i12go4God

Children. They don’t make things complicated. Either you are there for them, or not. They either like something or they don’t. When the love you, they love and trust you completely. And they say exactly what they are thinking….all the time….in front of company. But this honesty and simplicity is very attractive to God.
In Luke chapter 18, Jesus talked about children.
“And they were bringing even their babies to Him so that He would touch them, but when the disciples saw it, they began rebuking them. But Jesus called for them, saying, “Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” (Luke 18:15-17 NASB)
Jesus was attracted to the love and tender hearts of children, and commanded that we act that way toward his Kingdom. Not that we should be childish, but have child-like faith in Him. Should our worship of that same Jesus be any less simple and child-like?

Look, I am not out to point fingers and say people are wrong and I am right, or to condemn. But at the same time, please think about what I am about to say and see if it doesn’t ring true to what the Bible reveals about our God and Savior.

WHAT TOUCHES THE HEART OF GOD MORE.?
– A man who is proud of himself for being so spiritual, or a man who refuses to raise his eyes to heaven, but beats his chest saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner”?

– A full Sunday morning production, complete with an awesome band, choir, lighting, and a state-of-the-art sound system, or a group of first graders singing from their heart with everything they’ve got, “Yes, Jesus Loves Me”?

– A multimillion dollar sanctuary with stadium seating, day care, bookstore, and a Starbucks, or the dimly lit basement of a house where believers are gathered in secret to quietly worship God and take the Lord’s Supper, praying that this day will not be their last?

– A crowd of 30,000 where someone can come and sing along, feel good about themselves, and yet remain comfortably anonymous, or a church of 130 believers whose lives have been knit together by the Word of God and their love for each other?

– A church that is embraced by the world and their community because they perform a public service and don’t offend people, or a church that preaches the truth, loves sinners enough to tell them the truth, and bears up under persecution and rejection because of that truth?

I hope you see my point. Somewhere along the way, worship became about what we liked, what made us feel good, and what attracted the world to our doors. But originally it was about what God likes, what was true, and what would really equip us, the entire congregation, for ministry. So let’s get back to the simple spiritual focus that we were originally given and “fix our eyes on Jesus” and not survey the world so we can effectively market ourselves, like the Gospel is a commodity for spiritual consumers. I know I have said this in a previous post, but in order to return to our first love, we must do the things that were done at first and live in the “simplicity of devotion to Christ” as His dear children (2 Corinthians 11:3) and say with our lips and our actions, “Jesus, it’s all about you. We are not here to be entertained or coddled. We are here to bless You, and nothing else in this world matters except what pleases You.”

Come on. Do it. Why did He call it being born again if we weren’t supposed to come to Him as a little child?

There are a multitude of reasons to shed tears. I have wept hot tears of sorrow as I held my baby girl as her life slowly ebbed away in the newborn intensive care unit. I have seen many weep at the loss of a relationship or a treasured family pet. On the other hand, it is genuinely a pleasure to laugh so hard that you cry! And who would fault someone for getting misty-eyed at a tender and moving scene like a wedding or the birth of a baby?
It is normal for us to weep, and it is part of our human nature. Even Jesus wept at the tomb of his friend Lazarus, even though He was about to raise him from the dead! (John 11:35) We are commanded to “weep with those who weep” and many times such weeping is more appreciated than words we could think to offer.
But tears are also a valuable addition to our individual ministry. As we pray for those with whom we share the Gospel, and weep over their lost condition, the Lord seems to use those tears to make the seeds of our prayers grow.
In Psalm 126 the psalmist wrote through inspiration, “Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them. (Psalm 126:5, 6 NIV)
In the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Matthew 5:4 NIV) Could it be that this comfort will be obtained as that for which we have wept before the Lord comes to fruition?

Elsewhere in Scripture, weeping is associated with repentance. David wrote this in Psalm 30:5,
“For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” (Psalm 30:5 ESV)
This weeping, which Paul refers to as “godly sorrow”, is essential to our spiritual growth and progress. Paul explained it to the Corinthian Christians this way:
“As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter.” (2 Corinthians 7:9-11 ESV)
Furthermore, this godly sorrow gets God’s attention. It is often referred to in the Bible as “a broken and contrite heart.” Let’s take a look at Isaiah 66. Jehovah is speaking and lets His people know that He is in need of nothing, and there is no building they could erect that He would find impressive. But look in verse 2 and see what DOES cause God to turn and look.
“Thus says the Lord: ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool;
what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest?
All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be,
declares the Lord.
But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit
and trembles at my word.'” (Isaiah 66:1, 2 ESV)
Wow! Do you want to get God’s attention and have Him look with favor on you? Be humble, contrite in heart, and be in awe of His Word such that you tremble at the thought of the value of it!

But tears and crying will not always be with us. There will surely come a day when death and tears and crying will be no more. I mentioned briefly the passing of my infant daughter. She was only with us for eight hours, but I know that she is not gone away, but rather she has gone ahead. When she was buried we put the reference to this verse on her gravestone.
“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4 ESV)
Speaking of eternity together with the Lord can be an abstract theological discussion. But all of that changes when you face reality and no safety net, and faith in the Everlasting arms is all you’ve got to stand on. But rest assured, the God who spoke the universe into existence and sent His only begotten Son to redeem us cannot lie, and what he has promised will surely come to pass.
Weeping may last the night, but there will most definitely be joy in that eternal morning!

The Opposite Of Belief
In modern English usage, belief can be defined as mental assent to an idea. But what is belief in a biblical sense? Is it mere mental assent, or trust, or confession? One way to see what belief means in the Bible is to see what it is contrasted with. Let’s go to the foremost authority on the subject, Jesus Christ.
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (John 3:36 ESV)
So according to Jesus, the opposite of belief is disobedience! In fact, belief and obedience are inextricably linked together. This link is so strong that to speak of belief or faith without stating or implying obedience is to take it out of context!
Even in Mark 16:16, where Christ says that, “he who believes and is baptized will be saved, and he who does not believe will be condemned” many teachers try to twist the verse to say that it refutes the essential nature of obedience (in this case baptism). But in fact, since obedience is implied whenever belief is mentioned, the verse in no way weakens the command to believe and be baptized!
So am I talking about a salvation by works? Of course not. In baptism, it is God who is doing the work of regeneration. When Paul speaks of works, he is usually referring to “works of the Law” and not obedience in faith. And he is correct! Law keeping has no power to save! But James speaks of works as a natural consummation of saving faith. Again, we are saved by faith in the resurrection of Christ, but that salvation is effected at baptism. (1 Peter 3:21)
So what is it that we are supposed to obey? The Gospel!
“in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.” (2 Thessalonians 1:8 ESV). But what is the Gospel? According to Paul in 1 Corinthians 15, this is the Gospel:
“Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.” (1 Corinthians 15:1-5 ESV)
But how does someone obey an event like the death, burial and resurrection?
According to Romans 6, it is done in baptism.
“We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.” (Romans 6:4-6 ESV)

When we participate in the death, burial and resurrection at baptism, we obey the Gospel and our faith saves us! As Peter wrote, “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, (1 Peter 3:21 ESV). Write all you want to explain this verse away, but you can’t force it to say anything other than “baptism saves you”!

Remember, the opposite of belief is disobedience. You cannot speak of faith without obedience, or you are taking belief out of context!

Let’s look at these verses from their primary perspective, that of Christ and the Church.

31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.”. Eph 5:31-32 ESV

There are other places in scripture where the Church is called the “Bride of Christ” such as
2 Corinthians 11:2-4. “2 I feel a divine jealousy for you, for I betrothed you to Christ to present you as a pure bride to her one husband. 3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if some one comes and preaches another Jesus than the one we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you submit to it readily enough.”

In these verses here, Paul quotes Genesis 2. So let’s take a quick look at that in context to see the correlation Paul is making.

22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said,”This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. (Genesis 2:22-25 NKJV)

And the Holy Spirit is saying through Paul the this is a type of Christ and the Church.

In what way?
1. Christ preceded us, and yet we are part of his body. We are his flesh and bones, working together in unity to carry out his commands.
2. We are called “Christians” because we are in Christ.
3. We are called to be help meats, or helpers to Christ in preaching the Gospel message.
4. Christ loves each of us, just as he loves his own body, and cares for us.
5. As with the original marriage, there is nothing hidden from the view of our spiritual husband, Jesus Christ.
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:12, 13 NKJV)
6. As his bride, it is spiritual adultery when we follow after the things of this world instead of Christ.

Application for us?

A. To truly have a close relationship with Christ, we must, as John wrote, “believe the love” he has for us. (1 John 4:16)
B. take the time to communicate with the one we love. Prayer should not be a chore.
C. Read the letters he has written to us, because we love him and want to know him more deeply.
D. Live lives of undivided love and loyalty to Christ. How would you respond at the altar if your fiancé responded to the question with, instead of “I do”, saying “for the most part”, or “when it’s convenient”! Be totally sold out for Christ.
E. Don’t believe lies about your spiritual husband (false teachings).
F. We should not deceive ourselves into thinking we can keep secret, unconfessed sin and that Jesus will not know about it or discipline us for it.
G. And for those who love attacking his church and speaking ill of her, I would be careful. I would guess that Jesus will deal harshly with those who spend their time insulting his bride!

Are you led by the Spirit? Yes? That’s great, because Romans 5 says “the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”(Romans 5:5 NASB) So, just like most things, we need to explore just what the New Testament means when it talks about what being “led by the Spirit” for Christians.

First off, let’s find out what being led by the Spirit does NOT mean!
1. It does not mean that we presently have new doctrinal truth being revealed to us.
Jesus told his Apostles that the Spirit would lead them into all truth .
“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.” (John 16:13-15 NASB)
In addition that statement, Jude said that the truth was once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3). We have the fullness of truth manifested in the person of Jesus, and supernaturally passed on to His Apostles. Thus, the first Christians in Acts 2 continued steadfastly in the Apostles doctrine (Acts 2:42).
So if someone says they have received a new teaching from the Holy Spirit, they are lying or deceived! And if anyone claims the Spirit has revealed something to them that contradicts the Wore, they are false and must be rejected.
2. While our interaction with the Word is the primary way we are led by the Spirit, the notion that this is the only way is also incorrect. Why is this true? Because the Holy Spirit physically indwells the believer (Romans 5:5). This initially occurs when we are regenerated or born again. The Holy Spirit is the force behind the Word of God that makes it “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword.” The Spirit is what has the power to generate faith in the heart, which leads souls to salvation. That principle is what makes it so essential that we preach the Word, because only the WORD has the power to change hearts and minds!

Without the indwelling Holy Spirit, we would not be capable of understanding spiritual things.
“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. ” (1 Corinthians 2:12-15 NASB)

So to summarize, the Spirit is not giving new revelation or adding to Scripture. But that does not mean, on the other side, that He is silent and only speaks to us via the written Word (although that is probably 99% of it). In fact, many times it is the Spirit that brings a verse alive to us right when we need it. He is the source of those times we read the Word and instead of being an intellectual exercise, a passage or a single verse penetrates to the very core of our being and we are changed and our mind transformed just a little more.

The Spirit also regenerates sinners, causing them to be born again (John 3:5-8) and also leads by communicating with our Spirits, in line with and never contradicting the written Word.
I believe this to be a fairly balanced approach.

Isaiah And The Naked Truth
There is a term used in Australia that was made popular years ago in the movie “Crocodile Dundee”. When Mick Dundee would wander around the Australian Outback, he said he was on a walkabout. Years ago, Jehovah God told the prophet Isaiah to go on a walk about, as recorded in chapter 20 of Isaiah.

“at that time the LORD spoke through Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go and loosen the sackcloth from your hips and take your shoes off your feet.” And he did so, going naked and barefoot. And the LORD said, “Even as My servant Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot three years as a sign and token against Egypt and Cush, so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young and old, naked and barefoot with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. Then they will be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and Egypt their boast.” (Isaiah 20:2-5 NASB)

And before you conclude that the text could not mean actually nakedness, the word in Hebrew is the same one used to describe Adam and Eve in Eden!
So why would God tell his prophet to do something like this? To communicate the shameful way that Egypt and Cush would be led into captivity. But what lesson is here for us today? Why did God make sure this chapter was preserved for us today?

In our western culture, we are constantly bombarded by sensual imagery. Pornographic material is now piped into homes via the Internet with such privacy and ease that even those who once would never have frequented an adult store or movie house are trapped in its addictive snare. (Duh. Why do you think they call it the web?) We are witnessing a nation that was once characterized as a Christian nation being led into moral slavery. I believe that this flood of nakedness and fornication has gone largely unchecked and will be symbolic of the way this nation will fall.

“if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV)

Just because a nation declares itself to be secular does not in any way exempt it from the judgment of God! Unless we as the church in America repents and turn from our wicked ways, God will not hear from heaven and heal our land. The call is not for the post to turn and change their behavior. The promise of God is contingent on those who are called by His name forsaking their wicked ways! Don’t believe for a second that there are not church members all over the country trapped in these sins. The time is now, and it needs to begin with each of us as individuals or it will never happen to us as a group!
Let’s start today to be the light in this dark time and lead the way by humbling ourselves (before the Lord does it for us) praying and seeking God, and turning from our sins so that our land will not go down in shames!

Community + Unity = Communion

I want to take a look at an essential aspect of partaking of the bread and fruit of the vine each week. That has to do with our unity as we partake together. Let’s begin with what Christ accomplished in this regard on the cross.

“Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.”(Ephesians 2:11-16 ESV)

Before we were baptized into Christ and He added us to His body, our lives were characterized by separation and alienation. But now, because of the blood that was shed for us on the cross, we have been spiritually united with each other in our covenant with God. This was just one more critical thing that Christ accomplished for us. We have fellowship with each other based on the shed blood of Christ. Preserving that unity is critical, since it was made possible for us at such a high cost!

That covenant bond of blood is what Paul was referring to in 1st Corinthians 10:16-17:

“The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.” (1 Corinthians 10:16, 17 ESV)

Do you see how special it is that we come together to participate in this feast each week? Without the unity we have through the our reconciliation to God through the blood of Jesus, we cease to have “communion” and have degenerated down to just having a ceremony.

Look how foundational this is in the next chapter (11)!
“For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat.”
Now with this disunity as the context of what was going on when they ate the Lords Supper, Paul concludes with these instructions:
“Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.” (1 Corinthians 11:18-20, 27-29 ESV)

Did you see that? In proper context, when Paul talks about not discerning the body, I think he was referring to failing to discerning that we do this together, in unity, as communion. That is also why we don’t just stay home and serve these emblems to ourselves.

So when we partake of the emblems, let’s remember to not only reflect on what Christ has done for us personally, but also on the reality that we are partaking of this as one family, one body, in an d with Christ. For He promised that whenever two or more are gathered in His name, He is there in our midst.

What A Shame!

“To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul. O my God, in You I trust,
Do not let me be ashamed;
Do not let my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none of those who wait for You be ashamed.” (Psalm 25:1-3a NASB)

It is a beautiful and wondrous thing to experience the forgiveness of sin that is found in Christ alone! Especially when we contemplate that price that was paid to make that forgiveness available to us! But often, even though we have been forgiven from the sin, we still carry around the shame of it with us.
Shame can be spiritually debilitating. Whenever we begin to step out in faith and do the work of the Lord, our adversary whispers in our ear saying, “who do you think you are, telling people about Jesus? If they only knew about your past, they would see what a hypocrite you are for trying to do something in Jesus’ name.”
It is shame that causes people to believe the lie that they are unworthy of God’s forgiveness and grace. As a result, many spend their lives addicted, defeated, and feeling like they have messed up their spiritual lives beyond repair and are no longer useful for God. That is why so many times we turn from a sin, especially an addictive sin, and eventually go back to it. We stop the behavior, but because we have not left the shame, we don’t feel any better than we did before, and it draws us back into the trap.
And all because they have believed a lie! I love a quote I heard today by Beth Moore. She said, “Shame is satan’s laughter morphed into a human emotion.”

But walking in shame over forgiven sin is not the way Christ would have his children to live! For on the cross, Jesus not only paid for our sin, but he also bore our shame!
“keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set out for him he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2 NET)

Isaiah prophesied about it this way (from the Amplified Bible):
“Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses, weaknesses, and distresses) and carried our sorrows and pains [of punishment], yet we [ignorantly] considered Him stricken, smitten, and afflicted by God [as if with leprosy]. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole.” (Isaiah 53:4, 5 AMP)

When we carry around guilt over sin that God has already been forgiven, we are in effect saying that either we don’t really believe what God has said about forgiveness, and/or that the blood of Christ was not sufficient to pay for their sin. We dare not go there!

I am not saying that we don’t try to make amends when we sin, or not to not remember how bad the guilt and shame felt before we were forgiven. But we must also remember to leave behind both the sin and its guilt at the foot of the cross and not go back for it!

There are some today who teach that keeping the Seventh-day Sabbath is binding upon Christians today. Are they correct? Should we be worshipping God on the seventh day instead of the first day of the week? Let’s see what the Bible teaches.
Let’s start at the beginning, in Genesis chapter 2.
“By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.” (Genesis 2:2, 3 NASB)
There is nothing, however, in the biblical record, that says that Jehovah directed Adam to keep the Sabbath himself. In fact, in Deuteronomy 5:15, Israel is told that the Sabbath was given, not to commemorate creation, but their deliverance from Egypt!
“You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to observe the sabbath day.” (Deuteronomy 5:15 NASB)

In spite of this, many will argue that the Mosaic Law was divided into “moral” and “ceremonial” sections, and that only the ceremonial law was done away. The contents is that the moral law, or Ten Commandments, are still in force and binding on us today. Let’s see if Jesus considered them separate or not in Matthew 5:21-38.
Verse 21: “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ (Part of the Ten Commandments)
Verse 23: Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, (Not part of the Ten Commandments)
Verse 27: “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY’; (Part of the Ten Commandments)
Verse 31: “It was said, ‘WHOEVER SENDS HIS WIFE AWAY, LET HIM GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE’; (Not part of the Ten Commandments)
Verse 38: “You have heard that it was said, ‘AN EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.’ (Not part of the Ten Commandments)
You see, Jesus mixed the two types of law freely, because in verse 17 he had stated that he came to fulfill the Law, not just a part of it.

So, if the Law is in one piece and not divided, are Christians bound to keep the Ten Commandments? What does Romans 7:6-7 say?
“But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter. What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “YOU SHALL NOT COVET.” (Romans 7:6, 7 NASB)

Not only does it say that we are released from the Law, but it cites the Tenth Commandment as being part of that Law! And Paul, in 2 Corinthians 3:7-11 writes this:
“But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious.” (2 Corinthians 3:7-11 NKJV)
Did you catch that? He directly speaks of that which was written in stone (i.e. the Ten Commandments) as that which was “passing away”!

So, since Jesus came to fulfill the Law, how did He fulfill the Sabbath? Hebrews 4:4-11 puts it this way:
“For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: And God rested on the seventh day from all His works ; and again in this place: They shall not enter My rest. Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, again He designates a certain day, saying in David, Today, after such a long time, as it has been said: Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts. For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.” (Hebrews 4:4-11 NKJV)

So what are we resting from now that we, as Christians, are the people of God? Our works! We have ceased trying to show ourselves righteous by our own works, and now have entered into that true sabbath rest by doing God’s work instead. We are created for good works in Christ, and we no longer have to work to somehow earn God’s approval!
And now that we are free from keeping ANY of the Old Law, we can walk in the reality of Christ. We are no longer obligated to keep yearly festivals, monthly new moons, or weekly sabbaths. We can walk in the reality instead of the shadow.
So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. (Colossians 2:16, 17 NKJV)

The First Sin

The Bible is clear that the first human being to sin was Eve, followed closely by her husband Adam. (By the way husbands, if you see your wife having a conversation with a snake, put a stop to it. But that’s a topic for another post.) Anyway, I was always taught that Adam and Eve committed the first sin. But I would like to ask you to reconsider that statement. We’re they really the first ones to sin? No!

You see, over in Isaiah chapter 14, God gave us a glimpse of the fall of the real first sinner, Satan.
“How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart:
I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north;
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.
Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit.” (Isaiah 14:12-15 NKJV)

Lucifer was an angel created in perfection by Jehovah. The book of Ezekiel describes his this way:
“You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you.” (Ezekiel 28:14, 15 NKJV)

So what was the iniquity, or sin, that lucifer allowed to enter into his heart? Pride! Notice back in the Isaiah 14 passage the “I will” statements that were in his now-corrupted heart. Lucifer was no longer content to be in the presence of God and worship Him forever. He suddenly determined to decide for himself, to make his own rules, and to take for himself worship that belongs only to God!
Thus he fell and went from being the light bearer to being the slanderer and opposer of God. He also became the “accuser of the brethren” (Rev 12:10)
Not content to have fallen and taken 1/3 of the angels with him, he went to Eden and tempted Adam and Eve to commit this same sin. In pride that took the prerogative for themselves to determine right and wrong. They listened and heeded the lies of Satan, who told them that Jehovah God was holding out on them and didn’t have their best interests at heart.

While all of this is bad, how does it apply to us? Glad you asked!
When decide that we, as humans, are qualified to decide what is right and wrong, rather than to believe what God says on the matter, it is pride. And pride is spiritual poison! It is pride that keeps us from submitting to the lordship of Christ. It is pride that keeps us looking for specks in the eyes of others, when we have a plank in our own eyes. It was pride in their positions that kept most of the Pharisees and Saducees from recognizing the Messiah.

Pride is the sin that made a perfect angel into the Devil! As such, we must run from this lethal sin whenever we recognize it in ourselves. Because sin will cause us to lose the ability to admit our sin and repent.

Pride is deception’s welcome mat!

So let’s endeavor, with God’s help, to steer clear of pride. And run after our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
“Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself. Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well. You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had, who though he existed in the form of God
did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature.
He humbled himself,by becoming obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross!
As a result God exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow – in heaven and on earth and under the earth – and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord
to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:3-11 NET)