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For Everything God Created is Good

“For everything God created is good,” 1 Timothy 4:4 begins.  Really?  What about mosquitoes?  Well, yes.  As much as many of us have wished that Noah had squashed those two on the ark, even mosquitoes have their place in God’s plan.  Even our smart phones can either be instruments of great good or great evil, depending on their use.  “… and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,” the verse finishes.

At first glance, this sounds like even sin is acceptable, but backing up to get the context of verses 1-5 makes us realize that the hypocritical liars who have abandoned the faith and are following deceiving spirits are being contrasted to “those who believe and who know the truth.”  It is how we interact with and use what good things God has made that is the difference.

I.  Romans 12:9-21.  We must reject sin and wrong doctrine.  We must hate evil and cling to what is good.  This is difficult in a sin-soaked world, but those who believe and who know the truth must make this choice, despite what those closest to them choose or the circumstances they are in.

II.  Matthew 18:15-20.  We’ve all heard the adage that we are free to bind or loose on earth as we please and God is okay with it–as long as we can get two or three to agree with us.  This is how a lot of denominations have developed.  But, backing up to get the context shows us that we are speaking about the status of imperfect people in this imperfect world who are calling themselves ‘brothers’ but are living in conflict with the Word of God.

We might at this point hear someone quote Matthew 7:1, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged,” to further push the idea that we are not to be our brother’s keeper in any way.  But, backing up to get the context shows that Jesus indeed tells us that we are to judge sinful actions in our brother in order to help him, but we can’t be hypocrites when we do it.

III.  Galatians 5:13-26.  Rather, we need to use the freedom we have in Christ to not indulge the sinful nature but serve one another in love.  We see that those who do indulge will not inherit the kingdom of God, but those led by the Spirit, who “believe and who know the truth,” grow the fruits of the Spirit.

God has given us a lot of freedom to interact in this world that contains things to be shunned outright or things to be used for the glory of His Name instead of for our own selfish and sinful pleasures.  Those who believe and who know the truth need to be watchful and carefully examine everything.

… but I still wish that Noah had squashed those mosquitoes!

 

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But If It Loses its Saltiness

Most lessons on salt from the Bible have to do with its unique ability to flavor, preserve, and create thirst–all qualities Christians should possess for the world around them.  But what does salt have to do with the cost of discipleship?

I. Luke 14:1-35.  It costs much to have saltiness, for someone to stay on the narrow path.  There are sacrifices that need to be made and hard choices to endure … and God doesn’t take excuses.  Rather, He looks for a disciple who will put God’s Kingdom first in His life–or is worth his, erm, salt.

II. 2 Peter 2:20-22.  There are ways that Christians lose their saltiness.  In just the example from Luke 14, we see that they can exert worldly strength over godly weakness, exalt self, look to be repaid here, believe excuses will justify contrary behaviors to God, not put God’s Kingdom and righteousness first, not carry his cross, or place too much emphasis on material goods.

III. Luke 12:32-34.  We must hold onto our saltiness.  Our eternity depends on it.  In the Old Testament, which was a shadow of the reality to come, salt was required when offering sacrifices (Leviticus 2:13).  So, how much more should we include salt in ourselves offered as living sacrifices to God in the New Testament time (Romans 12:1)?

We must hold onto our saltiness–persevering through our many trials and living for God!

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Lord, Teach Us to Pray

As a teacher, I am amazed at how Jesus was a master teacher.  Without any training or degree from a university to know how to do so, He employed so many techniques to bring about the greatest retention of essential Kingdom concepts, such as prayer:

Luke 11:1-13 (NIV)
1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
2 He said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.'”
5 Then he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
6 because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.’
7 “Then the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’
8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
10 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?
12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?
13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

I. Prayer, Jesus had previously taught, was a private thing between the person praying and God.  It was not to be done as a show, but this is not what Jesus was doing.  A master teacher will model his teaching through his life.  His disciples either saw Him praying or just knew that He had been, but Jesus, though without sin and despite being God in the flesh, allowed them to see His example of constant interaction with our Father.  If He needed to pray in this way, how much more do we?

II. Knowing that Jesus prayed prompted the request from a disciple that Jesus teach them to pray.  Next, Jesus laid down the principles of good prayer, a mixture of ACTS: Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving, and Supplication.  Notice that Luke’s version is different than Matthew’s as it is not a rote recitation of specific words that tend to become meaningless babble after a while.  But, we and the disciples need to understand the types of concepts that should be included in prayer.

III. Finally, Jesus as the master teacher illustrates the concepts of prayer and the relationship between us and our Father.  There is no need to be timid when approaching God’s throne in prayer.  Because God is a good Father, we can be bold in our asking, seeking and knocking.  So pray!

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Seasoned with Salt

Benevolence springs from who we are in Christ.  Edification is the building up of and teaching truth to everyone around us so that we can get to our third main value as Christians: evangelism.  We can not, however, share the good news with others unless we are the type of people from whom the gospel can be received.  In the close of his letter to the Colossians, Paul gives us great insight into this:

Colossians 4:2-6
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.
4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.
5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.
6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

  1. We are to be devoted to prayer, being watchful and thankful.  Prayer is essential for open doors and for a clear proclaiming of the good news.

  2. We must be wise toward the lost, knowing our audience and making the most of every opportunity that God gives us.  We must also pray that God would open our eyes to recognize them as they come before us and for the wisdom, which God gives to us if we ask, to know what to do with the opportunities when He gives them to us.

  3. Finally, we must watch our words to answer everyone well.  They must be full of grace or, like tasty food that people would want to eat, seasoned with salt.   Salt also creates thirst–in this case spiritual thirst.

How are you prepared to share the gospel?

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Do This and You Will Live

A man studies hard for an interview, gets the job, but continually hits the snooze alarm instead of going to work.  How long would he be employed?  Yet, how often Christians have such joy in obeying the gospel but hit the spiritual snooze alarm in the months and years that follow!  Even Jesus told us that we must maintain our relationship with Him by DO-ing something to live eternally.

I. Luke 10:25-28.  In the lead-in to “The Good Samaritan” story, the expert in the Law asked Jesus what he must DO to inherit eternal life.  Rather than tell him that he couldn’t work his way to heaven or that nothing else was required, Jesus confirmed that loving God with all his heart, soul, strength, and mind and loving his neighbor as himself were all that the man had to DO.

II. John 15:9-14.  Jesus’ definition of DO-ing is action that proceeds from obedience.  That’s why faith is not just a mental affirmation that God exists and Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross forgives our sins.  Rather, faith is the actions that come from obedience, the maintaining of our relationship in Christ.  Love for God and our neighbor is the perfect “DO” we must do and reconciles Romans 4 and James 2.

III. Philippians 2:12-16.  We are told to work our our salvation with fear and trembling.  Our salvation, then, is not something we can put on a shelf to collect dust after we’ve obeyed the gospel.  It is something we must constantly (do I dare use the word?) “work” on, but it is not a “works salvation” but actions that come from obedience that maintains it.  Love is the fufillment of what Jesus says we must DO to live eternally.

So, examine your daily walk with Christ.  Are you at your job you interviewed so hard to get … or are you hitting the snooze alarm over and over?

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What You Have Seen & Heard

Pastafarians, worshipers of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, created their religion to mock Christians, declaring that there’s as much evidence for faith in the FLM as there is for our faith in God.  But that simply is not true.  There’s much evidence just in creation to prove our faith (Romans 1:18-20).

I. Luke 7:20-23.  John, who was so sure of who Jesus was (Matthew 3:13-14, John 1:29-34), must have begun to have doubts while he languished in Herod’s prison.  When his followers came and told him all that they had seen and heard Jesus doing, he sent them to ask Jesus if indeed He was the expected Messiah.  Jesus pointed to the evidence of what John had seen and heard to not lose faith.

II. Philippians 3:7-16.  We’ve not had John’s calling as a prophet or seen the Holy Spirit come upon Jesus, so how much more do we struggle to overcome doubts in the midst of trials?  God gives us strategies to do so:

a. Realize that with so much evidence, it is not a blind faith that we have.

b. Value struggles as a way that God is disciplining and growing us (Hebrews 12:4-13).

c. Rest in the faith of the great cloud of witnesses of the past and present (Hebrews 11:1–12:3).

d. Remind yourself of what you have seen and heard.  Keep an answered-prayer journal or, as the songs tells us, “Count your many blessings, See what God has done.”

III.  Matthew 28:18-20.  It’s not enough to just encourage ourselves by what we have seen and heard.  Jesus wants us to “go and make disciples” with it, becoming part of the great cloud of witnesses for others to see and hear!

 

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Lord of the Sabbath

“Then Jesus said to them, ‘The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath’” Luke 6:5.  Do we exist to obey laws or do laws exist to benefit us? One of the Ten Commandments for the Israelites was to keep the Sabbath.  Nibbling on a few heads of grain to satisfy hunger was allowed by the Law, but the Pharisees saw that being done on the seventh day, in a very technical sense, as doing work and called Jesus out on it.  Jesus used the feeding of David’s men with the consecrated bread when they were fleeing Saul as an example from the past and then an illustration in the present to get to the very heart of the issue: “which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”  God didn’t create laws, then, just for something for us to obey; they are to help us as individuals or as a collective to draw closer to Him.  As a society, we create laws that we deem are necessary to benefit society.  A police officer could ticket a man for driving the speed limit if the conditions are icy and he is a danger to others or himself.  It is only in grasping this concept that we can draw deeper into our relationship with the Lord of the Sabbath when we are under grace and truth.  Do you?

I.  Luke 6:1-11.  Was what Jesus’ followers were doing ‘unlawful’?  Technically, yes, but that was a strictly by the letter of the Law.  They were doing work on the Sabbath.  By the example of David eating the consecrated bread (1 Samuel 21:4-6), however, Jesus pointed out that obedience to God’s commands are also in spirit.  The Law exists to serve man rather than man existing to serve the Law.

II.  Romans 2:25-29.  Though written to Jews who were trusting in their circumcision to save them, the same could be said to Christians who only trust in an outward checklist of hearing, belief, repentance, confession, and baptism to enter heaven one day.  An inward circumcision of our hearts, a living out of a submissive obedience, is also necessary.  This is why God, not ourselves, is the Judge when someone dies.  We can know if the person ever outwardly obeyed in baptism to receive the promise of eternal life, but only God can judge how that person lived out his obedience in daily living.

III.  1 John 2:3-6.  We must live in Jesus by grace and truth (John 1:17).  This does not, however, give us a license to sin (Galatians 5:13) or go to the opposite extreme by making Christianity a list of dos and don’ts (Colossians 2:20-23).  Rather, our daily walk must be as Jesus walked, being a true worshipper, worshipping in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).

Though God and Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus while in flesh had to submit in every way just as we do.  He set us an example by showing us that true obedience to God is in both spirit and truth.

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Israel and Judah’s Fall

  1. They Turned Away in Apostasy: Jeremiah 8:4-5
  2. They Turned Away from God’s Word: Jeremiah 8:9
  3. They Turned to Greed and Gain: Jeremiah 8:10
  4. They Turned to Deceit: Jeremiah 8:10-12

—John Henson, Dibrell Church of Christ, McMinnville, TN

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‘Christian’ means persecution

1 Pet 4.12-19

Introduction

  1. This passage is the third and final time that the word “Christian” appears in the New Testament.
    • The first in Acts 11.26 focused on Christians as Christ’s people.
    • The second in Acts 26.28 focused on persuasion for becoming a Christian.
  2. The context of today’s text is suffering because of persecution and the need for faithfulness.
  3. Peter begins this passage by addressing his readers as “beloved” v. 12. They are precious to him, because their faith is precious to them.

What does it mean to suffer as a Christian?

Continue reading “‘Christian’ means persecution”

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The aim of instruction

1 Tim 1.3-7

  1. The need for love: false doctrine leads away from love.
  2. The aim at love: we want to get here for God is love.
  3. The nature of love: rational “instruction” that can be taught.