Category Archives: Faith

The Enemies of Israel-Part 5-God or a King

November 28, 2023 Eddie Leave a comment

Now, all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition (warning) upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 1 Corinthians 10:11

“We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us and His teaching in our history.” EGW

We Want A King!

The children of Israel had settled in the promised land. All seemed good. But they soon began to complain to Samuel for a king. They wanted to be like other nations and be ruled by someone they could see but still keep God—two masters, as it were. No longer satisfied with a theocracy governed by God through judges and priests, they desired an earthly monarchy. They felt a king would make them acceptable and powerful like other nations.

Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” 1 Samuel 8:4-5

Samuel was not pleased with their request despite the sound reasoning that Samuel’s sons would soon be their judges, but they were not like Samuel. They were corrupt:

But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice. 1 Samuel 8: 3

Samuel understood that establishing a king was a giant step in the wrong direction for the people of Promise. As the old proverb goes, “absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Like their forefathers who wandered in the desert for 40 years, the people had not come to trust God and put Him first.

Thought question: Do we make God our sole source of direction, or do we put our trust in a person or persons? The children of Israel would start down a path that would lead them further away from God by substituting God with a king.

We must balance this thought with the fact that God works through people whom He educates and gives power to do his will through truth and goodness. But the enemy also works through people to harm and divide.

Rejection of God’s Rule

Samuel did not know what to do nor how to respond to their logical reasoning about his sons and the eventual rule by corrupt judges. He did what every believer must do when faced with a challenging situation. He prayed to seek God’s wisdom.

So Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. 1 Samuel 6-7

Samuel must have been surprised by the response from God. Let them have what they want! Don’t feel bad, Samuel. They have not rejected you. They have rejected me and don’t want Me to rule over them.

Thought question: Do we do the same thing when we trust in priests, pastors, and strong personalities rather than God our Father? How can we know which are good and which have a different agenda than God?

After all that God had done for them by delivering them from the rule of Egypt and a powerful pharaoh, they sought to be placed under the sovereign whims of an earthly king. God told Samuel to remind them what God had done for them. Then, He warned them about what to expect. Samuel obeyed God and laid it all out in 1 Samuel 8: 10-18.

Consequences:

A king would take advantage of them. He would build up an army. They didn’t need an army under the protection of God. God had protected them from the pursuing army of Egypt.

A king would take their daughters and put them to work for him. He would bring the best of their agriculture and a tenth of produce and livestock. The people of God would become servants to the king. At some point, they would cry out to God, but He would not listen to them.

And you will cry out that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you that day.” 1 Samuel 8:18

Consequences-The Theme Going Forward

They would have to bear the consequences of not trusting God. That is the central theme of the people of God’s mistakes, which Paul warns us in our opening passage. It is what Paul wants us to hear, see, and understand so that we don’t do the same.

Thought question: How well is your trust in God? Can you trust Him, no matter the circumstance? Have you had to bear the consequences of making someone or something else king in your life?

Despite the gloomy prophecy, the people went ahead with their desire to have a man rule over them.

Nevertheless, the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No, but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” 1 Samuel 8: 19-20

When the people of God desire to compromise and become like “all the nations,” they lose the power of God. They would become ineffective for Him and the truth that would save the lost. They would become poor witnesses to the only true God.

Our failure to trust in Him leaves us vulnerable. Instead of letting God fight our battles, we seek the government or some other entity to fight them for us. This is an unholy alliance and not in the will of God. In the book of Revelation, a corrupt church (Babylon) and the State will unite to enforce the church’s ungodly dogma through the government. The people of God should never seek to have the government force people to believe as they do. Our God does not work by force or through any government edicts.

Moral laws, as described in the last six commandments, are acceptable legislation to produce for a safe society, but the first four commandments of God relate to Him alone. These, in particular, are never to be legislated. They are about the worship of the only Creator. The beast of Revelation 13 creates laws about worship because the enemy seeks to replace God and how people worship Him.

As we will see as we move along in understanding the enemies of Israel, their captors want to eliminate the true God of the Israelites. The hate is not just about a people, but the only true God. Herein is the primary goal of the enemy.

The First King-Saul

And Samuel heard all the people’s words and repeated them in the hearing of the Lord. So the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed their voice, and make them a king.” And Samuel told the men of Israel, “Every man go to his city.”

1 Samuel 8: 21-22

Samuel broke up the crowd of unsatisfied grumblers and sent them home. Then Samuel went about the task of finding a good king. He desired a candidate who would be obedient and submissive to the guidance of God. His journey would lead to a Benjamite man named Kish, who was powerful and wealthy. Kish’s son Saul, a very tall and handsome man, was his choice. On the outside, he looked like a king who could influence the nations around Israel.

Kish had a son named Saul, as handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller than anyone else.1 Samuel 9: 2 NIV

The meeting between Samuel and Saul is very interesting. Saul’s journey to look for his father’s lost donkeys is recorded in 1 Samuel 9. I won’t take much time here, but I want to point out a couple of passages.

Saul is Born-Again

When Saul and Samuel’s paths cross, as directed by the Lord (See 1 Samuel 9: 16), the exchange of their first words is important:

Samuel said, As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them; they have been found. And to whom is all the desire of Israel turned, if not to you and your whole family line?” 1 Samuel 9: 20b

Saul came looking for a prophet (Samuel) to help him find the lost donkeys. Instead, he is greeted by the prophet in a very respectful and unusual way. Then Saul reveals his character with these words:

Saul answered, “But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?”

1 Samuel 9: 21

God does not use the biggest, strongest, and most famous to initiate His will and leadership. It is the small and humble He seeks.

Something else demonstrates that God has prepared Saul for his journey as a king. He gave him a new heart.

So it was, when he had turned his back to go on Samuel, God gave him another heart, and all those signs came to pass that day. When they arrived there to the hill, there was a group of prophets to meet him; then the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. 1 Samuel 9: 9-10

God directed the meeting of Saul and Samuel. At least at this point, Saul was a humble young man born again (another heart), and the Spirit of God was upon him. Saul started well with a new heart and the direction of God’s Spirit.

However, as the story goes, this same Saul, after many years as king of the united kingdom of Israel, would change and lose his way. The people would also become different people.

Among the people were rebels who did not accept Saul as their king. This is important because, ultimately, there would be a clear division of the people of God’s kingdoms of the North and the South.

Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, accompanied by valiant men whose hearts God had touched. But some scoundrels said, “How can this fellow save us?” They despised him and brought him no gifts. But Saul kept silent.

1 Samuel 10: 26-27

Saul’s mentor, Samuel, had died. There came a point when Saul lost his way and did not rely on God. He grew impatient with God because of the clear and present danger of the Philistines.

In desperation, instead of waiting on the Lord, he sought wisdom from a medium. God forbade this for His people (Lev. 19:31), but Saul went to the medium of En Dor disguised in other clothes and at night. He hoped to have Samuel brought up from the grave to give him advice. Saul should have humbled himself and trusted God, but Saul had rejected God, and God rejected him.

When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams, by Urim, or by the prophets…. So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes, and he went, and two men with him; and they came to the woman by night. And he said, “Please conduct a séance for me and bring up for me the one I shall name to you.” 1 Samuel 28: 5-6, 8

In the beginning, God had selected Saul and gave him what was needed to rule over His people, but now Saul was under this medium’s bewitching power and deception. She brought up a spirit that Saul “assumed” was Samuel (1 Samuel 28: 14) . This spirit made a prediction that would come true.

The spirit of God had departed from Saul and became his enemy. God had torn the kingdom from Saul and given it to David. Why? Because Saul did not obey the voice of the Lord nor attack the enemy with the wrath of God as God had instructed (1 Samuel 28:18).

As a result, Israel would be given over to the Philistines on the very next day. Further, Saul and his sons would die in battle. For the full story, see 1 Samuel 28 and 1 Samuel 31

After Saul came David, a good ruler. Then Solomon, who would take Israel to great heights. These three were the only three kings that would rule a united kingdom. Then, God’s promised land would be divided into the northern kingdom of Judah and Israel in the south.

As predicted by Samuel, the kings that the people cried for would become their enemies, oppressing and dividing them. Most of the future kings would lead them into sin and evil.

In the chart below, you can see that only a few were faithful to God. The 20 kings of the northern tribes of Israel were ALL disobedient to God. The southern kingdom had only 6 out of 20 (30%) who were obedient to their Maker! What a terrible record of these kings!

Without a doubt, the choice to have kings rule them was a very bad one. But God allowed them to have what they wanted.

Thought question: Is getting what we want better than what God has in mind for us?

The story of Saul and the following kings was recorded to show how turning our backs on God in favor of a king only leads to misery and failure. In the final events of Earth’s history, individuals will decide like the Israelites. Will God be our ruler, or will someone else steal our worship and devotion? Those who we think will be our savior will become our enemy…just as the kings of Judah and Israel became the enemies of God’s people. May we learn to lean on and trust the only faithful Savior of the world…. Jesus is the Messiah and the soon-coming King of Kings.

May their story of poor choices and lack of trust in God give us wisdom so we do not make the same mistakes.

Final thought question. Does the church have a religious king in modern society? Who is it?

Now, all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition (warning) upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 1 Corinthians 10:11

Kings of Israel
Name	Reign (BC)	Ref. in 1& 2 Kings	Deeds
Jeroboam I	931-910	1 Kings 12: 25-14:20	Evil
Nadab	910-909	1 Kings 15: 25-32	Evil
Baasha	909-886	1 Kings 15: 33-16:7	Evil
Elah	886-885	1 Kings 16: 8-14	Evil
Zimri	885	1 Kings 16: 15-20	Evil
Tibni	885-880	1 Kings 16: 21-22	Evil
Omri	885-874	1 Kings 16: 21-28	Evil
Ahab	874-853	1 Kings 16: 29 – 22:40	Evil
Ahaziah	853-852	1Kings 22:51 – 2 Kings 1:18	Evil
Jehoram (Joram)	852-841	2 Kings 3:1 – 9:26	Evil
Jehu	841-814	2 Kings 9:1 – 10:36	Right and Evil
Jehoahaz	814-798	2 Kings 13: 1-9	Evil
Jehoash (Joash)	798-782	2 Kings 13:10 – 14:16	Evil
Jeroboam II	793-753	2 Kings 14: 23-29	Evil
Zechariah	753-752	2 Kings 15: 8-12	Evil
Shallum	752	2 Kings 15: 13-16	Evil
Menahem	752-742	2 Kings 15: 17-22	Evil
Pekahiah	742-740	2 Kings 15: 23-26	Evil
Pekah	752-732	2 Kings 15: 27-31	Evil
Hoshea	732-722	2 Kings 17: 1-6	Evil

Kings of Judah
Name	Reign (BC)	Ref. in 1&2 Kings	Ref. in 2 Chronicles	Deeds
Rehoboam	931-913	1 Kin. 12: 1-24, 14: 21-31	2 Chr. 10:1 – 12:16	Evil
Abijam (Abijah)	913-911	1 Kin. 15: 1-8	2 Chr. 13: 1-22	Evil
Asa	911-870	1 Kin. 15: 9-24	2 Chr. 14:1 – 16:14	Right
Jehoshaphat	872-848	1 Kin. 22: 41-50	2 Chr. 17-1 – 20:37	Right
Jehoram	853-841	2 Kin. 8: 16-24	2 Chr. 21: 1-20	Evil
Ahaziah	841	2 Kin. 8:25-29 – 9: 21-29	2 Chr. 22: 1-9	Evil
Athaliah (queen)	841-835	2 Kin. 11: 1-20	2 Chr. 22:10 – 23:21	Evil
Joash (Jehoash)	835-796	2 Kin. 12: 1-21	2 Chr. 24: 1-27	Right & Evil
Amaziah	796-767	2 Kin. 14: 1-22	2 Chr. 25: 1-28	Right & Evil
Azariah (Uzziah)	792-740	2 Kin. 15: 1-7	2 Chr. 26: 1-23	Right & Evil
Jotham	750-732	2 Kin. 15: 32-38	2 Chr. 27: 1-9	Right & Evil
Ahaz	735-716	2 Kin. 16: 1-20	2 Chr. 28: 1-27	Evil
Hezekiah	716-687	2 Kin. 18:1 – 20:21	2 Chr. 29:1 – 32:33	Right
Manasseh	697-643	2 Kin. 21: 1-18	2 Chr. 31: 1-20	Evil
Amon	643-641	2 Kin. 21: 19-26	2 Chr. 33: 21-25	Evil
Josiah	641-609	2 Kin. 22:1 – 23:30	2 Chr. 34: 1 – 35:27	Right
Jehoahaz	609	2 Kin. 23: 31-34	2 Chr. 36: 1-4	Evil
Jehoiakim	609-598	2 Kin. 22:34 – 24:7	2 Chr. 36: 5-8	Evil
Jehoiachin	598-597	2 Kin. 24:8-16, 25: 27-30	2 Chr. 36: 9-10	Evil
Zedekiah	597-586	2 Kin. 24:17 – 25:21	2 Chr. 36: 11-21	Evil

Born Again, Faith, The Gospel, What is God Like?

The Letter Kills, but the Spirit Gives Life

October 11, 2023 Eddie Leave a comment

Overview

“…who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” 2 Corinthians 3:6

This passage is confusing to many, including myself, until I applied the law of context and noncontradiction. (See article on Context Matters.). To start, let’s list the keywords:

ministers,

new covenant,

letter,

kills,

and life.

Our main questions should center around the deadly “letter.” Whatever it is. It kills or takes life. The questions are simple also:

What does the letter refer to?
What does it kill?
Why is the Spirit the direct opposite of the letter, i.e., life?
Is the letter killing me, or do I have life in the Spirit?

If we can understand Paul’s statement in the context of the story of redemption, we will know what to avoid. Even better, it will lead us to the Spirit which gives life. Sometimes, it is less about avoidance of something and more about acceptance of a truth that may make us uncomfortable at first.

Immediate Context-

The immediate context (the preceding verses) sets up this metaphoric statement by Paul to the Corinthian church. The reason for his council is described in the previous two verses (v. 4, 5).

And we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God,

2 Corinthians 3: 4-5

The key thought here is trust through Christ and sufficiency from God, not ourselves. This is the pre-thought before he discloses that the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Trust in Christ eliminates self-sufficiency.

Self-Sufficiency

It seems that this church had a “self-sufficiency” problem. The answer to this dilemma is simple enough: “Our sufficiency is from God.” Understanding the sufficiency of God through Christ is a critical and unique teaching of Christianity. It is the difference between life and death. The difference between true and false. This truth is important as we move through this reasoning regarding the letter of the law and the death it causes.

Another passage by Paul to the church in Rome addresses the same issue as the Corinthians. It appears that the believers at Rome have understood and responded.

But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.

Romans 7:6

The keywords here are strikingly similar to the ones addressed to Corinth. The following words in parentheses are the Corinthian words,

Serve (minister),

Newness of the Spirit (new covenant),

Oldness of the letter (letter that kills).

Paul talks as if the Romans had learned the truth. He mentions “being delivered” from the law by dying to what held them. What held them? Self Sufficiency. It kills faith in Christ.

Slain by the Law or By Sin?

So, we can conclude that Paul’s theology has not changed between churches. It is, therefore, a universal pitfall that we can relate to: The letter of the law kills, and we need to be delivered from it to serve in the newness of the Spirit (i.e., the New Covenant).

I had been told that this letter of the law (that we need to die to) is the ceremonial and priestly law that ended at the cross, but if we stay in context, we see a different law:

Immediately after Romans 7:6, Paul asks a clarifying rhetorical question in verse 7. It lets us know that the Ten Commandments are the object of his discourse.

What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.”

Since “You shall not covet” is one of the ten commandments, it is safe to surmise that the context is about the moral law of God.

For the next few verses, 7-11, Paul expands on how he was alive without the law. This would indicate he did not know or understand the law and felt no conviction about his sin, but when he came to this written knowledge of sin, he realized that he was a dead man because of sin that was disclosed by the law. He came to a realization and conviction that it was a sin to covet, and therefore, he saw only death before him because of the sin, not the law. To make his point, he ends with this statement that sounds like the opposite of his disparagement of the letter of the law.

Therefore, the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.

Romans 7:12

So that which was holy, just, and good made him aware of the penalty of sin. The sin, not the law, slew him. The law was good for him. It opened his eyes to sin and its penalty.

Has then what is good (the law) become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful.

Romans 7: 13

He became aware that he was an exceedingly sinful person by a knowledge of the written law, i.e., the Ten Commandments.

The law lets us know what sin is in God’s eyes. God gave the law to Moses written by His own finger on stone!

Whosoever commits sin transgress also the law, for sin is the transgression of the law.

1 John 3:4

Purpose of the Law

All would agree obedience to the law, without Christ, does not make us righteous. In fact, it makes us unrighteous because of our attempt at self-sufficiency. The law’s main purpose is to establish what sin is and point out our need for a Savior:

Therefore, by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Romans 3:20

To make this precept even more robust, Paul says in the previous chapter,

For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

Romans 2: 13

So, doing the law is important; it is part of justification!

Now I ask this question: What is it that we have died to and were held by? Obedience to the law? How are we delivered from the Law?

The answer seems obvious. It was not the law but the attempt to obey without Christ, to become self-sufficient.

Let me make an important Biblical assertion: Living through the Spirit doesn’t give license to break, nor provide, the impulse to break the letter of the law. The other extreme is equally true: Obeying the law without Christ does not bring about righteousness. So, what is Paul telling us about the letter of the law? It appears to be a life and death statement (Letter kills, Spirit gives life).

We have to die to the idea that we can obey the law to the letter and the Spirit without Christ.

Righteousness by Works

When we use obedience through our self-sufficiency as a way to add to what God has already done for our salvation, we are on the wrong path that leads straight to legalism. This is hard to accept for those who think of self-produced good deeds and works as an addition to what God has already done through His mercy, love, and forgiveness. Things like repetitive prayers and prayer beads will tend to replace simple trust in Christ. Making up personal rules about how to be holy also replaces simple trust and sufficiency in Christ.

It is only by the grace and love of God that we are in a position to be saved. To make this even easier, it is a gift from God Himself. This is the basis for our redemption, the Grace and Love of God. Without it, we would all be lost. It is given to us without any work on our part. Redemption from sin and salvation from eternal death is something we did not initiate. Our Holy God did not make a list of good deeds and works that had to be completed before acceptance. Instead, He asks for something harder: Belief and trust.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2: 8-10

A man in his shop builds a beautiful piece of furniture. It is his workmanship…the product of his doing. He shapes the wood, sands it down, and applies the paint. Can the piece of furniture do anything to add to this workmanship? We are His workmanship in the area of good works. We are to walk (live in them) …not create them (good works). With Christ, this situation is more spiritually natural and less tiring than working on producing good works on our own.

The Work of Faith

The platform for being saved by the grace of God has another vital component- faith or trusting in God’s plan, i.e., His incarnation, His life, His death, and His resurrection, His gift of the Spirit, His mediation, and His return again. It is all about Him! Without any one of these, we would be lost. All of these components have their basis and start with the grace and love of God.

And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty, and your faith is also empty…And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!

1 Cor. 15: 14, 17

Some might say, “See, faith is something I have to “work” on.” Is it something you “work on,” or is it something you exercise from the start?

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

1 John 5:4

Being born of God overcomes the world. With this new birth comes faith in Christ. It is a package deal. He gives a measure of faith to all who come into the world. It lies dormant until a choice is made to use it and let God change them. It is certain that faith can grow. But, remember, a very small amount of faith (mustard seed) can move mountains. The amount of faith is less important for salvation as it is to use what little you may have.

Works are Fruit, Not as a Method for Salvation

James, the brother of Jesus, understood clearly that works that include obedience are the fruit of salvation, not the method or addition to salvation. A person who has truly been born again and in love with their Savior will respond with obedience and good works. They will live by the workmanship of Christ…good works.

But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?

James 2: 18-20

It is James’ way of saying, “lip service proves nothing.” The proof of your faith is in the pudding itself, i.e., “works.” I can say all day long that I have saving faith, but if my actions prove otherwise, my faith is dead or not real.

So, where do we focus? On becoming a wonderful worker for God or a wonderful lover and truster of God? Do we concentrate on doing good works to be accepted by God, or do we respond out of a new spiritual heart that loves God and loves our neighbor?

The Letter is Important. Why does it Kill?

The direct commands of God are important, but not the way you may think.

Let me give a couple of examples and then apply some common sense.

Example: Jesus described two cases where the Spirit of the law was explained. He used the two commandments about adultery (seventh) and murder (sixth).

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Matthew 5: 27-28,

Again, it would seem that Jesus is dismissing, minimizing, or contradicting the specific commandment about adultery (letter of the law), which is having sex with someone who is not my wife. Instead, He expands the law to include the thoughts (heart). It is not merely looking at the woman (or a man) but mulling it over and creating lust (strong sexual desire) in the thoughts and perhaps playing it out in the mind to plan a rendezvous.

There is no need to complete the act to commit adultery; It has already been done in the heart. We have broken the seventh commandment. In such a case, we need forgiveness from Christ even if we didn’t actually sleep with the woman or man. We may actually need a new heart if this urge is uncontrollable and repetitive.

Here is where spiritual common sense comes into play. What if I told my wife that from now on, I was going to live by the Spirit and not by the letter? Consequently, I plan to have sex with as many women as I please because the letter (the literal words of the law) kills, but the Spirit gives life. I think that reasoning would lead to not just a killing by the letter but murder by my wife! 😊 This leads to the next expansion of the law by Jesus: Murder

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.”

Matthew 5: 21-22

Again, Jesus seems to dismiss the letter or literal words of the command to focus only on the Spirit of the law, But in effect, He is magnifying or expanding the letter of the law…a direct fulfillment of an ancient prophecy about Jesus:

The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honorable. Isaiah 42: 21

Committing murder by the letter of the law, i.e., taking someone’s life, is not negated by the Spirit of the law, which is anger without a purpose or reason. So, it would not make sense to say, “I can murder as long as I don’t hate the person.” Letter VS Spirit.

How do I know that each letter of the law is important? Before Jesus expanded on these two commandments, he made sure his audience understood that He did not come to destroy the Law (letter) or the Prophets.

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5: 17-20

Jesus’ “fulfilling the law and the Prophets” does not do away with the letter of the law. In fact, He makes reference to the details of the letter (that He has no intention of destroying). Like a microscope, he zooms in on the details of the Ten-Commandment law. He references the importance of every letter and mark: Jot (smallest letter) and tittle (the smallest stroke of the smallest Hebrew letter). It is like Jesus is saying He isn’t going to change even the dot on top of our smallest letter. “i.” Yet, as humans, we want to rewrite the Ten Commandments to fit our own lifestyle and then teach others to break His law. This is the spirit of the anti-Christ. We are putting ourselves in the place of Christ and contradicting his plain word. It is not just one commandment; it is all of them!

Righteousness by the law-The Cart before the Horse

Until all is fulfilled, the law and the prophets remain. All has not been fulfilled yet. Many prophecies about the Second Coming remain unfulfilled. Jesus’ keeping the law perfectly (jot and tittle) does not give us the green light to break any of the commandments. We can’t say,

“I don’t have to keep the law; Jesus did it for me.”

Try to explain that to my wife or those I love if I lie, steal, covet, or live an adulterous life, etc. But we can never reach righteousness by our own efforts by gritting our teeth and working hard to become a good law keeper. We must not get the cart before the horse.

Too many Christians get hung up on that last part of the passage:

For I say to you that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

V. 20

They think Jesus is saying obedience to the smallest letter and the smallest stroke will create more righteousness and ensure acceptance by the Lord. Did the scribes and Pharisees have righteousness? Yes! In their own eyes, manufactured by strict observance of the law, but in reality, they did not have the righteousness that comes from faith in Jesus. Now, keep in mind faith does not negate obedience to the law. Paul said it very clearly in Romans 3:

Therefore by the deeds of the law, no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.:

Romans 3:20

Can it be any clearer? That commandment keeping and deeds of the law will not justify anyone in God’s sight. Thanks be to God for the atoning sacrifice of God! Paul explains further:

But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe.

Romans 3: 21-22

Did you catch that? The righteousness of God is apart from the law. It is not connected! This should have been good news for those Scribes, Pharisees, and religious people who were trying to obtain righteousness and acceptance of God through the meticulous, to-the-letter keeping of the law. The righteousness of God cannot be obtained that way. Further, we are all sinners with a human heart that lusts and hates without cause. Generations of evil and sin influence our hearts.

“Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.

Roman 3:28

This does not contradict James, who said works (deeds of the law) are evidence of faith. To say it very simply, Paul describes the soil for salvation (grace through faith); James describes the result (or fruit) of salvation (i.e., works). One is the method of salvation (gospel), and the other is the results of salvation or the gospel.

That should be settled in the heart of every follower of Christ. To make sure we understand about the law, Paul exclaims.

Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.

Romans 3:31

Conclusion Part 1

The attempt to obey the letter kills the relationship with Jesus. However, living in the Spirit will give life to your Jesus Journey. We must die to self-sufficiency in our obedience to the law as a way to obtain righteousness or to gain acceptance with God. Obedience and good works come spiritually naturally with a new heart and new motives of love toward a holy God who saved us by His unmerited favor towards us. This kind of salvation is real and spills over to those around us. Instead of pushing people away with legalistic requirements, they pull them to Jesus by their love.

We are thankful for His mercy and love, and we respond accordingly. By doing this, we obtain life through the spirit rather than death by working on obedience or perfection instead of trusting Jesus.

Take a moment to study these two illustrations.

In “1 Me” I relate to God by the law.

In “2 Me” I relate to the law through God.

The “1 Me” starts with the law to build a relationship with God. I think that obedience improves my relationship with God. But my vision of God can be blurred by the obligations God set forth in the Ten Commandments or any other of His commands. It will lead me to be religious and to live by the letter and not the Spirit.

On the other hand, The “2 Me” knows God first. I see the law through a relationship with God. I have experienced a loving God who has forgiven my sins, and my desire is to follow Him. I keep God’s law because I love Him. It is a response of love and not obligation. My focus is on Him and Him alone. The more personal associations I have with Him and observe how He works in my life and others, the more I love Him. I can then clearly see that righteousness by faith works through love. I have a new heart that seeks to carry out the will of God because of love, not obligation, religiosity, or to gain favor with God. The law is not negated. It is established in the heart. I respond out of love for Christ.

“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”

John 14: 15

“…showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”

Exodus 20:6

Now, let’s look at another chart to close:

Above the blue horizontal lines is Salvation. Below it is the opposite (lost or unsaved). We are lost either at birth or at the age where we can respond to the Holy Spirit. The act of infant baptism accomplishes nothing toward salvation. The destiny of these innocent babies, baptized or not, only God knows, but this I know: The character of God is merciful, loving, and forgiving. He looks to save, not condemn.

At the point where we respond by choice, then repent, and turn to Jesus for forgiveness, we are born again and have salvation. The Holy Spirit will testify to this new birth. Our upward journey with Christ begins. We want to be more like Christ. If we let him, He alone will mold us into His image for His sake, not ours. So even if we die without the molding complete (Christ’s likeness), we are still saved from eternal death. This journey towards Christ’s likeness is called sanctification or the upward call. This we will discuss next time. It is important because there is an enemy that wants to take the Jesus experience away from you and to leave Him. This is why Paul tells us to put on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6: 10-18). We are in a battle and “press on” even in the bad times.

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended, but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3: 12-14

Faith, Reasons to Believe, The Gospel, What is God Like?

The Murder of Jesus-Part 2-Is Jesus God?

October 4, 2023 Eddie Leave a comment

(Disclaimer, again): I have never read Bill O’Riley’s book called Killing Jesus. The following thoughts came from my own personal study. Any similarities are purely coincidental.)

I am using the word “murder” because it is different than “killing”. Killing can be an accident or defensive. Murder is intentional with malice. Further, the word “murder” in this article is used symbolically to demonstrate how Jesus and His message are denigrated in our society, including in some churches.

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Last time, we looked at how the religious leaders of Jesus’ day belittled and denigrated Jesus’ words, teachings, and example. They sought to murder Him because he cut across their traditions and man-made rules about the Sabbath. Their hatred was so strong for Him that they sought how they might destroy Him!

They also did not know Jesus. They claimed that only God could forgive sins. They were right about that but wrong about who He was. In their midst stood Immanuel (God with us)! Their religiosity blinded them. Indeed, Jesus could forgive sins because He is God, a member of the eternal Godhead.

There is nothing new under the sun. Today, the same two topics of the Sabbath and the divinity of Jesus are constantly called into question even though the Bible is clear on these two topics. They are twisted and degraded, which leads to the murder of Jesus (symbolically). So, as we walk on holy ground approaching this topic of divinity, let us consider the importance of understanding the nature of Christ.

Sometimes, someone else can so clearly express the truth better than me. Rarely do I rely on someone else’s writings, but in this case, I make an exception. A small book written in the 19^th century by E. J. Waggoner, Christ, and His Righteousness, follows the scripture closely and fairly to come to a Biblical conclusion about the nature of Christ. While some of the following are his words, mine are interspersed as the Spirit leads me. But, the most important words are the words from God Himself as found in both the Old and New Testaments.

The ultimate goal is to understand the depth of the sacrifice of Christ,

who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,

Philippians 2:6

If we fall short in our understanding of Christ’s nature, we may attempt to murder Him by minimizing the story of redemption. Let’s begin with the basic question:

IS CHRIST GOD?

In many places in the Bible, Christ is called God. The Psalmist says:

“The mighty God (Elohim), even the Lord [Jehovah], hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined. Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence; a fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about Him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that He may judge His people. Gather My saints together unto Me; those that have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice. And the heavens shall declare His righteousness; for God is judge Himself.”

Ps. 50:1-6.

It should be clear that this passage refers to the 2^nd coming of Christ by two declarations from God’s word:

First, all judgment is given to Christ by God the Father.

Last time, we saw where the Jews sought to kill Jesus, broke their traditions of Sabbath observance, and He made himself equal with God. He did this by forgiving the paralytic’s sins, and in John 5, Jesus claimed that He and God were equal:

“Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.”

John 5:18

Jesus’ answer to them showed the closeness of the work of Jesus and God the Father (verses 19-20). It is logical that if Jesus didn’t think He was equal with God, He would have said so. Instead, He refers back to the Psalmist Asaph’s description of Jesus (God) being given all judgment (Psalm 50: 4-6). His response to the Jews probably surprised and infuriated them because He is showing the power given to Him by the Father:

For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

John 5: 22-23

Is it not clear that honoring Jesus honors the Father, also? More on that later.

Secondly, the description of the Psalmist Asaph matches Paull and Peter’s New Testament description of the second coming of Christ. Asaph refers to God (Elohim) whose coming is destructive and is the time to gather His people. Jesus fulfills this prophecy. Elohim is the same name used at the beginning of Genesis…” In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” and over 2,400 times elsewhere in the Old Testament. This simple comparative chart should help us see the connection between Psalm 50 and the New Testament. This is just one of many connections between the God of the Old Testament and Jesus’ divinity in the New Testament.

Psalm 50	New Testament
*Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent;* *A fire shall devour before Him,* *And it shall be very tempestuous (like a storm) all around Him. V.3*	**“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, (1 Thess 4:16).”* “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be ^[burned up. 2 Peter 3: 10**
*The Saints shall be gathered together….God is judge Himself.*	*And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His [saints) from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Matthew 24: 31,* *“Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” 1 Thess 4: 17*

*Note: This shout will be the voice of the Son of God, which will be heard by all that are in their graves and which will cause them to come forth. John 5:28, 29.

A prophecy of Isaiah makes it certain that Jesus would be called (among other descriptive names) “the mighty God, the everlasting Father.”

“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.”

Isa. 9:6.

These are not simply the words of Isaiah; they are the words of the Spirit of God. God has, in direct address to the Son, called Him by the same title.

In Ps. 45:6, we read these words:

“Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever; the scepter of Thy kingdom is a right scepter.”

The casual reader might take this to be simply the Psalmist’s description of praise to God, but when we turn to the New Testament, we find that it is much more. We find that God the Father is the speaker and that He is addressing the Son, calling Him God. (See Heb. 1:1-8).

But to the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.

Hebrews 1: 8

Christ is the “express image” of the Father’s person. Heb. 1:3. As the Son of the self-existent God, He has by nature all the attributes of Deity. It is true that there are many sons of God, but Christ is the “only begotten Son of God,” and therefore, the Son of God is, in a sense, that which no other being ever was or ever can be.

The angels are sons of God, as was Adam (Job 38:7; Luke 3:38), by creation; Christians are the sons of God by adoption (Rom. 8:14, 15); but Christ is the Son of God by association with the Father.

When Philip said to Jesus,

“Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.”

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father”

John 14:8, 9.

This is as emphatic a statement as when He said,

“I and My Father are one.”

John 10:30.

So truly was Christ God, even when here among men, that when asked to exhibit the Father, He could say, Behold Me. And this brings to mind the statement that when the Father brought the First-begotten into the world, He said,

“And let all the Christ And His Righteousness. angels of God worship Him.”

Heb. 1:6.

It was not simply when Christ was sharing the glory of the Father before the world that He was entitled to homage, but when He came as a Babe in Bethlehem, even then, all the angels of God were commanded to adore Him.

The Jews did not misunderstand Christ’s teaching concerning Himself. When He declared that He was one with the Father, the Jews took up stones to stone Him, and when He asked them for which of His good works they sought to stone Him, they replied:

” For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.”

John 10:33.

If He had been what they regarded Him, a mere man, His words would indeed have been blasphemy, but He was God. The object of Christ in coming to earth was to reveal God to men so that they might come to Him. Thus, the apostle Paul says that.

“God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself”

2 Cor. 5:19

In John, we read that the Word, which was God, was “made flesh.” John 1:1,14.

In the same connection, it is stated,

” No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. (or made Him known).

John 1:18.

Note the expression, “the only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father.” He has His abode there, and He is there as a part of the Godhead, as surely when on earth as when in heaven. The use of the present tense implies continued existence. It presents the same idea that is contained in the statement of Jesus to the Jews (John 8:58),

“Before Abraham was, I am.”

John 8:58

And this again shows His identity with the One who appeared to Moses in the burning bush, who declared His name to be “I AM THAT I AM.” And, finally, we have the inspired words of the apostle Paul concerning Jesus Christ, that

“it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell.”

Col. 1:19

What this fullness is, which dwells in Christ, we learn from the next chapter, where we are told that.

” For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;”

Col. 2:9.

This is the most absolute and unequivocal testimony to the fact that Christ possesses by nature all the attributes of Divinity.

Conclusion:

The sacrifice of God the Father and Jesus, who are so intimately associated by their existence and purpose. The plan of the Father and Jesus made Jesus’ sacrifice far exceed the mere blood of bulls and goats. Those poor animals who knew not of their pending death must have kicked and squirmed as they felt the blade of the knife on their tender throats and felt the life go slowly out of their consciences.

But Jesus willingly laid down His life in cooperation with the Father,

Therefore, My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. 18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”

John 10: 17-18

Let us stand in awe and respond with love for God and the value of sinful mankind that our Creator would die for the created.

“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!

For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?” Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him? For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen. Romans 11: 33-36

Next time, we will consider Jesus as our Creator.

Faith, God's Will For Us, The Gospel, What is God Like?

THE MURDER OF JESUS-PART 1

September 23, 2023 Eddie Leave a comment

(Disclaimer: I have never read Bill O’Riley’s book called Killing Jesus. The following thoughts came from my own personal study. Any similarities are purely coincidental.)

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Let it never be said that a single race initiated the murder of Jesus. He willingly laid down His life for all races. He allowed Himself to become the sacrifice for everyone’s sin, whether now, in the past, or in the future. His dying words were one of grace and forgiveness:

Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”

Luke 23:24

It was out of ignorance, protection of traditions, and religiosity that they encouraged the crucifixion. But It was always in the plan, from the beginning of time, for Jesus to descend to earth to be an example and to be the sacrificial lamb to pay for our sins so that we might have eternal life. Then to rise from death to the heavenly sanctuary.

Jesus Willingly Laid Down His Life

No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down for Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”

John 10:18

A thought question: “Were we in the same position as the religious leaders, would we want to murder Jesus?” The answer is likely “yes” if we are as religious, dogmatic, and sold out to traditions as they were. The religious leaders were not open to His words. They tried to keep Him from talking and teaching. However, we can murder HIm today by making His word and followers of no effect or minimized. Jesus is murdered almost daily in the public eye through social media, movies, TV shows, and leftist news channels.

Another way we can murder Jesus is by treating followers of Christ the same as they did Jesus via hatred.

“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.”

John 15:18

‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

Matthew 25:40

Since no one can kill Jesus physically, the enemy and our unconverted selves can do so by promoting our own teachings over His. This is the point of this article.

It is not physical harm but the hate-filled accusatory judgment that the world dishes out. Even church members do the same when they fight with each other over the gnat while swallowing the camel in the room.

The Spirit of the Antichrist in the world today

The Jews of Jesus’ day wanted to murder Him because of His teachings. His message cut across their long-held traditions and man-made rules. Today, arguments over theology and man-made traditions have become the anti-Christ of His teachings. In fact, the “Ant-Christ” and the Beast of Daniel and Revelation seek to put traditions and man-made worship and Religious rules above the teachings of Christ! Perhaps this is why John exclaimed that the spirit of the Antichrist is already in the world. (1 John 4:3). This passage is in the context of false teachers or prophets (see verses 1 and 2). False teachers always promote their own agenda, beliefs, and interpretations over the plain spoken word. Let’s examine this closer:

Nothing New Under The Sun

“Therefore, the Jews sought all the more to kill Him because He not only broke the Sabbath but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.”

John 5: 18

John’s account of the Jews seeking to murder Jesus points out several great mysteries of God’s kingdom.

On this day, the religious leaders charged Jesus with two violations worthy of death. One was based on carefully guarded traditions, the other on the word of God!

First, they said He “broke the Sabbath.” Secondly, they said Jesus (made) Himself equal to God. Today, churches are still at odds over these two accusations. They point to this passage and say, “The Sabbath is of no significance because Jesus broke it.” Some claim that Jesus is not God. By making these claims, they denigrate His teaching and thereby murder Him again.

Are we just as rigid, religious, and closed-minded as the religious leaders were? Have we closed our ears to the plain word of God in favor of our denomination or traditions?

Have you heard someone say, “If it was good enough for grandma, it is good enough for me.” This really puts Grandma and her traditions on a pedestal, even over God’s word! She must have known all the truth. While good ole Grandma was a fine Christian lady, I like Jesus better. Is Jesus murdered when the grandson or granddaughter put Grandma over Jesus? Is this not replacing Christ with Grandma?

Murdering Jesus With Man-Made Rules

“Jesus replied…You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:

“‘These people honor me with their lips,

but their hearts are far from me.

They worship me in vain;

their teachings are merely human rules.;”

Matthew 15:7-9 NIV (Jesus quoting from Isaiah 29:13)

Why did the Jews think Jesus “broke the Sabbath”? Did He really break the Sabbath? The answer is found in verses 8-10 in the same chapter (John 5).

“Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” And immediately, the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. And that day was the Sabbath. The Jews, therefore, said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed.’“

John 5: 8-10

Who said it was not lawful to “carry your bed” on the Sabbath? They did! Not Jesus! Did you notice that the haughty religious leaders directed their judgment towards the man who was cured, not at Jesus? It is much easier to judge someone who is weak and unlike the majority than it is to judge Jesus.

At another time, Jesus demonstrated to them a concept that overruled their legalistic Sabbath keeping when he healed the man with a withered hand in the Synagogue on the Sabbath (Matthew 12: 9-13). He asked them which one would not rescue a sheep fallen in a pit on the Sabbath.” By asking this rhetorical question, he demonstrated the value of a person over the animal world and made this point about keeping the Sabbath:

Therefore, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath

Matthew 12: 11-12”

So, doing good on the Sabbath is a teaching of Jesus on how to observe it, but it so enraged the religious leaders that they sought to murder him. The very next verse says this,

Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy (murder) Him.

Matthew 12: 14

How powerful are long-held traditions and man-made rules about the Sabbath? Going against it can lead to the murder of the Son of God and even His followers!

At another time, they would accuse Jesus directly of breaking the Sabbath by healing on the Sabbath (See Mark 3:2) and causing the man to “work” on the Sabbath! The Lord Jesus told the man to “take up his bed and walk.” Jesus was influencing the healed man to sin (according to their definition) when Jesus instructed the man to do something that violated their man-made rules about the Sabbath, i.e., getting out of bed, lifting it, and walking!

Ponder Question: Do we seek to murder Jesus (degrade) His teachings) when we make up our self-made laws about the fourth commandment? By thinking we obey, we really are modifying based on our traditions to conform the Sabbath to our lifestyle and the popularity of the world or the way we were raised or taught. Do we set our own rules about keeping the day holy, as the commandment states? Or do we annul the Sabbath commandment and place the solemnity on another day without scriptural authority? There is no evidence that Jesus broke the spirit or the letter of the fourth commandment…only the religious leaders claimed He broke it. He did, however, break their silly, made-up rules and traditions. Why? Because they didn’t know who He was!

Killing Jesus by Refusing to See Him as God

Jesus answered, “I am the Father are one…”We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”

John 10:33

When Jesus healed another paralytic, Jesus forgave his sins.

When Jesus saw their faith, He told the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”

And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

Mark 2: 5-7

The scribes were right by reasoning in their hearts that only God can forgive sins. They didn’t dare to claim to have the power to forgive sins. The priests of the Temple performed ceremonies to lead the sinner to God for atonement, but they would never proclaim their sins forgiven. Sins have always been forgiven by faith in God’s love, grace, and mercy. Someone greater than the religious teachers was in their midst, the incarnate Immanuel (God with us). He had the power because He is God.

Ponder Question: Do we kill Jesus when we seek forgiveness of sins or absolution from a priest? Is the heavenly temple where Jesus is ready to minister to our sins and failures left desolate because a mere man has stepped into His place?

Further thought: do we murder Jesus by hating other people?

A Christian teacher at a private school asked her students to draw a picture of the person they disliked the most. One girl drew a picture of her once-best friend who stole her boyfriend. Another person drew a picture of a political figure, while another drew a picture of her father, who had left the family.

Next, the teacher took the pictures and placed them carefully on a dart board. Each student was given darts. Without prompting, all stood and faced the picture of the person they disliked the most and began to throw the darts at their picture. The activity began to get lively as each student threw the darts harder and harder. Soon, the pictures were in tatters, and the teacher asked them to return to their desks.

Once the students were settled and quiet, the wise teacher began to remove the tattered pictures from the dart boards. Underneath was another tattered picture. It was a picture of Jesus!

The students gasped, and some wept when the teacher reverently quoted these words of Jesus:

“Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”

Next time, we will explore further Jesus’ claim to divinity from His works, the Apostles, and the Prophets. Did Jesus ever degrade the words of the Father or of the Old Testament writers?

The Gospel

Everlasting Gospel

September 3, 2023 Eddie Leave a comment

Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people— saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”

Revelation 14: 6-7 NKJV

A Difference Between Gospel and Everlasting Gospel.

How does the “everlasting gospel” differ from the “gospel“? In no other place in scripture does the phrase “everlasting gospel” appear. But, the simple word “gospel” is brought up 100 times in the New Testament. Of the “Gospel” writers, John is the only one who does not use the word. (Matthew 5 times, Mark 8, and Luke 4, John 0. ) The only time John uses the word is here in Revelation, but he insinuates a gospel that does not end. What does that mean? Please keep in mind that just because the word “gospel” is not used, it does not mean that it is not present in the Bible, even in the Old Testament. Its theme is throughout!

I have cautiously come to the conclusion. that the everlasting gospel is the Good News that will last forever, even in heaven. What is the Good News that will supersede anything else? It is the theme of redemption and the love of the Godhead—a mystery of sacrifice, love, compassion, mercy, and forgiveness. These mysteries cannot be understood except in the actions of God the Father, Jesus, and the Spirit.

Another author says it this way:

“The theme of redemption is one that the angels desire to look into; it will be the science and the song of the redeemed throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. Is it not worthy of careful thought and study now? The infinite mercy and love of Jesus, the sacrifice made on our behalf, call for the most serious and solemn reflection.” (empasis supplied)
Steps to Christ, EG White

What is the Gospel?

The gospel has always been described as the Good News. This Good News comes through the story of Jesus. It is usually divided up into events and actions of the Godhead. The following are the primary parts of the story of redemption.

1.) The incarnation of Jesus (Immanuel-God with us). Even though Jesus is the second member of the Godhead, He became one of us! (Hebrews 2: 14-18) . What a great mystery of love!

2.) He lived a sinless life. (2 Corinthians 5: 21)

3.) He died for our sins, paying the full penalty. We don’t have to work for our own salvation. Any good work or victories over sin are produced by the work of Jesus in our new heart. ( 1 Corinthians 5: 3, Philippians 2: 13, Hebrews 7:25)

4.) He rose again to show that we, too, can be resurrected from the dead. if there was no resurrection, we would still be in our sins and lost. (1 Corinthians 15:4, 1 Corinthians 15: 6-7)

5.) He sent the Holy Spirit to guide, direct, and comfort. (John 14:6)

6.) He became an Intercessor for us. The High Priest we can come to directly for help and forgiveness. (Hebrews 4: 16, 1 Timothy 2:5)

7.) He is coming again to take us where He is now. (John 14: 1-3)

8.) He will create a new heaven and a new earth where righteousness will reign, where sin and death will never raise their ugly heads again. (2 Peter 3: 13, Nahum 1:9)

All of these events are based on the love of God and beautifully summarized by John, who does not use the word gospel except in Revelation. Nevertheless, it encapsulates the eternal gospel that we will ponder throughout eternity…perhaps teach angels or unfallen worlds.

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

Prophecies, Hope, and Faith are Fulfilled. Love Remains

The eternal gospel will be our study of the science of redemption. All the prophecies will have been fulfilled; There will be no need for tongues, faith, or hope. Love is the only one of the gifts left standing.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

1 Cor. 13: 8

Although John is skimpy on the word gospel, his message is the theme of love, which is the basis for the gospel.

Of all the apostles, John talks about love more than any other; it appears 39 times in his gospel writing, compared to Matthew (11 times) , Mark (5), and Luke (12). This is more than all the other gospel writers combined! Only Paul exceeds this number (70 times), but Paul was a more prolific writer with 14 books compared to John’s 5 books of the Bible.

It is John alone who records the 11th commandment of Christ regarding loving one another as Jesus loved.

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

John 13:34

Everlasting Gospel Provides a Choice for the Warnings

Before the messages of warning of the three angels are proclaimed, it is the “everlasting” gospel that proceeds the tough announcement of judgment, the fall of Babylon, and a terrible beast that will force people to choose between it or God.

It is this everlasting gospel that will likely cause “Babylon” to fall and counteract the threats of the beast. The dire warnings would be weakened without the preaching of “everlasting gospel” first.

This section of Revelation describes a preparation for the return of Christ. Jesus confirms this activity of preaching the gospel to the whole world before the end comes, as recorded by Matthew :

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Matthew 24: 14 NKJV

The Three Warnings

In the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, Jesus fills in the blanks between the preaching of the everlasting gospel and warnings to the people of earth. Without first preaching the sacrificial love found in the eternal gospel, the three warnings have no context, power, or choices for those who hear. It will sound to them as just noise…a clanging cymbal.

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.

1 Corinthians 13:1

The scene in Revelation 14 is the description of an angel (the first of three) who has the everlasting gospel to preach to everyone on planet Earth. It is visible because it is in the air! Not one person is exempt from the hearing of this everlasting gospel. The power of this message gets attention as insinuated by the sound of a “loud voice.” If you have ever been in a relatively quiet place with the sound of people talking in the background and you hear someone get loud. It gets your attention. With all the activity of earth’s everyday activities, a voice will rise above the clatter. It is the preaching of the “everlasting gospel.” In conjunction with that loud voice comes the messages of the other angels, but the core of their messages is a gospel that will never end.

This angel has the first of three warnings for the people of Earth before the end comes. Note: I am briefly showing the warnings for context to end this article. The study of these messages is deep and requires more time and space to investigate, which I will attempt next time.

Warning #1

“…saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”

Revelation 14: 7

The first angel that has and proclaims the eternal gospel gives the first warning. Because of God’s great love, he wants all to come to repentance so that no one will perish. He warns that it is time to turn away from earthly idols and life’s priorities to worship the Creator.

Warning #2

A second angel follows who warns:

Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” Revelation 14: 8

As people hear the eternal gospel of love, it brings down this symbolic Babylon with its truth about Jesus. Fornication is the mixing of two things that do not belong together…. unmarried sexual relations, which symbolizes the mixing of the truth of Jesus and the error of the false teachings from a city…a dwelling place of power. The truth exposes the lies of Babylon (which means confusion), and it brings down this city of error).

Warning #3

Then, a third and final angel warns with a loud voice like the first angel:

Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation.

Revelation 14: 9-10

Of the three messages, this one is the most descriptive and severe. It has to do with worshipping a beast (symbolic for a religious/political power) and showing loyalty to this power by allowing a symbolic mark that displays loyalty to this antichrist power. That is the choice: loyalty to the God who loves and created you or the beast power that wants to manipulate and use you!

These messages are delivered individually but logically connected in their order. Hopefully, we will discover more next time, but for now, let us focus on the eternal gospel. The story of redemption that we will discuss in heaven after prophecies, these warnings, tongues, faith, and hope have been fulfilled.

If the eternal gospel is understood and accepted now, it becomes the insurance against the three warning messages. Blessings as you consider these things.

Born Again, Faith

THE DANGER OF RELIGION

July 27, 2023 Eddie Leave a comment

A great responsibility and burden are on the shoulders of those who profess Christ. How we present God in our lives speaks of Him. How we interpret and apply portions of scripture can either draw our neighbor, or a stranger, to seek God or reject Him completely.

The danger of being religious and stiff is in the misrepresentation of God. These know not Christ. How many people have been turned away from God by such religious people?

Spiritual Abuse

Recently I met a married couple in their late 50s who had two different experiences with religion. The wife was raised in a strict and legalistic environment. He was not. In fact, he considered himself, as I do, as once a “heathen.”

Her experience with the God of her mother’s religion left her confused. God did not seem to be forgiving and merciful. She had to do everything just right to have title to the kingdom of God. What bothered the wife the most was how her mother’s small church treated her beloved father. After much pressure, the father joined the church and was baptized. But, he was later disfellowshiped because it was discovered that he struggled with smoking. He could not seem to quit, but the father’s heart was gentle, loving, and giving. Eventually, the father died. At the funeral, the legalistic pastor preached a 2-hour sermon, which was bad enough, but the evil pastor also condemned the father to hell because he smoked!

In my meetings with this couple, we have studied the character of God. This spiritually abused young mother and wife had to see God for who He really is and unlearn what her highly religious mother had taught her. She wants to protect her children from what she experienced, the manipulation, control, and guilt placed on her. Her encounter with religiosity is often repeated in a similar fashion in many churches, regardless of the denomination, whether Catholic, Protestant, Islamic, or Jewish. These groups of people do not know God, but they know how to be religious. As a result, their circle grows older and smaller. They are not the salt of the earth but rather a mud puddle that is avoided.

Followers of Christ who have been born-again understand and KNOW Christ. They are a reflection of His goodness. On the other hand, the unconverted religious people KNOW religious instruction, dogma, ceremonies, religious discipline, denominationalism, and even theology, but they lack an effective influencing knowledge of God.

The Word of God reveals His character. It is possible, however, to KNOW God’s word (small letter) but not KNOW The Word (Capital letter). Herein is the line between being real and being REALigious. Two different kinds of real.

And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

John 17:3

But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the Lord.

Jeremiah 9:24

God’s Glory

When Moses prayed, “Show me your glory.” Moses saw the goodness of God. This is His glory. Moses didn’t ask to see his form but rather His glory. This glory is what we must first know about God to be real.

“I will make all my goodness pass before you.” Exodus 33: 18-19.

God’s glory equals His goodness.

After the Lord passed by, Moses exclaimed,

“The Lord, The Lord God, merciful, gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin” Exodus 34: 6,7

He is “slow to anger and great kindness.” “Because He delights mercy.” Jonah 4: 2, Micah 7:18

No one is attracted to an angry, vindictive, torturous, controlling, and legalistic god. Yet, many religious people portray the Creator as such and demonstrate the same traits in their lives and character. They don’t KNOW God. because they don’t show His glory of goodness.

Knowing the real God has a transformative power that extends to others without motivation to make them members of their denomination. Jesus used some harsh words about those who do such things:

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte (a person who changes religion or denomination), and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.” Matthew 23:15

Ouch! Tough words to the religious people! But Jesus spoke the truth with tears in His voice. He could see the heart of those hardened by religion and pride in their traditions. Jesus also had this to say to the religious teachers about traditions:

Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.” Mark 7:13

I would hate to think my religious traditions made God’s word of no effect! Wow! Have mercy on me, Lord!

A summation of their negative religious actions is found in the previous verses of Matthew 23: The question is, “Do I have any of these traits?”

They tell you what you should do but don’t do it themselves.
They put heavy burdens on you but don’t lift a finger.
All their works are to be seen by men. It is all about themselves and how they look.
They love the best seats and titles, i.e., being greeted as “Rabbi,” “Teacher,” Pastor, etc.
Prevent people from learning and going into the kingdom of heaven and don’t go in themselves.
They take advantage of widows and those who are vulnerable.
They make long prayers to show how righteous they are.

They like control, appearances, and religion that suits them and their traditions.

In verse 27, Jesus describes these religious people using a tomb as a symbol. He says they look one way on the outside but are different on the inside.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.,

In conclusion, religious people think highly of themselves and their religion. They are good at it…in their own eyes. But what matters most to God are those who really know Him. To know Him brings peace, joy, and a genuine concern for others. They have no other motivation than to bring people to Christ so that they too “may be able to comprehend with all the saints (God’s people) what is the width and length and height and depth and to KNOW THE LOVE OF CHRIST which surpasses KNOWLEDGE, that you may be filled to all the fullness of God. Ephesians 2: 18-19

But let him who glories glory in this, That he UNDERSTANDS AND KNOWS ME, That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these, I delight,” says the Lord. Jeremiah 9:24

The non-religious people have this one simple directive: “…grow in the grace and KNOWLEDGE of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. ” 2 Peter 3:18

If you are religious today, stop it! And turn to Jesus for forgiveness. Learn of Jesus and start to know Him. Know what delights Him and pleases Him! When this happens, suddenly, your eyes will be opened, and you will see others in a different light because you see God for who He REALLY is.

Born Again, Faith

RIGHTEOUSNESS BY FAITH …alone

July 24, 2023 Eddie Leave a comment

Many years ago, I had the opportunity to meet one of the great men of God at a camp meeting in Tennessee. His Bible-rich sermons on righteousness by faith inspired me and helped frame how I related to God.

As I stood in line, waiting my turn to shake his hand, I was a little “star-struck.” I began to think about what I wanted to say to him. The line moved closer, but I still had nothing to say other than,

“I really enjoy your sermons.”

When it finally came to my turn to shake his hand, I blurted out,

“I believe in righteousness by faith.” (ugh! How stupid sounding!)

His response has never left me over the years. He looked at me with a smile and said,

“Good!” That’s the only kind.”

Over the years, I have considered and applied this great truth of righteousness by faith. It is indeed the only kind. Knowing that His righteousness is accounted to a sinful person like me provides a sense of lightness in my experience with God. This sense of lightness and freedom is very Biblical.

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:29-30 NKJV

The Only Kind

“For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love. “ Galatians 5: 5-6 NKJV

Verse 5 is the only place in scripture where the phrase “righteousness by faith” appears, but the theme is throughout scripture from Genesis to Revelation.

Take a look at verse 6 closely. Paul argues that “neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails a thing” then the pivot word “but” is used. “Faith working through love.”

Here are two opposing themes: righteousness by our own works (circumcision ) or righteousness by faith working through love.

Circumcision vs. uncircumcision as a prerequisite for salvation was a hotly debated topic during Paul’s day. It is not now. But think of the other divisive hot topics that could be inserted here. Examples:

*Neither Saturday worship nor Sunday worship

*Neither vegetarianism nor eating meat

*Neither premillennialism Nor postmillennialism

*Neither Secret Rapture nor visible return

*Neither baptism by immersion nor sprinkling

*Neither Death as sleep nor Death as transition immediately to Heaven.

None of this avails anything! It doesn’t matter, BUT something else does matter greatly “righteousness by faith working through love.”

All of this theology, as true or untrue as it may be, “avails” (matters) nothing; it doesn’t accomplish anything in our ultimate salvation from eternal death.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,”

Ephesians 2:8

How important is the experience of faith that is perpetuated by God’s love in us and through us!!!

This is why Jesus said being His disciple is not determined by theology but by love. It is less about what you know and more about who you know and expressed by faith initiated by God’s love.

“By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35

God is Love is the central theme that all doctrines have their origination. This one point about God can test a true or false doctrine. We cannot produce that kind of love except God lives in us and us in Him.

When we try to influence or gain favor with God through some act of our own, we have become like the pagans who whipped themselves, performed acts of penance; or faithfully attended church to obtain a feeling of righteousness for our deeds and impress God. But it avails nothing!

Next time, we will explore more about righteousness by faith alone. Faith and love are major components of this righteousness, but what does “faith “mean? Where does it come from? How can we practically practice faith each day of our lives? Is it something I must do? Or is it also a gift?

May God lead us to a deeper understanding of His love and His righteousness that is given as a free gift through faith that is initiated by love. It will give a sense of freedom in Christ.

The only sin Jesus ever had was ours. The only righteousness we will ever have is His.
Author Unknown

Faith, Inspiration

WHAT I BELIEVE

July 17, 2023 Eddie Leave a comment

By Duane Hamilton

1. I believe in the God of the Bible

Any way you look at it, the universe is a miracle, and human existence manifoldly so. Evolution or creation are equally miraculous. I have reasonable, logical reasons for believing the latter.

2. I believe 1 John 4:7-8 (KJV)

“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”

As explained by a theologian, “God is Love” means that love, other-centeredness, is not just a facet but lies at the very core of His being. Love is God’s Essence. The most astonishing conclusion I reach is that everything that has happened, is happening, or will ever happen, even when we don’t understand, especially when we don’t understand, has been filtered through a proximate God who loved us enough to become Emanuel, God WITH us. Though sin and its sordid results are always with us, we’ve been promised their reign will one day cease. The old song says, “We’ll understand it better, by and by.”

3. I believe there are those who call themselves Christians but live selfishly.

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Matt 7:21 (NKJV)

But understand this, that in the last days, there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 (NKJV)

4. I believe “Love” is defined as valuing each person as Christ did when He laid down His life.

That sacrifice was not just for the unborn, the White Evangelical, the American. It was made for every person who has ever inhabited this earth. That means Red, Yellow, Black, White, Gay, Straight, Conservative, Liberal, Biden supporter, Trump supporter, WHOMEVER; if I am true to my confession, I must see them all through Christ’s eyes, and His utmost goal is their salvation. HOW DARE I (OR ANYONE ELSE) MARGINALIZE ANYONE CHRIST IS TRYING TO SAVE?

5. I believe Dr. King was right.

“Destructive means cannot bring constructive ends, because the means represent the-ideal-in-the-making and the-end-in-progress. Immoral means cannot bring moral ends, for the ends are pre-existent in the means.”

Excerpt From Strength to Love chapter on Communism., Martin Luther King Jr

To me that simply means you cannot use Satan’s tactics to bring about God’s kingdom. “By any means necessary” is a statement no Christian can ever utter. Only righteous means will ever bring about righteous ends.

6. Finally, I believe in the judgment.

“A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.”

‭‭Daniel‬ ‭7‬:‭10‬ (‭KJV)‬‬

People fear the judgment, but that’s unwarranted. In a very real sense, God is putting Himself on the stand, inviting us to examine His dealings with mankind to see if anything but love and justice motivated any of His actions. Those who’ve committed to other-centered living, no matter what their failures may be, will be counted righteous, not because of themselves, but because of the Gift. Only those committed to looking out for number one, doing it “my way,” living self-centered need fear. For me, it’s extremely comforting to know that nobody ever truly gets away with anything.

Love, Agape Love, will triumph in the end.

Faith

WHEN GOD IS NOT ON THE THRONE

March 3, 2023 Eddie Leave a comment

“Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day (Return of Jesus Christ) will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. 2 Thessalonians 5: 3:4

From the beginning of time, it has been Satan’s purpose to keep God off the throne; he openly spoke of his plans to the angels of heaven.

“How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations!

“I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation.
On the farthest sides of the north;

Isaiah 14:13

He plans to “sit as God in the temple of God” and “sit on the mount of the congregation.” Sitting on a throne represents power and authority.

The Number One Problem of God’s People

Taking God off the throne has been the biggest problem with God’s people throughout history. It has led up to our opening verse, which is in the context of the soon return of Jesus: A “falling away” and “the son of perdition” taking God’s place on the throne in His temple! This “falling away” opens the door to the illegitimate throne room-a false one, which replaces Jesus’ work as our mediator in heaven. The apostate/deceived condition of God’s church before the return of Christ opens doors for the final work of God’s long-time enemy. It is observable in our society today and rapidly gaining ground!

The work of Satan is often more effective if it is in absentia. Revelation 13 confirms this premise when John describes the origin of the “Beast” (a political/religious power). Satan (the dragon) gives his throne and authority to this institution to take God off the throne and replace Him with an unqualified human.

“…The dragon gave him his power, throne, and great authority.”

Revelation 13:2

When it is all said and done, the world’s problems have their basis in the unholy desire to erase the knowledge of the legitimate Creator and put humans in His place. It is not only the worldly atheist and the humanists; it is also found in the church!

The unbelievers and enemies of God have nowhere to run except to their rulers, nor do they desire to turn to God to resolve their problems (unless they come under great conviction by the work of the Holy Spirit.). Consequently, Satan’s attack is directed toward the faithful believers to get their God off the throne. He wants us to believe God doesn’t deserve to be on the throne. The creation of doubt is an excellent weapon in his hand. Replacing God is a victory for him! He succeeds for a time, but eventually, the end comes (Daniel 7: 22, Revelation 20:10, 2 Thessalonians 2:8)

In church history, we have examples that demonstrate God’s people don’t want God to occupy His rightful position. The edifications and warnings of the Bible are almost always directed toward His people. Why? A simple answer: God knows Satan and his plans, so He warns us. He allows us to see the good, the bad, and the ugly of the journey of God’s people (the Bible) in the desire for us to learn from the past.

If Christians do not know they are in a battle with casualties along the way, Satan has them where he wants them! These Jesus passivists are comfortable and eventually become “lukewarm” in their experience. They think “they need nothing.” Revelation 3: 16-17. But the wise understand their safety in Christ alone. When Christians say, “I’ve got this,” they place themselves on the throne seat and deny the truth Jesus taught us,

“I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”

John 15:5

Conversely, we have power in Christ;

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:13

Satan’s Methods

Lucifer, now named Satan, wants to replace God, even if it is in absentia. He is fine with someone else catching the fever of replacing God as the Supreme Ruler of the Universe. This is a particular problem when the church takes God off the throne and allows mere man to replace Him.

To make this more granular and personal, it can be a complete disaster in our Christian experience if we put ourselves on the throne instead of letting our leader Jesus direct our path. How does this happen? Trusting yourself more than you trust God and His word to direct your paths.

Some have said Satan will never be on the throne. Long term, this is true, but until he is destroyed in the lake of fire, he occupies the throne in many places, including the lukewarm followers and, yes, even the corporate church in some cases! Satan accomplishes two purposes by taking God off the throne:

1.) The focus is no longer on the power of God but on someone else who is much weaker and human.

2.) The destruction of people for eternity, including those who profess to be a believer but trust more in their works than faith in Christ.

Peter tells us (followers of Christ) to be “sober” and “vigilant” (keeping a careful watch) as Satan begins to understand his time is growing shorter every day. He is looking for people (primarily followers of Christ) he can destroy. His efforts to dethrone God are directed at God’s people in the last days. The others are already in his snare.

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

1 Peter 5:8

The fact that this passage is directed towards the church is because Peter addressed this letter to the “elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,” 1 Peter 1:2

God’s word and church history reveal examples of Israel, the early congregation or church, and the dark ages that took God off the throne. These records are for “our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” 1 Corinthians 10:11.

Let’s take a look at each period in history. Hopefully, we will begin to see the enemy’s hand due to our ancestor’s mistakes and become “sober,” “vigilant,” and aware of the intensified work of the enemy.

Israel’s Mistake of Wanting a King

Before Israel had kings, they were ruled by God’s appointed prophets and judges. One of the most influential was Samuel. As he became older, the people came to him and asked for a king. They wanted to be like other countries that had kings. Also, scripture tells us that Samuel’s sons were corrupt.

Why would God’s people of promise want someone to rule over them other than the Lord? This is a question we should be asking ourselves. Our problems in the world are too complicated for any politician or human to solve. Our great Creator stands in the wings while we put someone weaker and far less wise on the throne. This was the case with God’s people:

Here is that exchange between the Israelites and Samuel:

“Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel. The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.” 1 1 Samuel 8: 1-3

The people were worried that corrupt leadership would replace Samuel. This is a legitimate concern, but the people always thought they could figure things out themselves instead of turning to God for solutions.

Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.”

Verse 4-5

While their reasons were legitimate, their idea of a solution seemed more like peer pressure and the desire to be like the other nations that had a king. Is that happening to our churches today? We want to be like the world, so we compromise. We won’t allow God to find a better way. Our reasons may be legitimate, but those reasons overlook the will of God as already stated in His word!

But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So, Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.

Verse 6-8

Samuel was upset that the people would request such a compromising thing, but he prayed anyway. The people did not pray. What happens to the people of God when they leave the praying up to their pastors and/or leaders? Do they become more dependent on them than God? The answer is yes!

God gives them what they want and reminds Samuel that the people reject God’s rulership and seek to take Him off the throne. God plainly states my people do not want me to “reign over them.”

According to all the works they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day—with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. Now, therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them and show them the king’s behavior who will reign over them.

Verses 8-9

From the time they were delivered from Egypt, the people wanted to serve other gods! What?! What a hurt this must have been to the Lord.! The people saw miracles like you, and I have never seen! God not only delivered them from the most powerful nation in the world, but He fed them from heaven. Even their clothes did not wear out. God camped with them in the desert sanctuary. What more could he have done? Despite all this, they were drawn to “other gods.” They wanted a king to rule over them and take God off the throne!

But God gave them one last chance to think about what they were asking. He knew their king’s behavior and how he would treat them. Perhaps, a dim picture of their future with a king would make them change their mind.

That behavior is described in verses 1 Samuel 8: 10-18. Their sons would be taken and used for warfare and his own personal gain. Their daughters would also be taken and put to work in his palace. He would take the best of their products from the fields and give them to his servants. Their servants and livestock he would also take and make his own.

God knows they will be disappointed, so He tells Samuel the ugly truth,

“And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day.”

Verse 18

You would think they would have second thoughts. But they didn’t understand because of their hard hearts and stiff necks. They were on a mission to be like the other countries. So, they responded with a firm “No!”

“No, but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”

Verse 19-20

Saul would become the first king of God’s people, followed by David, then Solomon. Then God’s people would divide into two camps, Israel and Judah. Between them, they would have forty-two kings. Thirty-one of Judah’s kings were evil (74%). All of Israel’s nineteen kings were evil!

THE NEW COVENANT- GOD BACK ON THE THRONE

Before the Lord returns, God makes a new covenant. God’s new covenant includes these words: “…and they shall be my people.” In the hearts of each true believer, God is on the throne!

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

Hebrew 8:10

Keep in mind that this covenant is not just for the Jewish people but for all who are “in Christ.” People after Christ is have many of the same problems as ancient Israel.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.

Galatians 3: 28-29

We have often heard that the Bible is a story of paradise lost and paradise restored. But it is also the story of God being removed from the throne and God returning to the throne. From distrust to trust, from no faith to faith alone. From the worship of useless idols to the worship of the true Creator God. In fact, this is the last call to the people of planet earth….to worship Him, who is Creator:

“Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”

Revelation 14:7

The most important question a Christian can ask to be assured of salvation is this:

“Is God on the throne in my life?

Do I trust Him even if my prayers appear don’t go the way I want them to?

Do I turn to him when I have problems and am downcast?

Do I have peace and rest knowing that I have made my petitions to Him and decided to trust Him no matter the outcome?

Do I fully believe His promises as found in Scripture?

Removing God from the throne always involves a distrust of God and trust in weak mortal humans such as ourselves.

Next time, we will discover how God was taken off the throne at the time of the early church. Paul predicted the scattering of the flock.

“For I know this, that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.” Acts 20:29

Then during the dark ages, the throne of God was replaced by earthly intermediaries making the sin-pardoning confessional room of Jesus vacant (desolate). Because of the power of the church in Europe, the United States became a hideaway for those who wanted a “coucntry without a king and a church without a pope.” They wanted God back on the throne! They had to leave Europe, where kings and dictators led countries and removed personal freedom. T

But sadly, the United States has begun to take God off the throne again and replace it with politics and force. It started as a lamb-like (Christian) nation with the idea of personal freedom with the ideal of individual religious liberty, but it will eventually take God off the throne and replace him with an image of a beast (Revelation 13).

Knowing this, we must avoid those who would force God back into schools, government, etc., through the unholy combination of politics and big religion. God does not work by force and civil laws. He is the one who offers all humans freedom to choose. Government and religion should never come together. This is called spiritual adultery, i.e., intercorse between church (God’s people) and state (political power). But it has happened in the U.S. anyway! Because Satan wants God off the throne!

Remember and believe the promise of Jesus’ coming kingdom. Then He will be on the throne forever.:

“…the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, and the kingdom shall not be left to other people….”

Daniel 2:44

Born Again, Faith, Reasons to Believe

JOHN THE BAPTIST-THE GOAT

February 8, 2023 Eddie Leave a comment

A popular phrase in the sports world today is expressed in the acronym G.O.A.T., which means “greatest of all time.” For example, Tom Brady is considered the greatest of all-time quarterbacks in American football He is arguably worthy of the title, having won 7 Super Bowls.

Jesus designated John the Baptist as the greatest of all time when he said,

“Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women, there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist;.”

Matthew 11:11 (a).

But Jesus didn’t stop there; He added another thought-provoking statement…

“but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”

Matthew 11: 11 (b)

Wow! Who of us is greater than John the Baptist? It is those who are the least in the kingdom of heaven! Isn’t it just like Jesus to encourage the least of us by calling us greater than the spiritually powerful, well-known messenger of God? He was always the champion of the small and unimportant in society.

It leaves me with questions: How can this be? What made John the Baptist the G.O.A.T. among men, and what makes the least in the kingdom of heaven greater than the G.O.A.T.?

Who was John the Baptist?

John the Baptist was a prophet. But even more, he was also a part of the prophecies about the first coming of Jesus. For example, Jesus quoted Malachi 3:1 and applied it to John…and rightly so…

“For this is he of whom it is written: ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.”

Matthew 11:10

Often when a dignitary of the Roman empire traveled, men would go ahead of the caravan and remove brush, fill in holes, etc, to allow for a smooth ride. But John’s preparation for Jesus was a spiritual preparation…He was an introduction to the “lamb, which takes away the sin of the world” John 1:29.

John made the way for the coming of Jesus through His message in the wilderness. A message of repentance and remission because the (Messiah) would soon appear. Even today, the message of repentance and remission of sins makes way for the Lord to come into the lives of sinners.

John’s birth and his greatness were prophesied by an angel to John’s father, Zacharias. The angel also disclosed the message John was to proclaim.

For he will be great in the sight of the Lord,…He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest;
For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,
give knowledge of salvation to His people
By the remission of their sins, Luke1: 15, 16

Luke 1:15

John’s Message

Although Zacharias was not able to talk because of his doubt, he would later open his mouth in faith and further prophesy about John under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit ( v. 67-79)

What a powerful spiritual resume John possessed!

The emphasis of John’s message is made clear in the angel. His purpose was to give knowledge of salvation to “His people.” Yes! God had His people who, like the children of Egypt, needed to escape bondage. This bondage was not a foreign power but their sins.

John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

Mark 1:4

The way of escape was through repentance (the Greek word is metanoia-a change of mind) and the remission of their sins. Remission, in Greek, is aphesis, which literally means release from bondage and imprisonment. God’s people must have considered forgiveness and freedom almost hopeless since the religious leaders had made up so many man-made religious rules. They added to the word of God that made it almost impossible for a person to feel free and forgiven. They were the marketers of rules related to sin. John was to give God’s people knowledge of salvation, giving them freedom of spirit.

The repentant’s immersion under the water by John (baptism) was an outward demonstration of an inward transformation. It was not another man-made rule to save them; it was the ceremonial public display of the act they had already performed through the conviction of the Holy Spirit: Repentance. They came up from the water free from the bondage of the guilt of sin. Remission. They were now free from the guilt of sin and would learn to walk (live) in a new way, led by the Spirit and not by the flesh.

Being baptized was their very first act of obedience, but now they obeyed God’s will out of a transformation (born again) rather than the bondage of man-made rules and requirements. There remained “rules,” but they were God’s and not additions of sinful religious men’s requirements for righteousness.

John taught salvation by faith, not through works. Works have their place, but not as a means to salvation. But faith must have an object; otherwise, it is just a word. This faith was to be placed in the coming Messiah,” the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world.” This proclamation was the capstone of John’s message.

This message of freedom from sins (salvation) via repentance and remission and the substitutionary death of Jesus paved the way for the coming Messiah, who would then magnify the kingdom of God.

________________________________

John’s Doubts

No prophet had a greater privilege than that of being the personal herald of the Messiah at His first coming. Any prophet would have desired to be in John’s place. He, therefore, was great in the sight of the Lord in this sense. He was “more than a prophet.“

Yet John had doubts. Doubts are common among Jesus’ followers, especially when experiencing trauma, broken bones, and hearts.

There is no prophecy (that I know of) that predicted the imprisonment of John. This trauma likely discouraged John because it was unexpected and painful. It seemed to go against the benefit of the message of Jesus to release those who were captive. This allowed a bit of doubt to creep into John’s heart. (Sound familiar?) So he sent a message via his disciples to Jesus to help clear the air about the Messiahship of Jesus (Matthew 11: 2-3).

His question suggested confusion.

“Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”

Matthew 11:3

Jesus told them to…

“Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”

Matthew 11: 4-6

Jesus’ message to John was to remember the source of his faith as found in Scripture. Jesus described the ministry of the Messiah, which was also Bible prophecy. The works of the coming Messiah are described by many prophets, including Isaiah (Isaiah 61:1, 29:18, 35: 4-6)

The fulfillment of the prophecy concerning Jesus should strengthen our faith in God. Jesus put it this way;

Now I tell you before it comes that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He.

John 13:19

Prophecy gives us reason to believe and be faithful. False prophecy, however, takes faith away. But, notice something else…Jesus’ answer for John’s disciples was a non-traditional picture of the coming Messiah.

Jesus’ altered the traditional understanding of the Messiah’s mission in His response to John’s messengers. Instead of a political messiah who will bring judgment on the enemies of the Jews and break the yoke of Roman imperialism, Jesus is the Messiah who is socially, spiritually, and personally conscious of the needy; He heals, resurrects, and proclaims good news to the poor.
Andrews Study Bible, p. 1264, commentary on Matthew 11:4-6

Those creators of additional rules also skewed scripture to paint a picture of a king who would come and free them from the bondage of the Romans. But Jesus, the Christ, came to them in a way they did not desire…lowly and meek for the purpose of freedom from the bondage of sin.

Even John may have been confused by the popular understanding of the work of the coming Messiah. Jesus had not set Himself up as king, and nothing dramatic on the political front was happening in Jerusalem. So it is today. Much of the world expects Jesus to direct in the building up of literal Israel and become their king.

When John’s disciples returned to him with Jesus’ message, It contained a blessing and a hint of rebuke.

And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”

Matthew 11:6

Are we offended by Jesus? Do we want Him to make a more dramatic display related to the political world? Since we are not as important and powerful as some, are we ashamed of the gospel of Christ? It seems sin, and the world have a louder voice than Jesus.

The Faith of John

You and I are not in prophecy as succinctly as John the Baptist, but yet we are greater than him? How can this be?

After the messengers departed, Jesus spoke to the crowd concerning John. He asked questions that highlighted the spiritual character of John.

““What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. Matthew 11: 7-9

A reed, blown to and fro by the wind, was a fitting symbol representing those swayed by the winds of popular opinion. Such reeds were well-known in the area because they grew by the Jordon River and were moved by every slight breeze. Likewise, those whose foundation is based on the ways of the world and its definition of greatness are easily manipulated. John was not one of these.

Paul knew this metaphor as well. He gives us additional understanding. In his message to the Ephesians, Paul said there are..

“…children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, Ephesians 4:14

John was firm in his understanding of God’s word but was open to the additional light Jesus proclaimed. The priests and their schools did not educate John. His heart and mission were prepared by the Holy Spirit and personal knowledge of God’s word. He embraced time in the desert that allowed for God’s voice to be heard, and he avoided strong drinks that could have clouded and confused his mind. The human mind is God’s pathway to the heart. It must be kept clear of rubbish if a person desires God’s voice to be heard.

We have the same opportunity as John to know the truth directly from God’s word. The fewer channels God’s word travels, the purer the message. If we are spoon-fed once a week through someone else, even our pastors, our faith is weakened by dependence on others.

As we commune with God, we should be listening for personal application through God’s voice in moments of prayerful solitude. By determination to apply God’s will in our lives within the context of His written word, there will be a more solid foundation for faith and avoidance of fanciful interpretations of the plain word of God…even if it goes against our tradition and denominational beliefs. It is critical that we seek the Holy Spirit to “guide us into all truth.” John 16:13

As a result, we will be resolute in our faith in Jesus, as was John. Doubts may creep in, especially during times of trauma. But Jesus heals the brokenhearted and provides living bread and water for revival in our hearts. Broken bones will heal back stronger. So will the testing of our faith.

Our challenge is to trust God regardless of the circumstance and how bleak it may appear.

What Heaven Calls Great

But, is our knowledge of God and our mission greater than John the Baptist? Personally, I can answer, “I hardly think so.”

The definition of great by the world versus heaven’s meaning is stark.

The world describes greatness through wealth, popularity, rank, nobility, intellectual gifts, and athletic abilities. But the estimation of heaven places greatness on the ones who love God and mankind as himself. These two attributes will lead to actions just like Jesus’ prophetic ministry on earth, e.g., feeding the hungry, visiting those in prison, providing clothes for the naked, etc. (Matthew 25: 34-36)

He (John) refrained from seeking honor for himself, but pointed all to Jesus as the Promised One. His unselfish joy in the ministry of Christ presents the highest type of nobility ever revealed in man.
Desire of Ages, p. 219

So if John possessed all these things, how can the least in the kingdom of heaven be greater?

John’s life was lonely in some respects but not in other ways. There is no record of John ministering to the poor or healing the sick. His message was great but mostly one-dimensional for a purpose. The spirit of God was upon him. He never lacked the comforting presence of God. But John “was not permitted to see the result of his own labors. It was not for him to see the blind restored to sight, the sick healed, and the dead raised to life. He did not behold the light that shone through every word of Christ, shedding glory upon the promises of prophecy.” Desire of Ages, p. 219

The least of us, however, have seen the mighty works of Jesus and heard His words through the accounts of those who knew Him best. In this sense, we are more privileged and greater than John the Baptist.

The works of Christ will compel us into a ministry to a dying world. Our inspired work of healing the sick, feeding the poor, and visiting those in need will not necessarily be miraculous. We might never see the results of our ministry. But, like John, one day, we will see the full-grown plants of the planted seeds. In this sense, the least of us is greater than John…we minister in the name of Jesus. We have so many more ways to talk to crowds. But that ministry must also include preparing the way for Jesus. A ministry to those in need without pointing them to Jesus is on the same level as the work of the atheist or humanist.

A ministry to those in need without pointing them to Jesus is on the same level as the work of the atheist or humanist.
Author

John and Elijah

The last generation before the return of Christ will bear a message like Elijah and John preparing the world for the coming of Christ (the second time). His coming, this time, will not be by a river. It will be a spectacular event where every eye will behold Him, and it will be destructive to those who are not hidden “in Christ.“

Will you be great in the sight of heaven? Think in terms of spirituality and ministry, not the size of your church. We will do the same work as John, Elijah, and Jesus. Try not to think about the miracles He performed but rather the character and love He had for those who needed Him the most. If this leads to their connection with Jesus, the title of G.O.A.T. in the kingdom of heaven belongs to you. But you will cast that crown to the ground because it was Jesus who did the work in you and through you.

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will also do; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.

John 14:12

So if you are small, humble, and invisible to the world but doing the works God has assigned you, you are part of a greater work and greater than the greatest on earth. You are great in the sight of heaven. Our greatness is not ours. It depends on God in us and through us. Then out of us to others. In Christ, you, too, can become the G.O.A.T. in the kingdom of heaven.

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Warning #2

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1. I believe in the God of the Bible

2. I believe 1 John 4:7-8 (KJV)

3. I believe there are those who call themselves Christians but live selfishly.

4. I believe “Love” is defined as valuing each person as Christ did when He laid down His life.

5. I believe Dr. King was right.

6. Finally, I believe in the judgment.

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"He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. Colossians 1:28