Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared [More…]
But now we are on verses 6,7,8. Paul is going to take a step back here and give his reader warning of the carnal mind. I read these three verses and to me they are a stern warning, and admonishment of the danger and absolute ruin of the carnal mind.
The spiritual mind, or to be spiritually minded, is not just a simple acknowledgement that there is a Holy Spirit, and a few facts about him. It is a life-driving, self-denying, God-fearing, Christ-serving, soul-satisfying journey to a heavenly kingdom. Likewise, the carnal mind is not just the normal average state of man, nothing to especially regret. No, it is a grave-digging, god-hating, law-breaking, one-way ticket to a devil’s hell. [More…]
Many have been very troubled and perplexed about this election. This day was imminent. Ted Cruz has finally come out publicly in support of Donald Trump. There is much disappointment circulating out there over this decision. Consider these few thoughts before throwing Ted Cruz under the proverbial bus. [More…]
Matthew 5:15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Neither? To what does neither refer? What does it matter? Well it does. Neither is a conjunction. Conjunction, junction, what’s your function? Its function is to connect clauses or sentences. Connect is the key word here. That word neither is a big yellow warning sign that tells the bible student DO NOT DISCONNECT. The connection between this and the previous verse is the negative aspect of it. Neither means also not. The negative that this verse is connected to is the the fact that a city on a hill cannot be hid. So neither a city on a hill nor a candle on a stick will be missed. If they are connected, then the context has not changed. [More…]
Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set up on hill cannot be hid.
It is sobering that Jesus would call us something that he is. Jesus is truly the light of the world before we were (or are). If there’s any light in us, it’s that which cometh forth from that true Light. We bear witness of that Light. “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” (John 1:6-10) [More…]
Matthew 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men
Most of us have heard preaching and exhorting from this passage regarding the Christian being the salt of the earth. Usually, the Christian is encouraged to be careful that he does not lose his savour. If the savour is lost, then he is no longer valuable to the advancement of Christ’s church or the service of the will of God. This interpretation of the scripture is packed with truth and agreeable. However, there may be a possibility that the scripture’s context affords a somewhat different interpretation. The context up to this verse is the matter of persecution, the fellowship of Jesus’ suffering, brokenness, and heavenly rewards. Draw your attention to the final phrase of the verse to be trodden under foot of men. If this verse would remain in the context of the preceding three verses, it would be defined as “persecuted for righteousness’ sake… men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake… so persecuted they the prophets.” Therefore to be trodden under foot of men is a metaphoric description of persecution. [More…]
Matthew 5:12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
Verses 10-12 should never be watered down. This is persecution for righteousness’ sake. This is persecution for Jesus sake. This is persecution like that of the prophets. This cannot be equated with the trials and struggles that are common to all men. Yes, we do have trial and we do have struggles. Yes, we do suffer in this world. Yes, God can be a very present help in our times of trouble. Yes, we glorify God and magnify God in all things he delivers us from. Bless the Lord and praise his holy name, that we don’t have to walk alone on this pilgrim’s journey. It’s wonderful that he walks with us when things aren’t going well. In sickness, in distress, in sadness, in pain, God comforts us and stays close beside us.
All that is glorious, but it has nothing to do with persecution. [More…]
Matthew 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
The more we read our bibles and understand the word of God, the more this old world seems upside down and backwards. On this matter of persecution of the church, it is most definitely turned inside out. There are vast amounts of professing Christians here in this country, yet there is so little reviling and persecuting of Christians. We are not having to endure men saying all manner of evil against us for Christ sake. We’re just not. It’s almost non-existent in the states. I’m sure there’s some cases out there. But for the most part, we read this verse, and throw off the last three words of the verse “for my sake” and try to apply this verse to ourselves. Yet it has nothing to do with us. [More…]
I want to stress to you that there a lot of things that we can concern ourselves with. God told Daniel, “…even to the time of the end: may shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” (Dan12:4) There’s a lot of things out there that we can gain knowledge about. They call this the age of information. And I know sometimes, there’s things we need to concern ourselves with. But somehow, someway, we must give the things of God preeminence. We must set our minds, our hearts, our souls on the things above. In many places in the bible, we are admonished, “And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all they might.” (Deut 6:5). With all our strength, with all our being, we must attend unto the things of God, the things of the Spirit. O that God would fill us with his Holy Spirit. That he would pour out his Spirit upon us. God does not give such blessings to those that don’t want it. “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:” (Isaiah 55:6) [More…]
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