The Gates of Hell Shall Not Prevail

October 11, 2016

Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

There are few things that last in this world. Everything seems to go with the using. Every nation tumbles. Every society collapses. Every institution eventually fails. All but the Church. I want to encourage you, Christian, who is now distraught over the current state of this country and American politics.  Be warned however, I will not comiserate with you about the current state of affairs.  I do not understand such a dismal outlook upon Christ’s Church. I came across this article, Trump and the Apostate Church, by Brittany Pounders where the writer said this,

“The Church as a whole is destroying their testimony, their integrity, by their silence or outright acceptance. I know we don’t look to man.  Man will fail us.  But man makes up the fellowship and part of it is becoming rotten.”

This point of view upon the Church has problems. The writer says that she knows we don’t look to man and that man will fail us, yet the entire article is about how down she is because man has failed her. This is indicative of a fault on her part, not everybody else. She says that part of the church is becoming rotten. That is also wrong. It’s been rotten. The difference now is that she’s just now coming to the realization of it. And the whole truth is that all is rotten. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. That doesn’t change for the Christian. What does change is that our sins are covered in the blood of Jesus Christ. What changes is we are now endued with the imputed righteousness of another, not ours. What changes is now in us God has placed His Holy Spirit to guide us in all truth. Also, the writer goes on to describe two different groups of people. This is very short-sighted, and dishonest:

The first being the vocal Trump supporter who sacrilegiously declares that Trump is God’s appointed leader for this time.  Those may be admired in their tiny echo chambers of mindless idiots.  Outside of their tiny core, they’ve already lost all credibility.

I’ve seen a few of these, and they’re about as scarce (or abundant) as the the accuser and her sympathizers. Then there are some out there that rightly declare that God will bring to power whom he chooses, that he is sovereign in these matters. Then there’s some that take that too far into a fatalistic view where man’s will has no bearing.

The second group is the formerly vocal political Christians who have suddenly gone dark and silent.  You have no comments. You state piously on social media that “this has just become too ugly.”   These are the cowards.  You disappear when it actually matters—when the world is watching to see how we react to this as Christians.

Someone needs to edit this because she said the same person that has no comments state piously on social media. That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. When it actually matters? Now? When the media beats it’s drums? When the media is now on the march to ensure their candidate is sworn in? Now is the time to get on the Trash Trump bandwagon? These are cowards? I would call them circumspect. Maybe they’re silent because they don’t want to hear anymore sanctimonious dribble.

What this all boils down to is the writer is saying of herself “I am not sacreligious. I am not a mindless idiot. I am the one with credibility. I am not a coward.” These people are lamenting under their little juniper tree. They think that they are the last man (or woman) standing. They are the Gideons. They are the remnant. They are the only ones with principles. It makes me sicker and sicker the more I see it in their writings. She errs in believing that everybody that doesn’t see things from her perspective fall into those two other categories. She cannot bear the possibility that things are just not that simple as her understanding. All I can do is shake my head.

No, the church will not be prevailed upon. I will not hang my head down like some in disappointment and look my nose down at everybody else just because they don’t come into my little self-centered religious bubble. No, the church is much bigger and greater than my perspective of it. The church lived before the United States of America came into existence; and the church will live and thrive after the United States of America falls. The church lived before any of these sanctimonious windbags uttered a word and the church will live on when their voices cease. No, the gates of hell will not prevail against the church, and neither will Trump or Hillary. The church is the body of Christ, and Christ is the lamb slain before the foundation of the world. And this earth will burn with fervent heat and the Church will still endure.

No Surprises Here

People like Steve Deace, Eric Erickson, and now this writer, Brittany Pounders, have currently entered a heightened state of lamentations regarding the Church. This comes on the heals of the latest and worst supposed revelation of Trump’s character. Mind you all these have warned the American people, the Church specifically, that nominating such a character would result in a landslide loss. They made clear to everybody that the media will tear Trump apart. They had the soft gloves on during the primaries, and once all that was over, the knives would come out. The media was only going easy on him so he could get nominated, and once in they would proceed to slice and dice in order to boost Hillary’s candidacy. Their lamentations are exacerbating this phenomena and that brings their view into question; not their motive. I do not question that.

I do question their view point, however. Why would you play along with such a wicked institution as the media? After they knew full well that the the piper would play, they choose now to dance with their lamentations and woes. Something is wrong when at this late hour they choose to lock hands with this vile manipulating left-wing liberal powerhouse, and again denounce and double down on the loathsome character of Donald Trump. There is no new revelation as to the morality of this man. He is not more immoral now that this recording has come out. Donald Trump has lived among this Hollywood culture all his life. There is no surprise as to what goes on and what is said behind closed doors there. So why now the extra shock and outrage? They think this is their vindication. The fruition of their foresight somehow justifies their view point. They are basking in the glory of their foreknowledge.

Principle Over Party?

During the primaries, there is no doubt many Christian leaders jumped on the Trump Train for the wrong reasons. They did bastardize the Bible to justify their support of this man. That is not to be denied. There are some even now that try to defend Trump’s actions and words. That is not to be denied. Just for the record, I am not one of them. There are Bible principles, morals, and values to apply, defend, fight for, etc.  But we cannot let our pride in our understanding leave us blind to a bigger picture. Some just cannot see the forest for the orange tree.

Their “principle over party” standard does not hold water in the general election. Though the two party system that currently dominates the political world is deeply corrupted and not serving properly the American people, there is a foolishness to the abandonment of such. Conservatives, Constitutionalists, and Christians have never (I repeat) never dominated any one of the two parties. Nor have they dominated the government as a whole. We have merely, by the grace of God, been able to wield influence in this system. The two party system allows for a polarization of policy, platform, principles, etc. This is designed to offer the voter a clear choice regarding these things. The NeverTrump crowd insists there is no difference. They deny any difference between the parties. It is dishonest to hold that view. Is the Republican party plagued with RINOs? Sure. That is not to be denied. But there is a distinction in it’s constituents. There are millions of Republicans that are principled. You can’t ignore them. There is a distinction in it’s platform. It was crafted by delegates from all around this country and many are conservatives. There is a distinction in accomplishments both now and in the past. It hasn’t done all that we’ve wanted, I understand that. But ignoring or removing the good from the Republican Party will not fix what is bad about it; and it certainly will not contain it.

The party system works. It is a good system. It is not the conservative that should abandon it. It’s the RINO politicians that have abandoned the party on the battlefield that need to go. Do yo not see the blatant hypocrisy in thinking that now doing what we’ve loathed and hated from others is somehow going to fix the problem. We must fight for principles in the nomination process. We must fight to choose a candidate that best represents those principles. But once the nomination process is over, we are not just fighting for our principles, but fighting against the opponent’s principles. To deny this is stupidity. To deny this is arrogant, head-in-the-sand, selfish idiocy! There is no way on this earth that you can be a part of a party and not compromise your principles. The whole concept of a party system is conducive to a representative republic. In such we don’t always get our way.  The only way you can stay true to your principles is to vote for yourself. You have to compromise at some point in this game. And you lie and bastardize reality when you claim to hold principles over party. The system works if it’s worked.

I guess that for people to see the phrase compromise your principles, they immediately equate this with selling out, or condoning immorality, or embracing corrupt politics. That is such a wrong view of this. Reality is that in a party system, you have literally thousands of different principles. Some overlap. Some are the same. Some are different. Some are Biblical. Some are economic. Some are civic. Some are foreign policy. Some are on defense. Some are archaic. Some are new. Do you get the picture? In the millions of constituents, there are no two people that share the identical principles. Me and my son just argued for an hour on our principles tonight. The object here is to coalesce our votes in order to advance a platform. This platform is what we find to be common ground and common priority in our plethora of principles. For people to claim principle over platform after entering into the pact of a party is to deny how a party works. People who start out in a party process and ultimately claim principle over party is a sore-loser, a wanna-be dictator, and truly don’t want a representative republic. They don’t want you to vote your conscience. They want you to vote their conscience.

And then, when they add some scriptures to all that, and claim the Bible as their authority, you have the very epitome of a Pharisee, condemning everybody, throwing stones at sinners, and boasting of their understanding. This is the same reason churches split, cults are formed, and Christians quit. They’re trying to put a yoke on you that nobody can bear, not even themselves.

 

What is a Christian to do?

October 9, 2016

I feel compelled once again to let my sentiments known regarding the recent turn of events. Apparently there’s a recording going around now about some pretty lewd stuff that Trump said over ten years ago. The media is all ablaze about it, and the #NeverTrumpers are told you soing. And the Trumpsters are deflecting and defending. I personally have not listened to this recording. One does not have to hear it to understand what was said. There’s enough in the comments and articles to piece together what was said. There are some things that trouble me through this; and it’s not Trump. This doesn’t change my views on Trump one iota. This does not make him a more crude, lewd, bad dude than he was forty-eight hours ago. Honestly, I’m not sure what everyone is up and arms about. None of this is a surprise. There was enough about the guy out there that most people know that this is how a person of his character normally conducts himself. So there is no new revelation here about Mr. Trump. There are a few things that do bother me.

#1 Here we go again, for nought

There was a point in the primaries that Ted Cruz could have won the nomination out right.  If he could have pulled off certain states, there was a possibility that he could have overtaken Trump in the delegate count before the convention, but he didn’t. I don’t remember when exactly, but it was clear at one point that he could not win this outright.

Then it was believed that it was possible that if we could just stop Trump from getting to the magic number, Cruz could take it at the convention on the 2nd or 3rd ballot.  Once Indiana rolled around. It was clear that Trump could not be stopped and this would never happen.

Then there was the free the delegates discussions and everybody got there hopes up again. Once the rules committee met at the convention, it was clear that none of anything was going to take place. On the floor, once again, nothing happened. It was 2012 all over again, drowned out and shut out.

Then Cruz told the convention to vote their conscience. And the true blue #NeverTrumpers said YEAH and dug in. Then it was maybe French, maybe Libertarian, maybe Sasse, maybe, maybe, maybe… Nothing happened. Then Cruz told the world what his conscience was, and some were okay with it, and some were not. The Deaces, Becks, and Ericksons threw their friend under the bus and doubled down on their NeverTrumpness.

Now, we must again play the fool. The media does exactly what most people knew they were going to do, and here we go again!  “Step down, Trump!” Mike Lee, Sasse, and others are now calling for him to step down. One month away from the election, and we’re gonna do this again. Blah Blah Blah and nothing is going to happen different. This is very tiring.

#2 Self fulfilling prophets

What we’re witnessing is exactly what was predicted by the #NeverTrumpers.  They said the media has got the soft gloves on. After the primary they’re going to take the gloves off and bring out the swords and they’re going to completely slice and dice Trump. So everybody knew this was going to happen. So now that it happens, what do the #NeverTrumpers do? They do exactly what they predicted the media would try to accomplish. They throw up their arms and say “Aaahhh man, listen to this guy! You see, he’s not fit for office! He’s a reprobate! He’s horrible! He ought to stand aside!” They are accomplishing what they predicted the media would try to accomplish. Way to go. They are fulfilling their own prophecies.

#3 Incessant Complaining

It’s amazing that someone that is not going to make a choice between the two can have so much to say and complain about.  I’ve heard it many times in my life, “If you’re not going to vote, then shut up!”  Those who have made it their duty to shame everybody that will make a choice obviously don’t see any difference between the two candidates. They’ve stated so. “Hillary or Hillary’s donor?” Their denial of the choice at hand, though it be littered with convictions, is truly no different that the clown at the water fountain that boasts, “I don’t ever vote! They’re all the same.” Those clowns, of course, a year later when they start complaining about the person that made it into office, they deserve that sharp rebuke, “Wait a second, you didn’t vote? Then shut up!” Oh, but not the #NeverTrumpers. They’re principled. They’re credible. They can not vote (or vote for nothing that can win) yet complain and complain and complain and complain.

#4 So-Called Christian Behavior

Since when has it been standard practice for Christians to rail on a sinner? Sure Trump is not a god-fearing moral man, that is clear. But there is something wrong when all you can do is bad mouth him all day long, bring up all his faults over and over, try as hard as you can to paint him in the worst possible light. There’s nothing Christian about that. And I’m not saying judge not. Use your discernment. Make a righteous judgment. But this constant vomiting of bitterness and loathing of this sinful man is not right. I’ve had my problems with Trump and still do, but I refuse to live in such a perverted state of reality that I would call out another man’s sins all day everyday and forget my desperate need of forgiveness; reveal other’s sins and forget that Jesus has covered mine. Shall I emulate Jesus and advocate the forgiveness of this man’s sin, or play the part of the Devil and accuse him before the Father? There is nothing Christian about this constant railing on this sinner.

Nor is there anything Christian about this constant railing on those that have decided to choose between these two candidates. It was the greatest thing in the world when Cruz said, “Vote your conscience!” Different things weigh differently on different people’s conscience. Letting Hillary in office weighs far heavier on some people’s conscience than allowing Trump in office may weigh on yours. Can we not respect that? Must someone who’s conscience bears different burdens than yours be a idol-worshipping religious whoremonger? Must we question their devotion to Christ because they want to vote; because they want to do what all Americans have done for 250 years. I’ve never heard such ridiculousness! Christian vote shaming? Please.

#5 Wrong All the Time

Why was it okay to participate in this process 18 months ago? But now, it’s not? People were not being shamed for voting Republican 18 months ago. If it wasn’t wrong back then, why is it wrong now? What changed? Trump was one of the first, if not the first, person to put his hat in the ring. It was okay to participate in the process then. I’ve given much thought to all this. I’ve been in. I’ve been out. There’s two words that I just can’t get around however I slice and dice this: SORE LOSER. Look, we lost. Cruz lost. He almost got it. It could have gone his way, but it just didn’t happen. You can explain it anyway you want. You can justify yourself anyway you’d like. You can quote scripture. You can invoke your Christianity. But you can’t change the fact that if you don’t vote for the Republican nominee after you actively participated in the process to determine one, you’re just a sore loser. You want to take your little football and go home. Is this how you would have wanted the Trumpers to treat you if Cruz had won, Mr. Christian? If you have so much integrity, and credibility, and honor, and Christianity, why don’t you stick to what you of your own volition chose to be a part of? If all are wrong to vote R on the presidential ballot on November 8th, then you are wrong to ever have participated, even 18 months ago. Where you not a Christian 18 months ago? It is disingenuous to start something and not finish. This bitter practice is bad precedent.

#6 Bible Thumping

I’ve brought up 2 Samuel 24 to demonstrate that yes, God may reguire of us a difficult choice. This is the passage where David is taken to task for numbering Israel. He is asked of God between 3 judgments by the the prophet Gad.

For when David was up in the morning, the word of the LORD came unto the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying, Go and say unto David, Thus saith the LORD, I offer thee three things; choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee. So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thine enemies, while they pursue thee? or that there be three days’ pestilence in thy land? now advise, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me. (11-13)

Why would God have David choose the judgement? I’m sure some parents have tried this on their kids. No doubt the intention would be to cause the perpetrator to own his sin. I guess you can say it is a teachable moment. I only offer this to demonstrate that it is within the character of God to place before his people a difficult choice. Some have insisted that God would never want us to vote for such a man as Trump, and would have us choose someone of integrity, one that fears God. For far too many years, we’ve chosen wrong. God may be past that and now he places before us not a choice of who will lead our country, but rather how our country will be judged. Ironically, it seems like David was of the #NeverJudgement crowd:

And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man. (14)

It seems like David refused to choose, but left it up to God. For a long time I thought David chose pestilence; but my son pointed out to me David didn’t choose. So I’m suprised I haven’t heard #NeverTrumpers declare “See, David didn’t choose!” They’d have a pretty good argument.  But to that I must say a few things:

  1. I offer this passage to only demonstrate the character and ways of God in time of judgement.
  2. Judgement still came regardless of the fact that David refused to choose.
  3. Maybe if David would have said what he said in verse 17 instead of shirking the choice or coming to the reality of it, God may have stayed his hand. “Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly: but these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father’s house.”
  4. David was willing to let the judgement of his sin be shared with all of Israel. Famine, defeat in battle, and pestilence all affect others, not just him. In his refusal to choose, he did not come to terms with truly owning his sin.
  5. The irony of  his statement: Let us fall into the hand of the LORD, and let me not fall into the hand of man. Us? It wasn’t us that sinned. Me? He was more concerned of himself than those that would be judged for his sin.

If this passage teaches us anything. It speaks of our need to own our responsibility in this matter. We are not to lift ourselves above everybody as if we have no blame in the matter or no blood on our hands. Ezekiel the watchman, the one that would warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life said, “I came to them of the captivity of Tel-abib, that dwelt by the river Chebar, and I sat where they sat…”

I only bring this up to put to rest this arrogant notion that the Bible strictly forbids Christians to vote for Trump.  I leave you with this last thought:

And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others. Two men went up into the court house to vote; the one a Pharisee, and the other a repubican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, compromisers, sell-outs, unprincipled, or even as this republican. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the republican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much his eyes unto heaven, but pulled the lever, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

 

Paul the Writer (Under Construction)

September 26, 2016

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 to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name: Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ: To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:1-7)

In these first seven verses, the name Jesus Christ is mention four times.  This assures us that Jesus is the main subject matter. Jesus is who Paul is writing about. Paul has got one thing on his mind and that is Jesus. Our first example or lesson that is laid out is the preeminence of Jesus.  “And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.” (Colossians 1:17,18) That is who Christ should be to us today. This encourages the brethren that Jesus might have the preeminence; that Jesus would be first in our thoughts and conversation as it was in Paul’s; that Jesus would be first in our decisions and questions; that Jesus would be first in our trials and troubles; that Jesus would be on our hearts and minds; that we fall further in love with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Do you remember when you first fell in love with your spouse? You were young and didn’t have the responsibilities you have now. The thought of your love consumed every facet of your life, your thoughts, and your time. Everything you did was based on or rooted in her or him. You would think and dream about your love every moment of the day. She had the preeminence in your life. Is it possible that Jesus Christ, our Saviour, our knight in shining armor who saved us, Jesus who commended his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, he died for us, that he might have the preeminence in our life. In these first seven verses of this epistle Paul mentions his Savior four times. That is four our of seven. The bible says “Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men.” (2 Corinthians 3:2)  How many times is Christ mentioned in your epistle. How would we score love of Christ? How many times would our heart declare the Lord Jesus Christ. “Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.” (2 Corinthians 3:2-3)

What an amazing person like Paul, and Luke, and John; that God would use to write these epistles. We say the bible is complete. We say it is canonized. It cannot be added unto. Yet let it be know that God is still writing epistles for all of man to read. There are many that will never pick up a bible and read it; but they’re reading you and me from cover to cover. What do the first seven verses of our epistle read? Paul’s was Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.

Before we go further, some people say that Christianity should come naturally. They say an apple tree makes apples; and that if there’s no fruit, then there must be no root. There is nothing wrong with that. There’s a lot of truth to that. But apple trees don’t grown on their own. They must be nurtured, pruned, watered, protected, fed, and waited upon. Simply said, you’ve got to try. And this goes for anything; but most importantly for Jesus Christ to have the preeminence in your life, you have got to try and work at it. There is so much out there in this life competing to get your attention, but only one deserves it. When all this is said and done, we’ll find out that He is really all that mattered.

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ.

To know Paul is to know that this statement is not about him. It is not meant to describe himself, but to glorify Jesus Christ. He’s not saying, “Look at me, the humble servant” But rather, “Place your eyes upon my Master, Jesus Christ.”  This is a whole message or book in itself, Jesus Christ, the Master. This is a term we are wholly unfamiliar with. The days of people ownership are long over in this country. We no longer have indentured servants or slavery, thus we have no masters. All employment is for the most part voluntary. So the senses of the world master or the word servant have been lost in this day and age.

Allow a few things. The master owns the servant.  What a strange statement that is indeed. This is repugnant to us. “Nobody owns me! I’m free! This is America!” We are programmed to hate servanthood. However, there is a beauty there for us to experience. “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise…” (1 Cor 1:27) To be owned by somebody is of course repugnant. To be thought of as cattle is offensive.

However, look at the affection a dog gives his master. They say a dog is man’s best friend. A dog wouldn’t have it any other way. A dog loves his master. He runs to him as soon as he comes home. He’s excited to see him. He jumps up and down in joy. He licks his face. He can’t wait to be pet, to be scratched, and to be talked to. I remember, at one time, we had these two dogs, Fifi and Mo. Every morning they’d greet me. It didn’t matter if they were up all night chasing skunks and racoons. It didn’t matter. They’d drag themselves out from underneath the house, half asleep, dragging along, but they’d come out every morning. A dog will protect hismaster even to the death. A dog is a faithful friend. What’s amazing is I don’t feel worthy of the affection of a dog. He a dog. He’s a filthy mutt. He’s disgusting. But I’m not worthy of the affection of such an animal. He’s a servant that wants and needs a master to serve and love. To me, he’s just a mutt, a mangy old mutt, a filthy flea-bag that I really don’t want to touch me; but that poor little dog wants to be loved and wants to love his master. He’ll do flips for his master and wait on his every word. There’s thousands and thousands of stray dogs out there that need a master. We don’t want these filthy animals around. We had another one just the day. “Don’t feed him! Don’t acknowledge him!”

Jesus, the master, is not like that. We have a master that loves us and feeds us and leads us. He’ll take us for a walk. He’ll give us attention. He’ll protect us. He’ll bind our wounds. Jesus is a wonderful master. We have a master that worth doing flips for. We have a master that’s worth getting excited about; that’s worth leaping for joy. We have a master that is worth getting up every morning to greet. We have a master that’s worth loving. We are the mangy mutts. We are the filthy beast with rona. But our master is not repulsed by us. No, he’s moved to compassion. He has run to help us.

What a master we have! What a wonderful Saviour we have. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) What a master! My Master went all the way up to Calvary. He let wicked men drive nails through his hands and feet for me. He let them jamb a crown of thorns on his head for me. He did it all for me. That’s my master. I belong to him.

Paul, a servant of Christ, bought and paid for by Jesus himself. “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” (1 Peter 1:18,19) It is not PAUL, a servant of Christ. It is Paul, a servant of CHRIST. Jesus Christ.

Called and Separated

“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God…”

Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed. (1 Corinthians 15:1-11)

 

Cowboys and Separation. The world is on a mad rush to hell. This world is on a stamped to hell; like “horses rushing to battle.” The Holy Spirit is heaven’s cowboy. He’ll take ou off that path and put you on the gospel path; a path in which the foundation is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ; a path whose end is a celestial city made by the hands of God. It may be long. It may be rough. But there’s comfort and joy knowing that it is the path that Jesus has set for me. It’s a path of purpose. It’s a path that Jesus put me on, a path he leads me on, and a path that he as at the end of. I’m separated to a path that’s all about him. In fact, it is him. Jesus said I am the way.

 

To be Carnally Minded

September 25, 2016

enemiesRomans 8:6-8 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

We have spent eight messages on the The Things of the Spirit. We figured that if we’re to mind them, we ought to at least know what they are. And we just barely scratched the surface. We didn’t even cover the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, and peace; longsuffering, gentleness, and goodness; faith, meekness, and temperance. Against such, there is no law.  We didn’t cover those. We could have preached nine more messages on The Things of the Spirit. Each of the seven letters to the churches in the book of Revelation covered different things of the Spirit. We could have preached seven more messages on the The Things of the Spirit. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

We preached on Beginning in the Spirit. We preached on the life giving power of the Holy Spirit. We preached that “that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3:6) “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5) If you’re Christianity did not begin in the Spirit, then it has yet to begin. The very beginning of the Bible, God gives a picture of a lost man, and the work of the Holy Spirit on that lost man. “And the earth (you can put the words lost man in there) was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the water.” (Genesis 1:2) Nothing begins, nothing gets started, until the Holy Ghost moves.

We preached on Praying in the Holy Ghost.  “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” (Rom 8:26,27) The bible says that we ought to be “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit…” (Eph 6:18) The bible says that God will pour out upon his people the spirit of grace and supplications. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Supplication. (Zech 12:10) No prayer, no cry, no petition ascends to heaven, but on the wings of the Holy Ghost.

We preached on Worshipping in the Spirit, Waiting in the Spirit, Sowing in the Spirit. And we spend much time on being Carried Away in the Spirit. To be spiritually minded is to mind these things of the Spirit, to obey them. However, now that we know them, now that we are acquainted with some of the things of the Spirit, our attention turns back to the flesh, the carnal mind. And it becomes much easier to understand what it means to be carnally minded. It can be simply defined by what it is not. To mind the things of the flesh is to simply not mind the things of the Spirit. It is to have no interest in the things of the Spirit. It is to be oblivious to, or to ignore, or to spurn the things of the Spirit and the things of God. The bible says that “the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other…” (Gal 5:17) The Spirit of God and the flesh of man do not agree. They are worlds apart. Jesus said his kingdom is not of this world. We are to choose which world to set our minds upon.

Jesus told his disciples that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Peter rebuked Jesus and said these things shall not be. Jesus said to Peter “Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” (Matthew 16:23) What is that we savour? What is that we desire? Let me say this: Peter was trying to protect Jesus. Peter, honestly, in his mind had wanted to help and be a blessing to Jesus. But he set his mind on earthly things and the things of man, the things of the flesh. Unbeknownst to Peter, he war wrong, wrong, wrong. This reminds me of Uzzah from the Old Testament. David went to fetch the ark of the covenant after Saul had died. He recognized that Israel did not inquire of it in the days of Saul. All the people agreed that it should be brought before the congregation again. This was almost an act of repentance. Uzzah was among the men that carried the ark of the covenant. They put it on a new cart, and they were singing. They were strumming their harps. They were crashing the cymbals. They were blowing the trumpets. But along the way, the oxen stumbled, and the ark slipped. Uzzah, thinking that he was helping, thinking he was doing God a service, put forth his hand to hold the ark, and the Lord smote him dead. God put the holy hush on the parade that day. I tell you that put the fear of God in David. The bible says, “And David was afraid of the LORD that day..” (2 Samuel 6:9)

I want to say thank God that the oxen stumbled. I’m glad that one day God tripped up my oxen. I’m glad I hit the brakes. I’m glad that God made a distinction in my life between the things of the flesh and the things of the Spirit. I’m glad that the word of God is quick and powerful, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow; the things of the soul and spirit, and the things of the joints and morrow; the flesh. I’m glad that the word of God is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. I say this because you cannot judge a book by it’s cover. It’s difficult to know sometimes what you’re savouring. Where is your heart? Are the thoughts and intents of your heart on the things of the Spirit or the things of the flesh? That’s why we need the word of God. We need a discerner. We need something that is quick and powerful. We need something to trip up our oxen.

Like Peter and Uzza, we may think that we’ve got it all right in our hearts, but the reality of the matter is that we are a world away. We don’t have it right. We got it wrong, wrong, wrong. We think that we are being spiritual, but in fact, we are being carnal. We think we’re doing alright. We look at other people and think, “If so and so is saved and a Christian, I guess I’m doing okay.” We think that we desire the things of God, but in the heart, thou savourest the things of man. You ask, “How in the world can this be?” That’s the same question many will be asking God in that last day. “How in the world can this be? Have we not prophesied in they name? Have we not cast out devils in thy name? Have we not done many wonderful works in thy name? Oh Lord, how can this be?” They have no discernment in this world, and they’ll have no discernment in the world to come. We need the Word of God, a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Verses 2,3,4 are wonderful verses. They speak of the wonder law of the Spirit of life and freedom that it has given us from the law of sin and death. They talk about how God sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and condemned sin in the flesh. And all this that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us. There is therefore no condemnation. The Holy Spirit is a wonderful person to walk after, to follow, learn from, to trust in. Then we hit verse 5, the Things of the Spirit. And I learned alot about the Holy Ghost. The more I learn, the more I desire Him, and the influence and power of the Spirit of Christ. 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.

I. To be Carnally Minded is Death

Death in the cessation of life. We’ve spoken of this before. Death has absolutely nothing to do with life. They are indeed worlds apart. Physically, when life leaves the body, we are imposed upon to dispose of the body. In some cultures, the body is buried before the sun sets. For immediately, the body in which life has left will begin to decompose. It will begin to rot and stink. The body in death is like any slab of meat and bones. If you don’t refrigerate it, you’ll have a mess on your hands. If you leave it alone, it will be no different than a lifeless animal on the side of the road. Ants, maggots, and bacteria will overcome this body. It will putrify, swell up, and burst asunder.  The dogs and vultures will feast. It will be torn apart, it will stink and be a nuisance to everyone that passes by, and eventually return to the dust from whence it came. A human body is an amazing creation. It can live, and breathe, and move around for a hundred years. But the seconds it dies, absolutely nothing works. Every single organ, cell, and muscle shuts down. It’s useless, lifeless, and immediately begins to breakdown, decompose, and rot.

To be carnally minded is death. Not a physical death, but a spiritual one. Let us be reminded of the difference between the temporal and the spiritual. There are two worlds. There is the one we see, the one we interact with, where we live and breathe. And unless a soul is awakened from it’s slumber, this is all a person will ever know. But there is a spiritual realm, the intangible, that which is seen by the eyes of faith, yet known in the heart and conscience. The temporal world is just that, temporary. It doesn’t last. James asked, “What is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” (James 4:14) Peter said, “For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower therof falleth away.” (1 Pter 1:24)

But the spiritual is eternal. The spiritual does not vanish away. The soul and spirit endures. And it will either endure in life, or endures in death. Death, in the spiritual realm, is much like death in the physical, temporal realm; except that it is eternal. The rotting, the putrification, the decomposition, and the stench will last forever. Jesus said that hell was a place, “Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus said that when that rich man died, he was indeed buried, but “in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments…” (Luke 16:23) To be carnally minded is to set your mind, your heart, and you will toward hell.

To be carnally minded is the extreme utter opposite of being spiritually minded. To be spiritually minded is life and peace. To be carnally minded is to turn the other way and seek death and torment. Jeremiah said, “No man repented him of his wickedness saying, “What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle.” To be carnally minded is to pursue death, to seek it, and to follow hard after it.  To be carnally minded is to shake and rattle the gates of hell, and beg to enter in. The bible says, “Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure.” (Isaiah 5:14)

To be carnally minded is death, death of the soul and spirit. We’re not talking about the death of the flesh. That is not in question. “And it is appointed unto man once to die.” (Heb 9:27) But you see, if you set your mind on that man that is bound to die, the flesh that will wither and die, the soul and spirit will surely follow after. If all you care about and mind are the things of this world, the things of man, the things of this flesh, your soul and spirit will soon follow after the world, man, and the flesh. “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7) Death is the expected of end of the soul that sets it’s mind upon it.

And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. (Rev 21:13,14)

The first death is the death of the body, the temporal, the tangible body. The second death will be the death of the soul, the spiritual, the invisible, the eternal. The mind and heart of man stand at the crossroads. On one side is the broadway. It’s the easy path. It’s the wide path. It’s the popular path. Virtually everbody is traveling this road. But at the end of that road is destruction. (Matthew 7:13)  “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” (Proverbs 14:12) To be carnally minded is to travel down that broadway, is to move closer and closer to destruction. All that travel down this way race to the prize, storing up treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, concentrating, contemplating, and capturing the things of man. But at the end of that journey, the carnal mind will reach his goal. The carnal mind will obtain what he has lived in, what he has diligently sought after, what he has patiently sowed.  The carnal mind will plunge into what he has incline to, and what it has aspired for. The carnal mind will finally win his reward. For as he thought all his life in his heart, so is he at the end of it. This is the second death. To be carnally minded is death.

II. To be Carnally Minded is Enmity with God

“Because the carnal mind is enmity with God…” (8:7)

Enmity? We hardly use this word in today’s english.  We use a similar word, enemy. Enmity is what makes an enemy of someone. Enmity lies as a barrier between two people. Enmity caused hostility between two people. Enmity is the hate, the loathing, the bad-blood that separates two people. God is one of those people; the other is you; and the carnal mind is the enmity between God and you.  It’s a carnal mind that will make you an enemy of God.  It’s a carnal mind that separates you from God. That is an important distinction to make. The scripture doesn’t say that the carnal person is enmity against God. The bible says it’s the mind, the carnal mind, that is enmity against God.

This reminds me of Jonah. That whole boat was gonna sink because of that one person on the boat that was against God. They were gonna let that whole boat sink and everybody in it for the sake of one person on there. They finally came to their senses and cast him off the boat. The boat and everybody on that boat would have met the same fate as that of Jonah, if they had not cast him off.  Paul said, “Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me… I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” (Romans 7:17,23)

The carnal mind is the enmity against God.  If we don’t cast it off the boat, if we don’t abandon it, it will bound us, and drag us into captivity to the law of sin. What makes a person carnal, is the carnal mind. What turns a person against God, to hate God, to oppose God, to resent God, is the carnal mind.  “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7)

Ironically, Paul was also on a boat in that was in peril. The same principle is demonstrated, but the opposite direction. He was in a boat on his way to Rome. They stopped at a city named Lasea.  It was there that Paul warned them that the weather didn’t look good.  But they went anyway.  The sailed off, and sure enough, there was a great tempest that arose against them. They tried to take refuge in an island, but it wasn’t safe, so they set out again into the tempest. and were exceedingly tossed about. The bible says that, “When neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.” But then Paul stood up in the midst of them and said:

Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship. For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.   (Acts 27:21-25)

In Johah’s case, that whole ship and everybody in it would have found themselves at the bottom of the sea because that’s where Jonah was going.  Likewise, in Paul’s case, that whole ship and everybody in it, would find themselves delivered from that storm, because Paul, by the desire of God Almighty, must be brought before Cesar. That’s why Paul said, “Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved!” You may think the carnal mind a small thing to regard. But, like that little bit in a horse’s mouth, that whole 1500 pound animal can be turned about by it. If you don’t have it, that horse is going nowhere.

I don’t want to diminish or under estimate the carnal mind. In fact, I want to exalt and bring to light the absolute folly of the carnal mind. Know assuredly that the carnal mind will separate you from God and make you an enemy of God.  The way of the carnal mind is indeed the way of the enemies of God. The devil is the enemy of God, and the enemy of God’s people. If the carnal mind leads to same place and end of the enemies of God, then it leads to the same place and end as the devil himself, which no one doubts is under the crushing foot of Christ. (Gen 3:15) “The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” (Psalm 110:1)

Goliath, the Philistine, was the enemy of God. When the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle against the children of Israel, the bible says, “The Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them.” (1 Sam 17:3) There was a valley between the children of God and the enemies of God. The carnal mind is the valley that separates the children of God and the enemies of God. If you do not cross that valley now, in this life, on this earth, you will never cross it in eternity. In Luke 16, Abraham with Lazarus in his bosom, said to the rich man that was in hell, in torments, tormented in the flame, “Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.” (Luke 16:26) It will not end well for the enemies of God. David said to Goliath, “This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in israel.” (1 Sam 17:46)

The enmity of the carnal mind will make you an enemy of God and take you to the place and end of the enemies of God. At the end of this world, when the curse comes to full fruition, the enemies of God will take their stand against God.  The enemies of God gather themselves together to wage war against God himself..

And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty… And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. (Revelation 16:13,14,16)

Armageddon is the place and the end of the enemies of God, the true desire and intentions of the carnal mind, to oppose God and to fight God. O, the folly and deception of the carnal mind! The bible says “When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever… For, lo, thine enemies, O LORD, for, lo, thine enemies shall perish; all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.” (Psalm 92:7,9)

Be careful in what you set your mind on. Follow not after the things of the flesh, and of man, and of the world. James said, “…know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” (James 4:4) The bible says that both the carnal mind and friendship of the world are both “enmity with God.” Therefore, these are two of the same thing or of the same nature. The carnal mind is friendship of the world. As stated earlier, the spirit and flesh are worlds apart. The friends of God and the enemies of God are on two different sides of a great gulf or a great valley. The carnal mind is friends with the wrong world. The carnal mind has chosen to identify and fellowship on the wrong side. You can’t be friends with the world to come and with this present world at the same time. You will love one and hate the other. To be a friend of the world, is to hate and despise the world to come. To be a friend of the world, to be carnally-minded, is not to just to hate and despise the world to come, but everything in that world and be the enemy of such. The carnal mind is enmity with God and will thus make you an enemy of all that’s in heaven. It will make you the enemy of all the citizens of heaven: the angels of God, the cherubims and seraphims. It will make you the enemy the saints of God, and Lord Jesus Christ himself. A carnal mind will make you an enemy of and hate even the celestial city: the street of gold, the crystal river, and tree of life. The carnal mind has chosen it’s friends unwisely.

The carnal mind is the mind of a worldly fool. The first thing we covered in regards to things of the Spirit, was beginning in the Spirit. The carnal mind, or the carnally-minded, will have no regard to the life-giving power of the Spirit, will be oblivious and ignorant of it. But to not regard the Spirit, is to regard the flesh. It is to ascribe life-giving power to the flesh. And this is what is abhorrent to God and puts one in the place of his enemy. This is why Paul with such astonishment asks the Galatians, “Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3) A fool is ignorant. His reality is defined and his life determined by what he doesn’t know. Ignorance is not bliss concerning the things of the Spirit. Ignorance is a foolish friendship with the world and a stranger to the Spirit of God. “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” (John 16:13) Ignorance is to know not truth, to hear not the voice of God, and see not things to come. Instead, the fool will believe lies, hearken to the voice of man, and will set his sights and hopes on things that will never come to pass. Only the ignorance of a fool would cause him to oppose God, and desire to fight with God, to be the enemy of God.

The carnal mind is enmity with God, and make you the enemy of God, and will take you to the place and end of the enemies of God, and make you a friend to all that is unholy and worldly.

III. To be Carnally Minded is to Break the Law of God

For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. (Romans 8:6,7)

#1 To be carnally minded is death. #2 To be carnally minded is enmity with God. #3 To be carnally minded is to break the law of God. Jesus said this concerning the law:

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:17-19)

The carnal mind is not subject to the law of God. This means that the carnal mind is not likely or prone to be affected by the law of God. The carnal mind is not under subjection of the law of God. Simply said, the carnal mind does not do what God wants it to do. The carnal mind does not care about what God requires. The carnal mind is not interested in walking in the ways of God, or thinking on the things of God, or fulfilling the law of God.

The carnal mind cares nothing for the ten commandments. The carnal mind has other gods. The carnal mind will bow itself to idols and graven images. It takes the name of the Lord in vain. The Sabbath and holiness mean nothing to the carnal mind, and it has no regard for the work of God. It does not honour his father and mother. The carnal mind is a murderer, an adulterer, a thief, a liar, and is consumed in lust and covetousness.  Like I was saying earlier, I don’t want to diminish the seriousness of this condition.  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. And we must seek to be as far from it that God would allow. We must seek to be as circumspect and fearful of it as much as possible. We must oppose it, reject it, and fight it with whatever holy power is in us. Jesus said:

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment… (Matthew 5:21-22)

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. (Matthew 5:27,28)

You don’t have to murder someone; you just have to be angry with someone to be a murderer and break the law of God. You don’t have to commit adultery; you just have to lust after a woman to be an adulterer and break the law of God. The sin is done on the inside, in the mind and in the heart. You don’t have to do it, you just have to think it. You say that’s pretty harsh? The bible says that the carnal mind is enmity against God: for the mind is not subject to the law of God. The mind, the mind, the mind.

James says, “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” (James 1:14,15) It’s the carnal mind that gets drawn away and enticed. It lusts and covets the things of the flesh, the things of man, that which is contrary to God and contrary to the moral laws of God.

From the very beginning we see this. Eve transgressed God’s law in the mind first. The devil said, “For God doth know that in the day that ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” The bible says that Eve saw that the tree was ” a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat…” The mind processed this new information given to it, and convinced itself and justified itself in breaking the law of God.

How much was going on in the mind of Cain before he murdered his brother Abel? He considered, planned, and prepared in his mind the offering that he’d bring the Lord. In his mind he had already transgressed God’s law before any offering was ever made. And then when God had not respect unto Cain’s offering, yet had respect unto Abel’s offering, Cain’s mind again plunged into disobedience, and indulged in anger, hate, jealousy, and murder. And as Cain talked to his brother and walked with him, lust had already conceived in his heart, sin had already been committed in the mind, and now it was to come forth as he slew his brother.

In the days of Noah, the bible says “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” I know this verse does not directly speak of the carnal mind, but look at the words it does use, every imagination of the thoughts.  Those are the workings of the mind. This is not good news for the the carnal mind. The bible demonstrates that the carnal mind is of the heart and is only evil continually. Two things: One, that the carnal mind is but a symptom of a bad heart; and Two, that a carnal mind is in nothing but a constant, uninterrupted violation of God’s laws; a folly of a perpetual sort. It is only evil continually.

The carnal mind is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. To be carnally minded is to break the law of God. A few things regarding such:

  1. The law of God is an expression of the moral nature of God.
  2. Moral law reflects God; God does not make it. We’ve talked about how the law is what reveals to us our sin. When we read the law it’s as if we see our selves in a mirror. But more importantly it also reflects God Almighty. The carnal mind sees the image of God, as in a mirror, and wants nothing to do with what he sees and shatters the mirror, as he shatters the law of God.
  3. The whole law may be summed up in the words: “Be like God.” The carnal mind does not want to be like God.
  4. God’s law is God’s face disclosed to human sight (Like the U.S. Constitution discloses the face of George Washington/Thomas Jefferson). David said “Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.” The carnal mind finds no joy in the face of God; no joy his countenance. The carnal minds desires not God to look upon him.
  5. We should not say that God makes law, nor on the other hand that God is subject to law, but rather that God is law and the source of law. God’s word and God’s will are revelations of his inmost being; and every transgression of the law is a stab at the heart of God. The carnal mind is set on hurting God, grieving God. The carnal mind that breaks the law, tears at the very inside of God.
  6. The ordinances of God are unwritten, but sure. Not one of them is for today or for yesterday alone, but they live forever. Moses might break the tables of stone upon which the law was inscribed, and Jehoikam might cut up the scroll and cast it into the fire, but the law remained eternal as before in the nature of God. The carnal mind sets itself against the power of eternity. That which is from the Ancient of Days; from everlasting to everlasting, the carnal mind seeks to ignore. The carnal mind is aloof to the eternal authority and majesty of the law of God. In breaking it, it seeks to to subvert that which has been forevermore.
  7. God’s law does not change as God himself cannot change. The moral law is immutable, because it is a transcript of the very nature of the immutable God. God doesn’t change. The carnal mind that breaks the law of God, in futility seeks to change that which cannot be changed.
  8. The law IS God. In the beginning was the word and word was with God and the word WAS God. A very serious thing it is indeed to break the law of God. The carnal mind that sets it’s sights and cares on the things of the flesh, and man, and the world is opposed not just to the law, but to God himself.

IV. To Be Carnally Minded is to Displease God.

For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8:6,7,8)

It’s obvious after what we’ve covered why God is not pleased. They that are in the flesh most definitely have a carnal mind or are carnally minded. And the carnally minded is death, it is enmity against God, and it is set on breaking the law of God. They that are in the flesh, this carnal mind is in them. Therefore, God cannot be pleased in this state.

This is why the lost man will suffer eternal punishment. He can never in this state please God. He is in the flesh. All he knows is the flesh. He’s only been born of the flesh. He is steeped in, soaked and saturated, in the flesh. The carnal mind is all he has. No amount of religion or reformation or education can change that mind. It matters not how long he’s been in church, or what sin he’s layed down, or how smart and knowledgeable and wise he may be, unless he’s been born again by the Holy Spirit of God, where that which is born of the Spirit is spirit, (unless he’s been born from above) he will remain in the flesh, and the carnal mind will reign in that soul. Transgression, enmity, and death will be the end of that soul. The flesh has no interest in pleasing God; it couldn’t if it tried. The flesh has one desire and that is to please itself.

So then is what the bible says. So then. The end of the carnally minded is a displeased God, a displeased Savior, a displeased Holy Spirit. To be displeased is not just anger, but disappointment, sorrow and pain. “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) The only reason I’m not up in glory right now, walking the street of gold, is because God’s loves sinners and doesn’t want to put an end to this thing just yet. He keeps the doors of heaven open for that prodigal son. He’s still out there looking for that one sheep. There may be some of you on these pews right now that God is holding up all eternity for. God has his hand on that heavenly elevator door right now, holding it open, waiting for you, beckoning you, wooing you to come in.

O the heart of God, that suffers for sinners, that weeps in pain for his creation. Don’t you want to please him, the one that died on the cross for you? Must Christ’s sufferings continue? What amazing grace he’s bestowed upon us! Is there something inside of you that wants to please him. Is there something in you that wants to stop God’s displeasure and sorrow for mankind. Jesus said, “I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” (Luke 15:10) He didn’t say the angels were rejoicing. He said there’s joy in the presence of the angels of God. It’s the Lord Jesus Christ that rejoices in the presence of the angels. We talk about how God is going to wipe away all tears from our eyes in the gloryland; but when one sinner repenteth. When one of those old sinners, those enemies of God, those transgressors… When one of those in the flesh pass from death unto life.. When one of those sinners are crucified with Christ, and born anew by the Holy Spirit… Just like there is joy over a newborn babe on earth, there’s joy in heaven. If there’s any tears in heaven, it’s tears of joy; and the tears of disappointment, sorrow, and pain over that sinner are wiped away by the penitent sinner. And replaced by tears of joy.

Tears of joy, for the desire of God has been fulfilled. Psalm 51 gives us a pictures of the desires of God.

Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. (Psalm 51:5,6)

David is saying, “Behold this wretched state!” Like Paul said, “O wretched man that I am!” “Behold my depravity, my contemptuous state of sin and darkness. There would I remain. There would my soul be doomed. There would be the end of me; but for the desires of God!”  O Praise his holy name, for God desires something different for me. He desires truth instead of lies. He desires wisdom instead of folly. God is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) It’s God’s desire that you turn to him. O the pleasure and satisfaction and joy that is afforded God when the sinner steps out of darkness into his marvelous light.

When he comes to God, that which was death, and enmity with God, and hate for the law of God, comes into his light and he finds life instead of death, friendship instead of enmity. He hears the beautiful words of Jesus, “Love your enemies!” He finds that the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made him free from the law of sin and death. He finds that God sent his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh to condemn sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in him. God’s desire was not to punish him for his sins, but to pardon him, and nothing more would give God pleasure.  And for this, he stretches forth his hand to us. But the carnal mind shirks from the benevolent hand of God, retracts and withdraws away in the darkness of his sin. To be carnally minded is to disappoint God, and leave Him in sorrow and pain while his wooing goes unanswered. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

Final Thoughts

We are Baptists. We believe that once a sinner is saved, he is always saved. A saved person cannot have a carnal mind or be in the flesh. Alot of people think they can, but they can’t. Someone in the flesh is lost, and cannot please God. He is ruled, reigned, and bound by the carnal mind. If it was possible to be in that state again, then it is possible to be lost again. Now you are in one of two states. You are either in the flesh and friends with it; or you are out of the flesh and struggling against it. When you were lost, in the flesh, with a carnal mind, you followed after the flesh. But when you got saved, you were given the Holy Spirit and with it, the mind of the Spirit. Now that doesn’t mean that you immediately were acquainted with following after the Spirit, and were fully capable of ceasing your walk after flesh. No. You’ve followed the flesh all your life. You don’t know how to follow after the Spirit. Sometimes, these things take time.

I want to please God. When this is all said and done, I’d love to hear those words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” But I didn’t want that as much I do now ten years ago. As I grow in the Lord, the desires of God have become more precious to me. I can say now as David said, “I delight to do thy will, O my God.”

When a sinner is saved, he repents of the flesh and the carnal mind. A preacher once said, “Repentance is the vomit of the soul.” But sadly, “As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.” (Prov 26:11) Sometimes, it takes some time to gain wisdom. Just because one is not in the flesh does not mean that he hasn’t learned to not walk after the flesh and instead walk after the Spirit. Just because one does not have a carnal mind, does not mean he doesn’t struggle with the tendencies and temptation of being carnally minded. It’s much like the Spirit. Paul said, “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” (Gal 5:25) Living in the Spirit and walking in the Spirit are two different things. Likewise, living in the flesh and walking after the flesh are two different things. Having a carnal mind and being carnally minded are two different things.

 

Some Things To Consider Regarding Cruz

September 24, 2016

cruztrumpMany 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.

Consider His Prayer

Throughout all this election cycle, Cruz has demonstrated himself to be the real deal, a Christian Constitutional Conservative, whatever that means to some people. Consider that the man talks to God on a regular basis and consults his counsel on all things. There is no one on earth that has prayed more about this decision than Ted. There is no one on earth that has struggled more with this decision than Ted. There is no one on earth that has wrestled with God, himself, his wife, and his mind and heart more than Ted, and has no doubt poured out his heart and wept. This was not an easy decision for Ted, his wife, his dad, or his entire family. In light of this, how should we, as Christians treat him? How would you treat a friend that has been struggling with God on such an important matter? It is disgusting to see the very same people that were so reviled by the incendiary comments of those who were against Cruz to now hurl insults, slander, and stones toward Ted in the same manner. Never criticize another Indian until you’ve walked a mile in his moccasins.

Consider His Christ

After studying the first part of the Sermon on the Mount a curious pattern has emerged; humility, affliction, exaltation. Christ being our perfect example. “…he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him…” (Phil 2:8,9) We may very well be seeing Cruz’s Christianity shining forth. I can’t think of a more humbling thing that Ted could do but to kiss the ring of the very one that has reviled him and has said all manner of evil against him falsely. He made this decision knowing that many of those that have claimed to have loved him, would forsake him and call him a sell out, just another compromising politician, and the worst of names. He made this decision knowing all the repulsive Trumptards would revel and celebrate in such a victory; would mock and laugh at all those that supported Ted, thinking that Ted would never do this. He made this decision knowing that he’s having to support the very one that hijacked and stole what was rightfully his. He made this decision knowing full well that this may be the end of his political career. It took much humility to concede his support as he’s done. And now, affliction and suffering, but soon he may have his time, and God will exalt him. “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.”

Consider His Constitution

There are few in this country alive today that have known, studied, loved, and fought for the United States Constitution as Ted Cruz has. Just a quick glimpse at Cruz’s resume will reveal that Cruz’s life has been dedicated to the honor of contending for the survival of one of our most sacred documents.  One of the most valuable freedoms that our constitution upholds and guarantees is the right and privilege to vote. In the hearts of many people, the same reason we stand and pledge allegiance to the flag, is the same reason we trek the rain, wind, and snow and vote. Our brave founding father and our brave soldiers have shed their blood in order that we might exercise that right. It would be a disgrace and dishonour to the memory of these fine people to not vote. Therefore, under his obligation to and love of country, the patriot will vote. This is the spirit in which Cruz carries out his duty. No matter the choices, the consequences, or the critics, he will perform his duty to his country and constitution and vote. Consequently, he owes it to his supporters to be honest about his choice.

Consider His Choice

Donald Trump. We will not be so foolish as to think him as a Darius or Nebuchadnezzar. And we will not be so gullible and ridiculous as to think that God would want us to actively pursue a leader of this nature. No. Never. However, what we must do is trust in the Lord, and lean not unto our own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5) How is this all going to turn out? How will God ultimately use Donald Trump to shape the events of history? What will be the fate of this blessed country? As Ezekiel said, “Oh Lord God, thou knowest.” (37:3) He knows the beginning from the end. No matter what denomination, flavor, or creed, Christians are always talking about how God will lead us down a path that quite frankly doesn’t make sense. Well here you go Christian! That path is now before you. In our understanding, it makes no sense whatsoever to vote for someone like Trump, or Hillary for that matter; that it will take our country down a road of damage that is irrecoverable, and we exclaim, “We will die!” Perhaps Darth Vader may help us with that when he said, “Nothing can stop that now.” Just kidding.

Seriously though, many people, including great conservative minds like Deace, Erickson, Beck, and others have sought the scriptures and concluded that God would never expect us to choose a leader of this character and nature. It’s possible we’ve personalized this just a bit much. We’ve sought desperately to defend our individual right to not choose this Donald Trump as our president. Perhaps, it’s not who God would have us choose, but rather that God would have us choose; as an individual indeed, but more importantly as a nation. Is this biblical? After David had sinned before the Lord in numbering all of Israel, Gad the prophet came to David and said, “Thus saith the LORD, I offer thee three things; choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee.” (2 Sam 24:11) The bible says that David was in a great strait for he was to choose the manner in which judgement would be given. How is this different from the strait we now find ourselves. Will God not deal with the sins of our nation? God may very well require of us with our heads hung down in shame, with a heavy heart, and tears go down to our local precinct on the eighth day of November and execute our civic duty.

Consider This Conclusion

There are many more things to consider, but time does not allow. Ted Cruz has earned his position in our hearts. He has stood with the people of the United States through the thick and thin. Many times he has been the lone voice in Washington speaking our minds. He deserves our support and understanding, and even our consideration to his request. May God bless Ted Cruz.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#13 Light Unto All

September 15, 2016

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.

If we stay in the context, this imminence of being seen by all, from atop a hill or a candlestick, is a result of persecution. We must rid ourselves of this notion that all Christians are God’s trophies set up on a mantle for all the world to see. Yes, God ultimately, as the metaphor says, places us upon the hill or the candlestick; but in this context it is clear that this is a promise to those that are truly persecuted for the name of Christ, and end result of the works of wicked hands. (Act 2:24) The perfect demonstration of this, of course, is the Lord Jesus Christ.

…he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him (Phillipians 2:8,9)

First humility… He humbled himself.  Then persecution… The death of the cross. Then exaltation… God hath highly exalted him.  You see the same three aspects in the first part of the Sermon on the Mount and in the same order.

What is important to get from all this contextual analysis is this: The exaltation in all this is to be used of God; that God would lift us up in order that a lost and dying world would see Jesus in us. Our exaltation is truly the exaltation of the Lord Jesus Christ. However, a saved person is not automatically exalted.  We may all be salt, but not all have lost their savour. (See #11 Losing Your Savour)  Until we lose our savour, God will not use us, or exalt us. “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.” (1 Peter 5:6)

Somehow, it seems that in today’s modern Christianity, we want to put ourselves on that hill. We want to put ourselves on that candlestick. We want to give light unto all with our Christian T-shirts, our youth programs, our social meetings, our concerts, flashy mailers, and all sorts of promotional efforts to get people’s attention. But God is the one who opens the eyes of men. Jesus is the one that lighteth every man. God does the exalting. There’s only one way to get the attention of sinners and be instrumental in their conversion. There’s only one way the lights will be turned on. That is humility toward God.

O but when God does do the exalting, and the Holy Ghost turns on the lights on a poor wretched sinner, and he comes out of darkness into His marvellous light, what a glorious sight. Toiling, labouring, and suffering for the cause of Christ will most assuredly come to fruition.  God will give the increase. God will reveal himself. God’s glory cannot be hid. Neither will it be put under a bushel. The imminence of exaltation in suffering is very encouraging. It will be worth it all.

 

Humility will take you places ability will never go.

Stay with the stuff, and the stuff will stay with you.

#12 The Light, the City, and the Hill

September 12, 2016

jesushandMatthew 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)

Jesus prayed, “The glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou has sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” (John 17:22,23) When Simeon took baby Jesus up in his arms, he said, “A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.” (Luke 2:32) For Jesus to say that we are the light of the world is humbling and glorious for it speaks of our separation unto Him.  It’s speaks of our friendship with Him; our closeness; our relationship; our new position in Jesus.  Paul said, “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light.” (Ephesians 5:8) O what glorious affection to be called a child of the Father of lights! (James 1:17) Yet how humbling, for the servant is not greater than his lord. (John 15:19)

This fact reminds us of the context we are in. The preceding eleven verses are a preparation for a prophet’s persecution.  Three of those verses declare the very word persecution. It is within reason, if one is honest, that the preceding verse is also dealing with persecution when it speaks of being “cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” When we endeavor to understand our bibles, we must examine whether the writer continues his discourse, lest we suppose him to make a transition to another argument, when, in fact, he is prosecuting the same topic.

We are hated because He was hated first.  We suffer because He suffered first. We are persecuted because He was persecuted first.  When Jesus speaks of us, he speaks of himself. Think of these beatitudes:

Jesus is the beatitudes; and blessed are ye if we will be as Jesus was first before us. Likewise, we are light because He is the light of the world. Therefore, remaining in the context, when Jesus speaks of that city on an hill, it is natural to be reminded of the old rugged cross that stood on that hill far away; the place of the skull; the place called Golgotha; a place called Calvary; where they crucified Him. There upon that hill, He was lifted up for all the world to see. “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up.” (John 3:14) That hill is not a place of admiration and wonder, but the emblem of suffering and shame.

But it was there that God offered his Son to a lost and dying world. Now, let the whole world behold the Lamb of God! (Isaiah 45:22) Behold, the veil of the temple is rent in twain! (Matthew 27:51) Behold, the mystery which has been hid from ages and generations is now made manifest! (Colossians 1:26) Jesus, the Saviour of the world, cannot be hid.  If Jesus cannot be hid, neither can we. Those disciples that sat on the mountain side at Jesus’ feet lived this principle. After Stephen was martyred, a persecution arose, and the disciples of Jesus were scattered all over the place. But they preached Jesus, the hand of the Lord was with them, and the bible says, “a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.” (Acts 11:19-21) Do you ever wonder if God has changed his ways?

“And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are.” (1 Corinthians 1:28)

 

#11 Losing Your Savour

September 7, 2016

jesushandMatthew 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.

If this be the case, then this changes the meaning of the text from what it usually means to most people. Usually, it’s preached that a Christian who has lost his savour has backslidden from God and he’s ineffective in the ministry. The godly characteristics of his life are no longer present and known to mankind, and therefore cannot entice the world to Jesus any longer. Hence, to be trodden under foot of men is somehow a judgment, chastisement, or consequence of some sort for the child of God that has lost his savour. If it is not judgement, however, and instead persecution, then for one to have lost his savour is most definitely not a bad thing. In truth, it is evidence of a good thing. We must be reminded that “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” (2 Tim 3:12) It must be concluded that one that has lost his savour is evidence of a godly life in Christ Jesus, and has not backslidden. What the world is turned off by is not hypocrisy, but rather humility, hunger for righteousness, and purity of heart. That is if you want to stay in the context.

To whom we lost our savour is still the world and man, but the reason why is what is different. What a lost and dying world finds unpalatable is not a lack of Christian virture; it’s a lack of worldliness. We are good for nothing to the world. Christian virtues, such as mentioned in the text, are poverty, mourning, meekness, hunger, thirst, mercy, and peace. These have no savour to the world and are of no use. Jesus said, “They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.” (Luke 5:31) If they don’t need the physician, they certainly don’t need the physician’s assistants. Jesus said, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” (John 15:18,20) If the world sees Jesus in us, they will see the one that has no form nor comeliness, and when they shall see him, there is no beauty that they should desire him. (Isaiah 53:2). When Jesus began to tell his disciples how that he must go unto Jerusalem and suffer many things, and be killed. Peter did not find that very palatable.  Jesus told him, “Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” (Matthew 16:23)

Now, this does not negate all the good preaching we’ve heard about being a salty Christian. Yes, salt still gives flavor and it still preserves. But, maybe losing your savour is not such a bad thing, if it’s to the world.

#10 A Prophet’s Reward

September 6, 2016

jesushandMatthew 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. Persecution is what they did to prophets. Jesus is talking about those that  “…had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.” (Hebrew 11:36-38) This was the life of the prophet, of which I am not worthy. I cannot equate this manner of life with my afflictions which are common to man, and many times my own doing.

There is a theme through the first few verses of this chapter. It’s a theme of brokenness. Jesus is encouraging his disciples to be poor in spirit, to mourn, to hunger and thirst, to forgive, be pure in heart, to make peace, to endure persecution. Jesus is preparing his disciples to live as he asked them. Jesus said, “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” (Mark 8:34) There is a theme of denial; self-denial where we deny ourselves our will; God-denial where God denies us our will; and world-denial where the world denies us our will. Jesus said, “…not my will, but thine, be done.” (Luke 22:42)  David said, “I delight to do thy will, O my God.” (Psalm 40:8) Our will must be denied, for God’s will to be fulfilled.

But concerning God’s will, Jesus admonishes us to “Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven.”  Another theme that runs through the first few verse of this chapter is that of waiting and hoping. The theme of latter rewards. Don’t put your hopes and dreams into today, for the tomorrow is a brighter day.  The best is yet to come. Today is temporary. Tomorrow is forever. Our rewards are not to be enjoyed today. Our treasures are not laid up on earth. What runs through the first few verses of this chapter is the river of eternity. It is the blessed hope to which we wait for. That celestial city lies upon the horizon. Soon we’ll tread street of gold. Soon we’ll dwell in that better country. Soon we’ll be comforted. Soon we’ll be made pure. Soon we’ll have peace. Soon we’ll see God. O the joy of knowing His kingdom is our home, the inheritance of the children of God. Soon we’ll possess what those faithful prophets pointed to many years ago.

Peter who sat at Jesus feet would many years later write, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” (1 Pet 4:12,13) Let the life of denial be not strange to us, and let the reality of eternity and the will of God be our guide.

 

This world is not our abiding place. Our continuance here is but very short. Man’s days on earth, are as a shadow. It was never designed by God that this world should be our home. Neither did God give us these temporal accomodations for that end. If God has given us ample estates, and children or other pleasant friends, it is with no such design, that we should be furnished here, as for a settled abode; but with a design that we should use them for the present, and leave them in a very little time. (Jonathan Edwards)

#9 Reviling?

September 5, 2016

jesushandMatthew 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.

The part that really makes this backwards is that instead of being reviled and being persecuted and being lied about, we are the ones reviling, persecuting, and lying about each other!  We’re the ones reviling other people in the church. We’re the ones giving others a hard time.  We’re the ones that are lying and spreading rumors. Not everybody does this, certainly; but when there’s more church members engaged in this behavior against other church members than the devil’s children doing this to the church, something is wrong. Not that this is prevalent, but compared to real persecution against the church in our country, it is certainly a problem.   And not just against church members, but everybody we encounter in this walk of life.

This verse is supposed to be an encouragement to the saints of God not a rebuke. You may not openly revile someone, but what is said behind closed doors? What do you say in the privacy of your head and under your breath? Do you spend more time complaining about the brethren than you do praising God? Do you spend more time bad-mouthing your boss or your employees than you do praising God? When the child of the devil does wrong you (not for Christ’s sake) are you quick to publicize it and denounce them and lift yourself up?

God help us that we might be a blessing to the brethren and the world and not a curse. God help us that what comes out of our mouth about others is not negative, critical, and condescending, but rather positive, encouraging, and respectful. God help us to “…be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” (Eph 4:32) God help us that the world might see the advocating Savior in us, not the accusing Satan.

 

Granted, one can easily point the finger back at me and say, “Well, isn’t that exactly what you’re doing?  Aren’t you being critical and negative?” Duly noted. I do rebuke and exhort myself quite often. I lift myself above no one.  This has been a help to me also.