James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings. 2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. 9 Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, 10 but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. 11 For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits. 12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. --James 1:1-12
Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,
James major emphasis in this section as well as in the entire book of James is that genuine faith when tested comes forth as gold. It endures the test...it survives. It is easy to be kind, gentle and sweet when things are going our way but what happens when our comfort is disrupted? Trials always remind me of an Amy Carmichael quote that basically says a cup filled to the brim with sweet water cannot spill a drop of bitter. How do you react to trials? Does your normally sweet water spill bitter? If your faith is genuine, it will not disappear during the hard times. In fact, the hard times will strengthen it!
Think of the trials in your life as tools in God's hand. They have many purposes...I have memorized this list (that is paraphrased from one developed by John MacArthur) because it is helpful for me to review when I am discouraged in the midst of a trial and "forget" God's ways and purposes. Here is the list: Trials conform us to the image of His Son, trials strengthen us, trials humble us, trials draw us away from the things of the world, trials make us look up to Him, trials reveal those things that we really love, trials make us thankful, trials make us a better tool, and trials enable us to comfort others. Memorizing this list also helps me to remember how important it is to respond in the right way to a trial. Why?? Look how much good they can produce in me!
The first 12 verses of James Chapter 1 give us 5 key attitudes that are needed to experience victory in trials.
John MacArthur breaks them down this way and then includes the reward in verse 12. This list has been so helpful for me in examining my heart throughout a trial. Truly, I have grown to love the author of James and thank God for him. His advice is so direct and practical! As you read the book you can almost feel his passionate desire that we would walk in "radical" obedience to the word of God. He NEVER equivocates.
The five attitudes to cultivate mentioned in verses 1-12 are a joyful attitude, an understanding mind, a submissive will, a believing heart and a humble spirit. Okay...that is a tall order but we need to remember that our job is to just abide and obey and leave the methods and results to Him. "being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;"--Philippians 1:6
Let's take it verse by verse. We have already looked at the first verse, save the greeting, in the introduction. So let's look at verse 2 today which says we are suppose to count it all joy when we fall into various trials. Now why would James say that? I thought about...I memorized the book of James in May of this year and decided then that he was perhaps speaking as a father here and exhorting us to have the right attitude from the start in a trial. A joyful one. I don't know about you but my response to a trial in my flesh is never joyful. My response is the opposite and so James is reminding us to make a conscious commitment to face them with joy. "Count" means to evaluate...it is a financial term. So we "count" them as joy. Unlike unbelievers, believers can profit both temporally and eternally from a trial. When we evaluate our life as a Christian our goals and priorities will be different than those prior to our salvation. We are now living for the things that matter. Not the temporal but the eternal. We set our mind on things above and not on the things of the earth. We store up treasure in heaven where moth and rust cannot destroy.
God tells us to expect trials...trials are very varied and individual. Saved or unsaved we all experience them. The difference is whether we experience them with Him or without Him. As a believer God works all in our lives including our trials together for good. The bible tells us that the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed in us. Before we go any further let's define trial. From John MacArthur...I loved this definition. "God brings such trials to prove---and increase-- the strength and quality of one's faith and to demonstrate its validity. The word trial in Greek connotes something that connotes trouble or breaks the pattern of peace, comfort, joy and happiness in someone's life. The verb form means to put something to the test with the purpose of discovering that person's nature or the thing's quality. Every trial becomes a test of faith designed to strengthen; if the believer fails the test by responding wrongly, that test then becomes a temptation or a solicitation to evil."
When we face trials we must look at them in the light of what God is doing in us. He promises to change us from the inside out and uses trials to make us more like Him when we surrender to the work of His Spirit through our obedience to His word. When we find our strength in Him in our trials and trust Him to work in our hearts, our trials are still difficult and still hurt, but we can have joy because we are now living for the things that matter. It is a matter of what we value. What we love. Where we are placing our hope. Trials by design pull the rug out on us and reveal our hearts. WHICH IS NEVER PRETTY! They show us what we really value. When I face a trial I remember that I died and my life is hidden with Christ in God. I live to magnify Him here on this earth. If I can live for Him in a trial and not give in to temptation, then my life can glorify Him. Isn't that what each one of us truly wants. Purpose in your heart at the very onset of a trial to make it "count" for God. Look up and know that He is going to work it for His glory and your good. Keep your eyes on Him. Not on your circumstances. Making the decision ahead of time really helps us to act rightly when the time comes.
Job 23:10 But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.
Love
Mom
Addendum from a previous study on John 18: After writing this post, I reread my post from John 18 and then copied and pasted the relevant parts below.
It is helpful for me when facing anything to always look to Christ's example. Let's look at His greatest trial...the cross....and see how He reacted.
John 18:4 says this: "Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, “Whom are you seeking?” They answered Him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am He.”"
Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him"....Wow...knowing all that would come upon Him...He went forward and handed Himself over to sinners...the very same ones He knew had rejected Him and would crucify Him. What grace! What love!
Jesus focused on the goal...our salvation...not on Himself or on His circumstances. He surrendered completely to His Father's will and laid down His life so that we who believe could live forever with Him. He showed all around Him in His every word and action the essence of His Father. In doing this He showed us the way to glorify our Father in heaven because He did all He did by depending totally on His Father. Make no mistake...Christ was both God and man and yet whatever He did here on earth He did by faith just as we must do. He did not use His divine powers. He did all He did as a MAN. We cannot take refuge in Him being God as the reason why He was able to do it. This fact is amazing to me...each time Jesus healed or spoke it was not Him it was the Spirit of God working through Him. He faced the cross and surrendered His life for us as a Man...depending entirely on His Father in heaven. WOW!
Girls...whenever we look at Christ's life...really look at it...conviction will follow. What an example He gave us for handling trials, offenses, rejection and grief. He kept His eyes on the goal and focused on the joy (us) that was set before Him and despite the provocation he reacted graciously to all that were around Him. Our goal here on earth is to glorify Him, to bring Christ close to those who do not know Him and to encourage those who do...to magnify Him. To glorify Him. How do we do this...by living our lives for Him. By remembering in offenses and sorrow that they are never about us...they are to be used to make us more like He is in order that others would see Jesus. Girls, don't get in the way by reacting to others in offense and unforgiveness or by retaliating in like manner. Remember grace...remember what we truly deserve and pray for those who may not have treated you like you think you deserved. Christ reached out in love at the hour He faced the greatest of offenses and rejection - for you - and in so doing, He reflected the glory of God.
Love
Mom
Friday, November 5, 2010
Thursday, November 4, 2010
The Book of James...Spiritual Maturity
Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,
The Book of James - Introduction
James is such a practical book! It is where the rubber meets the road. Are we a hearer of the Word only? Do we really live what we profess to believe? What our hearts believe, will be reflected in our lives...our actions will follow the beliefs of our hearts. Our faith is something to be believed and acted upon. If it doesn't result in works and a changed life then our faith is dead. If we love God, we will obey His commandments.
John 14:23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
James introduced Himself as a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was also the Lord's half- brother and a pillar of the early church in Jerusalem, but he thought of himself as a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is how we should see ourselves. We are here as God's servant by His grace to do His will. We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
James was not a believer until after the death and resurrection of Christ. (Mark 3:31-35 and John 7:1-5).What convinced James...the resurrection. (See 1 Cor 15:3-7)
James wrote to the 12 tribes scattered abroad ...the Christian Jews who were scattered in the dispersion during the first round of persecution. Persecution that came from their own countrymen. Interestingly, the Greek word scattered means "in the dispersion" and carries the meaning of scattering seed which is what happened when these Jewish believers were scattered abroad. Seed was sown in many places and much of it bore fruit. The gospel went to the Jew first. It was rejected by the nation of Israel but many individual Jews did accept Jesus as their Messiah. The early church was comprised of mostly Jewish believers. Acceptance or rejection of Christ is a personal decision that each and every one of us makes.
Let's pause for a minute to remember that as a Jew they were rejected by Gentiles and as a Christian Jew they were not only rejected by their own countrymen but persecuted as well. They were expelled from the temple which meant that they probably would have much trouble earning a living because a good Jew would no longer have any dealings with them.
We have looked at who James was and to whom he wrote to. Now let's look at why he wrote. James purpose in writing this letter was to address spiritual immaturity, and he talks about several qualities that should mark the spiritually mature believer. Here they are, using Warren Wiersbe's words: A spiritually mature believer is patient in testing, practices the truth, has power over the tongue, is a peacemaker, not a troublemaker, and is prayerful in troubles. I absolutely love how (he) Warren Wiersbe, characterizes the problems that James dealt with. He saw them as characteristics we see in little children. Thinking of it like that makes it so easy for me to remember. James looks at impatience, talking but not living the truth, no control over the tongue, fighting and coveting, and collecting material things.
Okay...I just don't see these characteristics in little children. I see each of them to some extent in me. Imagine, however, if these qualities were still as much a part of our character now as they were when we were young. Suppose chastening had never occurred, or we never had to face the consequences of our actions and we always got what we wanted. Without the trials, chastisements and consequences I received as a child I would be impossible to live with....selfish, unhappy, discontented, obnoxious and probably dangerous. Without the Lord in my life, without Him in my heart I would be a slave to sin. My life would bear fruit unto death not holiness.
Hebrews 12:9-10 says: "Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. (emphasis mine) Looking at it from this point of view we can see how helpful trials can be. As a child of God they reveal to us what we are trusting in, they lead us to our Savior and His word, they make us look up, help us to bear fruit. In short, they mature us. Our job is to surrender and let Him do the work in our hearts.
God wants to produce His likeness in each of us. This necessarily involves suffering, frustration, heartache and confusion. Fruit needs rain as well as sunshine to grow. God wants to make us mature and complete, not to keep us from all pain. Try to remember, however, that afterward trials will produce the peaceable fruit of righteousness if we allow ourselves to be trained by them. Keep your eyes on the goal....Christ-likeness.
Love
Mom
Addendum from 9/3/2013: a bondservant (doulos) in its Hebrew sense it is defined as a slave....one who gives himself up voluntarily to another's will. It describes a servant who willingly commits himself to serve a master he loves and respects. (Exodus 21:5-6. Gal 1:10, Titus 1:1, A doulos is devoted to another to the disregard of one's own interest. I. Love. That.
The Book of James - Introduction
James is such a practical book! It is where the rubber meets the road. Are we a hearer of the Word only? Do we really live what we profess to believe? What our hearts believe, will be reflected in our lives...our actions will follow the beliefs of our hearts. Our faith is something to be believed and acted upon. If it doesn't result in works and a changed life then our faith is dead. If we love God, we will obey His commandments.
John 14:23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
James introduced Himself as a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was also the Lord's half- brother and a pillar of the early church in Jerusalem, but he thought of himself as a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is how we should see ourselves. We are here as God's servant by His grace to do His will. We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
James was not a believer until after the death and resurrection of Christ. (Mark 3:31-35 and John 7:1-5).What convinced James...the resurrection. (See 1 Cor 15:3-7)
James wrote to the 12 tribes scattered abroad ...the Christian Jews who were scattered in the dispersion during the first round of persecution. Persecution that came from their own countrymen. Interestingly, the Greek word scattered means "in the dispersion" and carries the meaning of scattering seed which is what happened when these Jewish believers were scattered abroad. Seed was sown in many places and much of it bore fruit. The gospel went to the Jew first. It was rejected by the nation of Israel but many individual Jews did accept Jesus as their Messiah. The early church was comprised of mostly Jewish believers. Acceptance or rejection of Christ is a personal decision that each and every one of us makes.
Let's pause for a minute to remember that as a Jew they were rejected by Gentiles and as a Christian Jew they were not only rejected by their own countrymen but persecuted as well. They were expelled from the temple which meant that they probably would have much trouble earning a living because a good Jew would no longer have any dealings with them.
We have looked at who James was and to whom he wrote to. Now let's look at why he wrote. James purpose in writing this letter was to address spiritual immaturity, and he talks about several qualities that should mark the spiritually mature believer. Here they are, using Warren Wiersbe's words: A spiritually mature believer is patient in testing, practices the truth, has power over the tongue, is a peacemaker, not a troublemaker, and is prayerful in troubles. I absolutely love how (he) Warren Wiersbe, characterizes the problems that James dealt with. He saw them as characteristics we see in little children. Thinking of it like that makes it so easy for me to remember. James looks at impatience, talking but not living the truth, no control over the tongue, fighting and coveting, and collecting material things.
Okay...I just don't see these characteristics in little children. I see each of them to some extent in me. Imagine, however, if these qualities were still as much a part of our character now as they were when we were young. Suppose chastening had never occurred, or we never had to face the consequences of our actions and we always got what we wanted. Without the trials, chastisements and consequences I received as a child I would be impossible to live with....selfish, unhappy, discontented, obnoxious and probably dangerous. Without the Lord in my life, without Him in my heart I would be a slave to sin. My life would bear fruit unto death not holiness.
Hebrews 12:9-10 says: "Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. (emphasis mine) Looking at it from this point of view we can see how helpful trials can be. As a child of God they reveal to us what we are trusting in, they lead us to our Savior and His word, they make us look up, help us to bear fruit. In short, they mature us. Our job is to surrender and let Him do the work in our hearts.
God wants to produce His likeness in each of us. This necessarily involves suffering, frustration, heartache and confusion. Fruit needs rain as well as sunshine to grow. God wants to make us mature and complete, not to keep us from all pain. Try to remember, however, that afterward trials will produce the peaceable fruit of righteousness if we allow ourselves to be trained by them. Keep your eyes on the goal....Christ-likeness.
Love
Mom
Addendum from 9/3/2013: a bondservant (doulos) in its Hebrew sense it is defined as a slave....one who gives himself up voluntarily to another's will. It describes a servant who willingly commits himself to serve a master he loves and respects. (Exodus 21:5-6. Gal 1:10, Titus 1:1, A doulos is devoted to another to the disregard of one's own interest. I. Love. That.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
AND IF GOD IS AGAINST YOU....UH OH...
Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,
We are looking at Jeremiah Chapter 21. I never want to find myself in the position King Zedekiah found himself in when he finally inquired of the Lord after the King of Babylon had laid siege on Jerusalem. He was hoping that God would perform a miracle and the enemy would turn away as they did during Hezekiah's reign. Look what God says to the King of Judah in verses 3 through 7.
But Jeremiah answered them, “Tell Zedekiah, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I am about to turn against you the weapons of war that are in your hands, which you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Babylonians who are outside the wall besieging you. And I will gather them inside this city. 5 I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm in furious anger and in great wrath. 6 I will strike down those who live in this city—both man and beast—and they will die of a terrible plague. 7 After that, declares the LORD, I will give Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials and the people in this city who survive the plague, sword and famine, into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to their enemies who want to kill them. He will put them to the sword; he will show them no mercy or pity or compassion.--Jeremiah 21:3-7
Not only would the Lord not deliver the city from the enemy but He would fight on their side! The Lord's arm would not be outstretched this time to help and to show mercy but in wrath against His people. It says in Romans 8 if God is for us who can be against us. The converse of that verse is very frightening indeed! This is where King Zedekiah and the people of Judah found themselves. As always though the Lord's wrath is tempered with His mercy. See what God tells the people of Jerusalem in verses 8-10.
“Furthermore, tell the people, ‘This is what the LORD says: See, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death. 9 Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague. But whoever goes out and surrenders to the Babylonians who are besieging you will live; they will escape with their lives. 10 I have determined to do this city harm and not good, declares the LORD. It will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will destroy it with fire."--Jeremiah 21:8-10
God gave them a choice...surrender to the enemy and live or die in the city by the sword, famine or plague. You decide. Don't miss the picture here. In surrendering...in submitting to the enemy...they were actually confessing their guilt and submitting to the will of God because Nebuchadnezzar was God's instrument in judgment. Those who submitted lived. Those who did not surrender to the Babylonians and remained in the city perished. I am pretty sure there is a lesson in there for us...I will get back to you. : D
Girls, the only sane response to God's chastening hand is submission. Hebrews 12:9 says this: "Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? It is important also to remember here that the leaders of Jerusalem had been given better choices earlier...unfortunately they waited until the enemy had surrounded them before asking the Lord for help. If you are practicing sin, the time to turn and repent is now...don't wait for disaster and judgment to be upon you.
The last several verses pronounce doom on the kings of Judah...the House of David. Here are the verses from Jeremiah 21:11-14
“Moreover, say to the royal house of Judah, ‘Hear the word of the LORD. This is what the LORD says to you, house of David:
“‘Administer justice every morning;
rescue from the hand of the oppressor
the one who has been robbed,
or my wrath will break out and burn like fire
because of the evil you have done—
burn with no one to quench it.
13 I am against you, Jerusalem,
you who live above this valley
on the rocky plateau, declares the LORD—
you who say, “Who can come against us?
Who can enter our refuge?”
14 I will punish you as your deeds deserve,
declares the LORD.
I will kindle a fire in your forests
that will consume everything around you.’”
God is simply reminding them of His covenant with them and urging them to obey. The words to the covenant can be found in 2nd Samuel Chapter 7.
As I end girls, remember that God is for us. If we have His Son we have life in His name. God, the creator of the universe, who conquered Satan, the ruler of this world, at the cross is FOR US! He who is in me, is greater than he who is in the world. Girls, there are many times during the day when my eyes just fill with tears and I am overwhelmed by His goodness and kindness toward me. If God did not spare His own Son when I was still His enemy, I can be sure that He will not withhold His gift of salvation from me...I can be sure that He will not condemn me...I can be sure that He will give me everything I need to live for Him..after all He gave His life for me when I hated Him. How much more will He freely give to me those things that are for my best as His daughter.
Love
Mom
We are looking at Jeremiah Chapter 21. I never want to find myself in the position King Zedekiah found himself in when he finally inquired of the Lord after the King of Babylon had laid siege on Jerusalem. He was hoping that God would perform a miracle and the enemy would turn away as they did during Hezekiah's reign. Look what God says to the King of Judah in verses 3 through 7.
But Jeremiah answered them, “Tell Zedekiah, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I am about to turn against you the weapons of war that are in your hands, which you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Babylonians who are outside the wall besieging you. And I will gather them inside this city. 5 I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm in furious anger and in great wrath. 6 I will strike down those who live in this city—both man and beast—and they will die of a terrible plague. 7 After that, declares the LORD, I will give Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials and the people in this city who survive the plague, sword and famine, into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to their enemies who want to kill them. He will put them to the sword; he will show them no mercy or pity or compassion.--Jeremiah 21:3-7
Not only would the Lord not deliver the city from the enemy but He would fight on their side! The Lord's arm would not be outstretched this time to help and to show mercy but in wrath against His people. It says in Romans 8 if God is for us who can be against us. The converse of that verse is very frightening indeed! This is where King Zedekiah and the people of Judah found themselves. As always though the Lord's wrath is tempered with His mercy. See what God tells the people of Jerusalem in verses 8-10.
“Furthermore, tell the people, ‘This is what the LORD says: See, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death. 9 Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague. But whoever goes out and surrenders to the Babylonians who are besieging you will live; they will escape with their lives. 10 I have determined to do this city harm and not good, declares the LORD. It will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will destroy it with fire."--Jeremiah 21:8-10
God gave them a choice...surrender to the enemy and live or die in the city by the sword, famine or plague. You decide. Don't miss the picture here. In surrendering...in submitting to the enemy...they were actually confessing their guilt and submitting to the will of God because Nebuchadnezzar was God's instrument in judgment. Those who submitted lived. Those who did not surrender to the Babylonians and remained in the city perished. I am pretty sure there is a lesson in there for us...I will get back to you. : D
Girls, the only sane response to God's chastening hand is submission. Hebrews 12:9 says this: "Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? It is important also to remember here that the leaders of Jerusalem had been given better choices earlier...unfortunately they waited until the enemy had surrounded them before asking the Lord for help. If you are practicing sin, the time to turn and repent is now...don't wait for disaster and judgment to be upon you.
The last several verses pronounce doom on the kings of Judah...the House of David. Here are the verses from Jeremiah 21:11-14
“Moreover, say to the royal house of Judah, ‘Hear the word of the LORD. This is what the LORD says to you, house of David:
“‘Administer justice every morning;
rescue from the hand of the oppressor
the one who has been robbed,
or my wrath will break out and burn like fire
because of the evil you have done—
burn with no one to quench it.
13 I am against you, Jerusalem,
you who live above this valley
on the rocky plateau, declares the LORD—
you who say, “Who can come against us?
Who can enter our refuge?”
14 I will punish you as your deeds deserve,
declares the LORD.
I will kindle a fire in your forests
that will consume everything around you.’”
God is simply reminding them of His covenant with them and urging them to obey. The words to the covenant can be found in 2nd Samuel Chapter 7.
As I end girls, remember that God is for us. If we have His Son we have life in His name. God, the creator of the universe, who conquered Satan, the ruler of this world, at the cross is FOR US! He who is in me, is greater than he who is in the world. Girls, there are many times during the day when my eyes just fill with tears and I am overwhelmed by His goodness and kindness toward me. If God did not spare His own Son when I was still His enemy, I can be sure that He will not withhold His gift of salvation from me...I can be sure that He will not condemn me...I can be sure that He will give me everything I need to live for Him..after all He gave His life for me when I hated Him. How much more will He freely give to me those things that are for my best as His daughter.
Love
Mom
The Same Lord is Rich to all who Call on Him...
But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’”from above) or, “‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls (that is, to bring Christ down on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”--Romans 10:6-13
Below are the verses from Deuteronomy 30:10-14 that Paul was quoting. I have included verse 10 for clarity.
10 if you obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
“For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 14 But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.
These verses in Deuteronomy emphasis heart belief and not just outward compliance. Paul changes the quote from Deuteronomy to refer to the gospel in Romans... "He saw “the commandment” or “the Word” as meaning “Christ, God’s Word.” So, he substituted “Christ” for “the commandment.” I really love this! Paul is saying here that the gospel is not hard...it does not tell us to do what is humanly impossible. Christ has already descended from heaven in the Incarnation. He has already risen from the abyss in the resurrection! He has already done it all. The work is finished and He is near! The gospel is easily attained, easily understood and and can be expressed in conversation! Jesus is known not through the philosophies of men but through a childlike faith.
What do you have to do obtain salvation. It's so simple. Confess with your mouth that Jesus is your Lord and Savior and believe in your heart that He died for your sins at Calvary and that God raised Him from the dead in order that those who believe could live with Him forever. That's it. When a person does this, he is instantly justified. He now has Christ's righteousness imputed to him...he is saved. So simple...believe and confess.
Contrast that to what the Jew had to do and you can understand why they stumbled. They were so used to doing and obeying the law to obtain righteousness that this seemed ludicrous. There was nothing they could do to be justified before God except believe. Many rejected it out of hand. Their pride could not take the blow. Others, however, saw their own inability to keep the law and through that saw God's grace, surrendered and accepted His free gift.
Next, Paul quoting Isaiah 28:16, reminds us that when you do confess Jesus as Lord with your mouth, God's word guarantees you will not be put to shame. Matthew 10:32 says, "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. Our confession of Him here on earth, leads to His confession of us in heaven. He goes on to say that there is no difference between Jew and Greek and I love what He says next...the same Lord is rich to all who call on Him. How beautiful is that.! "They looked to Him and were radiant and their faces were not ashamed."
Joel 2:32 is the last verse Paul quotes from in this section acknowledging that WHOEVER calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. There is no difference in salvation...the Jew and the Gentile all need to call on the name of the Lord to be saved!
Romans 10:6-13 present a real challenge to the Jew both now and then. In order to accept the gospel, they needed to believe that God became a man and then rose from the dead. (Incarnation and the Resurrection) They also need to believe that they were just as guilty before God as the Gentiles they condemned. So many of us stumble here The gospel is so simple but it is in direct opposition to our pride and our desire be righteous in our own selves. We look at others through the eyes of our own pride and accomplishment and think that we will be acceptable to God in and of ourselves. We think that because of our good works God has to accept us...that He owes us some how. We forget that God is a debtor to no man...He cannot be controlled. He lays before us two paths...the path of righteousness by acceptance of His Son and His finished work on the cross or the path of destruction...the path we choose when we go our own way.
Warren Wiersbe presents a chart to his readers comparing faith righteousness to works righteousness...It is worth copying here.
Law Righteousness Faith Righteousness
Only for the Jew For “whosoever”
Based on works Comes by faith alone
Self-righteousness God’s righteousness
Cannot save Brings salvation
Obey the Lord Call on the Lord
Leads to pride Glorifies God
Law righteousness was only for the Jew, based on works and led to self-righteousness. It could not save. The Lord needed to be obeyed...instead of glorifying God it led to pride...
Faith righteousness was for whosoever and comes by faith alone. It is God's righteousness imputed to us that brings salvation when we call on Him. This kind of righteousness does not lead to pride because we can do nothing to earn it...we can only accept it as a gift. It glorifies our Father in heaven.
Love
Mom
Below are the verses from Deuteronomy 30:10-14 that Paul was quoting. I have included verse 10 for clarity.
10 if you obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
“For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 14 But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.
These verses in Deuteronomy emphasis heart belief and not just outward compliance. Paul changes the quote from Deuteronomy to refer to the gospel in Romans... "He saw “the commandment” or “the Word” as meaning “Christ, God’s Word.” So, he substituted “Christ” for “the commandment.” I really love this! Paul is saying here that the gospel is not hard...it does not tell us to do what is humanly impossible. Christ has already descended from heaven in the Incarnation. He has already risen from the abyss in the resurrection! He has already done it all. The work is finished and He is near! The gospel is easily attained, easily understood and and can be expressed in conversation! Jesus is known not through the philosophies of men but through a childlike faith.
What do you have to do obtain salvation. It's so simple. Confess with your mouth that Jesus is your Lord and Savior and believe in your heart that He died for your sins at Calvary and that God raised Him from the dead in order that those who believe could live with Him forever. That's it. When a person does this, he is instantly justified. He now has Christ's righteousness imputed to him...he is saved. So simple...believe and confess.
Contrast that to what the Jew had to do and you can understand why they stumbled. They were so used to doing and obeying the law to obtain righteousness that this seemed ludicrous. There was nothing they could do to be justified before God except believe. Many rejected it out of hand. Their pride could not take the blow. Others, however, saw their own inability to keep the law and through that saw God's grace, surrendered and accepted His free gift.
Next, Paul quoting Isaiah 28:16, reminds us that when you do confess Jesus as Lord with your mouth, God's word guarantees you will not be put to shame. Matthew 10:32 says, "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. Our confession of Him here on earth, leads to His confession of us in heaven. He goes on to say that there is no difference between Jew and Greek and I love what He says next...the same Lord is rich to all who call on Him. How beautiful is that.! "They looked to Him and were radiant and their faces were not ashamed."
Joel 2:32 is the last verse Paul quotes from in this section acknowledging that WHOEVER calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. There is no difference in salvation...the Jew and the Gentile all need to call on the name of the Lord to be saved!
Romans 10:6-13 present a real challenge to the Jew both now and then. In order to accept the gospel, they needed to believe that God became a man and then rose from the dead. (Incarnation and the Resurrection) They also need to believe that they were just as guilty before God as the Gentiles they condemned. So many of us stumble here The gospel is so simple but it is in direct opposition to our pride and our desire be righteous in our own selves. We look at others through the eyes of our own pride and accomplishment and think that we will be acceptable to God in and of ourselves. We think that because of our good works God has to accept us...that He owes us some how. We forget that God is a debtor to no man...He cannot be controlled. He lays before us two paths...the path of righteousness by acceptance of His Son and His finished work on the cross or the path of destruction...the path we choose when we go our own way.
Warren Wiersbe presents a chart to his readers comparing faith righteousness to works righteousness...It is worth copying here.
Law Righteousness Faith Righteousness
Only for the Jew For “whosoever”
Based on works Comes by faith alone
Self-righteousness God’s righteousness
Cannot save Brings salvation
Obey the Lord Call on the Lord
Leads to pride Glorifies God
Law righteousness was only for the Jew, based on works and led to self-righteousness. It could not save. The Lord needed to be obeyed...instead of glorifying God it led to pride...
Faith righteousness was for whosoever and comes by faith alone. It is God's righteousness imputed to us that brings salvation when we call on Him. This kind of righteousness does not lead to pride because we can do nothing to earn it...we can only accept it as a gift. It glorifies our Father in heaven.
Love
Mom
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Christophobia: Weightlessness
Christophobia: Weightlessness: "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensn..."
Looking at a Bad Example is at times Helpful...Judges 9
Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,
If you don't remember the story of Judges 9, here is a synopsis. Abimelech, the son of one of Gideon's concubines whose name means literally "My father is king" wanted recognition and desired to rule and reign over Israel. This was in direct disobedience to his father's command in Judges 8:23. "But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; the LORD shall rule over you.” His brethren and the people of Shechem gave him some silver with which he hired hit men to kill all of his brothers....all 70 of them...on a single stone by decapitating them. His youngest brother Jotham escaped the carnage by hiding. So Abimelech became King not over all of Israel but over Shechem. Jotham then goes up to the top of Mount Gerizim and tells the first parable in the bible. The bottom line is that he compared Abimelech to a useless bramble...which produced no fruit and barely any shade. Its' wood could not even be used for construction...it was only good for burning. Fruitful trees would not do this, Jotham says...only worthless brambles. Why...because fruitful trees understood the sacrifice that leadership would require and they were not interested...the bramble had nothing to lose. Here are Jotham's words from Judges 9:16-21: (Jerubbaal is another name for Gideon)
“Now therefore, if you have acted in truth and sincerity in making Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done to him as he deserves— 17 for my father fought for you, risked his life, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian; 18 but you have risen up against my father’s house this day, and killed his seventy sons on one stone, and made Abimelech, the son of his female servant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother— 19 if then you have acted in truth and sincerity with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you. 20 But if not, let fire come from Abimelech and devour the men of Shechem and Beth Millo; and let fire come from the men of Shechem and from Beth Millo and devour Abimelech!” 21 And Jotham ran away and fled; and he went to Beer and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother."
I love that last line...Jotham ran away and fled...smart man. Notice that Jotham said that if they had not acted in sincerity and truth to Gideon (and they had not) then let Abimelech devour them with fire. Three years pass, God sends an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem. The men of Shechem decide to rebel against Abimelech...it did not work...Abimelech had a double agent working for him. After a day of fighting the city was demolished and sowed with salt. Abimelech then sets fire to the tower of Shechem where about a thousand men and women had taken refuge. (just as Jotham had predicted fire came from Abimelech and burned the people of Shechem)
Abimelech then goes to a nearby town and attempts the same thing. This time, however, a woman drops a millstone on his head. Not wanting to die by the hand of a woman, he asks his armor bearer to put the sword through him. Death comes...
There is the sad sad story...So many lessons for us.
The first one that jumps out was Gideon had done so much good in leading the nation but missed the mark in regard to family. His sin in taking multiple wives and a concubine(s) may have helped cause the death of his sons. It also obviously affected the people of the city of Shechem. You will reap what you sow. Look at what Abimelech reaped for his misplaced ambition. He had his head crushed by a millstone dropped by a woman and then was thrust through with a sword by his own armor bearer. Girls...our own sin has the same effect and will come back on our own heads and hurt or destroy not only us but those around us.
The next lesson for us would be humility and not putting ourselves forward for leadership. Allow God to do that work. Abimelech's problem was unbridled ambition, and he stopped at nothing to get what he wanted. James 4:6 says that God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. It also says in 1 Peter 5:6 that we are to humble ourselves in His sight in order that He might exalt us in due time.
Girls...do not strive. Abimelech used physical force to get what he wanted not considering what the Lord might have for him or even where the Lord might have wanted him. We do the same thing but with more subtly. We manipulate people and circumstances...not caring who gets hurt in the process or what the Lord's will for us might be. We just want what we want and tear down our own houses in the process. Be careful to go in the strength, will and power of the Lord and not in your own. Disaster inevitably will result when you attempt to get what you want outside of the will of God.
Love
Mom
If you don't remember the story of Judges 9, here is a synopsis. Abimelech, the son of one of Gideon's concubines whose name means literally "My father is king" wanted recognition and desired to rule and reign over Israel. This was in direct disobedience to his father's command in Judges 8:23. "But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; the LORD shall rule over you.” His brethren and the people of Shechem gave him some silver with which he hired hit men to kill all of his brothers....all 70 of them...on a single stone by decapitating them. His youngest brother Jotham escaped the carnage by hiding. So Abimelech became King not over all of Israel but over Shechem. Jotham then goes up to the top of Mount Gerizim and tells the first parable in the bible. The bottom line is that he compared Abimelech to a useless bramble...which produced no fruit and barely any shade. Its' wood could not even be used for construction...it was only good for burning. Fruitful trees would not do this, Jotham says...only worthless brambles. Why...because fruitful trees understood the sacrifice that leadership would require and they were not interested...the bramble had nothing to lose. Here are Jotham's words from Judges 9:16-21: (Jerubbaal is another name for Gideon)
“Now therefore, if you have acted in truth and sincerity in making Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done to him as he deserves— 17 for my father fought for you, risked his life, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian; 18 but you have risen up against my father’s house this day, and killed his seventy sons on one stone, and made Abimelech, the son of his female servant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother— 19 if then you have acted in truth and sincerity with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you. 20 But if not, let fire come from Abimelech and devour the men of Shechem and Beth Millo; and let fire come from the men of Shechem and from Beth Millo and devour Abimelech!” 21 And Jotham ran away and fled; and he went to Beer and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother."
I love that last line...Jotham ran away and fled...smart man. Notice that Jotham said that if they had not acted in sincerity and truth to Gideon (and they had not) then let Abimelech devour them with fire. Three years pass, God sends an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem. The men of Shechem decide to rebel against Abimelech...it did not work...Abimelech had a double agent working for him. After a day of fighting the city was demolished and sowed with salt. Abimelech then sets fire to the tower of Shechem where about a thousand men and women had taken refuge. (just as Jotham had predicted fire came from Abimelech and burned the people of Shechem)
Abimelech then goes to a nearby town and attempts the same thing. This time, however, a woman drops a millstone on his head. Not wanting to die by the hand of a woman, he asks his armor bearer to put the sword through him. Death comes...
There is the sad sad story...So many lessons for us.
The first one that jumps out was Gideon had done so much good in leading the nation but missed the mark in regard to family. His sin in taking multiple wives and a concubine(s) may have helped cause the death of his sons. It also obviously affected the people of the city of Shechem. You will reap what you sow. Look at what Abimelech reaped for his misplaced ambition. He had his head crushed by a millstone dropped by a woman and then was thrust through with a sword by his own armor bearer. Girls...our own sin has the same effect and will come back on our own heads and hurt or destroy not only us but those around us.
The next lesson for us would be humility and not putting ourselves forward for leadership. Allow God to do that work. Abimelech's problem was unbridled ambition, and he stopped at nothing to get what he wanted. James 4:6 says that God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. It also says in 1 Peter 5:6 that we are to humble ourselves in His sight in order that He might exalt us in due time.
Girls...do not strive. Abimelech used physical force to get what he wanted not considering what the Lord might have for him or even where the Lord might have wanted him. We do the same thing but with more subtly. We manipulate people and circumstances...not caring who gets hurt in the process or what the Lord's will for us might be. We just want what we want and tear down our own houses in the process. Be careful to go in the strength, will and power of the Lord and not in your own. Disaster inevitably will result when you attempt to get what you want outside of the will of God.
Love
Mom
Monday, November 1, 2010
The Law Kills....but the Spirit Gives Life...
Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, “The man who does those things shall live by them.”--Romans 10:1-5
Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,
Chapter 9 dealt with God's sovereignty and Israel's past.(see previous posts) Chapter 10 with human responsibility and Israel's present rejection of their Messiah. Both deal with righteousness. The righteousness that comes from the law and cannot save versus the righteousness that comes from faith in Christ and results in the salvation of our souls.
Chapter 10 begins with Paul laying it all on the line saying that it is his heart's desire and prayer for Israel to be saved. Then he says that the Jews have a zeal for God but not according to knowledge. No one could understand this better than Paul since prior to his Damascus Road conversion he was a pharisee of pharisees and led in the persecution of believers. The Jewish people ever since the Babylonian exile had been zealous for the law and God. They even added their own laws and traditions. Babylon cured them of idol worship but our (their) good deeds and outward religious ceremonies will not get us (them) into heaven....even if we believe sincerely and are zealous for them. In fact, these very practices will keep us from heaven if we are trusting them to get us there. The Bible says that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and that by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight. So as it says in verse 3 by seeking to establish their own righteousness they had not submitted to the righteousness of God. The only way to earn salvation is to live a perfect, sinless life which none of us can do. (See Romans 7) Again, no one understood any of this better than Paul, the author of Romans. Here is what he says in Philippians Chapter 3: 1-11:
Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe.
Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, ] rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Verse 4 tells us that Christ is the end of the law for everyone who believes. Jesus speaking in Matthew 5:18 says this, "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled." Every jot and tittle was fulfilled in Christ.
Romans 8:4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Ephesians 2:15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace,
Colossians 2:14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
The law cannot make us righteous it can only lead us to the One who can save us through His righteousness imputed to us at salvation.
Verse 5 says that if we want to keep the law we must keep every part. We must do it and not stop doing it. Girls...even if this were possible it would mean that we could never ever let down our guard. Are you seeing God's grace, mercy and compassion here. The work of God for those who are not under the law but grace is to just simply believe! I love the example that Jon Courson uses to contrast the spirit of the law versus the letter of the law.
On the day the law came down from Mount Sinai three thousand people died...
Exodus 32:28: So the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And about three thousand men of the people fell that day.
On the day the Spirit descended, three thousand were saved.
Acts 2:41: Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.
The law kills, the Spirit gives life.
Romans 7:4-6 Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.
Love
Mom
For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, “The man who does those things shall live by them.”--Romans 10:1-5
Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,
Chapter 9 dealt with God's sovereignty and Israel's past.(see previous posts) Chapter 10 with human responsibility and Israel's present rejection of their Messiah. Both deal with righteousness. The righteousness that comes from the law and cannot save versus the righteousness that comes from faith in Christ and results in the salvation of our souls.
Chapter 10 begins with Paul laying it all on the line saying that it is his heart's desire and prayer for Israel to be saved. Then he says that the Jews have a zeal for God but not according to knowledge. No one could understand this better than Paul since prior to his Damascus Road conversion he was a pharisee of pharisees and led in the persecution of believers. The Jewish people ever since the Babylonian exile had been zealous for the law and God. They even added their own laws and traditions. Babylon cured them of idol worship but our (their) good deeds and outward religious ceremonies will not get us (them) into heaven....even if we believe sincerely and are zealous for them. In fact, these very practices will keep us from heaven if we are trusting them to get us there. The Bible says that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and that by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight. So as it says in verse 3 by seeking to establish their own righteousness they had not submitted to the righteousness of God. The only way to earn salvation is to live a perfect, sinless life which none of us can do. (See Romans 7) Again, no one understood any of this better than Paul, the author of Romans. Here is what he says in Philippians Chapter 3: 1-11:
Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe.
Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, ] rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Verse 4 tells us that Christ is the end of the law for everyone who believes. Jesus speaking in Matthew 5:18 says this, "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled." Every jot and tittle was fulfilled in Christ.
Romans 8:4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Ephesians 2:15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace,
Colossians 2:14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
The law cannot make us righteous it can only lead us to the One who can save us through His righteousness imputed to us at salvation.
Verse 5 says that if we want to keep the law we must keep every part. We must do it and not stop doing it. Girls...even if this were possible it would mean that we could never ever let down our guard. Are you seeing God's grace, mercy and compassion here. The work of God for those who are not under the law but grace is to just simply believe! I love the example that Jon Courson uses to contrast the spirit of the law versus the letter of the law.
On the day the law came down from Mount Sinai three thousand people died...
Exodus 32:28: So the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And about three thousand men of the people fell that day.
On the day the Spirit descended, three thousand were saved.
Acts 2:41: Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.
The law kills, the Spirit gives life.
Romans 7:4-6 Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.
Love
Mom
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Irony of Ironies...Romans 9:30-33
What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; 31 but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. 32 Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone. 33 As it is written:
“ Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense,
And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”
Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,
I absolutely love verse 30....irony of ironies...That is just so God. The ones who did not pursue righteousness attained the righteousness of faith and the ones who pursued the law of righteousness did not get there. Why? They did not seek it by faith but by works...they tried to do it themselves. They stumbled at that stumbling stone (Jesus) and were offended instead of being thankful for the free gift of salvation we have in God's Son.
The Gentile understood that the way into God's kingdom was to realize their own inability to keep the law and their need for a Savior and enter His kingdom by faith. The Jews rejected grace righteousness and tried to please God through law righteousness spurning the gift of His Son. God's plan is not for us to try to obtain His favor by being good and doing good things. It is to obtain His favor by realizing that we can never be good enough and must depend on His Son for entrance into heaven. The Jews thought the Gentiles needed to climb to their level to be saved but in reality they needed to get down in the mud with the Gentiles to find salvation. “For there is no difference: for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” The gospel was taken to the Jew first and upon their rejection to the Gentiles. The nation of Israel rejected the Messiah but there were many Jews that accepted Him, In fact, the early church was made up of mostly Jewish believers. Are you seeing God's mercy here and feeling His love...the nation may have rejected Him but acceptance or rejection of Christ, is a personal decision that each one of us must make.
Okay...here comes more of God's grace and His unsearchable ways. The Jewish rejection of their Messiah meant the Gentiles salvation. Romans 11:11 says this: "I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles." So today the saved Gentiles provoke Israel “to jealousy” because of the spiritual riches they have in Christ. Read Romans 10: 19-21 and see God's grace to the entire world.
19 But I say, did Israel not know? First Moses says:
“ I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation,
I will move you to anger by a foolish nation.”
20 But Isaiah is very bold and says:
“ I was found by those who did not seek Me;
I was made manifest to those who did not ask for Me.”
21 But to Israel he says:
“ All day long I have stretched out My hands
To a disobedient and contrary people.”
I do not understand predestination and free will. It is a mystery. I do know, however, that the Bible teaches both. I also see God's love evidenced in these passages and if studied closely in every chapter in the Bible. I see His free offer of salvation to all of us. All He does, He does for our good and His glory. His ways are unfathomable. 2nd Peter 3:9 says "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." God says salvation is by grace through faith and not of works. God says whosoever will come. It has been said that divine sovereignty and human responsibility do not compete they cooperate. We are not asked to choose between them. We are asked to choose between life eternally with Christ by believing by faith in His Son or life eternally in a place of torment separated forever from God.
After going through this chapter verse by verse, I am now more convinced than ever that our God can be trusted...He is faithful to keep His word and to accomplish its purpose both in Israel and the whole world. In fact, in Israel's rejection, He kept His word to the Gentiles and will use the Gentiles to keep His word to Israel. Truly we serve an amazing God!!
Love
Mom who is really looking forward to studying Chapter 10 of Romans...
“ Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense,
And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”
Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,
I absolutely love verse 30....irony of ironies...That is just so God. The ones who did not pursue righteousness attained the righteousness of faith and the ones who pursued the law of righteousness did not get there. Why? They did not seek it by faith but by works...they tried to do it themselves. They stumbled at that stumbling stone (Jesus) and were offended instead of being thankful for the free gift of salvation we have in God's Son.
The Gentile understood that the way into God's kingdom was to realize their own inability to keep the law and their need for a Savior and enter His kingdom by faith. The Jews rejected grace righteousness and tried to please God through law righteousness spurning the gift of His Son. God's plan is not for us to try to obtain His favor by being good and doing good things. It is to obtain His favor by realizing that we can never be good enough and must depend on His Son for entrance into heaven. The Jews thought the Gentiles needed to climb to their level to be saved but in reality they needed to get down in the mud with the Gentiles to find salvation. “For there is no difference: for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” The gospel was taken to the Jew first and upon their rejection to the Gentiles. The nation of Israel rejected the Messiah but there were many Jews that accepted Him, In fact, the early church was made up of mostly Jewish believers. Are you seeing God's mercy here and feeling His love...the nation may have rejected Him but acceptance or rejection of Christ, is a personal decision that each one of us must make.
Okay...here comes more of God's grace and His unsearchable ways. The Jewish rejection of their Messiah meant the Gentiles salvation. Romans 11:11 says this: "I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles." So today the saved Gentiles provoke Israel “to jealousy” because of the spiritual riches they have in Christ. Read Romans 10: 19-21 and see God's grace to the entire world.
19 But I say, did Israel not know? First Moses says:
“ I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation,
I will move you to anger by a foolish nation.”
20 But Isaiah is very bold and says:
“ I was found by those who did not seek Me;
I was made manifest to those who did not ask for Me.”
21 But to Israel he says:
“ All day long I have stretched out My hands
To a disobedient and contrary people.”
I do not understand predestination and free will. It is a mystery. I do know, however, that the Bible teaches both. I also see God's love evidenced in these passages and if studied closely in every chapter in the Bible. I see His free offer of salvation to all of us. All He does, He does for our good and His glory. His ways are unfathomable. 2nd Peter 3:9 says "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." God says salvation is by grace through faith and not of works. God says whosoever will come. It has been said that divine sovereignty and human responsibility do not compete they cooperate. We are not asked to choose between them. We are asked to choose between life eternally with Christ by believing by faith in His Son or life eternally in a place of torment separated forever from God.
After going through this chapter verse by verse, I am now more convinced than ever that our God can be trusted...He is faithful to keep His word and to accomplish its purpose both in Israel and the whole world. In fact, in Israel's rejection, He kept His word to the Gentiles and will use the Gentiles to keep His word to Israel. Truly we serve an amazing God!!
Love
Mom who is really looking forward to studying Chapter 10 of Romans...
Backsliding....Jeremiah 8
Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,
Jeremiah 8 is the backsliding chapter...Israel was going backwards rather than forwards in their relationship with the Lord. Why were they backsliding? The short list is that they were content believing lies. They did not want to admit the truth nor heed the truth. Repentance was not on their radar....everyone turned to his own way. They were happy with the shallow ministry of the false prophets. They could be religious and still live the way they wanted to. They had rejected the word of the Lord and went backward...
Verse 14 asks "Why do they sit still?" They sit still because they do not really believe the enemy is coming. They are believing the false prophets lies in regard to peace.
We do that...we put off repentance because we are enjoying our life and our sin. We forget that the moment is all we have. We figure there is time. The truth is, however, that sin and a lack of repentance hardens our hearts to our own sin and the sin of the world around us. We do not see it through the same lenses any more. As time goes by our sin not only continues but we start to do things that we never thought we would. As opportunities pass and we continue in our sin, it becomes harder and harder to turn.
Here is an example...You have done something wrong...you know you should apologize...there is a battle waging inside. "Put aside your pride," the first voice says, "humble yourself and apologize." The other voice that fills your head and makes it swell and it is definitely the loudest tells you that you did not get what you deserved. You were not treated as you should have been treated so you should not reach out first...the longer you put off repenting, the harder it becomes and the more you begin to believe the second voice that tells you that you are deserving of better. This is the way of selfishness...it has been the way of death for many many relationships. Pride kills. Marriages are destroyed, families are destroyed....why? Because someone felt they deserved more and stood there doing nothing while their world was destroyed around them. Pharaoh allowed all of Egypt to be destroyed and his first born killed, rather than give way to God. On the other hand humility breeds unity and peace. Take a deep breath and do the right thing, when the opportunity presents itself. It just gets harder if you don't and as you wait your sin hurts you as well as those around you. Look what happened to Egypt...look where Pharaoh wound up.
19 Listen! The voice,
The cry of the daughter of my people
From a far country:
“ Is not the LORD in Zion?
Is not her King in her?”
“ Why have they provoked Me to anger
With their carved images—
With foreign idols?”
Why have they provoked the Lord to anger...
The people of Judah thought they could get away with serving God and idols. They really didn't abandon the Lord they just equated Him with their false gods. They served both Him and sin except they served Him only with their lips because with their hearts they served sin. Their deeds reflected what their hearts truly believed. Think of it as an unfaithful spouse who has chosen another over his beloved. We grieve God when we choose anything else over Him.
I see this so often. People begin to think about the things of God and rather than really look they deceive their own hearts and do the outward. They make things in their life look a little better from the outside. They go to church or do some charity work or even just voice belief. They compare themselves with those around them and they think they come out pretty okay. They hedge their bets so to speak. They are not really comfortable in their sin so they deceive themselves into thinking their hearts are for God. Their lives, however, reflect what their hearts DO NOT BELIEVE. If your word and your deed are not matching there is a problem in your heart. You cannot serve two masters. God demands total commitment.
There was no recovery...verses 20-22. God does suffer long with us and gives us every opportunity to repent. There comes a time, however, when His long suffering ends...The limit is reached. Judah did not heed God's warning while there was still time. It says this in Jeremiah Chapter 4:
1 “If you will return, O Israel,” says the LORD,
“Return to Me;
And if you will put away your abominations out of My sight,
Then you shall not be moved.
2 And you shall swear, ‘The LORD lives,’
In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness;
The nations shall bless themselves in Him,
And in Him they shall glory.”
3 For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:
“ Break up your fallow ground,
And do not sow among thorns.
4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD,
And take away the foreskins of your hearts,
You men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
Lest My fury come forth like fire,
And burn so that no one can quench it,
Because of the evil of your doings.”
It was now too late...there was no remedy. The prophet was broken-hearted. Jeremiah had such compassion for his countrymen. It is difficult to watch someone you love go down a path of destruction thinking they can navigate it differently than others have in the past and escape consequences and judgment. Our sin truly does make us stupid and the longer we wait to get back on the right road the less we see our need. When we go over the cliff, it is too late...the opportunity is past and judgment comes. Turn now...in time it may be too late and your life will be in shambles around you.
Love
Mom
Jeremiah 8 is the backsliding chapter...Israel was going backwards rather than forwards in their relationship with the Lord. Why were they backsliding? The short list is that they were content believing lies. They did not want to admit the truth nor heed the truth. Repentance was not on their radar....everyone turned to his own way. They were happy with the shallow ministry of the false prophets. They could be religious and still live the way they wanted to. They had rejected the word of the Lord and went backward...
Verse 14 asks "Why do they sit still?" They sit still because they do not really believe the enemy is coming. They are believing the false prophets lies in regard to peace.
We do that...we put off repentance because we are enjoying our life and our sin. We forget that the moment is all we have. We figure there is time. The truth is, however, that sin and a lack of repentance hardens our hearts to our own sin and the sin of the world around us. We do not see it through the same lenses any more. As time goes by our sin not only continues but we start to do things that we never thought we would. As opportunities pass and we continue in our sin, it becomes harder and harder to turn.
Here is an example...You have done something wrong...you know you should apologize...there is a battle waging inside. "Put aside your pride," the first voice says, "humble yourself and apologize." The other voice that fills your head and makes it swell and it is definitely the loudest tells you that you did not get what you deserved. You were not treated as you should have been treated so you should not reach out first...the longer you put off repenting, the harder it becomes and the more you begin to believe the second voice that tells you that you are deserving of better. This is the way of selfishness...it has been the way of death for many many relationships. Pride kills. Marriages are destroyed, families are destroyed....why? Because someone felt they deserved more and stood there doing nothing while their world was destroyed around them. Pharaoh allowed all of Egypt to be destroyed and his first born killed, rather than give way to God. On the other hand humility breeds unity and peace. Take a deep breath and do the right thing, when the opportunity presents itself. It just gets harder if you don't and as you wait your sin hurts you as well as those around you. Look what happened to Egypt...look where Pharaoh wound up.
19 Listen! The voice,
The cry of the daughter of my people
From a far country:
“ Is not the LORD in Zion?
Is not her King in her?”
“ Why have they provoked Me to anger
With their carved images—
With foreign idols?”
Why have they provoked the Lord to anger...
The people of Judah thought they could get away with serving God and idols. They really didn't abandon the Lord they just equated Him with their false gods. They served both Him and sin except they served Him only with their lips because with their hearts they served sin. Their deeds reflected what their hearts truly believed. Think of it as an unfaithful spouse who has chosen another over his beloved. We grieve God when we choose anything else over Him.
I see this so often. People begin to think about the things of God and rather than really look they deceive their own hearts and do the outward. They make things in their life look a little better from the outside. They go to church or do some charity work or even just voice belief. They compare themselves with those around them and they think they come out pretty okay. They hedge their bets so to speak. They are not really comfortable in their sin so they deceive themselves into thinking their hearts are for God. Their lives, however, reflect what their hearts DO NOT BELIEVE. If your word and your deed are not matching there is a problem in your heart. You cannot serve two masters. God demands total commitment.
There was no recovery...verses 20-22. God does suffer long with us and gives us every opportunity to repent. There comes a time, however, when His long suffering ends...The limit is reached. Judah did not heed God's warning while there was still time. It says this in Jeremiah Chapter 4:
1 “If you will return, O Israel,” says the LORD,
“Return to Me;
And if you will put away your abominations out of My sight,
Then you shall not be moved.
2 And you shall swear, ‘The LORD lives,’
In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness;
The nations shall bless themselves in Him,
And in Him they shall glory.”
3 For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:
“ Break up your fallow ground,
And do not sow among thorns.
4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD,
And take away the foreskins of your hearts,
You men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
Lest My fury come forth like fire,
And burn so that no one can quench it,
Because of the evil of your doings.”
It was now too late...there was no remedy. The prophet was broken-hearted. Jeremiah had such compassion for his countrymen. It is difficult to watch someone you love go down a path of destruction thinking they can navigate it differently than others have in the past and escape consequences and judgment. Our sin truly does make us stupid and the longer we wait to get back on the right road the less we see our need. When we go over the cliff, it is too late...the opportunity is past and judgment comes. Turn now...in time it may be too late and your life will be in shambles around you.
Love
Mom
Friday, October 29, 2010
If God is Sovereign, Can We Resist Him? Romans 9:19-29
You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?” 20 But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor--Romans 9:19-21
The question here is if God is sovereign than how can we resist His will. If we do resist, what right does He have to judge. Who are we to question God. Does not God have power over us to form one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? God is holy, just and righteous. He cannot perform an unjust act or have an unjust purpose. Again though, looking through the human perspective it seems to us sometimes that He does. He had mercy on Moses but condemned Pharaoh. He elected Israel and rejected other nations. Is this just?
First, who are we to question God. Like clay in the hands of the potter we are the work of His hands. We are different from clay, however in that we have emotions, intelligence and free will. We can resist Him if we choose. God, however, chooses our parents, where and in what time frame we are born, our genetics...etc. The fact that He is sovereign does not excuse us from responsibility. As was said in the previous post, Pharaoh had the same opportunities as Moses but chose to harden his heart against the things of God.
Divine sovereignty does not rule out personal responsibility. I really cannot grasp the concept, but I see it all around me. People choosing to look to the things of God and people choosing to turn away from them. I also see it through the eyes of what I know about God's love for us. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. I read about the opportunities that Judas was given as well as the thief on the cross. I read about Peter's struggle and restoration. Through it all I see God reaching down in love...always always for our good and with our best in mind. I see Jesus' mercy, love and compassion in each and every interaction He had with the people around Him. Read the gospel accounts...see what He wept over. He wept over the city of Jerusalem. Why because they did not recognize their Messiah. He told the women on Calvary Road not to weep for Him but to weep for themselves because they did not understand what lay ahead for the city. Jesus wept for us...for our unbelief. Jesus is for us not against us...the One who created me...loves me and has my best interests at heart. I can trust Him to be my Potter and mold me however He desires. He loved me enough to die for me....I can trust Him with my life.
What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, 24 even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?--Romans 9:22-24
Love (God) suffers long and is kind. 2nd Peter 3:9 says that God is not slack concerning His promises. "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." Pharaoh had opportunities to be saved as did Judas as do all of us. Warren Wiersbe says the word prepared or fitted for destruction in verse 22 does not suggest that God made Pharaoh a vessel of destruction. "The verb is in what the Greek grammarians call the middle voice, making it a reflexive action verb. So, it should read: “fitted himself for destruction.” God prepares men for glory (Rom_9:23), but sinners prepare themselves for judgment. In Moses and Israel God revealed the riches of His mercy; in Pharaoh and Egypt He revealed His power and wrath. Since neither deserved any mercy, God cannot be charged with injustice." Let's look last at Romans 9:25-29.
As He says also in Hosea:
“ I will call them My people, who were not My people,
And her beloved, who was not beloved.”
26 “ And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them,
‘ You are not My people,’
There they shall be called sons of the living God.”
27 Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel:
“ Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea,
The remnant will be saved.
28 For He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness,
Because the LORD will make a short work upon the earth.”
29 And as Isaiah said before:
“ Unless the LORD of Sabaoth had left us a seed,
We would have become like Sodom,
And we would have been made like Gomorrah.”[
I love Warren Wiersbe's commentary on these verses and I will end with it. As I contemplate this I am amazed at the awesomeness of our God...indescribable...
"First Paul quoted Hos 2:23, a statement declaring that God would turn from the Jews and call the Gentiles. Then he cited Hos 1:10 to prove that this new people being called would be God’s people and “children of the living God.” He then quoted Isa 10:22-23 to show that only a remnant of Israel would be saved, while the greater part of the nation would suffer judgment. Rom 9:28 probably refers to God’s work of judgment during the Tribulation, when the nation of Israel will be persecuted and judged, and only a small remnant left to enter into the kingdom when Jesus Christ returns to earth. But the application for today is clear: only a remnant of Jews is believing; and they, together with the Gentiles, are the “called of God” (Rom_9:24). The final quotation from Isa 1:9 emphasized the grace of God in sparing the believing remnant.
Now, what does all of this prove? That God was not unjust in saving some and judging others, because He was only fulfilling the Old Testament prophecies given centuries ago. He would be unjust if He did not keep His own Word. But even more than that, these prophecies show that God’s election has made possible the salvation of the Gentiles. This is the grace of God. At the Exodus, God rejected the Gentiles and chose the Jews, so that, through the Jews, He might save the Gentiles. The nation of Israel rejected His will, but this did not defeat His purposes. A remnant of Jews does believe and God’s Word has been fulfilled."
SEE HOW OUR GOD WORKS...EXCEEDINGLY ABUNDANTLY ABOVE ALL THAT WE COULD ASK OR THINK!
Romans 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
Isaiah 55:9 “ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.
Israel’s rejection had not canceled God’s election; it had only proved that He was true to His character and His purposes.
Love
Mom
The question here is if God is sovereign than how can we resist His will. If we do resist, what right does He have to judge. Who are we to question God. Does not God have power over us to form one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? God is holy, just and righteous. He cannot perform an unjust act or have an unjust purpose. Again though, looking through the human perspective it seems to us sometimes that He does. He had mercy on Moses but condemned Pharaoh. He elected Israel and rejected other nations. Is this just?
First, who are we to question God. Like clay in the hands of the potter we are the work of His hands. We are different from clay, however in that we have emotions, intelligence and free will. We can resist Him if we choose. God, however, chooses our parents, where and in what time frame we are born, our genetics...etc. The fact that He is sovereign does not excuse us from responsibility. As was said in the previous post, Pharaoh had the same opportunities as Moses but chose to harden his heart against the things of God.
Divine sovereignty does not rule out personal responsibility. I really cannot grasp the concept, but I see it all around me. People choosing to look to the things of God and people choosing to turn away from them. I also see it through the eyes of what I know about God's love for us. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. I read about the opportunities that Judas was given as well as the thief on the cross. I read about Peter's struggle and restoration. Through it all I see God reaching down in love...always always for our good and with our best in mind. I see Jesus' mercy, love and compassion in each and every interaction He had with the people around Him. Read the gospel accounts...see what He wept over. He wept over the city of Jerusalem. Why because they did not recognize their Messiah. He told the women on Calvary Road not to weep for Him but to weep for themselves because they did not understand what lay ahead for the city. Jesus wept for us...for our unbelief. Jesus is for us not against us...the One who created me...loves me and has my best interests at heart. I can trust Him to be my Potter and mold me however He desires. He loved me enough to die for me....I can trust Him with my life.
What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, 24 even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?--Romans 9:22-24
Love (God) suffers long and is kind. 2nd Peter 3:9 says that God is not slack concerning His promises. "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." Pharaoh had opportunities to be saved as did Judas as do all of us. Warren Wiersbe says the word prepared or fitted for destruction in verse 22 does not suggest that God made Pharaoh a vessel of destruction. "The verb is in what the Greek grammarians call the middle voice, making it a reflexive action verb. So, it should read: “fitted himself for destruction.” God prepares men for glory (Rom_9:23), but sinners prepare themselves for judgment. In Moses and Israel God revealed the riches of His mercy; in Pharaoh and Egypt He revealed His power and wrath. Since neither deserved any mercy, God cannot be charged with injustice." Let's look last at Romans 9:25-29.
As He says also in Hosea:
“ I will call them My people, who were not My people,
And her beloved, who was not beloved.”
26 “ And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them,
‘ You are not My people,’
There they shall be called sons of the living God.”
27 Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel:
“ Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea,
The remnant will be saved.
28 For He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness,
Because the LORD will make a short work upon the earth.”
29 And as Isaiah said before:
“ Unless the LORD of Sabaoth had left us a seed,
We would have become like Sodom,
And we would have been made like Gomorrah.”[
I love Warren Wiersbe's commentary on these verses and I will end with it. As I contemplate this I am amazed at the awesomeness of our God...indescribable...
"First Paul quoted Hos 2:23, a statement declaring that God would turn from the Jews and call the Gentiles. Then he cited Hos 1:10 to prove that this new people being called would be God’s people and “children of the living God.” He then quoted Isa 10:22-23 to show that only a remnant of Israel would be saved, while the greater part of the nation would suffer judgment. Rom 9:28 probably refers to God’s work of judgment during the Tribulation, when the nation of Israel will be persecuted and judged, and only a small remnant left to enter into the kingdom when Jesus Christ returns to earth. But the application for today is clear: only a remnant of Jews is believing; and they, together with the Gentiles, are the “called of God” (Rom_9:24). The final quotation from Isa 1:9 emphasized the grace of God in sparing the believing remnant.
Now, what does all of this prove? That God was not unjust in saving some and judging others, because He was only fulfilling the Old Testament prophecies given centuries ago. He would be unjust if He did not keep His own Word. But even more than that, these prophecies show that God’s election has made possible the salvation of the Gentiles. This is the grace of God. At the Exodus, God rejected the Gentiles and chose the Jews, so that, through the Jews, He might save the Gentiles. The nation of Israel rejected His will, but this did not defeat His purposes. A remnant of Jews does believe and God’s Word has been fulfilled."
SEE HOW OUR GOD WORKS...EXCEEDINGLY ABUNDANTLY ABOVE ALL THAT WE COULD ASK OR THINK!
Romans 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
Isaiah 55:9 “ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.
Israel’s rejection had not canceled God’s election; it had only proved that He was true to His character and His purposes.
Love
Mom
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Is Their Unrighteousness with God? - Romans 9:14-18
Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,
What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! 15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.” 16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.”[18 Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens--Romans 9:14-18
So in the previous study entitled "Is God Reliable" we discussed God's sovereignty and His faithfulness to the Jewish nation. In this study we are going to discuss God's sovereignty in relation to His righteousness. God chose Israel and not Edom. God chose Jacob and not Esau. God chose Isaac and not Ishmael. God chose Israel and not another nation. Choosing one over another seems unfair to us. Lots of us accuse God of unfairness...if He chose Israel then He condemned Edom. If He chose Jacob then He condemned Esau. Paul starts off verse 14 with "Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not!" God because He is holy cannot commit an unrighteous act.
Romans 1:16-17 says this: For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH."
God's righteousness is revealed in the gospel. The death of Christ, revealed God's righteousness by punishing sin. The resurrection of Jesus revealed His righteousness by making salvation available to the believing sinner. God can forgive sins and still be holy because He became the just and the justifier through the death of Jesus, His Son, on the cross. The righteousness from the gospel is one from faith.
In the Old Testament righteousness was by works of the law but it was soon apparent that no one could keep the law or meet the demands of a holy God. Salvation cannot come by obedience to the law. The law brings a curse...it demands obedience to all. If you break one, you're done. The law shows us our need for a Savior and our guilt before God. The gospels says "THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH." This verse is mentioned in Habukuk and in three New Testament books. Romans explains “the just” and tells how the sinner can be justified before God. Galatians explains how the just “shall live”; and Hebrews discusses “by faith” (see Heb10:38).Warren Wiersbe says this: The Law says, "Do and live!" but grace says, "Believe and live!"
Really, God would be justified in wiping us all out. We all deserve condemnation. When you really begin to draw close to God, you begin to wonder how God can love any of us! I have heard it said that if God acted only on His righteousness nobody would ever be saved. Truly, it is only by God's mercy that we are all not consumed.
Look at verse 15and 16:
For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.” So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.
Who are we to say that He cannot show mercy or compassion to whomever He pleases. No one can condemn God for the way He extends His mercy...why...because He is righteous. We are all sinners...if left to ourselves, we would perish. The reference to Exodus 33 in verse 15 deals with Israel's idolatry (the golden calf incident) while Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the law. All deserved condemnation and death but God killed only 3000. Justice is getting what we deserved...mercy is not getting what we deserve and grace is unmerited favor...getting what we absolutely do not deserve. Our destiny rests upon the mercies of God. We can't reach up to Him...He needs to reach down to us.
For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.”[ Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens--Romans 9:14-18
Now Paul quotes Exodus 9:16 using Pharaoh as an illustration. God shows compassion and mercy to Moses and Israel and condemnation to Pharaoh and Egypt. Moses was a Jew and Pharaoh was an Egyptian. Both men were sinners...murderers even! Both experienced or saw the same plagues and felt the power of God. Yet Moses was saved and Pharaoh was lost. Why? Because God is sovereign and acts according to His own will and purposes. He raised up Moses to show mercy on His people and deliver Israel, and He raised up Pharaoh to show His glory and power.
Think about it though...God gave Pharaoh all kinds of opportunities to repent...Moses heart was soft toward the things of God...Pharaoh resisted and hardened his heart until the Lord cemented him in his decision. The fault did not lay with God but with Pharaoh. People all face trials. Sometimes those trials will lead them straight into the arms of Christ and in His grace He saves them. Others react to adversity by cataloging and holding onto offenses and griefs and allowing their hearts to be filled with bitterness. They harden their own hearts toward the things of God by the decisions they make on a moment by moment basis. The bottom line is if we are saved it is because of His grace...if we die in our sins we have no one to blame but ourselves.
OUCH!
Love
Mom
What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! 15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.” 16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.”[18 Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens--Romans 9:14-18
So in the previous study entitled "Is God Reliable" we discussed God's sovereignty and His faithfulness to the Jewish nation. In this study we are going to discuss God's sovereignty in relation to His righteousness. God chose Israel and not Edom. God chose Jacob and not Esau. God chose Isaac and not Ishmael. God chose Israel and not another nation. Choosing one over another seems unfair to us. Lots of us accuse God of unfairness...if He chose Israel then He condemned Edom. If He chose Jacob then He condemned Esau. Paul starts off verse 14 with "Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not!" God because He is holy cannot commit an unrighteous act.
Romans 1:16-17 says this: For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH."
God's righteousness is revealed in the gospel. The death of Christ, revealed God's righteousness by punishing sin. The resurrection of Jesus revealed His righteousness by making salvation available to the believing sinner. God can forgive sins and still be holy because He became the just and the justifier through the death of Jesus, His Son, on the cross. The righteousness from the gospel is one from faith.
In the Old Testament righteousness was by works of the law but it was soon apparent that no one could keep the law or meet the demands of a holy God. Salvation cannot come by obedience to the law. The law brings a curse...it demands obedience to all. If you break one, you're done. The law shows us our need for a Savior and our guilt before God. The gospels says "THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH." This verse is mentioned in Habukuk and in three New Testament books. Romans explains “the just” and tells how the sinner can be justified before God. Galatians explains how the just “shall live”; and Hebrews discusses “by faith” (see Heb10:38).Warren Wiersbe says this: The Law says, "Do and live!" but grace says, "Believe and live!"
Really, God would be justified in wiping us all out. We all deserve condemnation. When you really begin to draw close to God, you begin to wonder how God can love any of us! I have heard it said that if God acted only on His righteousness nobody would ever be saved. Truly, it is only by God's mercy that we are all not consumed.
Look at verse 15and 16:
For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.” So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.
Who are we to say that He cannot show mercy or compassion to whomever He pleases. No one can condemn God for the way He extends His mercy...why...because He is righteous. We are all sinners...if left to ourselves, we would perish. The reference to Exodus 33 in verse 15 deals with Israel's idolatry (the golden calf incident) while Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the law. All deserved condemnation and death but God killed only 3000. Justice is getting what we deserved...mercy is not getting what we deserve and grace is unmerited favor...getting what we absolutely do not deserve. Our destiny rests upon the mercies of God. We can't reach up to Him...He needs to reach down to us.
For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.”[ Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens--Romans 9:14-18
Now Paul quotes Exodus 9:16 using Pharaoh as an illustration. God shows compassion and mercy to Moses and Israel and condemnation to Pharaoh and Egypt. Moses was a Jew and Pharaoh was an Egyptian. Both men were sinners...murderers even! Both experienced or saw the same plagues and felt the power of God. Yet Moses was saved and Pharaoh was lost. Why? Because God is sovereign and acts according to His own will and purposes. He raised up Moses to show mercy on His people and deliver Israel, and He raised up Pharaoh to show His glory and power.
Think about it though...God gave Pharaoh all kinds of opportunities to repent...Moses heart was soft toward the things of God...Pharaoh resisted and hardened his heart until the Lord cemented him in his decision. The fault did not lay with God but with Pharaoh. People all face trials. Sometimes those trials will lead them straight into the arms of Christ and in His grace He saves them. Others react to adversity by cataloging and holding onto offenses and griefs and allowing their hearts to be filled with bitterness. They harden their own hearts toward the things of God by the decisions they make on a moment by moment basis. The bottom line is if we are saved it is because of His grace...if we die in our sins we have no one to blame but ourselves.
OUCH!
Love
Mom
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Is God Reliable?
Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,
Paul had just covered the fundamentals of salvation in chapters 1-8 and goes from talking about our absolutely secure position in Christ in chapter 8 to discussing the nation of Israel in Chapter 9 and weeping for his countrymen. This appears to be a detour...it would seem that the practical aspects of our salvation should come next. (Romans 12-15) Paul, however, is defending God's character here. He is answering the question that comes from Romans 8...What about the Jew? Has God put aside Israel...is He not being true to His word? Will He now build the church and forget about His promises to Israel? If Israel is God's chosen people, are they now separated from the love of God now because of their rejection of the Messiah? If that is the case, how can we (the church)...the ones that are grafted in....trust God? These are the questions Paul is answering. He covers the nation of Israel's past in Romans 9, their present in Romans 10 and their future in Romans 11.
Romans 9 is all about God's sovereignty. We need to look at God's sovereignty with a biblical balance. If we look at it from the perspective of God is in control and man cannot resist His will, we err...if we look at it as mostly human responsibility and God just responds to our choices, we err. It is both. We really can't wrap our minds around it, but that is what the Bible teaches. God's invitation of salvation was for the whole world. We are commanded to preach the gospel to the whole world. People reject the gospel because of the hardness of their hearts...not because God's invitation was not sincere. I have heard it said that the only way to know you are one of God's elect is to repent and accept Him as our Lord and Savior. With all that said, let's look at Romans 9:1-13.
I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, 2 that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, --Romans 9:1-3
What a heart Paul had! Since I am reading through Jeremiah, it reminds me of Jeremiah but most commentators will say that his heart expressed sentiments similar to Moses. When Moses prayed in chapter 32 of Exodus, he asked to be blotted out from the Book of Life if God did not forgive His people. Paul loved his countrymen and would rather be accursed from Christ...spend eternity in hell then see them be separated from God. Paul's heart was filled with continual grief for the Jewish people in thinking about their rejection by God because they rejected God's Messiah. The application for us here is obvious...how much are we willing to give up for the salvation of those around us. Paul was willing to spend an eternity separated from God...sometimes I am not even willing to give up my comfort!
who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; 5 of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen--Romans 9:4-5
Next Paul talks about God's election of Israel and all the Israelites had been given by God. How faithful He was to them. They were adopted by God as His chosen people. (Exodus 4:22, Hos 11:1) He was their Father, they were His firstborn. His glory was in the cloud in Exodus and in the temple in 1st Kings. The covenants were given to Israel...to Abraham then additional ones to Moses and David. His law was given to protect them and enable them to govern properly. He guaranteed blessing if they obeyed. Israel ministered to Him in the tabernacle and temple as priests. To them He gave the promises. To the fathers...to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, He gave the Messiah! The Messiah, the blessed God who came down, was Jewish....Despite all these blessings, Israel failed. They rejected and crucified their Messiah. Paul understood this with "heart" knowledge having persecuted Christians until his conversion on the Damascus Road. Does Israel's failure mean God's failure too? Nope...God is faithful no matter what we might do. Whew...read verses 6-10 below.
But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, 7 nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “In Isaac your seed shall be called.”] 8 That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed. 9 For this is the word of promise: “At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son.” 10 And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac --Romans 9:6-10
Paul is saying here that there is a difference between the physical seed of Abraham and the spiritual seed. Just because they were physically of Abraham did not necessarily mean they were spiritually of Abraham. God did not base His election on the physical. Not all who are from Abraham are of Abraham...look at Ishmael...he rejected God's word...did it make God's word of no effect? The same is true for Esau. Just because Abraham's physical descendants had rejected God word that did not nullify His word. Within the nation of Israel God always has a true believing remnant. Jon Courson explains it this way...not all Christians...those of us who name the name of Christ are all believers. Some are not born again or governed by God...just as many in Israel were not governed by God.
(for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls), it was said to her, “The older shall serve the younger.”13 As it is written, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.”--Romans 9:11-13
It is also does not say anything about us. It is not of works but of Him who calls so the purposes of God according to election might stand. God freely chooses to save whom He wills...It is His goodness and mercy in saving us...it is not based on our physical lineage or our personal merit. Romans 9:13 refers to the election of nations... not individuals, specifically Israel and Edom. God’s election of Israel does not depend on human merit. Their disobedience then, cannot nullify the elective purposes of God. God is faithful even though His people are unfaithful.
So much to think about here...was God right in choosing Jacob instead of Esau? In His sovereignty God chose Jacob. He chose Jacob because He loved Him. Did this choice exclude Esau from choosing to know and love God. No, it did not. Do I really understand...nope. When I don't understand, I remember what kind of God I serve. He is faithful, sovereign, good, and is working all things together for good for those who love Him. We may not understand His choices, but we can understand that all He does for us comes from His heart of love for us. Jeremiah 29:11 says this: "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope"
Love
Mom
Mood Swings...
I love the Bible...I especially love the people in the Bible. They are so real. I can relate to them. I have identified with Jeremiah throughout the last 20 chapters but very much so in these last two. He has such high points and low points and sometimes these come within seconds of one another. The best part of identifying with him is knowing that despite his shortcomings the Lord loved him. He loved him! He loved him even when he told the Lord he was finished with this prophet business...He loved him in chapter 15 when he told God that He was like a deceitful stream...He loved Him when he said that he wished his mother's womb had been his tomb. He not only loved him, He continued to use him and enlarge his ministry. The Lord loves you and I like that. How comforting that is. With that said, let's look at Jeremiah, Chapter 20.
After Jeremiah prophesies in the Valley of Hinnom and at the temple gate, Pashur, assistant to the high priest and chief security officer in the temple, took offense at what Jeremiah had said and had him arrested, beaten and put into stocks overnight. While in the stocks, Jeremiah received a prophetic message from the Lord for Pashur whose name meant literally, security on every side. The Lord had renamed Pashur to Magor Missibib which means fear on every side. Our Lord truly does have a sense of humor. Fear on every side describes accurately what happened to Jerusalem when the Babylonian army moved in. This was the first time that Jeremiah actually identified who the invader would be by name. All of Jeremiah's words came to pass.
His mood from verse 7 to verse 18 runs the gamut and it is his last recorded lament. He regrets his ministry telling the Lord He deceived him into it and that everyone mocks him. He wants to quit speaking for the Lord but His word burns like fire in his chest and he can't. All his acquaintances are watching and waiting for him to stumble...but he commits his way to the Lord. Right after that he talks of wanting to see vengeance on his enemies. At times he is confident, at other times not so much, even to the extent of wishing that he had never been born ending the chapter on a low note.
Let's look at verses 7-18 a little more closely because it is where I find the application for us.
I love verses 7 to 9. Jeremiah tells God that He deceived him...and that all mock him and hold him in derision...in verse 9 he tells God he wants to quit. That's it, Lord...I am not speaking for you anymore. I was beaten and spent the night in the stocks. I am done. Now the Lord did not promise Jeremiah that the way would not be difficult but He did promise him that He would be with him through it all. Jeremiah, however, is probably in a lot of pain and feeling pretty discouraged and he really lays it all out for God. It is a good example for us...God is not surprised by what we are thinking and feeling...he already knows...go to Him...lay it all out as Jeremiah did.
Now what we probably think would have happened next, didn't. Sometimes when we pour out our heart to God even going so far as to tell Him we quit our heart changes...and we are once again ready for battle. This is God's grace poured out upon us as we go to Him for help in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:16) This did not happen yet for Jeremiah. He continues his lament by telling God that his enemies were watching and waiting for him to slip up so they could entrap him. By verse 11, however, his mood changes and he says the the Lord is with him as a mighty and awesome One and his enemies will not prevail. Praise, however, once again quickly turns to bemoaning right up until the end of chapter 20...mostly in ruing the day of his birth. Here is how Chapter 20 ends: " Because he did not kill me from the womb, That my mother might have been my grave, And her womb always enlarged with me."Why did I come forth from the womb to see labor and sorrow, That my days should be consumed with shame?
What is most encouraging about Jeremiah is that despite his highs and lows, despite his moods, he was faithful to obey God no matter how he felt about it, and therein, lies the lesson for us. We all feel like quitting sometimes and get discouraged. What do we do when it happens...we keep looking up and pouring our heart out before Him remembering that His ways are higher than our ways. We surrender once again to His will and be obedient by the will of His Spirit inside of us despite our feelings. As it says in Hebrews 12:1 and 2..."let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Jesus is always our example and our answer. He went before and showed us the way. He is the Becoming One...Jehovah...He becomes to us whatever we need.
Love
Mom
After Jeremiah prophesies in the Valley of Hinnom and at the temple gate, Pashur, assistant to the high priest and chief security officer in the temple, took offense at what Jeremiah had said and had him arrested, beaten and put into stocks overnight. While in the stocks, Jeremiah received a prophetic message from the Lord for Pashur whose name meant literally, security on every side. The Lord had renamed Pashur to Magor Missibib which means fear on every side. Our Lord truly does have a sense of humor. Fear on every side describes accurately what happened to Jerusalem when the Babylonian army moved in. This was the first time that Jeremiah actually identified who the invader would be by name. All of Jeremiah's words came to pass.
His mood from verse 7 to verse 18 runs the gamut and it is his last recorded lament. He regrets his ministry telling the Lord He deceived him into it and that everyone mocks him. He wants to quit speaking for the Lord but His word burns like fire in his chest and he can't. All his acquaintances are watching and waiting for him to stumble...but he commits his way to the Lord. Right after that he talks of wanting to see vengeance on his enemies. At times he is confident, at other times not so much, even to the extent of wishing that he had never been born ending the chapter on a low note.
Let's look at verses 7-18 a little more closely because it is where I find the application for us.
I love verses 7 to 9. Jeremiah tells God that He deceived him...and that all mock him and hold him in derision...in verse 9 he tells God he wants to quit. That's it, Lord...I am not speaking for you anymore. I was beaten and spent the night in the stocks. I am done. Now the Lord did not promise Jeremiah that the way would not be difficult but He did promise him that He would be with him through it all. Jeremiah, however, is probably in a lot of pain and feeling pretty discouraged and he really lays it all out for God. It is a good example for us...God is not surprised by what we are thinking and feeling...he already knows...go to Him...lay it all out as Jeremiah did.
Now what we probably think would have happened next, didn't. Sometimes when we pour out our heart to God even going so far as to tell Him we quit our heart changes...and we are once again ready for battle. This is God's grace poured out upon us as we go to Him for help in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:16) This did not happen yet for Jeremiah. He continues his lament by telling God that his enemies were watching and waiting for him to slip up so they could entrap him. By verse 11, however, his mood changes and he says the the Lord is with him as a mighty and awesome One and his enemies will not prevail. Praise, however, once again quickly turns to bemoaning right up until the end of chapter 20...mostly in ruing the day of his birth. Here is how Chapter 20 ends: " Because he did not kill me from the womb, That my mother might have been my grave, And her womb always enlarged with me."Why did I come forth from the womb to see labor and sorrow, That my days should be consumed with shame?
What is most encouraging about Jeremiah is that despite his highs and lows, despite his moods, he was faithful to obey God no matter how he felt about it, and therein, lies the lesson for us. We all feel like quitting sometimes and get discouraged. What do we do when it happens...we keep looking up and pouring our heart out before Him remembering that His ways are higher than our ways. We surrender once again to His will and be obedient by the will of His Spirit inside of us despite our feelings. As it says in Hebrews 12:1 and 2..."let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Jesus is always our example and our answer. He went before and showed us the way. He is the Becoming One...Jehovah...He becomes to us whatever we need.
Love
Mom
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Hardened Clay Cannot Be Reworked...
Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,
God asks Jeremiah in Chapter 19 to get a potter's earthen flask and take some of the elders of the people and the elders of the priests and go to the Valley of Hinnom by the Potsherd Gate. This is where the potters did their work. Here Jeremiah proclaims to the King of Judah and the people of Jerusalem that the Lord is about to smash them like a potter's vessel that cannot be made whole again, because they had made the land an alien place, burned incense to other gods and shed the blood of innocents. (baby sacrifice) The Valley of Hinnom would be renamed the Valley of Slaughter and the famine would be so great during the siege that cannibalism would be the result. Then he goes to the temple court and and preaches the same message message of doom and destruction if they do not repent. Needless to say, they did not repent. The last words of Chapter 19 are "Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: 'Behold, I will bring on this city and on all her towns all the doom that I have pronounced against it, because they have stiffened their necks that they might not hear My words.' "
The application that comes to mind here is hardened clay cannot be reworked. The Valley of Hinnom is where the field purchased with the 30 pieces of silver that Judas threw on the ground in the temple is located. It became known as Aceldama or literally field of blood. This is where Judas fell when he hung himself. It was where the bodies were disposed during the destruction of Jerusalem. It was the garbage dump.
God's people were willful in their unbelief. They rejected the word of the Lord as did Judas...I think it is significant that Jeremiah smashed an earthen vessel...we are described as earthen vessels...when our clay is soft we can be molded and shaped...if the soft clay becomes marred it can be remade into another vessel. However, if the clay becomes hard or set and is marred there is nothing that can be done with it. The field is where the potter threw his useless, hardened pieces of clay. It reminds me of James 1:21 which says "Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls."
Sin hardens us. The people did what had not even come into the mind of the Lord and yet they considered what they were doing was "religious". They were walking in overwhelming wickedness, believing the false prophets and thinking they were okay. Continued sin with no turning cements our destiny. The Bible says that today is the day of salvation. Read the book of Exodus where it says over and over that Pharaoh hardened his heart...then in Exodus 10:20 it says this: "But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go" This is a warning to all of us. If our hearts do not receive the word of God they cannot be transformed by His grace. (Ezekiel 36:26-27 and Hebrews 8: 7-13) The same is true for those of us who know the Lord...we can become hearers and not doers...we can allow His word to bounce off our hearts as they harden. The longer you resist God's truth the harder and harder your heart becomes. Look to Him now...open your heart now...the Bible says "today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts." Pharaoh did not repent and relent despite all the affliction that God laid on his kingdom. Judas despite all the opportunity he had, did not believe. There is a sin leading to death...unbelief. Hebrews 10:31 says "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."
Love
Mom
"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them"--Ezekiel 36:26-27
For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. 8 Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 9 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the LORD. 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 11 None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds[b] I will remember no more.”[c]
13 In that He says, “A new covenant, ” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.--Hebrews 8:7-13
God asks Jeremiah in Chapter 19 to get a potter's earthen flask and take some of the elders of the people and the elders of the priests and go to the Valley of Hinnom by the Potsherd Gate. This is where the potters did their work. Here Jeremiah proclaims to the King of Judah and the people of Jerusalem that the Lord is about to smash them like a potter's vessel that cannot be made whole again, because they had made the land an alien place, burned incense to other gods and shed the blood of innocents. (baby sacrifice) The Valley of Hinnom would be renamed the Valley of Slaughter and the famine would be so great during the siege that cannibalism would be the result. Then he goes to the temple court and and preaches the same message message of doom and destruction if they do not repent. Needless to say, they did not repent. The last words of Chapter 19 are "Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: 'Behold, I will bring on this city and on all her towns all the doom that I have pronounced against it, because they have stiffened their necks that they might not hear My words.' "
The application that comes to mind here is hardened clay cannot be reworked. The Valley of Hinnom is where the field purchased with the 30 pieces of silver that Judas threw on the ground in the temple is located. It became known as Aceldama or literally field of blood. This is where Judas fell when he hung himself. It was where the bodies were disposed during the destruction of Jerusalem. It was the garbage dump.
God's people were willful in their unbelief. They rejected the word of the Lord as did Judas...I think it is significant that Jeremiah smashed an earthen vessel...we are described as earthen vessels...when our clay is soft we can be molded and shaped...if the soft clay becomes marred it can be remade into another vessel. However, if the clay becomes hard or set and is marred there is nothing that can be done with it. The field is where the potter threw his useless, hardened pieces of clay. It reminds me of James 1:21 which says "Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls."
Sin hardens us. The people did what had not even come into the mind of the Lord and yet they considered what they were doing was "religious". They were walking in overwhelming wickedness, believing the false prophets and thinking they were okay. Continued sin with no turning cements our destiny. The Bible says that today is the day of salvation. Read the book of Exodus where it says over and over that Pharaoh hardened his heart...then in Exodus 10:20 it says this: "But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go" This is a warning to all of us. If our hearts do not receive the word of God they cannot be transformed by His grace. (Ezekiel 36:26-27 and Hebrews 8: 7-13) The same is true for those of us who know the Lord...we can become hearers and not doers...we can allow His word to bounce off our hearts as they harden. The longer you resist God's truth the harder and harder your heart becomes. Look to Him now...open your heart now...the Bible says "today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts." Pharaoh did not repent and relent despite all the affliction that God laid on his kingdom. Judas despite all the opportunity he had, did not believe. There is a sin leading to death...unbelief. Hebrews 10:31 says "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."
Love
Mom
"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them"--Ezekiel 36:26-27
For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. 8 Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 9 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the LORD. 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 11 None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds[b] I will remember no more.”[c]
13 In that He says, “A new covenant, ” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.--Hebrews 8:7-13
Monday, October 25, 2010
No Separation - Part 2
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written:
“ For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”[c]
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,
We will look at verses 35 through 39 this time. Paul really goes out on a limb here in thinking on those things that could separate us from Christ's love. What I found most comforting about the list is that Paul probably faced most of them personally. He was speaking from experience. What is even more beautiful and comforting about these verses is that if we allow the Spirit to do His work in our hearts as we face these forces, we are actually drawn closer to Christ and His love in the process. We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Christ can bring beauty from all of it. Through His power working in us and through us, we can not only bring Him glory but we can make our valley of tears a spring by bringing blessing to others and to ourselves.
Girls, this is how we conquer. We do not become slaves to our circumstances...we allow Christ to use them to bring Him glory and us good. We conquer by fixing our eyes on the One who made the very very worst of circumstances into the greatest glory that mankind has ever known...the cross which was the darkest moment in history became the brightest beacon for all of mankind.
When I look back at the various trials I have faced, I am overwhelmed by one thing. His love. Through my trials I have been able to identify and know Christ more. As I identify with Him, His desires more and more become my desires. I am overwhelmed with how good comes from such adversity...Truly, we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter, but as we die to ourselves daily and live for Him; He brings sweetness for the bitterness life brings. He brings good for evil. He brings joy for sadness. He brings strength out of weakness. He brings triumph out of tragedy. He brings life out of death. He does it all by reaching out in love.
His death is proof of his immeasurable love. We can rest and know that no matter what occurs to us here on Earth or what we may face, one thing is assured. We are His. His love is constant. His love is eternal. We did nothing to earn it and can do nothing to "unearn" it. That is good news!
Love
Mom who is thinking that this passage just might become one of her favorites in the entire Bible.
“ For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”[c]
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,
We will look at verses 35 through 39 this time. Paul really goes out on a limb here in thinking on those things that could separate us from Christ's love. What I found most comforting about the list is that Paul probably faced most of them personally. He was speaking from experience. What is even more beautiful and comforting about these verses is that if we allow the Spirit to do His work in our hearts as we face these forces, we are actually drawn closer to Christ and His love in the process. We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Christ can bring beauty from all of it. Through His power working in us and through us, we can not only bring Him glory but we can make our valley of tears a spring by bringing blessing to others and to ourselves.
Girls, this is how we conquer. We do not become slaves to our circumstances...we allow Christ to use them to bring Him glory and us good. We conquer by fixing our eyes on the One who made the very very worst of circumstances into the greatest glory that mankind has ever known...the cross which was the darkest moment in history became the brightest beacon for all of mankind.
When I look back at the various trials I have faced, I am overwhelmed by one thing. His love. Through my trials I have been able to identify and know Christ more. As I identify with Him, His desires more and more become my desires. I am overwhelmed with how good comes from such adversity...Truly, we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter, but as we die to ourselves daily and live for Him; He brings sweetness for the bitterness life brings. He brings good for evil. He brings joy for sadness. He brings strength out of weakness. He brings triumph out of tragedy. He brings life out of death. He does it all by reaching out in love.
His death is proof of his immeasurable love. We can rest and know that no matter what occurs to us here on Earth or what we may face, one thing is assured. We are His. His love is constant. His love is eternal. We did nothing to earn it and can do nothing to "unearn" it. That is good news!
Love
Mom who is thinking that this passage just might become one of her favorites in the entire Bible.
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