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People of The Living God |
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January 2023
WATCHMEN ON THE WALLS
CONDITIONS OF DISCIPLESHIP
William P. Nicholson
A DISCIPLE is a “learner,” a “scholar,” a “taught one.” He is in the school of Christ and Christ is the Teacher. He teaches him not only to be a loving, loyal friend, but also the meaning and obligation of such friendship.
Nothing in a disciple’s life is unnecessary or accidental. God is working all things together for his good, according to His purpose. There is no error, chance, luck, nor accident in the grand, eternal plan.
The conditions of discipleship are clear. If we have complied with them, we are His disciples. Let us consider them honestly and carefully.
Jesus declared, “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” Does this mean we are to break the fifth commandment? Matthew 10:37 expresses it a little differently: “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.” We understand, then, that the word “hate” means “to love less,” and we can read the passage: He that comes after Me and does not love his father or mother less than Me cannot be My disciple. We are not at liberty to hate our parents, but we are to love them less than we love Christ. We are to obey Christ rather than them. We are to be willing to forsake them if He calls us to go and preach the gospel, and we are to submit without murmuring when He takes them away from us. Jesus will not take any but the preeminent place in our affections. Christ called one to follow Him and he answered, Let me first bid good-bye to those at home. Jesus said, “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God.” Remember this: When we love Christ fully He sanctifies and satisfies every legitimate relationship of life. We must make the decision without any reservation or else we cannot be His disciples.
The second condition Jesus lays before us is this: “And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.” Many speak of sickness, circumstances, persecution or marriage as their cross. That is a lot of sentimental, poetical nonsense. To Christ, the cross represented all the malicious hatred of the world. The world expressed its hatred when He was nailed to the cross, and it has not changed its attitude since then. It still hates Christ. And it hates us for being His disciples. The cross is as real to the disciple today as it was to Christ nineteen hundred years ago. We can never become popular with the world and be disciples of Jesus.
“Must Jesus bear the cross alone, And all the world go free? No, there’s a cross for e’vry one” who would follow Christ. Taking up the cross means a clean cut from the world and all it represents. If we are unwilling to do this, we cannot be His disciples. Becoming good church members and active workers in the church, or being decent, good, and popular, does not qualify us to be His disciples. Being His disciple never makes a person popular.
The third condition requires us to forsake all. “Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.” There are no exemptions or exceptions to these conditions. There must be no evasion or reservation. Many turn away from Jesus when faced with this condition, as did the rich young ruler who went away sorrowful.
The Christian life is no flowery bed of ease. It is the way of the cross. It is a building of character and a battling against evil foes. These conditions of discipleship warn us not to begin without first counting the cost, or we shall be like the man of whom it was said, “This man began to build and was not able to finish.”
There are several outstanding characteristics peculiar to His disciples which become increasingly very evident:
(1) “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples” (John 8:31). A disciple is not off and on, up and down. He is “steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” He is as the path of the just, shining brighter and brighter unto the perfect day. He goes on.
(2) “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35). The world will be convinced we are disciples because we love other disciples, whatever the color of their skin or the country or denomination from which they come.
(3) “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples” (John 15:8). You cannot be one of Christ’s disciples and not know it. Others will also know it.
These characteristics will give you away wherever you are. How beautiful is Christ’s description of a Christian!
GET OUT OF THE BOAT
Tom Scullin
The Father’s report to us of His son and all that He has given us through His work on the cross demands that we step out beyond the limitations of the natural mind and its inability to understand and function in the divine fullness of all that is our inheritance in this precious and priceless gift of His Son
“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor. 2:914).
“For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind isenmity 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. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” (Rom. 8:5-8,12-14,16)
Now, God has given us the Holy Spirit to teach us the spiritual reality of his will and his word, which, if left to our mere human ability and understanding, we would not know.
Man has two ways of knowing or understanding himself and the world in which he lives. 1) By the brain and the five senses which feed information into to it, or 2) By the inner man of the heart receiving knowledge from the indwelling Holy Spirit. Two distinct and totally different ways we process all information we receive. No.1 is totally dependent upon man and his native ability (1Cor. 2:9,14; Rom. 8:5-8; Prov. 14:12; Prov. 3:5-6). No.2 is totally dependent upon receiving the Holy Spirit’s leading in our hearts (Psalm 51:6; Rom. 8:16; 1 John 2:20,27).
The brain and the five senses are given to us to know and understand that which pertains to the natural realm but are totally unqualified and totally insufficient to know and understand the eternal truths of the Spirit realm.
“But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him”(1 John 2:20,27).
We often fail to be successful in receiving and remaining in God’s spiritual provisions for us, because we accept the evidences of the natural mind and of the five senses over the supernatural and spiritual revelation given to us by the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Peter is a perfect example of this. “And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” (Matt. 14:25-31)
Peter did not respond to Jesus’ command, “COME”; from a well thought out or reasoned response. He was not responding from his intellect of brain and the five senses; this was his response from the inner man of his heart to the Spirit of Christ in an exultation of “the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him” (Eph. 1:17). This was his spirit responding to the Holy Spirit bearing witness (Rom. 8:16) that this was indeed “the Christ, the son of the living God” that he had previously recognized but was now being manifested in Spirit and Power before them all, and the impact of that divine awaking to the true spiritual understanding of who Christ truly was completely overcame his rational intellect of the brain and the five senses and transformed him into the same spiritual state Christ was in; thus, he was sustained in spiritual power over the elements that would have otherwise swallowed him up. He was so possessed with this divine encounter that, in total disregard of the physical impossibility, he immediately climbed out of the boat, stepped out on the water, walked away from the boat toward this Jesus he was now seeing in true spiritual reality.
He was walking with Jesus on the water by the eternal spiritual law that Jesus always operated in and which He repeatedly instructed His disciples also belonged unto them, and as long as Peter received and retained that spiritual reality in his heart the physical law had no power over him. But, alas, the flesh was weak and the severity of the storm caused him to revert back under dominion to the evidences of the natural mind that gave the opposite testimony from the testimony the Spirit was giving him.
The dominion of the natural mind to physical reality as understood by the brain and the five senses exerted its clamor's cry that this was impossible and must stop immediately because he was in grave danger of drowning. Thus, he succumbed to the mind's knowledge of physical reality instead of continuing to stand in the actual spiritual reality he was walking in with Jesus on the water and, thus, he began to sink because the hard physical evidences to the intellect could not sustain him. As long as he believed from the heart this divine revelation of Jesus, he was completely safe and qualified to walk on the water with Jesus. But when he began to doubt in his heart and instead believed the conclusion of the brain and the very clear evidences to the five senses, he failed to be sustained spiritually and physical law took over and he began to sink. The spiritual reality was that the safest place was when he was out on the water with Jesus even though his mind told him otherwise. Believing the lie his mind was insisting upon instead of continuing to believe in Christ’s, “COME”, he must and did begin to sink.
Jesus caught him as he was going down and said to him, “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” That statement “O thou of little faith, why did you doubt?” implies that he had the right and ability to have completed his walk on the water, out to Jesus and back with him to the boat. The spiritual aberration was that he began to sink, all because he did not continue to believe the Holy Spirit’s witness to him, thus the natural world became more real to him than the spiritual reality that he was actually walking on the water with Jesus.
We cannot be too critical of Peter in this incident, because we often see ourselves responding in the same way to the spiritual and supernatural demands that the Gospel calls upon us to live and walk in. For instance:Rom. 8:9 states; “we are not in the flesh but in the spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you”. Or consider this Scripture – Rom. 6:6-7,18: “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” How about Matt. 10:7-8 “And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.”
Mark 16:15,17-18: “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”
God’s word is explicit; mere human wisdom, intellect or power is not capable of understanding or doing what God has called for and demands that His Church be and do.
Jesus warned us that a severe storm is to come upon the earth in these last days such as the world has never seen before. Read (Ezek.14:13-20) of the severe judgments God pronounced upon Israel for their sins and then read in Matt. 24:21 where Jesus says this coming time of trouble will surpass all that the world has ever seen before or ever will see again.
Peter’s experience teaches us that the only way through the storm is to come to and abide in God’s provision for us in all that Jesus paid for and secured for us by his death and resurrection.
The storm is already raging as the forces of darkness are in the process of taking over all the systems of men. God’s way of escape for His people is already prepared for them; but it only operates by the same spiritual law that Peter walked in for a brief moment, that which Jesus always walked in and taught His disciples was their right and inheritance. Peter was not prepared for the severity of the test he was thrust into; neither is this generation prepared for what it is soon to be thrust upon it.
We must get out of the boat of depending on the intellect of the brain and the five senses to know God, His will, His work and His ways. or we will flounder and sink in our unbelief of the divine and supernatural call, just like Peter.
The Father has already established us in this divine union in Christ, at Calvary, and all the rights and power inherit in this union belong to us right now. (Rom. 8:17; 8:32; John 14:12; Col. 1:13; Eph. 1:3; John 15:7). When will we, unlike Peter, continually believe and walk with him in this Divine Union? When we do; “NOTHING WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE TO THEM THAT BELIEVE”!!!
Many times, Jesus had to reprove His disciples for their lack of faith and trust in God’s providence, provision, promises and power. “O thou of little faith”, “where is your faith” and similar statements were familiar rebukes He used to correct their unbelief.
If you are hearing what the Spirit is saying in this critical hour and are beginning to be awakened to your need to “trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths.” If that is happening in your life at this time, you are indeed blessed of the Lord, because most are sound asleep.
Jer. 17:5-8“Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, ina salt land and not inhabited. Blessed isthe man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and thatspreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.”
May the Lord help all of his people to be awakened to their great spiritual needs as we enter “the swelling of the Jordan” and “contending with horses” (Jer. 12:5; Zeck.6:1; Rev. 6:1-8) because it totally changes from being “the land of peace” and “running with the footman” to all out spiritual warfare and walking in the Spirit by spiritual law, which few know anything about.
If we fail to learn the critical lessons taught by the Holy Spirit’s leading and do not come to understand and operate by the spiritual laws that sustain this kingdom we have been translated into, we will utterly and completely fail in this hour of trial that is coming upon all who dwell on the earth (Rev. 3:10).
Although God has already given to us, through the teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus, everything that is needed to operate and live in complete victory in Kingdom life over the flesh, the Devil and the world, few practice in actual life what He explicitly taught and provided for His people, to enable them to endure unto the end.
The great majority of Christians in this day are more attuned to and operate by the world’s way of doing things than they are even aware of or live by what Jesus said all must do in order to be His disciples and receive Kingdom provisions and power. It’s going to take kingdom provision and power to go through what He forewarned was to come to pass on the earth in the end times. As evidence that this is true, consider what He said about seeking first the necessities of life vs. seeking first the Kingdom of God in (Matt. 6:24-33; Luke 12:15-32) or the fact He said that few would find or enter the strait and narrow way that leads to life. (Matt. 7:13-14; Luke 13:23-24) It cost Jesus everything to become “the lamb of God”, and it will cost us everything to be His disciples (Luke 14:26-33). You want to be a follower of and be approved by Christ? Read Luke 9:23.
As we find ourselves entering into the events Jesus said would be the signs of His coming and the end of the world, we of all people must “examine ourselves, whether we be in THE FAITH” (2 Cor. 13:5) or are we merely those who only think they stand, but will ultimately fall (1Cor.10:12) because they have not built on the right foundation (Luke 6:46-49).
While there is still some time left before the judgments fall in their intensity, I pray that we all awaken and take hold of what God has so freely given us in Christ.
May God be with you all as the day approaches.
BIBLICAL MORALITY VS SOCIAL MORALITY
Alfred King
Morality as defined by Noah Webster is: “The doctrine or system of moral duties, or the duties of men in their social character; ethics.”He included with that definition a couple of statements which clearly differentiates social morality from Biblical morality: “The system of moralityto be gathered from the writings of ancient sages, falls very short of that delivered in the gospel.” “The quality of an action which renders it good; the conformity of an act to the divine law, or to the principles of rectitude. This conformity implies that the act must be performed by a free agent, and from a motive of obedience to the divine will. This is the strict theological and scriptural sense of morality. But we often apply the word to actions which accord with justice and human laws, without reference to the motives from which they proceed.”
Social morality falls far short in keeping a society running harmoniously for an extended time and is, at best, temporal, fleeting, and constantly subject to change. Social morality is that which is established upon the whims of those who have the power to determine what those characteristics which make up a specific morality are, generally a government or ruling party. Those social morals might be in harmony with Biblical morality or could be in conflict with it. Social morals are established by those who have the power to make laws and enforce them. This is why we find that which is considered moral in one society is different from those of another, and from nation to nation social morality varies considerably.
There are many problems that arise with social morality, and one that makes it very fragile is that it changes over time. As a rule, any moral compass set at a specific time in a nation or a society will, over time, inevitably move toward more and more liberality and the morals which once sustained a society will dissolve into degeneracy. One doesn’t have to look far to see this degenerating process; just look at the United States. Her social morals have slipped into what is sometimes referred to as “the New Morality,” which from a biblical perspective is immorality. This “New Morality,” because of its licentious nature, is being embraced by the populace who are devouring it like hungry dogs.
While social morality degenerates over time in a free society, in a monarchy or dictatorship morals change at the whim of the monarch which can, and often do, become more oppressive and confining.
One may ask why this is happening. Morality, no matter how good it appears and sounds, unless established upon a sure and unchanging foundation, can never endure. God, who created all things and who established the earth and its environs, also set certain laws in motion which are to govern His creation. For instance, there are laws of nature which govern and control nature’s actions. However, nature, unlike men, has no power nor desire to change those laws which God established; therefore, those laws have continued to order and harmonize nature since the day God created this world. But when God established the laws of nature, He did not leave men whom He created in His image without laws to govern man’s morality; laws which when observed make society a place where peace, harmony and freedom flourish; yet when broken bring about great harm to humanity and to the world.
Consider what God says about this earth, which He created, because of man’s rejection of His moral law. “The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant” (Isa. 24:5). Godly morality has been rejected and in its place debauchery rules. The very earth is impacted by it. When Cain slew Abel, God said that Abel’s blood cried out from the ground (Gen. 4:10). One has to wonder how loud the cry is today from the millions of aborted babies as their voices cry out for justice.
God spoke again through Isaiah showing plainly the cause for which the curse is devouring the earth. “Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness. None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity” (Isa. 59:1-4). Men talk about climate change and blame it for many of the problems our earth is experiencing, yet in their ignorance, their foolishness, and their self-exalting narcissism, they will not seek God to find out what He says about these problems. They are discussing and setting a course in which “THEY” will solve the defiled earth’s problems. They set themselves to do what only God can do; change the world’s climate. They fail to see that it is transgression that has defiled the earth and they refuse to even consider that the world’s climate problems are because of men’s transgressions (Gen. 3:17, 5:29).
What makes the breakdown of morality more troubling is that many in the church are forsaking the standards which are clearly set forth in scripture and are bowing to the world’s demoralizing agenda. Over the past few decades, the church has been slipping into an abyss of lawlessness and immorality. It’s not that every pastor or every member in our modern churches are involved in this moral decline, but many churches no longer call for holiness of life nor require holy living to be a requisite for church membership. Many church members in America today live in blatant disobedience, fornication and adultery, and while they are regular church-goers, are never convicted of their sinful life. Many church congregants entertain themselves with pornography and slut-filled movies but still think they are ready for heaven because their pastors never preached against sin or gone into what sin really is. In fact, the word “sin” has been removed from the renowned and legendary Oxford Dictionary. Presently, the word “sin” is thought to be undefinable and, therefore, its extraction from Merriam Webster’s newer dictionaries is on the table for consideration.
In today’s world; how does one define sin? It depends on who you ask. There is no longer a definite standard, a plumb line to which one looks to find the answer. The Bible speaks about a time when everyone did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 17:6; 21:25). It appears this is where we are today.
In Jesus’ day the Pharisees and religious leaders had many man-made laws, which if you were to ask them, they would declare that violation of any one of them would constitute sin. Jesus faced this problem often in His ministry. He was accused of breaking the Sabbath because He and His disciples plucked some corn on the Sabbath when they were hungry. Likewise, He faced this same accusation of sin when He healed a man’s withered hand on the Sabbath. While the Sabbath is to be observed, as are the other nine commandments written with the finger of God, the Pharisees had made the Sabbath oppressive and distasteful by their many additions, all of which they, then instituted and defined to be sin.
How Does The Bible Define Sin?
There are many examples of men who have sinned throughout scripture, which gives us a general perspective of what sin is. The Bible doesn’t leave us in darkness but defines very clearly what sin is so that we can be assured and not walk in darkness. Let’s consider four portions of scripture that unveil sin.
I John 3:4b:…sin is the transgression of the law.
This is about as clear as it can be. When one disobeys any of God’s commandments, it is sin. However, we must not consider the commandments alone, for when scripture speaks of the law, it is not referring only to the commands of God, but also the principles set forth throughout scripture. Many of these principles are the God-ordained morals that are given to govern man’s conduct in the world in which we live. Yet to be transparent, not all of these morals are revealed at one time; rather they are gradually grasped as one grows in maturity and in spirituality. This, then, leaves us a little uncertain in some areas of our conduct.God’s grace is sufficient in such cases.
For instance: One of the great grievances of non-Christians is that Christians are so intolerant and unloving. (Of course, those who argue this point don’t actually know the difference between tolerance and holding to Godly standards and morality.) While genuine Christian love for the lost is tolerant (more correctly – patient and longsuffering) there is a crucial necessity when the church must stand up for truth and God’s standards of holiness. Love is patient with others but it cannot be tolerant with sin. Upholding biblical morality automatically means it addresses and deals with sin and, sometimes, that means Christians must deal radically with sin: in one’s own life, in his family, and in the church. Sin, then, is the transgression of the law of God.
2. James 4:17: Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
What do we learn about sin from this verse? All men have some knowledge of good and evil, of right and wrong, and every day we make decisions when we are faced with various situations in life. As Christians, we should be evaluating each circumstance that confronts us and choose to do what is right to the best of our knowledge. When we know what is good, then we determine to take that path. If we reject that which we know is good and right, we have sinned.
This principle can be reversed as well. When we know something is wrong and we do it anyway, we sin.
3. Rom 14:14b: To him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.
The first part of this verse reads, “I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.” The topic Paul is addressing is the issue of clean and unclean meats. That is why he writes, “… there is nothing unclean of itself.” If we consider the physical things in our world, nothing is unclean except what men have contaminated. When God created the world, He said it was very good (Gen. 1:31). As an example: God created man and, afterward, He created woman because it was not good for man to live alone. Hebrews 13:4 informs us that marriage is honorable and the bed undefiled. Yet, today, because men have rejected God’s moral code, the bed has become defiled.
In the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans, chapter 14, he wrote of the Mosaic Law regarding eating unclean meat, or meat that was forbidden for Israel in the laws of Moses. While our focus in this verse is the last part, I included the whole verse lest some think that I am attempting to circumvent the topic Paul is addressing. Paul clearly states that there is no meat that believers under the New Covenant are forbidden to eat. Yet he makes it clear that if one feels or esteems something to be unclean, then for that person he should refrain from it.
The word esteem is defined by Noah Webster as: 1) “To set a value on, whether high or low; to estimate; to value.” 2) “To prize; to set a high value on; to regard with reverence.” The lesson Paul teaches is that we all have a conscience which speaks to us and which places value on certain things. If we violate that conscience, we sin. This involves a myriad of issues we may face every day. For example: As a Christian, one may place a great value on church attendance. If he then abstains from church attendance, he sins. Or one’s conscience may convict him if he neglects time in God’s word and prayer every day. It is most simply stated, he turns away from what his conscience is telling him.I know of Christians that have come to feel that getting involved in football is unprofitable and that they should refrain from it. I know of others who feel they should dress a certain way and they, then feel they would sin if they dressed the way others might. Yet we, as Christians, must not impose our personal convictions upon others, rather we must allow God to lead them in the path He has for them.
4) A principle which Jesus presented vividly in the Garden of Gethsemane
The night in which Jesus was taken captive, He had gone to the Garden of Gethsemane with His disciples. This is where He sweat, as it were, great drops of blood. The writer of the book of Hebrews referenced this experience when he wrote in Hebrews 12:4, “Ye have not resisted unto blood striving against sin.” The account we want to consider is recorded in Luke 22:39-46.
“And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him. And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation. And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow, And said unto them, Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.”
The Lord was wrestling with the dark and foreboding path which lay before Him. He recoiled from the thought of what he was facing, and everything within Him repulsed and repudiated the idea that the sins of all mankind would be thrust upon Him. It was not the physical death which He would endure that troubled Him so greatly, but the realization that His Father, with whom He had had constant fellowship throughout His life, would now turn away as He became the sacrifice that would take away the sin of the world.
Jesus later told Pilate that He could have called for twelve legions of angels, and He would have been delivered. However, He had already fought this battle and had surrendered His will to the Father’s. When He prayed, “not my will but thine be done,” He had won the battle. If He had not done the Father’s will, He would have transgressed.
This lesson was what He desired His disciples to learn, pray that they not enter into temptation. When one yields to temptation, he sins. Peter found this to be painfully true when he was tempted, fell into temptation’s snare and denied the Lord three times.
We all are tempted, and we must always pray that we see the snare when it comes and find in Jesus the power to resist and stay clean before God. It is sad to see that many believers are confused and are being deceived concerning morality and, consequently, are exchanging God’s morals for society’s. May God grant us His grace and power sothat we may please God and refrain from even the garments spotted by the flesh (Jude 23).
UNSCRAMBLING THE SCRIPTURES
Randall Walton
Of the millions of books which exist in the world today, we unhesitatingly proclaim that not one of them is worthy of comparison with the book we know as the Holy Bible. On a scale of 1 to 10, the Bible is resting on top of the ten, while no other book appears on the scale.
The reason for this? We are talking about God's Book, that splendid volume whose author is none other than the Creator of the universe and everything in it. It is so profound in its simplicity that wise men have both revered its wit and wisdom, and have denounced it as being too good to be true. It is hailed as the infallible word of God and railed against as mere legend and folklore.
To say that it is the source of much controversy is to underrate its influence in government, in law, in society, and in religion. It is THE resource book for history, sociology, archaeology, and astronomy. No other writing anywhere has been compounded together with such a wide variety of contributors with a unified message and purpose, the context of which spans at least four millenniums and covers both the mundane world and the celestial realm. It is truly the Book of Books.
Triflers Beware
Such a Book as this must be approached with respect, and caution. Since it is the Living God's Book, we can expect it to be most unique in its format, its composition and its use of esoteric symbolism. Large portions of it are written in code and can only be understood when it is decoded. And, of course, only God has the key to the code.
We stand amazed at the Bible expositors who claim to fully understand the Books of Daniel and Revelation. Had God wanted all of mankind to know the meanings of these Books of prophetic truth, He would not have written them in code, but since He did write them thus, we conclude that He had a definite reason for so doing.
“And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them - Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given” (Matt. 13:10-15). Herein is a mighty truth: parables hide the intended message! They can only be understood when and if they are interpreted. (In the case of Matthew 13, Jesus interpreted the parables for His disciples.) But the object of a parable is to prevent certain people from learning the truth.
“Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand” (Matt. 13:13). So, Jesus purposely gave them a message they could not comprehend, as He said, “Lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.”
Coded Language
The Scriptures are not written in 100% plain language. In addition to parables, the Lord used a number of other means to obscure and hide the truth, and it is very obvious from Jesus' words that we should recognize “dark speech” when we see it and give it a wide berth. Consider carefully the following:
1. Parable: a comparison or analogy; placing one thing alongside another.
2. Symbol: something that stands for or represents another thing.
3. Allegory: a story in which people, things and happenings have a hidden or symbolic meaning.
4. Metaphor: a figure of speech in which a word or phrase used of one thing is applied to another.
5. Type: a person, thing, or event that represents or symbolizes another: a token, or sign, or figure.
One thing which is very plain is that not all of the Scriptures are in plain language. The above examples are found from Genesis to Revelation. Some are fairly simple to understand (such as Psalm 23), but many are deeply complex and impossible to decipher or interpret. The only possible way to understand some portions of the Bible is by means of divine revelation. Although many “authorities” claim to have received revelations about the meanings of many of the obscure passages of the Bible, it is obvious that they have not received an interpretation from above. And there is a definite way to prove this point.
Plain Speech
Fortunately for all of us, God chose to have portions of His Book written in words which do not need to be deciphered or interpreted. We call this plain speech. Plain speech is that which can be taken at face value or literally, not figuratively. It is word for word: it means what it says and says what it means. Speculation or guessing about its meaning is out of the question.
The difficulty in this is unscrambling or separating the plain from the figurative or, as Paul stated: “Rightly dividing the word of truth” (II Tim. 2:15).
Doctrine should always be built upon plain speech, not figurative or symbolic, and this requires “rightly dividing” the word into the two categories: plain vs. figurative. Don't dispose of the symbolic passages, but reserve them until a good foundation is laid in the plain statements of Jesus and the apostles. Once this is done, the symbols, types and shadows can be placed alongside the plain statements to evaluate their application to the plain words. This is THE KEY to an understanding of the Scriptures. Any doctrine or interpretation of prophetic or allegorical Scriptures which are contrary to the PLAIN STATEMENTS of Jesus and the apostles is false and should be scuttled.
If this practice had been followed by Bible scholars for the past 200 years, there would be much less confusion among the followers of the Bible. Such doctrines as that of a future 1,000 year utopia would evaporate into thin air, because this myth is based solely upon an interpretation of Revelation 20 and not upon the plain statements of Jesus and the apostles.
This may seem to be an innocuous teaching, but it actually does a great disservice to the body of Christ. For one thing, it embraces the theory of a second day of salvation, or a second chance. The idea is that there is no point in persevering and putting forth effort to serve God in holiness and godly living now, because you'll get another chance when it will be much easier. This is a most dangerous position to take, because there is only one day, or era, of salvation and that is right now.
This teaching is responsible for a lackadaisical attitude among many people who consider this period of time as an interim between two other eras. This period they like to refer to as the day of grace, or the church age, the meaning of which boils down to a do-nothing attitude. So long as a person believes that Jesus took all his sins away, they feel comfortable to attend church services and pursue their own way of life irrespective of God's will and word. God just doesn't require anything of the people of this age, they say.
It is about time for people to get serious about God and His Holy Book. It is time for folks to search through the Book for the PLAIN STATEMENTS of Jesus Christ and His apostles so they will be prepared for the things which are coming to pass upon the earth. There is really no value in dabbling with signs, symbols, allegories, and metaphors in an effort to unlock the secrets of God's word. In His time, He will reveal His secrets to His servants and then they shall know what He wants them to know.
A COMPLETE NEW LIFE
H.R. Miller
“The inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left” (Isa. 24:6). Here is a prophecy of a major event which will take place BEFORE the return of the Lord Jesus. It might be well to consider who these FEW MEN are, and just WHY they are left.
Great destruction in the end time will decimate the greater part of the inhabitants of the earth. It is written in Matthew twenty-four: “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time…and except those days should be shortened there should no flesh be saved; but for the ELECT’S sake those days shall be shortened” (verses 21,22).
It would seem that the “FEW MEN” and the “ELECT” are one and the same people. Let us now consider a portion from Matthew 7:14: “Because straight is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and FEW there be that find it.” These MEN were very fortunate in that they FOUND the way of life. Apparently, the “way of life” is not forced upon men, neither has it ever become so common to man that it is patronized by the multitudes. This way must be SOUGHT by men in order to be FOUND of them. “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.”
The ELECT are those who have SOUGHT the things of God, and have not let down until they FOUND. Too many people give up before they reach the goal. These fall by the wayside.
In Luke 13:23 a certain man put a very pertinent question to the Lord Jesus. He asked, “Lord are there FEW that be saved?” My friend, consider the Master’s answer - “Strive to enter in at the straight gate; for many I say unto you will seek to enter in and shall not be able. When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut the door.”
The Master of the house is going to “rise up,” for He has promised to do a great and mighty work of shaking the earth in this last day. The heavens will blare forth their message of the coming of the day of God Almighty. The sun, the moon, and the stars, all shall give an indisputable testimony. Then a great SIGN that shall indicate His imminent coming. No wonder the men of earth will “seek to enter in.” This will be the time when they cast their idols of gold and silver to the moles and the bats. It is then that the great multitudes begin to pray for the rocks and the mountains to fall upon them and hide them from the face of the Master.
“As it was in the days of Noah so also shall it be at the coming of the son of man.” Not many men went into the ark in the days of Noah. Few men would pay any attention to Noah or his message. He preached SOUND DOCTRINE, but they would not receive it. So, also, is it today. Most Christians today refuse to accept the words of God, for they will not permit their religion to be of such a nature that it will interfere with their way of life.
A true Christian walk will not only interfere with a man’s way of life, it will completely change it; politically, commercially, financially, domestically, spiritually.
The following scriptures prove these points: “Who hath delivered us from the power (dominion) of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son” (Col. 1:13). (The political life changed.)
“Go and sell that thou hast and give to the poor” (Matt. 19:21). New Testament Christians are not to BUY, but are to SELL and GIVE. This is not practiced today. (A change in commerce.)
”Give alms: provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not” (Luke 12:33). And, in order to accomplish this, men were told to “sell that ye have.” (A change in financial procedure.)
“And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27). This will certainly change any man’s way of living.
We are told to live no longer the rest of our time “in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God” (I Peter 4:1,2). And in Romans 12:1, we are told to present our bodies a living sacrifice unto God - which is a reasonable service. If men will do these things they will be among the FEW MEN who are the Lord’s ELECT.
LEGALISM
Randall Walton
Legalism! The very word conjures up thoughts of Phariseeism, self-righteousness, a holier-than-thou attitude. Generally, anyone who believes that God gave laws which need to be obeyed is termed legalistic.
But the dictionary gives a much different definition from that. It states that legalism is the “doctrine of salvation by good works.” Another way to say that is that strict adherence to the law assures one of salvation.
That doctrine, of course, is totally wrong. Good works and strict adherence to the law have never saved anyone, but that statement does not in any way detract from the benefits and blessings which are derived from living in obedience to the laws of God.
It is obvious that there needs to be some clarification on this important topic, for people are being taught that it is perfectly acceptable to disregard all laws and commandments in the Scriptures because grace covers it all; they are told that if they attempt to obey the commands of God, they then forfeit grace. What a lie this is!
The working and acceptance of grace do not negate the necessity of law: it is not a case of law versus grace, but of law and grace. Grace is necessary in order to keep the law of God, for grace is empowerment; it is an enabling, a God-given ability to do that which is right and honorable in the sight of God, i.e., to follow His commandments.
The idea behind the cry against legalism is to put a stamp of approval on, or at least an acceptance of, sin. It is actually a popular teaching that one should never feel guilty about sinning. Guilt can really get you down, we are told, so you must come to the place where you can sin and not feel badabout it!
The Bible is all too clear about sin and its consequences. The Bible also states that sin is disobedience to God’s law (I John 3:4). If there are no laws binding upon mankind, then there is no such thing as sin - and if no sin, then there are no sinners - and if there are no sinners, there will be no need of a judgment. It is plainly evident that those who walk with God are required to keep (obey) God’s laws.
However, this is not the source of our salvation. Keeping rules, regulations, and ordinances could never bring salvation to an unrepentant sinner. God’s laws are to be observed out of a deep love for Him, a genuine desire to please Him and do His will. And that is not legalism. “If ye love me, keep my commandments,” Jesus ordered (John 14:15), and that is not legalism.
“Hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments” (I John 2:3,4). And that is not legalism, either.
Legalism is the belief that a person may gain salvation, or be saved, by following the Lord’s commandments, or even the by-laws of a religious institution.
Let’s get this straight: no one has ever been saved apart from the shed blood of the Lamb of God, and confession of, and repentance from, past sins. Good works have never procured salvation for anyone. Sin must be dealt with; man must reject it, denounce it, renounce it, and abhor it, and fully intend to never sin again. (This is true repentance.) This does not mean that he will never sin again, but this must be the intention of his heart.
Once a person has been “saved,” or converted, then he is obligated to obey the law of God, all of it, not so that he will remain saved, but because God has commanded it as a part of His New Covenant (Heb. 10:16). To reject law is to reject the law-giver. Therefore, the judgment will be an evaluation of every man’s works (or his response to God’s laws).
“he shall reward every man according to his works” (Matt. 16:27).
“they were judged every man according to their works” (Rev. 20:13).
It seems that these two terse statements would forever hush the cries of those who equate obedience with legalism. If obeying God’s commands is legalistic, then Jesus was the most legalistic person to have ever lived: “as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do” (John 14:31). “I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me” (John 5:30). “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me” (John 6:38). “For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak” (John 12:49). “the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him” (John 8:29).
It should be obvious from all of the above that keeping God’s laws and commands does not initiate salvation to anyone. It should also be obvious that deliberate, conscious breaking of God’s laws will result in the loss of eternal life, for, “He that committeth (practices) sin is of the devil” (I John 3:8). It is a most serious matter to disregard the words and commands of the Lord God.
“He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be an abomination” (Prov. 28:9).
ARTIFICIAL SUPERFICIAL
Arne Vick
Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it” (I Cor. 3:13).
To this observer, it appears that one of the major threats in Christian circles is superficiality. On every hand one encounters superficial conversations, superficial healings and superficial baptisms. Religious life can be lived on either of two levels: superficial or sacrificial.
Too many fail to heed seriously the exhortation of Christ, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees.” The fatal weakness of the Pharisee was his tendency to confuse the “outside” with the “inside” of his cup, his willingness to accept the seeming for the real, and his constant emphasis on that which met the eyes of men rather than that which met the eye of God.
What a fool a man would be to build his house with “hay, wood and stubble,” - none of which is fireproof - when there was available to him indestructible materials, as suggested by the “gold, silver, and precious stones!” But a far greater fool is the man who builds his Spiritual house with insincerity, superficiality, and pretense. “For the fire shall try every man’s work, of what sort it is.”
In His story of the two builders, Jesus praised the wise man because, when he began to build, he “digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock” (Luke 6:48). Whether building a house or a life, failure to “dig deep” will eventually prove disastrous.
And in this day of “mass-evangelism,” with the emphasis so often upon numbers, crowds, and statistics, there is an ever-increasing need to press upon the people God’s demand that they “dig deep.” The spiritual mortality rate among the alleged converts in most of the large campaigns is heartbreaking.
To say that even one out of every ten who make “decisions” in these mass meetings will turn out to be a genuinely born-again convert, ready to leave the world and bring forth fruits meet for repentance, would be a most optimistic estimate. The obvious cause of their speedy demise as converts clearly lies in their failure to dig deep and pray through until they reach the Rock Foundation!
If there is to be any hope of spiritual growth and stability, “there must be no make-believe, no playing with words, no dodging of issues, no skirting of unpleasant realities, no resting in platitudes - it must be real.” Has not God solemnly warned us, “Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven…that those things which cannot be shaken may remain” (Heb. 12:26,27)?
Surely, it is far better for us to remove from our lives NOW that which is “shakeable, than to wait for the Divine shaking - and the day of fire - to reveal that we have been sawdust Christians. Far better to judge ourselves NOW than to be judged - and found guilty - by Him, THEN (I Cor. 11:31). The goal of every Christian must be an unshakeable experience in grace and a walk with God that is eternity-proof.
"If your mother had decided to have an abortion when she was carrying you; Would she have snuffed out a life?" (Anonymous)
(Larry Ax supports this statement.)