That No Man Should Be Moved

1^st Thessalonians 3:1-5

¹Wherefore when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone; ²And sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God, and our fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith:

³That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto.

⁴For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know. ⁵For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain.

Introduction

Paul wrote to the Thessalonian believers partly because he simply misses them, as he wrote earlier. But he was also concerned for their spiritual well-being. He knew that they had been under persecution, and he was fearful that they could be turned aside from their faith by the harsh trials and become unfruitful.

Notice that, in verse five, he pointed out the enemy who sought to cripple them spiritually. It seems appropriate to spend some time on how that enemy attempts to cripple believers.

Paul was fearful for the believers at Thessalonica. He had heard nothing of them for a long time; so, he feared they may have been ensnared by the enemy in some way, and become unfruitful.

Who is the Enemy?

This seems pretty self-explanatory, but God spells out for us that our enemies do not include other humans, even when they are acting like enemies. Ephesians 6:12 states that our enemies are not “flesh and blood.” He names several categories of demonic creatures (which I can’t define, because the scripture does not define them.) And, in 1^st Peter 5:8, we are admonished to “be sober, be vigilant, for your enemy the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” That leaves no question as to the identity of our ultimate enemy and his desire regarding us..

So, What are the Enemy’s Plans for You?

Remember: You are Secure Forever:

Just as a preliminary word of encouragement, let me assure you: Satan cannot take you away from Jesus! But he will try to make you think he can do so.

In John 6:37, Jesus said, “he that cometh unto Me I will in no wise cast out.” And, in John 6:39, he said, “This is the Father’s will, which hath sent Me, that of all which He hath given Me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.”

In John 10:27-29 He said, “²⁷My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: ²⁸And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. ²⁹My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. ³⁰I and my Father are one.”

No Created Being Can Separate us from the Love of God.

Also, in Romans 8:38, 39, Paul confirms that “³⁸… I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, ³⁹Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Finally, in Hebrews 13:5, God says, “…I will never leave you, nor forsake you.” So, when you feel fear of “losing your salvation,” or fear that God may abandon you, remember these things:

Jesus will never “kick you out.”
God the Father has willed that Jesus will not lose a single one who has trusted in Him.
No one can “pluck you out of His hand.”
That includes all the fallen angelic hosts, including Satan himself.
That includes you! You are a created being: you cannot separate yourself from His Love.
God will never leave you, nor forsake you!

Do remember that you can ignore God and fail to experience His peace and His Joy, and the confidence of knowing that you are “still on His team.” 1^st John 5:13 says He wants you to know that you have eternal life.

**Because You are “on God’s Team,” Satan desires to cripple or destroy you!**

Just as an army, retreating before a powerful enemy, will seek to destroy anything they have left behind, so their enemy cannot use it, Satan desires to render you useless to God.

He cannot do anything to you without God’s permission, but he can entice you to walk out from under God’s protection, and thus you may become a target for his attacks.

If he can cause you to doubt God’s Character and Grace, then he can make you live as though you were not “on God’s team.” He will attempt to lure you into immorality, or fear, or pride, or any other manifestation of your old Sin Nature. Then other people will see you as being “no different than any other sinner” (or worse, because you claim to belong to Jesus, but are living as though you never knew Him.) If he can do that, then he has succeeded in destroying your testimony, and it will no longer matter “what you say:” everyone around you has already read the “testimony of your life,” in your behavior.

We have already been warned of this, and in Philippians 1:29, it is spelled out, “for unto you it is given, in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake.” Jesus did not promise an “easy life” to believers: He said, “these things I have spoken unto you that in Me you might have Peace. In the World, ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the World.” (John 16:33)

What about Fear?

Does Satan use fear against us? Absolutely, he does! We can be so overwhelmed with fear that we are completely unable to function. Where does the fear come from? It is not coming from God: In 2^nd Timothy 1:7, He says, “God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

We can be distracted by (and dwell on) the Internet News, and be drawn into the countless conspiracy theories that abound there, and we will be ensnared by fear. Even if some of the “scary things” on the news are true, there is nothing we can do about any of them, as a rule.

But what God says, we can obey. I do not need to know all the horrible plans Satan has for the World. All I need to know is who my true Master is, and all I need to do, is walk where He says to walk. That is why the Psalmist says, “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside still waters. He restoreth my soul.” The News can’t do any of those things! Satan will use it (or any of a thousand other distractions) to do exactly the opposite.

What about Anger?

There were plenty of things for the Thessalonian believers to feel angry about. They had been grossly mistreated by the unbelieving World. They had lost their belongings in some cases, and had been physically attacked, in others. There were false teachers there, insisting that, without becoming Jews and following the Mosaic Law, they could not be saved.

Those things probably engendered both fear and anger. But both reactions are fruitless. Only Light dispels darkness. Anger from believers will not prevent the anger of others around them. God says for us to drop it. Love has a better hope of dispelling anger. And forgiveness has a better chance of producing internal healing than does resentment. In James 1:20, God says, “The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”

What about Pride?

In the sense of “arrogance,” we truly have nothing to feel “proud” about, Our birthplace, from a human perspective, is strictly an accident. Whatever family we were born to, again, was not of our choosing. We can enjoy all those things and be grateful that we had good upbringing, or that we have been brought up in an environment where the Bible is honored and taught. But, once again, we had nothing to do with that fact. We either embraced it and valued it or we did not, but we had no part in making it happen.

Our gifts are just that: gifts. Perhaps we have worked hard to build upon the talents we have been given, but that talent was inborn, not earned. If I was born color-blind, or even completely blind, I have nothing to be ashamed of: but as a sighted person, I cannot feel “proud” that my eyes are functional, and even that function is diminishing, as I age.

Some people have music going inside all the time, without thinking of it. I’m one of those people, but it isn’t something I chose. And it isn’t always good. A “bad song” can get stuck in my head just as easily as a “good song.” But when I wake up in the morning, there is already a song cycling through my mind, for better or worse. It is nothing to engender pride at all: it is just there. Same for most other things.

Clean Pride

Can I feel “proud of my children” or “proud of a worker” whom I trained? Sure, but the clean “pride” of grateful, joyful satisfaction with the results of one’s labor is not the same as an “arrogant attitude” that says, “because my kid is a champion wrestler, I must be somehow better than you.” That kind of pride is always offensive, and always destructive: Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

What about Unbelief?

Unbelief among believers? That sounds like a contradiction in terms, but it is very common. Think of Peter: He believed God enough to “get out of the boat!” But moments later, unbelief kicked in, and he instantly sank. We suffer from the same malady!

Unbelief is the cause of our not having the confidence to just go ahead and do what God has commanded us to do. Unbelief is what makes us fear the future, and fear abandonment by God, even when we know His promise that He will never leave us.

Satan attacked the simple faith of Eve, by first questioning God’s Word, then denying it entirely and accusing God of dishonesty…claiming that God had a hidden agenda and that He had lied to her and Adam. Satan still does that today. If he can cause you to weaken in your trust of The Savior, then all of his weapons are empowered to draw you away into abject failure and defeat.

What about the Desire for Fleshly Gratification?

We always have a choice: we can believe God …or not. We can obey God …or not. We can trust Him …or not. And our old Sin nature, one of our other enemies, is in league with the Evil One. Jeremiah said, regarding our old Sin Nature, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked…” Our old nature clamors for attention and demands pleasure. But it is completely corrupt: Romans 8:7 says that even God can’t fix it! So, He gave us a new nature!

The World, (Our third enemy) says, “Follow your heart! Your heart will never lead you astray!’ But God says my heart is the most likely agent to deceive me! I have had my whole life to practice listening to the three enemies of my soul. I’m an expert at sin and unbelief. It takes practice to learn to listen to God instead of my old sinful heart.

So, when the World, in popular music, says, “How can something so wrong feel so right?” We should recognize the faulty reasoning it offers. Who engineered that flawed logic? And, ultimately, who is attempting to lure us away to sin? Satan is the Spirit at work in the World, and our old sin nature agrees with both our other enemies. They all work to convince us that if it feels good, it must be good. God gives the answer in Galatians 5:16 “… walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.”

We always have a choice.

How you respond to God’s Written Word is a choice you make daily. Remember that since Jesus is repeatedly identified as being the Living Word of God, the way we respond to the Written Word is truly how we are responding to the Living Word. When we ignore the written Word, we are also ignoring the Living Word.

We have choices to make every moment. If we continue to make bad choices, then the enemy can draw us away and make us unfruitful in the service of Jesus.

Lord Jesus, please grant that we will be aware of the choices we are making and choose to walk in the light as You are in the Light. Enable each of us to serve You in the way You want us to serve. Help us to remember that we are Your Ambassadors.

May 6, 2023May 6, 2023

How do We “Receive the Word of God?”

What does it mean, to “Receive the Word of God?”

1^st Thessalonians 2:13-16

¹³For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

¹⁴For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews: ¹⁵Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men: ¹⁶Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.

Introduction:

Remember, the books of 1^st and 2^nd Thessalonians sprang out of a history of persecution. Within three weeks after the Gospel had first come to Thessalonica, the percecution had begun. The unbelieving Jews physically attacked anyone who professed faith in Jesus as the Messiah. And the attacks did not stop when the Apostles left town.

Paul cited the overall rejection of God, and His Word, and His Prophets, and of Jesus Himself. He pointed out that, as a nation, the Jews had officially rejected their own God, killing His prophets and crucifying the Messiah, all while claiming to be the people of God.

Jesus had first declared this sad truth, at length, in Matthew 23.

Matthew 23:29-39.

“²⁹Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, ³⁰And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.

³¹Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. ³²Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. ³³Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

WHO sent the prophets?

³⁴Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: ³⁵That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. ³⁶Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

³⁷O 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! ³⁸Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

³⁹For 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.”

**This was National Response, not Individual.**

Though many Jews had believed in Jesus, and had trusted in Him as their Savior, and believed in Him as the Messiah, Jerusalem rejected Him and eventually crucified Him. Jerusalem was the “official leader” of Israel as a nation. And Jesus warned them that they will not see Him again, until, as a nation (Jerusalem leading the way) they repent and trust Him as their Messiah.

Paul reiterates this truth, but He first expresses his joy that the Thessalonian believers did not fall into thatcategory. They had received the Word of truth “not as the word of man,but as it is in truth, the word of God.” Paul went on to say that the result of them receiving that Gospel as the Word of God was that the Word had begun to have a powerful effect on their lives: He said, it “…effectually worketh also in you that believe.” So, how does one receive the Word in that way? How can we allow God’s Word to have that sort of effect in our lives?

Receiving the Word of God

Romans 1:5 uses an odd phrase. It says that the Gospel went out “for the obedience of Faith.”

Sometimes, the only response required, is that we “believe God,” as opposed to believing some other source of information. (John 6:28. 29) But, when we read in Hebrews 11, about the people we consider the Biblical “heroes of faith,” we can see that in every case, faith was demonstrated by an action. Throughout the Bible we see that, in reality, Faith is an Obedient Response to a Revealed Truth.

As we studied through the books of Moses we saw, repeatedly, that, despite the abundant unmistakable proofs of God’s faithfulness and care for them, the Children of Israel rebelled, and they chose to not “believe God.”

In virtually every case, the result was that they wanted to return to Egypt. They remembered the abundant and cheap food in Egypt, and they equated Egypt with “easy life.” They had forgotten that they had become slaves there, and had even begun to be victims of attempted genocide.

Contrast between people’s responses to the Word of God

When Moses and Aaron brought them the Word they had just received, from God, in person, in the wilderness, they quickly forgot who they were dealing with, and they rebelled. They did not respect His Word as the Word of the Living God.

In contrast, the Ninevites were enemies of Israel, but when Jonah warned them of the coming Judgment, they believed God. The whole city repented of their sins, and God postponed the coming Judgment.

Jesus testified that those ancient Ninevites would bear witness against Israel in the final Judgment, because they had repented at the Word, coming through Jonah (who was a very reluctant prophet.) The citizens of Jerusalem had not repented, though God’s Word came to them from the mouth of God, the Son: Jesus, the Messiah!

That is a very sharp contrast. The enemies of Israel, in Nineveh, though grossly ungodly people, had repented at His Word, But, in Jerusalem, His “own” people chose to kill the messengers!

How did I receive the Gospel?

When I first heard the Gospel it meant nothing to me: So, I did not see that I was a lost sinner, needing a Savior. I doubted the truth of the Bible as a whole and I equated the “Bible stories” with Greek mythology, and other “legendary” history. Initially, I was not antagonistic toward Jesus, but He seemed irrelevant to me and my life. Eventually I did become more antagonistic toward the Gospel, and I began interrupting believer’s attempts to share Christ with the lost.

But when I was eighteen, a classmate shared a rather obscure verse with me that caused me to start thinking seriously. She asked me for my definition of Sin. I had no solid answer, because, by that time I considered myself an atheist. But after a moment, I replied that, “I suppose that, if I were to do something that violated my conscience, then it must at least be a sin against myself. And, if there is a God, then (it would seem) that would have to qualify as a sin against God, as well.”

What changed my thinking?

She replied, “Chet, that is exactly what God says!” I was surprised to hear that: so, she opened her Bible, and showed me James 4:17 “Therefore, to him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”

I was amazed! I thought “God agrees with me!” (What an incredibly backward and vain idea!) But, inwardly, I thought, “Then all I have to do is live with a clean conscience, and God will have no problem with me!” (Can you hear the laughter from the angelic host?) So, I tried to do that, but, of course, what immediately resulted was that my conscience was awakened, and I became aware of all my bad motives and evil thoughts, and the filth that came out of my mouth.

**I Was Dealing With God, not Man!**

Within a month, I was getting quite depressed and hopeless, because, for the first time, I was keenly aware that I was a condemned sinner! (As you know, that’s the bad news of the Gospel!) Then I began to take God’s Word more seriously. I tried to read it, but I couldn’t understand it.

But when I threw myself on His Mercy and received His Grace, by Faith, then His Word began to come alive for me. I began to understand it, at least at a “baby food” level. You see, that is when the Gospel became “Good News!” And that Good News has become better and better, over the last fifty years. The more I learn of His Word and the more I experience His Grace and His Mercy, the sweeter that “Good News” has become to me.

Testing the Concept

Initially, I did not receive the Gospel as the Word of God. But after I did, and I actually knew the Author, I still had to make some “adjustments.” I truly believed that the Bible was the Word of God, but that belief had not been seriously tested.

A young roommate in Bible school confronted me about my (then) opinion that “Evolution and Creation could somehow be reconciled, as both being true.” He said, “No, Chet, they are mutually exclusive! They could both be false, or one true and the other false, or vice versa, but they cannot both be true.” When I started to protest, he cut me off, and gave me a series of examples from the Creation story in Genesis, each of which was diametrically opposed to what Evolution claims.

I was stumped! It was clear that I had to make a decision!

**The Decision We Always Face:**

Ultimately, I decided that God’s Word had to stand. I chose to believe God’s Word, and allow Him time to show me why that was a good choice. And, over the last 48 years, the proof has piled higher and deeper, that the Creation account is accurate. I realize that not everyone agrees about this, and I try not to argue with people about it. But: it turns out that not only it is accurate, but it is also critical to the Gospel. Why?

Because, if “death came into the world through Adam,” (as Romans 5:12 states,) then the hundreds of millions of years of death, procreation, and more death, and change (necessary for evolution of humans to have occurred) cannot have happened. 1st Corinthians 15:22 confirms this fact, reminding us that we “all died in Adam.” There are other similar arguments, comparing scripture with physical science.

Whose Authority Matters?

But even without all the extrabiblical studies, comparisons, and arguments, I eventually realized that the core issue is that Jesus Christ treated the Creation account (and all the Old Testament) as history… as fact. (Not as mythology, or fables or any other sort of fiction.) He acknowledged the metaphors that are hidden there, and He expanded upon some of them. But neither He nor any of His Apostles gave room for any doubt that the entire Old Testament was given by direct inspiration of God. It was to be taken as truth, and as truly being the literal “Word of God.”

I was only beginning to comprehend “Who Jesus Is,” as the Incarnate God: God, in the Flesh. It had not yet occurred to me that the Bible is HIS Word. But I did know that He was my Savior, and He is the author of truth. I could rest in that alone. Any evidence beyond that central fact was just “extra.”

How do We Receive the Word?

When we hear teaching from the Bible, we are told to read carefully, check what we hear against other parts of Scripture, and make sure it is sound doctrine. Ask questions. If we don’t know where to find them, we are supposed to ask for supporting passages. (See Acts 17:10, 11.)

But once we know the teaching is correct, and we agree that the Bible truly is God’s Word, then our response becomes critically important: “What will we DO with that information?”

There is an old saying, “The distance between knowledge and wisdom (or understanding,) is usually about sixteen inches.” The implication is that “You may have the information in your head, but it has not found its way to the heart.” Another way I have heard the same idea taught, is, “You have that idea in your library, but you have not moved it into your living room.” It is not yet affecting your behavior.

We are Accountable

Once we know what God says, then we become accountable for that information, and we are called to respond! We can no longer argue that “Well, that is just what so and so believes!” If you know for sure that God says it, then it doesn’t matter who taught it to you. The young girl who initially shared James 4:17 with me was only seventeen. But God used her to speak to me! The young man who first confronted me about the disconnect between evolution and Creation was only eighteen (I was almost 21.) But he was right, and God used him to speak to my heart!

How you respond to God’s Word reveals how you are “receiving” His Word. And it should be an indicator as to how your walk with God is going. Remember: In John 1:14, we see that Jesus is the “Word made Flesh!” And, Revelation 19:13 says He is “The Word of God.” How we respond to the Written Word is exactly how we are responding to Jesus, the Living Word of God! Give that some thought!

Lord Jesus, please awaken us to our desperate need to feed on Your Word, and to respond as though You were speaking directly to us, face-to-face. Raise us up to walk as Your Disciples.

April 15, 2023April 15, 2023

After the Resurrection: What Now?

Matthew 28:11-20; Mark 16:15-20; Luke 24:45-53; John 21:1-24; Acts 1:1-9

Introduction:

Last week we spoke of the Resurrection and the effect it has upon believers. Some of those effects are what we call “positional truth:” They are permanently true because of your position in Christ, from the moment you trusted in His shed blood as full payment for your sins. Others are conditional truths, that should be true of every believer, but, in reality, are only true as far as believers are willing to walk with Jesus by faith, and obey Him.

After the Resurrection

In Acts 1:3, we are told that Jesus spent forty days with the disciples, teaching them, and making final preparation for His departure at the ascension. In Matthew and Mark, not much is said about this time period between the resurrection of Jesus, and His ascension.) Both simply point out that the Lord gave His last request, that they are to go out as His ambassadors; His witnesses, and “Preach the Gospel to everyone; make disciples in every nation, and His promise was that He Himself would be with them, empowering them to serve.”

Mark concludes that they did so, but he leaves out the fact of the Holy Spirit’s arrival (in Acts chapter two;) that it was after the coming of the Holy Spirit that they became fearless evangelists. They were hiding until that day.

In Luke, some important details are added. These details happened in the room where Jesus proved to His disciples that He was not a ghost, by eating some broiled fish and honey. But after he had convinced them that He was truly alive, He said some things, that reveal to us an important key to understanding the Bible. Please open your Bibles to Luke 24, verses 44-53.

Luke 24:44-53

⁴⁴And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.

⁴⁵Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

⁴⁶And said unto them, [Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: ⁴⁷And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸And ye are witnesses of these things.]

⁴⁹And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

⁵⁰And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. ⁵¹And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.

⁵²And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: ⁵³And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.

Notice that in verse 44, He reminds them that His life had been completely devoted to fulfilling the prophecies about Himself. Everything from the Torah (The books of Moses) and all the Prophets, including the Psalms, that had referred to Him, either openly or obliquely, had been fulfilled.

Then it says “He opened their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures…” Our tendency is to read that verse as if there were a period, after the Word “scriptures.” But there is not! There is a comma, as the next three verses tell how He opened their minds so they could understand the scripture. If we read that sentence with an inserted period, a full stop, then it seems that Jesus performed some miraculous “brain augmentation” that supernaturally enabled the disciples to understand the scriptures.

But the key to understanding, that Jesus gave them, was to see that the Redemptive Plan of God, fulfilled in the events of the last few days, including the crucifixion, and the resurrection, and their subsequent outreach to the entire world, is the central theme of the whole Bible.

And He told them that they were the witnesses He intended to use. He also reminded them that the Holy Spirit was the One who would empower them as His witnesses, and that they were to wait in Jerusalem until The Holy Spirit came. (They did not know God’s timing. When Jesus ascended, there were still seven days left before the feast of Pentecost. Pentecost was fifty days after the Passover; Jesus spent three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, as predicted, and forty days with the disciples. There were seven days left before Pentecost.)

The last two verses are interesting, too, because they skip the forty days that Jesus spent with His disciples, teaching them, and preparing them for the task before them. They skip straight to the ascension, and His final blessing. It is also interesting to see that His final blessing (which, as we see in the Old Testament, is prophetic of their lives to come) turns out to be the final issuing of the Great Commission, as we see in Acts 1:8, 9. The Great Commission is the Blessing!

The Gospel of John is the only record of the time Jesus spent with the disciples before the ascension. And not all of it is what we would expect. Please turn to John 21:1-24

John 21:1-24

¹ After these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he himself.

²There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples.

(Seven of the remaining eleven Disciples were there.)

³Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing. ⁴But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. ⁵Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. ⁶And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.

⁷Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher’s coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.

⁸And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes. ⁹As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. ¹⁰Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. ¹¹Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.

¹²Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord. ¹³Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise. ¹⁴This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.

¹⁵So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. ¹⁶He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

¹⁷He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

¹⁸Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.

¹⁹This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.

²⁰Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? ²¹Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do?

²²Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.

²³Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? ²⁴This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true.

Lapsing into the Old Life

At least seven of the Disciples, with Peter leading the way, were lapsing back into their old way of life. Jesus had specifically called them away from that life, saying “henceforth ye shall fish for men!” Bear in mind that most of these men had a commercial fishing background: they were not just deciding to “go catch a few fish” for dinner, or go there for recreation: they were reverting back into their old way of life!

So, when Jesus revealed Himself to them as we read in this passage, they were like children caught in some sort of mischief…afraid to talk to Jesus. But Jesus only addressed Peter:

He called Peter by his old name, Simon Bar-Jonas, since he had dropped back to his old job. Jesus asked whether Peter was more committed to Jesus than He was to the fish. (The “Love” he asked about in Greek, is the Agapé love—the fully committed, unconditional love we are commanded to have toward one another, in John 13:34, 35.)

And He was not asking “whether Peter loved Jesus more than he loved the other disciples,” as He had already commanded them all to love one another in the same way He had loved them. The issue was the fish. “Are you more willing and more committed to pouring your life into my priorities than you are to catching fish for the market?” Or is it just, back to “business as usual?”

Peter definitely understood the question as it was asked, because he chose a different word for “Love,” to give his reply. He did not use the Agapé word for love, but Philéo…meaning, “Yes, Jesus, You know I am fond of you! I have affection for You! I like You!” This is a totally different idea, not even addressing Jesus’s question. Jesus did not respond to the verb change: He just said, “then feed my lambs!” (The Greek word, here, translated as “feed” is boskō, and it simply means “feed.”)

Jesus asked the same question a second time, using the same verb, Agapé, and Peter answered, again using the word for affection; not a fully committed, unconditional love. Jesus again ignored the verb change, and said, “then shepherd my sheep!” (This word, poimaine, is a different view of the job… not just feeding. Some Bibles translate both as “Feed.” But the poimaine word means the whole job of caring for a flock, as described in Ezekiel 34:1-10.)

Jesus spoke a third time, this time using the same verb Peter was using: “Simon, son of Jonas, do you even like me? Do you even care??” Now we see that Peter was grieved, because the third time, Jesus used the same verb he himself had used. He answered, and said “Lord (master) You know all things! You know that I like you! You know I am fond of You…that I have affection for you!”

Perhaps Peter was simply unwilling to profess “unconditional love”, as he had previously done, knowing that the last time he had done so, he also utterly failed, and denied he even knew Jesus. But Jesus simply answered, “then feed [boskō again] my sheep.” (“Take the job seriously, and do what I have asked you to do!”)

He then told Peter, “Follow Me! (Keep being the Disciple you were called and trained to be!)”

Peter looked around and saw John, and asked “What about him? What do you want him to do?” Jesus answered, “What is that to you? You follow me!”

This is either the third or the fourth time Jesus had to call Peter away from the fish. Scripture tells us that Peter served faithfully, after this, and that he was eventually martyred for his faith.

We can see the transformed lives of all of the disciples after they were indwelt by the Holy Spirit. All of them were faithful, and history and tradition (hard to sift out which is which) tells us that most (or all) were eventually martyred.

What about Us?

I don’t want to get too specific, here, because obviously, I don’t know the future, nor do I know God’s will for any individual. But what we can see, here, is that we are to leave our old way of life behind, to whatever degree we are called to do, and remember that we now live for Him, not for ourselves. The fact of the resurrection has made some definite changes in our lives, simply because we have been placed into Christ. We can read about those changes, among other places, in Ephesians 1:3-14.

Some people simply live out that changed life in the same place they were when they were first born again. They may do the same job, and associate with the same people. But Jesus expects that how they do that job, and how they interact with the people around them is definitely to change. We are no longer part of the world. We are part of Jesus, and we are called to act like it.

We are called to lay aside our old priorities and embrace the priorities of Jesus. In John 4:34, He said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work!”

Embracing His priorities, and His values, is the essence of discipleship. And, just as it was impossible for the disciples to do the job apart from the indwelling Holy Spirit, it is also impossible for us to live that life apart from Him doing it through us. Every believer today receives the Holy Spirit at the moment they trust in Jesus as their Savior.

But we still have our old sin nature, and we are engaged in a lifelong struggle to maintain submission to Christ so that the new nature is in evidence, and the old self is set aside. We are secure in Him, but the fight is real. We cannot “just coast.”

Peter finally left behind his beloved occupation and identity as a commercial fisherman, and he never went back. He had something better, and something more important to do.

And, so do we! We need to examine our own lives and ask how the Lord would have us to change, in order to honor Him.

Lord Jesus, open our eyes to the reality of Your Word and allow us to feed upon it as Your disciples. Help us to walk in Your footsteps and be the men and women of God that You have called us to be; Ambassadors for Your Grace.

March 11, 2023March 11, 2023

Jesus Prepared His Disciples for His Departure

Preparing His Disciples for His Departure

John 13:31-16:33

Introduction:

Judas received the sop from Jesus and was possessed by Satan. From that moment, there is a countdown, headed for the Cross. Jesus only had a few hours left with His disciples, and He had to accomplish several things:

Jesus had to prepare the remaining eleven disciples for His departure. He assured them of His return, so they knew that they had not simply been abandoned.
- He had to teach His prime commandment, which covered all the others.
- He had to prepare them for His death, to prevent despair when he seemed to be defeated.
Jesus had to teach them what to expect, regarding the Holy Spirit who would soon indwell them (Who is He? What will His ministry be? How could they know His influence as opposed to that of other spirits?)
- He had to make sure they understood that His commands could not be carried out in their own strength, but that He would have to work through them.
Jesus had to pass through Gethsemane and betrayal by Judas, to face the trial and the Cross.
- He knew his disciples would flee, and abandon Him in that event, and He had to prepare them to know that their failure was not a surprise, but only proof that they could not function without Him.

The Prime Commandment

John 13:34, 35 teaches the undergirding strength of the whole Church. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, we are commanded to continually relate to one another in the Agapé Love. He had already taught that the Agapé love (being committed to the well-being of those around us) is the single most important evidence of the Truth of the Gospel, and its reality in the lives of Believers.

Jesus said, “A new commandment I give unto You, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

Do you suppose they truly understood Him at that point? It is possible, but, I rather doubt it, because they had not yet been indwelt by the Spirit of God. They heard the words, and they understood the meaning, but probably could not imagine how the command could be carried out.

Preparing to Leave

Peter caught on immediately that Jesus was getting ready to depart, but he did not understand what was happening. He asked, “Lord, whither goest thou?” Jesus understood that Peter genuinely desired to go with Him, and He gently replied, “Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now, but thou shalt follow me afterwards.”

Of course, Peter was confident of his strength and abilities. He assured Jesus that he would gladly lay down his life for Him. But, Jesus knew the truth: He knew the limitations of His human followers. He said, “Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, Verily, I say unto thee, the cock shall not crow, till thou has denied me thrice.”

Preparing them all for His departure

Jesus did not belabor the doubts Peter had, but told the whole group they should not be disturbed by His departure: He assured them that He was going away to prepare an eternal dwelling place for them all. He promised that he would return and take them to Himself; so that, wherever He was, they would also be. He also said they did know where He was going, and how to get there.

Thomas was thoroughly confused: he said, “No, we do not know where You are going, so how could we know the way?!” Jesus replied with the famous statement, “I AM the way, the truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.” (Did they understand His meaning? Possibly so, but I suspect they simply accepted it by faith, and they waited to learn the meaning.)

Assuring Them of His Deity

Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father. Jesus replied by saying, “Philip, you have known me all this time! How are you now asking me to show you the Father? If you have seen ME, you HAVE seen the Father!” I’m sure that rattled their brains! It certainly rattled my brain for a few years, as I tried to grasp the Deity of Christ.

I can accept the fact that Jesus truly is “God in the Flesh.” I hear His words, saying “the Father is greater than I.” But when I see the prophecy saying that “the Son shall be called the Everlasting Father,” I find that it is beyond my comprehension. I expect that it was a struggle for the eleven disciples, as well.

The Promise of the Spirit

We will not spend much time on the Holy Spirit, in this message: He is the subject of many messages. Next week, we will concentrate on all that Jesus said about the Indwelling Holy Spirit. For now, take a look at John 14:16; “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever.”

The Holy Spirit will be with you forever. In this passage, He is also called the Comforter…the Greek word is “paracletos,” meaning “One called alongside to help.” He is our Comforter and our Guide, who helps us through all of the tough, hard, painful times in Life.

If you remember the story of Abraham’s Servant, in Genesis 24, bringing home the Bride to Isaac, you can rest assured, that in the same way, the Holy Spirit is “Bringing home the Bride,” to Jesus: He will not leave you, and He will not lose you!

A New Relationship

Jesus said, in John 16:15-17 that He would no longer address the disciples as His servants, but rather, as His friends. He said that servants do not know the plan of the Master. But Jesus was revealing the plans of the Father to His disciples, as friends, and partners in the work.

He reminded them that they did not choose Him, but that He had chosen them, personally, and by name. They were intrigued by Him but, until He revealed it, they had no idea what He was going to do in their world. He chose them for a purpose. Verse 16 says that He chose them and ordained them to go and bring forth fruit…and that their fruit should remain. (Notice that this is not about the Fruit of the Spirit, which has lasting value, but it can easily be set aside by our sin.)

Eternal Fruit

Jesus wanted the disciples to “bear fruit” in the sense of reproducing among the peoples of the World. He reminded them that they were to Love one another, and then He warned them that the World would not respond favorably.

He said, “If the World hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.” He said they were no longer “of the World,” so it was impossible for them to “fit in,” now. Because we are “no longer of the World,” we can expect that world will reject everything we teach, and all that we stand for: it will reject us because it rejects Jesus Christ.

He warned that His disciples would be persecuted for the sake of their relationship with Him. He said whoever hates Jesus, hates the Father, too. In John 5:23 we saw that the reverse is true as well: Jesus said, “He that honoreth not the Son, honoreth not the Father who sent Him.”

A Dangerous, but Priceless Association

Because the Disciples were now “in Him” (as we will see in John 17:21-23) and He was to be “in them,” the World would reject them in the same manner as they rejected Him. He warned them that the time would come when anyone who killed a disciple of Jesus would imagine that he was doing service to God.

This was fulfilled in the person of “Saul of Tarsus” (who eventually became the Apostle Paul”) and in the lives of other unbelieving Jews who violently attacked the believers, and who assumed that, in doing so, they were “fighting the good fight,” and honoring God. God eventually took hold of Saul, and He used him (as Paul) to lay the foundation of the Church throughout the Mediterranean world.

But all down through history, the false churches and world religions have frequently taught that “torturing and murdering Christians is a good way to serve God.” Thousands of persons whose only offense was to confess that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was their Savior, were tortured to death, burned at the stake, and fed to savage animals for the entertainment of the World.

And such treatment is on the rise again, worldwide. This was not some “passing fancy” that only the first-century believers might endure. It is the “conflict of the ages,” and it will culminate in the Great Tribulation. Yes, we know who “wins,” but in the meantime, we need to be prepared to “suffer the consequences of Faith.”

The Legacy of Peace

In John 14:27, Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you. My Peace I give unto you: not as the World giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

This legacy of Peace that Jesus gave is a two-part package: We gain Peace with God, as we place our trust in Jesus, and are declared righteous by God. (Romans 5:1) The Disciples already had this peace: God declared them righteous by Grace, through faith. So, they are eternally at peace with God. But they still suffered doubt and fear, and Jesus moved to heal that fear.

We are called to experience The Peace of God, on a daily, moment-by-moment basis. That is what Jesus was bequeathing to His disciples. They would not fully experience it until the Holy Spirit came, in Acts 2. They feared for their lives and were hiding, until that time. But that was before the Holy Spirit was given. The new relationship blossomed on the day of Pentecost.

Before the Spirit was given, the eleven disciples fled when Jesus was arrested, and they were in grief: hiding, fearing that they would be the next victims of the evil leaders in Jerusalem.

Transformation

But afterward, they boldly preached the News of Jesus: When they were arrested, beaten, and imprisoned, they counted it a privilege. They were not at all discouraged by such mistreatment. The result of their collective, courageous testimony was that thousands of other people received Christ as their Savior, and the ancient World was “turned upside down” by the change.

Since that time, everyone who believes is immediately indwelt by the Spirit of God, and that Legacy of Peace is immediately available to all who will lay hold of it by faith.

**They Were Prepared, though they did not “Feel” Prepared**

Jesus had given them the information and the encouragement that they needed. However, until the Spirit was given they were not able to put the teaching to use.

That is the case in our lives as well. Most of us know a good deal more of the Word of God and the promises therein than we can put into practical use. We find ourselves powerless to apply it in practice. But we were told in advance that apart from the Holy Spirit using us to reach into the lives of those around us, it simply cannot be done.

When Jesus said, (John 15:5) “apart from me ye can do nothing,” He was not exaggerating. He was speaking the simple truth.

We have been Prepared too: Now we are called to Walk!

We who have placed our trust in Jesus as our Savior, are already indwelt by His Spirit. But, as believers, we are commanded to “walk”in the Spirit. Day by day, and moment by moment, we are to ask Him to lead, and then follow His leading. It means, moment by moment, confessing when we sin, receiving His promised forgiveness, and then walking with Him again.

Next week we will spend more specific time reading about the ministry of the Holy Spirit, both in the World and in the Church. In the meantime, let’s try to apply what we already know. Step out by faith to live in obedience to your Savior.

Lord Jesus, teach our hearts to receive Your gift of Peace on a daily basis and to trust Your Holy Spirit to work through us to reach the World around us. Raise us up to serve You in the Newness of Life.

February 20, 2023February 20, 2023

Prepare to Explain WHY You Believe

Why Believe Download

January 29, 2023January 29, 2023

“If I Wash Thee Not:” (What did Jesus mean by this?)

“If I Wash Thee Not”

John 13:1-11

Introduction:

¹ Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.

Chapter thirteen begins with a peculiar comment: John 13:1 concludes, “…He Loved Them to the End.” We might take that in several ways, I suppose, but we must consider the context, that He was about to be offered up as our sacrifice: we can see that He did not just say, “All right, fellows: I’m going to be preoccupied for the next few days, being tried, crucified, buried and resurrected! You all can just take a break: I’ll meet you in Galilee next week!”

No; He loved them to the end! He included them in everything right up to the point where they were separated from Him by force. 1^st Corinthians 13:8 says, “Love never fails.” The Agapé Love personified in Jesus did not fail, at any point. (It never has!) But in the next several verses, we see something else that is rather strange:

Why did Jesus Wash the Disciples’ Feet?

²And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him; ³Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; ⁴He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. ⁵After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.

From a historical, Biblical perspective, and especially from the disciples’ point of view, it was culturally and relationally out of place for Jesus to take on the clothing of a servant, and to wash the (dirty) feet of the disciples. (Keep in mind that, without “indoor plumbing, closed sewers, concrete sidewalks,” etc., all city streets were truly filthy, and anyone walking anywhere arrived there with dirty, smelly feet.)

How did they Deal with Dirty Feet?

As a rule, then, a courteous host at least supplied water, with which a guest could wash his own feet. In a wealthy household, the homeowner might assign their lowest servant to do the “dirty work” of washing the feet of the guests.

But one would never expect a respected Teacher to set aside His position as “Master,” and take up the position of that lowest of servants. Peter saw the “discrepancy,” there, and he tried to refuse. But Jesus told him that submission to this cleansing was absolutely necessary.

⁶Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? ⁷Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. ⁸Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.

How could He deal with Peter in such a “harsh-sounding” way? What was really going on, here?

Why does this passage begin with the fact that Judas had already received the notion to betray Jesus? It says Satan had given him the idea…perhaps he wasn’t committed to it, yet, but he was getting there. (…the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him;)

Why was that even part of the story, here? And why does John remind us, in this place, that Jesus knew He came from God and was about to return to Him? This whole passage raises some questions!

Context is Important:

Jesus knew exactly what was going on in the hearts of each of His disciples. He knew which ones had believed, and which had not, as we saw in John 6:64. He also knew that Judas had received from Satan the notion to betray Jesus, and that he was already beginning his plans to do so. Finally, He knew His own origin, and His own destiny…which is more than we can say.

So, within that context, Jesus set aside His position as “Teacher” and “Master,” and took upon Himself the form of the lowest of servants. (That is nearly an exact demonstration of what we see in Philippians 2:5-7.) Then, He began to cleanse the disciples’ feet; removing the accumulated dirt of their journey, however small or great. He was not suggesting that they were unclean, as a whole, but just that, in the process of normal living, they had picked up something unclean. They needed to clean their feet.

Understanding the Cleansing

Peter resisted the offered service, saying he would never allow Jesus to wash his feet. But Jesus said that without such a cleansing, he could not share in the walk with Jesus. Then Peter reversed his stance, and asked that he have his head and hands cleansed as well. Possibly Peter was beginning to understand the cleansing…that it was in reference to sin, not “just dirt.” Maybe he realized that his thoughts and actions were faulty, not just where he had walked. We can’t be certain, but that seems to fit what Peter said.

⁹Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.

But Jesus corrected that thinking, as well: The believers did not need a bath, again…they only needed to wash their feet. So… let’s think through what that means: You see, Jesus went on to say that not all of them were clean.

¹⁰Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye (plural) are clean, but not all. ¹¹For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.

How are We Cleansed?

As we read in John 6:64, Jesus knew who believed, and who did not. And that faith is what made the believers “clean.” But unbelief had left the unbelievers “unclean.” How do we know? Skip ahead to John 15:3… (after Judas had left, in John 13:30), Jesus told the eleven remaining disciples, that they all were clean. How were they clean? He said “Now ye (plural) are clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you.” They were cleansed through the Word!

In Ephesians 5:26, we see that Jesus cleanses the Church with “the washing of water by the Word.” And Psalm 119:9, says that the way a young man can “cleanse his way” is to “take heed thereto” according to God’s Word. No matter whether the Word is applied by another brother or sister, or by our own reading in the Word, Jesus, as the Living Word, is still the One doing the cleansing! This is not a “physical process,” such as soap and water, nor is it truly “self-help.”

What is our Part in the Cleansing?

Yes, we are told to “go to God’s Word,” for wisdom, and we are told to “apply God’s Word to our own lives” and to “take heed to God’s Word, as unto a light that shines in a dark place.” (And the World is a very dark place! We need His Light!)

But, regardless of how we go to the Word, or the Word comes to us, Jesus is the One who cleanses His Church. Why? Because He is the Living Word, and He uses His Written and Spoken Word to cleanse His Church.

**What is the difference between “Washing” and “Foot washing?”**

All the disciples in John 15:3 had been cleansed (fully washed) by the Word. Yet, in chapter 13, He said that though they had been washed, and thereby they were clean, they still needed to wash their feet. (One did not usually sit down to a meal in someone’s house with one’s feet still reeking of filth from the street.) What is the significance, then, of that comparison?

Jesus said they had been cleansed by the Word which He had spoken unto them. He spoke all the same words to Judas Iscariot! Judas was there for all the miracles, and he heard all the same teaching that the other disciples had heard. So, why was Judas different?

Judas did not believe in Jesus as his Savior. He did not believe that Jesus was really who He claimed to be. So, he had never been “washed” by the Word and he was “not clean.” He had one last chance to repent, in chapter 13, but he pressed on to his destination, and finally, in John 13:30, we see him committed to the betrayal of Jesus, and he left. And the scripture says, “…and it was night.”

But the other disciples, though they had all been washed by the Word, through faith, still had a sinful nature, and they would continue in failures, both small and great. Peter wept bitterly over his terrible failure in denying the Lord, after he had boasted that he would die before he would deny the Lord. So…was Peter still clean? As a matter of fact, yes, he was! But he had dirty feet!

Where do we find answers to our questions from John chapter 13?

In 1^st John 1:5-10, we see a passage, dealing with “sin in a believer’s life.”

⁵This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. ⁶If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

⁷But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. ⁸If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. (The Holiness of God is pointed out, here, compared to light. Sin is compared to darkness in contrast to the Light of God.)

Contrasting Light and Darkness: Righteousness and Sin

The result of seeing the moral and Spiritual Light of God’s Character, is that if we “say” that we have fellowship with Him (Meaning we are walking in light) but are clearly walking in darkness (sin) then at best, we are fooling ourselves. He does not sugar-coat it, though: He says, “we lie, and do not the truth.” (Whether it is only lying to ourselves or to another person, it is still a lie.)

Then He says, “if we walk in the light, as He is in the Light, then we have fellowship with one another, and his blood cleanses us” on an ongoing basis. But he says, “if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”

So, if Peter had continued to deny that his feet needed washing, he would be deceiving himself, and contradicting Jesus. The result would have been that fellowship was broken. He had already been cleansed, and that was not in question. The fellowship was the issue. A sinning believer, though eternally secure in their position in Christ, cannot have fellowship with Him and is acting just as if he had never been cleansed.

Salvation and Fellowship

Verse nine says, “If we confess our sins (agree with God about them) then He is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Peter agreed with Jesus about his need, and submitted to cleansing, on a fellowship basis. He had already been cleansed positionally. His condition was that he needed his feet washed.

What about Judas? Evidently he fell under verse 10: “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us.” Believers are permanently indwelt by the Living Word of God! Judas did not believe. He was not cleansed. God’s Word was not in Him.

Years ago, I had a friend, right here in church, crying in pity over “Judas losing his salvation.” But Judas did not “lose his salvation;” He was never saved! Jesus said so! Furthermore, in John 17:12, during His high priestly prayer, Jesus called Judas “the Son of Perdition.” The only other person in the Bible called “the Son of Perdition” is the Antichrist! (2^nd Thessalonians 2:3)

If you have heard the Good News of Jesus’s completed work at the Cross, and if you have believed God’s Promise: you have trusted in His shed Blood as the full payment for your sins, then according to Jesus’s promise in John 5:24, you are already cleansed, Your sins already have been taken away. You are already saved. So, you have eternal life now! You do not need to wait until you die to “know for sure.”

**But How do we regain fellowship when we have sinned?**

1^st John 1: 9 This should be a “memory-verse” for every believer.

This is how we regain fellowship when we find that (again) we have sinned. There is no need to remain out of fellowship, feeling the burden of guilt. Confess your sin to Jesus and be cleansed! If you have wronged someone else, then you may need to deal with that, as well: But there is no “waiting for an appointment,” with God. Go to Him immediately, and be freed from guilt! Go back to enjoying your relationship with your Savior!

Do you think Peter was “feeling good” about his relationship with Jesus, after he had denied that he knew Him? Of course, not! He went out and wept bitterly! But, in 1^st Corinthians 15:5 we see that Jesus had a “private talk with Peter,” before he met with all the disciples together. (What did they talk about? Evidently it was private, as we are not told anything about that meeting beyond the fact that it happened.) But after that, we see Peter in fellowship with Jesus again… at least until the next time he needed correction. And the same is true of each of us!

So, How do we “wash one another’s feet?”

Looking ahead to verse 15, we see that Jesus told us to imitate what He had just done. Does that mean we should physically get soap and water, and go wash people’s feet? (There are churches that practice this, but it misses the point.)

No, we go to another brother (or they come to us) in full humility and gentleness, showing a sinning brother or sister that he or she needs his or her “feet washed;” That they are out of fellowship. That they need to confess their sin, repent of their hardness of heart, or whatever the issue is. (This is not attacking or criticizing one another!)

A Personal Example:

I had a brother come to me in Bible School, when I had become bitter and cold toward God. In total gentleness and humility, that young man begged me to repent. Initially, I rejected his plea, but I knew it was God speaking to me, and after a few more minutes of conversation, I was convicted by the Word, and my stubborn resistance crumbled. I finally prayed with him, confessing my bitterness and anger, and I was restored to fellowship.

Jesus says that we are to do this for one another. And we have already seen the need in our lives for such cleansing. So, we need to be receptive when someone shares a concern with us. Will “they always be right?” Not necessarily, but if our hearts are closed to them, then, just as Peter was initially wrong to reject Jesus’s ministry toward him, we will “always be wrong.”

What is your Motive?

This is a matter of mutual care: we are not to be “attacking one another.” And both parties need to see it that way, or it will have no fruit. Galatians 6:1 makes this abundantly clear: we are to seek restoration. We are not there to “Straighten each other out.”

Humility, gentleness and a genuine desire for restored fellowship are the key…and we need to constantly be aware that we could be mistaken. Perhaps we are wrong in our perception. This is not a “sly way” to criticize others, camouflaged by “pious concern.” Check your heart. Why are you really wanting to speak to them?

This is a tough subject because we are proud people. We are touchy and oversensitive, and usually quite blind to our own faults. But Jesus said we need to deal with our own issues, before trying to correct someone else. So, take this teaching cautiously: Don’t seize upon it as a license to go around “policing” other people. They have the Holy Spirit. Let Him do the convicting.

Lord Jesus, correct our proud hearts and give us a deep, genuine love for the believers around us. Help us to pray for one another, and not to criticize. Fill us with Your Love, for Your glory and honor.

January 21, 2023January 21, 2023

What is the Basis for Judgment and for Salvation?

Judgment and Salvation

John 12:44-50

⁴⁴Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. ⁴⁵And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me.

⁴⁶I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. ⁴⁷And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.

⁴⁸He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. ⁴⁹For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. ⁵⁰And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.

Introduction:

This is a powerful passage: It identifies and equates

Jesus with the Father, (he that seeth me seeth him that sent me) and
His Word with the Father’s Word, (even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.) and
His Father’s Word with Eternal Life. (His commandment is life everlasting.)

In terms of logical order, and in light of the fact that He has already been identified as the Living Word, He has just made the claim that He is Eternal Life. Later, we will see that this is a pretty close approximation of what He was getting at.

Identifying with the Father:

Jesus will increasingly identify Himself as “being One with the Father” and make statements to the effect that “If you have seen Jesus, then you have seen the Father.” He had already claimed to be deity, using God’s personal name to identify Himself, in John 8:57, when He said, “Before Abraham was, I AM.” The Jews correctly understood that claim and sought to kill Him for blasphemy.

But we have observed before, that if someone makes such a claim, and there is no question that this is really what they said, then there are only three real possibilities:

They are a liar and a blasphemer, because they knowingly and falsely claimed to be God. (This is what the Jews assumed about Jesus, and they sought to kill Him.) Or…
They are mentally disabled, in some way, so as not to be accountable for what they say. (No, they are not God, but they also cannot be blamed for their words, as they are not in their right mind. They are rather to be pitied.) Or…
They really are God, in which case they should be prepared to prove it. And Jesus spent three years proving it over and over! So we have to respond accordingly. We have to make a choice!

Identifying His Word With the Word of the Father

“Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me.”

We sing about this, every Christmas: “Word of the Father, now in Flesh appearing!” (O Come let us Adore Him!)

When we read John 1:14, where it says, “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!”, we meditate on something almost unimaginable.

God’s Spoken Word

We tend to find the idea just too much to grasp that God’s spoken Word, who, in verse one, already had been identified as being God, could take upon Himself physical life. I try to understand the fact that God’s Spoken Word became a human child, growing up as a human man, and becoming our sacrifice forever. We struggle with these concepts, unless, by faith, we also accept the truth that , “In the Beginning, God created….” You see, in Hebrews 11:3, we read that God spoke the world into existence (including every form of life, whether spiritual or biological.)

If His spoken word can cause an entire universe, and everything in it, to spring into being, then it seems a very simple thing that His Spoken Word could be, itself, made to take on physical, biological life. (“In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of Men…”)

When Jesus Spoke, the people were hearing the Voice of the Father… He is the voice of the Father…the first and final communication of God!

God Spoke To Us!

Hebrews 1:1, 2 says, “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners, spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds.”

Yes, He spoke through a variety of prophets over the millennia; but now, His final communication has been revealed! God the Son, the Living Word, has been manifested to the world, and we all have choices to make regarding that revelation.

Jesus assured His audience that He only spoke exactly what God told Him to speak. They were literally hearing the “Word of the Father, now in Flesh appearing!” So, if they believed Him, they believed God the Father. Genesis 15:6 says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as Righteousness.”

And that is how people have always gained a relationship with God, down through the ages! When we choose to believe God, rather than believing the World, rather, even, than believing our own corrupt thought-patterns and self-deceit, we embrace Him as our only Hope. And, just as He promised the thief on the Cross, we can expect to be with Him in eternity.

Romans 10:17 says that “Faith cometh by hearing, and Hearing by the Word of God.” We each had to hear His message before we could believe it. And that is what we owe to the people of the world around us, as well. That is why Paul said, in Romans 1:14, “I am debtor both to the Greeks and to the Barbarians; both to the wise and to the unwise.”

Identifying His Father’s Word with Eternal Life

“Jesus said, in John 12:50, “And I know that His commandment is life everlasting…” But, this is not the only place where He makes such comments.

In John 17:3, Jesus said, “And this is Eternal Life, that they may know Thee, the One true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” The word translated as “know,” here, is the Greek word, “ginosko.” It means a personal, experiential knowledge…not just “knowing a fact.”

We gain that relational, experiential knowledge of God, initially, through believing Him, so as to receive Him as our Savior. But faith leads to more faith, and we grow in that experiential knowledge, as we learn more of His Word, and as we believe and Obey Him through His Word. And, in that way, we get to experience eternal life in the here and now.

One Promise, Two Conditions, Three Clauses

In John 5:24 Jesus said, “He that heareth my Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath eternal life and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto Life.”

Do you see how precious that promise is? He said, if you Hear Him and Believe Him (those are the only two conditions,) then you have eternal life now! You do not have to “wait until you die, to find out for sure.” (There are many people who insist that “you cannot know for sure that you have eternal life;” but we see that not only Jesus says that you can know, God says He wants you to know!

1^st John 5:11-13 says “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life; and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”)

Permanent Security

Further, He promised that, if you hear Him and believe Him, you will never again be condemned by God! That is a great source of assurance for broken, damaged, and wounded spirits like ours, who have been hammered by condemnation from human disapproval, spiritual onslaughts, and self-doubt. God says, (Ephesians 1:6) that once you have entered into this relationship by faith, you are “Accepted in the Beloved!” In Ephesians 1:7, He says you have redemption, and the forgiveness of sins! All of this is present tense! In Romans 8:1, He says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus!” And Jesus said there never will be again! (…and shall not come into condemnation….)

God says, once you belong to Him, He is eternally on your side, and you are permanently connected to Him. He will never let you go! (Hebrews 13:5 says, “…He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor will I ever forsake thee.”)

And Jesus says that you have permanently crossed over from death into life. Jesus confirmed this in John 10:27, 28, when He said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish!”

(That’s a pretty amazing Promise!)

Equating Jesus’s Words with Eternal Life

In John 6:63, (among other things,) Jesus said, “…the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”

In that specific context, the people had been arguing with Jesus about the teaching He had just given regarding the bread of Life. They were especially upset after He told them that “He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life.” I can understand why they were confused and arguing: people today are still confused and arguing about that verse. Some teachers claim that it means that you gain eternal life by taking Communion. At one time, C. S. Lewis actually taught this, in his book, “Mere Christianity.” (I hope he later changed his mind.)

But the answer becomes pretty clear, when we read verse 63, where Jesus said,“It is the Spirit that quickeneth (that means, “gives life”); The flesh (anything “you can do” with your body) profiteth nothing: the Words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are Life!”

Jesus then went on to say, “But there are some of you that believe not.” (John comments, saying, “Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray Him.”)

The WORD Is Spirit and The WORD is Life!

Can you see the connection, here? Jesus said His words were Spirit and His Words were Life. And he concluded that there were some who had failed to believe…showing that their disbelief (failing to receive His Word) was what barred them from receiving the Eternal life He was offering to them.

He is the Word! Back in John 1:12, it says, “But, as many as received Him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” God chose this way for sinners to approach him. One great thing about this God-ordained path to approach Him, is that it cannot be forced by anyone else, and it also cannot be prevented by anyone else. No government (well-meaning or not) can establish a state religion and force people to believe. And no Government (or any other authority) can prevent people from believing.

What is Our Part in the Plan?

The only thing they can try to control is the spreading of the Gospel: the preaching of that message of Eternal Life. And sharing that message is our God-assigned task. That is our part in the Plan of God for the salvation of a lost world. So long as we are here on earth, we are called to be His witnesses, and His Ambassadors. We only have this one life in which to join Jesus in the work of reaching the World He died to save.

Lord Jesus, fix in our minds the urgency of telling people how they can have eternal life. Raise us up as your witnesses, and ambassadors, offering the Word, the Bread of Life, to the lost souls around us. Don’t allow us to continue in complacency.

January 17, 2023January 17, 2023

What is the Link between “Idols, gods, and demons?”

Psalm 106:37, 38; 1^st Corinthians 8:1-6; 2^nd Corinthians 4:4

“Thou Shalt Have No Other God Before Me”

We have sometimes asked the question, “What (or who) are the “other gods?” What ere the gods which the heathen nations served, and which Israel was warned to avoid?”

The LORD (the God of Israel) repeated the warning many times, that Israel must not serve other gods. Yet, in Isaiah 43:10, and other places, that same God of Israel (YHWH, “the Great I AM,”) says that there are no other gods…there never have been and never will be!

What other gods?

So, what is going on with the various other “gods,” mentioned, (sometimes by name,) in the Old Testament? (The scriptures mention Nisroch, Dagon, Baal (Baalim, plural), and Astarte (Ashtoreth, plural.) In addition, there are Moloch (sometimes spelled Molech, or Milcom), ‘The Queen of Heaven,” Tammuz, and others, by name.)

It sometimes confuses us, a little, to see them all named in various contexts, and then to see in other contexts that God, the Creator says that “there are no other gods.” God understands our confusion, so, He explains it to us:

The Physical Idols are not the Only Issue

In 2^nd Corinthians 8:1-6, we see that the physical idols themselves, at least, are nothing. They are just a piece of wood, stone, metal, plastic, or whatever. But, in that passage, Paul says that, for believers, there is another problem. There is a “testimony issue” involved, regarding the “eating of meats sacrificed to idols.”

If your host (or whomever) told you that the meat in question was sacrificed to an idol, then don’t eat it. In that way, they cannot claim that “you took part in a sacrifice to an idol.” But, he also said, “if you are not told, don’t ask.” (The meat is not hurt by the sacrifice, nor are you. But your testimony could be damaged.)

The Spirits behind the Idols

However, in Psalm 106:37, 38, God gives us another, grimmer perspective. There, we see that there is a “spirit-entity” behind the worship of those idols. The service of those spirits is what is so strongly condemned. Notice that in verse 37, it says “…they sacrificed their sons and daughters to devils (literally ‘hairy ones…goat-gods.’)” As if in explanation, in verse 38, it says they sacrificed these innocent children “…to the idols of Canaan.”

Therefore, the idols themselves were just physical materials. But, as we understood from the passage in 2^nd Corinthians 8, there were spirits represented by those idols. God concludes that, in reality, the people were sacrificing their children to those demonic spirits!

The God of this World

Finally, in 2^nd Corinthians 4:4, Paul refers to Satan as “the god of this world.” (Hinduism is said to have 200 million gods…it is hard for me to even to imagine it. And there are thousands of other religions.) Ultimately, the millions of idols and false deities in the world all can be traced back to Beelzebub, the “prince of the demons.” (It literally means, the ‘lord of the flies.’) The same spirit is also simply called Satan (meaning, “the adversary.”)

The adversary (also called “the devil,” as we are told, in 1^st Peter 5:8) is “prowling about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” He is not omnipresent, but he has millions of “henchmen” in the persons of the demonic host. As believers, we need have no fear of him. However we are warned that he never sleeps. He is always watching for the opportunity to entangle believers in sin, so as to render them ineffective for God. So, we are admonished to be sober and vigilant, watching against such traps. (Sober means “take this seriously.” Vigilant means “be watchful.”)

Covetousness and Idolatry

As believers, we may never find “classic idolatry” (with an image we worship) to be a problem. But, in Colossians 3:5, we see something that should reduce our complacency. “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:”

The usual word for “covetousness,” (Greek philargurion… “the love of silver”) is not used here. Rather, it is the broader term (Greek pleonexian…”greed” or “avarice”) used, here. God says that our constant yearning for “more,” (whether for physical things or worldly honor or whatever,) is a form of idolatry. We don’t see it that way, but God’s clear warning is there for us to read.

What Conclusion can we Draw?

We have to draw the conclusion, that, just as there was a “spirit entity” behind the idols of the ancient world, there is also a Spirit enticing us to greed. The whole pattern of Worldly pursuit draws us away from the path the Lord is walking, and in which He desires to lead His people.

There is a passage describing people who followed that lure. Philippians 3:19 says, “Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.”

You see, these people had chosen an “attachment to things.” They never learned a genuine “attachment to the Savior.” And, the result is everlasting shame, instead of the glory of God. We really want to avoid any form of idolatry in our lives. Be warned: even though it is invisible to us, this is reality!

January 14, 2023January 14, 2023

What is the Cause of Spritual Blindness?

Light and Blindness

John 12:35-46; Isaiah 6:9, 10; Romans 11:25

Introduction:

In John 12:35-46, Jesus touched again on the topic of spiritual light and spiritual blindness.

³⁵Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. ³⁶While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.

³⁷But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him:

³⁸That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?

³⁹Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, ⁴⁰He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. ⁴¹These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.[John is quoting Isaiah 6:9, 10]

⁴²Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: ⁴³For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

⁴⁴Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me.

⁴⁵And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me. ⁴⁶I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.

Light and Blindness

We should address several issues, here: the first is the concept of spiritual and judicial blindness. In the scripture, we repeatedly see that our disregard for God’s light produces a judicial blindness. That condition will last until we repent of our sin of unbelief. Isaiah predicted this in Isaiah 6:9, 10. Jesus quoted that passage, here in John 12. Paul confirmed it in Romans 11:25, saying that “…blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.”

When we were studying John 1:4, 5, we saw that “in Him (The Word) was life, and the life was the Light of men. And the light shined in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not.” The unbelieving heart cannot understand God’s light, and darkness cannot extinguish it.)

In John 1:14, we see that Jesus is the “Word” in this context. “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.”

In John 8:12, Jesus actually introduced Himself as “The Light of the World.” We want to keep these ideas in mind, as we consider what Jesus meant. In John 3:19, He said that light has come into the world and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. What does that mean?

Light and the Word

In fact, since the Light and the Word are so closely tied together, we need to keep those two tied together in our own minds. When we consider light, in the scripture, we need to be thinking in terms of The Word. And when we see references to the Word of God, in the scripture, we need to consider whether that reference is directly (or indirectly) pertaining to Jesus, the Word of God.

Revelation 19:13 says one of the titles applied to Jesus, (the Messiah, the King of Kings)…is “The Word Of God.” Don’t take that lightly! If Jesus truly is the Living Word of God, then we need to Believe Him! And, if He truly is the Light of the World, hen we need to walk in His Light. Finally, if He is the light that the World is rejecting, then we do not want to ignore His Light, and neglect His Written Word.

God has not forgotten His Word. Psalm 105:8 says, “He has remembered His covenant forever, the Word which He commanded to a thousand generations.”

Psalm 119:89 says, “Forever, O Lord, thy Word is settled in heaven.”

And Psalm 119:105 says, ^“Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

Why am I citing all these passages comparing the Word to the Light, and connecting Jesus to the Word and to The Light? Give this some thought! Consider how to apply them in life.

Walk while Ye have the Light

The Jews in Jerusalem were continually challenging Jesus, questioning His integrity, His character, and the truth of nearly anything He said. In John 12:34, They had just said “We have heard out of the Law, that the Christ (the Messiah) abideth forever: how say you that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?”

They clearly understood that His comment about “lifting up the Son of Man” was in reference to His death. But they were so busy arguing every point Jesus made, that they failed to understand the overall message. They were so busy arguing about the character of His light that they failed to simply receive that light and walk in that light. So, Jesus admonished them (the Jews in Jerusalem) to “Walk while ye have the light.”

2^nd Peter 1:19, 20 admonishes us, as believers, to use the Written Word as our source of light, by which to walk in the World. “¹⁹We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:”

So, What Does that Mean for Us, as Believers?

The New Testament believers have received the whole counsel of God’s Word. We are learning to “rightly divide the Word of Truth,” so we can have a fairly good idea about which portions of God’s Word are directed to us, as New Testament believers, and which are specific to some other group. We also know that ALL of God’s Word is for us, even though not all is directed to us. So, whenever we fail to respond to His Word, God can rightly hold us accountable for what we know.

Jesus said that those who knew to do right and chose not to do it will be judged more strictly than those who did not know to do right and because of their ignorance, failed to do God’s will. The truth is, as believers, we really have no excuse: we disobey what we know God says, because we choose to go our own way. It’s that simple. Whatever excuses we make for not reading, not hearing, and not obeying God’s Word, it still comes down to a choice we make.

What about Feelings?

We say, “I don’t feel like studying, attending a class, reading, working on memorization,” etc. And we think that is an adequate cause for straying from the Shepherd. But it is not: Feelings are very seldom an accurate reflection of reality, and they are certainly not a good basis for decision making.

But we do this all the time. We make decisions on the basis of what we “feel,” rather than what God says about something. We even write songs, glorifying such things: “How can something so wrong feel so right?” and “If Loving you is Wrong, I don’t want to be Right!”

Sometimes we take it even further and declare something to be right or wrong, based entirely upon our feelings. A believing friend once told me that she felt it would be morally wrong for her to tell someone else how to be saved. She felt that it would be wrong for her to attempt to share the Gospel with another person. She believed she would be wrong to speak, hoping to lead them to eternal life in Christ. Her only reason for this belief was her “feelings.”

I was almost speechless. I tried to understand how a believer could think that direct obedience to a direct command from Jesus could be morally wrong. But nothing I said could sway her: She was directed by her feelings, and the result was her adamant opposition to the Written Word.

What about “Following your Heart?”

Nearly everyone, today, will tell you to “follow your heart.” They insist that “Your heart will never lead you wrong!” But that is the opposite of the truth! Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked!” So, from God’s perspective, there is no more sure way to go astray than by just “Following your heart.”

If you are in submission to God’s Word and His Will, then possibly the “heart” you hear “speaking” is your new nature. Your new nature confirms God’s wisdom and His directive will. But, under any other circumstances, be aware that the single most likely source for misdirection in our lives is what we call “the heart:” our feelings. I’m sorry if this offends anyone. I know it is an unpopular thing to teach, but I can’t ignore what God says about such a thing. It is just the truth.

What Happens when Believers Ignore the Light of God’s Word?

Throughout the Scriptures, we see that disregard for light eventually results in judicial blindness. We will no longer respond to His light at all: not even to reject it… we simply no longer see it. When someone attempts to confront us about the sin in our lives, we mentally dismiss it as “just their opinion.” If they persist, we may defend our actions or attitudes by accusing them of “judging us.” We forget that God is sovereign, and He sends one brother to correct another.

Another believer may attempt to share with me something taken straight from God’s Word. They have humbly, gently spoken His message, taken in the correct context. I need to take that intervention to mean that God is speaking to me through them!

That is not a light thing: I have had it happen many times. And, I knew what was happening at the time it was happening. So, rather than arguing, or defending myself, I confessed that they were correct. And, I thanked them for correcting me. (Have I always responded that way? Nope! Sometimes, initially, I have hardened my heart. But then God continued to put pressure on me until I repented.)

**What Happens when an Unbeliever Ignores the Light of God’s Word?**

Jesus was speaking primarily to unbelievers in the passage we are reading, in John 12. They had a wonderful opportunity to hear God’s Word directly from the Source: Jesus is the Word! If they ignored Him, there would come a time when He would be gone. Then their source of light would at least be less clear. It would be obscured by the darkness of the world.

He said that the darkness was coming. He warned that those who walk in darkness don’t know what they are getting into. They can’t see where they are going. They have chosen to become blind to the truth of the Gospel.

But in John 3:17-21, Jesus said that His purpose in coming was to offer salvation to the whole World. And then He said that the World does not want what He has to offer.

¹⁷For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. ¹⁸He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. ¹⁹And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. ²⁰For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. ²¹But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

In Proverbs 13:13, He says, “¹³Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded.”

Is This Blindness Curable?

So, according to John 3:18, an unbeliever is “already lost.” They do not become “more lost” by ignoring the Gospel. But, they do run the risk of becoming “immune to Grace,” because they have become blind to the Light of God’s Word. They have been “innoculated against the truth.” Is it still possible that God can break through that blindness and bring them to repentance? Yes, it is! Otherwise. I would never have been saved.

2^nd Corinthians 4:4 says, “In whom the god of this world [Satan] hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”

What did Jesus say was the cure for that blindness? In John 12:36 He says, “While ye have light, believe in the light that ye may be the children of light.”

For us, as believers, that faith must include obedience by faith. For an unbeliever, it simply involves a change of mind regarding Jesus. (We call that “repentance.) It involves dropping their previous arguments and simply recognizing Him as their own Savior. And then, as a newborn believer, they can begin their new life of discipleship, faith and obedience.

Lord Jesus, open our eyes to The Light of Your Face, the Light of your Word, and cause us to reflect that Light, so that we shine out the Light of the Gospel.

January 6, 2023January 6, 2023

What Gospel do we Preach?

Which Gospel?

Romans 1:16; 1^st Corinthians 1:17, 18; Ephesians 1:13, 6:15; Matthew 4:23; Galatians 1:6-9

Introduction:

As we read Romans 1:16, it is pretty straightforward: It says “the Gospel of Christ is the power of God to save everyone who believes in it.” And, in 1^st Corinthians 15:3, 4, Paul explains the content of that gospel (“Gospel” means “good news.”)

The Gospel is the “good news” of the:

Death (by crucifixion,) the
Burial (for three days and three nights) and the
Resurrection (physical, visible, and eternal) of Christ, for our sins.

God gives these three points as being specifically for the forgiveness of our sins. We must receive them by faith alone. So, it is easy for us to see that the “bad news” of our sin is what makes the sacrificial, voluntary death of Jesus on that Cross, and His burial in the tomb, along with His subsequent resurrection, Good News!

But those three pieces of the Gospel all have to be there! If we omit the crucifixion-death of Jesus for my sins, then we do not have a Savior: The crucifixion was necessary to fulfill the prophecies!

If I leave out the fact that the people buried Him and that he remained buried for three days and three nights, then the hearers might conclude that He “wasn’t really dead,” but “just unconscious;” and the cold of the tomb somehow revived him. (Or perhaps they might conclude that he wasn’t buried at all, and that he just somehow “recovered from His wounds.” )

But, if I leave out the Resurrection, then they have to assume He is still dead, and (again) we have no Savior! (The fact is, “we serve a living Savior!”)

How Many Gospels?

So, the question we need to ask ourselves is, “What Gospel are we to preach?” There are seven true “gospels” mentioned in the New Testament, as related to human preachers. They are the Gospels of:

The Kingdom (Mark 1:14; Matthew 4:23; 9:35, etc.)
Your Salvation (Ephesians 1:13)
Christ (Romans 1:16; Galatians 1:7, etc.)
God (Romans 1:1; 15:16, etc.)
His Son (Romans 1:9)
The Grace of God (Acts 20:24)
Peace (Romans 10:15; Ephesians 6:15)

The New Testament uses some of these phrases only once; and some twice, while it uses others many times. When we compare the seven true Gospels listed above, we also see that some are nearly identical:

The Gospel of Christ, the Gospel of Salvation, the Gospel of God, and the Gospel of His Son all seem to be identical, as the writer uses them interchangeably in some passages. Luke only uses the “Gospel of the Grace of God” once, but it also seems to be identical to these four. So, we can see that five of the seven on the list are essentially identical.

The New Testament defines the Gospel of God as the “good news that God sends, through Jesus Christ, His Son. It includes the promise of Salvation by God’s Grace, through Faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.” All of that fits and fulfills everything we just read, above, in Romans 1:16 (compared to 1^st Corinthians 15:3, 4.) By necessity, this Gospel, the Gospel of Christ, always includes the “preaching of the Cross,” as mentioned in 1^st Corinthians 1:18 and other places.

The two remaining “Gospels”, from the list above, which are not identical, are the “Gospel of the Kingdom,” and the “Gospel of Peace.”

The Gospel of the Kingdom

John the Baptist and Jesus both initially preached this “good news” in Israel, letting everyone in Israel know that the “Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” John and Jesus were not “preaching the Cross.” They were not “preaching salvation by faith:” Both of them were telling the “good news” that the promised Kingdom was available, then and there. And Jesus (as the King) in offering that kingdom, presented Himself to the people as the fulfillment of all the prophecies. John preached this message during his entire ministry, until Herod imprisoned and executed him. Jesus preached this Gospel of the Kingdom until the Jews firmly rejected the message.

As a nation, the Jews finally rejected the offer of the Kingdom; so God retracted the offer from that generation. After that point, Jesus no longer preached the Gospel of the Kingdom. He headed for the Cross! The Promised Kingdom is still coming, but it will come immediately after the tribulation period. And it will begin with the physical, triumphant return of the King.

The Kingdom still is “good news,” but we can’t really preach that good news today, because (a) we do not know when He will return, and (b) we do know that the Great Tribulation will precede His Kingdom: The Tribulation will be seven years of the worst news anyone has ever heard! So, God calls us to preach the Gospel of the Cross; the Gospel of Christ; the Gospel of Grace; the Gospel of Salvation. But, what about that last one? What about “the Gospel of Peace?”

The Gospel of Peace

Paul only uses the phrase, “the Gospel of Peace” twice: the first time, in Romans 10:15, he quotes Isaiah 52:7, and he summarizes what Isaiah said: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that sayeth unto Zion, Thy God Reigneth!” This was not “the preaching of the Cross:” it was the message to Israel, (to Zion,) that God was sending peace (with God and Man) to Israel, and that God was bringing salvation from their enemies to Israel.

The other time Paul uses that phrase is in Ephesians 6:15, where he tells us Church-age believers that our feet are “shod with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace.” These “shoes” are part of the sevenfold “armor of God.” We use that armor to arm ourselves for the spiritual battles we all experience. So…what is the “gospel of Peace,” in this context? Remember that Israel had been “at odds with God,” nationally, and as a result, they had experienced chastisement through enemy raids, invading armies, and terrible wars.

Peace With God

Each of us, (all believers, but specifically, we Gentile believers) began life “at odds with” God. We were lost sinners, and Romans 5:10 says we were enemies of God, whether we knew it or not, and whether we admitted it or not. But Romans 5:1 states the good news that, as born-again children of God, “being justified (declared righteous) by faith, we have peace with God!” Yes! That is good news! We are no longer on “God’s list of Enemies:” We are now his “born” children!

And that particular good news, the news that God is on our side, is incredibly good news. That truth should give us “firm, secure footing” in the battles of life. This is the “Gospel of Peace.” We have peace with God. This is our position in Christ. It is a positional promise. (Not the same as the “Peace of God.” That peace is a conditional promise which we are invited to experience; and it is available to us, if we walk with God in faith. It is a conditional promise!)

But there is another “gospel” mentioned, too: A false gospel.

“Another Gospel”

There is one more “gospel” mentioned, in Galatians 1:6-9. It is a false Gospel: a message that turns people away from faith in Jesus. It supplants the Holy sacrifice of the Blood of Jesus with some other means by which to approach God. Usually, it supplants “faith in Jesus’s shed blood” with “Human works and religiosity:” human piety, or rituals. But it is a human-centered gospel, as opposed to a Christ-centered Gospel.

The message could include nearly anything, but it always includes “some other way to approach God.” It also always denies the full deity of Christ, saying that He is not the Almighty God: not God in the Flesh, not the Creator, and the Ruler and the Judge of all the Universe, who chose to be born in Bethlehem of a virgin mother, and who died on the Cross in our place, as the eternal sacrifice for our sins. Such false gospels also will always deny that Jesus’ blood was fully sufficient for our Eternal Salvation.

So, how does God feel about this “Other Gospel?” He condemns it in the strongest terms! And He specifically condemns those who preach it. Galatians 1:6-9 concludes, “…if anyone preaches to you a different gospel, let him be accursed!” (That is pretty strong language!)

**What Gospel Should We Preach?**

On occasion, I have heard a preacher say that he was going to “really give ‘em the Gospel!” But then, I listened very carefully to their message, and I was dismayed to find that they not only failed to “really give ‘em the Gospel:” they also did not even mention any portion of it!

There was no mention of the Holiness of God,
Nor was there any mention of personal guilt for sin.
They made no mention of coming judgment,
Nor did they mention the need for a personal Savior.
There was no mention of the Cross,
No mention of the Grave, and
No mention of the Resurrection!

They left out every bit of both the “Bad News” and the “Good News!”

So, what Gospel DID they preach?

It certainly was not the Gospel of Christ! God could not have saved anyone through hearing that message. The preachers did not address the message of Salvation in any way, nor did they even hint at it. Their message usually was some sort of exhortation to “live a better life,” or to “avoid a particular type of sin,” or possibly expounding the “value of church attendance.” But those messages cannot save. Only the Gospel of Christ, being believed in, can save sinners.

I’m sorry to have to condemn anything people say, and I really don’t like to condemn a preacher for his message, but that is exactly what is commanded in Galatians 1:6-9. And none of those things they were preaching were part of the Gospel of Christ. When those sorts of things are allowed to replace the true Gospel, then the message falls into the category of “another Gospel:” A false Gospel!

The people who persist in bringing such messages are teaching people to approach God by some other means than by the shed blood of Jesus. And Jesus said, “No man cometh unto the Father but by Me.” We need to listen carefully to the messages we hear, and especially, we must consider carefully what message we preach.

What do WE Preach?

Whenever I share with someone, I try to remember to explain all three points of the good news, as well as at least the “core issue” of the bad news: (We need a Savior because we are Lost!)

But, quite honestly, sometimes I have looked back and realized that I accidentally left out one or more points of the Good News, and maybe all of the “Bad News.” That is not acceptable: God is not going to “condemn me” because I forgot to include some part of the Gospel, but the result in the life of the hearer may be that they cannot “place their faith in Christ,” because I did not “give them the message.” I only gave part of the message of Salvation.

1^st Corinthians 1:23 says, in part, “but we preach Christ Crucified…” We know ahead of time that it will not be a “popular” message. Why? Because the majority of the people believe either that they are “too good for God,” so that they “don’t need a Savior,” or they are “too smart for God,” so that they think the message is foolish…laughable…stupid! And, in either case, they find the message either repugnant or pointless.

Jesus said that the majority would reject the message: but He also commanded us to share it with all people. Mark 16:15 says “Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.” (I’m pretty sure that means “all the people.”) There are those who believe that Jesus “only died for the elect:” But 1^st John 2:1, 2 clearly says He is the propitiation not only for our sins, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Now What?

I have to conclude that, if Jesus accomplished that much at the Cross, not only on our behalf, but also for the whole world, then we truly are debtors to all people, to offer them that eternal life that He died to provide for them. That’s our job, and it is a Sacred Trust:

(Perhaps you don’t know this, but Angels are not permitted to preach the Gospel of Christ. Only we Humans have that privilege. The “everlasting Gospel,” in Revelation 14:6, is “preached by an Angel,” but it has no salvation content.) We need to take this privilege, this Gospel, and run with it!

Lord Jesus, fill us with the urgency of the message You have told us to proclaim. Help us to see the unspeakable privilege we have. Raise us up as Your witnesses and Your Ambassadors.

That No Man Should Be Moved

Introduction

Who is the Enemy?

So, What are the Enemy’s Plans for You?

Remember: You are Secure Forever:

No Created Being Can Separate us from the Love of God.

Because You are “on God’s Team,” Satan desires to cripple or destroy you!

What about Fear?

What about Anger?

What about Pride?

Clean Pride

What about Unbelief?

What about the Desire for Fleshly Gratification?

We always have a choice.

What does it mean, to “Receive the Word of God?”

1st Thessalonians 2:13-16

Introduction:

Matthew 23:29-39.

WHO sent the prophets?

This was National Response, not Individual.

Receiving the Word of God

Contrast between people’s responses to the Word of God

How did I receive the Gospel?

What changed my thinking?

I Was Dealing With God, not Man!

Testing the Concept

The Decision We Always Face:

Whose Authority Matters?

How do We Receive the Word?

We are Accountable

After the Resurrection: What Now?

Matthew 28:11-20; Mark 16:15-20; Luke 24:45-53; John 21:1-24; Acts 1:1-9

Introduction:

After the Resurrection

Luke 24:44-53

John 21:1-24

Lapsing into the Old Life

What about Us?

Preparing His Disciples for His Departure

Introduction:

The Prime Commandment

Preparing to Leave

Preparing them all for His departure

Assuring Them of His Deity

The Promise of the Spirit

A New Relationship

Eternal Fruit

A Dangerous, but Priceless Association

The Legacy of Peace

Transformation

They Were Prepared, though they did not “Feel” Prepared

We have been Prepared too: Now we are called to Walk!

“If I Wash Thee Not”

Introduction:

Why did Jesus Wash the Disciples’ Feet?

How did they Deal with Dirty Feet?

Context is Important:

Understanding the Cleansing

How are We Cleansed?

What is our Part in the Cleansing?

What is the difference between “Washing” and “Foot washing?”

Where do we find answers to our questions from John chapter 13?

Contrasting Light and Darkness: Righteousness and Sin

Salvation and Fellowship

But How do we regain fellowship when we have sinned?

So, How do we “wash one another’s feet?”

A Personal Example:

What is your Motive?

Judgment and Salvation

Introduction:

Identifying with the Father:

Identifying His Word With the Word of the Father

God’s Spoken Word

God Spoke To Us!

Identifying His Father’s Word with Eternal Life

One Promise, Two Conditions, Three Clauses

Permanent Security

Equating Jesus’s Words with Eternal Life

The WORD Is Spirit and The WORD is Life!

What is Our Part in the Plan?

**Because You are “on God’s Team,” Satan desires to cripple or destroy you!**

1^st Thessalonians 2:13-16

**This was National Response, not Individual.**

**I Was Dealing With God, not Man!**

**The Decision We Always Face:**

**They Were Prepared, though they did not “Feel” Prepared**

**What is the difference between “Washing” and “Foot washing?”**

**But How do we regain fellowship when we have sinned?**

**What Happens when an Unbeliever Ignores the Light of God’s Word?**

**What Gospel Should We Preach?**