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Transfiguration - Sunday

first posted 02/05/05

 

Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14,     Divine judgment
2 Corinthians 3:1-9,     The New Covenant
John 12:27-36a      Judgment of the world

Daniel foresaw the Day of Judgment. God, the ancient one, was on his throne surrounded by his court. “The court sat in judgment and the books were opened” (Daniel 7:10c). “…with the clouds of heaven came one like a son of man” (Daniel 7:13a;  compare Acts 1:9, 11). He was presented to God, who gave him dominion and glory and kingdom over all people, and nations, and they are to serve him. His dominion and his kingdom are eternal and imperishable.

Paul had apparently been accused of building up his own image and reputation. Paul doesn’t need anyone to attest for him to the Corinthians, nor does he need a character reference from the Corinthians to anyone else. The work of the Holy Spirit within the Corinthians is Paul’s letter of commendation. That commendation is a letter from Christ; Paul is merely the "postman" delivering the message. The message is written on human hearts by God’s Spirit, rather than engraved in stone or written with ink on paper. Paul’s confidence before God is not in his own ability or merit, but through Jesus Christ.

Paul’s qualification to be a minister of the new covenant is by God’s work, not Paul’s ability. The old covenant (of law) written on stone tablets (the Ten Commandments given at Mt Sinai to Moses) kills, but the new covenant is written by the Holy Spirit (on our hearts), and the Spirit gives (eternal) life.

If the old covenant demanding death came with such splendor in Moses’ face that he had to wear a veil because of its brightness, although fading (Exodus 34:29-35), won’t the new covenant of life in the Spirit be attended with greater splendor? If there was splendor in the giving of the Law of condemnation, the giving of the new covenant of righteousness must be far greater in splendor.

Jesus’ soul was troubled (at the prospect of his crucifixion) and his human response would have been to ask God to save him from going through that, but he recognized that this was his purpose and God’s will, so he prayed that God would glorify his name through Jesus. A voice from heaven declared that God had glorified it and would glorify it again. The crowd around heard it, and some thought it was thunder, but others thought an angel had spoken to Jesus. Jesus told them that the voice has spoken for their benefit, not for Jesus’ sake.

Jesus said that now is the judgment of the world, and the ruler of the world (Satan) would be overthrown. Jesus declared, revealing how he would die, that when he was lifted up (on the cross of crucifixion) he would draw all people to him. But the crowd said they had heard that the Christ would remain for ever, and they did not understand who the Son of man was or why Jesus said he must be lifted up.

Jesus replied that the light was with them a little longer, and while they had light they should walk in the light, so that they wouldn’t be overtaken by darkness. Anyone walking in darkness does not know where he is going. “While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may be come sons of light” (John 12:36a).

God has declared that there is going to be a Day of Judgment when all who have ever lived will be judged by the Son of man, Jesus Christ (Matthew 25:31-46), who has been given dominion, glory and kingdom. Jesus is the King of Kings, the King of the Universe, and his dominion and kingdom are eternal.  

Paul’s ministry was not by the authority of men, but by the call and empowerment of God through Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit (Paul was formerly known as Saul: Acts Chapter 9, Galatians 1:1). His message was not man’s message, but God’s (Galatians 1:11-12). It didn’t matter to Paul whether other people thought he was righteous or not. Paul’s confidence in his standing before God was based not on his own works or merit, but by the righteousness of Jesus Christ. The Old Covenant of Law condemns us to eternal death (Romans 6:23) because no one is able to keep all of God’s Law. We have all sinned and fall short of God’s righteousness (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10).

God created a New Covenant of righteousness in Jesus Christ. Those who trust and obey Jesus receive the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and those who live by the guidance of the Holy Spirit are freed from the Old Covenant of condemnation. The Lord only gives his Holy Spirit to his disciples who trust and obey him (Isaiah 42:5e; John 14:15-17). The indwelling Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that we are in Christ and have eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).  It is possible for one to know with certainty whether one has received the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Acts 19:2).

On the Day of Judgment, those who have trusted and obeyed Jesus will receive eternal life in Heaven with the Lord; those who have rejected Jesus and refused to obey him will be condemned to eternal death in Hell with all evil (Matthew 25:31-46, 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

Jesus declared that the judgment of the world and the defeat of Satan would take place at the cross of his crucifixion, and so it has. Those who accept Jesus as their Savior and Lord are freed from the condemnation of God’s Law, provided that they live in obedience to his Holy Spirit. Those who reject Jesus and refuse to obey him are under eternal condemnation.

Jesus referred to himself as the Son of man. That reference allows each of us to decide for ourselves who we believe Jesus to be. Jesus declared that he was the light of the world (John 8:12). Jesus called us to believe in the light and walk in his light. Those who do not walk in Jesus’ light are walking in darkness (of sin and spiritual ignorance) and don’t realize where they are going. Do you know the Son of man? Are you walking in his light?

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

 

 

Transfiguration - Monday

first posted 02/06/05

 
Deuteronomy 6:1-15,      The great commandment
Hebrews 1:1-14,      Superiority of Christ to angels
John 1:1-18      God’s word become flesh

The Ten Commandments were given by God to Moses to teach to the people of God, so that they would keep them and live by them in the Promised Land. We and our children and grandchildren are to fear, love and respect God by obeying God’s commandments, so that our lives can be prolonged, now and eternally. So listen and be careful to do them, so that we prosper and multiply in the paradise God has promised to our ancestors.

Listen, people of God, the Lord our God is the one and only God, and we are to love God with all our hearts, souls (our eternal spirits) and our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual strength. God’s commandments shall be so much a part of our daily life that we are mindful of them and guided by them in every aspect of our daily life.  We are to  teach them to our children so that they will practice them in every aspect of their daily lives also. God is going to bring his people into an eternal paradise which they haven’t earned or done anything to create or deserve.

We must be careful not to forget who has delivered us from slavery to sin and death and who blesses us and provides for us. We are to fear, honor and respect our God, and trust and obey him alone. We are not to desire, love, pursue or serve any other thing or person but our Lord. We are not to follow the idols of the society which surrounds us. The Lord will not share his glory with any other thing or person. Those who do not honor and serve God will be utterly destroyed.

God spoke in the past to his people through the prophets, but now he has spoken to us by his Son, his ultimate prophet. Jesus took part in creation (John 1:3) and sustains it by his Word which has creative power. He is God’s heir, inheriting all things. He is the very likeness and nature of God (Colossians 2:8-9). He is our High Priest, having accomplished the purification of our sins, and he is enthroned at the right hand of God in heaven as King of the Universe. He is far greater than the angels, who are like household servants in comparison to the firstborn son and heir of the master of the household. His kingdom is eternal. Creation will age and change, but the Lord is eternal and unchanging. The angels are his servants in the ministry of our salvation.

The Word of God is his creative force. Jesus is God’s Word in human flesh (John 1:14). He existed from the beginning of Creation, and participated in Creation. He was with God and he is God. In him is real, eternal life, which is the light (of righteousness and hope) of mankind, which shines in the darkness (of sin and hopelessness) of this present world, and that darkness has not prevailed over it. John (the baptizer) was sent by God to testify to the light (Jesus) so that people would believe in Jesus. John was not the light (the Christ) but he came to point people to the Christ.

Jesus is the true light which makes all other sources of light dim by comparison. He came into the world which he created, and he came to his own people (the Jews) but the people he had created, and the Jews, to whom he was promised and expected didn’t recognize and believe in him. But to all who welcomed him and believed in him, he gave the power to become God’s (adopted) children, through their spiritual rebirth, not by their physical heritage, their own desire or their own merit, but by God’s will (through his indwelling Holy Spirit).

God’s Word became flesh and lived among us, the fullness of God’s grace (unmerited favor) and truth (faithful promises). We have seen that he possesses the glory of the only begotten Son of God. John testified that although John came before Jesus chronologically, that Jesus ranks far above him in glory. Jesus is an inexhaustible source of God’s unmerited favor. The Law (of judgment and condemnation) was given through Moses but through Jesus comes grace and truth (forgiveness and salvation). No one is able to see God, but Jesus, who is God’s exact likeness and nature in human form makes God visible to us.

God alone is the one true God, the creator of the universe. He has had a purpose from the beginning of creation to create an eternal kingdom of his people. He had a personal relationship with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, which was broken by their disobedience of God’s Word (Genesis Chapter 3). Adam and Eve were eternal (as are we); they lost eternal life and came under the condemnation of eternal death through their disobedience (Genesis 3:3; John 5:28-29).

Since that time God has been trying to save us from the eternal death which is the penalty for disobedience of God’s Word (Romans 6:23). He called Abraham who trusted and obeyed God and became the patriarch of God’s people. God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses, to be taught and obeyed. Through Israel God gave us his Word through the Old Testament Scriptures, and he has given us the Savior, Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the Word of God in human flesh. Jesus is the embodiment of the obedient servant of God, and the example of how we are to live. Jesus is the invisible God made visible in human form. Jesus is God’s message of self-sacrificing love for us. Jesus is our High Priest who offered up the sacrifice of himself on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. Jesus is the anointed King of God’s eternal kingdom.

God’s Word has a creative power that human words do not possess. God created heaven and earth by his Word. He could make us obey him by his command. Instead he has given us the power to choose whether to obey him or not, but that choice has eternal consequences for us personally. God wants people who serve him gladly out of love for him. Jesus is God’s revelation of himself in this world.

Jesus came to give us forgiveness of our sins, to restore the fellowship with God which was broken because of sin (our disobedience of God's Word), and to restore us to eternal life which was lost through sin. No one can come to God and know God except through Jesus Christ (John 14:6). There is forgiveness of sins in no other way or person than Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12). Jesus speaks the Word of God. To those who believe in Jesus, he gives the power to become God’s adopted children (but note that this is a promise which must be acted upon by the receiver; we must trust Jesus’ words and act on them in obedience).

Jesus promises that those who are his disciples, who trust and obey Jesus, will have personal fellowship with Jesus and God the Father through his indwelling Holy Spirit. Jesus in flesh couldn’t be everywhere at once, and couldn’t be in as close fellowship with his disciples as he can in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the ultimate revelation of God to us personally. It is through the indwelling Holy Spirit that we can hear the Lord speak directly to us and it is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that we can obey and serve the Lord.

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

 

Transfiguration - Tuesday

first posted 02/07/05

 
Deuteronomy 6:16-25,    The great commandment
Hebrews 2:1-10,      Christ superior to angels
John 1:19-28     Testimony of John the Baptizer

We are warned not to ask God to prove himself to us like the Israelites did at Massah (when Moses drew water from the rock; Exodus 17:2-7). We are to be diligent in obeying God’s commandments. We are to do what is right and pleasing to the Lord (and avoid what is not right and pleasing), so that things will go well for us and that we may enter and possess the Promised Land.

We are to teach our children God’s acts of redemption; how he delivered his people from bondage of sin and death in Egypt, through the sea and through the wilderness, and into the Promised Land. We are to obey his commands, and to have a healthy fear (awe and reverence for his power and authority) of the Lord always, for our good, and we are to teach that to our children, so that God will preserve us and judge us as righteous.

The author of Hebrews warns that we must pay closer attention to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, or else we will drift away from it. If the Old Covenant of God’s Law was valid and every sin or disobedience received a just retribution, we cannot hope to escape God’s condemnation if we ignore his plan of salvation. God’s plan of salvation “was declared at first by the Lord, and has been attested to us by those who heard him” (Hebrews 2:4) and by signs and miracles and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  

The world to come (the new creation; the kingdom of God in Heaven; Paradise), is not to be ruled by and for angels, but by Jesus and for his followers. Jesus, although much higher than the angels, became lower than them for a short time (during his earthly ministry to bring us to salvation) but now has been glorified, has been given authority and dominion over all creation.

We do not see the complete subjugation of all things in creation to him yet. But we do see Jesus, having become humble and obedient, enduring suffering and death so that he might experience death for each one of us, now crowned with glory and honor. It was God’s gracious will to allow Jesus to come to spiritual maturity through suffering, so that he could be our leader to guide us to spiritual maturity and our eternal inheritance.

John the Baptizer was asked, by religious leaders from Jerusalem, who it was that John claimed to be. John confessed that he was not the Christ (Messiah). The authorities asked if John were Elijah (who was expected to return to prepare for Christ’s coming), or the prophet (another Messianic forerunner) and John answered that he was not. So they asked what John said about himself, and John quoted Isaiah 40:3, saying that he was a voice crying out in the wilderness, calling Israel to repent and prepare for the Lord’s coming.

The religious authorities asked why, then, John was baptizing. John said that he baptized with water, but the Messiah, who was to be revealed after John, was present among them, unrecognized. The Messiah was so much greater than John, that John felt unworthy to be his most menial servant. This took place at “Bethany beyond the Jordan” (unknown but presumably close to and east of the river; not to be confused with Bethany on the Mount of Olives near Jerusalem).

Christians are to trust and obey God’s Word in the Bible. We need to read the Bible thoroughly and regularly.  We are to apply God’s Word in our daily lives and we are to teach the Bible to our children.  We are to learn and pass on what God has revealed about himself in his dealings with Israel. How are we doing? Do we expect the Lord to reveal himself to people who do not trust and obey him?

The author of Hebrews says that if we don’t pay close attention to the Gospel of Jesus Christ we will drift away from it. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is God’s only plan of salvation (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right); it originated with God. It was attested to in the New Testament by those who heard the Gospel from Jesus during his earthly ministry.

It needs to continue to be attested to by “born-again” disciples of Jesus Christ who have heard it from the risen Jesus through his indwelling Holy Spirit, like Paul (Acts Chapter 9). Discipleship is a spiritual growth process by which we are to grow to spiritual maturity following Jesus’ example of obedient trust in God. Only a disciple can make disciples; we have to be willing to be disciples, and be willing to grow to spiritual maturity first. The mission of the Church is to make disciples, but often the Church just makes members, fair-weather Christians who expect God to bless their lives, and then ask where God is at the first sign of trouble.

John the Baptizer trusted and obeyed God. He knew the scriptures and he applied and lived them. He didn’t consider himself as someone great, like Elijah or some other prophet, although that is what he was (Matthew 11:14; Mark 9:13), because as he acted on God’s Word he fulfilled the prophecy. John the Baptist is a role-model for Christians. There is a society around us which is oblivious to the presence of Jesus among us; who do not recognize Jesus as Savior and Lord, God’s only plan of salvation. We need to be voices calling out in the wilderness, calling people to repent and turn to the Lord in trust and obedience; to prepare people for the Lord’s return.

In order to do that we must be disciples filled and led by the Holy Spirit. We cannot accomplish God’s call by our own worldly strength and ability, but only through the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus commanded his disciples to stay in Jerusalem (the Church, which is the "New Jerusalem;" Luke 24:47-49) until they had received the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8).  John baptized with water for repentance; only Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit (John 1:33; Acts Chapter 2). Jesus gives his Holy Spirit only to his disciples who trust and obey him (Isaiah 42:5e; John 14:15-17). I add my testimony to the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

 

Ash Wednesday

first posted 02/08/05

 

Jonah 3:1-4:11,     Jonah and Nineveh

Hebrews 12:1-14,     Christian discipline

Luke 18:9-14, The Pharisee and the tax collector  

 

The Lord gave Jonah a second chance to obey God’s command to go and preach to Nineveh, so Jonah rose and went to Nineveh. Nineveh was such a large city that it took three days to travel through it. Jonah went one day’s journey into the city and began to proclaim that Nineveh would be overthrown after forty days.


The people of Nineveh believed God’s Word and they proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth (ritual garb of mourning and repentance). Even the King of Nineveh arose from his throne, took off his robe and put on sackcloth and sat in ashes. The King proclaimed a period of fasting and repentance, calling everyone to turn from their evil ways and from violence in the hope that God might repent of his judgment against them and spare them from perishing. When God saw that the people of Nineveh turned from evil, he had mercy on them and did not carry out his judgment against them.

 

But Jonah was angry with God for sparing Nineveh. Jonah complained to God that he had not wanted to go to Nineveh the first time because he knew the Lord is “gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and repents of evil” (Jonah 4:2c). Jonah asked the Lord to allow Jonah to die, because he was so unhappy he didn’t want to live anymore. The Lord asked Jonah if Jonah was doing right to be angry over this. Jonah went outside the city and made a temporary shelter for himself, to wait and see what would happen to the city.


The Lord appointed a plant to grow over Jonah to provide some shade, and Jonah was glad to have the plant for shade. Then God appointed a worm to attack the plant, causing it to wither. God also caused the sun to beat down on Jonah and a hot dry wind to blow, and Jonah was again so angry that he no longer wanted to live. God asked him again if Jonah was doing right to be so angry, but Jonah insisted that he was. Then God told Jonah that Jonah was angered by the death of a plant that Jonah had done nothing to grow and that had existed for only a single day, and yet Jonah was angry at God for having pity for Nineveh, with more than a hundred and twenty thousand people (and their livestock), because of their lack of knowledge of God’s ways.

 

Our Christian lives are like an athletic competition and the great multitude of saints who have gone before us are like spectators. So we are urged to be like athletes, putting aside anything which will hinder our performance and to run the race with perseverance, following the example of Jesus Christ, who is the pioneer (who blazed the trail for us to follow) and perfecter (who makes it possible for us to “win the race”) of our faith.


Jesus endured the cross and its shame for the joy which was promised to the winner, and he has now been enthroned at the right hand of God. Think about the tremendous hostility Jesus endured from sinners, so that we may be encouraged to persevere and not loose hope. Most of us have never had to shed our own blood in our resistance against sin. Remember also that the Lord disciplines us, like a good father disciplines his children for their own good, out of his love for us. We must endure that discipline so that we can receive the benefit.

 

Those who do not receive discipline would be like illegitimate children, lacking a proper father. Most of us have been subject to the discipline of earthly fathers and loved and respected them. Shouldn’t we be willing to accept the discipline of our spiritual Father to prepare us for eternal life? Our earthly fathers may have disciplined us according to their desires; God disciplines us for our benefit, so that we can share his holiness.


At the moment, all discipline is unpleasant, but ultimately it brings “the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (Hebrews 12:11) to those who allow themselves to be trained by it. So let’s not whine and complain; let us strengthen our resolve, and correct our ways so that we will be healed by the discipline, rather than injured further. “Strive for peace with all (people) and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12: 14).

 

Jesus told a parable about a Pharisee (legalistic Jew) and a tax collector (a sinner; Jewish collaborator with the Roman government), as a warning to correct those who trusted in their own righteousness and despised others. The Pharisee and the tax collector both went into the temple to pray.


The Pharisee stood (rather than bowing in reverence and humility) and “prayed… with himself” (Luke 18:11), saying that he thanked God that he was better than other people, because he was not an extortioner, adulterer, unjust or even like the tax collector. He was proud that he fasted twice a week and tithed (gave ten percent to God) of all he received. But the tax collector bowed and beat his breast (an act of ritual mourning and repentance), and prayed, acknowledging that he was a sinner and requesting God’s mercy. Jesus declared that the tax collector returned home forgiven and accepted by God, but the Pharisee was not forgiven or accepted by God. Jesus declared, “...everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:14).

 

God is our father because he is our Creator, whether we acknowledge him or not. The Lord loves each one of us and doesn’t want any to perish. The Lord loved Nineveh and sent Jonah, his prophet, to call Nineveh to repentance and salvation. But Jonah was a reluctant and spiritually immature prophet. Jonah didn’t want to do what God had called him to do, and he seemed more interested in declaring God’s Word of condemnation than in ministering God’s Word of forgiveness and salvation. He judged the people of Ninevah to be sinners, and wanted to see them punished rather than saved.

 

Jonah was a spiritually immature disciple. Because he refused to obey God’s call, God disciplined Jonah for Jonah’s own eternal benefit. First he caused Jonah to be swallowed up in the belly of the whale, until Jonah prayed to the Lord for deliverance (Jonah 2:1-10). Then God gave Jonah a second chance to fulfill God’s call to preach repentance in Nineveh. God wanted Nineveh to have a second chance also. Jonah did as God commanded, but he still was unhappy that Nineveh repented and was saved from God’s wrath (Jonah 4:1).

 

Jonah was angry with God and kept vigil over the city of Nineveh to see what would happen. The city had repented and Jonah should have no doubt of the outcome because he knew that God is gracious, slow to anger, with steadfast love and mercy (Jonah 4:2d). So God disciplined Jonah first by giving Jonah a plant to shade him from the heat of the sun and then taking it away.


Jonah was more angry about the loss of a plant he had done nothing to bring into existence, than he was about the potential destruction of a hundred and twenty thousand people. God had brought the people of Nineveh into existence, and he cared about them and even their livestock, which Jonah hadn’t even considered.

 

God recognized that Nineveh’s sin was because of lack of knowledge of God’s ways, but Jonah hadn’t felt any obligation or desire to share God’s ways with the Ninevites so that the Ninevites would have an opportunity to know God’s ways, to examine their behavior, repent and turn to the Lord in obedience, receiving salvation and avoiding eternal destruction. Following God’s ways allows us to have the good life that God intended now and eternally.

 

God doesn’t desire the destruction of sinners and neither should we, but Christians are called to proclaim God’s Word honestly and faithfully. Christian evangelists are not calling down God’s wrath and destruction on sinners, but are offering them an opportunity to know God’s ways and to examine themselves, repent and turn to the Lord in trust and obedience. When Jonah was obedient to God’s call, one single individual, going only part way into the city, was able to lead the entire city, from the King to the poorest peasant, to repentance. It was God’s doing, because Jonah didn’t want to save Nineveh. But we must first know and apply God’s Word in our own lives.

 

The author of Hebrews was teaching Christians to be disciples of Jesus Christ. Christians are to be like athletes. To be “winners” we have to put aside things which will impair our conditioning and train to develop the needed skills. Then we must run the course of the race; we have to stay in the lane and run the distance with perseverance.


Jesus is our example and our coach who enables us to finish the race in victory. He disciplines us for our good, so that we don’t slack off or give up. Physical exercise “hurts” but it eventually strengthens us if we keep at it, and the same is true of spiritual “exercise.” We couldn’t get far in our worldly careers if we only devoted one hour a week to them, and yet some who claim to be Christians don’t have that much discipline. Jesus promises that we will win the Christian “race” if we train by trusting and obeying Jesus and if we show up daily for practice and “competition.”

 

The Pharisee was like Jonah. He considered himself a righteous (right in God’s judgment) member of God’s people, without true obedience to God’s Word. He had the outward appearance of righteousness, but he didn’t love God or his fellow mankind. He condemned the tax collector as a sinner, without any concern or attempt to offer God’s forgiveness, salvation, and encouragement to the tax collector.

 

The tax collector was like the Ninevites; he heard God’s Word, recognized and acknowledged his sin to the Lord and asked for forgiveness and restoration to fellowship with God, and he was forgiven and accepted.

 

The "Church" contains Jonahs, Pharisees, and tax collectors as well as disciples and apostles (messengers of the Gospel) of Jesus Christ. Apostles are Christian disciples who have been “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) by the Holy Spirit, and who have responded to Jesus’ Great Commission to go into the world and make disciples, teaching them to obey Jesus’ teachings (Matthew 28:19-20; Luke 24:45-49), and helping them continue the disciple-making process with others.

 

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

 

  Lent - Thursday


first posted 02/09/05

 
Deuteronomy 7:6-11,     Covenanted people
Titus 1:1-16,     Administration of the Church
John 1:29-34     Testimony of John the Baptizer

God’s people are consecrated to his service. God has chosen them for his own possession out of all the peoples of the earth. God didn’t choose them because they were the most numerous; in fact they were the fewest of all peoples. The reason God has delivered his people from bondage and the power of Pharaoh in Egypt is because he loves his people and is faithful in keeping his promise to their forefathers.

Know and remember that God is faithful in keeping his word, and he loves those who love him and obey his commandments, and he will love their descendants to a thousand generations. But he will avenge himself on those who hate him and disobey him by destroying them (eternally). He will not fail to punish them individually. God’s people must be careful to obey God’s Word and his commands.

Titus was a Gentile Christian missionary who worked with Paul, and was given responsibility for overseeing the Church at Crete (Titus 1:5). The letter was written to further the faith of the Church, God’s elect, and to further their knowledge of the truth (the Gospel) in accordance with godliness (piety; conformation to God’s will and character), “in hope of eternal life which God, who never lies,  promised ages ago” (in the Old Testament scriptures, by his prophets; Titus 1:2). Titus was Paul’s spiritual child, having been converted by Paul’s preaching of the Gospel, and having been trained by him in missionary service. Paul had left him in Crete to reform and organize the Church there.

Church leaders are to be above reproach, faithful in marriage, exemplary parents. Leaders (elders and bishops are mentioned) are God’s stewards (the servant in charge of administration of the master’s household). They must be godly; blameless, not arrogant, quick-tempered, a drunkard, violent, or greedy, but instead, must be hospitable, love what is good, exercise self-control. They "must hold fast to the sure word as taught (the apostolic, scriptural Gospel), so that (they) may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine, and also to confute (refute conclusively) those who contradict it” (Titus 1:9).

Titus was warned to guard against false teachers, those who are not obedient to their superiors, and who make empty claims and lie. The circumcision party (a group of Jewish Christians who were teaching that gentiles must be circumcised and keep the law of Moses; see False Teachings, sidebar, top right) is an example of false teachers who were upsetting entire families in the church, and teaching for their own benefit what they had no divine authority to teach. One such false teacher claimed that all Cretans were liars, evil, subhuman, lazy, and hedonistic (quoting Epimenides, an ancient Cretan poet).

Titus was advised to rebuke false teaching and false teachers forcefully so that they (and the entire congregation) may have sound faith instead of being led astray by Jewish myths and liars who have rejected the truth. The pure are pure in all things, but the corrupt are not pure in anything, because their minds and consciences are corrupt. “They profess to know God, but they deny him by their deeds; they are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good deed” (Titus 1:16).

John the Baptist declared that Jesus is “the Lamb of God (the sacrificial lamb of Passover) who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). John testified that Jesus is the one who John declared was coming after him, but who ranks before him. John hadn’t known who the Messiah was until God revealed it to John (as he baptized Jesus). John had seen the Holy Spirit descend and remain on Jesus “as a dove from heaven” (John 1:32). God had told John beforehand that this would be how God would reveal the Messiah to him. John baptized with water by God’s command, but Jesus is the (only) one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. John testified to what he had seen, and he declared that Jesus is the Son of God.  

God’s Word is timeless and eternal. This text applied to the People of Israel in Moses’ time, and it applies to the Church today. Through Jesus Christ we are delivered from bondage to sin and death and the power of Satan (the Pharaoh of the “Egypt” of this world). Jesus leads us through Sea (of Baptism) into new life (through his indwelling Holy Spirit) and through the wilderness of this life, through the River (of physical death) and into the Promised Land of his eternal kingdom in Heaven. We need to know and remember what God has done for us through Jesus Christ, and to know that God is faithful. God’s promises never fail. God declares that there are only two kinds of people in this world: Those who trust and obey him and those who don’t.

All of us have sinned and fall short of God’s righteousness (Romans 3:23). The penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). There is a Day of Judgment coming when everyone who has ever lived will be accountable to God what we have done in this life. Those who have trusted and obeyed Jesus will receive eternal life in Heaven with the Lord; those who have rejected Jesus will receive eternal death and destruction in Hell with all evil. (Matthew 25:31-46).  

God’s people are those who trust and obey Jesus. Jesus is God’s first-born and only begotten Son and heir (John 1:14). Jesus is God’s Word in the flesh (John 1:14). Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise of a Savior. Jesus is God’s only provision for our forgiveness and salvation (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

Members of the Church are to grow in faith and knowledge of the truth (of the scriptures, and of the reality of Jesus Christ within his disciples through his indwelling Holy Spirit). They are to be conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ who is the example and likeness of God (Colossians 2:8-9). This is discipleship; Christians are to be disciples of Jesus Christ. The leaders of the Church must be disciples if the Church is to make disciples.

The Church must guard against false teachers and false teachings; they must hold onto the Apostolic, Biblical Gospel. There are two types of members in the Church today: Born-again disciples of Jesus Christ, and those who “profess to know God but… deny him by their deeds" (Titus 1:16). Which type are you?

There are many false teachers and false doctrines within the nominal “Church” today. Each of us must read the Bible for ourselves. We must read the entire Bible, but we must read the Old Testament from the understanding and perspective of the New Testament. That way we can better understand the New Testament, and not be led astray by the “circumcision party.”

John the Baptist trusted and obeyed God’s command to call the people to repent and return to trust and obedience of the Lord. As he carried out God’s command, God revealed his Messiah to John, so that John could point others to Jesus. John couldn’t have done that truly without the guidance of God’s Spirit. Because John was trusting and obedient to God’s word, God guided him by God’s Spirit, and enabled John to point others to Jesus. John was faithful to his calling from God, and he testified to what he personally experienced.

One cannot be a witness to the truth of something one has not experienced. One has to be a disciple to make disciples; one has to be “born-again” by the indwelling Holy Spirit to testify to the truth of the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. John is an example of discipleship.

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you a disciple of Jesus Christ? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received his indwelling Holy Spirit since you first believed Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

 

Lent - Friday
first posted 02/10/05

Deuteronomy 7:12-16,     The blessing of obedience
Titus 2:1-15,      Sound doctrine and good deeds
John 1:35-42     Jesus’ first disciples

By obeying God’s Word God’s people will receive the blessings of God’s covenant with his people. God will love, bless and multiply them and cause them to thrive and prosper. It is God who controls fertility and it is God who controls health and diseases. Israel’s experience in Egypt is an example of how God afflicted the enemies of God’s people with plagues, but spared God’s people. God promises to do likewise in the Promised Land. The Lord commanded Israel to destroy all the people of the land of Canaan without pity, and he warned them not to worship any of the Canaanite idols, because the idols would become a snare  for the Israelites (they would be taken captive by the enemy of their souls).

Titus, a leader (pastor) of the congregation at Crete, was advised to teach only sound doctrine, and to exhort his congregation to godly behavior. The older men were to demonstrate moderation in all things and to be serious, sensible, sound in faith, love, and steadfastness. Older women were also to be reverent, to refrain from gossip and alcoholism, and to be examples and teachers of younger women and children. The young women were to love their husbands and children, and to be sensible, domestic, chaste, kind, humble and respectful. Young men were to be self-controlled.

Titus, as a church leader, was to be an example of good deeds, and to teach with integrity, gravity, and pure speech. Slaves were to show respect for their masters and to be obedient, diligent, honest and faithful in their duties. Each one in their own situation was to conduct their lives in accordance with God’s Word and reflecting God’s nature, so that the enemies of the Gospel would have no reason for criticism, and so that the God’s Word and Gospel would not be discredited but honored and glorified.

John the Baptizer was standing with two of his disciples as Jesus passed by and John told his disciples that Jesus was the Lamb (the sacrificial offering of the Passover; thus, Messiah) of God. The two disciples followed Jesus. Jesus saw them following and turned and asked them what they were seeking. They addressed him as Teacher, and asked where Jesus was staying, and Jesus invited them to come and see. They did as Jesus had invited, and stayed with him since it was about 4 pm.

One of the disciples was Andrew, and he went and found his brother, Simon, and told him that he had found the Messiah (Christ), and brought Simon to Jesus. Jesus saw him and said, “So you are Simon the son of John” (John 1:42)? Then Jesus gave him the name “Cephas” (which is Aramaic and Greek for “Rock.” “Peter” is from “Petros” which is also Greek for “Rock”).

If God’s people want to enjoy the benefits of God’s covenant, God’s promises, they must obey God’s Word. God’s people are not those who call themselves God’s people; God’s people are those who obey him. Jesus is the Savior and Redeemer that God promised. Jesus is the Word of God in human flesh (John 1:14). Jesus is God’s only provision for our forgiveness and salvation (Acts 4:12; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right); the only way we can be restored to fellowship with God (John 14:6). God’s people need to obey God’s Word, the Bible, but they must understand the Old Testament in the light of the New Testament.

Within the lifetime of the Apostles, false teachers and heresies were arising within the Church. There were two types of false teachings arising then and continuing today (see also entry for Thursday, 4 Epiphany, odd year). One was “justification by works” or “works righteousness;” the “judaizers;" the "circumcision party" that wanted Gentiles to keep the Law of Moses, including circumcision.

The other form (1 Corinthians Chapters 5 and 6 for example) was what has come to be called “Cheap Grace” (the free gift of salvation without requiring obedience to God’s word; without discipleship*). Titus was urged to hold fast to the sound Apostolic (as taught by the Apostles and recorded in the New Testament) doctrine. If Christians do not live according to God’s Word, they bring dishonor and disrepute to the Gospel.

Christians are those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah, the Savior, and who follow Jesus; who do what he does and obey what he teaches. Not everyone who calls him Lord will be saved (Matthew 7:21-24); only those who are his disciples, who follow him and obey his teaching, who are filled with and guided by his Holy Spirit belong to him and have eternal life. Jesus is the “rock” of salvation on whom we build through trust and obedience to him (Matthew 16:18).

Jesus is the only one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit (John 1:33). Jesus gives the gift of the Holy Spirit only to those who trust and obey him (Isaiah 42:5e; John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that we are in Jesus and have eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16). Those who do not have the indwelling Spirit of Christ do not belong to him (Romans 8:9b). It is possible to know with certainty for oneself whether one has received the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Acts 19:2). 

The “picture” of John’s disciples being pointed to Jesus by their “pastor” and then following Jesus is an illustration, an icon, of the essence of Christian discipleship. Through the indwelling Holy Spirit, we are lodging where Jesus is, because Jesus is lodging within us, and he is our Teacher.

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?
*See: The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Collier Books, Macmillan Publishing Co., NY 1963 ISBN 0-02-083850-6

 

Lent - Saturday

first posted 02/11/05

 

Deuteronomy 7:17-26,     Life in the land of Canaan
Titus 3:1-15,     The Christian life
John 1:43-51     The call of Phillip and Nathanael

As they prepared to enter Canaan, the Promised Land, and take possession of it, the Lord told Israel to remember how the Lord had led them out of Egypt, with great power and miracles done to induce Pharaoh to let them go. Israel was not to fear the occupants of the land, but to remember how God had saved Israel from Egypt, and to trust in God’s promise to drive out the occupants of the land as they advanced.


It was God’s plan to drive out the occupants of Canaan gradually, as Israel advanced, so that wild animals wouldn’t multiply unrestrained before Israel was capable of dealing with them. The Lord promised to cause the residents of the land confusion so that they would not be able to prevail over Israel and would thus be destroyed. Israel was warned to destroy the idols of the Canaanites and other occupants of the land and not to covet and take for themselves the gold and silver of the idols, so that they would not be ensnared and led away from the Lord. Israel was warned not to bring into their homes anything which is abominable and detested by God, or they would be likewise accursed.

Christians are to be submissive to civil and Christian authorities, to be obedient, to work honestly, to refrain from speaking evil and quarreling, and to be gentle and courteous towards all people. We all were at one time foolish, disobedient, straying, enslaved to worldly passions and desires and living in malice, envy and hatred for one another. But God saved us in Jesus Christ, not because we were righteous or deserving, but because of his own goodness, loving kindness and mercy. He cleanses us from sin and gives us new birth by the extravagant gift of his Holy Spirit, so that we might be accounted righteous as a free gift and receive the promised inheritance of eternal life.


Paul told Titus to insist that those who have believed in Jesus are to apply themselves to living according to Jesus’ teachings and example. We are to avoid arguing over the Bible or being drawn into controversies. Those who are argumentative should be admonished several times, and if they persist they should be ignored and ostracized, because such people reveal that they are perverted and sinful. Paul was going to spend the winter at Nicopolis (probably in northwestern Greece), and was planning to sent Artemas, or Tychicus, Gentile Christians who accompanied Paul, to bring Titus to Paul at Nicopolis.

Jesus had been in Judea, where he was baptized by John (John 1:30-34; Matthew 3:13-17). John pointed two of his disciples to Jesus (John 1:35). One of the two disciples was Andrew, who first went and brought his brother Simon (whom the Lord named Peter) to follow Jesus also. Jesus decided to return to Galilee, and he invited Philip, who was from Bethsaida (in Galilee), the same hometown as Andrew and Peter, to follow him. Philip first went to his friend Nathanael (who was probably also called Bartholomew: see, for example, Matthew 10:3).


He told Nathanael that he had found the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. Nathanael questioned how the Messiah could come from such an unremarkable place as Nazareth, but Philip just invited him to come and see. As he saw Nathanael coming, Jesus remarked that Nathanael was an Israelite who was guileless (unlike Jacob before God changed his name to Israel; Genesis 27:35; 32:28).


Nathanael asked how Jesus knew him, and Jesus replied that he had seen Nathanael where he was before Philip had called him. Nathanael was amazed and declared that Jesus was the Son of God, but Jesus told Nathanael that he would see even greater things than that. Nathanael would see the fulfillment of Jacob’s dream of the ladder, because Jesus was the means by which God’s blessings descend from heaven to mankind, and by whom mankind can ascend to heaven.

God’s call to Israel was to enter and claim the Promised Land for God and his people. They weren’t to be afraid of the occupants of the land, but were to trust in God to drive the occupants out and to give his people the victory. God’s people were to remember what God had done in the past to save them and to trust him to do what he had promised. God’s people were not to take up the idols of the occupants, so they wouldn’t fall under the same condemnation.

Christians are the New Israel. We need to enter and take possession of our land, trusting and obeying our Lord; trusting him to drive out the godless and idolaters before us, gradually as we grow spiritually. In order to do that we must be obedient to God’s Word. We must be filled with, led, and empowered by his Holy Spirit. We’re not to get into arguments with our brethren over doctrines, and we’re not to get into get into arguments with scoffers over God’s Word. We must simply know and proclaim God’s Word and leave the results to the Lord.

Those who have found Jesus, the Christ, are to invite others to come to Jesus to see and experience Jesus for themselves. In order to do that, we must have made a commitment to trust and obey Jesus, and have come to a personal experience of Jesus through his indwelling Holy Spirit.


Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?