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Christ, the Word of God

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Christ the Word of God

© C. O. Bishop THCF 3/12/2017 Revised 2021

John 1:1-4, 14

Introduction:

Several years ago, I had begun a series in the Gospel of John. We didn’t get very far, but, as I was also teaching through the Life of Christ, in our adult Bible study at the time, the discontinuance didn’t bother me very much.

However, I think perhaps it would be good to revisit John’s Gospel and see what is there for us. In the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) the themes are different, and the Millennial Kingdom is mentioned frequently. John doesn’t spend much time on the Kingdom, nor even on the presentation of Jesus as the King, as Matthew did: John presents Jesus as God. We see the deity of Jesus more clearly there than in the other gospels.

One reason that is important to us, is that the Kingdom age (promised to the whole earth, but especially to the Jews) is not so much directed to the Church. Yes, we will be there, but every single member of the Body of Christ, the Bride, the Church, will already be in his or her new body. We will not be living as fleshly human beings anymore. We will enjoy the Kingdom from a different perspective. So, the Gospel of John is especially important for us to grasp, so that we begin to see who Jesus really is. Follow along in your Bible as we read John 1:1-4, 14.

John 1:1-4 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life, and the Life was the Light of men.”

Throughout the Old Testament, the Word of God can be seen; constantly active in the World. The Word was not only present at the creation; the Word did the creating. God spoke the world into being. Hebrews 11:3 confirms this, saying that “…by faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God…” In Hebrews 1:2, we see that same Word identified as the Son of God. “…God has spoken to us by His Son…by whom also he made the worlds…”

So John was certainly not alone in labeling Jesus as the Word of God. Let’s look to the rest of the Bible, and see what John was talking about.

From the Beginning

In Genesis 1:1-3, ff, the description is very obscure—it simply states that God spoke, and the World was created. If we had no further revelation, we could not know that the Speaker was in fact God the Son. But with the additional knowledge of the New Testament, we can come back to re-examine the Old Testament, and see things not otherwise known. We can see not only that God created the World, but that he did so by the Word. We can see at the same time that the Spirit was hovering over the face of the deep…I assume that it means the whole face of the deep…so the omnipresence of God the Holy Spirit seems to be in view, as well as the absolute authority, the omnipotence of God, as one who can speak the world into existence. But in the same passage we see the Trinity, of course. Even the noun Elohim, simplytranslated “God,” is actually a plural noun, in Hebrew. (Not singular; not dual—plural. We don’t have many dual nouns, but Hebrew does, so a “plural noun” in Hebrew, means “three or more,” not “two or more” as in English.)

Whenever God has communicated with Man, at any level, the Word was involved. Sometimes obviously, as a Person, sometimes simply in the form of communication—but we see more and more clearly that the person of the Godhead who does the communication is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, in virtually every case.

The Word was given, throughout the Old Testament, in the form of:

  1. Narratives
  2. Commands
  3. Prophecies
  4. Promises
  5. Warnings
  6. Encouragements
  7. Judgment

(Remember that ALL of these are revelations from God!)

In the Psalms, God’s Word was exalted as being:

  • True
  • Eternal
  • Pure,
  • Holy,
  • Light,
  • The cleansing power of God,
  • The protection of God against sin,
  • Guidance to the traveler
  • Wisdom for living
  • The comfort of the afflicted
  • Food for the hungry
  • Medicine for the sick, etc.

In fact, in Psalm 138:2, the psalmist makes the startling statement that “…Thou hast exalted thy Word above all thy Name”!

After all that has been said about the Name of God, and how holy and exalted it is, that we are not to use it inadvisably, never to take it in vain, etc., how is it possible that God can exalt His Word above even that Name? It is because the Word is the Person of Christ. The name that we had been given for God prior to the time of Christ has been lost, effectively—no one really knows now how it is to be pronounced, whether Yahweh, Jehovah, or otherwise; the true pronunciation has been lost, at least for now. But the Name of Jesus, regardless of language or pronunciation, has been given as the ONLY name “…under Heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) So the Name now exalted IS that of the Word of God—Jesus, The Son, the Lamb, The King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

As we move forward into the Gospel of John,we see John 1:14 “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of Grace and Truth.

Thus, in John 1:1-4, 14, together, we see clearly, for the first time, that the Word is also a Person. Jesus is the communication of God to Man. If we look back at the forms in which the Word was given, we can see that Jesus still is all those forms.

  1. Jesus is the historian: he tells us what really happened.
  2. Jesus is the Lord—He is the commander…he gave the command (John 13:34, 35) to Love one another. He also gave the command to preach the Gospel (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15).
  3. Jesus is the prophet—he has told us what is to come (Matthew 24; Mark 13, etc.)
  4. Jesus is the fulfillment of promise, as well as the giver of promises. (John 5:24)
  5. Jesus has given warnings to those who ignore His Word and his teachings. (John 3:18; etc.)
  6. Jesus offers encouragement to those who hear and believe, and obey. (John 14:1-4, 6, 21, 23, etc.)
  7. Jesus is the revealer, in the Book of the Revelation.(Revelation 4-22)
  8. Jesus is the final Judge of the whole world. (John 5:22; Matthew 25:31, ff; compare Revelation 20:11,12)

Further, we see that Jesus is the source of God’s Grace, in John 1:17, as well as God’s Truth. In fact, if I were to go back and compare all the things that God said about His Word, in the Psalms, I would find that they are all true of Jesus Christ. He is True, and Pure, and Holy. He is the light, and the cleansing power of God (by His blood, especially) and the guidance of God, the protection and comfort of God for us, as we are pilgrims on the way, and, truly the Wisdom and Power of God, according to 1st Corinthians 1:24.

So, what is the primary message God has communicated via Jesus? Interestingly, it seems to be encapsulated by the same Writer, John, in 1st John 1:5-10; 2:1, 2; 5:11-13)

  1. God is Light, and in Him is no darkness at all (1st John 1:5)
  2. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in darkness, we are actually lying. (1st John 1:6)
  3. If we say we have not sinned, we are making Him a liar. (1st John 1:10)
  4. Jesus is the propitiation (The satisfaction of God’s righteousness) for our sins and for those of the whole world. (1st John 2:2)
  5. Eternal life is in the Son of God, given by the Father. (1st John 5:11)
  6. If you have the Son, you have Eternal life—if you don’t, you don’t. (1st John 5:12)
  7. God wants you to know that you have eternal life. (1st John 5:13)

What about the present, and the future?

Peter tells us 2nd Peter 1:19 that the Word is our ONLY source of light in this dark world. He says that, as we normally treat a light in a dark place (earnestly focusing our attention on what it reveals), so we should focus our attention on the written Word (the black-and-white revelation of Jesus) until the Living Word (the Daystar) arrives. We are not to turn aside to other guides, regardless of how attractive they may appear. Jesus is the Living Word, who is our light, our guide, our Savior, and our Master. We will either use his written Word as He has commanded through Peter, or we will effectively ignore His leading and His light. There is no mistake about the connection between the written Word of God and the Living Word, Jesus Christ.  The connection is solid enough that I believe I can safely say that the way you respond to the Written Word will reveal the reality of how you respond to the Living Word.

Ultimately, the whole world will see Jesus as the Word of God. The Revelation shows him returning as a conqueror, and that his name is called “The Word of God”. On His thigh another title is emblazoned: “King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.” (Revelation 19:11-16)

How do you think you might respond to the sight of Jesus arriving as the conqueror, destroying his enemies, and rescuing the remnant of believers? Do you think you might feel at least a sense of awe? Or, maybe “stark terror” would be more accurate? Do you think you would have any trouble staying awake, for instance? Any trouble remembering whatever He happens to say—especially if it were said to you, personally? Bear in mind that this same Jesus that is coming with irresistible force and majesty, and destruction, as well as rescue, is the same one whose Word we have been “playing with” for the last however many years. Sleeping during Bible lessons (I have, too, don’t think I am pointing fingers…), and only vaguely able to recall what it was He said. And we don’t seem to be too terribly worried about it either. We feel a little guilty, and think, “I really ought to study the Bible, but, you know, I have a lot on my plate!” or, “I really can’t memorize things.” (If that is really true, then you need to treat the Written Word just as you do any other vital information that you have to know—read it often, and carry a copy of it with you for quick review.)

Conclusion:

If Jesus is the message—the communication of God to you—how are you responding? Have you received the message at all? If so, are you still receiving it? We receive the message of Eternal Life by hearing and believing…that is the obedience required at that point. (John 6:28, 29) But those who believe the initial message are called to continue to respond to the message. Obedience to God’s Word is how we respond to the message of God. But Jesus said that those who KEEP his Word have a special relationship with God, and blessing added to their lives. (John 14:21-24)

What can you do to change?

Set a time during which you WILL be in the Word, daily—make an appointment, and keep it—God will be there, whether you are or not. (You keep human appointments regularly—why not keep one with God?) Set the clock and get up early, so you can read while it is still quiet. Begin with prayer…Confession is a good prayer to begin with, then cast yourself on God’s mercy, and look to Him to teach you as you read.

Take notes as you read. Choose a key verse to memorize, and write it out. Take it with you and review it often. Read for the purpose of seeing Jesus face to face. Search the scriptures for direction for your life. Look for tools to make it easier to explain the Gospel to others…scriptures that speak clearly to you, in your circumstances.

Psalm 119:9 asks, “How shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy Word.” God’s Word is the ONLY thing he promises can change your life. The psalmist goes on to say, “Thy Word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin against thee.” That could easily refer to memorization, but even memorization can potentially be just rote memory, with zero application. Meditation on the Word, and deliberately applying it your life is a necessary part of “hiding the Word in your heart”. Memorization is important too, but application is what changes lives.

In the end, what you do with the Word will be one of two things—you will either obey, or disobey. Consider who it is you are actually dealing with, and reconsider how you feel about obedience. Are your sins paid for? Yes. Are you free from condemnation? Yes. But how you affect those around you, and how you will feel when you see Jesus are both completely dependent upon your obedient response to His Word. Bear in mind that He is the Word, and the eternal Judge.

Make a commitment to change how you respond to the Living Word, and receive His eternal reward as a result. God’s blessing upon you as you seek to follow His Word, the Living Word of God—Jesus Christ.

Lord Jesus, open our eyes to see You, the Living Word, as we study the Bible, the Written Word. Help us to truly see it as or only source of light, and our only guide by which to travel. Give us a growing hunger for your Word and use it to transform our lives.

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Hyssop, Blood and Water

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Hyssop, Blood and Water
© C. O. Bishop 2013 THCF 3/17/2013 revised 5/29/2021

Exodus 12:22; Leviticus 14:1-7; Psalm 119:9; John 15:3; Ephesians 5:26

Introduction:

Recently, I was reading Psalm 51, the prayer of David for forgiveness and cleansing after his sin with Bathsheba, and I was drawn to the passage (v.7) “Purge me with Hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.”

What a curious thing to say! In our culture, Hyssop is unheard of, let alone being associated with cleansing of any sort. But from the time of the Exodus to the time of Christ, the woody shrub called “Ezov” in Hebrew, commonly translated “Hyssop,” was used in the blood sacrifices for sin, as well as the ritual cleansing of those whom God had healed of leprosy, and other such things.

Hyssop and Blood: Salvation

When God ordained the Passover (Exodus 12:22), he did not just say, take some of the blood of this lamb, and smear it on the door-frame: he specifically said “ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it into the blood in the basin, and strike the lintel, and the two doorposts with the Blood.”

The result was to be that the family thus protected was shielded from the wrath to come.

Hyssop, Blood and Water: Cleansing

Later, in Leviticus 14:1-7 (read it), hyssop was used again, in the ceremonial cleansing of a leper whom God had healed. Interestingly, in that passage, there was not only blood but water mentioned. There were two birds needed for this ceremony—one to die, and one to live. One shed its blood; the other was covered with the blood but was released to fly free. It took two birds to demonstrate the reality of Christ who bore our iniquities, and by whose stripes we have been healed of our dreadful disease…called Sin. The live bird, coated in the blood of the sacrificed bird represents the new life we have in Christ. We live under His blood.

Have you thought about the fact that leprosy was used in the Old Testament as a picture of sin? It was incurable, except by God, and it was contagious, unlike some other diseases. When God healed a leper, that person was to present himself to the priest, who would examine him and declare him clean (if indeed he was), and a sacrifice would be brought. The one bird was to be killed over running water, in an earthen vessel. Then the live bird was to be dipped in the blood of the dead bird –along with some cedar wood, scarlet (cloth?) and hyssop. Then the blood was sprinkled seven times on the person cleansed of leprosy and the priest was to pronounce him clean. The living bird was to be released to fly free.

Some other things to note—the leper did nothing to “get clean”—God did the healing. The leper only brought the required offering so that the priest could make the public declaration that the man was clean. Further, the priest came out (Completely outside the camp) to see the leper—the leper did not approach the priest inside the camp. We did not come to God for cleansing. He came to us in the person of Christ, to bring about our salvation, our healing, and our cleansing.

I can easily connect the sprinkling of blood to the blood sacrifice brought by Christ; and the living bird to the resurrection of Christ and that of the believer. But what about the Hyssop, the Cedar wood, the scarlet and the running water? I don’t know… maybe the hyssop was to remind them of the connection of the blood sacrifice to the Passover. The Passover is certainly a picture of Christ; and all the other blood sacrifices of the Old Testament, in one way or another, look forward to the Cross, as well. Perhaps the earthen vessel, for instance, speaks of the humanity of Christ as well as our own limitations as humans. What about the water? Possibly it is in reference to the Holy Spirit, as Jesus referred on more than one occasion to the well of “water” that, springing up within the believer, would result in eternal life. And in those passages, he definitely was referring to the Holy Spirit, as the scripture plainly states this to be the case. But it seems to me it could be something else, as well. Here in Leviticus it could be in reference to God’s Word. Why? Because he does this in reference to cleansing. It is not just a ceremony—it is pointing out a spiritual truth.

The Water of the Word

“How shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to…”— what? The Holy Spirit? Well, the Spirit is obviously the author of cleansing, it’s true, but in this specific passage (Psalm 119:9) it says that by taking heed to one’s life according to God’s Word, the believer can be cleansed. No one is saved, apart from the ministration of God’s Word—we are saved by Grace through faith. (Ephesians 2:8, 9) Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. (Romans 10:17) Jesus told his Disciples (the eleven who remained after Judas’ desertion) that they were clean—how? Through the Word which he had spoken unto them (John 15:3). His blood had yet to be shed: though they did not know it, when they placed their faith in the temple sacrifices, they still were looking forward to the Cross. But they had believed His Word, and had been cleansed before God.

Did you know that this particular prescription for cleansing (God’s Word) is the only way God says he can change your life? Of, course, if you haven’t placed your faith in His blood at the Cross, then even his Word can’t change you—you haven’t been saved; you haven’t been born again! The disciples had placed their faith in the blood of God’s chosen sacrifice, years before, and specifically, had believed His words, when they met Jesus face to face. But Jesus told Peter, who was already a believer, that if He, the living Word, was not allowed to “wash” Peter, then the two of them could have no fellowship at all. (John 13:8) He further reiterated that Peter and the rest (excluding Judas Iscariot) were already clean. (John 13:10) The foot-washing was not a representation of salvation, but of restored fellowship.

So there are two things at work, here—the hyssop, as it were—representing the application of the blood, by which we are purged from sin; and the washing—the cleansing by the Word. “Purge me with Hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.” In David’s day, the Holy Spirit had not been given (God says so, John 7:37-39). He knew of the Holy Spirit, and had tasted of His ministry in his own life (“…take not thy Holy Spirit from me…”), but the Spirit was not yet given in the personal presence of an eternal indwelling.

The same Psalmist who said “wash me and I shall be whiter than snow” also said “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy Word.” The connection is there for us to see.

Saved and cleansed for the purpose of Service

So…does the blood of Jesus continue to cleanse me, or is it strictly God’s Word, now? John says, (1st John 1:7) that “if we walk in the light as He is in the light (in obedience to God’s Word), we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son, cleanses us from all sin.” Yes! The blood shall forever continue to be the thing that makes us stand clean before God. So what does the “washing of water by the Word” accomplish? It brings about the practical cleansing of the believer’s life.

Jesus is in the process of cleansing the Bride of Christ, the Church, by the “washing of water, by the Word”, according to Ephesians 5:26. That is not how he saved us, but how he is cleansing us. And to what purpose does he cleanse us? Several things come to mind:

  1. Hebrews 10:19-22 says that we are to draw near to God, by the blood of Jesus, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Do you think that “pure water” means plain old H2O? I really doubt it.
  2. Revelation 5:10 We are to be functioning as priests before God: We draw near to God with the sacrifices of Praise and Thanksgiving (Hebrews 13:15) Old Testament priests were cleansed first by the blood, and also the water of separation (Num. 19:1-19, v. 9).
  3. 2nd Corinthians 5:20 We are called to be ambassadors of God. We draw near to God with the sacrifices of Praise and Thanksgiving and we draw near to Men with the bread of Life, the Gospel; seeking to reconcile men to God. That takes a clean life.
  4. Ephesians 2:10 (We are created unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.) We are to serve as those who have been redeemed; bought back out of the Marketplace of Sin, never to be sold again, set free, as was the bird of Leviticus; serving by a free will, clean and whole again. (How are we bought? We are bought by the Blood of Christ. How are we cleansed? We are cleansed by the Washing of Water, by the Word.)

Conclusion:

So, then, the primary need of the unbeliever is to be saved—to have the blood of the sacrifice applied to the lintel and doorposts of his own heart. Only the individual can apply that blood by faith. Only that individual can make that choice. The lamb has been slain, and there is no question that it was the Lamb of God—there is abundant eyewitness testimony to that effect, as well as the living witness of the believers today. But only the individual sinner can choose to receive that gift of eternal life—or choose not to do so.

The continuing need of the believer is to daily be cleansed by God’s Word, through reading, listening, studying, memorizing, reciting, and meditating upon it day and night. He is already positionally clean…eternal life is his. But the fellowship of God is for those who are in full agreement with Him. And God’s Word is what can “rein in” our old nature and strengthen our new nature.

Perhaps it would be good to think back to the passage in Leviticus 14. The sacrificed bird was to be killed in an earthenware vessel, over running water. Consider this: is the Bible-study by which I was nourished, over 40 years ago, sufficient to cleanse me today, and to strengthen my new life in Christ today, and to protect me from the snares of the Wicked one today?

NO! The Water needs to be Living water—running water—constantly being renewed, for cleansing, healing, nourishment, and refreshment. I cannot feed on the bread of last year, nor can I be cleansed by water that was fresh and flowing many years ago. I need the water of the Word flowing in my life today. The Holy Spirit has never ceased to work in my life, but there have been times during which I have neglected the Word, and, as a result, to one degree or another, I have dried up. God’s supply of Living Water is eternally the Holy Spirit, but He administers that supply through the Living Word.

Notice that when Jesus talked with Nicodemus he said that a person must be born of water and of the Spirit. Many have conjectured that the “water” in this passage (John 3) was the amniotic fluid of natural childbirth. If that were true then the statement would be pointless, since every person has experienced that natural, fleshly birth. The New birth is not only by the Spirit, but by the Word of God. (Remember, Jesus said, “Now you are clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you…”) No one has ever been saved apart from the ministry of the Word, and that of the Spirit. No one has ever been cleansed except by the same means.

When Jesus had already died, on the Cross, and the soldier stabbed Him through his heart with a spear, to make certain He was dead, it specifically states that Blood and Water immediately came forth. (John 19:34-37) So, the means for cleansing was fully supplied by the Cross. The blood for salvation and the water for cleansing were both found in the person of Christ.

Remember the words to the Hymn, “Rock of Ages:”

“Rock of ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee!
Let the Water and the Blood, from thy wounded side which flowed,
be of Sin the double cure! Save from Wrath, and make me Pure!”

That hymn-writer obviously knew the truth we have spoken today: The sinner requires the blood of the sacrifice to be saved. He applies that blood by faith, confessing his need for a Savior. The saint requires the water of the Word to be clean. He applies the Word of God by faith, confessing his sins and his need for cleansing. “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1st John 1:9) We need both the blood and the water—and we find both in the person of Christ, the Chosen Lamb of God, and the Living Word of God. All thanks be to Him.  

Amen.

Lord Jesus, focus the eyes of our hearts upon yourself, so that we see our need for cleansing and nourishment, so that we may feed freely on the Living Bread, and drink deep of the Living Water. Use our lives as tools in your hands, and build Your Church according to Your will.

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Our Focus for the Future

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Our Focus for the Future

© 2021 C. O. Bishop

2nd Peter 3:10-18

Introduction:

Last week we addressed the idea of “Refocusing for the Future:” turning our eyes away from the turmoil and destruction of this world and focusing on the Word of God and the task we have been given, so that God can lift us above the trials, allowing us to serve Him undisturbed.

We touched last week on what the end times will include, and we encouraged everyone to read the book of Habakkuk and try to emulate Habakkuk’s response to the destruction of his culture and his nation. Some of you followed through and have read that book, and saw both the coming judgment and the God who lifts us above that judgment.

We saw that the bad news is simply that judgment is coming. But the good news is that Jesus saves! That is a simple enough message that anyone can preach it and anyone can understand it, and yet it is of sufficient depth and complexity to keep the most astute student of God’s Word busy digging, and thrilled with what he finds, for the rest of his life.

Virtually all “good news” in life is predicated on some pre-existing “bad news.” Last week we rejoiced to know that “Lisa,” the woman of whom it was said, it would take a miracle to save her life, who had been placed in a medically-induced coma and who was on a ventilator, was now off the ventilator and doing better. That was good news because it was a reversal of the bad news!

The good news, years ago, that Australia had perfected an antivenin which was effective for the bites of 85 different kinds of venomous snakes was predicated upon the bad news that Australia has 140 different kinds of venomous snakes!

The bad news in our lives originated in the Garden of Eden, thousands of years ago. We were all plunged into sin and destruction by the one bad decision of our progenitor, Adam. We all suffered the “snake-bite” of Satan there in the Garden. Jesus said in John 8:44 that Satan “was a murderer from the beginning.” Who did he kill? Us! So, as we were all “bitten” by that same venomous enemy, before the human race had begun to produce, and all have passed on that venom to our progeny, we need to look to the only “Antivenin”—the only cure for that poison in our systems. God’s only cure for the fatal disease called sin is the Blood of Jesus, shed at the Cross! Jesus is “Plan A” and there is no “Plan B!” And each sinner needs to receive it personally.

So, today we are going to continue by reiterating the “bad news” of the coming Judgment for sin, and then focusing on the Good News of the second coming of Christ and what we are supposed to be doing in the meantime.

Bad News

Beginning the Day of the Lord

10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night;

1st Thessalonians 4:13-18 describes the Rapture in clear terms, and is immediately succeeded by 1st Thessalonians 5:1, 2, which reiterates that the Day of the Lord shall come as a thief in the night. And immediately thereafter, it begins describing the tribulation period, which, though it arrived without announcement, just as a thief, it is quite unlike a sneak thief in every other way. The whole point of being a “sneak thief” or a “cat-burglar” is to not be detected, except when the owners of the place wake up and find that something valuable is missing.

The Rapture is the portion of the “Day of the Lord” which “comes as a thief in the night,” and the World will indeed “wake up” to find that the Christians (the real ones) have all gone missing! But that may not bother them, depending on how they felt about Christians. It will certainly be a shock, but it may be frightening to some and elating to others.

The next verse, 1st Thessalonians 5:3, says that “when they shall say ‘peace and safety,’ then shall sudden destruction come upon them as labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they shall not escape.” When labor pains begin, childbirth is still ahead: so, what is being described here is the beginning of the tribulation. And it says everyone will be saying, “peace and safety.” There is a peace-treaty mentioned in Daniel 9:27, wherein the antichrist will make such a treaty and break it.. Matthew 24:15 confirms the idea, and finally, 2nd Thessalonians 2:3, 4 makes the Daniel prophecy clear: the antichrist will make a treaty with Israel which is to be a seven-year peace-treaty, during the first half of which, the temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem: but he will break the treaty at the 3-1/2 year mark, and seat himself in the temple to be worshipped as God. For the last half century, the whole world has been yearning for a working peace-treaty in the Middle-East. It will come! They will rejoice! But it will only last 3-1/2 years, and culminate in the most terrible, worldwide destruction this world has ever seen.

Jesus described that tribulation in Matthew 24 and Mark 13…and in Matthew 25:31-46, He describes the second coming. He describes the judgment of the living nations saying that those who were saved will proceed into the Kingdom, (not Heaven! Heaven is still future.) (He discusses their works, but, as the rest of scripture assures us, their works showed their faith.) He declares that the unrighteous unbelievers will proceed (eventually) into everlasting fire.

But that Kingdom age is described in much detail: 1000 years long according to Revelation 20, and filled with Peace and righteousness, and the knowledge of the Lord, according to the Old Testament prophets. But it ends in violence, as did all the other ages, and this time, it is the end!

in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

Revelation 20:11 describes the Great White Throne judgment: it says that all heaven and earth flee from the face of Him who sat upon the throne, and “There was found no place for them.” Why?  Evidently this is where the “Fervent heat and great noise” come into play, because in Revelation 21:1 says there was a New Heaven and New Earth “because the first earth was passed away.” And, between the passing of the first earth and the creation of the New Earth, was the judgment of the unrighteous dead of all time. They all had been cast into the lake of fire.

The End of the Day of the Lord

That is some pretty bad news we just read, except for the Good News that there is a New Heaven and a New Earth coming, and that we will be with Jesus while He judges the world, and that we are never to be condemned again. This is why John 5:24 is so precious, along with Romans 8:1. Jesus declared in John 5:24 that those who have placed their faith in Him will never be condemned by God, while Romans 8:1 reiterates that “There is now therefore no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.”

The condemnation of the unrighteous world will “pass over” the believers, who have trusted in the Blood of the Lamb of God. Does that sound familiar? I surely hope it does! The Passover was a picture, a prefiguring of this very promise: that the wrath of God will pass over the people of God, because He sees the blood of the covenant…Jesus’s Blood at the Cross…and offers no further judgment. As Jesus proclaimed from the Cross, “It is finished!”

11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,

12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

As we then consider the coming Judgment, the ultimate Bad News which will take the World by surprise, and finally end the Day of the Lord with the promised destruction and Judgment, we need to take seriously the last request of the Lord, that we are to reach the World with the Gospel; because it is His deep desire that people be saved. And the only “Ambassadors of His Grace” that He has appointed are His saints…the believers. You and me!

Consider a firefighting crew.

Several of the members of that crew may be fully trained medics. Several will have Commercial Driving Licenses (CDL) and whatever special training is needed to drive a fire truck. A couple of them may be trained mechanics, to keep the trucks in top shape. Some will be skilled managers, etc. But every single one of them is a firefighter! Their job is to fight fires. Their particular “assignment” or “task” within the firehouse may include anything from doing Public Relations work, to performing fire inspections, or just cleaning and inspecting their own fire-fighting apparatus. But their collective job is to fight fires!

You may have the task of teaching a Sunday school class, or doing bookwork, or helping with food distribution, or repairing a church building, or mentoring younger believers…but your Job is to Preach the Gospel. You are a chosen ambassador of Christ! Take that seriously! Don’t lose sight of who and what you are in Christ!

Finally: How should We respond?

13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. 14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.

We are told that, since the coming Judgment is a sure thing, and that there will be millions of people lost, for lack of the Gospel, that we need to be doing what He said to do! That includes a holy lifestyle, and the constant walk with God. But it also includes being an Ambassador.

15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; 16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

It is interesting to me that as Peter is telling us to get on with the job counting the longsuffering of God to be an open door for salvation to those willing to trust Him, that he also cites the Apostle Paul, who preached that very thing. In 1st Corinthians 15:34, Paul said “Awake to righteousness and sin not, for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.” The point? Evangelism is our job. If it isn’t happening, at least at some level, we should be ashamed of our nonfeasance of duty.

17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.

Peter warns us that we can be distracted and fall away into non-function, and unfruitful behavior.  What could be the contrast? (How should we act in order to not be led astray?)

18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

The next verse answers that question: “Grow in Grace and in the Knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” And we know how to do that: 1st Peter 2:2 says, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word that ye may grow thereby!”

To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

And the result will be “Glory to God in the Church by Christ Jesus…”, forever! Here again, Peter agrees with Paul. (Ephesians 3:21 “21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.”)

Lord Jesus, we ask your forgiveness for failing to do the job you have called us to do, and we ask that you renew a right spirit within us, giving us a passion for the lost. Let us see the World as you see it, and offer the Love of God, as you have called us to so.

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Refocusing for the Last Days

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Refocusing for the Last Days

© 2021 C. O. Bishop

2nd Peter 3:1-9

Introduction:

It is interesting to me that Peter is reminding us ofwhy he is writing: to “stir up” our new nature, through a reminder to focus on the Word of God. That is interesting to me, specifically, because that is my goal here at True Hope Christian Fellowship as well: to stir up the new nature of those who have already been born again, so that they desire the sincere milk of the Word, as Peter said in his first epistle. This is how the saints of God (defined by God as those who have entered into a covenant with Him by sacrifice…specifically, through faith in Jesus’s blood at the Cross) …this is how the saints of God grow into the servants and soldiers of God, and are manifested as the Sons of God. (Romans 8:14 says “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the Sons of God.”)

The Goal of the Twin Epistles of Peter

So that is our goal: we want to give the Holy Spirit “free rein” in our lives by being obedient to His Word, since that is specifically how God has chosen to lead His people: through His Word.

1 This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: 2 That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:

Peter reminds us that both epistles had the same goal: to “stir up our pure minds.” (What “pure minds?”) The only “pure minds” we have are our new natures, created by God in righteousness and true holiness, according to Ephesians 4:24. Paul had pointed out that “no good thing dwells in” our old nature. (Romans 7:18) In fact, by the end of Romans chapter seven, Paul concluded that the old nature is no longer us. God no longer sees your old nature as “you” at all. This is a hard concept to grasp, because the old nature still feels like “me.” But God says (Romans 6) that He has separated me from my old nature to the degree that He considers me dead to sin and, more than that, a “new Creation.” (2nd Corinthians 5:17) It is hard for me to grasp that I am a new creature. I don’t feel new! But I can tell something is new, in that I do desire to walk with God…where before, I had no such desire. So I know I have a new nature: I just need to learn to see my new nature as the “real me,” just as Paul did, in Romans 7:17. Just as Paul struggled with his old sin nature, which he called “the flesh,” we also struggle. But we can learn from his experience, accept by faith the fact of the new birth and the resulting new nature, and begin learning to feed that new nature and watch it grow strong and stable.

So the “pure mind” Peter refers to is our new nature, which, as we know, must be fed, strengthened and exercised.  But how is it to be fed, strengthened, exercised and “stirred up?”

He says that we are to “be mindful of” (to keep in mind…to remember…to focus on) the words of the Old Testament prophets and the New Testament Apostles. (In short, “read your Bible and apply it to your life!”) Why does he consider this to be such an important message?

The Last Days are Coming.

Peter has already told us that we are to grow through the Word. He has already told us that we are to become partakers of the nature of God through the Word. He goes on to say what the end times will hold and what our response should be:

3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

Scoffers have been around since the beginning: there is nothing new about that. But the trend is growing stronger, wherein the scoffers are very vocal and very public: They loudly proclaim Jesus to have been a myth or a self-deluded fool, and that anyone who believes in Him is mentally deficient at best, and probably socially unacceptable at every level.

When the believers confidently assert that Jesus will return, they are elated, because they consider 2000 years plenty of time to “prove” that He will not return. So they loudly condemn all those who trust in His Word. They say nothing has changed in all these years, so it isn’t going to change. They make assumptions about the world and base their decisions on those assumptions. They deny the creation even happened; or they claim that the impersonal “Universe” is responsible for all things and that it has a “will” and makes choices for their lives. All of this is what we have called “pantheism” for centuries, and we have seen the wretched results of it in the nations which continued to embrace it. Life has been very cheap in those nations, and persons are not seen to have intrinsic value as individuals.

And Peter says that the day is coming when those sorts of beliefs and values will be all over the world, and that, collectively, the world will insist that it is folly to believe the Bible. They will also violently oppose those who teach it. So we have to be aware of these things in advance.

5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:

He reminds us of the Creation:

He reminds us that God spoke the World into existence! He reminds us that it was initially completely covered with water, but that God had caused the dry land to emerge from beneath the water, to stand out of the water, but surrounded by water. When we read the entire Genesis account, we see a number of things that God confirmed in His Word, and that people witnessed on earth, but which geologists claim happened hundreds of millions of years ago, and which, in any case, they only in the last century admitted happened at all! One of those is that the land once existed as a single “supercontinent” and was broken up into the tectonic plates we now see slowly drifting on the surface of the globe. Another is that the breakup actually happened within human memory! (Genesis 10:25)

But then he takes a step forward in history to the time of the flood, pointing out that God chose to use that same water that was present at the creation, to judge the earth.

And the Flood:

 6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:

We know the story of that destruction, from Genesis chapters 6-9; and we can see the truth of it written in the layers of sedimentary stone all over the world. The highest peaks frequently have seashells in the strata, even on the highest peaks, showing that they were once under water. And this is repeated all over the world. Science refuses to consider the flood as a possible explanation for the phenomenon, though the evidence continues to build.

How do we “Tell time?”

The “geologic clock” can be read from the point of view of a worldwide flood, which telescoped the history of the world down to less than ten thousand years, or it can be read from the point of view that everything took millions of years to form, making the world billions of years old.

I recall, as a child, being told that the limestone caves with their hanging stalactites and great stalagmites below then took millions of years to build. Yet the concrete sidewalks through those caves, where visitors see the amazing limestone structures, and hear that solemn lecture, have stalagmites growing on the concrete, and stalactites growing from the railings. (Must be old sidewalks!)

And when the geologists first visited the Toutle River canyon, near Mt. St. Helen, immediately after the waters broke through the volcanic ash dam, they all exclaimed that, “If we hadn’t known that this happened last week, we would have sworn it took millions of years to carve away these layers of rock!” (Reaaalllly! So, what happens if you take that idea a step further, and consider the ramifications for the rest of your world view?)

One recent find, in Cornwall, England delighted me: workers in a quarry discovered the intact fossil skeleton of a whale. So they stopped work and called in the paleontologists to dig up the fossil. The problem was that the whale was fossilized upright, standing on its tail! And, no, the strata had not been tilted after the whale was buried in silt: the stratified layers of sediment were horizontal, and the whale had literally been buried “upright.” So…what are our three options?

  1. The whale died, and sank (but, you see, dead whales float, as a rule) and it slipped into an underwater chasm which subsequently filled with sediment, and then fossilized, leaving the fossil as they found it. The problem with that idea is that the layers of sediment were not broken by a different sediment as if a chasm had been filled…all the layers fully engaged with (and permeated) the fossilized whale!
  2. The whale died in a cataclysmic flood and was caught up in the roiled waves of settling silt from the flood (which naturally settle in layers by relative density and particle size,) so that it was literally buried upright, with the silt entombing it as the heavy mud rapidly filled and solidified to make the stratified layers which are visible in the rock today. (The problem with that idea is that if we believe the flood really happened, it gives credence to the rest of the Bible! And the world can’t allow people to believe that kind of stuff!)
  3. The whale stood on its tail and waited for millions of years while it was buried in all those layers of silt. (That must have been one very patient whale!)

So, the “Geologic Clock” poses some problems for the unbelieving world: to them, it clearly says that the Biblical account of the Creation is false, which adds to their confidence as they rail against God. But the fact is, they are “reading the clock” incorrectly.

What should we expect for the future?

Peter points out that the world we see today is also headed for destruction, but not by flood.

 7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

Consider the horror of a prairie fire or a forest fire, or even a house-fire: This goes far beyond anything we can imagine. Colossians 1:17 says that Jesus is the one “holding all the physical world together.” (The phrase in KJV “…in Him all things consist” is usually translated, “in Him all things hold together.”) Jumping ahead to 2nd Peter 3:10, we see that the heavens and the earth will melt and pass away with a fervent heat and a great noise. If I understand Colossians 1:17 correctly, it sounds as though Jesus is simply going to “let go,” and the entire physical world will disintegrate at an atomic level, like a sun going nova! (Yep! I would call that a “fervent heat and a great noise!”) It will be impossible to escape and will spell the absolute end of the world we call home. Peter says that the same authority that created the World is going to destroy it.

When should we expect it to happen?

Looking at Revelation 20, I can see that this World will end immediately after the Millennial Kingdom age ends, and immediately before the Great White Throne Judgment.

And there is one more thing to point out in that verse: The first is obvious, that the world will be destroyed by fire. The second should be obvious, but we tend to brush over it: The coming judgment is specifically the judgment and perdition (eternal loss) of ungodly people. In that particular judgment, God’s saints will be untouched! (Remember, this means those who have made a covenant with Him by sacrifice: they have trusted in Jesus’s blood at the Cross as their blood sacrifice for sin…these are they whom God calls His saints.)

In many of the world’s judgments, wars, etc., the godly were hurt along with the ungodly. But this one is different: This judgment is only for those who have rejected God’s Grace, and have spurned His sacrifice. These are they whom God calls the “ungodly.”

The specific judgment involved, of course, is described in Revelation 20:7-15. Please remember that the Judge sitting on that Great White Throne is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. We tend to think of it as being God the Father, but according to John 5:22, it is not…Jesus said that He is the only Judge: the Father judges no one.

8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

All we can say for sure is that God is never late: He is not failing to keep His Word. He is holding back that final judgment, offering time for people to change their minds. It is easy for Him to call an event in History the “day of the Lord” when, to us it seems to be over 1000 years!

The Day of the Lord, in fact, begins with the Rapture of the Church, which is the portion said to be “as a thief in the night,” but it immediately transitions into the Tribulation, which according to Daniel 9:23-27, is specifically aimed at a final purge of both the unbelieving World and Israel. Even during that tribulation, God will provide thousands of witnesses, offering salvation to anyone willing to receive it..

That seven-year period of terrible disasters on earth is cut short by the sudden appearing of the Triumphant Christ, not coming as savior, but as King. The living nations will be judged by Jesus in person, as recorded in Matthew 25:31 and following. Some will be admitted into the 1000-year kingdom on earth. Others will be sent to Hades to wait out the Kingdom age there.

But when the Kingdom age ends there will be one final rebellion, summarily stopped by God the Father, and then we will see the fulfillment of verse 7. And that final judgment, described in Revelation 20:7-15, includes the fact that Hades proper, along with all the unrighteous dead of history will be cast into the Lake of Fire. That is the end of the day of the Lord… and that is final!

So: How should we respond?

We tend to want to just “hunker down and wait it out.” But that is not what we are called to do. We, who by God’s Grace and faithfulness are guaranteed to spend eternity with Him should be driven by the priorities which drive Him. What are God’s priorities?

Well, He just said that He is “…longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” Who is He patient with? The World? No…with us! He wants people saved! He desires that all would come to repentance, and even though He knows that will not happen, he wants us to act as His ambassadors, offering that eternal life to all.

There are people in each of our lives for whom we may be their only light in this dark world: How are you shining that light? Are you deliberately angling the light so that they can see their way to Jesus? Or is it just random flashes from an otherwise unstable walk with God?

If you were a pilot on a dark night, and, as you approached an airfield, you were told that the runway-lights below were actually flashlights taped to the backs of box tortoises, and that they were free to wander anywhere on the airfield, how comfortable would you feel? You would hope you could head for some other airfield, wouldn’t you? We do not want to be “wandering lights.” We need to provide stable, steady light, to show the Savior to the dying World.

We need to take this seriously, and realize just how important our testimony may be to the people with whom we live and work. You may be their last chance to choose life! Don’t turn off the lights! Walk by faith and hold forth the Word of truth.

Lord Jesus, fix our fading vision on Your face, and teach us to reflect the light of your Love and truth in the deepening darkness of our World. Raise us up as your Saints and allow us to serve you faithfully.,

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False Teachers

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What does God say about False Teachers?

© 2021 C. O. Bishop

2nd Peter 2:3-22

Introduction:

We left off, last week, with God’s warning about false teachers, and we discussed briefly what is and is not a false teacher. There are several questions to be addressed in this chapter: God points out a key idea; that the false teachers are “denying the Lord that bought them.” (v. 1) But that raises a question in many people’s minds, thinking, “they must be believers, otherwise how could it say he ‘bought’ them?” That sounds like a reasonable question, so, let’s answer that first:

Who did Jesus purchase with His Blood?

How many sins did Jesus die for at the Cross? 1st John 2:2 states that Jesus paid for the sins of the whole world. It is not just “hinted at,” or “indicated;” this is not a “matter of interpretation:” God flatly says, he died “…not for our sins only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” (There is nothing “ambiguous” about it!) Jesus said the reason he came was that the World might be saved through Him. He also said that those who believe in Him “have eternal life,” and “are not condemned.” They who do not believe are “already condemned” and “shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on them.” (John 5:24, John 3:17, 18, and 36)

So, a false teacher is not a “believer” because the Lord “bought them:” they are human sinners, (just like us) because the Lord bought them. (He did not die for the sins of the angels who rebelled.) And, by the end of this chapter, we will see that the false teachers definitely are not believers. God draws sharp distinction between sinners who are believers and sinners who are not believers. But the next verse raises another question:

What about Hell?

4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;

Here is another confusing passage. The word translated “hell,” here, is not the common Greek word “hades” meaning “the place of the dead:” it is the word “Tartarus”, meaning the abyss, or the “bottomless pit.” In fact, the word Tartarus is only used this one time in scripture, and the Greek word “abussos” (describing the same place) is only used nine times, and in all but one, the meaning is clearly not the place of the dead, but the “abyss;” the “bottomless pit” which is evidently reserved for angelic prisoners, not humans. (see Luke 8:31; Revelation 9:1, 2, 11; also Revelation 11:7; 17:8, and 20:1, 3)

People have somehow gotten the idea that Satan “rules in Hell.” That is simply not so. Right now, he is tromping around, right here on earth! (Job 1:7) Hell (hades, or, in the Old Testament, sheol) always simply refers to the “place of the dead.” Sheol/hades was divided into two compartments…the place of the righteous dead, and the place of the unrighteous dead. But the place for angelic prisoners is a completely different location, called the abyss.

People have also somehow gotten the idea that Jesus “went to hell for our sins.” This also is not true! When Jesus made His final declaration of victory, from the Cross, the word He cried out, in Greek, was “Tetelestai!” It meant “Paid in full” It is translated “It is finished,” but that can have a variety of English connotations. I like the way it reads in the Spanish Bible: “Consumado es!” (“It is consummated! It is completed! The work I was sent to do is utterly finished!”) There was nothing left to pay for!

He had told the Jews that He would be spending three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. And he told the thief on the Cross: “Today thou shalt be with me in Paradise!” (Not hell!) There were two “holding places” for the dead: the righteous dead waited in a place sometimes called “Abraham’s bosom,” as in Luke 16:19-31, or Paradise. In either case, it was the place of the righteous dead: the “waiting-room” for those who would eventually be admitted into Heaven, as a group. (When?) After the resurrection of Christ, at His ascension.

(Why the delay?) Until Jesus died, the way into God’s presence was closed, as pictured by the thick, floor-to-ceiling veil in the temple. When He died, that veil was torn from top to bottom, showing that the way was now open. When Jesus ascended, Paradise was literally transferred into Heaven. This explains why, years later, Paul described being caught up to “the third heaven” (remember, sky, outer space and God’s abode are all called by the same word in both Greek and Hebrew)  He said he was caught up to Paradise: up, into God’s presence, not down, into the heart of the earth, where Jesus said He was going to be for three days and three nights.

So, these angels who were cast into the abyss were not in the same place where the unrighteous human dead are still awaiting the final judgment, in Revelation 20:11-15. This is also how we know that “hell,” translated from the Greek word hades, is not the “final” judgment: Revelation 20:14 says that death and hell are to be cast into the Lake of Fire. That is final! Hades is only the “waiting room” for the Lake of Fire, where the whole mass of humanity who rejected the Lord during their lifetimes will be cast, all at one time.

Saved Sinners

Who does God save, then? God saves believing sinners.

 5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;

Noah was a saved sinner: how do I know? Because Genesis 6:8 says “Noah found Grace in the eyes of the LORD.” Grace means “unmerited favor: un-earned favor.” Only sinners need Grace! Noah was saved by Grace through faith, just the same as you and I are. But those around him, whether good or bad (from human perspective,) gentle or violent, young or old, educated or ignorant, sick or healthy, weak or strong, were all unbelieving sinners. God categorized them with one phrase: “the ungodly.” And, because they did not believe the warning, when the flood came, they were all destroyed.

6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; 7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: 8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)

Lot was a saved sinner! How do I know? Because God calls him “just:” righteous! I would never have considered Lot a righteous man from the Genesis account. He seemed to just be a sinner, all the way around. But evidently he believed in the God who blessed Abraham, because God calls him a righteous man. I had no doubt that the Sodomites were wicked: they proved it. But I had just assumed that God rescued Lot for Abraham’s sake. I didn’t see Lot as a righteous man: but God says that he was! And the only way to be called “righteous” by God is by faith.

What is a Saint?

How does God define His saints? The word “saint” means “holy one;” those whom God has set aside for His service. But where is the dividing line? Turn to Psalm 50:5 “Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” Those who had “made a covenant with him by sacrifice” are those He calls his “saints.”  He has set them apart for His purpose, His exclusive use, and as His exclusive property!

The next question has to be: “What Sacrifice?” There were hundreds of them! In the Old Testament, many people brought sacrifices, but not all of them were making a covenant with God. Some were just “going through the motions.” They brought the “correct” sacrifice, because they were required to do so, but they had no heart for God. He was not deceived by their outward behavior: He saw their hearts, and He openly rejected such sacrifices. (Isaiah 1:11-13)

In Romans 3:25, we see that God has set forth Jesus to be a propitiation (a satisfying sacrifice) through faith in His Blood!” So, today, those who have “made a covenant with God by sacrifice” are those who have placed their faith in Jesus’s blood at the Cross as full payment for their sins. And God says, that makes them His saints: His property; his children, and His ambassadors. If you have trusted Jesus as your Savior, then all of that is eternally true of you!

That is the same basis upon which Noah, and Abraham, (yes, and Lot) were declared to be righteous. “Abraham believed God, and God declared him to be righteous on the basis of his faith.” (Genesis 15:6 and Romans 4:3)

Saints often Suffer

9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

Remember: in Job’s life, he had done no evil (God says so!) but much evil befell him. In his case, it was so that we could learn the righteousness and authority of God, and learn from the faith and endurance of Job. But, Naboth was faithful, too, and refused to sell the inheritance of his ancestors. Queen Jezebel had him framed for blasphemy, and stoned to death, so she could illegally take the land for King Ahab! Yes, God is faithful, but remember that He is also God: He allows his saints to suffer, for His glory and their eventual reward. Job was blessed and rewarded in his lifetime. Naboth’s reward will obviously have to be in eternity…but Ahab and Jezebel both died very ugly deaths for their wickedness…and eternal judgment still awaits them! And our reward is also not necessarily in this life!

What about those false teachers, then?

The rest of this chapter describes only the false teachers. I have underscored the pronouns in the passage. They are all third-person plural. The only exceptions are the pronouns regarding those with whom they interact. When they deceive believers, the believers are addressed as “you.”

10 But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.

11 Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord.

They speak bold, defiant words against all authority, slandering those in authority, when even angelic beings speak more circumspectly, not making wild accusations. And God says they will bring upon themselves the destruction they deserve.

12 But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; 13 And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;

Notice how they relate to real Christians: they deceive us! They think it’s fun (that’s what “sporting themselves” means) to “infiltrate” the local assemblies, take communion as if they were a believer, come to potlucks, sing the songs, pray the prayers, and fool us all! And we are pretty easily deceived: we want to believe the best of people, so it is hard for us to see through their deceit. But usually, there will be discrepancies that arise, because they also want the pleasures of the flesh. Eventually, their behavior and their words will show their real heart.

They are Not God’s Children!

14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:

I’ve often heard people say, “we are all children of God!” The Jews tried that with Jesus, and He told them that they were not children of God: rather, they were of their father, the Devil! (John 8:44) Yes, they were “cursed children!” But many assume that it means these had been children of God, and were now cursed. No: they had never been believers, had never entered into a covenant with God by sacrifice, and had never been reborn as children of God.

That is why they “cannot cease from sin!” Even believers can’t “eradicate their sin nature” and permanently cease from sin: But an unbeliever only has the one nature: They literally cannot cease from sin, (and “covetous practices”) because even when they do “good things,” they do so with wrong motives, trying to declare themselves righteous. Their relationship with Christ is based on knowledge alone; not faith (consider Judas as an example: he knew everything the other disciples knew: but he had never placed his faith in Jesus.) These false teachers knew the right way, and evidently made an outward attempt to conform (just like Judas), but then abandoned it, scorning it. (Keep in mind that Jesus confirmed that Judas was never born again…he was never cleansed. John 13:10,11)

15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; 16 But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man’s voice forbad the madness of the prophet. 17 These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.

They are doing as Balaam did (following his way), choosing money, power, and position over a relationship with God. (Balaam was a genuine prophet…a real believer: but he “sold out” and he was killed with the enemies of God.) The false teachers don’t even have that final saving grace: they are phonies; only pretending to believe, just like Judas. “Waterless wells,”  have nothing of eternal value to offer…nothing to quench the thirst of a soul desiring hope, and peace with God.

18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.

19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.

We can be deceived!

It is entirely possible for a false teacher to draw away real believers after themselves: when Paul spoke to the Ephesian elders, in Acts 20:30, he warned that the false teachers would do just that! Believers can be drawn away into cults: they cannot be lost, but they can be rendered utterly ineffective, and unfulfilled. (When the holy vessels of God’s Temple were stolen by the Babylonians and used for the worship of false Gods, did those vessels become the “property” of those false Gods? No! They were still God’s Property, and He brought them back!) When Jim Jones led his followers into the jungle of Guyana and murdered them all, some of those had been members of evangelical Christian churches in the past, and very likely were real believers! But he was a persuasive speaker, speaking “great swelling words” as we just read in verse 18, and they were deceived! The result was a gruesome death for over 900 people.

But verses 20-22 are about the false teachers themselves, not believers: Notice, it says:

20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

Notice that there is no mention of “saving faith,” or any faith: We are not saved by knowledge; we are saved “by Grace, through faith.” The demons “know” Jesus! They recognized Him and called Him by name, when He was casting them out of the humans they had possessed. They knew Him as “the” savior, but not as their Savior. That “knowledge” could not save them. But how do we know these people were not believers?

21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

Again, there is no mention of faith. That alone is important, but not necessarily conclusive. However, see what it also does not say: It does not say, “The sheep has turned back into a dog, and has gone back to eating vomit,” or “The sheep has turned back into a pig, and gone home to the hog-wallow!” No: God identifies these people, like Judas, as those who had never been cleansed…never been transformed, never been born again!

So, the false teachers in this chapter are unbelievers who masquerade as believers. Jesus warned (Matthew 7:15) against the false prophets, saying that “they come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” Paul warned against the same people, in Acts 20:29, saying that “grievous wolves” would arise, even from among the flock, and draw away disciples after themselves.

Conclusion: We have been warned!

And the only safety we have is found in God’s Word and His indwelling Holy Spirit. We are told to “Be sober! Be vigilant, for your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour!” You cannot be lost, but you can be deceived. Study God’s Word, and arm yourself against the trickery of the enemy, who desires to damage your walk with God. We will continue to work to equip the believers in this assembly to stand fast against that enemy.

Lord Jesus, continue to draw us into a deeper relationship with you through your written Word, by the Holy Spirit, and through fellowship with God and the people of God. Make us strong, and teach us to do your work.

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Answers from the Mouth of God (Part 2)

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Answers from the Mouth of God (Part 2)

© C. O. Bishop 2010 revised 2021

Introduction: (Part two)

Last week we explored some common questions in believers’ lives: (How can I be sure I am Saved? What should I do when I don’t “feel saved?” and What breaks fellowship?) As a beginning premise, we established that we need to turn to the Bible as the written Word of God, to find answers. It is not just a “rule book.” It is God’s written communication to us. Jesus is identified as being the Word of God, in several places. We can call Him the Living Word, the Word made Flesh, etc. But we are to treat the Written Word, the Bible, as if He himself were speaking to us: because He is! So, today, we need to further explore the questions that cause us doubt, and see whether we can shine the light of God’s Word on those issues. To review, briefly:

What do I do when I don’t “feel saved?”

Think back: review what it takes to be saved. Ask yourself: “Have I ever placed my full trust in Jesus’ blood; His completed work at the cross as being sufficient to pay for all my sins?” If the answer is “Yes,” then salvation is not the issue: probably you are simply out of fellowship with God. (Another possibility: You may just have sad feelings caused by fatigue, guilt, or grief.)

What breaks fellowship?

In a word, “Sin!” Only sin breaks fellowship with God. Amos 3:3 says that two cannot walk together unless they are in agreement; Psalm 66:18 says that if I am holding sin in my heart, God will not hear me. God is not angry at you. He desires to have fellowship with you. If you are not “holding out on Him” by clinging to known sin, then you are free to enjoy His presence and His blessing. Elijah was not in sin, when he was hiding in the desert, under the juniper tree. He was overwhelmed with fatigue and fear. God did not rebuke him: He first met Elijah’s physical needs and only then, afterward, corrected his thinking.

Romans chapter 6 assures me that I do not have to sin. But, Romans 6:16 says that when I choose to submit myself to sin, I temporarily become a slave to it again(and it is always a choice!)

 “God is Light, and in Him is no darkness at all.” (1st John 1:5, 6) So, if we say that we have fellowship with Him, but our lives don’t match His truth, then we are fooling ourselves. We are not in fellowship.  Then, how do we restore fellowship? By confession. 1st John 1:9 “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Confession is not “groveling and begging for forgiveness:” it is agreeing with God (that is what “confession” means) that our behavior or thoughts were sin, and then stopping it. If it happens again, confess it again! Some things take longer to break ourselves of than others.

And, finally, how do we maintain fellowship? By obedience. 1st 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, cleanses us from all sin.”

Walking with Jesus

Can Sin be eradicated from our lives? 1st John 1:8, 10 says that if we think we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and, if we think we have never had a sin problem, then we are actually making God a liar.  So, in the same manner as Paul struggled with his indwelling sin nature (Romans 7,) we also must fight against it. It’s just a simple fact.

Colossians 2:6 says we are to walk in Christ in the same way we received Him–(by faith). Walking implies a continuous action, not a one-time action. It also implies a step-by-step, relatively slow action, not an idea of moving by “leaps and bounds”, nor of coasting, gliding, or sprinting. In light of the verses listed above, and the wealth of information given to believers concerning how to live the Christian life, I think I can say that we will not be without sin until the day we see Jesus. 1 John 3:2 says, “ then we shall be like him, for we shall see Him as He is.”

The Christian life includes battles, in which we are expected to stand fast. (Ephesians 6:10-18 describes the armor of God, and tells who the enemy is, as well as who it is not; James 4:7 says we are to submit to God and resist Satan; 1 Peter 5:8, 9 says that the enemy is deadly, and that he stalks us, but that we are to resist him steadfastly.) The key is to be filled with, or to walk in, or be led by the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 5:18 “be filled with the Spirit”; Galatians 5:16-23 “…walk in the Spirit”; Romans 8:14 “be led by the Spirit”. All three are the same idea.) The Christian life is only possible by the indwelling, presiding Holy Spirit living it through us, moment by moment.

So, What about my “feelings of unworthiness?”

To begin with, let’s stop, and just admit it: if I am examining my own personal abilities, strengths, or righteousness, then of course I’m unworthy! So are you, and so is the whole human race! We are all sinners! But, if you are a born-again child of God, then God is not looking at those things in your life; so why are you? (By the way, false guilt can cause just as much damage as real guilt!)

God has already permanently placed you into the body of Christ; (1 Cor. 12:13 says that we were all “baptized into one Body of Christ, by the same Holy Spirit”), and He has already seated you with Christ in the heavenly places; (Ephesians 2:6 says that we have been raised with Christ and are seated with him in Heaven,) and He has sealed you in Christ. (Ephesians 1:13, 14 says we are sealed in Him by the Holy Spirit until the redemption of the purchased possession …us!)

You are already perfect in Him (Ephesians 4:24 says that your new nature has been created in the likeness of God, in righteousness and true Holiness), and you (past tense) have been made the Righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21 says that Christ became sin for us, though He knew no sin, so that we could be made the righteousness of God in Him.) God no longer sees your sin at all, except as a hindrance to the blessing and work He wants to accomplish in you. According to Jesus’ promise, you will never be condemned. (John 5:24).

How would you feel, if, after a few tries trying to learn to tie his shoes, your four-year-old child declared himself a failure, and unworthy to be called your son? The issue of whether he could tie his shoes is ultimately insignificant: it has no bearing whatsoever on whether he is your son. The same is true in our relationship with God the Father. We became children of God by rebirth, upon receiving Jesus Christ as our Savior. Our works have nothing to do with salvation.

Our good works are only possible because we are children of God; they are not required in order to make us children of God. An unbeliever may do good works, possibly even more consistently than most believers, but he does it for a different reason, and his good works will not change his lost standing before God. Works are simply not in the picture, except as a result of Salvation.

Feelings are not Trustworthy.

We need to recognize that feelings are only valid when they reflect reality…they are not usually a safe measure of reality. Amusement parks capitalize on this fact: they make us feel as though we are falling when we are actually relatively safe. Magicians make us think we see things that we actually know are not true. But the fact of God’s Word is reality. We place our faith in His Word, and we change our way of life to match His principles…we embrace His values as our own. Feelings of deep joy and satisfaction, and awe at the majesty of God should follow.

But there will always be the likelihood that our feelings may not reliably reflect the reality of our new relationship with God. So, we need to constantly review the facts, and bask in the glory of God’s presence in His Word and in fellowship with other believers, to insulate ourselves from the negative feelings that besiege us in the unbelieving World. God’s Word reveals which feelings are from Him, and which are from our old sin nature. Satan will try to use my old nature as a tool to render me unprofitable to God. That is part of the battle—avoiding the traps he sets for our minds. In fact, that is what the “Helmet of Salvation” is all about in Ephesians 6:17. The assurance of our salvation is what guards our minds against Satan’s attacks.

What about when I “forgive” someone, but I am still angry?

This is an example where feelings do reveal what is really in our hearts. Consider this: if I forgive a debt someone owes me, it means they no longer owe me! The debt is cancelled, which means I must fully accept and absorb that loss. That is why Jesus had to go to the Cross, in order to forgive our sins. He bore the loss, the broken law, the weight of the shame and guilt of the lost world, and He took the punishment we deserved. So, when I say the words, “I forgive…” it means “I accept the loss, the hurt, the injury received, and I no longer hold the other person responsible.” So, when the angry feelings come back, I need to confess that the feelings are not from God and that they are a manifestation of my old nature. I can confess my anger as sin! I can set it aside, and accept that “yes, I was injured,” and decide again, “I no longer hold anyone else responsible.”

Someone has pointed out that “Anger is like a large, heavy bell: it took several pulls on the rope to get it ringing, to begin with, and just letting go of the rope once will not stop the sound. But if, every time I hear the bell, I yank the rope again, it will never stop ringing!” You must let go of it and give God time to heal your hurt feelings and harsh, sad memories.

So, how can I know God’s will for my life?

For a believer who has already settled the issue of his/her salvation, this is an important question to answer. The Bible gives a great deal of information on the subject, and I won’t try to cover it all right now. But, the basics are as follows:

God gives “General instructions” to all believers–He wants all of us to walk in obedience to Him, and live lives that are pleasing to Him, and which honor him before men. He wants all of us to believe His Word; trust His Grace and Wisdom; and to tell the good news of salvation to others. He wants all of us to consistently fellowship with Him and with other believers. He wants all of us to pray constantly, and be an encouragement to other believers, as well as praying for their needs.

He wants all of us to live without sin, but He knows our frailty, and He is more than fair– if we sin, we are to confess it to Him, restore whatever wrong has been done (if possible,) and go on walking with Him. He wants all of us to love Him, above all things, and to grow in that love. He wants His love to spill over from our lives into those around us, and to bless all those around us.

God wants all of us to serve as His ambassadors, to reach the lost and dying world around us with the Gospel. He gives all of us instructions, as to how this is to be accomplished. He gives all of us instructions as to how to relate to our spouses, to our children, to our employers or employees, the government, the police, the lost people around us, and to fellow Christians.

In short, all the general instructions regarding how to live for God are in the Bible. Specific instructions, as to what school to go to, or who to marry, or how much to give, or where to seek employment, are a matter of applying the principles of wisdom given in God’s Word, and praying for guidance from God’s Holy Spirit. Many things can be a process of elimination, too, if we write down the “pro’s and con’s”, and then apply God’s principles to make our choices.

Start by obeying the things you know, and praying for wisdom on the things you don’t know. (James 1:5) Then search the scriptures to see if there is a governing principle by which you can make the specific decision that is troubling you. If all the truth you know seems to point in a given direction, feel free to go that way. If the answers you come up with really leave two equally good options, feel free to choose on the basis of personal preference. But be cautious; examine why you prefer one over the other. Ask God for guidance. It is OK to seek counsel of other believers whom you consider to be wise in the Word, as well.

Finally, if you have gone as far as you can, and have made the best decision you know how, then commit your way to God, and trust Him to direct your path. (Proverbs 3:5, 6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy path.”) If He “closes doors,” so to speak, it could be that He is redirecting you. On the other hand, it could simply be an obstacle that you are to overcome. At any rate, God wants you to know His will. He does not play games of hide and seek, or make you guess. If you are willing to submit yourself to His will, and are actively seeking it, then you will eventually be directed by Him.

Here is a warning: don’t make the error of “asking God’s will so you can decide whether to submit yourself to it.” He doesn’t “submit directions to us for our approval.” His will is to be obeyed, not just considered. Knowledge is for the purpose of conduct, not curiosity. If you are not willing to do the will of God, then don’t bother asking Him what it is. We are not free to choose whether to obey God; but many of the choices for which we seek His direction are covered by Biblical principles, and He simply tells us to learn to obey the principles in His Word.

You can be assured, as a believer, based on the promise of God’s Word, that you will never be lost, and that God will continue to love you and provide for you, even through trials, sicknesses and death. You can be assured that, as you search His Word for principles to live by, He will lead you in the path of His choosing. You can be assured that, if you apply those principles in His Word, then your choices will be within His will, and you will enjoy his blessing and guidance.

Notice what these ideas all have in common? God’s Word: That is where we find our assurance. You need to establish a regular habit of reading, and feeding on the Bible. That is where you will find assurance and peace. There are five fundamental ways you can feed on God’s Word:

  1. Hear it
  2. Read it
  3. Study it
  4. Memorize it
  5. Meditate upon it.


Each of the five in the list requires more effort than the one before—and more time. Guess which end of the list has the most effect upon your life. Yep. The ones that cost you the most in terms of time and commitment are the ones that will do you the most good. The same thing is true for most relationships. The ones into which you put the most time and effort usually become the most valuable and enjoyable. We will continue to feed on God’s Word in this assembly, and we trust that it will be to your encouragement, as well.

Conclusion:

You decide how you want to relate to the Lord: If you only want a “life-jacket” in the storms of life, then you may find that when the storms actually come, you don’t really know how to use that “life-jacket.” If you seek his guidance, love, approval, and constant fellowship, then when the storms come, you will find that you are already prepared, and you can rest in Him.

I pray you will find your assurance in the person of Christ, through His written Word, by His Holy Spirit, and in fellowship with other believers. If there are specific questions for which you want answers, any of the leaders in this church will be happy to help you find them. Just ask!

Lord Jesus, continually direct our thoughts toward Yourself, so that we find our assurance in your Word, and fellowship with you by your Grace, and pour out your love to the lost world around us. Make us the ambassadors you have called us to be.

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Answers from the Mouth of God (Pt 1)

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Answers from God’s Word

(Two parts) © C. O. Bishop 2010 revised 2021

Introduction: (Part one)

There are many questions we all seem to have in common. How can the believer have assurance that he/she is saved, and that “peace with God” is a settled issue? How can one overcome doubts and self-condemnation? How can one know God’s will for one’s life? These are common questions that come up over and over, and in some cases never get answered. Where do we look for answers? Can our own wisdom and/or reasoning provide solid answers? Should we simply, blindly, trust that “everything will be all right?” To whom should we turn for the answers?

God has the answers.

We need to begin by establishing a confidence that God himself has all the answers. We can’t count on ourselves or any other human being to have complete knowledge, insight and wisdom. But God does have it! Proverbs, chapter two, tells us that He is the source of all wisdom. James 1:5 echoes this idea. But the key, in Proverbs 2:6, is that “…out of his mouth comes wisdom…” God’s Living Word is the link between Himself and us. He prompts us by his Spirit, and via other people, etc., but the written Word is our “…more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place...”(2 Peter 1:19)

Establish a pattern of reading, and study, to begin familiarizing yourself with God’s Word. If you don’t understand something, don’t fret: just make a note of the passage, and come back to it later. When you find something that seems to speak to your particular need, write it down, and perhaps select a verse to memorize. Keep building a supply of material that God can use to teach you.

Attend a good church regularly: this means you need to find a body of believers who teach the Bible as God’s Word, and who don’t teach “peculiar doctrine,” or twist the scripture to make it say something unusual. Let the Holy Spirit guide you. Ask for a doctrinal statement from them, and read it carefully. Not every group calling itself “Christian” is actually teaching the pure Gospel. But it is important to find believers with whom to fellowship, and from whom to receive encouragement and teaching. As you study God’s Word, and as you fellowship with other believers, you should begin gaining a solid understanding of the answers to the questions most of us have.

So, let’s talk about some of those specific questions:

How can I Know I’m Saved?

This is a very common question, and probably the most important question one can ask. If you have no confidence that you are a child of God, then there is no point in trying to live like one.

A simple way to find an answer is to first ask, “What does it take to be saved?” and then, “Have I satisfied that requirement?” So: what does it take? How is salvation accomplished? The Philippian Jailer, in Acts 16:30, asked, “…what must I do to be saved?” Acts 16:31 says “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…” That was Paul’s answer! There is nothing complicated about that, but perhaps it bears clarification.

In John 3:14-16 Jesus was talking to Nicodemus, explaining to him how to be born again. He adds some insight as to the nature of belief and salvation, but still says “believe”.  “14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 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.

(Remember that, in Numbers chapter 21, the children of Israel were in trouble with God, and He sent migrating vipers among them as punishment for sin: people were bitten, and they were dying! Moses was commanded to make a bronze serpent and hang it up high, where everyone could see it (bronze or brass were symbols of judgment.) Anyone who was bitten was called to look to that bronze serpent…thus confessing that this judgment was from God. The result? They did not die. It does not say that the pain went away, or that the punctures in their flesh were miraculously healed. But, having looked to God’s solution, they escaped death.)

John 5:24 gives a conditional promise: it has two conditions which have to be fulfilled, and a three-clause promise. “24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” Jesus was talking to a crowd, and told them if they heard his Words, and believed (placed their trust in) the One who sent him, then they had eternal life—right then! And furthermore, He said that they would never be condemned: they had permanently crossed over from death into life.

Romans 10:8-17 gives more detail: “8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? 17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Paul said that if a person calls upon (invokes, places their faith in) the name of the Lord, they will be saved. Then he said that one could not call upon someone in whom they did not believe, and they couldn’t believe what they hadn’t heard, and couldn’t hear without one to tell them. This is why we practice evangelism, and support missions!

Romans 1:16 says that the Gospel, being believed, is the power of God to save people…and it is the only thing so called in scripture. Jesus’ death at the cross is “Plan A:” there is no “plan B!”

1 Corinthians 15:3, 4 defines the Gospel. “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; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”

The Gospel is the good news that Jesus died for our sins according to the scripture, that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures (in fulfillment of prophecy). This message, being believed, is what Romans 1:16 says is God’s power to save those who believe.

1 Corinthians 15:22 defines two “positions,” with their respective results. Paul says, “all in Adam died; all in Christ shall be made alive”. Then, we can apply these verses to our own position, to ask–“Am I in Christ, or am I still in Adam?” This is a question that only you can answer. But, according to Jesus’ promise which we read in John 5:24, if you have:

  1. listened to, (or have read, or heard it in some other way) the Good News concerning Jesus’ death and burial and resurrection, and have
  2. believed that His blood sacrifice is enough to pay for all your sins, and so have truly placed your dependence on Him as your Savior,

then God says you have eternal life already, and that you now belong to Him. He wants to begin to change your life, to make you more like Himself. If you rebel against him, he will not change his mind, and take away the eternal life He promised, but you will be unhappy and unfulfilled until you correct the problem, whatever it is, because you won’t be free to fellowship with Him.

So, what do I do when I don’t “feel saved?”

Many believers face this problem now and then. What I have done, when I found myself questioning my salvation, was to go back, mentally, and review what it took to be saved: I asked myself, “Has there ever been a time when you placed your full dependence in Jesus’ completed work at the cross as being sufficient to pay for all your sins?” The answer in my case is “Yes.” So, I was forced to conclude that salvation was not the issue, and that probably I was simply out of fellowship with God. (Incidentally, as I have gone through this sequence a number of times, I have more and more quickly arrived at the correct conclusion: I was out of fellowship with God.)

What breaks fellowship?

In a word, “Sin!” Sin breaks fellowship with God. Amos 3:3 says that two cannot walk together unless they are in agreement; Psalm 66:18 says that if I am holding sin in my heart, God will not hear me.

Romans chapter 6 assures me that I do not have to sin. Romans 6:16 says that when I choose to submit myself to sin, I temporarily become a slave to it again.

1st John 1:5, 6 says, “God is Light, and in Him is no darkness at all.” So, if we say that we have fellowship with Him, and our lives don’t match His truth, then we are fooling ourselves. We are not in fellowship.  How do we restore fellowship? By confession. 1st John 1:9 “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

How do we maintain fellowship? By obedience. 1st 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, cleanses us from all sin.”

Walking with Jesus

Can Sin be eradicated from our lives? I don’t believe it can: 1st John 1:8, 10 says that if we think we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves, and that if we simply think we have never had a sin problem, then we are making God a liar.  So, just as Paul struggled with his indwelling sin nature (Romans 7,) in the same manner, we have to fight it.

Colossians 2:6 says we are to walk in Christ in the same way we received Him–(by faith). Walking implies a continuous action, not a “one-time” action. It also implies a step-by-step, relatively slow action, not an idea of “moving by leaps and bounds”, nor of coasting, gliding, or sprinting. I think, in light of the verses listed above, and the wealth of information given to believers concerning how to live the Christian life, that it is safe to say that we will not be without sin until the day we go to be with God. Then, according to 1 John 3:2, “…we shall be like him, for we shall see Him as He is.”

The Christian life has battles, in which we are expected to stand fast. (Ephesians 6:10-18 describes the armor and tells who the enemy is; James 4:7 says we are to submit to God and resist Satan; 1 Peter 5:8, 9 says that the enemy is deadly, and that he stalks us, but that we are to resist him steadfastly.) The key is to be filled with, or to walk in, or be led by the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 5:18 “be filled with the Spirit”; Galatians 5:16-23 “…walk in the Spirit”; Romans 8:14 “…be led by the Spirit.”). All three are the same idea. The Christian life is not difficult; it is impossible apart from the indwelling, presiding Holy Spirit living that life through us, day by day, and moment by moment.

I trust that each of you is looking to God for the whole life He has to offer you. Please come again, next week, and we will discuss some specific issues in the Christian life.

Lord Jesus, please teach us to find our answers in You: in Your Word, by your Spirit, and always as a manifestation of your Wisdom. Help us to apply your wisdom to each of our personal lives, so that we become the Men and Women of God that you have called us to be.

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Baptism and the New Testament Church

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Baptism and the New Testament Church

© 2021 by C. O. Bishop

What do we actually know about the New Testament Church?

There are many books written on this subject. I don’t propose to rewrite them. I do think it would be well to summarize:

The New Testament Church was:

  1. Indigenous. In no case was an outside person, thing, or material necessary to the function of the local church. (Titus and Timothy were sent to help, later, but they were commanded to get the job done, and get out. 2 Tim 4:9, 21; Titus 1:5; 3:12)
  2. Self-governing. No Church was subject to a distant board of overseers, or any kind of hierarchic structure. (Acts 15 was a request by an apostle for confirmation, from other apostles. It was not a board of cardinals, [or other “birds”] stepping in to correct a local church which was in need of correction.)
  3. Self-supporting. No Church was to depend upon another for its sustenance, but every church was concerned about the others, and stood ready to help in time of need. (2 Corinthians 9)
  4. Self-Propagating. No Church depended upon professional or foreign evangelists to bring in souls, or to carry out the work of the ministry. Leaders were raised up from within the congregation, and every member was expected to function in the ministry. (Ephesians 4:11-16) This is critical to the health of the church.
  5. Under the headship of Christ, with a plurality of human under-shepherds.
  6. There is no scriptural example of a singular leader in a church, except possibly Diotrephes, in 3rd John.
  7. Every example, either by anecdote or command, is “elders” (plural) of the “church” (singular).
  8. The headship of Christ is constantly underscored throughout the epistles.
  9. Free to fit the culture in which it has been planted.
  10. This, of course, is not a license to sin, but a recognition that the style of music, worship, and preaching will vary with the culture, and be used by God accordingly.
  11. If the church is unnatural to its environment, it becomes questionable what makes the people different—is it the indwelling presence of the person of Christ, transforming their life, and making them holy, saying “Come out from among them and be ye holy!”? Or is it the abiding presence of an outside influence that tells them “Live according to this creed, and God will be pleased.”? One is the voice of the Liberator; the other the voice of the Legalizer. One sets them free; the other enslaves them. We need to avoid error in this matter.
  12. Committed to the study and preaching and teaching of the Word of God.
  13. This one is obvious all through the epistles.
  14. The leadership gifts of the local assembly are all to bring about the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry. (Ephesians 4:12)
  15. Committed to obedience to the Written Word, administered by the Living Word.
  16. This one is harder to achieve, but we have to prayerfully, respectfully pursue it with our whole heart. This is where we live or die. It is the foundation to everything else.
  17. Those who desire genuine submission to Christ continue to purify their own lives, and keep going back to the Word, for the purpose of transformation. And God honors this desire, and gives them an even stronger desire to draw near to Him, and walk with Him.
  18. Devoted to the Love of, Worship of, and Obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ; and the Love of, Care of, and mutual commitment to one another.
  19. This is the heart of what makes genuine Christianity work. If you don’t love the Brethren, you don’t love the Lord. And the reverse is true as well. If Christ is the center (imagine a spoked wheel) and we (“the spokes”) desire to draw near to Him, we can’t help desiring to draw near to one another as well.
  20. Devoted to fulfilling the Great Commission.
  21. This is not a grievous task, but the natural outworking of a spiritual “chain-reaction” that has begun in the life of every believer. If we are doing what the Lord wants us to do, we will have opportunity to share our faith, and we will desire to do so. (1 Corinthians 15:34; Romans 15:20)

What about Today?

It seems to me that we should continually make it our aim to make a clean start, unfettered by tradition, whether recent or ancient, except where those traditions are plainly in obedience to Scripture, or where they are harmless, and in an area in which we have freedom to choose, anyway. (Church potlucks, Bible Studies, etc.)

It further seems to me that we should make every effort to not carry “baggage” from our former church or churches, but focus our attention on “What does God’s Word actually say?” and “How can I rightly apply it to my life?” We need to step away from the old baggage and move forward, not be constantly looking back.

When Paul went into a new area, he went to the local gathering-places (the marketplace, waterhole or well, the synagogue, etc.), and he preached. When some responded positively, he spent more time with them, and taught them, confirming them in their new faith. He spent further time, training up leaders, and ordaining them to the work of shepherding the local flock. He gave them two ordinances (Baptism and the Lord’s Table), and adequate instruction, and then he left, and began again elsewhere. Later he sent men to further instruct, train and encourage the new believers, but the fledgling churches were largely left in God’s hands, and, (amazingly!) they mostly flourished!

Is there any real reason the above principles cannot be applied in North America, in the 21st century? I can’t see any. The only thing that has limited the abilityof the Holy Spirit is the availability of Man. When we don’t do what God says, usually it is because we don’t choose to, not because we “don’t understand.” The door to the truth is the will, not the intellect. It is important that we feed the understanding, and we seek to do just that, here at True Hope: but we must also appeal to the will of every believer, to make a decision to walk with Jesus; to attempt obedience to the instructions in the epistles.

When we share the Gospel of Christ with people, we give them information sufficient to make a decision to receive Jesus as their Savior. But we also appeal to the will, asking them to believe. Again, the door to the truth is the will, not the intellect. When Noah was building the Ark, he was a Preacher of Righteousness according to 2nd Peter 2:5. All those around him knew what he was building, and why. But the only ones who were persuaded to believe were his own family, who obeyed by faith, and entered that Ark.

We obey the Gospel by faith, placing our trust in the Blood of Jesus at the Cross, as complete payment for our sins, and as our only hope for eternal salvation.

As believers, we see that two ordinances have been given: Water Baptism, and The Lord’s Table. We explain the nature of the Lord’s Table every month when we take communion, but we haven’t talked much about baptism. Both are an outward testimony of something that has already occurred inwardly, and a physical, visible demonstration of a spiritual, invisible reality. Communion testifies through the symbols of the bread and the cup that “Jesus died for me: His body was torn and broken for me, and His Blood was shed for me!” As believers we take part in communion to testify of His sacrificial death, until He comes: which means we also express our confident assurance that He is indeed returning!

When we celebrate communion, we are testifying that Jesus’s blood was the full payment for our sins. (Remember the Passover Lamb: the people who placed themselves under the blood of that Lamb for protection against the Wrath of God, did not just “stand there and watch:” they each ate of that lamb!) We eat (as we were told to do) as a commemoration of the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus for the sins of the whole world. By faith we are laying our hands upon that sacrifice, and claiming it as the substitute for our own lives. And in doing so, we honor Jesus before the world, proclaiming His death until He comes.

What about Baptism?

There are two types of baptisms taught in the New Testament: one of them is absolutely necessary for salvation, but has nothing to do with water. The other does involve water, and is in no way required for salvation…but it does stand as a matter of obedience, even if we don’t fully understand it.

Baptism by the Holy Spirit

Turn to 1st Corinthians 12:13. This chapter is entirely given to understanding the gifts of the Spirit, and how He, the Holy Spirit, builds the church by giving appropriate gifts to each believer. He makes the choice as to who will do what task, and, just as individual cells in a body are not given the option to choose their individual tasks or locations in the body, believers are given their assignments by God, the Holy Spirit. Without going into a lot of detail about the gifts of the Spirit, this verse, in the midst of the larger passage, tells us a key point: every single believer has been “Baptized by the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ.” That fact is what makes you a “Member” of the Body of Christ at large.

When we talk about “Church Membership,” this is the only kind of membership God addresses. Every member of the Body of Christ is expected to find a local assembly of like-minded believers and attach themselves to that assembly and serve there, as a functioning part of the Body of Christ. Every member is to function.

Some churches have a “membership roll,” as if they are a country club, or something. No such idea is suggested in scripture. Some literally require that you be water-baptized (again) into that church, for membership. This also is unbiblical. Some require that you be “vetted” by a governing board, and deemed “worthy” to be a part of their organization. I personally find that to be repugnant. If Jesus’s Blood at the Cross, which made me clean enough to stand before a Holy God, and address Him as Father, is not enough to make me “worthy” to be in some human outfit, then I don’t belong there! (Is there “church discipline” in the Bible? Yes, but it has nothing to do with membership. We will discuss that at another time.)

Baptism by the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ is the only kind of baptism necessary for salvation, and it occurs the moment you place your faith in Jesus as your Savior, even if you are unaware that it is happening. So let’s talk about the otherkind of baptism: water baptism.

Water Baptism

First, let’s discuss the actual meaning of the word, “baptize.”

Oddly enough, the Greek word for “baptize” is pretty much just “baptize.” The problem was that when the first English Bibles were being published (particularly the King James Version which was “authorized” by King James, the then monarch of England, who was also the head of the Anglican Church)…since they had to not contradict the Church of England, the translators could not write in the actual meaning of the word for baptism. The Church of England (which was scarcely removed from Catholicism,) was practicing baptism by sprinkling, while the actual meaning is “To Dip!” The Greek word “baptizō”means “immersion!” The intensive verb “baptizō” is most frequent derivative of the root “baptō”, which is translated, and is always translated “Dip.”

In the Expository Dictionary of Bible Words, by Lawrence O. Richards (pp. 100-101,) under Baptizō, it says: “Baptō is the basic verb. It means ‘to dip in’ or ‘to dip under.’ It is often used of dipping fabric in a dye. Baptizō is an intensive form of baptō. From early times it was used in the sense of immersing.”

So… had they consistently translated the word to what it actually means, John the Baptist would have been John the Dipper! But when Jesus “dipped” the sop in the cup, and passed it to Judas, the word “baptō” was actually translated: and no one called that a baptism!

We can see, then, that the concept involved immersion, and that the result of that immersion is to fully identify the thing being dipped, with the substance it was dipped in. The sop Jesus handed to Judas was soaked in whatever was in the cup. Cloth that has been dipped in a certain pot of dye is permanently identified with that specific pot of dye. In fact, all the cloth that came through that specific pot is together identified as a specific “dye-lot.” If you have been born again through faith in the Blood of Jesus, then The Holy Spirit has immersed you into the Body of Christ, according to 1st Corinthians 12:13, and you are permanently identified with Him in every way.

Jesus came to John the Baptist to be baptized so that He was identified with the message of John: John preached the Gospel of the coming Kingdom—the Kingdom of Heaven, which is the 1000-year reign of Jesus on earth. Jesus is the promised King! So He needed to be identified with the Promised Kingdom.

We practice water Baptism for the same reason as we practice Communion: we were told to do so! It commemorates in the life of each believer the fact that the Holy Spirit has already placed us into the Body of Christ. He has immersed us into Jesus, so that we are fully identified with Him, forever, in every way. We do this once, as a believer, to testify of our new position in Christ. It is not how we “join a church,” or “repent of our sins” or any other such thing. This is a believer’s baptism.

What happens if you don’t get baptized? Nothing, as far as I can see: But Jesus commanded the eleven to go into the world and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and “teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” There is a spiritual “chain reaction,” there, which requires that this command, called the “Great Commission” is our marching orders, just as it was for the eleven. And that includes believer’s baptism. So, even though we may not really be sure how it works as a testimony, we do practice water baptism by immersion. We do not require it of anyone, and only offer it as it is requested.

It is interesting to read in 1st Corinthians 1:10-17, where we can see how the Apostle Paul felt about Baptism. He saw that it had already fostered some divisions among the brethren: (“Paul baptized me!” “Well, Apollos baptized me!” …etc.)

Paul said he was thankful he had only baptized a handful of them, and concluded that “Christ sent me not to baptize but to preach the Gospel.” Paul did practice water baptism, but it did not have a very high priority in his mind. The reality (being baptized by the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ”) came about through the preaching of the Gospel. Water baptism was just a picture of the real thing.

Water baptism does not require any special clothing or ritual, or oath-taking or any other such thing: upon public confession of faith in Jesus and His finished Work at the Cross, a believer is qualified for water baptism, as a step of obedience and a testimony of the new birth.

One person in our fellowship, already a believer, has requested water baptism, so, next week we plan to fulfill that ordinance for that person! If there is anyone else who would also like to be baptized, please let one of us know, and we will extend the offer to all believers. Rick Flemmer and I will serve together to carry out the baptisms.

Next week is also communion Sunday, so we will be observing both ordinances of the church on the same day. That seems pretty special to me!

Lord Jesus, please help us to focus our attention on you, and not the “outward things” that so easily attract our eyes and our minds. Let us learn to walk with You in obedience.

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What Happened on Palm Sunday?

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What Really Happened ?

© C. O. Bishop 4/13/19 revised 3/25/2021

Matthew 21:1-11; Luke 19:29-40; Zechariah 12, 14, etc.

Introduction:

I have frequently heard preachers say that the very people who praised Jesus as he rode into Jerusalem on the young donkey, shouting “Hosanna” to Him, were the same ones who, a few days later, were howling for his crucifixion. I’d like to examine that claim this morning, especially in light of what the scripture says regarding the coming Judgment of Jerusalem.

We have read so much of the coming Judgment, in various prophecies, that it becomes difficult to even imagine their complete return to blessing that will follow. But let’s look carefully at the frequently-made claim; that “Jesus’s followers at large turned against Him.”

Matthew 21:1-11

1And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, 2 Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. 3 And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.

4 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,

5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.

6 And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, 7 And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.

8 And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.

9 And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.

10 And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?

11 And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.

Verse five, above is a partial quote of the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9

9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.

Not all of the Gospel accounts mention that there were two animals, but this prophecy should have been ringing in the ears of the watching Jews, regardless. So the important question becomes, “who were the ‘multitudes’ in verses 8, 9, and 11?”

Luke 19:29-40

29 And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples,

30 Saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither.

31 And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him. 32 And they that were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them. 33 And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt? 34 And they said, The Lord hath need of him.

35 And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. 36 And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way.

37 And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the DISCIPLES began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; 38 Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.

39 And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. (They themselves were not His disciples, but were amongst the multitude)

40 And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,

42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.

43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,

44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

Where was Jesus coming from?

If we back up a few verses, to Luke 18:35-43, we see that Jesus had just passed through Jericho, heading up to Jerusalem. En route, if we read all the gospel accounts of this visit, he healed three blind men; one as he entered Jericho, and the other two as he left. He also encountered Zacchaeus, and transformed his life. But he was headed for Jerusalem all the time.

When Jesus arrived in Bethany and Bethphage, just outside of Jerusalem, he was in the town where he had raised Lazarus from the dead, and where his friends Mary and Martha still lived with their brother, Lazarus. He was among friends, who had seen His miracles, and heard His teaching, and who loved Him. These friends, his disciples, evidently gathered to walk with him to Jerusalem. We are not talking about just the twelve, now: Luke says it was a whole multitude of His disciples…a crowd. But they were a crowd who genuinely liked Jesus, even if they weren’t really sure who he was. So, Jesus was coming from Bethany into Jerusalem.

Turn back to Matthew, and notice what happened when this multitude of His disciples began to announce His coming as the King, coming in the name of the Lord: as they entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, and asking “Who is this man??” and the crowd of disciples answered that Jesus was the prophet of Nazareth, of Galilee. Did they really not understand that He was the Savior…the Messiah? Maybe not, but the word “Hosanna” means “save us now!” So, they at least saw Him as “a” savior of some sort…a deliverer. Maybe they only thought He would deliver them from the Romans. But we need to differentiate between the crowd of disciples, confused though they may have been, and the city of Jerusalem, whose response, eventually, was to kill Him.

Turn back to Matthew 23:37-39, please: Jesus is weeping over Jerusalem again (on a later day.)

37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! 38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till YE shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.


Now: compare this passage with the one we just read, in Luke 19:37, 38. In that passage; who were the ones shouting “Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord?” It was the multitude of His disciples! The inhabitants of Jerusalem were just “stirred up” by the call—they did not receive Him as their King.

Why Jerusalem?

Jerusalem is the City of the King: they were the ones who had to officially receive Him. God says that the Jews finally will turn to Jesus as their Messiah, weeping over their sin, and the fact of their guilt, having crucified the Messiah. But, where will it occur? At Jerusalem! And, when will it occur? After the tribulation! How do I know? Jesus says so!

In Matthew 24:29-31, Jesus gives us the time-frame, saying:

29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect (The Tribulation Saints) from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.


Zechariah 14:3-5 gives us the specific location: on the Mount of Olives, just outside Jerusalem, just as the angelic messengers foretold in Acts 1:10, 11.


3 Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. 4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee (That’s US! We are coming back with Jesus!!).

Acts 1:10, 11 (At the ascension.)

10 And while they looked stedfastly 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.


Zechariah 12:10 says the inhabitants of Jerusalem will completely repent, weeping over the One they Crucified.

10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.


This is what Palm Sunday was all about: Jesus made His final offer to Jerusalem during that visit, and was rejected. But the One they judged, illegally, and with total prejudice, is the Judge of all the Earth, and who Judges righteously, without prejudice…without respect of persons. How do I know? Jesus says so! He said that the Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment to the Son. (John 5:22)

The Day of the LORD

So, the “Day of the Lord” about which we studied some time ago, is the entirety of what Jesus just barely began to warn against in Matthew 24. It actually begins with what we call the Rapture, as taught in 1st Thessalonians 4:13-18; it continues directly into the Tribulation, as seen in 1st Thessalonians 5, and it culminates in the return of Christ and the Millennial Kingdom; ending with the Great White Throne Judgment, in Revelation chapters 19 and 20.

In Matthew 24, Jesus described only the Great Tribulation and the coming of the King: Why? Because Jerusalem had just rejected the King. His disciples were scattered, during the trial and the crucifixion: they were not the ones howling for his death. It was Jerusalem, proper, finally rejecting their King by calling for his execution, just as Jesus had predicted.

This is why the message in Isaiah predicts Judgment on Jerusalem, (among other places) as the chief offenders. It was Jerusalem, as Jesus said, who routinely rejected and killed the prophets.

The ones who had shouted “Hosanna” (the crowd of disciples) were terrified that they would be executed next. Remember that when Jesus first met with the eleven after the resurrection, they were in a locked room for fear of the Jews. All the disciples had been scattered. Jesus predicted this, too: (Matthew 26:31 “Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.” He was quoting Zechariah 13:7.) And that is exactly what happened!

But Good News is coming: next week, at Easter, we will examine “The Rest of the Story.”

Lord Jesus, direct our hearts to apply your Word correctly: to read carefully, seeking earnestly to see the light of your countenance in the written Word. Help us to apply your Word to our lives, and to walk as your disciples.

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Gifts and Goals

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Gifts and Goals

© 2021 C. O. Bishop

2nd Peter 1:1-15

1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:

2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,

Introduction:

We completed our study of 1st Peter, and we are moving on into 2md Peter. I always enjoy reading what the apostles say about themselves, in the epistles. Usually it is very straightforward: none of them claim to be anything special, though once in a while they may refer to something special that happened in their walk with Jesus.

Peter, the “famous fisherman apostle” simply introduces himself as “Simon Peter, a servant.”(This is a combination of the name he had before he met Jesus, and the name Jesus gave him.) He also introduces himself as an apostle, but it is secondary to the fact that he is a servant. Perhaps we should also notice that he is simply a servant and an apostle: he is just one of many. He does not remind us of his fame, or his attempted heroics, or his earlier desire for preeminence, either. He’s simply a servant and an apostle (a “sent one”) of Jesus Christ.

Grace and Peace

He addresses himself to all other believers: those who have obtained “like precious faith”—the same trust in Jesus as savior, resulting in the same eternal life and the same permanent position in Christ. (That includes us!)

He says that we all have obtained that faith and that position in Christ through the righteousness of God and of our Savior Jesus Christ. That is an interesting idea, because we always think of it as having been conferred upon us by Grace (which it was), but we forget that the holiness and righteousness of God is what oversees the application of His Grace and Love. They are all one package. If God is involved, then His righteousness is involved, and His holiness. If we are involved with God, then His Grace has to be involved, because, on our own, we do not have and cannot produce the righteousness of God or the holiness of God. God demands that holiness and righteousness in any relationship with Him; so He has to offer it to us by Grace. We never will have it by any other means. So, the very next verse addresses how we are involved with His righteous holiness: By Grace, resulting in Peace.

In every epistle except Hebrews, James, 1st John, 3rd John and Jude, the apostles open with the need for Grace and Peace in our lives as believers, in that order. Jude replaces “Grace” with “Mercy.” Which is simply the “flip-side” of Grace. (Grace is unmerited favor—God giving us what we have not earned and do not deserve. Mercy is God not giving us what we do deserve and have earned: He has transferred that judgment to Jesus at the Cross.) Paul’s epistles to Timothy and Titus include Mercy as well as the usual Grace and Peace: “Grace, Mercy and Peace to you…”

There is no room left for us to doubt our need for the Grace of God in order to experience His Peace. In the few epistles which do not begin with that phrase, the principle is strongly taught, later on. Every true follower of God has come to grips with this truth. I need God’s constant grace in my life if I am to function at all, in a manner that is to His glory. I simply don’t have the wherewithal to produce such a life on my own. This is why Jesus taught in John 15:5, “Apart from Me ye can do nothing.” There is no arrogance or condescension in that remark: it is the simple truth. That is why the entire context of that passage is surrounded by the idea that the branches of a vine are unable to produce the fruit of that vine without the sustenance of that vine flowing through them. That is true of us as well.

The Gifts and the Goals

3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

God has already given us a number of gifts: some He gave to the whole human race, whether believers or unbelievers. Some He gives specifically to believers, irrespective of whether they are actually walking in obedience…all the gifts are theirs because they are in Christ, and, whether they are aware of them or not.

But there are some gifts He wants to “add to the mix,” which must be diligently pursued by a believer, in order to appropriate them. They are still gifts, but in a matter of practical application, they are goals. So… What is the difference?

Verse three says that God has already given us all things that pertain to life and Godliness. No believer is re-born a “spiritual cripple,” who is “lame from re-birth.” In your new self, you have been given the ability to choose to walk with Jesus. Because you have come to know Him, you have access to all the rest.

How? Verse four tells us how we are to see these realities worked out in our lives: “Exceeding Great and Precious Promises!” Peter says that by means of those promises in God’s Word, we have the privilege of beginning to partake in the character, and nature of God, Himself…and that in so doing, we escape the corruption that is in the World through the ungodly desires of our old natures. In reality, this is part of our inheritance in Christ: we are His real children, and we should expect to grow into His likeness.

Collectively, the desires of the World and those of our old natures are completely in opposition to all that God is. His Righteousness and Holiness are utterly repugnant to them. We escape the corruption of the world and the flesh through the application of God’s Word to our lives. Diligent application of His Word produces further results: We could think of them as goals.

The Goals

Diligence in applying the “exceeding great and precious promises” as well as the rest of the admonition and correction and encouragement in God’s Word will produce the following things:

5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

So there are seven things to look for:

  1. Virtue
  2. Knowledge
  3. Temperance
  4. Patience
  5. Godliness
  6. Brotherly kindness
  7. Charity (Agapé love)

Please note that all of these things are still under the condition Jesus spelled out in John 15:5, saying “apart from me ye can do nothing.” Is it possible to produce a “cheap imitation” of each of these things by our own efforts? Certainly it is! But all these things, if produced by the flesh, (our old sin nature) are contaminated by the flesh. The Old Self is not only corrupt, but is continually being corrupted. So, for the realities of each of these values to be born in us, they have to be coming from an ongoing walk with Jesus, in full fellowship with Him. Let’s look at each of them individually:

  • Virtue: (Greek: arête…force or strength) It is strange: all my life, I thought that the word “virtue” meant something similar to “piety.” But it does not: it means “strength of character.” God wants to produce that strength of character in each of our lives.
  • Knowledge: (Greek: gnosis…experiential knowledge: not just “stuff to know and tell.” This comes from an ongoing relationship with Christ, on a daily, moment by moment basis.)
  • Temperance: (Greek: ephrateia…self-control, or continence. We are not to just be tossed around, by every thought, or circumstance, but we are to be controlled by our new nature.)
  • Patience: (Greek: hupomonē… endurance…pressing on. It doesn’t mean just “waiting,” but rather, persevering, in the face of hardships and disappointments.)
  • Godliness: (Greek: Eusebia…piety or reverence. This is the person and character of Christ “seeping out” all over the life of the believer, so that we literally “smell like Jesus.”)
  • Brotherly kindness: (Greek: Philadelphian…actually, this is the “brotherly love” word. This is the general friendliness and kindness and care that we are to have toward others.)
  • Charity: (Greek: agapé…Agapé love…the unconditional, committed love expounded upon, in 1st Corinthians 13:1-8.) Not feelings, but actions, in every case.

So, the idea is that by diligently applying God’s Word to our lives, these changes should be the result: and that all of them (the real thing) are from God, not “drummed up” by self-effort or self-improvement schemes.

The Results

8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The idea behind all of these virtues in a believer’s life is to make us fruitful. Orthodoxy only means “having right opinions.” If these character traits are missing, then the “correct opinions” have never gotten out of the “library” into the “living room.” They have not become a practical, living reality. A person may have strict adherence to a creed of some sort, and even a form of godliness, but Jesus warned that this can be counterfeit. The Pharisees had all of that and they hated Jesus. James pointed out that the demons are “monotheistic,” too! They know there is “only one God!” They have seen Him face-to-face! As we can see, then, “having all your doctrinal ducks in a line” is not the real issue: Having an ongoing, faith-based, obedient walk with Jesus is always the issue, and it is evidenced by the fruit of that relationship: the agapé love coating all aspects of our lives.

So, while we can see two possible extremes (one who is not a believer at all, but whose opinions and behavior patterns are pretty good, versus one who actually does know Jesus as his Savior, but whose life does not reflect that reality, nor is he well-schooled in theology) we need to see that Peter is addressing those who definitely are believers, and who have begun to grow in their faith: He exhorts them to press on and grow more! He also gives them things to look for in their own lives to see whether the “growth” is genuine.

[Remember, James did much the same, giving us clues by which to recognize Godly wisdom, as opposed to the wisdom of the world, the flesh, or the devil. (James 3:13-18. “13 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. 14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. 15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. 16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. 18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.”)]

These fruits are what we should look for to see how we are progressing. He also warns that a believer who lacks these attributes has forgotten that Jesus purged him of his old, sinful way of life, and has become judicially blind, through the willful disregard for God’s Word.

9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.

We really do not want to be blind to God’s Word, or deaf to the voice of the Holy Spirit.

10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: 11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

So…if we know that we have received the Lord, then we need to give diligence to be “digging in” and growing in Him. God’s Word is what will make us grow: remember 1st Peter 2:2 “…desire the sincere milk of the Word that ye may grow thereby.”

This is the constant invitation (and command) from God: that we draw near to Him in Bible-study and prayer, so that He can draw near to us, by His indwelling Holy Spirit, and help us to walk with Him in obedience. We know that. As believers, we will eventually be in the new heaven and earth with Jesus. But He asks that we enter in now: not being lax, and just figuring that all of it will eventually happen. Hebrews 10:19 calls us to enter into the holy place now, by faith, through the person and work of Christ. This is not about Salvation: it is an invitation (and command) to believers: people who are already saved.

12 Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.

Peter shows that he knew these people were already believers: he says that he is reminding them of something they already knew.

13 Yea, I think it meet, (fitting) as long as I am in this tabernacle (physical body), to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; 14 Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me. 15 Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance.

Peter is especially concerned for their well-being, because the Lord had revealed to him that he was soon going to die (He was to be executed, tradition tells us.) so he wanted to be sure they understood and would be able to remember the central truths of their relationship with Jesus. He was going to give them a “review lesson,” specifically so that after his death they would be able to remember these things. That’s what the book of 2nd Peter is: a review lesson. (The first point in that review, actually, is the manner by which God’s revelation is given to Man: And we will look at that next, in our study of second Peter.)

Lord Jesus, teach us to look to you for all things, and not to depend upon our own wisdom but to look to you for godly wisdom to guide our lives. Raise us up as your servants and allow us to shine in this dark world.

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