Category Archives: Faith

IS OBEDIENCE ONLY FOR THE LEGALISTIC-PART 3

March 7, 2021 Eddie Leave a comment

He (Jesus) answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?

For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’

But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”—

then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.

Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:

‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.

And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”

Matthew 15:3-9

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Jesus and His disciples were watched by the religious leaders very closely to see if they would obey “the law.” Jesus was often tested by them on this subject. But “the law” of the Scribes and Pharisees was at odds with God’s law in a profound way as Jesus points out in the verses above.

Their law was their own interpretation of the unchangeable law of the Creator. Their law contained additions without any blessing, direction, or endorsement from the Creator and Giver of the law.

As pointed out in the condemnation by Jesus to those mutilators of God’s law in Matthew 15, they had attempted to create a loop-hole in God’s 5th commandment to make it a little less harsh and easier to “keep.” God’s law clearly and simply states:

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.”

Exodus 20:12

But, the leaders said this law could be voided through the offer of a gift as a substitute for giving honor and respect to those who bore and raised them. It was like they were paying their way out of an obligation that was not to their liking. So they changed it! There is not scriptural authority for doing so.

Jesus didn’t like their addition and proclaimed their man-made tradition would make God’s “commandment of no effect.” Jesus desired them to obey this commandment from the heart, but because they didn’t and tried to come up with ways to make their changes legal, Jesus viewed this as legalism and worthless . As a result of their changes and their traditions their worship was “in vain.” It disclosed their hypocrisy of lip service vs heart service.

A couple of other things to notice about this commandment and Jesus’ response:

1.) God does not put a condition on whether to honor your mother and father or not. It doesn’t say to honor them if they are worthy of the honor and respect or if they were perfect parents. Most parents, including myself, are no where near perfect, but we do have a God-given love for our offspring that most children do not understand. Many times we fail, but that does not make a loop-hole for the breaking of this commandment.

2.) Jesus doesn’t do away with this commandment or indicate obedience to this commandment would be legalistic. As we discussed in a previous article, the new covenant is based on the laws written on the heart.

3.) Jesus does not give them a list or tell them how to honor their parents. Lists encourage tasks or works. While the ten commandments could be considered a list, they are 10 principles. disclosing God’s character and will. We see in these commandments a God that desires love and respect for both himself and our neighbors. They are not a list to “work on” to deserve salvation or love from God.

The law of God is not minimized or changed by the new covenant. Even the giver of the law (Jesus) will not change even the smallest part to accommodate mankind. Some are surprised to discover that Jesus, before He came to the world as an infant, gave the 10 Commandments to Moses. That is a different study for a different time.

Those who have been born again and have a new heart will obey from a love basis rather than a basis to be saved (legalism). The new covenant people obey the Lord because they ARE saved, not in order to BE saved.

These born-again followers will understand that to honor their mother or father is the will of God Himself and it will be a natural response from a heart transformed by the power of God to love and respect them. To try and circumvent, excuse, rationalize, or change it is hypocrisy and attempting to put our own thoughts and reasoning above God’s.

This commandment, like the others, should be read carefully and simply. Nothing should be added nor taken away, not even one letter or stroke of the pen. How can anything that is perfect be changed anyway? It is a transcript of how God wants us to live, not a checklist for finding favor or salvation from the Lord. Those who will endeavor to obey for the right reasons will be blessed.

Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

Revelation 21:14

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Jesus made it clear to the Scribes and Pharisees that he did not come to change the law and that anyone who taught others to break even the smallest detail was outside of God’s will. Any attempt to modify the law affected the truthfulness of the worship experience. This is a pretty serious situation. Listen to his exact words:

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.

Matthew 5:17

It is here where some will say, “since Jesus fulfilled the law (10 Commandments) it is no longer viable.” The next verse clears that up.

“For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”

Matthew 5:18

We still have a heaven and an earth, so the law remains. Also, it has been almost 2,000 years since Jesus fulfilled it, and he still wants us to teach that the law should not be broken. It is so immovable that Jesus makes reference to “jot” and “tittle” (smallest letter or stroke of the pen) will not be modified or eliminated.

Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:19

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be the one who teaches that even one thing can be changed in God’s “perfect law of liberty” James 1:25. How about you?

Jesus perfect obedience to this law (fulfillment) is the basis for His perfect sacrifice (No sin found in Him) and for the forgiveness for our breaking the law which is sin.

Sin is the transgression of the law

1 John 3:4

All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

Romans 3:23.

But sin is much more. We are born sinners with a nature to sin. Anything not of faith is sin. There are a 1,000 ways we can sin, but in the end, all can be summarized by the 10 commandments.

When we are born again, we are given a heart of flesh with God’s law written upon it (New Covenant) and we obey out of sense of love and respect rather than a method of salvation (legalism). Our very nature is changed. The thief stops stealing,;the liar stops lying; the adulterer stops sleeping with women who are not his wife…..

If you love me, keep my commandments

John 14:15

Of course they are not perfect. When we do sin, we have an advocate:

My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

1 John 2:1

Oh! The mercy and forgiveness of our great God!

How can we claim to be followers if we disobey or re-write the law to suit us as did the religious leaders of Jesus’ time?

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In Luke, Jesus confirmed as He did in Matthew 5 that the law would never change. Further, He used the passing of heaven and earth to drive home the point:

“But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one stroke of a letter in the law to be dropped.”

Luke 16:17

Other writers agree with Jesus on the eternal existence of the law and His word:

“All His precepts are sure. They are upheld forever and ever”

Psalm 111:8

“The sum of your word is truth;
and every one of your righteous ordinances endures forever.”

Psalm 119:160

“The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.”

Isaiah 40:8

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Jesus was tested another time on a different commandment. But, the same principles apply.

“At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”

But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple. But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Matthew 12: 1-8

The Scribes and Pharisees were particularly zealous for this law. They added their own rules that is in the thousands. However, like the 5th commandment, the law is presented by the Lawgiver in a simple manner. However, the religious leaders made it very legalistic and burdensome. In the process, this law intended to bless man became another checklist of things to do or not to do.

In this incident, Jesus and his disciples were hungry and began to shuck corn in a field and eat it as they walked along. This violated one of the Sabbath “rules” created by the very legalistic religious leaders, but Jesus said they were “guiltless.” Here is an important question: Is there anywhere in scripture where God forbid such action by the disciples? No! It is another example of man’s tradition or adding to the law that makes the law a burden and makes their worship vain.

To make his point (That He and the disciples had not broken the 4th commandment), He asks the supposed scriptural authorities the question: “Have you not read….” This question (referring to 1 Samuel 21: 1-6) puts them back on their heels. They obviously had read it, but they had missed the application from their reading about the priority of man’s needs above a ritual of the law. Jesus begins to connect the hunger of David’s men and the hunger of Jesus and His disciples. Very simply, the value of men and their hunger needs outweigh any man-made religious ceremony (i.e., Hot warm bread used in the sanctuary service and the need to eat on the Sabbath when nothing else is available). Again, there is no law written or intended by the Lawgiver for anyone having to subscribe to such a strict interpretation of a simple law and go hungry on a day the Lord has blessed and made holy. Further, Jesus clearly states the priority of mercy over sacrifice and ceremonial religious laws.

The 4th Commandment is very simple and plain in its delivery by the Creator, much like the 5th commandment. The Great Lawgiver and Creator states the commandment simply and provides the reason as to why a professed follower should obey it. (Not to be saved, but because they are saved)

The command:

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

The Reason:

For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Exodus 20: 8-11

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As with the 5th Commandment, Jesus made it clear that His Law should not be modified or added to in any way. The same observations for the 5th Commandment can be made for the 4th Commandment:

1.) God does not put a condition on whether to honor the Sabbath or not or that He had plans to modify or change it. He says, “Remember” and to “Keep it Holy” since the reason for the commandment has to do with the fact that he is the Creator (and Redeemer-See Deuteronomy’s version-Chapter 5: 12-15)

3.) Jesus does not give them a list or tell them how to keep the Sabbath holy, other than refraining from work on that day. The reason? We are to respect our Creator and “rest” as He did. It is not only a physical rest, but a rest of relationship with the Creator and His Creation. It is about relationships and not a religious list of things to trip us up so that we sin.

When the Lord stopped working after His work of Creation, it was not that He was tired, but that He wanted the time to be immortalized as proof of his Creatorship. Further, Adam and Eve began their first full day with the Lord on the Sabbath. This must have been a very special Sabbath as they began to see and understand life and a relationship with the Creator.

Have you ever wondered about the heavenly bodies that tell us about time? Even scientist will admit we measure time by the sun and the moon. Our year is based on the orbit of the earth around the sun. Our month is based on the orbit or phases of the moon around the earth. But there is nothing in nature to base our 7 day weekly cycle.

A 7 day weekly cycle exists only because it was instituted by our Creator (Jesus) in the beginning. Why not a 6 day cycle or a 5 day cycle? The 7 day cycle and the Sabbath screams: God created us!

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Jesus Conclusion:

The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath:

Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath.

Mark 2: 27, 28

Jesus told the religious leaders that He made the Sabbath to be a blessing for man not a list of do’s and don’t’s so that man is made a slave to the Sabbath. Notice it is made for “man” or mankind not just the Jews. The commandment was given long before there was a nation of Jews. That reasoning would also indicate that all the other commandments are only for the Jews and not for us.

The Scribes and Pharisees had effectively made the Sabbath a burden and God’s original intention was lost through their adding and modifying a simple commandment meant to be a lasting memorial to our Creator and an opportunity to “come unto (Jesus) and rest.”

Jesus knew how it should be remembered because He is Lord of the Sabbath! This is the real Lord’s day! It was created by God and it belongs to Him

“But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.”

Exodus, 20:10

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In conclusion:

We can learn from these two incidents regarding honoring parents and honoring the day God blessed. It tells us that the law of God is immutable and has a relationship/heart purpose. They are not part of a list of do’s and don’ts to follow so one can be saved. God forbid! it is a law of liberty (James 2:12). It can not be modified to meet our own convenience, thinking, or tradition.

Jesus gave the Law and He knows better than anyone how to follow the spirit of the law which does not negate the letter.

I am sure your spouse would want you to keep the letter of the law regarding adultery, but even more the spirit (i.e., you are faithful because you love her/him.)

The same goes for your neighbor. You don’t steal, lie, cheat, or covet his wife, or kick his cat (the letter of the law). Not because you have to, but because you respect him as a child of God and because of the born-again heart given you by the Lord (Spirit of the Law).

Have you asked yourself how can you “Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy?” The key word here is holy (a.k.a sanctified). How do you make it about a love relationship with God and His creation rather than a list of do’s and don’t’s? How do you make it a delight or a blessing and not a burden?

The Sabbath was made for man, to be a blessing to him by calling his mind from secular labor to contemplate the goodness and glory of God

Of all the commandments, the 4th one is the most misunderstood and the one where legalism can quickly smother the spiritual blessing God has prepared for us each week. It is not just about when should church attendance be conducted. This is no doubt a “holy” activity for the Sabbath. It was Jesus’ and Paul’s custom to go to meet with God’s people each Sabbath. I would say they are good examples to follow. Wouldn’t you?

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In our next study, we will see how the enemy has attacked the law of God and the family unit (the 4th and 5th commandments) to serve his purpose of confusing and leading people away from a knowledge of the Lord which is salvation.

He has a special anger towards those who teach and obey the will of God and testify of Jesus Christ:

And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Revelation 12:17

Faith

IS OBEDIENCE ONLY FOR THE LEGALISTIC? PART 2

February 17, 2021 Eddie Leave a comment

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.”

Mathew 5:17-19

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Part 1 Summary

In the earlier blog, we looked to the word of God to answer the question about legalism and the role of God’s law in the heart of the believer.

Briefly, we saw that there are many laws in the Bible. Some were temporary (Ceremonial and Sacrificial). These laws or ordinances were like a school master that taught God’s people about sin, salvation, and the coming Messiah.

These had their purpose and their end came when type (e.g. spotless lamb) met anti-type (i.e. Jesus). When Jesus came, we no longer needed the School Master to teach us. We now had Jesus’ life, death, burial, and resurrection as our teacher and hope.

But, the law that is eternal is the moral law contained in the 10 commandments. Jesus did not come to abolish it or to destroy it. On the contrary, His life magnified the law and made it honorable. Example: Jesus told us men that looking upon a woman with lust was the same as committing 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.”

Mathew 5:28

Here we see Jesus “magnifying” the law. He makes it bigger so we can clearly see or understand to scope of the law. It also demonstrates that man is sinful to the core. It tells us we need a Savior not only from eternal death but from the power of sin.

Sin is defined in one place as the breaking or transgressing of the law.

“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.”

1 John 3:4

John goes on to tell us something very important for the believer.

Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.

1 John 3:6

Is it not clear that if someone sins, they don’t know Him? But if the believer “abides” in Him, that person will not sin. Now be careful here. It is not saying you are perfect and never sin. It means you do not practice sin as clarified in the the next verse:

He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.

1 John 3:7

Before John ever gets into this discussion, he sets the boundaries of the discussion by saying this:

My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

1 John 2:1

God’s desire is that we do not sin. We have Jesus as our advocate in heaven (another topic for another time) to cover us should we sin. But this advocate is not an excuse to practice sin. That the true follower will not do. The thief will not continue his life of stealing. The adulterer will stop sleeping around. The person with other gods will give them up. Is this a fair statement?

Here is what we must remember: We are born with a sinful nature. When we are born again, we are given a spiritual nature. These two natures will compete against each other and it is our choice and God’s action as to which one will win the war between flesh and spirit. Keep in mind that battles may be lost due to the carnal nature, but this does not mean the war is over and a victor crowned. Paul describes this battle in Romans 8 (Another study for another time).

One of my favorite writers wrote something that I think is very appropriate here and supported by the grace of our great loving God:

“There are those who have known the pardoning love of Christ and who really desire to be children of God, yet they realize that their character is imperfect, their life faulty, and they are ready to doubt whether their hearts have been renewed by the Holy Spirit. To such I would say, Do not draw back in despair. We shall often have to bow down and weep at the feet of Jesus because of our shortcomings and mistakes, but we are not to be discouraged. Even if we are overcome by the enemy, we are not cast off, not forsaken and rejected of God. No; Christ is at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Said the beloved John,

“These things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” 1 John 2:1.

Steps to Christ, P. 64

The law, specifically the 10 commandments, point out to sinful man what is sin. To know about the law and sin is to know more about the God who gave it and more about ourselves. It points out how really sinful we are and that we need a savior because we cannot “enter into the womb a second time” and be reborn. We cannot give ourselves a new spirit. The law enhances the reality of grace and His power, but God’s grace does not eliminate the law otherwise he could have simply eliminated the definition of sin instead of having his Son pay the penalty for sin i.e., death. This would be a divine loophole of sorts. I don’t see where God provides loopholes, but He does supply grace and power.

The law, like God, is eternal and it is given the same description as God Himself. The law expresses His character which is holy, just, and good.

For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.

Romans 7:11, 12

We can not take the 10 commandments off the wall and wash our face with it, the law points out the smudge on our face, which tells us we need to be cleansed. To try to wash our face with the law would be the definition of legalism. Instead, the law indicates God’s will for us and that we need a Savior not only for breaking it, but for the power to obey it as will be shown in the following discussion.

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When talking about the law of God, we must discuss the topic of new covenant versus old covenant. Here many make a deadly mistake, thinking the old covenant was about keeping the law for salvation, but the new covenant is freedom from keeping the law and living under grace. This implies disobedience. As we shall see both covenants include obedience to God’s law. The new covenant does not diminish the requirements of the law, but there is a twist that should give encouragement to us and help us avoid legalism.

Jesus is the “Mediator of the new covenant.”

And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

Hebrews 9:15

By the sacrificial death of Jesus upon the cross, He redeemed everyone, including those under the first covenant. This redemption for them and for all “who are called may receive the promise of eternal life.”

So again, we see that the cross is the central point for both those in the old testament and the new testament. It is here where all, on both sides of the cross, look by faith to Jesus for eternal life. Those in the old testament looked forward in faith and were instructed by the School Master or the sacrificial and ceremonial laws given by God through Moses to teach them about Jesus. They were not saved by works and obedience, but by faith in the spotless lamb of God (Jesus).

Those of us on this side, look to Jesus’ death on the cross by faith for eternal life and we have the life of Jesus and the testimony of His followers to teach us. Also, we have the experience of those before the cross to teach us as well. In fact, those before the cross and the writings of the old testament can instruct us in righteousness.

Paul wrote to Timothy and reminded him of this fact. Paul wrote it before the writings of the other new testament writers were known and brought together. So Paul’s message to Timothy is referring to the writings of the old testament when he said,

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16

Those books in the old testament will reproof, correct and even instruct the new testament believer in righteousness. Further, it will make us complete and thoroughly equipped for every good work.

We should never say or believe things like, “That is in the old testament, I am a new testament believer.” Rather, we should say, we are a believer of “All Scripture.”

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The experience of God’s people before the cross serve as examples of how we should both live and respond to God.

“For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.”

Romans 15:4

Their lives and experiences become examples of how to live or not to live. Their experiences will give us hope!

Jesus is also found in type all through the old testament. To bypass these books is to miss Christ.

“Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.

Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. And do not become idolaters as were some of them.”

1 Corinthians 10: 1-7

So as we look at the new covenant or the new testament, we must not forget the value of the old covenant and the old testament. It still provides us help in our Jesus journey. It is even provides information that should be obeyed and understood by the Christian who appreciates the value of the new covenant.

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To understand the new covenant, we must understand the old covenant. Is that a fair statement? Why two covenants? Did God make a mistake and create a new covenant because it was impossible or too difficult to live under? Many think this because of somethings Paul states.

Generally, a covenant is defined as an agreement between two parties, but it can be simply a promise by the Lord. For example, the Lord made a promise to the people of earth to not destroy it by water ever again. This was a covenant or promise from the great Creator.

“I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth… and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.”

Genesis 9:13,15

The Lord did the same type of “one-sided covenant” with Abraham when he promised him land and descendants:

“On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: ‘To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates—’ “

Genesis 15:18

“And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.”

Genesis 17: 2-7

However, these covenants (promises) of God are not the covenants distinguished as old by Paul.

There was a point where the people of God tried to make a covenant or agreement with God and they became “old.”

“Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”

So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the Lord commanded him. Then all the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.”

Exodus 19:5-7

In the next Chapter of Exodus (20) we see these words:

And God spoke all these words, saying:

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”

Exodus 20: 1-2

Then the Lord spoke the 10 Commandments Himself as shown in Exodus 20: 3-17

Here was the covenant the people made. It seemed to be the response God wanted, but noticed they agreed to obey God based on fear and their own efforts. They state, “all that the Lord has said we will do.” They attempted to obey God under their grit and determination. Obedience was not from the heart but rather from duty and fear. After a while their promises faded away and became old.

They were afraid of God and this formed their their response.

Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.”

Exodus 20:19

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Citing the fear and poor promises of the people, the writer of Hebrews cites the need for a new covenant:

“But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.”

Hebrews 8:6

What better promises? Did God make a promise that was inferior or had a fault? No! The problem or fault was found with the people who made the covenant with God as shown in the verse that follows:

“For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with them. He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord.”

Hebrews 8: 7-9

The fault was with the people who made a promise they could not keep.

Have you ever made a promise to God while under fear? “God if you will just get me out of this situation, I will serve you until I die.” But, after you are delivered, you forget your promise and go back to serving only yourself. In this situations, you are doing exactly what the children of Israel did. They made a promise they could not keep. Why? Because they were attempting something without a changed heart. They did not realize their own weakness. God desired them to obey out of love and through His power.

Continuing in Hebrews 8, we see the better promise, but it still contains God’s law and obedience.

“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

So the new covenant is one where God provides the promise and the people respond to His love in obedience because they have a new heart (rebirth). But notice that the new covenant still involves the law of God and obedience. The law is never destroyed or eliminated, it is a new attitude about it where the obedience comes from the new heart. If it is on the heart, do you think you will obey the letter? The spirit and the letter of the law go together. Let me explain:

If a born again Christian says to his wife, I obey the law concerning adultery in the spirit, but not by the letter. What has he just told his wife? Would the wife be comfortable about the separation of spirit and letter? Could the husband sleep with her sister (letter) but keep the “spirit.” NO! If He is living in the spirit of the law, he won’t even allow himself to look at a woman with lust! Especially, he will not tempt himself with pornography! Men, if you are looking at porn, you need Jesus to both forgive you and to help you overcome it. It is sin!

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“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

Paul is explaining how we often get the cart before the horse. Many try to serve only in the letter. These are the legalistic.

In a very difficult part of Paul’s writing, he continues to explain that the law is spiritual and we are carnal. There are the two natures that live and fight within us until Jesus returns. The purpose of the law is to tell us what God considers as transgression and how sinful we are:

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.” Romans 7: 7

“…by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

Romans 3:20

Here Paul understands that desiring the possessions of another person is sin, but he goes further:

“I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.”

Romans 7: 9

Paul was “foot loose and fancy free” as we say in the South. But, when he became aware of the words of the law, he came under great conviction and he saw his way of life meant death, for he had said earlier in the chapter,

“the wages of sin is death.”

Romans 6:23

The law points out what God calls sin regardless of what the world might think. When we come to accept the fact that we are sinners, we seek God and find forgiveness and the power to live a life in Christ. We don’t want to continue in an unsatisfying life of sin and disobedience. God begins to write His laws in our hearts so that our obedience comes from a new heart powered by God himself. The law does not go away. In fact, it becomes a writing inscribed in our way of thinking so that the thief stops stealing, the liar stops lying, etc. If, in our brand new way of thinking, we do slip; we have an advocate with the father.

I have heard someone say, I obey the law with my spirit and not by letter. I am under grace. How does that work?

Paul cautioned again such thinking when he said,

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?

Romans 6:15

Being “under grace” does not mean one can disobey God’s law. We are not “under” the law because we are not under the penalty, because Jesus paid the penalty for our transgression of the law. His death shows the permanence of the law.

The followers of God are shown to be true followers by obedience to it. To claim we follow Jesus and willfully disobey is to not be a follower, for He said,

“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?”

Luke 6:46″

It is like saying I am a follower of Robert Atkins,but I don’t obey the diet plan. I obey it in my spirit, but not the letter. How much weight do you think that person would lose?

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It is no wonder that Satan himself is upset with the last day people who wish to testify of Jesus Christ through an experience of obedience to His words that include the 10 commandments. This identifies them as true followers and not religious pretenders.

“And the dragon (Satan) was enraged with the woman (church), and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

Revelation 12:17

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Conclusion

God’s 10 Commandment law has never been destroyed. It is still a sin to have other god’s, to build statues of gods and fall down before them. It is still a sin to disrespect God’s name and character. It is still a sin to forget the Sabbath of the Lord and dishonor his creation and the time He blessed. It is still a sin to dishonor your parents, to murder, to commit adultery, to steal, to lie, and to covet your neighbors possessions.

All 10 of these commandments line up under the two great commandments. The first being to

“love God with all your heart, soul, and mind.” The second is like it, “to love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22: 37-39

The first 4 commandments hang (summarized) under the first principle and the last six under the second principle.

But notice the order. If one fails to love God completely, they will not be able love their neighbor with a Christ like love. They will in effect become legalistic (if connected to religion) and a worthless noisy show-off of a cymbal if God’s love is not the basis for their obedience:

“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

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No. Obedience is not for the legalistic although there are many who obey to somehow impress God or attempt to make themselves worthy of blessings and salvation.

Obedience is for those who have been born again, where love for their Creator and a testimony to the true God can be expressed through obeying his word.

To obey God is to have true freedom. Just ask the man in prison who murdered someone or the person whose life is run by lying.

To say that we love Him and not obey Him makes us a liar.

“He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

1 John 2:4

Obedience comes from a new heart supplied by the Redeemer. It is not religious, but it is real. Obedience is the walk with the One you love, not the requirement for walk. The walk, like a child, will be shaky at first, but as you hold the Father’s hand, you will get stronger to do his will, but unlike the earthly example, our hand must be in the hand of our Creator constantly, because if it isn’t, we have the possibility of returning to the mud from which we were cleansed (See 2 Peter 2: 18-22)

I close with the inspiring words from Steps to Christ, p. 60, 61

“But notice here that obedience is not a mere outward compliance, but the service of love. The law of God is an expression of His very nature; it is an embodiment of the great principle of love, and hence is the foundation of His government in heaven and earth. If our hearts are renewed in the likeness of God, if the divine love is implanted in the soul, will not the law of God be carried out in the life? When the principle of love is implanted in the heart, when man is renewed after the image of Him that created him, the new-covenant promise is fulfilled, “I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them.” Hebrews 10:16. And if the law is written in the heart, will it not shape the life? Obedience–the service and allegiance of love–is the true sign of discipleship. Thus the scripture says, “This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.” “He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” 1 John 5:3; 2:4. Instead of releasing man from obedience, it is faith, and faith only, that makes us partakers of the grace of Christ, which enables us to render obedience.”

Faith, Is This True?, The Law of God

IS OBEDIENCE ONLY FOR THE LEGALISTIC? PART 1

January 31, 2021 Eddie Leave a comment

Recently, I heard a radio preacher say, “The Old Testament was about obedience, but the New Testament is about grace.” I don’t want to read too much into this or interpret his statement incorrectly, but I hear this same idea said in different ways. In almost all cases the implication is there are two methods of salvation:

1.) Obedience for those before the cross and

2.) Grace and faith after the cross.

Obedience (Old Covenant) Grace/Faith (New Covenant)

Only a few days later, I heard another speaker talk about Galatians in such a way that it lead me to believe that talking about obedience was “another gospel.” The preacher stated: “nothing can be added to the work of Jesus. To add anything else is “another gospel.” Without a doubt, no one can add to what Jesus has done for sinful man. and we cannot do enough good works to merit salvation. including obedience. Here is the proof:

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Ephesians 2:9, 10

“But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”

Galatians 5:18

“But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…”

Romans 3:21-23

All three of the verses above were from Paul. Paul was a highly educated and dedicated Hebrew. Before his conversion, he considered himself “blameless” concerning the righteousness that comes by the law. but then he discovered Jesus and his eyes were opened.

Paul, seemed to be concerned where people would take verses like those above. He abruptly asks a question at the end of Romans 3 and again at the beginning of Romans 6 to clarify:

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

Romans 3:31

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?

Romans 6:1

The established law has a place in the Jesus Journey of the believer, but what is it?

Despite Romans 3:31 and other “obedience” verses we shall see, people continue to quote verses that would seem to say, we can pretty much ignore the 10 commandment law. Here are a few:

We are not “….under the law, but under grace.”

Romans 6:14

“The law was done away with.”

Colossians 2:14?

“The law has been nailed to the cross.”

Colossians 2:14?

Obedience is “another gospel.”

“I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel”

Galatians 1:6

Incorrect application of these passage may make it sound like God does not want us to obey and if I want to obey God, I have reverted back to the Old Testament way of salvation and have become legalistic, perhaps even lost. By choosing to seek to live in obedience, I have left the gospel of grace and faith. So is obedience only for the legalistic?

I have tried to boil this down to 5 important thought questions:

1.) Has obedience ever been a method of salvation? Was Moses, the prophets, the people of Israel saved by the works of the law? Has anyone ever been able to save themselves through obedience?

2.) What is the relationship between obedience and grace? Are they mutually exclusive of each other?

3.) What does Salvation mean and what is the purpose of the law?

4.) Does God expect me to live a life in disobedience to his commandments? What happens if I start to try to obey?

5.) Does Obedience have anything to do with the new covenant?

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Now I am certain, I don’t need to get up get dressed and head to the local temple and sacrifice a lamb for the sins I have committed. This was definitely part of the instructions God gave Moses to give to God’s people. I also know that being circumcised is not a prerequisite to being a part of God’s people. But, how do I relate to God’s law? What is the danger if I ignore it or if I obey it?

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What is God’s law?

Is it just the 10 commandments?

Is it the old sacrificial system given by God to Moses?

Is it some spiritual thing that I keep in my spirit but am careful to not obey the letter?

Here is what I know from God’s word;

The word “law” appears 529 times in the entire Bible. If you throw in “statute” and “ordinance” we can add another 219 times. So that brings us to 748 verses.

Do they all mean the same thing? This is where many people get confused.

The three main categories for these 748 verses are used primarily in 1 of 3 main ways:

A.) God’s Ten Commandments written with His own finger.

“And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.”

Exodus 31:18

B.) The laws given by God to Moses concerning the sanctuary services, sacrifices, feast days. The ceremonial laws contained in ordnances. Written by Moses and placed in a pouch in the side of the Ark of the Covenant.

“Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.”

Deuteronomy 31:26

These ordinances and laws were ceremonial and gave identity and teaching to the chosen people before the cross. After the cross, God made the Jew and Gentile one.

“And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.”

Exodus 18:20

“….having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace.”

Ephesians 2:15

C.) The word of God contained in the “books of the law” a.k.a Torah (First Five books of the Bible)

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

Joshua 1:8

But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

Psalm 1: 2, 3

So it is always important to understand which law God is referring to before making any decisions as to what God would have you do.

One last question before we start, Does the freedom given me by the grace of God give me license to disobey?

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In this post, we will start with questions #1 and #2

1.) Has obedience ever been a method of salvation? Was Moses, the prophets, the people of Israel saved by the works of the law? Has anyone ever been able to save themselves through obedience?

The answer is NO! The Jews of old were saved just like those of the New Testament: By the grace of God through faith and not of any works. Listen to Paul:

“I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”

Galatians 2:21

There would have been no need for Jesus to die on the cross for our sins or the sins of those in the Old Testament time if “righteousness” could come through the law.

Through the ceremonial feast of Passover (Exodus 12), the Jews under those laws were taught that the unblemished innocent male sheep had to die for their sins. They had to believe this in faith. Merely following the directions of God through Moses was not the point of their forgiveness but led them to understand about the coming Messiah who was the “true lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.” John 1:29

So by faith, the Jews looked forward to the Cross for their salvation not in obeying the law. But the law was good in that it came from God himself through Moses and it taught (through an object lesson) the cost of sin, the price that had to be paid, and the transference of their sin onto the unblemished Son of God.

When Jesus came, type met anti-type. There was no longer a need to have ceremonies and laws that pointed forward to Jesus. Now they had the life and teachings of Jesus and that teacher (using types) ended.

Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

Galatians 3:24, 25

All those ceremonial laws pointed forward to Jesus and His death on the cross that they might have faith in Him. Today, we look back at Jesus and the cross that we might have faith. Both of us are saved by faith, not by the works of the law of ceremonies.

Those laws had fulfilled their purpose of pointing the OT people to Jesus. When He died on the cross they ended and we were no longer “under” those sets of laws.

But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

Galatians 3: 23

This faith spoken of by Paul is another word for Jesus. The faith that is revealed is Jesus. It is clear from Hebrews 11 (Faith Chapter) that those of the OT lived their lives by faith as we do:

The term “By faith” or “through faith” appears at least 19 times in Hebrews 11! They are all references to the OT people of faith!

“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off…And these all, having obtained a good report through faith.”

Hebrews 11: 13, 39

Please keep in mind, faith is not a thing….a religious thing….It is “trust” in God. It is made evident by a response. A person can say they have faith in God, but their works will show it. Faith is not based on nothing. It has substance and evidence. This substance and evidence comes through trusting in God’s word.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1

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.

James 2:18

Paul shows the method of salvation i.e., grace through faith not of works. James tells us that the works (obedience) produced from a believer is the evidence of their faith. The two go together.

James goes on to say,

If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.

James 2: 8-12

James uses the term “law of liberty” twice. Here is the hint that obeying the law gives liberty. Just ask the murder in prison or the person who is trapped in a web of lies. There is a blessing in obedience to God’s 10 commandments. Wouldn’t you agree? We are not talking about the method of salvation, but rather the results of salvation.

But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it,and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

James 1:25

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2.) What is the relationship between obedience and grace? Are they mutually exclusive of each other?

How can anyone claim to be a follower of the only true God and not obey?

“He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

1 John 2:4

“And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?”

Luke 6:46

“Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.”

Luke 6: 47-48

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?

Romans 6:1

Matthew 5: 17-19

Heaven and earth remains and so do the 10 commandments. Anyone who teaches to break the least of the commandments is not doing the will of God. I don’t want to be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. Do you? The best way here is to teach to obey the law of God.

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Conclusion:

The 10 commandments remain as does heaven and earth. The ceremonial laws taught about Jesus and salvation, but they ended at the cross where type met anti-type.

Obedience does not save you, but a saved person will be obedient. The thief will stop stealing. The liar will stop lying. All of this happens because of the new birth….the new heart God gives the person saved.

“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people”

Hebrews 8:10

If you are thinking the new covenant spoken of here is for Jews only. Remember there is neither Jew nor Greek and that if we belong to Christ we are “Abraham’s seed” (Father of Jews) and “heirs according to the promise.”

“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.”

Galatians 3:28

“And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

Galatians 3:29

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“A woman is driving way over the speed limit. Suddenly, she sees in her rear view mirror the flashing red and blue lights of a police car and hears the familiar wail of the siren. She pulls over, grabs her purse, and takes out her driver’s license. The policeman approaches, takes her license, and returns to his car.

She wonders how much the ticket is going to be (she was wayover the limit); she also worries about how she will be able to pay it. A few minutes later the policeman comes back and says, OK, Miss, what we are going to do, so that you don’t have to face the penalty of the law again, is abolish the law. You no longer have to worry about the speed limit.

As ludicrous as that story is, it’s no more so than the theology that teaches that after Jesus died, the law, the Ten Commandments, was abolished.” Dr. Keith A. Burton,

“Wages of sin is death.”

Romans 6:23

“Sin is the transgression of the law.”

1 John 3:

The definition of sin has never changed.

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“There are two errors against which the children of God–particularly those who have just come to trust in His grace–especially need to guard. The first, already dwelt upon, is that of looking to their own works, trusting to anything they can do, to bring themselves into harmony with God. He who is trying to become holy by his own works in keeping the law, is attempting an impossibility. All that man can do without Christ is polluted with selfishness and sin. It is the grace of Christ alone, through faith, that can make us holy.

The opposite and no less dangerous error is that belief in Christ releases men from keeping the law of God; that since by faith alone we become partakers of the grace of Christ, our works have nothing to do with our redemption.

But notice here that obedience is not a mere outward compliance, but the service of love.”

Steps To Christ, page 59, 60

Faith, Reasons to Believe, What to Do With Doubt

WHAT TO DO WITH DOUBT PART 2

January 28, 2020 Eddie Leave a comment

“If you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about me.”

Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel… By which also ye are saved… unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, ow that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures”

1 Corinthians 15:1-4

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Have you been able to see Jesus in the books of Moses (Generally accepted as Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy)? Have you seen Him in the other books of the Old Testament?

If you haven’t seen Jesus in the Old Testament you have missed 59% of the story about Jesus.

Come with me as we take a walk with two disciples who, after a three to four hour Bible study with Jesus had their lives changed. They went from massive disappointment to solid believers in Jesus. It can do the same for you.

This is written in first-person for a “reality” version of the story. At the end is some additional material which should appeal to your logic.

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It was early in the morning and the sky was getting brighter as I walked the dusty road speaking in low tones with my friend Cleopas about the things which had transpired over the last few days. So many things! All very bad!

It started with the arrest of Jesus in the Garden east of the city. During the night and into the early morning of the Preparation Day (Friday) the soldiers and mob began to move Him between the governor and religious leadership. Then they beat Him to a pulp and eventually crucified our Friend and Leader on a Roman cross on the hill outside of Jerusalem later in the afternoon of the Preparation Day.

I watched from a distance as He hung His head and took his last breath. He said something at the end, but I was unable to hear because I was trying to stay far enough away so that no one would try to connect me with Him . I would certainly be labeled as a fanatic believer in this prophet who the clergy had called a blasphemer. This led to his death. I think I saw Peter off in the distance. He appeared to be on his knees with his face in his hands. His disappointment must be very great!

There had been an earthquake and the sun refused to shine. Darkness took over the land like a thick smothering blanket. Everything seemed out of place…frightening. The large curtain in the temple had been ripped from top to bottom by some unseen hand. There were even reports of people, considered saints, coming out of their graves and appearing to many in the city! (Matthew 27: 51-53)

My personal disappointment is great because I believed everything He had taught. I was amazed at His great miracles and works of kindness. His followers thought Him to be the Messiah prophesied by many of the prophets hundreds of years ago. He was going to set up His kingdom and deliver my people from the iron rule of Rome. We thought He was the coming king upon which hung on all our hopes.

But, it seemed like He did not want the office of king. I had left everything to follow Him and learn His teachings. My commitment all came to nothing on Friday afternoon when He died. Now only doubt, but also sadness and disappointment hung on Cleopas and me like a heavy smelly cloak belonging to someone else. I want an explanation, but the reality of deception was creeping into my thoughts and it made me feel sick and foolish.

On top of everything else, the body of Jesus is missing! The women followers said He was alive, confirmed by a couple of other disciples, but I know better. It is just wishful thinking on their part. No one could have survived the beating, the nails, the loss of blood, and finally the sharp sword in the side. I saw it and refuse to believe anything but what my eyes can confirm. There was no mistaking… the vision of so much blood and the pale appearance of death was real.

It is the first day of the week. Fresh days lie before us as we make our way to Emmaus to start over; a walk of about 8 miles. It will take me the usual 3 1/2 hours or so to walk…maybe longer today because of our conversation and a heavy heart. This will give us plenty of time to try and put all the pieces together….to try to understand and make sense of everything and to decide what to do with the rest of our lives.

All of a sudden, an unexpected stranger walks up from behind and joins us. He asks,

“Why are you so sad and what are you discussing?”

I find these two questions odd in the light of the excitement and well-known events of the weekend. Slightly agitated and amazed Cleopas speaks before I can open my mouth and he answers the question with a question. He throws in some sarcasm for good measure.

“Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem that does not know the things which happened there these last few days?”

I am even more amazed when the stranger asks,

“What things?”

In disbelief, we began to explain to the young manr the events of the weekend. Reviewing everything does not help my disappointment and we rush through them as a courtesy to the stranger.

“These things concern Jesus of Nazareth who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. Then they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but Him they did not see.” Luke 24: 19-24

Then the stranger calls Cleopas and me “foolish ones” and that we are “slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken” This is certainly not so! I have always believed the prophets. I have come from a family who believes in the Tanakh (Old Testament) and I have read it often. The prophets said, that the Messiah would come and deliver Israel from its enemies. But the stranger began to recite the writings of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy) and all the Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Micah, Malachi, etc) of the Tanakh and explain things I had missed in my readings.

The stranger clearly points out passages that were references to Jesus. For the next 3 hours, I am amazed at the knowledge and clarity of the stranger’s words. As I listened to the stranger recite our ancient books, I begin to see that it was necessary for Jesus to die for the sins of the world, but that He would be raised up the third day! How had I missed that? Why had we not believed Jesus when He said it was necessary for Him to die and that he would rise again? It was like I had been reading the scripture the way I wanted it to read instead of letting it talk to me! Indeed, we felt foolish but encouraged by the words of the stranger. My heart burned within me! I wanted to hear more! This was all exciting and new to me!

As we get near the village where we plan to rest, it is almost dark. I don’t want the stranger to go and I look for excuses for Him to stay the night so we can hear more. Thankfully, He agrees to have supper with us. As He breaks the bread, I recognize those hands and the manner in which He breaks it! I finally look across the table into his eyes at about the same time as Cleopas. It is Jesus! As soon as we recognize him, He disappears! We had been talking to Jesus the whole time and we didn’t recognize Him!

With intense excitement and joy, Cleopas and I jump up and run the 8 miles back to Jerusalem! We must tell the 11 who were behind closed doors who share our confusion and disappointment. When we arrive, we find them huddled in a group in fear and disappointment. Out of breath, we begin to tell them what had happened over the last several hours. As we are telling them, Jesus appears in the room!

Everyone jumps back. They think they are seeing a spirit, but Jesus tells them it is Him and that He is not a spirit. To prove it, He invites them to touch Him and He asks for something to eat. They give Him some fish and some honeycomb. After everyone settles down and the scales of their eyes begin to fall away, Jesus repeats the same type of study Cleopas and I heard on the road to Emmaus. This time, He uses the entire Tanakh including the Psalms to explain how He is found all through scripture. All the disciples begin to understand that He had to die, but that He would rise on the third day. How could we have missed this? It was right there!

Then He said to us,

“These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you. that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me. (And He opened our understanding that we might comprehend the Scriptures.”) Luke 24:44

Do we need Jesus to open our understanding of Scriptures? Have we missed Jesus as we have read the Old Testament? What did Jesus teach these two disciples when He explained passages from all the books of the Old Testament? Is the Old Testament not relevant to New Testament Christians? Have we misunderstood Jesus? What does the entire Bible teach about Him?

Next, we will take a look at Jesus through the eyes of one who is a well-known doubter Thomas and attempt to understand why the resurrection of Jesus is an absolute cornerstone of the Christian faith. In fact, without it, Paul says we are most pitiful of all men. But, after we see through the eyes of Thomas we will exclaim as he did:

“My Lord and My God.” John 20:28

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ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

What is the possibility of one man fulfilling only eight of the Old Testament prophecies?

It is 1 x 10²⁸ or 1 in 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. Given this and the time span between the writings of the Old Testament and the fulfillment by Christ in the New Testament, the prophecies were either given to the prophets by God, or the prophets just wrote them down as they thought they should be. With Christ fulfilling all eight prophecies, what are the odds the prophets were just guessing?

“Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me”

Psalm 40:7.

“The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy”

Revelation 19:10.

“…all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me”

Jesus Christ, Luke 24:44.

“For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.”

Jesus Christ, John 5:46.

“To Him give all the prophets witness”

Acts 10:43.

353 Prophecies Fulfilled in Jesus Christ!

Prophecy

Fulfillment

1. Gen. 3:15	Seed of a woman (virgin birth)	Galatians 4:4-5, Matthew 1:18
2. Gen. 3:15	He will bruise Satan’s head	Hebrews 2:14, 1John 3:8
3. Gen. 3:15	Christ’s heel would be bruised with nails on the cross	Matthew 27:35, Luke 24:39-40
4. Gen. 5:24	The bodily ascension to heaven illustrated	Mark 16:19
5. Gen. 9:26, 27	The God of Shem will be the Son of Shem	Luke 3:36
6. Gen. 12:3	Seed of Abraham will bless all nations	Galatians 3:8, Acts 3:25, 26
7. Gen. 12:7	The Promise made to Abraham’s Seed	Galatians 3:16
8. Gen. 14:18	A priest after the order of Melchizedek	Hebrews 6:20
9. Gen. 14:18	King of Peace and Righteousness	Hebrews 7:2
10. Gen. 14:18	The Last Supper foreshadowed	Matthew 26:26-29
11. Gen. 17:19	Seed of Isaac (Gen. 21:12)	Romans 9:7
12. Gen. 22:8	The Lamb of God promised	John 1:29
13. Gen. 22:18	As Isaac’s seed, will bless all nations	Galatians 3:16
14. Gen. 26:2-5	The Seed of Isaac promised as the Redeemer	Hebrews 11:18
15. Gen. 28:12	The Bridge to heaven	John 1:51
16. Gen. 28:14	The Seed of Jacob	Luke 3:34
17. Gen. 49:10	The time of His coming	Luke 2:1-7; Galatians 4:4
18. Gen. 49:10	The Seed of Judah	Luke 3:33
19. Gen. 49:10	Called Shiloh or One Sent	John 17:3
20. Gen. 49:10	Messiah to come before Judah lost identity	John 11:47-52
21. Gen. 49:10	Unto Him shall the obedience of the people be	John 10:16
22. Ex. 3:13-15	The Great “I AM”	John 4:26, 8:58
23. Ex. 12:5	A Lamb without blemish	Hebrews 9:14; 1Peter 1:19
24. Ex. 12:13	The blood of the Lamb saves from wrath	Romans 5:8
25. Ex. 12:21-27	Christ is our Passover	1Corinthians 5:7
26. Ex. 12:46	Not a bone of the Lamb to be broken	John 19:31-36
27. Ex. 15:2	His exaltation predicted as Yeshua	Acts 7:55, 56
28. Ex. 15:11	His Character-Holiness	Luke 1:35; Acts 4:27
29. Ex. 17:6	The Spiritual Rock of Israel	1Corinthians 10:4
30. Ex. 33:19	His Character-Merciful	Luke 1:72
31. Lev. 1:2-9	His sacrifice a sweet smelling savor unto God	Ephesians 5:2
32. Lev. 14:11	The leper cleansed-Sign to priesthood	Luke 5:12-14; Acts 6:7
33. Lev. 16:15-17	Prefigures Christ’s once-for-all death	Hebrews 9:7-14
34. Lev. 16:27	Suffering outside the Camp	Matthew 27:33; Heb. 13:11, 12
35. Lev. 17:11	The Blood-the life of the flesh	Matthew 26:28; Mark 10:45
36. Lev. 17:11	It is the blood that makes atonement	Rom. 3:23-24; 1John 1:7
37. Lev. 23:36-37	The Drink-offering: “If any man thirst”	John 7:37
38. Num. 9:12	Not a bone of Him broken	John 19:31-36
39. Num. 21:9	The serpent on a pole-Christ lifted up	John 3:14-18, 12:32
40. Num. 24:17	Time: “I shall see him, but not now.”	John 1:14; Galatians 4:4
41. Deut. 18:15	“This is of a truth that prophet.”	John 6:14
42. Deut. 18:15-16	“Had ye believed Moses, ye would believe me.”	John 5:45-47
43. Deut. 18:18	Sent by the Father to speak His word	John 8:28, 29
44. Deut. 18:19	Whoever will not hear must bear his sin	Acts 3:22-23
45. Deut. 21:23	Cursed is he that hangs on a tree	Galatians 3:10-13
46. Joshua 5:14-15	The Captain of our salvation	Hebrews 2:10
47. Ruth 4:4-10	Christ, our kinsman, has redeemed us	Ephesians 1:3-7
48. 1 Sam. 2:35	A Faithful Priest	Heb. 2:17, 3:1-3, 6, 7:24-25
49. 1 Sam. 2:10	Shall be an anointed King to the Lord	Mt. 28:18, John 12:15
50. 2 Sam. 7:12	David’s Seed	Matthew 1:1
51. 2 Sam. 7:13	His Kingdom is everlasting	2Peter 1:11
52. 2 Sam. 7:14a	The Son of God	Luke 1:32, Romans 1:3-4
53. 2 Sam. 7:16	David’s house established forever	Luke 3:31; Rev. 22:16
54. 2 Ki. 2:11	The bodily ascension to heaven illustrated	Luke 24:51
55. 1 Chr. 17:11	David’s Seed	Matthew 1:1, 9:27
56. 1 Chr. 17:12-13	To reign on David’s throne forever	Luke 1:32, 33
57. 1 Chr. 17:13	“I will be His Father, He…my Son.”	Hebrews 1:5
58. Job 9:32-33	Mediator between man and God	1 Timothy 2:5
59. Job 19:23-27	The Resurrection predicted	John 5:24-29
60. Psa. 2:1-3	The enmity of kings foreordained	Acts 4:25-28
61. Psa. 2:2	To own the title, Anointed (Christ)	John 1:41, Acts 2:36
62. Psa. 2:6	His Character-Holiness	John 8:46; Revelation 3:7
63. Psa. 2:6	To own the title King	Matthew 2:2
64. Psa. 2:7	Declared the Beloved Son	Matthew 3:17, Romans 1:4
65. Psa. 2:7, 8	The Crucifixion and Resurrection intimated	Acts 13:29-33
66. Psa. 2:8, 9	Rule the nations with a rod of iron	Rev. 2:27, 12:5, 19:15
67. Psa. 2:12	Life comes through faith in Him	John 20:31
68. Psa. 8:2	The mouths of babes perfect His praise	Matthew 21:16
69. Psa. 8:5, 6	His humiliation and exaltation	Hebrews 2:5-9
70. Psa. 9:7-10	Judge the world in righteousness	Acts 17:31
71. Psa. 16:10	Was not to see corruption	Acts 2:31, 13:35
72. Psa. 16:9-11	Was to arise from the dead	John 20:9
73. Psa. 17:15	The resurrection predicted	Luke 24:6
74. Psa. 18:2-3	The horn of salvation	Luke 1:69-71
75. Psa. 22:1	Forsaken because of sins of others	2 Corinthians 5:21
76. Psa. 22:1	“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”	Matthew 27:46
77. Psa. 22:2	Darkness upon Calvary for three hours	Matthew 27:45
78. Psa. 22:7	They shoot out the lip and shake the head	Matthew 27:39-44
79. Psa. 22:8	“He trusted in God, let Him deliver Him”	Matthew 27:43
80. Psa. 22:9-10	Born the Saviour	Luke 2:7
81. Psa. 22:12-13	They seek His death	John 19:6
82. Psa. 22:14	His blood poured out when they pierced His side	John 19:34
83. Psa. 22:14, 15	Suffered agony on Calvary	Mark 15:34-37
84. Psa. 22:15	He thirsted	John 19:28
85. Psa. 22:16	They pierced His hands and His feet	John 19:34, 37; 20:27
86. Psa. 22:17, 18	Stripped Him before the stares of men	Luke 23:34, 35
87. Psa. 22:18	They parted His garments	John 19:23, 24
88. Psa. 22:20, 21	He committed Himself to God	Luke 23:46
89. Psa. 22:20, 21	Satanic power bruising the Redeemer’s heel	Hebrews 2:14
90. Psa. 22:22	His Resurrection declared	John 20:17
91. Psa. 22:27-28	He shall be the governor of the nations	Colossians 1:16
92. Psa. 22:31	“It is finished”	John 19:30, Heb. 10:10, 12, 14, 18
93. Psa. 23:1	“I am the Good Shepherd”	John 10:11, 1Peter 2:25
94. Psa. 24:3	His exaltation predicted	Acts 1:11; Philippians 2:9
95. Psa. 30:3	His resurrection predicted	Acts 2:32
96. Psa. 31:5	“Into thy hands I commit my spirit”	Luke 23:46
97. Psa. 31:11	His acquaintances fled from Him	Mark 14:50
98. Psa. 31:13	They took counsel to put Him to death	Mt. 27:1, John 11:53
99. Psa. 31:14, 15	“He trusted in God, let Him deliver him”	Matthew 27:43
100. Psa. 34:20	Not a bone of Him broken	John 19:31-36
101. Psa. 35:11	False witnesses rose up against Him	Matthew 26:59
102. Psa. 35:19	He was hated without a cause	John 15:25
103. Psa. 38:11	His friends stood afar off	Luke 23:49
104. Psa. 38:12	Enemies try to entangle Him by craft	Mark 14:1, Mt. 22:15
105. Psa. 38:12-13	Silent before His accusers	Matthew 27:12-14
106. Psa. 38:20	He went about doing good	Acts 10:38
107. Psa. 40:2-5	The joy of His resurrection predicted	John 20:20
108. Psa. 40:6-8	His delight-the will of the Father	John 4:34, Heb. 10:5-10
109. Psa. 40:9	He was to preach the Righteousness in Israel	Matthew 4:17
110. Psa. 40:14	Confronted by adversaries in the Garden	John 18:4-6
111. Psa. 41:9	Betrayed by a familiar friend	John 13:18
112. Psa. 45:2	Words of Grace come from His lips	John 1:17, Luke 4:22
113. Psa. 45:6	To own the title, God or Elohim	Hebrews 1:8
114. Psa. 45:7	A special anointing by the Holy Spirit	Mt. 3:16; Heb. 1:9
115. Psa. 45:7, 8	Called the Christ (Messiah or Anointed)	Luke 2:11
116. Psa. 45:17	His name remembered forever	Ephesians 1:20-21, Heb. 1:8
117. Psa. 55:12-14	Betrayed by a friend, not an enemy	John 13:18
118. Psa. 55:15	Unrepentant death of the Betrayer	Matthew 27:3-5; Acts 1:16-19
119. Psa. 68:18	To give gifts to men	Ephesians 4:7-16
120. Psa. 68:18	Ascended into Heaven	Luke 24:51
121. Psa. 69:4	Hated without a cause	John 15:25
122. Psa. 69:8	A stranger to own brethren	John 1:11, 7:5
123. Psa. 69:9	Zealous for the Lord’s House	John 2:17
124. Psa. 69:14-20	Messiah’s anguish of soul before crucifixion	Matthew 26:36-45
125. Psa. 69:20	“My soul is exceeding sorrowful.”	Matthew 26:38
126. Psa. 69:21	Given vinegar in thirst	Matthew 27:34
127. Psa. 69:26	The Saviour given and smitten by God	John 17:4; 18:11
128. Psa. 72:10, 11	Great persons were to visit Him	Matthew 2:1-11
129. Psa. 72:16	The corn of wheat to fall into the Ground	John 12:24-25
130. Psa. 72:17	Belief on His name will produce offspring	John 1:12, 13
131. Psa. 72:17	All nations shall be blessed by Him	Galatians 3:8
132. Psa. 72:17	All nations shall call Him blessed	John 12:13, Rev. 5:8-12
133. Psa. 78:1-2	He would teach in parables	Matthew 13:34-35
134. Psa. 78:2b	To speak the Wisdom of God with authority	Matthew 7:29
135. Psa. 80:17	The Man of God’s right hand	Mark 14:61-62
136. Psa. 88	The Suffering and Reproach of Calvary	Matthew 27:26-50
137. Psa. 88:8	They stood afar off and watched	Luke 23:49
138. Psa. 89:27	Firstborn	Colossians 1:15, 18
139. Psa. 89:27	Emmanuel to be higher than earthly kings	Luke 1:32, 33
140. Psa. 89:35-37	David’s Seed, throne, kingdom endure forever	Luke 1:32, 33
141. Psa. 89:36-37	His character-Faithfulness	Revelation 1:5, 19:11
142. Psa. 90:2	He is from everlasting (Micah 5:2)	John 1:1
143. Psa. 91:11, 12	Identified as Messianic; used to tempt Christ	Luke 4:10, 11
144. Psa. 97:9	His exaltation predicted	Acts 1:11; Ephesians 1:20
145. Psa. 100:5	His character-Goodness	Matthew 19:16, 17
146. Psa. 102:1-11	The Suffering and Reproach of Calvary	John 19:16-30
147. Psa. 102:25-27	Messiah is the Preexistent Son	Hebrews 1:10-12
148. Psa. 109:25	Ridiculed	Matthew 27:39
149. Psa. 110:1	Son of David	Matthew 22:42-43
150. Psa. 110:1	To ascend to the right-hand of the Father	Mark 16:19
151. Psa. 110:1	David’s son called Lord	Matthew 22:44, 45
152. Psa. 110:4	A priest after Melchizedek’s order	Hebrews 6:20
153. Psa. 112:4	His character-Compassionate, Gracious, et al	Matthew 9:36
154. Psa. 118:17, 18	Messiah’s Resurrection assured	Luke 24:5-7; 1Cor. 15:20
155. Psa. 118:22, 23	The rejected stone is Head of the corner	Matthew 21:42, 43
156. Psa. 118:26a	The Blessed One presented to Israel	Matthew 21:9
157. Psa. 118:26b	To come while Temple standing	Matthew 21:12-15
158. Psa. 132:11	The Seed of David (the fruit of His Body)	Luke 1:32, Act 2:30
159. Psa. 129:3	He was scourged	Matthew 27:26
160. Psa. 138:1-6	The supremacy of David’s Seed amazes kings	Matthew 2:2-6
161. Psa. 147:3, 6	The earthly ministry of Christ described	Luke 4:18
162. Prov. 1:23	He will send the Spirit of God	John 16:7
163. Prov. 8:23	Foreordained from everlasting	Rev. 13:8, 1Peter 1:19-20
164. Song. 5:16	The altogether lovely One	John 1:17
165. Isa. 2:3	He shall teach all nations	John 4:25
166. Isa. 2:4	He shall judge among the nations	John 5:22
167. Isa. 6:1	When Isaiah saw His glory	John 12:40-41
168. Isa. 6:8	The One Sent by God	John 12:38-45
169. Isa. 6:9-10	Parables fall on deaf ears	Matthew 13:13-15
170. Isa. 6:9-12	Blinded to Christ and deaf to His words	Acts 28:23-29
171. Isa. 7:14	To be born of a virgin	Luke 1:35
172. Isa. 7:14	To be Emmanuel-God with us	Matthew 1:18-23, 1Tim. 3:16
173. Isa. 8:8	Called Emmanuel	Matthew 28:20
174. Isa. 8:14	A stone of stumbling, a Rock of offense	1Peter 2:8
175. Isa. 9:1, 2	His ministry to begin in Galilee	Matthew 4:12-17
176. Isa. 9:6	A child born-Humanity	Luke 1:31
177. Isa. 9:6	A Son given-Deity	Luke 1:32, John 1:14, 1Tim. 3:16
178. Isa. 9:6	Declared to be the Son of God with power	Romans 1:3, 4
179. Isa. 9:6	The Wonderful One, Peleh	Luke 4:22
180. Isa. 9:6	The Counsellor, Yaatz	Matthew 13:54
181. Isa. 9:6	The Mighty God, El Gibor	1Cor. 1:24, Titus 2:3
182. Isa. 9:6	The Everlasting Father, Avi Adth	John 8:58, 10:30
183. Isa. 9:6	The Prince of Peace, Sar Shalom	John 16:33
184. Isa. 9:7	To establish an everlasting kingdom	Luke 1:32-33
185. Isa. 9:7	His Character-Just	John 5:30
186. Isa. 9:7	No end to his Government, Throne, and Peace	Luke 1:32-33
187. Isa. 11:1	Called a Nazarene-the Branch, Netzer	Matthew 2:23
188. Isa. 11:1	A rod out of Jesse-Son of Jesse	Luke 3:23, 32
189. Isa. 11:2	Anointed One by the Spirit	Matthew 3:16, 17, Acts 10:38
190. Isa. 11:2	His Character-Wisdom, Knowledge, et al	Colossians 2:3
191. Isa. 11:3	He would know their thoughts	Luke 6:8, John 2:25
192. Isa. 11:4	Judge in righteousness	Acts 17:31
193. Isa. 11:4	Judges with the sword of His mouth	Rev. 2:16, 19:11, 15
194. Isa. 11:5	Character: Righteous & Faithful	Rev. 19:11
195. Isa. 11:10	The Gentiles seek Him	John 12:18-21
196. Isa. 12:2	Called Jesus-Yeshua	Matthew 1:21
197. Isa. 22:22	The One given all authority to govern	Revelation 3:7
198. Isa. 25:8	The Resurrection predicted	1Corinthians 15:54
199. Isa. 26:19	His power of Resurrection predicted	Matthew 27:50-54
200. Isa. 28:16	The Messiah is the precious corner stone	Acts 4:11, 12
201. Isa. 28:16	The Sure Foundation	1Corinthians 3:11, Mt. 16:18
202. Isa. 29:13	He indicated hypocritical obedience to His Word	Matthew 15:7-9
203. Isa. 29:14	The wise are confounded by the Word	1Corinthians 1:18-31
204. Isa. 32:2	A Refuge-A man shall be a hiding place	Matthew 23:37
205. Isa. 35:4	He will come and save you	Matthew 1:21
206. Isa. 35:5-6	To have a ministry of miracles	Matthew 11:2-6
207. Isa. 40:3, 4	Preceded by forerunner	John 1:23
208. Isa. 40:9	“Behold your God.”	John 1:36; 19:14
209. Isa. 40:10.	He will come to reward	Revelation 22:12
210. Isa. 40:11	A shepherd-compassionate life-giver	John 10:10-18
2101. Isa. 42:1-4	The Servant-as a faithful, patient redeemer	Matthew 12:18-21
212. Isa. 42:2	Meek and lowly	Matthew 11:28-30
213. Isa. 42:3	He brings hope for the hopeless	John 4
214. Isa. 42:4	The nations shall wait on His teachings	John 12:20-26
215. Isa. 42:6	The Light (salvation) of the Gentiles	Luke 2:32
216. Isa. 42:1, 6	His is a worldwide compassion	Matthew 28:19, 20
217. Isa. 42:7	Blind eyes opened.	John 9:25-38
218. Isa. 43:11	He is the only Saviour.	Acts 4:12
219. Isa. 44:3	He will send the Spirit of God	John 16:7, 13
220. Isa. 45:21-25	He is Lord and Saviour	Philippians 3:20, Titus 2:13
221. Isa. 45:23	He will be the Judge	John 5:22; Romans 14:11
222. Isa. 46:9, 10	Declares things not yet done	John 13:19
223. Isa. 48:12	The First and the Last	John 1:30, Revelation 1:8, 17
224. Isa. 48:16, 17	He came as a Teacher	John 3:2
225. Isa. 49:1	Called from the womb-His humanity	Matthew 1:18
226. Isa. 49:5	A Servant from the womb.	Luke 1:31, Philippians 2:7
227. Isa. 49:6	He will restore Israel	Acts 3:19-21, 15:16-17
228. Isa. 49:6	He is Salvation for Israel	Luke 2:29-32
229. Isa. 49:6	He is the Light of the Gentiles	John 8:12, Acts 13:47
230. Isa. 49:6	He is Salvation unto the ends of the earth	Acts 15:7-18
231. Isa. 49:7	He is despised of the Nation	John 1:11, 8:48-49, 19:14-15
232. Isa. 50:3	Heaven is clothed in black at His humiliation	Luke 23:44, 45
233. Isa. 50:4	He is a learned counselor for the weary	Matthew 7:29, 11:28, 29
234. Isa. 50:5	The Servant bound willingly to obedience	Matthew 26:39
235. Isa. 50:6a	“I gave my back to the smiters.”	Matthew 27:26
236. Isa. 50:6b	He was smitten on the cheeks	Matthew 26:67
237. Isa. 50:6c	He was spat upon	Matthew 27:30
238. Isa. 52:7	Published good tidings upon mountains	Matthew 5:12,15:29,28:16
239. Isa. 52:13	The Servant exalted	Acts 1:8-11; Eph. 1:19-22, Php. 2:5-9
240. Isa. 52:14	The Servant shockingly abused	Luke 18:31-34; Mt. 26:67, 68
241. Isa. 52:15	Nations startled by message of the Servant	Luke 18:31-34; Mt. 26:67, 68
242. Isa. 52:15	His blood shed sprinkles nations	Hebrews 9:13-14, Rev. 1:5
243. Isa. 53:1	His people would not believe Him	John 12:37-38
244. Isa. 53:2	Appearance of an ordinary man	Philippians 2:6-8
245. Isa. 53:3a	Despised	Luke 4:28-29
246. Isa. 53:3b	Rejected	Matthew 27:21-23
247. Isa. 53:3c	Great sorrow and grief	Matthew 26:37-38, Luke 19:41, Heb. 4:15
248. Isa. 53:3d	Men hide from being associated with Him	Mark 14:50-52
249. Isa. 53:4a	He would have a healing ministry	Matthew 8:16-17
250. Isa. 53:4b	Thought to be cursed by God	Matthew 26:66, 27:41-43
251. Isa. 53:5a	Bears penalty for mankind’s iniquities	2Cor. 5:21, Heb. 2:9
252. Isa. 53:5b	His sacrifice provides peace between man and God	Colossians 1:20
253. Isa. 53:5c	His sacrifice would heal man of sin	1Peter 2:24
254. Isa. 53:6a	He would be the sin-bearer for all mankind	1John 2:2, 4:10
255. Isa. 53:6b	God’s will that He bear sin for all mankind	Galatians 1:4
256. Isa. 53:7a	Oppressed and afflicted	Matthew 27:27-31
257. Isa. 53:7b	Silent before his accusers	Matthew 27:12-14
258. Isa. 53:7c	Sacrificial lamb	John 1:29, 1Peter 1:18-19
259. Isa. 53:8a	Confined and persecuted	Matthew 26:47-27:31
260. Isa. 53:8b	He would be judged	John 18:13-22
261. Isa. 53:8c	Killed	Matthew 27:35
262. Isa. 53:8d	Dies for the sins of the world	1John 2:2
263. Isa. 53:9a	Buried in a rich man’s grave	Matthew 27:57
264. Isa. 53:9b	Innocent and had done no violence	Luke 23:41, John 18:38
265. Isa. 53:9c	No deceit in his mouth	1Peter 2:22
266. Isa. 53:10a	God’s will that He die for mankind	John 18:11
267. Isa. 53:10b	An offering for sin	Matthew 20:28, Galatians 3:13
268. Isa. 53:10c	Resurrected and live forever	Romans 6:9
269. Isa. 53:10d	He would prosper	John 17:1-5
270. Isa. 53:11a	God fully satisfied with His suffering	John 12:27
271. Isa. 53:11b	God’s servant would justify man	Romans 5:8-9, 18-19
272. Isa. 53:11c	The sin-bearer for all mankind	Hebrews 9:28
273. Isa. 53:12a	Exalted by God because of his sacrifice	Matthew 28:18
274. Isa. 53:12b	He would give up his life to save mankind	Luke 23:46
275. Isa. 53:12c	Numbered with the transgressors	Mark 15:27-28
276. Isa. 53:12d	Sin-bearer for all mankind	1Peter 2:24
277. Isa. 53:12e	Intercede to God in behalf of mankind	Luke 23:34, Rom. 8:34
278. Isa. 55:3	Resurrected by God	Acts 13:34
279. Isa. 55:4a	A witness	John 18:37
280. Isa. 55:4b	He is a leader and commander	Hebrews 2:10
281. Isa. 55:5	God would glorify Him	Acts 3:13
282. Isa. 59:16a	Intercessor between man and God	Matthew 10:32
283. Isa. 59:16b	He would come to provide salvation	John 6:40
284. Isa. 59:20	He would come to Zion as their Redeemer	Luke 2:38
285. Isa. 60:1-3	He would shew light to the Gentiles	Acts 26:23
286. Isa. 61:1a	The Spirit of God upon him	Matthew 3:16-17
287. Isa. 61:1b	The Messiah would preach the good news	Luke 4:16-21
288. Isa. 61:1c	Provide freedom from the bondage of sin	John 8:31-36
289. Isa. 61:1-2a	Proclaim a period of grace	Galatians 4:4-5
290. Jer. 23:5-6	Descendant of David	Luke 3:23-31
291. Jer. 23:5-6	The Messiah would be both God and Man	John 13:13, 1Ti 3:16
292. Jer. 31:22	Born of a virgin	Matthew 1:18-20
293. Jer. 31:31	The Messiah would be the new covenant	Matthew 26:28
294. Jer. 33:14-15	Descendant of David	Luke 3:23-31
295. Eze.34:23-24	Descendant of David	Matthew 1:1
296. Eze.37:24-25	Descendant of David	Luke 1:31-33
297. Dan. 2:44-45	The Stone that shall break the kingdoms	Matthew 21:44
298. Dan. 7:13-14a	He would ascend into heaven	Acts 1:9-11
299. Dan. 7:13-14b	Highly exalted	Ephesians 1:20-22
300. Dan. 7:13-14c	His dominion would be everlasting	Luke 1:31-33
301. Dan. 9:24a	To make an end to sins	Galatians 1:3-5
302. Dan. 9:24a	To make reconciliation for iniquity	Romans 5:10, 2Cor. 5:18-21
303. Dan. 9:24b	He would be holy	Luke 1:35
304. Dan. 9:25	His announcement	John 12:12-13
305. Dan. 9:26a	Cut off	Matthew 16:21, 21:38-39
306. Dan. 9:26b	Die for the sins of the world	Hebrews 2:9
307. Dan. 9:26c	Killed before the destruction of the temple	Matthew 27:50-51
308. Dan. 10:5-6	Messiah in a glorified state	Revelation 1:13-16
309. Hos. 11:1	He would be called out of Egypt	Matthew 2:15
310. Hos. 13:14	He would defeat death	1Corinthians 15:55-57
311. Joel 2:32	Offer salvation to all mankind	Romans 10:9-13
312. Jonah 1:17	Death and resurrection of Christ	Matthew 12:40, 16:4
313. Mic. 5:2a	Born in Bethlehem	Matthew 2:1-6
314. Mic. 5:2b	Ruler in Israel	Luke 1:33
315. Mic. 5:2c	From everlasting	John 8:58
316. Hag. 2:6-9	He would visit the second Temple	Luke 2:27-32
317. Hag. 2:23	Descendant of Zerubbabel	Luke 2:27-32
318. Zech. 3:8	God’s servant	John 17:4
319. Zech. 6:12-13	Priest and King	Hebrews 8:1
320. Zech. 9:9a	Greeted with rejoicing in Jerusalem	Matthew 21:8-10
321. Zech. 9:9b	Beheld as King	John 12:12-13
322. Zech. 9:9c	The Messiah would be just	John 5:30
323. Zech. 9:9d	The Messiah would bring salvation	Luke 19:10
324. Zech. 9:9e	The Messiah would be humble	Matthew 11:29
325. Zech. 9:9f	Presented to Jerusalem riding on a donkey	Matthew 21:6-9
326. Zech. 10:4	The cornerstone	Ephesians 2:20
327. Zech. 11:4-6a	At His coming, Israel to have unfit leaders	Matthew 23:1-4
328. Zech. 11:4-6b	Rejection causes God to remove His protection	Luke 19:41-44
329. Zech. 11:4-6c	Rejected in favor of another king	John 19:13-15
330. Zech. 11:7	Ministry to “poor,” the believing remnant	Matthew 9:35-36
331. Zech. 11:8a	Unbelief forces Messiah to reject them	Matthew 23:33
332. Zech. 11:8b	Despised	Matthew 27:20
333. Zech. 11:9	Stops ministering to those who rejected Him	Matthew 13:10-11
334. Zech. 11:10-11a	Rejection causes God to remove protection	Luke 19:41-44
335. Zech. 11:10-11b	The Messiah would be God	John 14:7
336. Zech. 11:12-13a	Betrayed for thirty pieces of silver	Matthew 26:14-15
337. Zech. 11:12-13b	Rejected	Matthew 26:14-15
338. Zech. 11:12-13c	Thirty pieces of silver cast in the house of the Lord	Matthew 27:3-5
339. Zech. 11:12-13d	The Messiah would be God	John 12:45
340. Zech. 12:10a	The Messiah’s body would be pierced	John 19:34-37
341. Zech. 12:10b	The Messiah would be both God and man	John 10:30
342. Zech. 12:10c	The Messiah would be rejected	John 1:11
343. Zech. 13:7a	God’s will He die for mankind	John 18:11
344. Zech. 13:7b	A violent death	Mark 14:27
345. Zech. 13:7c	Both God and man	John 14:9
346. Zech. 13:7d	Israel scattered as a result of rejecting Him	Matthew 26:31-56
347. Zech. 14:4	He would return to the Mt. of Olives	Acts 1:11-12
348. Mal. 3:1a	Messenger to prepare the way for Messiah	Mark 1:1-8
349. Mal. 3:1b	Sudden appearance at the temple	Mark 11:15-16
350. Mal. 3:1c	Messenger of the new covenant	Luke 4:43
351. Mal. 3:6	The God who changes not	Hebrews 13:8
352. Mal. 4:5	Forerunner in spirit of Elijah	Mt. 3:1-3, 11:10-14, 17:11-13
353. Mal. 4:6	Forerunner would turn many to righteousness	Luke 1:16-17

Faith, What to Do With Doubt

WHAT DO DO WITH DOUBT-PART 1

January 12, 2020 Eddie Leave a comment

“Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed, Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29

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It was the walk with Jesus by someone else that inspired me. Since age 25, I have had a walk with Jesus, but it is a non-physical spiritual walk of faith. In my walk, I can’t see His form, His eyes, His hair, His face, nor hear His kind voice, but there were two disciples who could. Their story is recorded in the new testament for our encouragement and contemplation. (We will look at this story in the next post.) Parts of their 3-hour conversation with Him was recorded because our Creator wants to help us in our walk of Faith. This is not my opinion. Jesus said it!

“…these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” John 20:31

My questions is this: Do I have “life in His name”? Is my experience all about heaven and the hereafter or the “here-now”? May I propose to you that if we are not having a “here-now” experience with Jesus, we won’t have a “hereafter” experience with Him either. It all starts here! Now!

Don’t have this? Your journey can start now….or perhaps it has already started and you just don’t know it. Perhaps, if you have been on your Jesus journey for many years, you don’t have the assurance that you have eternal life.

Jesus said this to Thomas when He appeared to this doubter some 8 days after Jesus’ resurrection,

“Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed, Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29

Thomas had heard that Jesus was alive from people who would not lie to him i.e., the other disciples who had seen Him. But, Thomas wanted his own experience; not one based on the word of others. He was a doubter despite their convincing words. So, Jesus accommodated him and appeared to him.

But, wouldn’t Thomas have an advantage over us in the faith department because he could actually see and feel the hands and side of Jesus? Is faith built only on what you see? No! In the verse above, it indicates our experience is blessed by believing even though we have not seen. But, how does this work?

Are we going to be like Thomas and say,

“Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” John 20:25

Let’s be real. It is highly unlikely that Jesus is going to appear to any of us in our bedroom and say,

“Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Take your hand, and put it into my side. Stop doubting, and believe.”

John 20:27

Our faith in Jesus comes from three main sources available to everyone:

Creation

The Bible

Other Real People (Not REALigious people)

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Creation:

It is by observing and contemplating the beauty of life….a squirming warm new-born human, calf, puppy, or anything new to the world through the act of birth and procreation…the laughter, smile, and innocence of a small child. (They have more of the image of God at this point than any other time)….the wisdom of a bright-eyed old man who has been there before you….large mountains with a hat of ice and snow…the laughing lapping of the ocean waves against the shore at sunset…the colorful creatures swimming past you in the waters off Cozumel….the intricate detail and webbing of an opening spring flower to receive the life-giving sun rays…the sound of the morning birds outside your window bursting with the praise of its Creator. It is because of the signature of God on Creation that He says we can know Him….even the “invisible” things of Him…things we can’t see!

From the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly observed in what he made. As a result, people have no excuse.

Romans 1:20

Do you catch that? We have no excuse to be an unbeliever. Creation is available for all to see, touch, hear, taste. If we open our minds and be honest and logical, we will not only know there is a Creator, but we will know some things about Him.

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The Bible

This book is no accident. It is not just a collection of 40 different authors separated by hundreds of years and three different continents with an agenda to deceive people. If it had just one author, as do some religions, I would be skeptical too.

It is in the number of different books, authors, and cultures preserved for thousands of years who agree about Jesus, which gives the basis for faith.

Have you failed to see Jesus in the Old Testament? Has your experience been based only on the New Testament? You are missing something…at least 39 books of the 66! That is 59% of the story you are missing if you don’t visit the old testament! It is estimated that there are over 400 prophecies in the Old Testament about the first and second coming of Jesus.

I can say this with confidence because of the story that we will see in the next post. Jesus himself exclaimed to his disciples this very thing when He appeared to them after His resurrection. Once they understood that Jesus was throughout scripture, they went from fearful men hiding behind closed doors on the first day of the week, to week-long believers of Jesus willing to lay down their life for telling the truth about Jesus!

It is a life-giving gospel of love and peace for all people unlike the hatred and control of other religions we are seeing modern times.

It is difficult if not impossible to ignore the word of God during the week and snack on it occasionally and be a solid believer in Jesus. It was written that we might believe Jesus. That Bible given to you by your grandmother with its 66 books is all about Him! Yes, that means Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy…you name it. Here is how I know.

Jesus gave a Bible study to two disciples who had just witnessed his death a few days earlier. They were walking away from the massive head wound of discouragement. Their faith was near death. It was at the pinnacle of their hurt that Jesus showed up and encouraged them. They went from the depths of doubt, despair, and unbelief to their “hearts burning” within them. As I mentioned, we will look at this next time.

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The Experience of other real people (Not REALigious)

It was the experience of these two men that inspired men and continues even to this day. In my life I have seen some miraculous working of God in people’s lives. I have seen atheists turned into believer in Jesus (I am one of them). It is their testimony that is powerful in the dispelling of doubt.

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony

Revelation 12:11

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When I was younger, a friend and I received an invitation to give Bib

When I was younger, a friend and I received an invitation to give Bible studies to the mother and daughter of a young African-American man who was now a follower of Christ. He had given up his life as a professional fighter to follow Jesus. He wanted his family to know the beauty of God’s word. This is a powerful story in itself, but I will save it for another time.

On a frosty night in Nashville, Tennessee, I met with my friend to give the first of the Bible studies. We walked into the very poor apartment complex near downtown Nashville wearing our ties and suits (We had just come from work that required us to dress this way.). We carried our Bibles also. Needless to say, we stuck out in our appearance.

As we passed by a group of young men warming themselves by a dumpster, recently set ablaze, one of them asked, “Where are you going?” We told him, “To give a Bible study.” The words came out of my fear-lumped throat, “Come join us!” We had reason to fear because one of them said, “I have a gun.”

One of them showed up as a massive shadow in the doorway to the poor apartment! He sat down quietly and with a threat in his eyes. The massive shadow said nothing when he arrived and nothing when he left, but you could see trouble in his face and the way he carried himself.

As I gave the study about the life of Jesus, the rats scampered about…even under my feet! But, they did not distract from the beautiful story of Jesus’ love for all of mankind. Nevertheless, we never again saw the young man, with the big shadow, at the studies.

Several months later, I sat with my family in church waiting for the service to begin when my friend came up to me and asked me to come back to the vestibule. He wanted me to see something he said I was not going to believe.

I got up respectfully and walked to the back of the main auditorium and through the doors. Standing before me was the massive shadow who we had seen by the burning dumpster! His eyes said it all. I walked up to him and said, “You have Jesus in your life!” You could see in his eyes and face the transformation from a troubled soul to a man of peace because of his Savior who had been welcomed into this man’s life.

Somehow, our little time together on that frosty night led him to search for Jesus and he found Him. His experience reminded me of two great truths. God’s word, will never return to void and if someone searches for Jesus, they will find him.

“My word, which comes from my mouth, is like the rain and snow. It will not come back to me without results. It will accomplish whatever I want and achieve whatever I send it to do.”

Isaiah 55:11

And ye shall seek me, and find me when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:13

Next time, we will look at the walk with Jesus by the two disciples and how it can help us with doubt in our life, but even more importantly, how it can help us on our Jesus journey.

Blessings my friends.

Faith

Real Faith, Fake Faith

December 31, 2019 Eddie 1 Comment

Introduction

Faith is one of those common religious words used by churches and their members. It is not a word typically used by the scientific community or atheists. The experience of faith, however, is a daily experience by everyone regardless of their world view. For an easy understanding of faith, think of the word trust. Trust comes from knowing the words or actions of a person, process, of thing that perform as it has always. They are predictable and true. That will be the basic definition or premise used for this writing. But faith or trust is more dynamic for the believer in Christ. Since there is an enemy of Christ, there is also a misplaced thinking that can create a fake faith in the religious community. Therefore this writing is primarily for the church. It is interesting that Jesus had the most severe warnings for those who were religious than for those who were “sinners.”

True Faith Has Action

For an example of true faith, the story is told of the man who planned to walk a tight-rope across the roaring Niagara Falls. He received a lot of press, interviews, and attention, then the day came for his historic walk. The crowd and newspaper reporters gathered to hear the words of the daring young man. Everyone was surprised when a wheelbarrow was brought up and placed on the wire in front of the man. Then he said, “Who has the faith that I can push this wheelbarrow across this wire to the other side of the Niagara Falls? Everyone was silent except for one person. An old man said, “I have faith you can do it.” The next words tested the faith of the old man, “Ok since you have faith, please get in and I will push you across.” The old man refused to get in and thereby exposed to everyone that his words were just that, only words. But, the young man’s wife said, “I have faith in you” and she carefully placed herself in the cold garden utensil. She had been married to the daring young man for several years and had time to observe and trust in him and his abilities. He had pushed her across a thin wire many times before, but on a smaller scale. Today, she would put her trust in his ability even though the environment was windy, misty, and higher. Her faith had grown in the small things to where she could trust her husband in the big things…because she knew him.

In a similar manner trust in Jesus comes only from an experience with Him in the small things at first. Its source for trust is in the Bible and His words, they bring to life the experience of trust. “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6: 63). The premise of this book is that real faith comes from three sources: God’s word, an experience with Him, and continued building trust. Faith is never stagnant, but it grows or dies with continued use or lack of use. Works (actions) and faith (trust) are not separate experiences that are a result of each other as James explains, “Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” James 2:18

Faith or trust in Jesus is so important that the writer of Hebrews said, “But without faith, it is impossible to please Him…” Hebrews 11:6. Jesus’ rhetorical question indicates there will be a small amount of saving faith when Jesus comes, “…when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8).

Fake Faith-Self Deception

On the other hand, there is a pseudo-faith in the world of religion that is misplaced and deadly. It may even contain good works or deeds, but lack a personal experience with Jesus. One of the most startling passages of scriptures paints a picture of people who offered up their works as evidence of their faith, but it is rejected by the Lord because He didn’t know them:

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you…” (Matthew 7: 21-23).

It is for these reasons I write my first book. Of all the topics I considered, this was by far the one that inspired me the most because it is so dynamic and so important. My desire is your experience with Christ will move to a new level of trust.

One last thing, I came from an atheist philosophy while in college to a full-blown believer in Christ when I was 25 years old. How that happened is part of this book. I am now 70 years old and have experienced Jesus in good times and bad times. The Bible tells us of the importance of personal experience and testimony. The stories of the people of God in the Old Testimony, even their failures, help us in modern society to reach a higher level of faith and hope. They are written so we can learn to grow in faith.

“For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4).

We are told by John our personal experience and testimonies with Jesus can actually overcome Satan.

“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. (Revelation 12:11)

Fake News-Fake Faith

We live at a time where we often hear the phrase “Fake News.” It indicates the reporting of news that is not necessarily true. It also appears in the form of deception using facts purposely neglected or events spun to fit the writer’s desired narrative. In the spiritual realm facts (the basis of faith) can be counterfeited, ignored, or explained in such a way that our understanding of faith becomes worthless, even deadly. Solomon expressed it this way:

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” Proverbs 14:12 NKJV.

Solomon repeated these same words again in Proverbs 16:25. By repetition, he highlighted the extreme danger of putting too much trust in our own thoughts and feelings, especially those created by the manipulation of others who would seek to lead us down a wrong line of thinking either by direct intention to gain something or unintentional. This great wise man of God was subtly telling us, we may think a certain path is the right one, but it doesn’t make it right. Even more, our faulty reasoning and life plans can ultimately lead to destruction. This is why understanding true faith versus false faith is so important in today’s world.

Unfortunately, as erring humans, we often trust our feelings more than rely on objective rational thinking even in the world of faith. True faith, contrary to the opinion of unbelievers, is based on solid logical thinking. Fake faith, like fake news, is based on what we want to hear, so we choose to believe what makes us feel good or fits what we want the truth to be.

For many years we have been taught to “only believe.” But, real faith is not blind nor ruled by emotions. It is based on an understanding of the evidence. If we are going to truly trust something or someone, we must have a reason, a history of confirmed reliability, or unfailing consistency. The journey of experiences leads to trust.

Faith is Based on Evidence

As a little boy, I could fearlessly jump off the high couch into my father’s arms. Though a little shaky and mistrusting at the start, I soon believed in the strong arms of my Dad to always catch me for two simple reasons: 1.) My continued active experience of jumping/catching and 2.) I learned through this play that Dad loved me.

When I began my search for truth and meaning of life at age 25, I was glad to hear Paul say,

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”

Hebrews 11:1.

Substance and evidence are tangible reasons that connect us with the intangibles i.e. hope and things not seen. “Substance” is like the supper my wife makes for me. It is something I can see, smell, and taste. It is not made-up or imaginative. Evidence is similar except it requires the use of reasoning powers given to us by God. I can’t actually see her make the meal if I am not in the kitchen, but I have the evidence that there was rational planning in the delivery of my meal by the empty cartons, cans, and the aromatic smells. I can’t see the flavoring baked into the casserole, but I can see the evidence by the things lying around the kitchen such as salt and pepper shakers and I can taste it with my own tongue (substance). God has provided the meal of life in a similar way. This meal He provides is the substance for a life of faith that can grow over time and become steadfast by the evidence which is easily observable. Understand, I am not necessarily talking about the substance and evidence for creation, but rather the rational reasons to have faith and trust in our Creator that we don’t see.

The most convincing evidence of my Father’s love and a foundation of faith are found in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. But, how can I trust Him and His promises if I have not experienced a jump from low heights and Him catching me? I can’t know the flavors if I have not tasted. The Psalmist invites us to

“…taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” Psalm 34:8.

You see how tasting and trust go together with substance and evidence.

Faith comes not by feelings which are unreliable much of the time, but rather by the tangible ever-present realities around us, both physical and spiritual. Therefore, the elementary basis for faith is found in the facts and reasoning powers God provides in various venues in our lives, especially His word and creation. This will be an objective of this book, to find faith in the pages of God’s word which can be seen and tasted and then transferring this to a practical experience of faith in the One who made us. Faith is dynamic and active it is not a mental exercise of will power. God’s word, from Genesis to Revelation, tells of real people of the past who failed or excelled at faith. Their experiences will teach us to watch out and be cautious of their mistakes or learn how they succeeded at faith. “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” Romans 15:4. See also Hebrews 11.

Source of Real Faith

Real faith has its origin in God’s communication to mankind, primarily through chosen men who were inspired by God to write what they saw and experienced. Peter recognized that

“…holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit,”

2 Peter 1:2.

Luke desired to tell Theophilus what he knew as an observer at the time of Jesus,

“…it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus,” Luke 1:3

These thirty-five or so “holy men” wrote down what they saw and experienced. If we read with a desire to know, we will be blessed with faith from their communications.

“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” Romans 10:17.

Here is the primary origin of faith for all who wish to understand the mysteries of life and the universe. Since the prophets of old were moved by the Spirit of God to write, we are encouraged to read what they wrote, particularly if we seek to know more about God. If we do, our faith will have substance and evidence on which to build our faith in God. Faith in the true God will come when we hear the word of God. It has been said, “Little time in God’s word equals little faith. Much time in God’s word equals much faith.” This is logically true, but we will see there are other Biblical directives, not just reading, to nurture the seedling of faith so that it grows into a faith larger than a mustard seed. Herein is another purpose of this book. It is to get our answers from scripture first on the topic of faith, but then to move into a personal experience that can move the mountains of difficulties we face every day in a sin-sick world with its fake news and fake faith. As we will see, true faith is critical for the searcher of faith and especially for the long-term church member who may think the way they are going is right, but they may be on a road to destruction even as they ride to church every weekend.

God does not discount feelings. In fact, feelings can be a tool in the hand of an omnipotent God. For example, we may feel that something is not right in our lives because there is no peace and no real practical trust in God when times get tough or even in everyday challenges. These feelings can lead to a search for answers, but the feelings should never trump the facts found in the time-tested word of God.

Real Faith and The End

One last thought before we move on. Jesus insinuated by a rhetorical statement that faith would be scarce when He returned,

“when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8).

Over the years, I have seen the power of God’s word to bring light to many people’s eyes and the creation of a new life full of forgiveness, happiness, determination, contentment, hope, and peace. I have seen the cruelest of men changed to loving faithful husbands and fathers. Equally inspiring transformations are those who were once unbelievers, doubters, and even atheists, who took up hearing and reading God’s word. It led to a complete change of mind and way of thinking. I was one of them. My way of thinking and feelings changed on a dare from my Christian wife. As we examine the people in the Hall of Faith (Hebrews 11), we will discover the difference between real faith and fake faith. From there, my prayer is for each reader to experience faith that is real and a glory to our Creator and soon coming King.

[i] *New King James Version is used in this book unless otherwise noted.

Faith

REAL FAITH PART – Failure to Launch

March 22, 2019 Eddie Leave a comment

Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation 1 Peter 2:2 NIV.

Perhaps you saw Failure to Launch, a 2006 American romantic comedy film starring Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker. The film focuses on a 35-year-old man who lives in the home of his parents and shows no interest in leaving the comfortable life his parents, especially his mother, have made for him there. It grossed over $128 million at the box office.

Sadly, the story of sons and daughters staying at home longer is now an official growing phenomenon of our modern society.

PEW Research Center shows some interesting figures regarding this fact:

As of 2016, 15% of 25 to 35-year-old Millennials were living in their parents’ homes. This is five percentage points higher than the share of Generation Xers who lived in their parents’ home in 2000 when they were the same age (10%), and nearly double the share of the Silent Generation who lived at home in 1964 (8%).

The idea of failing to launch or grow up and take on life’s responsibilities is also real in the Christian experience. Often, in scripture, the Christian is encouraged to grow up and progress in their journey with Jesus. The followers of Jesus can get comfortable in their experience…comfortable in their regular pew and programs at church. They can get comfortable in their lives; they don’t want any inconveniences, including progressing in their experience with Christ, because it might crimp their style of living. Their environment and knowledge of Christ are considered sufficient, and “they have need of nothing.” (See Revelation 3:17)

Milk is Not a Long Term Diet for Babies

This morning, my wife and I watched funny baptisms on Facebook. It provided us with a burst of early-morning laughter! The really funny clips were of children who said and did unexpected things while standing in the baptistry. For example, one cute little 4-year-old couldn’t wait for the pastor to finish his pre-baptism speech. All of a sudden, he said, “Let’s do this.” Then he proceeded to baptize himself by holding his nose and dunking under the water! As cute as this was, I am tempted to mention why many ministers/pastors are uncomfortable with the baptism (or sprinkling) of infants or small children before they become aware of its meaning and purpose. At an early age, they have not experienced the burden of sin and guilt, repentance, and walking in the newness of life under the power of the Spirit of God.

The symbol of baptism is one of new beginnings, i.e., death, burial, and resurrection to a new life in Christ.

Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Romans 6:4

Baptism is not another item to check on the list of requirements for salvation. Like all works, baptism is evidence of salvation…a public display of a changed heart…not a method of salvation. We will save that discussion for another time.

The verse today talks about babies in spiritual terms. When we come to Christ, our Jesus Journey has just begun, and we are directed to “grow up in your salvation.” Like a hungry baby, we should desire pure spiritual milk. It is this milk of God’s word that is the elementary beginnings of the Christian walk. It is the simple teachings that start us on our Jesus Journey. If the baby stays on milk alone, eventually, growth will be stunted, and they will fail to launch.

The Lord made the requirements for salvation so simple that even a child can understand it. It is milk. But we are to “move on” in our Christian experience.

Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection. Hebrews 6:1

Failure to Grow Will Result in Death or, at the least, Stunted Mediocracy.

Our experience and understanding of God’s deep word should accelerate growth and prepare us for employment in the work of God and handling the tough things of life. Failure to grow results can be the death of the Christian experience. The analogy of a baby and its milk can be compared to the soil of Jesus parable (See Matthew 13: 18-23), where growth stops due to the challenges of the world and the stunted person produces nothing. But, the person who grows in God and His word produces fruit in their life and the lives of others.

When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” Matthew 13: 19-23

Notice that all (but one) of the “hearers of the word of the kingdom”, failed to launch or grow up into a stable-rooted citizen of God’s kingdom. Their experience died or was stunted without “growing up into salvation” and “bearing fruit.” Don’t miss the importance of the words of Jesus! He is warning us about what stunts the growth of a Christian. Here is a list of their problems and counsel:

Hearer #1 is not pursuing understanding. An enemy snatches it away. Satan can work through people to argue away what they have learned. Counsel: Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed .2 Timothy 2:15 …always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear 1 Peter 3:15. Become a student of the Bible. Keep notes and evidence of what you learn.

Hearer #2 receives it with joy! This person lives off emotional song services and emotional sermons. Spiritual life is only about weekly service and their own religion. They have no roots and stumble. Counsel: “Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to heaviness.” Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up. James 4: 9-10 Learn and embrace the other emotions of the Bible, such as being humble and caring. Study and practice God’s word to build up roots. When trouble comes your way, fall at the feet of Jesus and give Him a chance to resolve things. Operate on faith and not feelings. Become a servant to others! Find your joy in community service.

Hearer #3 simply hears the word, but there is no evidence of faith. They hear God’s promises but don’t have faith to believe. They focus on the problems of his life rather than the Problem Solver. Counsel: Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. Matthew 11: 29 and do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matthew 6:34. Take a few promises, understand their conditions (if any), and put your full weight upon them. More word of God equals more faith.

Hearer #4 hears, understands, grows, produces. These people are doers of the word…not just hearers. They trust God and His word alone. Their relationship is with God and not just with the church. This person can defend their faith. They put themselves where they can be blessed and useful. They understand their gifts and uses them to produce fruit in their own life and the lives of others. God’s word is supreme over all things in this follower’s life.

Let God Do His Perfect Work in You

Paul scolded the Hebrew believers for not growing up, not eating stronger food, and not going on to become mature in the Lord for service to others.

“…By this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!” Hebrews 5:12

Let us never think we can reach a certain point in our walk with God and remain as a baby dependent on simple milk. We should never assume we have received all the truth we could possibly receive and there is nothing more to learn or do. We should constantly be learning, walking, and working for the Lord so that we might be useful and strong citizens of the kingdom of God.

If we humbly allow God to work in our lives by placing ourselves each day, where he can bless our experience, we will grow, and God will do His perfect work in us:

The Lord will perfect that which concerns me;
Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands. Psalm 138: 8

But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. James 1:4

being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6

The Christian Experience must be progressive and not stagnant. The follower of Jesus must put forth an effort (under the Lord’s guidance and power) and not become spiritually lazy. Every day is a new day to learn something more about God and His ways. No plans or thoughts should be made unless first seeking the Lord.

While we are not to remain babies in our walk with God, we are to become like little children in trust in Him. As we learn how to trust in Him, we will grow up in our salvation and take on the qualities that both please Him and make us productive for the kingdom of God.

“….for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.

Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things, you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 1: 5-11

“Consecrate yourself to God in the morning; make this your very first work. Let your prayer be, “Take me, O Lord, as wholly Thine. I lay all my plans at Thy feet. Use me today in Thy service. Abide with me, and let all my work be wrought in Thee.” This is a daily matter. Each morning, consecrate yourself to God for that day. Surrender all your plans to Him, to be carried out or given up as His providence shall indicate. Thus, day by day, you may be giving your life into the hands of God, and thus, your life will be molded more and more after the life of Christ.”

” Steps to Christ, p. 70

Faith, Reasons to Believe

Real Faith Part 2-What is the New Testament Church?

March 7, 2019 Eddie Leave a comment

There are Christian jargons, we often use, which sound good to many church members but are confusing to non-religious folks. These religious catch-phrases can sometimes imply something confusing and misleading. The phrase “New Testament Church” is one of those. What does it mean?

Bible.org provides 5 characteristics of a New Testament Church. The very first characteristic is, ” A New Testament church is a church which derives its doctrine from the New Testament.” Is this true? New Testament Church sounds right, but a closer look at the Bible teaching on the church reveals where the doctrines of the church originated.

The church foundation of Jesus is a radical change from the Israelite system of worship and mission. The church of the New Testament was raised up by the Apostles and disciples under the guidance of the Holy Spirit after Jesus’ ascension to the Father and the Spirit descending on the day of Pentecost. In today’s language, they were “Church Planters.” To say this church-planting program was successful is an understatement! But, there has been division about doctrine and teachings throughout the centuries.

The 13 inspired writers of the New Testament wrote about their experience with Jesus and provided direction and instruction for the creation and administration of the new church plants (As found primarily in the book of Acts and the writings of Paul). The question we want to clarify is this: Was the doctrine of the “New Testament churches” different than the writers of the Old Testament as expressed by Bible.org? Did the Apostles direct that the Old Testament teachings (doctrines) be ignored in favor of the new teachings? As we will see, the answer to this question is No. However, there were some elements of the Old Testament services that have little application since the cross but are valuable to study because of their significance to the original people of God. But, be careful, there many who confuse this premise and may throw out the baby with the bath water!

Doctrine and the Church

When Paul wrote a letter to Timothy, he encouraged his young protege to follow the Holy Scripture he had known since he was a child:

“..and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 3:15

Young Timothy was raised up from childhood on the writings of the Tanakh, which is the Old Testament. Timothy did not have a New Testament pocket Bible, but rather the writings of Moses, the major and minor Prophets, and the Psalms. The entire Old Testament can be grouped under one of these headings. All of these were able, according to Paul to make Timothy and any reader “wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”So, Timothy could be wise from the Tanakh about salvation and Jesus Christ. Many would consider this primarily a New Testament teaching, but make no mistake, it is found throughout scripture.

Paul then tells Timothy that these scriptures of the Tanakh were good for teaching including doctrine:

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16

Don’t miss this! The reference Paul makes to “All Scripture” refers to what we Gentile Christians call the Old Testament! Timothy, as did Paul, got their doctrine from the Old Testament! In fact, The New Testament church members got their doctrine from the Old Testament, but connected Jesus with it as the Apostles began to preach about Jesus! Many who ignore the teachings of the Old Testament create a handicap in their experience because those divenly inspired books teach about Jesus, righteousness, and salvation from the start in Genesis all the way to Malachi. It is the basis for the beliefs of the New Testament writers and followers of Jesus.

All the writers of the New Testament taught from the Tanakh or the Old Testament. Why? Because the New Testament writings would not be written and canonized for many years after Jesus ascended to God the Father. The earliest texts were written sometime after 50 AD, some 20 years after the cross and the beginning of the original church plantings. The oldest New Testament letters came from Paul’s epistles including the two letters to young Timothy. The New Testament with its 27 books was not brought together and canonized until decades later, after the new churches were up and running. The earliest estimate is around 120 AD. Almost 100 years after the resurrection of Jesus!

When Jesus taught His disciples, he used the Tanakh only. That was all that was available. His explanation about His ministry and prophecies about Him are found in the Tanakh. It was the words of these books Jesus used to open the eyes of the disappointed and fearful disciples walking away from Jerusalem and the horrible scenes of the crucifixion to Emmaus and those who stayed behind cowered behind locked doors prior to His appearing to them. Look closely at this amazing story found in the book of Luke 24. Here are a few highlights:

Jesus and the two disciples leaving Jerusalem and the site of the crucifixion:

And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. Luke 24:27

Jesus and the many disciples hiding in the room fearful for their lives on the First Day of the week:

Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for FEAR of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. John 20:19

The disciples were not assembled to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, they were together afraid they would be killed by the Jews or the Romans. At this point, they didn’t believe Jesus was resurrected, It would take Thomas eight days after the following event to convince him that Jesus was alive.

” Then He said to them (the disciples in the locked room), “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Luke 24: 44-45

Jesus and Doubting Thomas:

And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. John 20: 26-28

Jesus referred His disciples to the Tanakh about the prophecies and elements of faith in Him i.e. His life, death, resurrection, His ministry in the heavenly sanctuary as well as His ascension, judgment, and His 2nd coming. All of this is in the books of the Old Testament. Often Christians ignore these books in favor of the easier to read and understand New Testament! But, the basis for belief and faith is found in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. As Paul told Timothy, the scripture (Tanakh) is good and profitable for righteousness to make us complete in God and equipped to do the will of God.

To ignore the words of the Tanakh is to restrict the Christian experience. It is like trying to build a house on 1/3 of the instructions!

New Testament and Old Testament -The Two Witnesses

Please do not be confused. All of th discussion thus far is not to minimize or say that the New Testament is less than the teachings of the Old Testament. On the contrary! Both were inspired by the Holy Spirit. The New Testament writers wrote what they saw and what they learned through Jesus. As we have seen, Jesus threw light on the writing on the Tanakh to reveal himself and to claify things made confusing by the religious leaders of that day. He also gave them the Holy Spirit to write about their experience with Jesus. In fact, Peter referred to Paul’s writing as Scripture:

… as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures. 2 Peter 3: 15-16

Untaught and unstable people will make general statements about the Old Testament and the New Testament such as:

“Oh, the Old Testament has been done away with. I only go by the New Testament.” OR

“The law of God (10 commandments) were nailed to the cross. We don’t go by them anymore. We live by faith.”

To further confuse things, verses like the following will be used as evidence that the Tanakh is null and void:

For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. Hebrews 9:16

Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. 2 Corinthians 3:6

There was a change after Jesus came, but it was not an elimination of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms. They all are made clearer under Jesus. There is a prophecy in the Old Testament regarding the Messiah or the Lord’s Servant which states Jesus will magnify (expound or make larger and clearer) the law.

…he will magnify the law, and make it honourable. Isaiah 42:21

Jesus did this very thing…clarifying, but also adding honor to the law. These clarifications cut across the traditions and authority of the religious leaders of the day and have the same effect today. For example regarding the 10 commandments, He enlarged the law so we could see it better when He said,

“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

The religious leaders and the people now saw clearer the spirit of the law i.e. a sinful heart that desires to commit adultery. But this does not make the actual act permissible. The breaking of this law literally begins with a sinful heart. The spiritual application does not eliminate the literal application. If it did, our spouses would have a hard time dealing with our breaking of the literal law. Wouldn’t you agree?

To try to obtain righteousness and salvation by the letter of the law is destined for failure, but a changed heart that obeys God from within will also obey the letter…not for salvation purposes, but because it is the fruit of salvation.

Jesus was quick to tell His disciples that He did not come to destroy the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill. Some would say that fulfill means He kept the 10 commandments and we don’t have to any more. How absurd is this! We can now lie, cheat, and steal because Jesus “fulfilled” the Law?! Listen closely to the words of Jesus Himself.

“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 told us we are not even to think He came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. Both of these he fulfilled in doing the law and being the fulfillment of the prophecies! He emphasizes that not even the smallest stroke of the pen in the law will change until heaven and earth passes away which is the final fulfillment of prophecies found in both the Old and New Testaments. The heavens and earth have not passed away yet, so I would say, the law is still valid. Christ does not minimize the law rather He minimizes those who don’t teach and do them!

Now comes the big ending. Our righteousness has to exceed the scribes and Pharisees who often bragged about the meticulous keeping of the law! If we fail here, we will not enter the kingdom of heaven! So I would say the law of God as contained in the 10 Commandments is very important. But keep in mind, the only righteousness we can obtain is found in Christ alone, not by works or even an attempt to keep the law with a sinful heart. The righteousness that exceeds the scribes and Pharisees is Christ working in us to will and do His good pleasure from a renewed and sincere heart.

for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Philippians 2:13

Righteousness does not exclude obedience. The topic of righteousness by faith we will explore at another time, but the main idea is that without Jesus we can do nothing, including obedience to His law, but through Him we can do everything.

What Ended at the Cross?

Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. Galatians 3: 24,25

The laws in the Bible are grouped as Sacrificial, Ceremonial, Moral, Health laws, and sometimes all of the writings of the Old Testament. So, what was ended at the cross that we don’t have to follow? It was not the moral law! But it was the sacrificial laws and ceremonies!

Why would the moral law end? Is it still not a sin to lie cheat, steal, kill, covet, have other gods, etc? Of course, the definition of sin has never changed, “Sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3:4

The laws regarding diet were meant to keep the Israelites healthy. Why would they end? They had no religious meaning. They were never given as a requirement for salvation, but to rather what the great Creator knew would make them healthy. If they followed God’s command, He promised to keep them free from diseases:

I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. Exodus 15:6

Do not confuse the unclean foods from foods that were actually unclean. Food sacrificed to idols was considered unclean, but were not necessarily unclean animals. Paul stated he had no problem eating foods sacrificed to idols, but he respected those who wished not to do so and would not weaken someone’s faith because of what He ate.

Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world and that there is no other God but one… However, there is not in everyone that knowledge; for some, with consciousness of the idol, until now eat it as a thing offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled…
Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble. ” 1 Corinthians 8: 4, 7, 13

Peter never ate unclean meat even when he was told in a vision three times to eat them. He understood later that the purpose of the vision was to show that the Gentiles were not to be considered unclean

But Peter said, “Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean…
But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean Acts 10: 14,28

My digestive system and body is no different from those who received these health laws. I can benefit from abstaining from unclean food just as did the disciples. Science has caught up with God’s word. These unclean foods as described in Leviticus are not healthy to eat.

The optimal diet is found in the garden of Eden before sin entered into the world. It is a plant-based diet. Since there will be no death in heave and the new heaven and the new earth that the Lord will make, animals will not be slaughtered for food. Our diet will return to a plant based diet.

Nailed to the Cross

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

No doubt, something was “nailed to the cross” and “taken out of the way.” Is it the 10 commandments? Is it the health laws meant to keep Israel and any other person from the diseases? Was it all of the Old Testament?

There are two key words that tell us what was nailed to the cross: 1.) handwriting 2.) ordinances. These ordinances written by Moses’ own hand were against us and contrary to us. What was against us and contrary to us? How could the moral law, written by the finger of God, to document in stone how we are to relate to God and our neighbor be against us? The context of this chapter has to do with legalism and circumcision and the dreadful duty of sacrifices. Doing these things were contrary to our nature and burdens to the good news of Jesus’ sacrifice. They would be difficult to maintain with the conversion of the Gentiles and the spreading of the gospel.

Image result for images of comparison of ceremonial sabbaths

These ordinances (ceremonial and sacrificial laws) had their purpose. God initiated them for the nation of Israel as a “School Master” to teach them about Jesus and His coming sacrifice for our sins. But the blood of bulls and goats and lambs did not save anyone. Each participant in the daily sacrifices looked forward, by faith, to the atoning sacrifice of Jesus. Just as today, we look backward in faith to the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for salvation. The cross is the central meeting point for both systems of worship and teaching.

This chart will help demonstrate the difference between God’s 10 commandments and the ordinances that were against us.

Image result for images of comparison of law of god and ordinances

“Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.” Galatians 3: 24-25

The ceremonial laws taught about the plan of salvation in Christ and were the shadows that pointed forward to the Cross.

Let no man, therefore, judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holiday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” Colossians 2: 16, 17

There were meat and drink offerings under the sacrificial system and special days for them to celebrate that were “shadows” Their substance was found in the “body of Christ” There were special celebration Sabbaths that had nothing to do with the weekly Sabbath. These Sabbaths were sometimes counted from days different than the first day of the week.

The Sabbath of the 10 Commandments was from the beginning and was not a shadow like the feast days and sacrifices. It is a commandment for all mankind initiated on the 7th day of Creation. It was a day to remember because of God’s creative and redemptive powers. He is Lord of the Sabbath which makes it the Lord’s day.

So, the sacrificial and ceremonial laws were nailed to the cross. We no longer need to sacrifice lambs in faith because it was only a shadow and figure of the true Lamb of God. When Jesus died on the Cross, type (sacrificial law) had met Antitype (Jesus). The system of priests, sacrifices, and feast days all ended. They were blotted out as demonstrated by what happened in the temple on the day Jesus died:

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom Matthew 27: 50, 51

This large veil in the temple split open and the Most Holy place, allowed to be seen by a priest once a year, was now open for all to see signifying that we had direct access to the throne room of God through Jesus.

Let us, therefore, come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16

Image result for images of the veil being torn in two

Those services performed by earthly priests every day were but a shadow of the heavenly sanctuary and its services that are conducted now by Jesus as our one and only high priest.

For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law; who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. Hebrews 8: 4-5

The New Testament Church

There have never been two methods of salvation i.e. works VS Grace. God’s people from the Old Testament days knew of grace and faith as well as the people of God in New Testament. Both are saved by faith through the blood of Jesus alone and not by any amount of works. Good works originate from God and are evidence of salvation and a new birth experience not as a method of salvation.

For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. Hebrew 10: 4

To imply the Old Covenant was a method of salvation of works and the New Testament is by Grace alone shows a lack of knowledge of the plan of salvation. Man sinned. Death passed upon all men for all have sinned and have an ancestry of sinners. Jesus paid for the penalty of sins (eternal death) and He will resurrect them to eternal life when He returns. Man is saved by Grace alone through faith and not of works. It has always been that way. But our works or obedience demonstrates real faith.

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. Ephesians 2: 8-9

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. James 2: 18

The New Testament Church, therefore, includes the teachings of the Old Testament, but the ceremonial laws and sacrificial laws ended at the cross of Jesus. They met their significance in the body of Jesus. But the prophecies and the moral laws continue today. Pick any of the 10 commandments. It was a sin back then to break it and it is a sin today.

Want to be healthy? Follow the health laws God gave to the children of Israel.

The New Testament Church received its instructions from Jesus and the Holy Spirit for organization, leadership, and the work of taking the good news of Jesus to the world. This is found in Acts and the letters of the Apostles to the growing Christian churches. However, It is supported by the willing giving of tithes (10%) and free-will offerings (An Old Testament teaching).

The moral law uplifts the principals of love to God and to our neighbors as demonstrated by the 10 commandments. These laws are divided into two tables and written by the finger of God. Each commandment lines up under one of the two loves: Love to God and Love to our neighbor.

“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it:‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Mathew 22: 27-30

The New Testament Church upholds the entire word of God knowing that the gospel is not limited to only 27 letters.

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 2 Timothy 3:16

The sacrifices and ceremonies of the Old Testament were taken out of the way by the death of Jesus. He replaced them with only two ceremonies: Baptism and the Ordinance of Humility (The washing of feet and followed by the Lord’s Supper.

Conclusion:

The church after the death, resurrection, and ascension is built on the rock of Jesus who is revealed throughout the Old Testament. The administration and structure are clearly described in the New Testament. The church’s members and workers include not just Jews, but everyone else without the respect of persons if they are “in Christ.

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. Galatians 3:28

Without a doubt, God’s marching orders are communicated through 27 letters of the New Testament to church members and leaders. But, its teachings and clarifications are founded on Jesus’s teachings who never once indicated that the Old Testament writers (also inspired by God) were to be ignored. On the contrary, the Tanakh is considered “Scripture” providing the backbone and depth of understanding to the New Testament church. its teachings provide a deeper understanding of Jesus, and the things yet to come…

The phrase, New Testament church can be misleading. The more Biblical pronouncement should be: “We are all members of the body of Christ.” “We base our doctrine on All Scripture.”

so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Romans 12:5

Faith

Real Faith-A Missing Experience- Part 1

February 7, 2019 Eddie Leave a comment

“…without faith it is impossible to please Him. Hebrews 11:6

The objective of these studies:

What can be done in our own experience to “increase our faith”? Jesus said,

“Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. Matthew 17:20

If this is possible, why do we fall apart at the least sign of trouble? There is something missing in our experience if our faith is thinner than tissue paper.

What are we missing when we raise our children in the church, but they easily forsake their “faith” after high school?

Recently, I read the story of a young man (Luke) who was raised in the church and attended church schools; his father a pastor and mother a volunteer missionary. But, through a series of events and random thoughts, he turned to atheism fueled by reading material of unbelievers. In his own words:

“I went to church, Bible study, and other church functions every week. I prayed often and earnestly. For 12 years I attended a Christian school that taught Bible classes and creation science. I played in worship bands. As a teenager I made trips to China and England to tell the atheists over there about Jesus.”

His downfall began (as does many youth) around college age. He wrote on his little-visited blog the following:

“*Around age 19 I got depressed, probably because I did nothing but work at Wal-Mart, download music, and watch internet porn. But one day I saw a leaf twirling in the wind and it was so beautiful – like the twirling plastic bag in the movie American Beauty. I had an epiphany. I realized that everything in nature was a gift from God to me. Grass, lakes, trees, sunsets – all these were gifts of beauty from my Savior to me. I thought of this every time I [saw something beautiful, and God delivered me from my depression (and my porn addiction).”

While this sounds like a very good epiphany (i.e. the contemplation of God’s goodness and creation can deliver someone from depression), it would not stick for Luke. He goes on to talk about his doubt and dislike of “church structure” and “petty doctrinal disputes.” Soon, he was reading books to discover the historical Jesus and picked up books that brought confusion and lies. He was “shocked” by these “Christian Scholars.” For example, the author of these books reported “The gospels were written decades after Jesus’ death, by non-eyewitnesses.” Of course the gospels were written “decades after Jesus’ death.” They were busy taking the “gospel to the world.” But, how are the “Christian Scholars’” claims verified against the gospel writers’ assurance, that they were eyewitness of Jesus:

“For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” 1 Peter 1:16

“Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us,” Luke 1:1,2

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—“ 1 John 1:1

Despite Luke’s upbringing, he had some things going against him. One is taking the word of others without investigation and use of common sense. Based on Luke’s experience and others, there are some elements in the failure of faith.

Enemies of Faith:

Situations or condition of the life:

Depression.
Need for constant entertainment or being busy.
Sexual pressure and fantasies about doing anything your flesh and imagination desires.
Peer Pressure.
Not desiring or asking for faith.
Disasters and death.

Social and Dogmatic Religion:

A religious faith based on feelings alone.
Minimal knowledge of the Bible and experience to defend one’s faith in Jesus.
Confusion created by unbelievers.
Indulgent reading of non-believer writings. This puts the reader on the enemy’s ground similar to Eve wandering into the area God had forbidden. They become easy targets. it is in the “higher learning” environments which become a breeding ground for confusion on spiritual matters. University can talk religion with negative terms, but positive terms and evidence are not allowed in a majority of cases.
Relying on the faith of parents/relatives and pastoral teachings, but failing to grow in personal experience.
Denominationalism.
Human reasoning.
Inconsistencies and hypocrisies of Christians

Drop Out Kids

Christianity Today ( How Many Are Really Dropping Out?) reports:

“Church attendance among teens and young adults follows some important patterns. There are always some coming and some going. Yet something significant happens between the ages of 17 and 19 that accounts for the vast majority of those who leave. At age 17, the twice-monthly attendance of our study sample drops as follows”:

16–17, drop 10%
17–18, drop 14%
18–19, drop 13%

“Between 17 and 19 is where the drop takes place. Our study was of those who attended regularly for at least a year in high school—so our sample is not representative of all teens and young adults, but clearly something is happening in that age range.”

A Similar Personal Experience:

I have also, like many others, had similar experiences as a young person. After good influences through high school, but a minimal religious experience, I turned to atheism in college encouraged by one particular middle-eastern professor who proudly proclaimed that religion was a man-made experience. This is an easy claim to make without any proof. It didn’t take much to turn me to atheism with all the so-called scientific claims about origins and the unpopularity of Christians on campus. Anyway, I wanted to live it up without any moral restrictions.

If you take out an intelligent Creator, you are left to the random chance of evolution. The thought or your origins and ancestors being lower life forms leave little meaning and purpose to life. Your self-value is reduced to a parasite passing through the eons of time to awake in life and die shortly thereafter. Life had little meaning to me as an atheist and evolutionist.

Then at age 25, my Christian wife dared me to study the Bible to prove her wrong. For almost 3 months, I studied intently the claims of the Bible writers, particularly about Jesus. I was surprised at what I found. My own private studies blew up my pre-conceived ideas about Jesus and the inspired writers of the old and new testaments. Soon I followed the urging of the writers to allow Jesus to come into my life. I discovered faith (trust) in God’s word by simply reading it. Soon, I was coming to my wife to proclaim my conversion and was baptized. I immediately began the work of an evangelist through prison ministry, radio ministry, writing, teaching and expounding to anyone who had an ear to hear. Later, I will tell you the story about my failure-of-faith experience and how God brought me back to where I am today. This experience taught me about real faith and attacks that can occur to weaken faith.

Luke went from “believer” to “unbeliever.” I, like many others, did the opposite i.e. unbeliever to believer. But the believing experience followed by faith is almost impossible without the word of God and the good news contained in the plan of salvation.

“…faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” Romans 10:17

This faith journey is challenged from every angle.

Jesus told a parable to a vast multitude, which was explained to his disciples about how people react to God’s word. In the story of the seeds and where they fell (See Luke 8: 5-15), Jesus tells the story of what happens to faith that does not sprout and the one that produces an abundance of fruit. This parable provides insight to the enemies of faith. This we will study later. For now, we need a clear understanding of the word faith.

What is Faith:

Faith is the core of Christian experience and also of the human experience whether you believe in the Bible or Jesus at all. Faith is exercised by every person every day.

The word faith is used 391 times in both the old and new testaments (NKJV). The bible writers had 6 words for faith (3 in Hebrew and 3 Greek). In modern life, the definition of faith in the English language has two internet definitions:

Complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
Strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.

Merriam-Webster ads a typical understanding of how we use faith in the terms of religion:

Something that is believed especially with strong conviction: a system of religious beliefs

The idea that faith requires “spiritual apprehension rather than proof” is what people often term “blind faith.” But the Bible writers taught, for the most part, a faith that is precisely the opposite of blind faith. The writer of Hebrews defines faith as something that has substance and evidence.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1

Hebrews 11 goes on to describe those who exercised faith. All of them are based on “substance and evidence.” What are the “things not seen”? This we will review later. As we study, we will see that the better definition for Christians is #1 above: “Complete trust or confidence in someone or something.” I would add that this trust is based on evidence, experience, and something you can observe.”

Faith is something every human being that has ever lived (including atheists) has used…whether on a human or spiritual level. Everyone has put their trust in something and served it. Like that great prophet Bob Dylan wrote:

You may be a preacher with your spiritual pride
You may be a city councilman taking bribes on the side
You may be workin’ in a barbershop, you may know how to cut hair
You may be somebody’s mistress, may be somebody’s heir

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes
You’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.

Songwriters: Bob Dylan

[i] Commonsenseatheism.com

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353 Prophecies Fulfilled in Jesus Christ!

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Introduction

True Faith Has Action

Fake Faith-Self Deception

Faith is Based on Evidence

Source of Real Faith

Real Faith and The End

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Milk is Not a Long Term Diet for Babies

Failure to Grow Will Result in Death or, at the least, Stunted Mediocracy.

Let God Do His Perfect Work in You

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Doctrine and the Church

Jesus and the two disciples leaving Jerusalem and the site of the crucifixion:

Jesus and the many disciples hiding in the room fearful for their lives on the First Day of the week:

Jesus and Doubting Thomas:

New Testament and Old Testament -The Two Witnesses

What Ended at the Cross?

Nailed to the Cross

The New Testament Church

Conclusion:

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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