, that is, “the first principles” or “the system of truth”, and yes, you can say “foundation” of “The APOSTLES and PROPHETS”. We have one thing that the “APOSTLES and PROPHETS” wrote, and it is this Bible. That is the Foundation of the Church.

What God demands we repent of IN THIS BOOK, we repent.
What God demands we affirm IN THIS BOOK, we affirm.
The truths of this Book are our FOUNDATION. With “Jesus Christ being the Chief Cornerstone”. God’s Word is true. It is always true! If we or any local Church drift away from the foundation, we are no longer a Church. The Church is built on the FOUNDATION of the Apostles and Prophets, with Jesus Christ as our Chief Cornerstone. Let us live for Him!

May God the Holy Spirit draw us closer to His design for the Church. Amen and Amen!

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For By Grace

Posted on March 6, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Austin Schmid on Unsplash

Ephesians 2:8-10 For 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. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Today we’re going to look at one of the most profound Scriptures in the Bible. I love John 3:16. They are the words of our Lord, who said:

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His Only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

These are beautiful, cherished words. But I also love this text. In three short verses the Apostle defines the Christian way of life. You learn first of all,

Salvation Is BY Grace THROUGH Faith

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved …

It is GRACE that saves the believing sinner. GRACE is the opposite of WORKS. GRACE is a free gift. God tells us in …

Romans 11:6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.

The Pharisees sought salvation by WORKS. They thought that – by the animal sacrifices, the feasts, and the rituals like circumcision, they could be good enough for God. But we can never be good enough for God in our own power. We need GRACE.

Word Study The word translated “GRACE” is the Greek χάρις cháris, {pronounced khar’-ece}, which means “unmerited favor, good will, loving kindness, unearned love”. One of my commentaries said, “of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues.”

Grace is found – like a glorious red thread – from Genesis to Revelation. In the Garden of Eden God warned Adam that “the day you eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you will SURELY die” (Genesis 2:17). Though God plainly told Adam, Adam nonetheless ate the forbidden.

The LAW demanded Adam and Eve’s death.
The LAW was clear, and Adam failed.
The LAW told Adam:

Genesis 3:17-19 … cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18 thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

The Law of God must fulfill what it said. “By one man sin entered the earth, and DEATH by sin, for all have sinned” (Romans 5:12). Spiritual death came on Adam, and physical death became a part of life. “In Adam, all die” (1 Corinthians 15:22). It was the LAW that pronounced rightful death on Adam and his children.

The LAW demanded death – but GRACE demands life!

Adam and Eve should have died for their sins – or at the least, cast out of Eden naked and afraid. Grace allowed an innocent to die for them – and for us.

For Adam and Eve, an innocent animal was sacrificed to cover their sins. We read:

Genesis 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

But it was BY GRACE that God allowed Adam another day of life. It was by GRACE that God clothed Adam and Eve by killing the innocent creature. Pastor John MacDuff said:

“No sinner would have sought God – but “by grace”. The thickets of Eden would have proved Adam’s grave, had not Grace called him out.”

Illustrate Grace The writer of this Epistle to the Ephesians, Paul the Apostle, well knew the Grace of God. As a Pharisee under the LAW, Saul sought out Christians to destroy them. But then Saul met Jesus Christ and GRACE on the Damascus Road, his life changed. Paul would later testify:

1 Corinthians 15:10 … by the GRACE of God I am what I am …

Illustrate Grace: It is GRACE that saves. One of the clearest pictures of this in the Scripture is on the Hill of Calvary, on the very day our Lord Jesus died. Two thieves hung next to Jesus as He hung on the Cross. One thief mocked Jesus. “If You are really the Son of God, get us down and yourself as well”! This thief did not believe in Jesus, nor in Grace. But the thief on Christ’s right hand BELIEVED in Jesus, and cried out:

Luke 23:42 Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

The thief BELIEVED in Jesus. Hanging, hurting, bleeding, dying, gasping for air, this thief focused on the Son of God next to Him.

Illustrate: And it is FAITH that caused Jesus to focus on this man. Jesus told him, “Truly I say unto you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). Think about this unnamed thief:

The thief never partook of the Lord’s Table.
The thief was never baptized in water.
The thief never joined a Church.
The thief never went to a prayer meeting.
The thief never heard a sermon.
The thief never tithed or gave any money to charity.
The thief never even sat on a Church Committee.
The thief never knelt at an altar, nor folded hands in prayer.
The thief never lived a moral life.
His life was defined by the word “thief”.
The “thief” robbed God of glory, and man of goods.

The thief comes to steal, to kill, to destroy. But Jesus came that He might give all – even this thief – abundant and everlasting life. (John 10:10)

I believe the repentant thief would have served Jesus had he been able. After all, he called Jesus “Lord”. But he couldn’t do good, nor bad. Nailed to the Cross, he could not even physically follow Jesus. The thief did the one thing that he could do in his current state.

He believed on the Lord Jesus – and Jesus received him into glory!

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves

Salvation is BY Grace, THROUGH Faith. Salvation is a gift of God. Sin is a function of the flesh that brings death. The Scripture says:

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

The “gift of God” comes BY Grace THROUGH Faith – and that NOT OF YOURSELVES.

We Have No Ability To Save Ourselves

Just as the thief had no ability to save himself, we have no ability to save ourselves. Without Christ and God’s intervention, we are all born into this life spiritually DEAD. Read with me:

Ephesians 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

Word Study: Let’s clean this verse up a bit. The words “hath he quickened” are not in the original text, but were added by the King James translators. The translators italicized these words showing they added them, believing their addition would add clarity to the translation. The words are not needed. Take the added words out, and read the text:

Ephesians 2:1 And you who were dead in trespasses and sins;

The Apostle is telling the Ephesian believers – and us – that Christians “were dead” – that’s past tense – “in trespasses AND sins”. “Trespasses” are violations of God’s Law and God’s directives. “Sins” refers to the lost person’s state of being.

Every person born physically alive into this world is also born spiritually estranged from God.

The theologians call this “Total Depravity”. What does this mean? It means that, because of Adam’s fall, his progeny – that’s us – are born physically in this world corrupted by sin. Sin effects everything we do, and penetrates to the very core of our being.

Jesus put it this way. He said, “Every good tree bears good fruit, but bad trees bear bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit” (Matthew 7:17-18). We are born into this life broken, far from God. Since God is the Source of Spiritual Life, and we are born broken and without life, we are naturally inclined to follow – not God – but the ways of this lost world and its master, the Devil.

Ephesians 2:2-3 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the {ways} of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air {this is the Devil}, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation {anastréphō, way of life} in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

When we were lost, without God, we lived our lives following our “lusts”, and our “desires of the flesh”. Like animals, we followed our appetites, doing what gratified ourselves. We sought only glory for ourselves. We were – as the Apostle puts it – “by nature the children of wrath”.

We, like the world, were far from God. But this is not the end of the story. The Apostle goes on to say:

Ephesians 2:4 … But God …

Word Study: I love the phrase “But God”. This phrase is used to introduce the Grace of God throughout Scripture.

Psalm 49:15 BUT GOD will redeem my soul from the power of the grave …

Psalm 73:26 … BUT GOD is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever

Romans 5:8 BUT GOD commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us

Separated from God (Isaiah 59:2) because of sin, “alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart” (Ephesians 4:18)

God reached out to us. We heard the Gospel of Christ. We heard that Jesus Christ died for our sins, died so that we might have eternal life. We who are saved believe on Jesus and Jesus alone. When we believed on Jesus:

Ephesians 2:4-5 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

Word Study: Oh, the richness of God’s love! Oh the power and all encompassing mercy of God! When we call upon the Name of Jesus, believing He and He alone is our Lord and Savior, God “quicken(s) us together with Christ”. That word “quicken(s)” is the Greek συζωοποιέω syzōopoiéō, {sood-zo-op-oy-eh’-o}, which means “to make us ALIVE WITH CHRIST”. This same word is found in:

Colossians 2:13-14 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him {syzōopoiéō}, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

When you received the Grace of God THROUGH faith in Jesus and Jesus alone, God the Holy Spirit binds your life together with Christ. Jesus is the Son of God. Bound to Him, you are a son of God. Jesus is without sin. Bound to Him, God views you without sin. Jesus is the Heir apparent of Heaven. Bound to Him, you are “joint heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17). As Jesus died and rose again, defeating death forever, bound to Jesus you will one day die, but you will rise again! Death has no hold on the believer, and sin is no longer our master.

But – HEAR ME. Salvation is only possible THROUGH JESUS CHRIST. Jesus said, “I AM the DOOR of the sheep” (John 10:7). Jesus is the only One that you can have faith in to be born again (quickened together with Him). Jesus warned:

Matthew 7:13-14 Enter ye in at the {narrow} gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 because {narrow} is the gate, and {tight} is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Ephesians 2:5 {we are} quickened together with Christ (by Grace ye are saved)

BY Grace – THROUGH Faith in Jesus. This is what brings about salvation. And salvation always brings about a NEW LIFE.

Quickened People Have A Different Master

When we were dead in trespasses and sins we followed after the prince of the power of the air. We were just like the rest of the world. But now that we have BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH believed on Jesus, and are bound to Jesus, we serve a different Master.

Illustrate: The lost are like lumps of clay, spinning on a pottery wheel. Two hands press in on that lump, molding and making it into what it desires. One hand, worldliness, presses into the clay of that life. The other hand, Satan’s, presses and shapes. The lost person may not be as evil as he could possibly be, but the lost are the product of their potter.

Illustrate: We who are saved are lumps of clay spinning on a pottery wheel, but it is the hands of Jesus that mold us. One hand, Grace, presses and shapes us, while the other nail scarred hand Mercy effects our lives. We are the Property of Heaven. When we get to eternity we are told:

Ephesians 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

We have “ages to come” because we are bound to Jesus. One day we will walk in the direct Presence of God, and will forever be trophies of God’s Grace. God will be glorified. Not us, not Satan, not this world. But God!

Ephesians 2:10 … For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus …

“We are His”. We are His Lump, His Sheep, His Possession.

We do not belong to Satan.
We do not belong to Sin.
We do not belong to SELF.
We belong to the SAVIOR.

“Sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under Grace.” (Romans 6:14). Because of Christ our spiritual position has changed. The Apostle said:

Ephesians 2:11-12 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; 12 that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:

When we were without Christ, we were cut off from the blessings that God offered Israel. We were without promise from God. We were in a helpless and a hopeless place, “without God in the world”. But now?

Ephesians 2:13 but now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

We as Christians are brought near to God, so that we can walk with God daily.

  • We are brought near to God literally, for God the Holy Spirit indwells our bodies.

Romans 8:9-11 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

  • We are brought near to God as His sons and daughters. We are no longer sons of Adam, but are children of God.

1 John 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

Romans 8:16-17 The Spirit {Himself} beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

Romans 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

Galatians 4:6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

  • We are brought near to God in our behavior. We are to love as Jesus commanded, as Jesus loves. The Apostle said:

1 John 4:11-13 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.

1 John 4:20-21 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? 21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

We are not saved by faith – but once saved, we live
our lives for the One Who saved us.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

We are created in Christ to do the good that Christ would do. We are created in Christ to be like Jesus.

Word Study: We who are saved by faith in Jesus are “before ordained” to do good works. That phrase is but one word in the Greek, “προετοιμάζω proetoimázō, {pronounced pro-et-oy-mad’-zo}”, which means “to be predestined in purpose”. What does that mean? The word is also found in:

Romans 9:23 … that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared (proetoimázō) unto glory,

Preach: If you are saved, God has a plan for your life. He plans for you to do good works, to be the Light of God in this present darkness. You are to shine for Jesus. You are to love your enemies, and do good to them. You are to live so as to bring glory to the Lord Who saved you!

Those who say “I am saved” but never do good works for God’s glory are not truly saved! The Bible says:

James 2:17, 20 faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. … 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

Jesus died for us, to bring us to God, so that we might be “the light of the world” (1 Peter 3:18; Matthew 5:14). Christian, you are a “new creature” (2 Corinthians 5:17) in Christ. Live your lives for Jesus! If, dear friends, your life shows no good works, no works to glorify Christ, then you may not be saved. If not, come to Jesus this very day. Lay your life down at His feet. Surrender, as a lost sheep to the Great Shepherd. Surrender, as a piece of clay to the Heavenly Potter. Jesus loves you, and bids you come to Him. Will you come? May God the Holy Spirit open your eyes to come to Jesus. Amen and Amen.

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The Firsts Of Prayer: A Message For Mid-Week Prayer Service

Posted on March 4, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Samuel Martins on Unsplash

Turn with me in your Bibles to the Book of Genesis.

I am told that there are 650 prayers listed in the Bible, and around 450 recorded answers to prayer. The Bible records our Lord Jesus praying 25 different times, though we know He prayed much more than this. The Apostle Paul mentions prayer 41 times. The Gospel Coalition notes:

The Bible lists at least nine main types of prayer:

  • Prayer of Faith (James 5:15)
  • Prayer of Agreement (or corporate prayer) (Acts 2:42)
  • Prayer of Supplication (Philippians 4:6)
  • Prayer of Thanksgiving (Psalm 95:2-3)
  • Prayer of Worship (Acts 13:2-3)
  • Prayer of Dedication (Matthew 26:39)
  • Prayer of Intercession (1 Timothy 2:1)
  • Prayer against your Enemies (Imprecatory – Psalms 69)
  • Prayer in the Spirit (1 Corinthians 14:14-15).

If I were to ask you where the first prayer in the Bible was, you would probably guess in the Book of Genesis. If I asked you where that first prayer was at, you would probably say “the Garden of Eden”.

You would be wrong.

The first recorded words man spoke are in the Garden of Eden. When God gave Adam his Eve, Adam said:

Genesis 2:23-24 … This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. 24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

Adam cherished his wife, but please note Adam did not thank God for the marvelous gift he had been given. Adam did not praise the Lord, nor glorify our God. He acknowledged the gift. Can I tell you this, dear ones?

The devil watches us.

Prayerlessness Was The Primary Reason
For Adam’s Fall From Eden

The devil cannot read minds, but he watches our behavior pattern. Adam adored his wife, and spoke of her in covenant language. But Adam never praised the Lord for what he had. Adam never thanked God for the splendors of Eden, nor for the gift of his wife. As Adam never “called upon the name of the Lord” upon receiving Eve, it should come as no surprise that the Serpent (Satan – see Revelation 12:9) saw this as an opportunity. When Satan attacked, he addressed his temptation to Adam’s wife, subtly accusing God of withholding good from our first parents.

The prayerlessness of Adam intrigued the devil, who asked Eve “Has God really said you shall not eat of every tree of this Garden?”

A prayerless life leads to trouble. Oswald Chambers wrote:

“Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work”.

Industrialist Henry Ford said,

“Those who walk with God, always reach their destination”.

And Evangelist Leonard Ravenhill said:

“Smart men walked on the moon, daring men walked on the ocean floor, but wise men walk with God”.

A prayerless Adam led to the fall of all mankind. “by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men” (Romans 5:12). A prayerless parent teaches their children to be prayerless. It was a lack of prayer that led Cain to kill his brother Abel. I believe Abel prayed, for after his murder – a murder Cain denied – God told Cain:

Genesis 4:10 … What have you done, Cain? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground! (my paraphrase)

Tragedy Caused Men To Call
Upon The Name Of The Lord

It often takes tragedy to wake us humans up to the need of prayer. After the tragedy of Cain murdering his brother Abel, the Bible tells us:

Genesis 4:25-26 Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. 26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.

It is after the birth of Enos that we are told “then began men to call upon the name of the Lord”. This is prayer, to “call upon the name of the Lord”. When you call upon God’s name, you recognize God as God, and ask Him as God to move a mountain in your life. God is able to do anything that God wants to do. Thus we call upon “His Name”, His authority, His ability. Jesus told us:

Mark 11:22-23 Have faith in God. 23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

“Calling upon the Name of the Lord” is surrendering whatever mountain is confronting you to God, to ask God to address the burden, the pain. The Scripture says “Cast your care upon {the Lord}, for He careth for you” (1 Peter 5:7). Dr Joe Pettigrew notes:

“ Now, Jesus didn’t relocate any physical mountains during His ministry that we know of, so what was He talking about here? The problems we face in life! And notice something important: {Jesus} talks only once about our need for ‘faith’—and three times about our need to ‘speak’ His Word. Why? Because if you don’t have enough faith to move your mouth and speak God’s Word, you won’t have enough faith to move your mountain!

The Bible says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” (Romans 10:17) Something wonderful happens when you verbalize God’s Word. Your ears hear it, your mind is renewed, your focus is changed, and the thing God responds to—faith—rises up within you. And when you hold that position of faith, refuse to budge, and keep speaking God’s Word, the mountain in your life starts to shift.”

The tragedy of Abel’s murder leads to the blessing of another child named Seth. Seth has Enos, and at this point, people begin to “call upon the name of the Lord”.

Prayer Is Walking Daily With God

Now we come to Genesis 5, we read a list of names that we are tempted to skip over. If you do, you miss another lesson in prayer. We read in:

Genesis 5:22-24 Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: 23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: 24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

The phrase “walked with God” is a reference to prayer, daily prayer. Enoch sought out the companionship of God every day, and for the 365 years Enoch was on the earth, he never faltered in walking with God. The Prophet Amos said:

Amos 3:3 Can two walk together, except they be agreed?

Illustrate: To “walk with God” is to be in communion with God, to agree with God. I was watching an old show on television called “Picket Fences”. During that show someone asked a young girl, “Do you believe in God?” Her reply was typical for an unbeliever. She said, “I believe in God, but I don’t understand Him. How can He allow …” then she began to list a series of self perceived injustices that she thought God should stop.

If people stopped blaming God for humanity’s failures, and started walking with God by prayer, much of the evil we see would cease!

The reality is that there IS a God in Heaven, but He created us with freedom of will. We can, like Enoch, “walk with God” all the days of our lives, and we will be blessed. Or we can walk our own path, as Adam, Eve, and Cain did. God is not responsible for our messes. If we would walk with God daily, I guarantee we would have less mess in this world of ours.

The reason this world is messed up in that we want God to be God when it comes to eliminating anything we find objectionable, but we want God to be gone when His way does not match our way.
In short, WE want to be Gods.

Enoch walked with God daily until one day, Enoch just walked into Heaven with God. We are told in Hebrews 11:5, “Enoch was not found, because God translated him”. Enoch went to Heaven without dying. Enoch “walked with God” by frequently seeking God’s presence in prayer.

When God looked down at the mess this world was in, and decided to destroy it:

Genesis 6:7 … the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

Who was it that God would choose to save the world? The Scripture says:

Genesis 6:8-9 Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. 9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

God was not an afterthought to Noah, but a daily necessity. Noah realized what we should all realize – we are broken creatures that need the Presence of God day by day.

We have no recorded prayers of Enoch or Noah, but these men walked with God. The Prophet said:

Micah 6:8 {God} hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

Pastor J.C. Ryle said,

“We want more men and women who walk with God and before God, like Enoch and Abraham.”

When we walk with God, doing what He directs us do, heeding His commands, He blesses our lives. God told Israel:

Deuteronomy 8:6 … thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.

When You Walk With God In Prayer,
God Is Never Far Away

The first notable prayer whose words are recorded in the Bible is the prayer of Abraham in Genesis 18. Abraham has been walking with God, and now is waiting patiently for God.

When we walk with God, we need to be careful never to walk ahead of Him, but to stay in step with God.

Psalm 27:14 Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.

Genesis 18:1-5 And the Lord appeared unto {Abraham} in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; 2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, 3 And said, My Lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: 4 Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: 5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.

If this text doesn’t intrigue you, you’re not paying attention to it. “The Lord appeared unto {Abraham}” is in verse 1, but in verse 2 Abraham sees “three men”. Abraham runs to these “three men” and addresses them as “My Lord”. Abraham wants the Lord to “rest yourselves under the tree” and eat with him. Three is the number of God in the Scripture. Some commentaries note that “the rabbis understand all three of these visitors to be angels who simply represented the Lord”. I don’t believe this was the case.

I believe ONE of the men was an Old Testament manifestation of Jesus, whereas the other two men were angels.

In a few moments two of the “men” or ANGELS will head toward Sodom (see Genesis 19:1, “there came two angels to Sodom”). Jesus said of Abraham in John 8:58, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad”. I believe our Jesus often appeared to Abraham in preincarnate form. Notice what Abraham does as he prays to the Lord:

  • Abraham waits on God. He goes where God says go, but when he has no direction, Abraham waits upon on the Lord. “Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it” (Psalm 37:34).
  • Abraham runs toward God. He leaves the comfort of his tent, and pursues God with all his heart. “By my God I run through a troop. By my God, I leap over a wall!” (Psalm 18:29; 2 Samuel 22:30).
  • Abraham bows down before God. God is great, and Abraham is not. “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up” (James 4:10). “Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time” (1 Peter 5:6).
  • Abraham accommodates God. Neither God the Son nor the Angels with him get hungry or thirsty as we do. God said “If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is Mine, and the fullness thereof” (Psalm 50:12). Though God needs nothing, Abraham made God welcome in his life.

God promises Abraham once more that he will have an heir when the time is right. “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Genesis 18:14). Yet this is not the reason that God is with Abraham today.

When you walk with God, God will tell you things that He will not tell those who do NOT walk with God.

God is preparing to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. God tells two of the men – the Angels who are with Him –

Genesis 18:17-19 the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; 18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; 21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. 22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord.

The Lord knows what He will find in Sodom and Gomorrah, but He is specifically telling Abraham about it because his nephew Lot is in Sodom. What happens next is beautiful. We read:

Genesis 18:23-25 Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 24 Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? 25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?

“Abraham drew near” to God. Abraham calls upon the Name of the Lord. He knows that God is righteous, and that God will not punish the innocent with the guilty. Abraham starts with “fifty”. Fifty would be a significant number in the history of Israel. Fifty days after the first Passover, Israel arrived at Mount Sinai to receive the Law of God. Because of this the Day of Pentecost is also called Matin Torah or “giving of the Law.” It was on the Day of Pentecost (Shavuot) that Peter and the Early Church went out and preached the Gospel of Christ, and 3000 were added to the Church (Acts 2:41).

When God told Abraham “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes” (Genesis 18:26). Securing this promise, Abraham humbles himself, saying “I am but dust and ashes”, and then lowers the number, asking God:

“What if there are 45 righteous?”
“What if there are 40 righteous?”
“What about 30 righteous?”
“What about 20 righteous?”, and finally,
“What if there are 10 righteous?”

If I were God, I would have been irritated by Abraham’s auctioneering! Yet note the patience and kindness of God. Our God knows our hearts. “The righteous God trieth the hearts” (Psalm 7:9). Our Lord knew exactly what Abraham was after. He knew that Lot and his family were in Sodom, and Abraham loved Lot. At no time did our Lord get angry or irritated, but each time Abraham asked that Sodom be spared, and adjusted the numbers of the righteous, the Lord in kindness adjusted His will.

That amazes me.

The Prayer Warrior – and Author of a number of books on Prayer, E.M. Bounds wrote in Purpose In Prayer:

“Perseverance {in prayer} counts much with God as well as with man. If Elijah had ceased at his first petition the heavens would have scarcely yielded their rain to his feeble praying. If Jacob had quit praying at decent bedtime he would scarcely have survived the next day’s meeting with Esau. If the {Gentile woman} woman had allowed her faith to faint by silence, humiliation, repulse, or stop mid-way its struggles, her grief-stricken home would never have been brightened by the healing of her daughter.

Pray and never faint, is the motto Christ
gives us for praying.

It is the test of our faith, and the severer the trial and the longer the waiting, the more glorious the results. … Praying {people} must be strong in hope, and faith, and prayer. They must know how to wait and to press, to wait on God and be in earnest in our approaches to Him. Abraham has left us an example of {persistent prayer} in his passionate pleading with God on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah, and if, as already indicated, he had not ceased in his asking, perhaps God would not have ceased in His giving. “Abraham left off asking before God left off granting.”

We learn a final lesson from this. Never stop praying. Keep seeking God’s hand when you pray for yourself or for others. Let prayer be – not an afterthought – but the bulk of your Christian walk.

You will never grow in your faith as a Christian, nor will our Church grow, until prayer becomes a priority in your daily life. May God the Holy Spirit impress upon us all the necessity of prayer. In Christ’s Name, and for the glory of God we ask this. Amen and Amen.

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A Faith Which Works By Love

Posted on February 28, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Galatians 5:6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

The Church at Galatia was largely a Church composed of Gentiles who had received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Just like the Pharisees did with Jesus, the Pharisees came to Galatia and began to teach the people that they weren’t really saved if they didn’t keep the Law of Moses. A Gentile who was uncircumcised was certainly NOT a Christian, because true believers are supposed to be circumcised.

What is circumcision, and why did the Pharisees believe it was necessary for salvation? God established circumcision as a Law within Israel in Genesis 17. In that text God told Abram:

Genesis 17:4-8 As for Me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. 5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. 6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. 8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

God promised several things to Abram that day. God promised that Abram – renamed Abraham – would be “father of many nations”. But God also promised Abraham that he would father a specific nation that would inherit “all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession”. Abraham and his “seed”, his progeny, would be given title to Canaan in perpetuity. So in Abraham there was promised a specific nation that would be his descendants, and many nations that would be blessed by him.

Then God established the rite of circumcision. God said:

Genesis 17:10-13 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. 11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. 12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. 13 He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.

Circumcision was a covenant that God established with the House of Abraham. It only applied to Abraham’s direct descendants, and to servants indebted to the House of Abraham. It only applied to males. When God first established this requirement, every male in Abraham’s household was to be circumcised. In later years when children were born, the male child was circumcised on the eighth day.

Circumcision never had anything to do with salvation. How do we know this? Because only males of the House of Abraham were circumcised. Females were exempted. If circumcision were necessary for salvation, then women who were not circumcised were consigned to hell! We know that’s not right, as

“our God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him” (Acts 10:34-35).

God never made circumcision a requirement for salvation. What did God say was the punishment if a member of the House of Abraham refused to be circumcised?

God said, “… the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant” (Genesis 17:14).

God did not say that the one who refused circumcision would be cut off from Heaven. No. God said that the man who refused circumcision would be “cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant”. That man would be disinherited from Israel the nation. His family would shun him. He would lose his part of Canaan, the Promised Land. But circumcision – along with the other rites of the Law – had nothing to do with salvation.

The JUST Or RIGHTEOUS Live By Faith

God has never required a rite or a ritual to be a part of salvation. Salvation has always been by faith in the Lord. The Bible says in the Old Testament:

Habakkuk 2:4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.

Abraham was not saved by God because he was circumcised. The rite of circumcision set Israel apart from the rest of the nations of the earth. It was God’s intent to bring the Messiah through Abraham’s lineage, through Israel. Circumcision was a token sign that the males of the Household of Abraham were OF the Household of Abraham. Salvation from sin and death has always been through faith in the Grace of God. We are told that Abraham was saved because:

Romans 4:3 … Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

Galatians 3:6 … Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.

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

When the Scripture tells you something but once, it is absolutely true. When the Scripture repeatedly tells you something, then it is truth that God demands we understand. Rituals and rites do not save a soul. What saves a soul is faith in God.

The Bible says of Noah: (Genesis 6:8) Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

God told Moses: Exodus 33:12-17 … I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in My sight. … 17 … for thou hast found grace in My sight, and I know thee by name.

There is nothing you or I can do to earn or deserve a place in the Household of God. Salvation is entirely of faith in God. When God, in His infinite love, reaches out to we who are drowning in trespasses and sins, and offers His hand of salvation – if we, in loving response, grab His nail scarred hand, we are saved.

Circumcision was a rite, a signature on an Abrahamic Covenant, that applied only to Israel.

Why am I making a big deal out of this? You might say, “Brother David, we don’t care about this circumcision thing. It has no application to us.” Beloved, it does have application. There are other rites and rituals that have crept into the Churches today that are on par with circumcision. For instance, I came across this bit of news the other day.

Illustrate: I quote “A Phoenix {Catholic}priest has resigned from his parish after church officials said they discovered he performed thousands of baptisms incorrectly in Arizona and California. The problem? The priest changed a pronoun in the baptism ceremony that could change the lives of countless Catholics. Father Andres Arango of Phoenix’s St. Gregory Catholic Church said “We baptize you,” during the ceremonies. Bishop Thomas Olmsted of the Diocese of Phoenix, in consultation with the Vatican, determined that Arango should have said, “I baptize you.” Father Arango went on to say, “It saddens me to learn that I have performed invalid baptisms throughout my ministry as a priest by regularly using an incorrect formula,” Arango said in a statement. I deeply regret my error and how this has affected numerous people in your parish and elsewhere.”

The Catholic Church considers water baptism to be a sacrament and not an ordinance. A “sacrament” is something absolutely necessary for salvation, whereas an “ordinance” is a command of our Lord that should be obeyed. Since Catholics believe baptism is a sacrament, babies are baptized, just as among the Jews babies were circumcised. Since this Priest said “We baptize” instead of “I baptize”, then to the Catholic every person previously baptized – according to the Priest “thousands of baptisms” – those people are in danger of hell. If they die before they get a do over, they are lost forever.

Nonsense!

The Bible is clear that salvation is attained …

Titus 3:5-7 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior; 7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Should Christians be baptized? Absolutely! Jesus commanded baptism. Jesus said,

Matthew 28:19 … Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy {Spirit} …

God said, (Exodus 20:6 I show) mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Jesus said, (John 14:15) “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 15:10) “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.”

It is love for our God that causes us to keep His commandments, and His commandments are NOT grievous (1 John 5:3). Salvation is a matter of relational love. God loves us, and we love Him. God calls us, and we in faith come to Him, and do as He bids. Saved, I no longer belong to myself. I belong to God, and beloved, if you are saved YOU belong to God.

1 Corinthians 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

The Apostle tells the Galatians:

Galatians 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

The Pharisees were trying to put requirements on the Galatians, requirements that were given only to the House of Israel. The rituals of circumcision and animal sacrifice, of festivals and feasts, were things that God gave to Israel to teach them (and us) about the Coming Messiah. “When that which is perfect is come {our Lord Jesus}, then that which is in part shall be done away {the animal sacrifices, the feasts, the rites, the circumcision}” (1 Corinthians 13:10).

Illustrate: There is an interesting story in the Book of Acts. Right after God knocked Saul (who would soon be the Apostle Paul) down on the Damascus Road (Acts 9), God began to reach out to the Gentiles. God said of Saul:

Acts 9:15 {Saul} is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:

God has been reaching Jews, now He reaches out to Gentiles. In Acts 10 we read:

Acts 10:1-5 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, 2 A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always. 3 He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. 4 And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. 5 And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter:

Cornelius is an Italian, a Gentile, one who was uncircumcised. He called for Simon Peter to come to him. As Cornelius is having his vision, Peter was praying, and saw:

Acts 10:11-16 … heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending upon him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: 12 Wherein were all manner of four footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. 13 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. 14 But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. 15 And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. 16 This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven.

Right after this vision, Cornelius’ men get to Simon Peter’s home, and ask him to come and share the Gospel with Cornelius. “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common”. It is God Who cleanses, God Who saves through the Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord. As Peter shared the Gospel with the House of Cornelius, “the Holy Spirit fell on them which heard the Word of God” (Acts 10:44). Peter said:

Acts 10:47-48 Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy {Spirit} as well as we? 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.

Peter commanded that these Gentile believers be baptized – but never ordered them be circumcised. Circumcision is a Jewish rite. It cannot save. Only faith in the Lord Jesus Christ saves!

The Christian Is To Live By
“Faith Which Worketh By Love”

Galatians 5:2-4 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised {that is, if you are relying on circumcision for salvation}, Christ shall profit you nothing. 3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised {you believe salvation can only come through this ritual}, that he is a debtor to do the whole law {you cannot cherry pick rituals}. 4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

The means by which God has ALWAYS saved people is by Grace. The Pharisees always think that you must strive to be saved. They make salvation into a wrestling match, into a competition. They dress a certain way. They talk a certain way. Certain rituals and rites are what they are proud of doing.

They have FALLEN from GRACE.
Grace is the only means of salvation.

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

The Christian is empowered by following the Spirit of God and the Word of God. A genuine faith in God loves God, and follows God. We read:

Galatians 5:5-6 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

A genuine faith is a faith that “worketh by love”. Genuine faith does not work FOR our salvation. It lovingly works FOR God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ because we love Him. It worketh by love.

  • Faith that saves is not inherited. We cannot get to Heaven because of our parents. GOD HAS NO GRANDCHILDREN! The Pharisees were fond of speaking of “our father Abraham” (John 8:53). They put their hopes and dreams on their heritage. “We are not born of fornication. We have one Father, even God” (John 8:41). This is what they claimed. They claimed that they were children of God, but their hope was in Israel, in being of the line of Abraham, in being great ritualists. But the Pharisees missed the most important thing. They were not IN CHRIST JESUS, and were fallen from Grace.
  • Faith that saves is not in an institution. There are some Churches who teach that, if you are not part of their entity, that you are not saved. The Catholics believe this. The Church of Christ believes this. There are other Church groups that believe this. Yet the Scripture will not support these claims. The Bible tells us that – upon your profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ – that (1 Corinthians 12:13-14) “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. 14 For the body is not one member, but many.” We do not add ourselves to the Church. God the Holy Spirit does this. Acts 2:47 tells us that “the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved”. The Baptist Faith and Message states:

VI. The Church: “A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the two ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. Each congregation operates under the Lordship of Christ through democratic processes. In such a congregation each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord. Its scriptural officers are pastors and deacons. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.”

Every believer is a member of Christ’s worldwide Church, but every believer is encouraged to become a part of a local Bible believing Church. Christians are called together into local Churches so that we can love and grow in love.

We are saved from death and hell so that we can lovingly serve Jesus and one another!

The Apostle warns us that we were saved for a RIGHT purpose. He says:

Galatians 5:12-16 I would they were even cut off which trouble you. 13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. 16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

The Christian is saved by the love of God so that we can practice loving one another. What is Christ’s standard? “By love serve one another”. Not serve yourselves. Not puff yourselves up. No, Beloved, we are to love other Christians as members of His Body. We are to love the lost as prospective members of His Kingdom.

We are to seek to daily “Walk in the Spirit”, surrendered to God in all that you say and do. We fulfill the Law of God by obeying “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself”. Treat others around you as you would be treated. There was a time when …

Titus 3:3 … we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.

That is the way of darkness, the way of the world. As Children of Grace we are commanded:

1 Corinthians 14:20 … in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men.

In these dark days of America, Christ’s Church must band together in love. We are not to justify the “works of the flesh”.

Galatians 5:19-21 … the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

This verse is so close to what I preached this morning out of 1 Corinthians 6:9. If you do not “Walk in the Spirit”, if you do not have “faith which worketh by love”, then Beloved, you may not be saved. The Church is under command to not “bite and devour one another”. The Church is under command not to live “by the works of the flesh”. We are called to manifest the fruit of the Spirit:

Galatians 5:22-23 … love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

May God the Holy Spirit and this His Word go deeply into our hearts, and impact our lives. For Christ’s sake, and the glory of the Father. Amen and Amen!

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Spiritual Sense Christianity In A World That Has Lost Its Mind

Posted on February 27, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

The Apostle Paul often wrote of the Grace of God. Salvation is by Grace. Paul wrote under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit:

Ephesians 2:1-9 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8 For 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.

Paul saw those who without Christ as those who “walked according to the course of this world, according to the Prince of the power of the air” (a title for Satan). Those without Christ are “dead in trespasses and sins”, and acted that way. It is God Who “quickens of makes us alive together with Christ”.

As Jesus was resurrected physically following His crucifixion, the believer is resurrected spiritually when we put our faith in Him.

The Apostle said that it is God Who “raises us up, and makes us sit in Heavenly places in Christ”. We are saved by Grace when we call upon Jesus, and receive Him as He is – both Lord and Savior. We are saved by Grace, by faith in what Jesus did on the Cross for us. But Beloved, once saved, our outward way of life changes.

The saved do not continue to walk in darkness.
The saved do not revel in trespasses & sins.
The saved do not follow the Prince of the Power of the air.
The saved recognize and respond to the Lordship of Jesus.

Preach: When a baby is born into this world, it does not stay in the birth canal and in the darkness of the womb. That which is “born” moves from one environment to another. That which is born – be it if the flesh or of the Spirit – walks in another place following birth.

The Church at Corinth had been sold the “truth” that you could be saved by Christ, and yet still be just like the world. This is an ancient lie still present today.

In our text today the Apostle addresses this in the strongest way possible today. He starts off with a rhetorical question:

1 Corinthians 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous…

The Saved Are Not To Be “Unrighteous”

God through Paul chooses His words very carefully. He is addressing “the unrighteous”. Now, who are “the unrighteous”? To be “unrighteous” is to be out of step with God. God is RIGHTEOUS.

O Lord God of Israel, You are RIGHTEOUS (Ezra 9:15)
Gracious is the LORD and RIGHTEOUS (Psalm 116:5)
The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether RIGHTEOUS (Psalm 19:9)
RIGHTEOUSNESS is on Your side, O LORD (Daniel 9:7)
To be UNRIGHTEOUS is to be where God is NOT.

The unrighteous want little or nothing to do with God – though God wants them to come to Him. God calls to the unrighteous:

Isaiah 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

The “wicked” is a person who acts out their evil or departure from God. The “unrighteous” is governed by his thoughts. An unrighteous person is clearly not with God, clearly not wanting to be where God is. If the unrighteous would come to God, God would receive them for Christ’s sake. The unrighteous despise not only God, but God’s people. The Psalmist prayed:

Psalm 71:4 Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.

When you erase the commandments and design of the LORD, you open the door to cruelty and evil.

The unrighteous person is not the same as a person saved by faith. A person saved by faith seeks to be righteous as Jesus is righteous. The Apostle wrote in:

Romans 1:19 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

The Just or Righteous live by faith in God.
The wicked or unrighteous live by faith in self.

The Just or Righteous and the wicked or unrighteous turn their thoughts to outward action differently. Those saved by faith in Christ are transformed from children of Adam into children of God. They do not become perfect on this earth, but they become imitators of God their Father. Hear this, dear Christian. Hear the Word of the LORD:

Romans 6:12-14 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

As Children of God, we obey our Father. As Children of God, we follow our Elder Brother Jesus. As Children of God, we walk WITH God.

Now let’s go a little further with the text. The text plainly states:

The Unrighteous Will NOT Go To Heaven

1 Corinthians 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?

Word Study: Let’s break this down. The word “inherit” is the Greek κληρονομέω klēronoméō, {pronounced klay-ron-om-eh’-o}, which means “to obtain by right of inheritance through an heir”. Eternal life is an inheritance that you receive from Jesus. Jesus said:

Matthew 19:29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit {klēronoméō} everlasting life.

Jesus is not talking about earning an inheritance. You do not earn an inheritance. An inheritance is what is due you, by law, because of your relationship to the owner. Jesus Christ is the Owner of Heaven. Those who have believed on Jesus, receiving Him as Lord and Savior, are called “children, and heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17).

We are told “unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God”. The unrighteous have no relationship with God, nor with Christ. They shall not inherit “the kingdom of God”. The “kingdom of God” is spoken of frequently in the Bible (see Mark 1:15; 10:15; 15:43; Luke 17:20; Acts 28:31; Romans 14:17; 1 Corinthians 15:50).

The Kingdom of God is the same as Heaven.

The Kingdom of God or Heaven is reserved for those who are inheritors of God. The Jesus Who said:

Matthew 4:17 … “repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand”

is the same Jesus Who told us:

John 3:5-7 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

The Christian is a person who holds dual citizenship. We are citizens of these United States, but we are also citizens of HEAVEN. The Scripture says:

Philippians 3:20 … our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ …

As citizens of Heaven, we who are saved seek to please our Lord in everything. We avoid any pattern of life that God is not in, that God has not endorsed. Let’s read a little further:

1 Corinthians 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived…

Word Study: The words “Be not deceived” are the Greek words μή πλανάω mē planaō, which literally means “to not be led astray, do not wander away {from the truth}”. Jesus used the same word when He told the Sadducees (Matthew 22:29), “You wander away from the truth {planaō}, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God”. The Christian knows the power of God, for the Christian has experienced the power of God at the point of salvation. The Christian who does not make time to read and study the Scripture, who is spiritually lazy, will find themselves drifting away from God.

Let’s Be Blunt: Actions Determine Your Destiny

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

As the Apostle defines who are “the unrighteous”, he defines them by their outward actions, their manifest disobedience. What actions does God consider abnormal or against His divine design?

Those who commit SEXUAL sin

  • Fornicators: πόρνος pórnos, {pronounced por’-nos}, one who prostitutes their body, one who engages in unlawful sexual intercourse
  • Adulterers: μοιχός moichós, {pronounced moy-khos’}, one who sexually violates a marriage covenant
  • Effeminate: μαλακός malakós, {pronounced mal-ak-os’}, a male prostitute, a boy kept for homosexual relations with a man (technical term “catamite”)
  • Abusers of themselves with mankind: ἀρσενοκοίτης arsenokoítēs, {pronounced ar-sen-ok-oy’-tace}, one who lies with a male as with a female, sodomite, homosexual.

Those who worship false gods

  • Idolaters: εἰδωλολάτρης eidōlolátrēs, {pronounced i-do-lol-at’-race}

Those who violate the Royal Law of Love

  • Thieves: κλέπτης kléptēs, {pronounced klep’-tace}
  • Covetous: πλεονέκτης pleonéktēs, {pronounced pleh-on-ek’-tace} those eager for gain regardless at to who it hurts, those eager to take what belongs to others
  • Drunkards: μέθυσος méthysos, {pronounced meth’-oo-sos}, those who are intoxicated or high from drugs or alcohol
  • Revilers: λοίδορος loídoros, {pronounced loy’-dor-os}, a person who expresses objections or criticisms in bitter, harsh, or abusive language
  • Extortioners: ἅρπαξ hárpax, {pronounced har’-pax}, people who are ravenous, seeking to rob others by threats, a blackmailer

In the previous chapter, the Apostle commanded:

1 Corinthians 5:11 … I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.

The Gospel was made for the lost. We are not told to stay away from the people who are lost who do these things. We are told to remove fellowship from anyone who “is called a brother”, that is, they profess to be Christians, IF they involve themselves in these types of behavior. These types of behaviors or “lifestyle choices”, if you prefer, are forbidden in God’s Word. People who routinely engage in these types of behaviors “shall inherit the kingdom of God”. These are not my words. These are the Words God gave us through His Apostles.

But There Is Good News. There Is The Gospel.

Is there any hope for those engaged in these types of activities? Can they be redeemed, and brought into the Family of God. ABSOLUTELY! We read:

1 Corinthians 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

Please pay attention to the verb tense in what the Apostle writes. “And such were some of you”. Some of those in the Church of Corinth WERE once engaged in these types of behaviors. What happened to them? They repented of their lifestyle choices, and bowed the knee to Jesus. When someone hears the Gospel of salvation, what does it do? It …

Acts 26:18 … open(s) their eyes, and to turn(s) them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Me {Jesus} …

When someone hears the Gospel and receives it, they “are washed”. When a person says “yes” to Jesus, receiving Him as Lord and Savior, He

Ephesians 5:26 … sanctif(ies) and cleanse(s them) with the washing of water by the Word

The believer in Christ is “sanctified” by the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:16), set apart for God’s Family. The Blood of Jesus paid for the sins of His people. The Blood of Jesus that we claim, that we call upon, causes God to send His Holy Spirit into our lives. We who have called upon Jesus “are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God”. We are not as we were. No, we are not perfect. But we are Children of God, set apart to follow Jesus, to be like Jesus, to love like Jesus, to honor Jesus with our lives.

God works in the life of the genuine Christian.

You do not stay the same. You can no more be a “Christian homosexual” than you can be a “Christian thief”. When the Apostle wrote out this list of unrighteous behaviors (and again, this is by inspiration of God), the idolater and the sexual sinners are in the same list with the drunkard and the verbally abusive along with the robbers. To say “I am a Christian adulterer” is as ludicrous as it is to say “I am a Christian drunkard”. It just doesn’t work! And beloved, I would be a false prophet if I were to say that you can continue in these forbidden lifestyles and expect to go to Heaven.

You just can’t. And dear, I did not make the rules.

But once more, the Gospel does not call on you to work hard to get to Heaven. The Gospel bids you to lay your life down before the Lordship of Jesus, to turn your life over to Him, and HE WILL SAVE YOU.

“And such were some of you”. There was a time in my life when I enjoyed drugs, and enjoyed getting “lit” with my companions. There was a time in my life where I enjoyed alcohol, enjoyed many of the behaviors found in this list. And then I met Jesus. I heard the Gospel of salvation. Do you know the Gospel? Here’s the Gospel that saved the Apostle Paul, myself, and every Christian who has ever been made so. You can read along with me if you want to flip over a few chapters to:

1 Corinthians 15:1-2 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

The Apostle said that the Gospel is something that must be “received, AND wherein ye stand”. When the Gospel is preached, the reception of the soul matters. Jesus spoke of this in Matthew 13:3-8 in the Parable of the Sower. When the Gospel is preached,

  • Some will not understand the Gospel, and the devil will snatch away the Word spoken (Matthew 13:19). They will not RECEIVE it.
  • Others will receive the Gospel, but will not stand in it, having no root (Matthew 13:20-21)
  • Yet others will receive the Gospel while trying to hold on to their old way of life (Matthew 13:22), and will be unfruitful.
  • But the normal Christian will receive the Word of the Gospel and stand in it. That person will be fruitful and pleasing to God (Matthew 13:23).

The Apostle said that this Gospel saves us “if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain”. The Gospel that saves goes down deep into the soul. It goes into ground prepared of God to receive it. It is received gratefully and fully by the sinner. What is this Gospel?

1 Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

The Gospel that saved Paul, and me, and you, if you will hear it, is that “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures”. Jesus Christ died for our sins to make us right with God. Jesus shed His Blood on Calvary to make atonement, to make us one with God. We cannot pay for our sins. There is nothing we can do to make ourselves right with God other than to believe on the name of Jesus. It is Jesus alone Who came, FULFILLING THE PROPHESIES OF THE MESSIAH. It is Jesus alone Who can:

Cause the blind to see.
Cause the deaf to hear.
Cause the cripple to walk.
Cause the dead to rise.
Cause the broken to be mended.
Cause the sinner to be a Son.
Cause the unrighteous to be righteous.
Cause the lost to be found.

Jesus Christ died for your sins and mine. There is no sin that you have committed or will commit that Jesus has not paid for. If Hitler, mass murder that he was, had called upon the name of the Lord, bowing the knee to Jesus, he would have been saved. Jesus Christ died on the Cross for the sin of the world.

1 Corinthians 15:4 … And that {Jesus} was buried, and that {Jesus} rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

Jesus Christ not only died for your sin and mine, but He “rose again the third day according to the scriptures”. Had Jesus died and stayed dead, we would yet be lost and far from God. It is the death AND the resurrection of Christ that constitutes the Gospel. What does the Scripture say?

Romans 10:9-11 (ESV) … if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”

It is a necessary component of salvation that you confess with your mouth “Jesus is LORD”. Jesus died for your sins, becoming the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. But Jesus rose from the grave to be your ever present Lord. Jesus is Lord. “As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God”. He is Lord! What did the Angel Gabriel say to Joseph, when that dear man found his wife Mary pregnant with what was not his child?

Matthew 1:20-21 … fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.

Who does Jesus save? “his people”. Those who have received Him as Lord and Savior. Those willing to be Christ’s possession. Those who commit their lives unto Him. I think the Free Bible Commentary says it best:

“The goal of salvation is not heaven when we die but Christlikeness now (Romans 8:28-30; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Galatians 4:19; Ephesians 1:4; 4:13; 1 Thessalonians 3:13; 4:3; 5:23; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; Titus 2:14; 1 Peter 1:15), so that those who see our witness may be drawn to Jesus and go to heaven with us! Sanctification, like justification, is a gift and a choice!”

Dr. R.C. Sproule in his sermon “A Great Salvation” (Hebrews 2:1-4) noted:

“… Some people go fishing in boats, and they don’t set the anchor down. They allow the boat to move with the current, and they just drift. Where they end up can be somewhat problematic. … Don’t allow yourselves to drift away from what you’ve heard. … If you neglect {your salvation} and treat it lightly, it probably means you’ve never been converted, that God has never quickened or awakened your soul from spiritual death. This salvation is incredible. It deserves our diligence, our energetic pursuit of it. Certainly it does not deserve neglect.”

Praise God for His wonderful gift! May I ask you, have you received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? Having received Him, do you stand in this Gospel, living your life day by day loving Jesus most? Oh, what a joy it is to be in Christ. If you do not know Him as Lord and Savior, I beg you, come to Him this very day. May God the Holy Spirit open your eyes to hear this, His Word of Truth. Amen and Amen!

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Praying The Priorities

Posted on February 25, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash

Turn with me in your Bibles to Colossians chapter 1. As it is “Prayer Meeting” night, I thought, for a devotional, we’d look at a prayer of the Apostle Paul. Let’s start at:

Colossians 1:3-5 We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, 5 For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;

The Apostle was praying for the Church (praying always for you) because he had heard of their faith in Christ, and saw that their faith was evidently genuine.

The test of true faith is that it instills LOVE in the recipient. The Holy Spirit came to represent Jesus: “He SHALL testify of Me” (John 15:26). Christ commands we LOVE: “A New Commandment I give to you – love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34). The Spirit indwells the believer (Romans 8:9). Thus LOVE manifested outward proves an inward genuine faith in Christ.

Paul tells the Church that he has heard of “the love which ye have to all the saints”. This is because they are outwardly loving to one another. This is the mark of a genuine Christian. The genuine Christian loves “all the saints”, all the believers, regardless of their flaws.

Comparing The Churches: The Church at Colossae was a loving congregation. The Church at Corinth experienced a number of divisions and fighting, but not Colossae. The Christians there genuinely loved one another, and enjoyed one another’s company. No one chase after them or begged them to “come to Church”. They enjoyed being together in the family of God, in the Kingdom of God.

God Used A Little Known Man
To Plant The Church At Colossae

Who planted the Church at Colossae? You might guess it was one of the Apostles, but you’d be wrong. An unknown Gentile named Epaphras shared the Gospel in Colossae. We do not know who led Epaphras to the Lord Jesus (it was not Paul), but Epaphras was definitely a saved man. His name is only mentioned three times in the Bible, the first in …

Colossians 1:7 As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellow-servant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ;

Word Study: Here we see Paul describes Epaphras as a “fellow-servant”, the Greek σύνδουλος sýndoulos, {pronounced soon’-doo-los}, which means “someone who serves the same Master, one who in partnership with others serves the King (Matthew 18:28-33)”. Paul said that Epaphras served Jesus just as he did – he gave Epaphras an equal standing with himself, though he is an Apostle. Epaphras was a team player. He knew that the Body of Christ is not ONE person, but many working together for the glory of Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:14 For the body is not one member, but many.

The Apostles and the Prophets provided the foundation of the Church by allowing God to send His Word through their writings (Ephesians 2:20). Yet the Church did not grow just because of these few.

The early Church grew because of people like Epaphras, people who realized each must do their part.

The second time Epaphras is mentioned is in:

Colossians 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.

We see from this text that Epaphras
was a prayer warrior.

He “labor(ed) fervently for” the Church of Colossae “in prayers”. He prayed for the needs of the Church, so that it might “stand perfect and complete in all the will of God”. A Church can be large, well situated, but not within the will of God. That a Church is “megasized” is no indication that it is pleasing to God. Is that Church shining for the Lord? Is it doing the will of God? Epaphras prayed that Colossae would learn the will of God, and live within that will.

Finally, we see in the third mention of Epaphras in …

Philemon 23 There salute thee Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus;

Epaphras was willing to suffer for Christ, just as Paul was. Both men were imprisoned together, and this may be how they met one another. Epaphras was willing to give his life for Jesus. He was willing to be uncomfortable for the glory of Christ. As the two men were in a Roman dungeon, in the midst of gloom and what many would consider a hopeless situation, both Paul and Epaphras did not waste their time.

How Did Paul and Epaphras Pray For Colossae?

Paul now tells the Church at Colossae what he and Epaphras have been praying for. We read:

Colossians 1:9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness; 12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

When we pray, our prayers are often for our needs (Prayers of Supplication) or for the needs of others (Prayers of Intercession)

Prayers of Supplication and Intercession have their place, and are a part of the prayer spectrum. When Jesus walked this earth, the proof that He was Messiah was in that He healed the sick and cast out demons. Jesus raised the dead. Jesus never turned anyone away when they sincerely needed His help. When some friends of a paralyzed man heard that Jesus was in town, they took Jesus to the home He was staying in. Unable to get to Jesus for the crowd of people already there, they took their friend up to the roof of that home. Making and opening in the roof, they lowered their friend to Jesus (Mark 2:4). The Bible says:

Mark 2:5 (ESV) … when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

God loves to heal His children. He loves it when we bring our needs, or the needs of our friends and loved ones, to Him. The Scripture declares:

James 5:14-15 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

There is nothing wrong in praying for healing. Yet, if this is all of our prayers, we are missing the mark!

Think, for a moment, on what we call “The Lord’s Prayer”. This is the model for prayer that Jesus gave us. Say it with me:

Matthew 6:9-13 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.

Where, in this model prayer, does Jesus tell us to pray for the sick? He doesn’t. We do see Prayers of Supplication in the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus tells us that we are to pray for three things needs:

  • Our daily bread: “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11)
  • Our sins to be forgiven: “And forgive us our debts” (Matthew 6:12)
  • That we not enter into temptation: “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13)

The Lord’s Prayer focuses on our spiritual growth as believers. When Paul and Epaphras pray, they are praying for the spiritual growth of the Church at Colossae. They prayed:

  1. That the Church “might be filled with the knowledge of {God’s} will” (verse 9)

Sometimes it is God’s will that we, or our loved ones, suffer. Suffering and trials are things that God uses to grow our faith. The Apostle wrote:

1 Peter 1:6-7 (ESV) In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

It is not God’s will that every trial we go through be removed. God loved His Son Jesus. God the Father often said of Jesus, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). And yet, when Jesus wept in Gethsemane, and prayed three times:

Matthew 26:39 (ESV) …. My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.

Though the Father loves the Son and has put all things into Jesus’ hand (Matthew 11:27), our Jesus still had to drink of that Cup. The Apostle Paul suffered a debilitating disease, and – just as Jesus prayed three times – Paul prayed three times that the suffering would end. What was the Lord’s answer? He told Paul:

2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV) {God} said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Did Paul go to pieces over this? No! Paul changed his attitude toward the affliction. He said, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

  1. That the Church “walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing” (verse 10)

Word Study: Though in one sense we are never worthy of God, we are nonetheless commanded that we “walk worthy”. The word translated “” is the Greek ἀξίως axíōs, {pronounced ax-ee’-oce}, which means “in a manner as becoming your status”. Lost people walk following the darkness. Saved people walk in the Light of God with Jesus Christ our Lord. God told Israel:

Isaiah 2:5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.

God tells the Church:

1 John 1:7 … if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

And one day, when we get to Heaven,

Revelation 21:24 the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it

Paul and Epaphras also prayed:

  1. That the Church be “fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God” (verse 10)

To be fruitful, each believer in the Church must be bound to Jesus by love, and bound to our fellow believers in love. Jesus said:

John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

To bear fruit, we must be bound together, loving one another, and loving Jesus. The Church that is divided will never experience the blessing of fruitfulness.

Paul and Epaphras also prayed:

  1. That the Church be “Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power” (verse 11).

Our strength cannot come from our fleshly efforts, but from the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. The Bible does not say, “I can do all things”. No, it says:

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

God must do the work through us. We cannot do it, but God can. We are but feeble creatures. The Apostle said:

2 Corinthians 4:6-7 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

Illustrate: Tell me if you’ve ever heard this story:

A little steam engine had a long line of cars to pull. Getting to a very steep hill, the engine tried and tried, but couldn’t get over the hill. She disconnected from the cars, and went down the track looking for help. She asked, “Will you help me pull my load over the hill?” One after another of the engines refused to help. One was off work, and ready to go home for the day. Another was too tired from a long run. One after the other refused to help. She came across another little steam engine just like her. She asked, “Will you help me pull my load over the hill?” The other little said, “I’ll be glad to help you, if I can”. Going back to the train of cars, they hooked together, and began to pull. What do you think they said?

“I-think-I-can! I-think-I-can! I-think-I-can! I-think-I-can! I-think-I-can!

Slowly the cars followed them over the hill. As they came down on the other side, they began to say:

“I-thought-we-could! I-thought-we-could! I-thought-we-could!”

Have you ever heard that little story? This was a children’s book published in 1930 by publishers Platt & Munk. It’s a cute story that has been used to teach children to strive hard and never quit. But it’s not Biblical. It’s not the Christian way of life. We are to walk with God, empowered by the Holy Spirit, seeking to glorify Jesus. It is God Who strengthens us for whatever life may toss at us. Charles Stanley wrote:

“”That’s a nice children’s story, but the truth of the Christian life is very different. In the real world, our efforts and determination often fall short. Only by walking in the power of the Holy Spirit can we live a godly life.”

Finally, Paul and Epaphras pray …

  1. That the Church would be “Giving thanks unto the Father”, thankful for the blessings that God has given all Christians (verse 12).

We need to be thankful for this great salvation that we have in Jesus Christ. We need to be thankful that our salvation is complete in Jesus. The Scripture says:

1 Thessalonians 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

I have heard it said – and I agree with the statement – that:

Attitude determines Altitude

If you are down in the dumps, negative, looking for every black cloud or every flaw, then your altitude will be zilch. The Christian is not to speak filthiness nor foolishness, but we are to use our lips to “give thanks” (Ephesians 5:4). The Bible says:

Give thanks for all things (Ephesians 5:20)
Give thanks to the Father (Colossians 1:12)
Give thanks while working (Colossians 3:17)
To praise God and give thanks continually (Hebrews 13:15)

Closing illustration: A Christian who worked with saddle horses for over 50 years said, “I’ve been thrown, bitten, kicked, and trampled, yet never seriously injured”. When asked why he thought this was, he said, “Before mounting, I always take a moment for a little prayer, asking for the Lord’s protection”. We all need to learn to pray – to take time to pray. Let us pray for our Church as Paul and Epaphras did, praying for the glory of God. May God bless us as we continue to walk with Him daily. Amen and amen.

Posted in Colossians, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Four Kings

Posted on February 21, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
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Tonight we’re going to start out in the Old Testament, in some books that you have seldom read, and will be talking about some people you may never have heard of. Turn with me in your Bibles to 1 Chronicles chapter 8. This is in the Old Testament, the 13th Book from Genesis:

Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1 & 2 Samuel
1 & 2 Kings
1 & 2 Chronicles

Opening: A preacher was preaching one Sunday night when he saw one of the flock was fast asleep. Pointing to a man next to the culprit, he told that man “Wake her up, Brother!” The man replied, “You put her to sleep, you wake her up!” I’ll try not to put you to sleep tonight!

As you look at 1 Chronicles 8 you’ll quickly notice why people often skip over these books. It looks like a phone book. If you would, go down to verses 33 & 34:

1 Chronicles 8:33-35 And Ner begat Kish, and Kish begat Saul, and Saul begat Jonathan, and Malchishua, and Abinadab, and Eshbaal. 34 And the son of Jonathan was Meribbaal; and Meribbaal begat Micah. 35 And the sons of Micah were, Pithon, and Melech, and Tarea, and Ahaz.

Now turn to the next chapter.

1 Chronicles 9:39-41 And Ner begat Kish; and Kish begat Saul; and Saul begat Jonathan, and Malchishua, and Abinadab, and Eshbaal. 40 And the son of Jonathan was Meribbaal: and Meribbaal begat Micah. 41 And the sons of Micah were, Pithon, and Melech, and Tahrea, and Ahaz.

If you compare what we read in 1 Chronicles 8 with 1 Chronicles 9, you will see that these two sets of Scripture are exactly the same. Now, why would God repeat something exactly the same in two chapters, unless God wanted us to emphasize something, to learn something from this as believers in Christ? The Bible says:

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV) All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the {child} of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

“All Scripture” is theópneustos, “God breathed”. Why would God waste His breath on something like this … unless it is no waste. Look at the names mentioned. You may not be acquainted with Ner or Kish, but you Bible students should recognize the names of Saul and Jonathan.

Saul Is A King That Started Great, But Ended Badly

Saul was the first human king of Israel. God was supposed to be the King of Israel, but Israel wanted to be like the other nations.

Samuel the Prophet begged Israel not to choose a King over God. Our God is the best King. “For the LORD {YAHWEH} is the Great God, the Great King above all gods!” (Psalm 95:3). Yet Israel would not listen. Samuel told the elders of Israel:

A King will take your sons (1 Samuel 8:11)
A King will take your daughters (1 Samuel 8:13)
A King will take your fields (1 Samuel 8:14)
A King will tax you, taking a tenth of everything (1 Samuel 8:15, 17)

Would Israel hear? No! The Bible says, “the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the {other} nations” (1 Samuel 8:19-20, ESV). God in His Grace (our God is so Gracious and good) told Samuel the Prophet:

“They have not rejected you, Samuel. Israel has rejected Me, and does not want me to rule over them” (1 Samuel 8:7)

God chose a perfect specimen of a man to be the first human King of Israel. God chose a man who was the son of Kish, a man of the Tribe of Benjamin, “a mighty man of power” (1 Samuel 9:1). Kish had a son named Saul. Saul was described as “a handsome young man, the most handsome man in all of Israel” (1 Samuel 9:2). The Bible says that God told Samuel,

1 Samuel 9:16-17 (my paraphrase) … “I will send you a man out of the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him {King} over My people Israel … when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said unto him, “Behold, the man I was speaking of! He shall reign over my people”…

When Saul started out as King, he walked with God. The “Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he prophesied. God was with him.”
(1 Samuel 10:6-7).

When Saul was presented to the people as King, “all the people shouted, and said, God save the King” (1 Samuel 10:24). Saul started out as a very good King. He was a humble man who loved the Lord. When Saul started his reign he ruled as the Spirit of God came on him (1 Samuel 11:6). When some of Israel decided to rebel against Saul’s rule, “the fear of the Lord fell on the people” (1 Samuel 11:7), and the people repented. Later when Israel cried out that the rebels be killed, Saul said:

1 Samuel 11:13 … there shall not a man be put to death this day: for today the LORD hath wrought salvation in Israel …

The Prophet Samuel told Saul – and Israel – a great truth we need to remember:

1 Samuel 12:20-25 … Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart; 21 And turn ye not aside: for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain. 22 For the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake: because it hath pleased the Lord to make you his people. 23 Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way: 24 Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you. 25 But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.

Saul was a believer in God. He was saved by Grace, elevated to be King by Grace. All that he had, he had by the Grace of God. But Saul took his focus off of God. He began to look at himself, and to think that he was good enough, great enough to be King. He began to think that he deserved the Grace that saved him.

Application: Beloved, none of us deserve the Grace of God! The Scripture tells us that we as Christians are royalty. The Scripture says that we owe everything to Jesus, we owe everything to God. We are to live …

Revelation 1:5-6 … Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

He has made us kings and priests. God has, through Grace, “blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). We are to live as Kings and Priests unto God, but we are never to look at ourselves and believe that we are worthy of what we have. Lucifer was God’s greatest Angel, an Arch Angel, until he looked at himself in the mirror and thought himself responsible for his greatness. Lucifer thought that he “could be like the most High” (Isaiah 14:14). But he fell, and will fall, and will one day be cast into a Lake of Fire that burns forever and ever. Saul took his eyes off of God. Samuel told Saul:

1 Samuel 13:13-14 … the Lord {would} have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. … 14 But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart…

Beloved, salvation is by Grace alone, but blessing is by OBEDIENCE. When we turn away from God, and love ourselves or other things more than Him, we can lose the blessing of the Christian life. God wants us to walk through this life as Kings and Priests, victors over the elements of this world. God loves us, and wants the best for us always.

Jonathan Is An Innocent Royal Who Suffers
Undeservedly But Lives Loving God

1 Chronicles 9:39 And Ner begat Kish; and Kish begat Saul; and Saul begat Jonathan…

When Saul lost the favor of God, the Lord chose a shepherd by the name of David to be the next King of Israel. David would be anointed King by Saul on three different occasions:

  • When he was a young shepherd boy (1 Samuel 16:13-14). On that same day the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul.
  • When Saul died, the men of Judah anointed David over the House of Judah (2 Samuel 2:1-4)
  • When David actually ascended to the throne in Hebron (2 Samuel 5:1-3). David was 30 years old at that time.

When God tells Saul that he is going to lose the throne, Saul refuses to repent and heed the Lord. We do not know how old Saul was when he began to reign, but we know that David was a young shepherd when he was first anointed. An evil spirit came on Saul, and Saul needed to be calmed. Saul was told that David was a skillful harp player, and Saul called for David to play the harp to calm himself (1 Samuel 16:18-21). Saul initially loved David, and made David his armor bearer, a trusted position. Here’s the point: For around 15 years David – though anointed King by Samuel – served Saul the King. As Saul began to realize that David was his replacement, Saul sought out David’s life. But David had a friend, a best friend.

David’s best friend was Saul’s oldest son Jonathan.

I’m sure that Saul shared with Jonathan his hatred of David. As the oldest son, when Saul stepped down as King, Jonathan would have been King. Yet Jonathan never sought out the position. There were several times when Saul sought to kill David, but Jonathan intervened and saved his best friend.

Jonathan loved the Lord! Though Jonathan led 1000 men (1 Samuel 13:2), his eyes were always on God. We are told in:

1 Samuel 14:6 … Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armor, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised {Philistines}: it may be that the Lord will work for us: for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few.

God worked a miracle, and after Jonathan killed 20 Philistines, the Lord in the confusion caused the Philistines to turn their swords against each other (1 Samuel 14:20). Jonathan trusted God. When Jonathan’s father ruled wrongly, he said “My father hath troubled the land” (1 Samuel 14:29).

Saul began to actively seek the life of David. When Jonathan protected David, Saul told him:

1 Samuel 20:30-32 … Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse {David} to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy mother’s nakedness? 31 For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die. 32 And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore shall he be slain? what hath he done?

Though Jonathan refused to help his father kill David (for David was the Lord’s anointed), Jonathan never betrayed his father. He refused to take on his father’s bad traits, but obeyed God Who commanded,

Exodus 20:12 Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

Jonathan acted like a King should act, though he never ascended to the throne. Jonathan honored God’s wishes, and refused to help his father do evil, though he loved and supported his father. The Bible tells us that Jonathan died with his father in battle at Mount Gilboa:

1 Samuel 31:2-4 … And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan … and Saul was wounded of the archers … therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it…

Application: As Christians, we are first and foremost Children of the King. We are Kings and Priests unto God because Jesus Christ is king of Kings and Lord of Lords. Our love for God must ALWAYS be greater than our love for others. Jesus said that the Great Commandment is:

Mark 12:30 … thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

And directed us as His people to put Him first in our hearts. He said:

Luke 14:26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

We are to honor our parents, to love our spouses, to love others the way that we want to be loved. And yet, our first allegiance must always be to the Lord.

Meribbaal Reminds Us That Our God
Is Always Faithful

1 Chronicles 8:34 And the son of Jonathan was Meribbaal; and Meribbaal begat Micah.

Saul had four sons, of which Jonathan was the first. But Jonathan only had one son, and his name was Meribbaal. The name Meribbaal is only mentioned twice in the Scripture, in the texts that we started out with tonight. The name Meribbaal means “he that resists or contends against Baal”. Baal is the name of a false god that the Canaanites and Phoenicians worshiped, the so called god of fertility, and the god of rain and dew. As Jonathan loved the Lord, and parents named their children with meaning, Meribbaal was expected by his father to be a great believer. As the only son of Jonathan, Meribbaal was royalty – he would have succeeded the throne of Jonathan had ever ascended.

Meribbaal was five years old when his grandfather Saul and his father Jonathan were killed in battle by the Philistines. When word came to the palace that Saul and Jonathan were dead, the Bible says:

2 Samuel 4:4 … Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son that was lame of his feet. He was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel, and his nurse took him up, and fled: and it came to pass, as she made haste to flee, that he fell, and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth.

What is happening here? Back in those days, when a king was killed, the enemy would often come and kill the rest of the family so they could take over the throne. Jonathan only had one son, Meribbaal. When news came that both Saul and Jonathan were dead, Meribbaal’s nurse grabbed up the boy to run away and protect the child. In her haste, the little boy had a bad fall that crippled him in both feet. He “became lame”.

The nurse took the child to a place call Lodebar. The name of that place is very interesting. The nurse suspected that either the Philistines or David himself would seek to kill little Meribbaal. So she took him to Lodebar, the Hebrew לֹא דְבַר Lôʼ Dᵉbar which means “this is not a pasture”. Israel was a society that loved farming and animal husbandry. Areas that were arid, or dead, were not considered prime real estate. The nurse, in essence, took little Meribbaal to a slum to raise him. She also changed his name.

Meribbaal became Mephibosheth

Hitchcock’s Bible Dictionary notes that Mephibosheth means, “Out of my mouth proceeds reproach”. Reproach is to address others in such a way as to express disapproval or disappointment. Meribbaal was hurt as a child, and grew up lame in a poor, pastureless place. His father wanted him to grow up and fight against idolatry, standing up for the True God of the Scripture. Yet over time Meribbaal became Mephibosheth. He was alone. Abandoned of God. In a dark place, and God cared nothing for him.

Application: Beloved, we have all been in dark places, depressive places, horrid places. And yet we must never forget that our God is faithful. Perhaps you have been hurt by someone else, and are suffering the consequences. God is still faithful. We need to remember that, like Mephibosheth, we all have been crippled by a fall. Our forefather Adam brought sin into the world. What does the Scripture say?

Romans 5:12 … by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned

There are forces in the world that we have no control over. Things happen. Hurts come. Sometimes we fail ourselves. But Jesus Christ came to this earth to give us power to live.

The promise of God is that, if we trust in Jesus, and receive Him as Lord and Savior, He brings us into the palace and the plan of God. He is faithful, and will never leave us nor forsake us.

Our God is gracious. Our God is good! We must never allow our circumstances to dictate how we live our lives. We are to live our lives as royalty, as children of the King of Kings. We are to be grace oriented. The Scripture says “be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:1). Our God will not abandon His children. “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen” (2 Peter 3:18). Jesus Christ did not die for our sins, and rise from the grave, to abandon us in Lodebar. No. Though Meribbaal had a wrong grandfather, and a dead father, His Heavenly Father was still there. As a pastor friend of mine often used to say:

When I don’t understand the HAND of God,
I trust the HEART of God!

King David, the fourth King, has just defeated the Philistines, the Moabites, and the Syrians. David is sitting in the palace, and begins to miss his best friend Jonathan. David sees a servant of Saul’s by the name of Ziba. David asks Ziba:

2 Samuel 9:3 … Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may shew the kindness of God unto him?

David bears no grudges against Saul. God has said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, saith the Lord” (Romans 12:19). Ziba replies:

2 Samuel 9:3-4 Jonathan hath yet a son, which is lame on his feet. 4 And the king said unto him, Where is he? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lodebar.

David sent for Mephibosheth. As Mephibosheth grew up in that desolate place, I’m sure he dreaded the day he would have to meet the King David. Now the palace guards come and fetch him. Mephibosheth comes into the throne room and, falling on his face, says, “Behold thy servant!”. What does David say to Mephibosheth?

“Fear not”.

David tasted the grace of God in his ascension to the throne. Now David tells Mephibosheth:

2 Samuel 9:7 … I will surely shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father’s sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.

Mephibosheth asks David, “Who am I, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I am?” (verse 8). David doesn’t answer Mephibosheth, but tells Ziba:

2 Samuel 9:9-10 … I have given unto thy master’s son all that pertained to Saul and to all his house. 10 Thou therefore, and thy sons, and thy servants, shall till the land for him, and thou shalt bring in the fruits, that thy master’s son may have food to eat: but Mephibosheth thy master’s son shall eat bread always at my table.

God’s grace is so good! Mephibosheth was still lame in his feet, but he was no longer in Lodebar. He was where the child of a King should be. Beloved, God’s Grace is sufficient for us all! (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Application: We do not earn nor deserve God’s grace. We are not worthy of God’s grace. But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). Trust God. Lift up your fallen brothers and sisters. Live like children of the King, not like sons of Adam. Trust Him Who is our Lord and Savior. Do not allow your circumstances to change you from Meribbaal to Mephibosheth. Keep your eyes on your Lord Jesus. And remember His promise:

Psalm 37:3-8 Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. 4 Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. 6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. 7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. 8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.

May God the Holy Spirit speak to your hearts through His Word this very day. Amen and amen!

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In Christ A New Creature

Posted on February 20, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Yuichi Kageyama on Unsplash

2 Corinthians 5:14-17 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: 15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. 16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. 17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Opening: I loved being in the Air Force, and working around the bombers and fighters that brave men and women fly to protect our great nation. I started out as a “Food Service Technician”, but after 7 years I was cross trained to actually work on these aircraft.

I never worked on propeller type aircraft, but on jets. Jet engines produce more thrust, and can cause the aircraft to fly much faster than the older “props” could. One concern we always had when working on and around jets was “foreign object damage”. We signed out our tool kits, and counted every piece before and after a job. If a tool was left where it could be “sucked up” by the jet turbines, it could literally destroy the whole aircraft. Before launching the aircraft we walked the length and breadth of the flight line, insuring there were no loose objects that could be “sucked up” into the jet engine. If the engine breaks, the whole aircraft is broke!

Just as a piece of “foreign object” can “ground” a jet aircraft …

A Poor Understanding Of Salvation
“Grounds” The Gospel

2 Corinthians 5:14 For the love of Christ constraineth us …

Word Study: Some of the old English of the King James often obscures the meaning of the verse. The word “constraineth” is the Greek συνέχω synéchō, {pronounced soon-ekh’-o}, which means “to hold together lest we fall to pieces, to control, to press on every side”. It is the love of God that holds God’s people together. Love is the driving force. The fact that God loves us with an unconditional love, and as we have been loved, we are to love others.

I hear people today say “Why do we need the Church? Why can’t we just gather online, or in a meta-verse, and worship God in virtual reality?” It is because those saved by the Gospel MUST manifest LOVE toward God and others. You cannot do that with a computer or telephone screen.

Listen to this test for the genuineness of faith.

1 John 4:7-12 (ESV) Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

In the text I just read to you, the Apostle John used the word some form of the word “Love” thirteen times. Do you think he is trying to tell us something? Religion does not control the Church, nor the Christian life. Love does. Love expressed does. This is why Satan has worked so hard to redefine “love” in our world today. To the lost, “love” means whatever benefits or satisfies ME. But this is not love, but selfishness and self absorption.

When the Apostle wrote, “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love”, he was not speaking of the love of the world. The love of the world is a self love, a desire to gratify oneself above all others. The love of the world is selfish. The love of God is entirely selfless. What do we see when we look at the love of God? We read, the “love of God was made manifest among us”. God’s love was revealed to us. How? “God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him”. Jesus Christ came into the world – God’s only Son – so that He might give us life. God “loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins”. That word “propitiation” is the Greek ἱλασμός hilasmós, {pronounced hil-as-mos’}, which means “atonement, to covering for sin, that which pleases God”.

All of us are born into this world as sinners, dead in our trespasses, enslaved to the flesh. Jesus Christ died for all. Are all truly sinners? Aren’t babies innocent of sin? Aren’t there good and moral people in this world? Yes, there are good and moral people, and yes, babies are in a sense innocent, unknowing as to what is good or evil.

But none of us are right in God’s sight apart from the loving Gift of Jesus Christ.

Illustrate: So many people think they are better than others because of their breeding, or their lineage. Someone told Adrian Rogers one time that they traced their lineage all the way to the Mayflower. Adrian told them, “I traced my lineage even further back than the Mayflower. I come from a crooked farmer, and a drunken sailor.” What he was talking about is that he – and all of us – can trace our lineage back to a crooked farmer (Adam) and a drunken sailor (Noah). We all start out in the same place.

We are dead to God!

2 Corinthians 5:14 For the love of Christ {controls us/ holds us together}; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:

“one died for all, then were all dead”. Every person born into this life is born physically alive, but spiritually dead. We all fall short of God’s glory because we enter this life as a child of Adam. The Bible says:

Romans 3:23-25 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

Word Study: All fall short of God’s glory. All sin. All miss the mark of righteousness. But Jesus Christ came to be the “propitiation” or covering for our sin. The word “propitiation”, is the Greek ἱλασμός hilasmos, meaning the “atonement, the covering for sin, that which pleases God”.

Jesus Christ “died for all”. If there was a way to be righteous and accepted to God in our own power, then why did Christ “die for all”? There is no other way unto God but through faith in Jesus Christ. Our Jesus, in love with us while we were yet unlovable, died on the Cross of Calvary for everyone. The Scripture says:

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

We are all born into this world physically alive, but spiritually dead. For this reason Jesus tasted death for us all!

Hebrews 2:9 …. we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every {PERSON}.

Jesus died for our sins. He took on death, and dying on Calvary, became the death of death. What good news this is!

1 John 2:1-2 … My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2 And {Jesus} is the propitiation {hilasmos} for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Jesus was born into this world to die for every person who has ever been born of woman. The love of God caused Him to send His Son to die for our sins.

But His death changes things.

The Saved Believer Is Called To Love & Live For Jesus

2 Corinthians 5:15 And that {Jesus} died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

We are born again by faith in Jesus to live UNTO HIM! Not unto ourselves, but UNTO HIM!

Illustrate: The difference between the lost and the saved is that the saved live for Jesus. The saved love Jesus. The lost just love themselves. What happens every time a lost person gives a BIG CHECK to some charity? They call the news reporters. They get the check ENLARGED so all can see it. They put on a press conference, and show off the handing off of that check. It is not the LOVE OF CHRIST that drives them, but the LOVE OF SELF.

The old, lost creature, the unsaved person is dead in trespasses and in sins. The Christian is MADE ALIVE! Read with me:

Ephesians 2:1-6 (ESV) And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus …

Before we met Jesus, we were old, dead creatures, following the same patterns as all the children of Adam do. “Dead in trespasses and sins” our “walk” or our pattern of life was to walk apart from God, while we followed the “course of this world”. As dead things, we followed after the Prince of Death. Dead things obey Satan rather than God. Dead things do what satisfy ourselves first. Dead things do not love their neighbor. Dead things are self absorbed. Dead things decay. When you were dead in trespasses and in sins, you lived according to darkness and Satan. But if we are alive, saved by faith in Christ Jesus, then we “should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again”.

The lost person follows the pathway that all lost people follow. They wander far from God. The saved person, the one who has received Christ as Lord and Savior, should want to live their lives for Him!

You were saved to live your life for Him, for Jesus. You were saved to love Jesus and love one another. You were saved to be indwelt by the Spirit of Christ, not by the Spirit of disobedience. Jesus did not give His life on Calvary so that we could be just like those without Him. No, Jesus said:

John 10:9-11 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. 10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

Jesus wants us to have “life”, a “more abundant”. Life. We are not called to just exist, but to walk with our Jesus every single day.

We Show Love To Jesus And Others
By Ministering Reconciliation

2 Corinthians 5:18-20 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.

Word Study: Five times the Apostle uses some form of “reconciliation” in this text. We are “reconciled” to God and to one another through Jesus Christ. The word “reconciled” is the Greek καταλλάσσω katallássō, {pronounced kat-al-las’-so}, which means “to bring together in harmony, to restore to fellowship”. In Adam, we were far from Jesus. While we chased after the things of this world, the Lord was far from us. He was not far away physically, “for in him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28). God is everywhere, and there is no where where God is not. As David said, “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?” (Psalm 139:7). God is everywhere. He said, “those that seek Me early shall find Me” (Proverbs 8:17). God was far from us – but not because of His failure, but ours.

Once we received Jesus as Lord and Savior we were “reconciled to God”. He is now near to us, not far away. Listen Beloved, we are not all children of God. We are all creations of God, but only those who have received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are His children. We who have received Jesus are no longer enemies of God. We are told in …

Romans 5:6-11 (ESV) For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

The death of Jesus on Calvary covered our sins. Covering our sins, we are reconciled to God, that is, there is peace between the believer and God. While we were ENEMIES, Christ died for us.

We love our enemies as Jesus loved us when we were enemies. We share the means to reconciliation through Jesus to whosoever will hear.

Are You, Dear Soul, “In Christ”?

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore IF any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

“in Christ” we are “new creature”. We are not just reconciled to God (for He is our Father), but we have the ministry of reconciliation. We know that …

Mark 12:27 {God} is not the God of the DEAD, but the God of the LIVING.

Dead creatures – children of Adam – serve the world, the flesh, and the devil. Living creatures – those “born again … by the Word of God, which lives and abides forever” (1 Peter 1:23) – these serve the Lord. We are not to live solely unto ourselves, but “unto Him Who died for us, and rose again” (2 Corinthians 5:15).

If anyone is IN CHRIST, we are new creatures. “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature”. “in Christ!” These two wonderful words – “in Christ” – are found 78 times in Scripture. What should be think of these words?

  • The New Creature, the Christian, is “in Christ” like Noah and his family were in the Ark. Oh, God made provision for any who would to come into the Ark. For 120 years Noah preached salvation by faith in Christ. Noah found the grace of God (Genesis 6:8), but the world around him did not. All about Noah people were “in themselves” and “in the world”, yet refused to get in the Ark. God told Noah that destruction was coming. God told Noah to heed His command, to build an Ark, and to get on the boat. Judgment was coming. Then one day, it did. As judgment rained down on the earth, Noah and his family were in the Ark. They floated above the Divine Judgment. Beloved, if you are “in Christ”, then like Noah and his family, you will be carried above the waves of God’s punishment!
  • The New Creature, the Christian, is “in Christ” like the ancient Israeli was in the city of refuge. God made a provision in His Law that protected the ancient Israelite from vengeance. God allowed His priests to establish “cities of refuge” that a sinner could run to. While in that city, the sinner was protected from the blood avenger, and his case was heard. “The Eternal God is our Refuge; and underneath are the everlasting arms! He thrusts out the enemy from before me.” (Deuteronomy 33:27) “God is my Rock; in Him will I trust: He is my Shield, the Horn of my Salvation, my High Tower, my Refuge, my Savior! (2 Samuel 22:3). In God is my salvation and my glory: the Rock of my strength, and my Refuge, is in God! (Psalm 62:7).
  • If you are “in Christ”, you have access to God like the High Priest had in the ancient Holy of Holies. You can come boldly before the Throne of Grace. In Christ, God dwells in you. You do not go to a temple, but you ARE a Temple. God lives in the Temple of your body. “know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
  • If you are “In Christ”, you are attached to Jesus like the branch is attached to the Vine. Jesus said in John 15:5, “ I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing”. We who are “in Christ” drink of the spirit of Christ. Our fruit is not hatred, strife, envy, sexual perversion, lying, or anything that resembles death. The fruit of the believer in Christ is “love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance – against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).
  • If I am “In Christ”, then I am part of the “workmanship of God, created in Christ Jesus to do good works” (Ephesians 2:10). Jesus Christ is my cornerstone, and we who believe are “lively stones, built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Each believer, saved, and a New Creature is a priest before God. We lovingly serve our Lord on this earth until the day He calls us home to be with Him in glory. As His people we are assured that death has no hold on us.
  • If I am “In Christ”, then I know this life is but the beginning of a much greater life to come in glory!

2 Corinthians 5:1-4 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: 3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. 4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.

When a Christian dies physically, what happens spiritually is both beautiful and amazing. We have a “an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens”. We have a glorified body awaiting us, and the promise of eternity with the Lord Jesus Christ. What a glorious truth this is. We are not burdened with how short this life is, but we who are in Christ groan, wanting to be clothed upon with our new residence.

Oh, come quickly, Lord Jesus!

Are you “in Christ”? If so, you are a part of Heaven’s Fabric. Faith and love have come together in your life as warp and weave. God bids you tell others about Jesus, to tell the world that He is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no one comes to the Father but by Him” (John 14:6). If you are not “in Christ”, then there is no better day to be saved. Now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). May God move you to a glorious walk with Him this very day. Amen and Amen!

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Witnesses Unto Me

Posted on February 17, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Maan Limburg on Unsplash

Acts 1:8-10But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy {Spirit} is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

What does it mean to be a “Witness” for the Lord?

Is it just to tell others how to be saved, to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? Certainly, we must tell others about Jesus. But being a “witness” for Jesus means to stand out and stand up for what our Lord taught. Jesus Himself is known as:

Revelation 1:5 … the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood

Word Study: Our Lord Jesus is “the faithful witness”. The word translated “witness” in Revelation 1:5 and in our opening text in Acts “witnesses” is the Greek μάρτυς mártys, {pronounced mar’-toos}. Mártys originally meant “a witness, one who can bear record to a truth”. When the word was first used, mártys is not yet associated with anything dark.

When Jesus came to this earth, our Lord “the faithful witness” was hounded, hated, and ultimately HUNG on a Cross for our sins.

Being a faithful witness means that, like Jesus, there is a degree of suffering and shame that goes with it. Jesus is the “Light of the world” (John 8:12; 9:5), and His followers are to be the “light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). And yet, the world walks in darkness. The testimony of Christ is that:

John 3:19 … Light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

Jesus is Light. God’s Word is Light. But people, dead in their trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1; Colossians 2:13), do not want light, but darkness. As The Faithful Witness {mártys} Jesus was HOUNDED, HATED, and HUNG for being the Light. We who are His need to understand that – as He suffered – so we may suffer.

Did I mention that mártys not only means “witness”, but it is also where we get our word MARTYR?

To be a witness for Jesus means to stand out and stand up, just as Jesus did. To stand against the darkness, and to let God shine through you. Jesus told us:

Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy {Spirit} is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me..

Jesus did not expect His disciples to witness in their own power, but to see the power of God the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was given so that we could be “witnesses”, mártys, martyrs for Jesus. The way of Christ has been very easy in America in the past. Up until a few years ago, we were built on a Christian heritage. But after years of coasting by the Church and pushing by the darkness, America has entered an age where we are, as a nation, in full blown paganism.

We are in much the same state that the early Church was in. But Beloved, God is with us. Scripture says that our Lord Jesus:

Hebrews 13:12 … that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered without the gate.

Jesus was cast out of the city of Jerusalem, crucified on a hill we call Calvary, found in Golgotha. He did this so that we might be saved and become sons and daughters of God. If our Lord suffered, we most likely will have to suffer. The Apostle wrote:

Romans 8:14-17 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

Witnessing Faithfully Comes With
A Degree Of Suffering

Our witness, our mártys for Jesus may come with suffering. However, there is coming a day when we shall be “glorified together” with Jesus. And we do not go through this alone, but God the Holy Spirit goes with us, empowering us for what is to come.

As we have studied in the Book of Acts, there is always resistance to the Light of Christ. This is natural in a fallen world.

The first mártys in the early Church to give his life for Jesus was called Stephen, a Deacon and a faithful believer in the early Church. The Encyclopedia Brittanica notes:

“His defense of his faith before the rabbinic court enraged his Jewish audience, and he was taken out of the city and stoned to death. His final words, a prayer of forgiveness for his attackers (Acts of the Apostles 7:60), echo those of Jesus on the cross.”

As Jesus prayed “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34), Stephen prayed “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge” (Acts 7:60). The Apostle Paul – then known as “Saul”, was at Stephen’s execution. When Paul later gave his witness or mártys outside the Temple in Jerusalem, he spoke his calling from God:

Acts 22:12-21 … one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there, 13 Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him. 14 And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One {Jesus Christ}, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth. 15 For thou shalt be {Jesus’} witness {mártys} unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. 16 And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. 17 And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance; 18 And saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me. 19 And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee: 20 And when the blood of thy martyr {mártys} Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him. 21 And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.

It’s interesting that the King James translators translate the word mártys first as “witness” when applied to Paul, but as “martyr” when applied to Stephen. The Apostle Paul was indeed a martyr for our faith. In 2 Corinthians chapter 11 Paul speaks of his martyrdom for our faith:

2 Corinthians 11:24-25 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. 25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep …

Jesus told Ananias, “I will shew Saul/Paul how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake”. Paul did suffer, and was eventually beheaded by Caesar for his witness for Jesus. But Paul would not be the first Apostle martyred. Right after Stephen was martyred, we read:

Acts 12:1-2 Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. 2 And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

The Apostle known as James the Greater, brother to the Apostle John, was the first Apostle martyred. As Christianity was deemed illegal in the Roman Empire, many Christians would die for standing up for Jesus. In the Book of Revelation Jesus tells the Church at Pergamos:

Revelation 2:13 I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr {mártys}, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.

Pergamos (Perganum) was the first Roman town to build a Temple to the Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar. The Church at Pergamos would not acknowledge anyone as “Lord” but the Lord Jesus Christ, even though the Christian “Antipas” was brutally murdered for not worshiping Caesar.

Around 64 AD Roman Emperor Nero started a fire in Rome, and blamed the fire as something the “Christians” did. The Roman Historian Tacitus wrote:

“Their execution {the execution of Christians} was made a matter of sport: some were sewn up in the skins of wild beasts and savaged to death by dogs; others were fastened to crosses as living torches, to serve as lights when daylight failed. Nero made his gardens available for the show and held games in the Circus, mingling with the crowd or standing in his chariot in charioteer’s uniform.”

A Martyr Called Valentine

It might surprise you to know that we – every year – celebrate the martyrdom of a Christian on February 14th. I came across a USA Today article entitled, “What’s The Story Behind Valentine’s Day? (February 11, 2022)”. As a source, the article cited Repertorio de Medicina y Cirugía (The Journal Repertory of Medicine and Surgery), an academic journal. I thought the story was not only very interesting, but enlightening.

A Roman Pastor named Valentine of Terni angered the Roman Emperor Claudius II. Claudius decided he did not want his Roman Soldiers to marry, as he thought marriage diminished their efficiency at killing in the battlefield. A married man might not charge as hard, or fight as well, if he thought he would be taken from his wife. So Claudius forbade all Roman soldiers from marrying. Valentine did not agree with this. Our God designed marriage in the Garden of Eden. Marriage is one man and one woman, bound together in covenant before God. “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them” (Genesis 1:27-28).

God says that …

Hebrews 13:4 Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whore mongers and adulterers God will judge.

The Bible tells us that “seducing spirits”, the forces of darkness, led by Satan, are constantly working against the Light of Christ. Even some so called “believers” depart from the faith. What do they do?

1 Timothy 4:2-3 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; 3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

Marriage is honorable. Marriage is of God’s design. The Apostle Paul, though he himself was never married, wrote:

1 Corinthians 7:8-9 I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, it is good for them if they abide even as I. 9 But if they cannot contain {their lust}, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.

When Claudius came out with his order, Valentine refused to obey it. He continued to perform marriage ceremonies against the wishes of Emperor Claudius II. Valentine was cast into a Roman prison. The prison was overseen by a Roman Prefect (Regional Governor) named Asterius. Asterius had a daughter who was born blind. When Valentine prayed for her, her sight was restored. This so impressed Asterius that he, along with 46 members of his family, gave their lives to Jesus Christ.

The Emperor had both Valentine and Asterius beheaded on February 14, 271 AD.

We must stand together proclaiming the truths of God’s Word as immutable and unchangeable.

Our Lord Jesus said:

John 14:15 If ye love Me, keep My commandments.

John 15:10 If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love.

Many who profess Christ as Savior and Lord today have nonetheless backed away from the written truths of our God as found in the Scripture. What made King David so blessed in his life was that he was a witness to the truth of God’s Word. David unashamedly witnessed:

2 Samuel 7:28 … O Lord God, thou art that God, and thy words be true

Psalm 119:160 Thy word {O Lord} is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.

Though most people today think of “Valentine’s Day” as a time to celebrate your spouse or significant “other”, Valentine’s Day should also remind us that to stand strong for Jesus in this fallen world brings with it the possibility of persecution and death. It was the Medieval writer Geoffrey Chaucer who wrote a poem called Parlement of Foules (Parliament of Fowls). This poem is the first references to the idea that St. Valentine’s Day was a special day for lovers. Michael A.G. Haykin, a Professor at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, notes:

“What seems clear, though, from all that we can determine, is that Saint Valentine was a martyr — yes, a lover, but one who loved the Lord Jesus to the point of giving his life for his commitment to Christ.”

Let us be as Jesus was.
Let us be as the early Church was.
Let us be as Stephen was.
Let us be as Paul was.
Let us be as Valentine was.

Let us stand together, loving Christ and loving others. Let us be Christ’s Light, no matter what the cost. May God the Holy Spirit and His Word drive these truths deeply into our hearts. Amen and Amen!

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