Salt & Light Blog

1 Thessalonians 2 Evangelism: a Way of Life

7/1/2016

I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less? 2 Corinthians 12:15

1 Thessalonians 2
Sharing Christ with people is more than telling someone a preplanned or memorized speech. Although if you do even that, I commend you for your effort to share the Gospel. We share Christ with people by the way we live our lives, offer ourselves, and love people. It is important that we understand the Gospel, are able to present it and defend it, but it is more important that we are able to live it.
When Paul went to Thessalonica, he did more than enter the city square and give a spiel. He showed up and represented Jesus Christ. This chapter describes how he did that and offers us guidance in sharing Jesus with whomever the Lord puts in our path. Verses 1-2 describe how Paul and Silas came to Thessalonica.
For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. 2 But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.

The Lord had ordained them to go to the city, they knew that it was not going to be fruitless. They went with a purpose, to share God’s Word. Paul live his life with that purpose. And that is never futile, even when we don’t see the results. Isaiah 55:10-11 says it like this,
For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
    and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
    giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
    it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
    and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

It was not an easy task either. Paul said they had been shamefully treated at Philippi and went to Thessalonica anyway and didn’t have it any easier there. Paul and Silas had been thrown in jail in Philippi. Even through all the trouble there, people including Lydia and their prison guard had accepted Christ (Acts 16). In Thessalonica, many people were converted but the Jewish people became outraged and threated Paul and Silas’ life to the point where they had to be sent out of the city in the middle of the night to save their lives and the lives of the believers (Acts 17:1-10). But that conflict made the sincerity and zeal for the Gospel of Christ that much more apparent. Nothing would deter Paul from getting the truth to the lost.
Nothing has to deter us from sharing Jesus with anyone. What excuses do we use? It might be uncomfortable? The person may not want to hear it? They or we are busy? Jesus laid down His life in agony so you could be saved. Paul and every other apostle suffered prison and torture so people could be saved. All the apostles except for John were martyred in horrific fashion for the sake of the Gospel. Do you think maybe you and I can handle a person thinking we’re stupid or annoying in order to give them a chance to know the hope of Jesus and the love of their Father?
Verses 3-6 read,
For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, 4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. 5 For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. 6 Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ.

Paul and Silas didn’t share the Gospel for their own glory. They didn’t do it so they would look good. Paul wasn’t saying to himself, “I want to be known as the greatest Christian of all time.” It is likely that Paul never even knew the great impact he had on Christianity. He certainly wasn’t being rewarded or made rich from his efforts.
I’ve seen so many people who have ministries and I wonder if they are doing that work to glorify the Lord or themselves. Although, God will use them for His purposes and doubtlessly there are people saved and helped through them, it seems to me that because they have become about themselves instead of Jesus. For some people ministry becomes about how great they are not about how great God is. If I can see that, I think that the deceived of the world see it too and they are not interested in hearing from a person who wants to glorify himself.
I picture a scene from Evita in which Eva Perón is building orphanages and giving charity to the needy of Argentina but it is all in her name, for her fame, and the sake of husband Juan Perón. The people receiving that charity were made to feel humiliated in order for Eva Perón to feel exalted. When we put ourselves in Jesus’ place of honor instead of exhibiting His humility we are not presenting the true Christ.
Presenting the Gospel is at its heart presenting Jesus. We should be the image of Christ to those around us. That means we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit and expressing Him in His fruit and the picture of love read about in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.
The fruit of the Spirit is described in Galatians 5:22-23,
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

And the portrayal of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a reads,
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends.

Verses 7-8 describe what this meant to Paul,
But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.
Paul and Silas did more than preach and speak. They lived among the people, they formed a relationship with them. They shared themselves. They earnestly loved them. As they lived, they exemplified Christ. They didn’t behave in the flesh, they lived in the Spirit. Verses 9-12 read,
For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. 10 You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. 11 For you know how, like a father with his children, 12 we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
There was no asking people to stop living one way, while they lived another. They lived in a way that no one could charge them with wrong. There was no way someone could accuse them of wanting money, lying, stealing, slothfulness, greedy, or immoral. They lived out the fruit of the Spirit and love and in that way they could exhort and encourage the new believers to walk in Christ.
Paul practiced what he preached. That is how and why the Thessalonians who accepted Christ could accept Him. They could believe the Gospel because they saw it being lived out. They could grow in Christ even when they had to send Paul and Silas to Berea because they could look at the churches around them and follow their example. They could see the difference between a Spirit-filled follower of Christ and the Pharisees of Judaism who hated Jesus. Verses 13-16 read,
And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. 14 For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind16 by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last!

Paul didn’t simply make sure they were saved and abandon them. He kept tabs on them, he sent Timothy to check on them and he wrote them letters. He planned to come see them again. He maintained a relationship with them to ensure they were staying on the path of truth and not falling for the lies that would certainly be coming their way. Verses 17-20 read,

But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, 18 because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us. 19 For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? 20 For you are our glory and joy.

Love is why we share Christ. Jesus’ glory and the glory of the kingdom of God is why we share the Gospel. The hope of eternity is why we follow Jesus and invite as many who will follow with us.

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1 Thessalonians 1 Genuine Encouragement Has Tangible Effects

6/30/2016

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But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Hebrews 3:13

1 Thessalonians 1
Today, we will begin reading 1 Thessalonians. Paul wrote this letter to the church in Thessalonica in Macedonia to encourage and exhort them after hearing Timothy’s report of the church from his visit (Acts 18:5). Verse 1 reads,
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace.

The letter was from Paul, Silvanus (Silas) and Timothy, who at the writing of this letter had been working with Paul about a year or so. Paul addresses the church and reminds them they are the church in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
We are supposed to remind each other who we are. We are the church, we are not the world. We are only the church because the Lord has saved us and made us the church. Paul also told the church he prayed for them. Verses 2-3 read,
We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

As the church we should be praying for one another and we should encourage each other by that. Paul told them he prayed for them and was thankful to God for them. He could see the work of God active in their lives. He could see the evidence of their faith, the work of their love and the persistence of their hope. Those evidences are tangible. Do people know about your faith, love, and hope because it is apparent in the way you live your life and affect the kingdom or do they know about it because you tell them? Saying I love you is very different from actually loving. Saying you have faith is not the same as exercising that faith. James described it this way in James 2:15-17,
If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

As Paul taught this church, he gave them the positive reinforcements they needed to know they were on the right track. So we as a united church ought to do for one another. If we follow Paul’s example we can let each other know, “I’m praying for you, brother. Your hard work is not going unnoticed. I am inspired by your faith.” What does it mean for you, when you hear encouragement like that? Imagine what genuine assurance does for others as well.
We are the church, not by accident, not by chance but by the will of God. Verses 4-7 read,
For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.

Do you know how special it is to be among God’s chosen? Believer, we are not among the world any longer. We heard the Gospel, we believed it, and we accepted it. We are not like the world or in the world, we are in the church and so we should look and behave like Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. Those who are more mature should be training the less mature. We should be supporting one another in our walk in Christ.
As we live that way together making disciples of each other, we grow and the word spreads. People outside the local church take note and we encourage more believers. The word also spreads to others. The world takes note, they see the Gospel lived out, they hear it and they have a chance to accept God’s election on their lives and believe. Verses 8-10 read,
For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything.9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

Genuine love, faith, and hope lived out among us has an impact. When we palpably and substantially love each other, when we care enough to encourage and exhort one another it doesn’t stay within our little groups, it spreads exponentially.
Jesus is returning one day. I believe it is going to be soon. But regardless how little or much time there is, there are too many people who have not heard the Father’s call, known the love of Jesus or seen the work of the Holy Spirit. We can change that by intentionally and sincerely living out our faith, love, and hope.

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2 Peter 2 False Teachers and Prophets Hiding in Plain Sight

5/29/2016

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Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

2 Peter 2
There are two kinds of unsaved people. The first are those who do not know the truth, who are living oblivious to who God is and what Jesus has done for them. They may have heard Jesus’ name but they don’t know much more about Him. They are lost. My heart goes out to them and my prayers go up for them.
Then there are those who know who God is, who know what Jesus did and yet reject Him or worse yet use His name to gain profit and a name for themselves. They lead people away from the Truth, the Way, and the Life of Jesus. These are the people we are warned about so often throughout the Bible, the false teachers and false prophets who speak their own message rather than God’s. They are the vipers and hypocrites who speak one way and live another. We have to be wary of them and we have to protect our brothers and sisters from them. Today’s devotional helps us to recognize those who may be masquerading as fellow believers among us.
I warn you, not to read these scriptures with an attitude of smugness at how you are not like the people described in these verses. Read them with reflection, humility, and love. Read them and be accountable to the warnings. Verses 1-3 read,
But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.
Peter calls what the false prophets and teachers speak destructive heresies. A heresy is a false doctrine, something which opposes the Gospel. They bring these teachings in on the sly. They are often made to sound pretty and can be convincing. They take scripture out of context to make the less certain among us think what they say is true. What are some heresies abounding today? False teachings about earning salvation, doctrines that say Jesus is not God but only a prophet, and philosophies which say that Christians do not change and we can live in sin just as we did before we were saved. If someone is teaching anything other than Jesus Christ lived, died, and resurrected as the only way to salvation, they are one of the false teachers or false prophets Peter is warning us about.
Verse 3 reads,
And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
What does that mean? It means that though they claim to be saved, they are not. The wrath of God awaits the false teachers and it awaits the people who follow them. Believers died to sin and its consequences but false teachers and their disciples are not believers, they are following lies and the father of lies, Satan. The false teachers definitely think highly of themselves. They’ve elevated themselves before people instead of proclaiming Christ. They’ve taken all the acclaim for themselves and left The Lord out of the equation. They really think they’re good. They think that God’s wrath is not for them, that Judgement Day is just a scary story, or that they are good enough to enter Heaven. But Judgement is the same for everyone whether they believe it will happen or not. It is based solely on whether or not our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. The only way to have our names written there is to submit to Jesus as our Lord and be sealed with His Holy Spirit. There is no one who will be able to enter Heaven based on his earthly acclaim. There are no special dispensations. Verses 4-9 in The Message read,
God didn’t let the rebel angels off the hook, but jailed them in hell till Judgment Day. Neither did he let the ancient ungodly world off. He wiped it out with a flood, rescuing only eight people—Noah, the sole voice of righteousness, was one of them.
6-8 God decreed destruction for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. A mound of ashes was all that was left—grim warning to anyone bent on an ungodly life. But that good man Lot, driven nearly out of his mind by the sexual filth and perversity, was rescued. Surrounded by moral rot day after day after day, that righteous man was in constant torment.
9 So God knows how to rescue the godly from evil trials. And he knows how to hold the feet of the wicked to the fire until Judgment Day.
The Holy Spirit guards us for eternity and He will not let the wicked escape His wrath. Who are these people? How can we recognize the false prophets among us when they are so good at hiding the lies in pretty words and convincing arguments? Their lives do not produce the fruit of the Spirit described in Galatians 5:22-23.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
They do not act out of love, they act out of selfishness and pride. Verses 10-11 begin their description.
and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones, 11 whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord.
They indulge in defiling passion, which means that they give in to basal desires and dishonor the name of Jesus. They despise authority. They must be the ones in charge, they’re probably the ones who complain about their boss or any authority, who rebel against those in power, and refuse to submit to people. That can often look like a good trait to the world but it is not a godly trait. It makes them appear powerful but there is no faith in God when there is fear of letting go of one’s will. They don’t even have the respect not to blaspheme that is to curse or slander angels, people or God Himself. Even angels who might have reason to judge wouldn’t dare to that. Verses 12-13 continue the description.
But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction, 13 suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, while they feast with you
False teachers run on instinct and appetite not wisdom and logic. Their lust for themselves will be their destruction and they will have earned it. But they don’t care. They party, they celebrate even when it is time for working, mourning, or caring. They enjoy that people follow them. They give the church a bad name. They take the Love Feast, the Lord’s Supper to look good not with the thankful attitude of recollection of Jesus’ sacrifice. Everything they do is to make themselves look good. Verses 14-16 continue,
They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children! 15 Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, 16 but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet's madness.
They were taught the right way, but they abandoned the truth and followed personal gain. It’s all about them and there is nothing there to help anyone else. It looks as if they are doing some good but the only benefit is for themselves Verses 17-19 read,
These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved.18 For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved
They’re telling people they will lead them to freedom but they are in heavy chains. They’re in bondage to their lust for power, money, and recognition. They once heard the truth and even believed it and they were free from the chains of slavery but turned away from the truth. They didn’t follow through on the Gospel and accept Christ as their savior. They rejected Him for an easier road. Verses 20-22 in The Message read,
If they’ve escaped from the slum of sin by experiencing our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ, and then slid back into that same old life again, they’re worse than if they had never left. Better not to have started out on the straight road to God than to start out and then turn back, repudiating the experience and the holy command. They prove the point of the proverbs, “A dog goes back to its own vomit” and “A scrubbed-up pig heads for the mud.”

Please take the time to ask yourself if you or anyone on your church fits this description, not so you can condemn and slander but so that you can pray and act. If it’s you who has not really submitted to God and let His Spirit transform you, do it now. It is someone else then pray first, then talk to him. If he is unwilling to listen, then bring up your evidence to the leaders of your church and give it God. Do not let yourself or others teach lies. We live for God’s glory or our own.

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2 Peter 1 The Joy of an Intimate Relationship with God

5/28/2016

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No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. John 15:15

2 Peter 1
I am overwhelmed by this relationship with God, His love astounds me. The longer I walk with Him the more intimacy He gives me. I have come to see there is no end to the depth of closeness, understanding and friendship with The Lord. One day believers will be completely and perfectly united with Him in New Jerusalem, but now we enjoy and ever growing relationship. As we grow closer to Him, we become more and more like Him.
Do you know how much God loves you? If you say yes, you may understand that He loves you deeply, but I don’t know that any of us can truly fathom the profundity of His love while we are still on this earth. I know that day by day I am amazed at just how intensely and greatly He cares. Peter was writing to dispersed Christians and he wanted them to understand that being so close to God meant something special. Verses 1-2 are the greeting to the letter.
Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:
2 May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

He told them that even though he was an apostle and a leader of the church, their faith gave them equal standing in the Lord. They were all declared righteous through Jesus Christ. He prayed that grace and peace would be multiplied to them as they came to know God more and more. And that is what happens, the more we come to know who God is, the more we come to realize His great grace. The more we know God, the easier it is to trust Him and have peace so great, the world can’t grasp it.
This relationship means amazing things for us. Verses 3-4 read,
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

God’s power has given us every gift, blessing, and understanding that has to do with living in the Spirit, a God-pleasing life that points to Jesus. God’s promises are not like ours. He didn’t promise us the ridiculousness of rainbows and unicorns that and He didn’t promise us mere ice cream with sprinkles. No, He promised eternal life. He promised salvation. He promised Himself to us. He said, “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6). It is through those wonderful promises that we are able to experience a closeness with God that can only be described as a union of our soul to His; He gave us His Spirit. He lets us partake, that is share, experience, and join in His nature, His character! Jesus last words before His ascension and after He promised the Holy Spirit and gave the great commission to the Apostles were, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20).
Sharing in God’s nature, having His Spirit indwelled in us means we can live out the great commission to Go out and train everyone far and near in this way of life, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and instruct them in the practice of all Jesus commanded (Matthew 28:18-20). Living out our faith means living and behaving as Jesus would, showing His goodness and salvation to the world. It means we are not the same people we used to be and we ought to live as new creations and not like our old selves. Who would want to come to know a god who doesn’t put his power behind His words? God’s power is His Word, it is real, and we are able to live that power through our lives since God has granted us all things pertaining to life and godliness. Verses 5-11 in The Message read,
So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. Without these qualities you can’t see what’s right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books.
10-11 So, friends, confirm God’s invitation to you, his choice of you. Don’t put it off; do it now. Do this, and you’ll have your life on a firm footing, the streets paved and the way wide open into the eternal kingdom of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Christian striving to walk in the Spirit knows it is no easy thing to always choose virtue, patience, kindness, self-control, and love. But she knows that faith in God makes it possible because she joins in His Spirit and not her flesh. The longer she walks in the Spirit, the easier each attribute comes, but it is a constant and continuous endeavor that will be completed only on the day we are taken up to be with Jesus as His Bride.
If we give up, if we decide that we are going to wait for some instant magical change we won’t be exercising faith in God by choosing His way over ours. The people who do not know Jesus will not see Him in us and we will be ineffectual for the Kingdom of Heaven. Giving in to the sins of our past and the desires of the flesh quenches the Spirit. He goes from being a hot and purifying fire within us who speaks to the world by the changes He makes in us to an ember who won’t make changes in us we are not willing to allow. 1 Thessalonians 5:15-24 says it like this,
See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.
23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

But when we choose to let The Spirit purify our old nature, when we choose to partake of God’s nature rather than our old nature, God burns passionately in us. We know Him on an ever deepening level and we know His heart. It is truly miraculous. Such a close relationship with God, one where He shares His secrets, His desire, and His power with us is not exclusive to a few Christians. It is not just for the top echelon. Peter said through faith we have obtained equal standing before God. That intimacy is for all of us who want it. And Peter was in the very top tier of people who could have claimed a higher rank. He was an apostle and He was among the three who Jesus took into His inner circle. Peter, John Paul and James, the brother of Christ were the undisputed leaders of the early church. Peter had seen things with Jesus that only someone in an intimate relationship could be shown. When he preached the gospel to people, he didn’t have to say something he had learned second or third hand. He spoke from his experience. When he declared Christ as the Son of God, he said it because he had been there when God declared it. Verses 16-18 read,
For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.

Peter didn’t have to memorize a special program for evangelism. He spoke from experience, he spoke from his friendship with Jesus. Guess what! We too know God, we too are His friends and we can speak from our experience and knowledge of God. We have God living inside us, His Spirit is sewn to ours. When we share the Gospel, it is first hand because we are sharing how Jesus saved us and how He has made us new. We are able to speak His words because He is friends enough to tell us His plans. In John 15:14-15 Jesus said,
“You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.”

Speaking God’s heart, speaking God’s Word is called prophecy. It is a privilege to hear God’s Word and a greater privilege to speak it. It is one we as believers all have. Verses 19-21 describes it.
And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Our closeness with the Lord has several outcomes. We grow closer and closer to Him as Jesus, the Bright and morning Star rises in our hearts. We become more like Him as we choose to let Him conform us to His image. We live out our faith because we share in His nature. We speak His Word by His will, power and understanding and so point the world to Jesus.

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Romans 10 The Simple Profound Truth

5/15/2016

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and [Jesus] said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3

Romans 10
I have seen people, Jewish and gentile, those who claim Christ and those who do not who have this enthusiasm and passion for God which is really inspiring. Yet, that zeal for God doesn’t extend to faith in Him as God. They do not believe God the Son, Jesus Christ is the Savior. They do not trust God, the Holy Spirit to be their righteousness. They do not believe that God, the Father chose to save them through faith. I have seen even people who proclaim Christ afraid to really trust Him for salvation and so they cling to making themselves good enough, following rules and rituals in order to become righteous on their own merits.
The law cannot make anyone good enough. We cannot save ourselves. We have no righteousness of our own, full stop (Philippians 3:9). Salvation is not something we earn. It is a gift. There are no strings attached. It is a gift we accept or reject. It is not about being good. It is not about making ourselves worthy. Verses 1-4 read,
Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
We’ve learned we must earn the good things we want in life. If we want a nice place to live, food on the table, or regard, we have to work for those things. We arrogantly look down on people who receive these things as handouts or were born into them. Working, earning, and striving are respected in many of our cultures.
But salvation is free! We cannot earn it. God simply gives it to us for the asking. He didn’t ask Joseph if he apologized to his brothers before he saved him. And He didn’t ask is if we made amends to all the people we hurt when we asked for forgiveness. When we were kids and wanted something from our parents, let’s say to go see a movie, we asked and they answered, “Is your room clean.” We had to earn the reward of the movie ticket from them. But salvation cannot be earned. God gives it freely. It is simple, too simple for most people to accept. Our adult minds have learned things like ‘if it’s too good to be true then it is’ and ‘nothing comes for free.’ But ask any child who has not yet learned that cynicism and she will tell you gifts are free. She wakes up on her birthday ready to open presents because she is receiving presents to celebrate her life, gifts are part of the promise of that celebration. Her parents are not going to withhold the cake until her room is clean. They are not going to withhold the gift until she can prove she is worthy to be seven years old.
But we’ve complicated salvation with strings. We’ve sullied the Gospel with burdens in order to help it make sense to us. It is our pride which cannot let go of the effort to save ourselves and trust the LORD God, the Lord of Hosts, and Holy One, our husband and our maker to be God our Redeemer. Instead of establishing our relationship on The God of Heaven and Earth, we center our religion on being good people, following laws, systems, and imperatives. Verses 5-7 read,
For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. 6 But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).

To choose the laws and earn our own righteousness is to make the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ defunct. It insults Christ and it affronts the Gospel. It puts the person saying and doing these things in Jesus’ place as savior. Salvation cannot be earned, it is a gift of Jesus Christ, full stop. Ephesians 2:4-9 says,
Bu] God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Salvation is from God and through Him. Only Jesus can save. Only the untarnished Word of God can bring the truth. Only faith and humility can allow a person to receive it. Verses 8-13 read,
But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

It doesn’t say for some who believe, confess, make amends, follow the law and prove their worth will be saved. It says, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” and “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” There are no addendums, small print, or strings.
So what about all those people out there trying to be good enough to get into Heaven? There are countless people hoping that when they meet God face to face He says, “Come on in your scored in the upper half, you earned yourself a place in Heaven and saved yourself from Hell.” There are innumerable people who don’t think there is a heaven, hell, or afterlife much less a god. They are lost in ignorance but we know the truth. We have a responsibility to that truth. God doesn’t want them to die and spend eternity in Hell. Verses 14-17 read,
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

The world is waiting to hear the truth. Are you asking haven’t they already hear it? Sure, many of them have heard it and they haven’t been able to believe. Some have heard it wrong. Some have not let it penetrate the heart’s hard covering of pride and fear. Some have let the world’s concerns take it away. There are many reasons people hear the truth but don’t accept it (Matthew 13:1-23). That doesn’t mean we don’t care. God still cares. God still wants them to know Him and be saved. The truth is out there. God didn’t keep it secret even from the beginning. Verses 18-19 read,
But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for
“Their voice has gone out to all the earth,
    and their words to the ends of the world.”
19 But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says,
“I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation;
    with a foolish nation I will make you angry.”
The simplicity of the Gospel is too much for some people to accept. It takes the faith of a child to grasp the profundity of the Truth. Many reject it, but the invitation is open for anyone. God waits, He waits for people to accept Him with that faith and receive the awesome boundless mercy and grace He is ready to pour out on us. He will not compel us against our will. He waits with arms open in a loving invitation to a life lived in a relationship with Him. Verses 20-21 read,
Then Isaiah is so bold as to say,
“I have been found by those who did not seek me;
    I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.”
21 But of Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”

Ask yourself some questions today. Are you trying to earn salvation by being good enough? Have you made yourself the savior in Jesus’ stead? Have you called on the Lord to save you or hoped your works will save you? Have you loved people enough to tell have the beautiful feet of the one who brings the truth to the lost?

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Romans 1 The Evidence for Jesus Christ

5/6/2016

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You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16

Romans 1
There is no shortage of evidence proving the existence of the God, nor the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Yet, people swallow the lies and follow the liars to death. You and I, Believers, we know the truth and we can shine the light of truth into the darkness of ignorance.
Paul wrote to the believers in Rome in order to give them a firm foundation of faith, though he longed to go there and spend time with them, teaching them in person, he had been consistently prevented from traveling to Rome. Verses 1-7 read,
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,
7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Prophets, the Laws, and the Psalms all declare Jesus to be the Christ. They do not hide it. It is not written in riddles and mysteries unless the person reading refuses to see the truth. We know that Scripture is best understood when read with The Holy Spirit. Jesus said,
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.  All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” (John 16:12-15).
Through the truth is clearly in front of people, they just can’t see it, they choose not to see it. God blinds their eyes so that they will come to Him by faith rather than mere knowledge. But once we choose Him by faith, those scales fall off and everything, the evidence of God, the love of the Father, the power of the Spirit, and the truth of Jesus is so clear to us. John 12:35-43 reads,
So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.”
When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. 37 Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, 38 so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
“Lord, who has believed what he heard from us,
    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
39 Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said,
40 “He has blinded their eyes
    and hardened their heart,
lest they see with their eyes,
    and understand with their heart, and turn,
    and I would heal them.”
41 Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him.42 Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.
The evidence of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is obvious through the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ Resurrection cannot be denied, yet people try. They come up with a thousand crazy lies they would rather believe such as somehow over 500 people all suffered the exact same hallucination or chose to lie and be persecuted than accept the fact that Jesus rose from the dead and walked the earth for forty days before ascending to Heaven (1 Corinthians 15:6). The Jewish historian Josephus is said to have written[1], “About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man, …When Pilate . . .condemned him to be crucified, those who had . . . come to love him did not give up their affection for him. On the third day he appeared . . . restored to life. . . . And the tribe of Christians . . . has . . . not disappeared.”[2] Josephus was not a Christian, yet he spoke about Jesus and His resurrection.
Even if people can’t see the evidence for Christ in history and in scripture, they should be able to see Jesus as Savior in our lives. People should be able to see our love for one another and recognize who we are in Jesus Christ (John 13:34-35). Verses 8-15 read,
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. 9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you 10 always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God's will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. 11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— 12 that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
Our fellowship should produce fruit. We strengthen one another, share our spiritual gifts with one another and often even release them in each other. When we live together, unified and loving, the light of Christ that shines in each of us becomes brighter, He becomes a beacon to the lost and blinded. Through our love of one another living out our faith, they can see the faith and have the chance to be healed and saved. Through edifying and teaching each other, we can teach the truth to the lost, and that is before we go out and proclaim the truth specifically to them. But Believer we are also supposed to go and tell them so they have a chance to believe. Verses 16-17 read,
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

The consequences for unbelief are real! God’s wrath is real. I do not want to see them crushed in the harvest and spending eternity in torment but many will. We can proclaim Jesus’ righteousness, we can declare the Gospel, live by faith and snatch some of them from the fires of Hell. The Gospel is so utterly simple, so beautifully perfect that people cannot grasp it. They want it to be harder than “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). They want to earn salvation, see gods, and be the power of their own deliverance. Verses 18-23 read,
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
People have created their own gods since the fall. They have forsaken The Lord and made idols, authored religions, and thought and lived inside the box of human limitations. We are born knowing that eternity is real and that there is a “higher power” because we are made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26). But it is too simple, too plain and too exquisite for people to accept The LORD and so they trade the perfect truth for their imperfect lies. Even atheists choose themselves as god over the obvious truth of God.
Believer, we can tell them the truth! We can show them the Gospel. We can lead them to the reality they have blinded themselves to. God will not force them and neither can we but we can try and open their eyes and show them the way. God wants them to come to Him, but rather than force them, He let them live the life they choose and in so doing choose their eternity. Verses 24-34 read,
Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.32 Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

One day, we will be judged. We will either be saved by Jesus’ righteousness or condemned by our unrighteousness. So many people are choosing condemnation. So many people have chosen ignorance over truth. God is not condemning them, they condemn themselves. But we know the truth! We know how deeply God loves them and I hope we love them too, enough to let them see the love of God. We don’t do that by pointing out their depravity and hatefully judging them for their sins. God will judge them for their sin, that is not our job or right. 1 Corinthians 5:12-13 reads,
For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13 God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”
We tell show them by our love, we tell them with love. They have not seen the truth in the scriptures. They have not seen the truth in the evidence of the creation. The have the opportunity to see the truth in our lives, lived in demonstrated faith and expressed love.

[1] Many theologians think this report was altered but do not deny he wrote about Jesus.

[2] Josephus, Antiquities 18.63-64, cited in Yamauchi, “Jesus Outside the New Testament”, 212.

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Galatians 2 The Gospel of Christ or Satan, Grace or Law?

4/14/2016

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He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. Titus 1:9

Galatians 2
The Gospel of Jesus Christ must be defended. The truth must remain pure, undefiled. Too many of us put up with letting little half-truths into the church for the sake of looking kind. Too often we allow people to speak perversions of the Gospel, which sound right but are not, thinking that everyone has the same foundation, maturity, or knowledge we have and can stand firm against these lies. But not everyone can, because not everyone recognizes the lies. People assume that if we, who are more mature are listening, then it must be sound and their beliefs are confused, their conviction becomes sullied because suddenly it is not the Gospel they are hearing, learning, and living, but a gospel which is filled with deceit and bad news. The gospel of works, laws, religion, and ritual is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ it is the gospel of the one speaking it, the gospel of Satan: I-theism. We cannot let just anyone teach and we cannot tolerate any lies being taught, even accidentally.
Paul was telling the church at Galatia why they should trust that he spoke the Truth to them and why he had the right to preach it to them. He was warning them to keep false gospels out of the church. In chapter 1 he had told them about the education he had received via The Holy Spirit at the feet of Jesus and then how he had learned under Peter and James. In this chapter he continued to explain that he had spent the next fourteen years maturing, developing, and learning before finally being called by God to his ministry. Verses 1-2 read,
Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. 2 I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain.
Paul didn’t disclose who those influential people were, but simply that they were respected in the church. He went to the apostles and to these influential men and confirmed with them the revelation he had received for his ministry. Paul was an apostle had been a Christ follower for seventeen years but he didn’t presume to keep his revelation secret, he discussed it and was happy to receive the feedback of the others. Even the most mature, the highest up in the church can make a mistake, can hope they are hearing the Holy Spirit but are really hearing themselves. Sharing your revelations with others says you trust that since you all have the same Spirit, He will confirm or refute what He has spoken for all of you together. It gives the body a chance to be united and to share in the work of Christ.
Paul’s ministry was not a run-of-the-mill ministry, it was revolutionary. His ministry was for the Gentiles. For the most part, Christianity in the early church was for the Jews. It was not withheld from Gentiles but it was seen by many as a sect of Judaism. Some people did not think Christianity was ever supposed to be for the Gentile; they fought against it. Paul was ready to fight for it. Verses 3-5 read,
But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. 4 Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery— 5 to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.
The enemy Satan is so staunchly opposed to The Gospel of Christ that he had sent spies in, people who pretended to be Christians but were only there trying to bring the sect down. They wanted people back following the Pharisaical traditions of Judaism rather than following Christ and living in His freedom and grace. They had even managed to be among the influential of the church. Acting as if you’re good can get you pretty far in some churches but in the true church the hierarchy is not the same as the world or the false churches. In the true church, if people are paying attention and zealous for the Gospel, the frauds will be revealed. People will be known by who they become as they mature. Jesus described it by comparing wheat and tares (weeds) in Matthew 13:24-30.
He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”
Don’t be deceived, those well-meaning, mistaken people who teach and preach effort instead of faith, ritual instead of relationship, and law instead of love were placed in the church by the enemy. He means to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). There is nothing kind about letting them spread their seeds of deception. But they will be shown for the charlatans they are, they cannot bear the fruit of the Spirit, because He is not in them. But allowing them to spread Satan’s propaganda means they will lead many people to Hell to be burned along with them in the Harvest.
Remember we are not here to please people. We are not here to kowtow to people. We are here to glorify God, please Him and love Him by loving one another. Paul wasn’t inclined to salaaming to anyone, but he did respect the body of Christ and did love them deeply. Paul trusted God enough to know that the Spirit within each of us recognizes Himself in others. Verses 6-10 read,
And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me. 7 On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised 8 (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles),9 and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.
That is exactly what happened, James, Peter, and John recognized the Holy Spirit in Paul, they confirmed his ministry to the Gentiles and sent him to his important work. They knew that though different from their own, it went hand in hand with it. Each of us called to a unique ministry, yet the same mission. We are called to make disciples for Christ, but each to varying populations, places, and by differing processes.
There are times though that even those we know to be Spirit-filled, mature, and true must be corrected. We are all flawed and sometimes our flesh or fear overcomes us, sometimes we make mistakes, and sometimes we sin. I’ve been on both ends of the love of Christ shared for one another. I’ve had to pull my pastor aside and say, ‘you said such and such during your sermon, but the Bible says this.’ I’ve had my Brothers and Sisters come to me and say, ‘the revelation you think is from God is not, it does not mesh with what He told us.’ Though difficult, it is love that we exercise when we say these things, it is defense of the Gospel, love for those who will be swayed, and love for the person who sinned. Verses 11-14 describe that happening between Paul and Peter.
But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. 13 And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”
Paul had deep respect for Peter; he had mentored him and he was an apostle and a pillar of the church. But in love he could not let him practice hypocrisy out of fear for pleasing people over God. Peter preached grace just like Paul, because Peter preached the Gospel but he let his fear cause him to practice the legalism the Judaizers practiced. He led several people astray including Barnabas. Paul had to confront him, not to hurt him but to put him and those who followed him back on the right path.
Fear does that, it makes us want to look good in front of people. Honestly consider if you do this. Have you been out with church friends and didn’t order the drink you wanted because it would look bad. Did you pretend in front of them that wine never passed your pious lips? Maybe you gave a ride to a church friend and quickly changed the music from your favorite to the latest acceptable “Christian” music. Those little ears in the back seat are noticing your hypocrisy and learning that pretending to be one way in front of some people is more important than living authentically for Christ. What gospel is your life teaching, the I-theistic gospel of works or the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
It is not abstinence from sinning which saves us. It is not following the traditions of the church or Christian culture that redeems. It is faith in Jesus Christ, it is His blood, His work, and His love that saves. Verses 15-21 read,
We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
17 But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! 18 For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.
Jesus saves us, His Holy Spirit transforms us. We don’t have to pretend, we don’t have to live and teach lies. The gospel of works is the gospel Satan would have you believe and live. We died to the law! Why do we keep trying to go back to that dead thing again? We are not slaves to sin who must please Satan by working for salvation that cannot be earned. We are free in God’s grace to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If we work to earn salvation then Jesus work on the cross means nothing.
Are you living the Gospel or are you living a lie? Are the people who say they are members of the body with you living the Gospel or are they living a lie? People will follow you, people will follow them. Where are you leading them?

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Galatians 1 Chosen and Saved by Jesus, No one else.

4/13/2016

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Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. Revelation 3:20

Galatians 1
I’m excited to begin reading Paul’s letter to the Galatians today. Paul’s writings are so multilayered and there is so much to glean regardless of how long you have been a Christian, how knowledgeable, or how mature you are.
You were chosen by The LORD to be His royal child and like Jesus a servant of the Gospel. God didn’t choose you, save you, and then leave you hanging, He chose you, saved you, and gave you His Word, The Truth, The Gospel. Verses 1-5 read,
Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers who are with me,
To the churches of Galatia:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Paul was made an apostle, not because men chose him, but because Jesus Christ chose him. Jesus chose every apostle personally, except for Matthias and His own brother James but even they was chosen providentially. Matthias was chosen through casting lots before the Holy Spirit had come (Acts 1:26). James was called an apostle and chosen through the Holy Spirit by agreement of the rest of the apostles. Though the story is not told, he is referred to as an apostle (Galatians 1:19) and was with the apostles and the other disciples from the beginning after Jesus ascended (Acts 1:14).
You were not chosen to be a follower of Christ by your Sunday school teacher, your parents, or the person who obeyed Him and told you how to be saved, you were chosen by Jesus. He called you to follow Him, He knocked at the door of your heart and said, “Follow me, let’s hand out and be friends.”
When He did that, Jesus not only saved you in the figurative sense, but in the literal sense. He raised you from the dead (like you once were) and gave you new life. He resurrected from the dead and He resurrected you too. No one but The Lord God did that for you. His blood delivered you, His grace saved you. It was and is His will for you to be saved, to be like Jesus and glorify Him forever.
The letter is to the church in Galatia, an area in what is now Turkey where Celts settled and lived but were not often united. They were a warrior people who intermarried with the surrounding Phyrgians and Greeks, adopted the Greek culture and eventually became part of the Roman Empire. Although it was Paul who planted the church in Galatia and Paul who preached the Gospel of Christ to them, it was Jesus who chose them and Jesus who saved them. But the diverse cultures surrounding them tried to pull the new believers back out of their new lives and into their old lives.
Isn’t that what happens today? The devil cannot stand to lose a soul to the Lord, he uses old lifestyles, sages, and even pious leaders to change the Gospel into a story, a cultural choice, or a perversion that cannot save or transform. How many people try and convince believers we are fools, we are hypocrites, and we are wrong? How many others try and persuade us we are on one of many paths to a heaven? It happens to us now and it happened to the Galatians then. Verses 6-9 read,
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.
Have you turned to some other gospel? Does the word being taught to you, the one you are choosing to believe involve anything or anyone other than Jesus Christ as your redeemer? Does it include earning salvation through any kind of work be it charity, flagellation, or other steps? Then you are deserting Christ! Salvation does not come from being good, forgoing pleasure, living in scarcity, or rituals of baptism and communion. Salvation comes from Jesus Christ and transforms you into His righteousness by grace.
People find it so difficult to believe that the Gospel could be so simple as, “confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9) that they complicate it, they pervert it with additions of laws, rituals, and traditions. There is only one command and that command is the one that encompasses the entire Word, the whole Gospel, the prophecies, the Law, and the praise of God. Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).
No one should tell you any differently! If someone adds conditions to salvation, if they say that there is a single other requirement than repentance, belief, and profession of Jesus as Christ then they are lying! Christianity is not just another culture, another path, or a different lifestyle. It is a relationship with Christ which gives us new life and changes us forever to live as new beings forever. We are not seen by the outside, we are known by the heart and Spirit. We do not make the changes in us, God makes them. We simply submit to His will and Lordship (That is what it means to confess Him as Lord). 1 Corinthians 5:16-21 reads,
From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
When we give in to all these additions, when we even let these people try and teach us or our fellow believers these perverted messages we are suddenly trying to please them. We please the world by being “kind” to these messengers from Satan. It doesn’t please God for us to listen to their lies. It hurts the church, it injures the new believers, and it forever harms the ones who might have believed the Gospel when we entertain these liars, false teachers, and perverters of truth. Verse 10 reads,
For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
The world calls us haters for refusing to listen to lies. The world hurls accusations of prejudice, narrow-mindedness, and bigotry at us when we claim there is only one way to salvation. No, serving Christ means we do not serve the world. It pleases God when we love one another enough to keep the lies out of doctrine. We can’t lead the lost to Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life with lies and false gospels. We can only lead them to Him and let them answer His call by the truth.
Paul was taught the truth by The Truth Himself. Jesus spoke it to Him directly, The Holy Spirit spent time with Him before He let Paul go to any man to learn. When Paul did finally go further his spiritual education with Peter and James first. Paul was taught the unpolluted truth and years later he went on to teach the pure uncontaminated truth to much of the world. Paul described it in verses 11-24.
For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. 12 For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. 13 For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. 14 And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers.15 But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16 was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone ;17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.
18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. 19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord's brother. 20 (In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!) 21 Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.22 And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they glorified God because of me.
Do you trust God to be God? Refuse to let Satan in through the false teachers he sends along. Let’s dedicate ourselves to ensuring only the truth gets taught and let God teach the new believers through His Word, His Spirit, and His true children. It is important to make sure that even in the church, the people teaching are mature enough in Christ to know the truth, to have a solid foundation in it and so teach the Gospel and sound doctrine rather than lies. Letting a person without that foundation teach and preach before it is time, is how lies like “God doesn’t give us more than we can handle” and “Everything has a purpose” thrive and pervert the truth.
Paul after three years learned only with Peter and James, perhaps the two greatest leaders of the early church at the time (along with John and eventually Paul himself). New believers of course can share the Gospel, share what they have been taught and edify the church by their gifts but to let them teach before they are mature enough would be like having a high school senior teach a doctorate class. The senior needs to be the one sitting at the feet of the doctoral professor, not the other way around.
You were chosen by The Father to be saved by Jesus Christ and transformed by The Holy Spirit. The Gospel is simple and pure. There is one Truth, no other “truth” should be preached or taught. Jesus saved you by His choice and His work, not yours. Love one another, guard the Truth.

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Titus: Called to a Higher Walk, a Holy and Godly Life

4/12/2016

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Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. Philippians 3:17

Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Philippians 3:17-21

Titus
Believer, you are called to live a life above the life of the world. You are not alone and it is not impossible. I would venture to say that if you have the Truth within you, it would be almost impossible not to be distinctive from the world. You cannot depend on yourself to be live a higher life; if you do, you set yourself up for a pretentious and pretend walk to Hell. Verses 1-4 read,
Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, 2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began 3 and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior;
4 To Titus, my true child in a common faith:
Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

Paul was an apostle, a man who lived a Spirit-filled life who lived in a way that proved his authority to lead, teach, and speak the Gospel of Christ because he lived the Gospel of Christ. He cared about the church and wanted to ensure that the truth stayed pure, that no corrupted versions of the gospel were taught to desecrate us or defile the Word. He called the church God’s elect. Believer, we are His elect, His chosen. We were chosen before the creation of the earth to be His children, to be blessed, and to be the ones who reflect Him and reveal Him to the world. Ephesians 1:3-6 reads,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
You are charged to know the truth which agrees with godliness. In other words the truth of Christ doesn’t produce a life of sin, futile effort, blandness, or looking like the world, the truth of Christ manifests in a life that looks like Jesus, a life of love, goodness, and faith. The Truth makes a difference in the person who lives it. The Truth lived out allows the follower of Christ to have faith because of her hope. She doesn’t have to live by circumstance thrown back and forth by each happening, vainly wishing for a happy ending or despairing over bad news. The hope of the faithful is not wishful thinking, it is certain knowledge and comprehension of the heart in the promise of eternal life, God’s presence within her, and His love as a tangible work. It is that faith in the Truth that Jesus is the Christ that allows the faithful to live the higher life. 1 John 5:1-5 says it like this,
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

You don’t overcome the world and live the higher life alone, it is only because you know who Jesus is and because He has given you the Spirit of the Living God that you can. If you have been born of Jesus, meaning you believe He is Christ and love the Father by acquiescing to Him then you will live out your faith though that love which is obedience to God.
You can have faith because God never lies. He had this plan for you from the beginning. He chose you from the beginning. And He has made the way for you from the beginning. His timing is perfect. Though you wait and it seems you have waited forever, The Lord does what He does at exactly the right time, the perfect time for your benefit and His glory. He isn’t waiting for the last minute. He is waiting for precisely the right time, the moment that will have the greatest profit for the greatest good. Jesus came at exactly the right time, died at exactly the right time, and resurrected at exactly the right time. He will come again at exactly the right time. God isn’t waiting because He is unsure and you do not have to be unsure because God is waiting. God is waiting for the precise moment He has already decided on because He wants people to come to Him, to answer His call on their lives and be saved. 2 Peter 3:8-13 reads,
But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
Why do you live a holy life? Your godly life leads people to salvation. That is why you are called to live differently. 1 Timothy 2:3-6 says,
This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time

What does this holy and godly life look like? How is it that the mature Christian should walk? Paul gave Titus an example of it when he gave him instructions for how to choose the elders of the church, the men who would lead, model Jesus, and serve the church. Verses 5-9 read,
This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you— 6 if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. 7 For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, 8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. 9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.
Titus had to choose the pastors, the elders of the church to exemplify Christ and teach the Gospel, the true, sound, and sensible doctrine and to censure those who taught anything contradictory to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They didn’t lead these lives because of their own great ability, they lived these lives because Jesus was their Lord and Savior, they had the Holy Spirit in them. God manifests Himself in us and it results in living, walking, and looking like Jesus. Read those verses again and compare them to Paul’s description of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-10.
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
God is love. Love lived out is walking in the Spirit, manifesting Christ. To love is to be tangible Jesus to the world and the church. 1 John 4:7-12 says it this way,
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
Living a godly life, a holy life, a life above the life lived by the world means we walk in God and with God in us. He perfects us. He makes it possible for us to walk the way He has called us to walk. We can’t live a godly life without God. We cannot walk in the Spirit unless He is in us. People try. People try to live by the law instead of by faith. They try and earn salvation. Anyone trying to earn salvation has got the wrong gospel. They will try and teach the wrong gospel. They’ve missed out on Jesus and instead try teaching legalism. That is what the Pharisees did. They were so sure they had it right, but for all their piety and laws they completely missed holiness, godliness, and Holy God. Paul did not mince words when it came to describing them. He hated what they were doing to the church, how they defiled the truth, and ruined her reputation. Verses 10-16 read,
For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party.11 They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. 12 One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth. 15 To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. 16 They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.
To tell people they ought to do good to be good, to tell people they should live up to an impossible standard that only God ever lived up to is a lie. These people told others to do good and keep laws but they weren’t doing it themselves. They had to know if they couldn’t live what they taught that no one else could either. Jesus had similar words for those teachers of the law that were just as piercing as Paul’s were. Matthew 23-12-15 reads,
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.
The life lived for God results in good works because love is perfected in us. God makes us like Jesus. We can’t do that ourselves. We can’t do good to become good. We become good because God makes us the righteousness of Christ and it shows in the holy and godly life we lead, the higher walk we walk. I will leave you with Romans 3:21-31 which says,
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
27 Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

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2 Kings 8:7-15 Loving and Trusting God Requires Giving the Whole True Message

1/28/2016

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This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2:3-4

2 Kings 8:7-15
Elisha had received a word from God for Ben-hadad, the King of Syria and so he obediently went to the home of Israel’s enemy to deliver it. Verses 7-9 read,
“Now Elisha came to Damascus. Ben-hadad the king of Syria was sick. And when it was told him, “The man of God has come here,” 8 the king said to Hazael, “Take a present with you and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the Lord through him, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this sickness?’” 9 So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, all kinds of goods of Damascus, forty camels' loads. When he came and stood before him, he said, “Your son Ben-hadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this sickness?’”
Ben-hadad was sick and he wanted to know if he would recover or die. He was happy to have Elisha there to tell him. He was not a Jewish man, he had no idea how to inquire of God, or what the requirements were. He treated Elisha as more of a soothsayer and magician than a prophet. He paid him very well for Elisha to give him the answer he wanted to hear. But he did recognize Elisha’s authority under The Lord.
Elisha had something to tell Hazael and Ben-hadad, but it was not the answer to the question they asked. Verses 10-13 read,
“And Elisha said to him, “Go, say to him, ‘You shall certainly recover,’ but the Lord has shown me that he shall certainly die.”11 And he fixed his gaze and stared at him, until he was embarrassed. And the man of God wept. 12 And Hazael said, “Why does my lord weep?” He answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the people of Israel. You will set on fire their fortresses, and you will kill their young men with the sword and dash in pieces their little ones and rip open their pregnant women.” 13 And Hazael said, “What is your servant, who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing?” Elisha answered, “The Lord has shown me that you are to be king over Syria.”
Elisha’s answer was that it was not the illness that would kill Ben-hadad but murder. He then went on to tell Hazael that he would be an evil king. Although the man tried to play innocent, he was not. God’s message did not deter him from his mission, it confirmed it for him. So why would God tell him? He told Hazael that his plan would succeed and that he would be evil because He wanted the aide to know that He is The LORD. He wanted to give him a choice to recognize God as The LORD and humble himself before Him or reject Him. Elisha offered God’s salvation in that moment. What did Hazael choose? Verses 14-15 read,
“Then he departed from Elisha and came to his master, who said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?” And he answered, “He told me that you would certainly recover.” 15 But the next day he took the bed cloth and dipped it in water and spread it over his face, till he died. And Hazael became king in his place.”
Hazael lied to his king by not telling him the entire prophecy or message from God. He made the king feel good instead of giving him God’s message. He had been entrusted with a word from God and he did not obey. Elisha said, “Go say to him, ‘You shall certainly recover,’ but the Lord has shown me that he shall certainly die.” Hazael left off the second part of the message for his own benefit. He then killed Ben-hadad in his bed.
Have you ever left off part of God’s message for someone? God tells you to tell someone about His love for them and how He longs for a relationship with them. He tells you to tell them about Jesus. But in your discomfort you stop at ‘God loves you’ or ‘Jesus loves you.’ After all you’re sure that they won’t give their lives to Jesus and they’ll think you are one of those ‘Bible thumping extremist Christians.’ Believer, when we do that we are being false prophets. God gave us a mission. He knows who will accept or reject, we do not. He still wants to give them a choice. He is God. He saves, we do not. We obey or flout His commands. Our obedience to the Lord is one way we love people as Jesus loves them. Our obedience to God is one way we glorify Jesus and so allow people to see Him. Our obedience to love is how people will know we are Jesus’ followers. John 13:34-35 reads,
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Is it love to think of our comfort or reputation instead of trusting God has a reason to give someone a message? Is it love to withhold the whole Truth from someone? Penn Jillette, outspoken atheist said, “how much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate somebody to believe everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?
“I mean, if I believed, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that a truck was coming at you, and you didn’t believe that truck was bearing down on you, there is a certain point where I tackle you. And this is more important than that.”[i]
I want people to see me as a Bible thumping extremist Christian. My goal is to be the image of Christ. I want to be loving, patient, kind, humble, content, peaceful, joyful, perseverant, faithful, good, and self-controlled (1 Corinthians 13:4-7, Galatians 5:22-23). When God has a message to give someone and He chooses us to give it, it is imperative to obey. The person’s response is not our responsibility, delivering the message is. Ezekiel 33:7-9 says it this way,
“So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. 8 If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. 9 But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.”
Every man deserves a choice. Who are we to say he will or will not believe? Who are we to take the choice away from him? God desires a relationship with all people (1 Timothy 2:3-4). He rejoices when the lost turn to Him, even the most evil (Ezekiel 18:23). He honors us by letting us tell the world His message. Who are we to displace The LORD and decide the message should be anything other than whole and true? Romans 10:13-17 reads,
“For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
Elisha traveled to enemy territory to give God’s word to people who did not believe. He obeyed. He could have been killed for his obedience since Hazael probably had no desire for people to know his insidious scheme. But Elisha loved Ben-hadad, Hazael, and Syria enough to go and even to weep for their future. Do you love and trust God enough to obey Him? Do you love His creation enough to tell them the word of Christ?

[i] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6md638smQd8

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1 Thessalonians 2 Evangelism: a Way of Life

1 Thessalonians 1 Genuine Encouragement Has Tangible Effects

2 Peter 2 False Teachers and Prophets Hiding in Plain Sight

2 Peter 1 The Joy of an Intimate Relationship with God

Romans 10 The Simple Profound Truth

Romans 1 The Evidence for Jesus Christ

Galatians 2 The Gospel of Christ or Satan, Grace or Law?

Galatians 1 Chosen and Saved by Jesus, No one else.

Titus: Called to a Higher Walk, a Holy and Godly Life

2 Kings 8:7-15 Loving and Trusting God Requires Giving the Whole True Message

Donna Campbell

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