5/8/19 

Romans 1:32

¹⁸ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. ¹⁹ For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. ²¹ For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²² Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

²⁴ Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, ²⁵ because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

²⁶ For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; ²⁷ and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

²⁸ And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. ²⁹ They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,³⁰ slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, ³¹ foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.

³² Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

After having read the preceding verses beginning with verse 18 this is a chilling statement.  Everytime I read it I think of the entertainment media. TV, movies, comic strips, and radio, bases it’s popularity on what is described in this verse.­­­­ Shame on me.

Looking at the list as it is in vss 18-32, it is overwhelming to think of the change, not in Christian thinking only but in the ordinary moral attitude.  What began as “I don’t do it, but if they do that’s their affair” has changed to a modern day defense of the very unrighteousness Paul condemns.

How does this particularly apply to us today?  The church and the moral community, which in the past to some extent supported it, has become intimidated by a powerful organized agenda led by radical feminist and the LGBT organizations.  These two entities have found it to be their political and practical advantage to unite in their attack on anything moral.

It is a truth of certainty that morality must have a standard.  This standard of long acceptance is the Law of God, the Ten Commandments.  A turning point of civilization was when the standard of morality was declared to be a religious symbol and thrown out of court.  Now murder is a legal right.

5/7/19 

Ephesians 4:11-12  

¹¹ And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

¹² For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

Continuing in an examination of the transition of the Church from its character in the Old Testament to its character in the New Testament, there are three distinguishable features to be noted.  The first was the coming of the Holy Spirit in the sense which Joel described, a Church-wide freedom and with an empowered witness.

The second was an inspired teaching leadership.  This leadership had a twofold responsibility.  One was to witness to the resurrection of Christ.  The second was to teach the Church.  This again was a twofold task.  They were to set out plainly the doctrine of Christ and the Church, and secondly they were to organize the Church’s government.

In Hebrews 2:4 NKJV, this leadership is described with how it was accredited.

⁴ God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will

The third factor of the transition was “gifts of the Holy Spirit” according to His will.  In this transition period, while the Church was without a canon, there was the Holy Spirit ever present to instruct and enlighten, there was the inspired prophets and Apostles, and there were the gifts of the Spirit that are named and described in different places in the New Testament.

But a transition at some point is complete and when the transition is complete the temporary measures cease. When the active exercise of the transition team’s activity ceases it does not mean that leaves no permanent fruit.

The permanent results which remain are:

1.       The New Covenant work of the Holy Spirit. This continues in His work of convicting the world of sin, righteousness and the world to come.

2.      The inspired leaders have left us an inspired canon.  This canon requires no additions or deletions.  It is perfect for its task.

3.      The Church should continue to function by the gifts of the Holy Spirit which are given for the Church’s need in its present dispensation.

Ephesians 4:11-12 and following give the purpose of what gifted leadership means to the Church.  But these gifts must be desired, nurtured, and respected by the person who receives them. And they are to be used by the Church in its witness and sanctification.

5/6/19 

Ephesians 4:11-12

¹¹ And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, ¹² to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 

Among Bible students there are marked differences of their understanding of the Old Testament church and the New Testament church.  No matter where you identify yourself there are differences.  One pertinent question is “how did we get from there to here?”  What comes between the Old Testament revelation and the New?

The Scriptures above point us to the transition team.  The transition is completed in those offices in 4:11.  From the time of Acts 2 until the canon was complete and whole final revelation of God was finished, what guided the church?  There are three distinct entities in the transition team.

1.       The first was the Holy Spirit who came in new fullness upon the church.  There are two errors to correct.

a.       That the Holy Spirit was not active in the Old Testament.  The triunity of God is a guarantee that God is not different and does not change.  The Holy Spirit in Genesis 1:2 is the same as the Spirit in Acts 2 and the same today.

b.      That the believers of the Old Testament were not “born again”, that they believed in God and obeyed the Law for salvation.

More tomorrow….

5/4/19 

Psalm 73:2

But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
    my steps had nearly slipped.

I have too many Psalms I love to say that this is my favorite Psalm.  But this is one of the first places I go when I need the comfort of God’s word.  It is worthy to note that the Psalmist begins with his conclusion.  Whether it needs to be said and when everything is said, God is truly, only, always good to Israel, those with a renewed heart.

Now that being cleared up he has a confession. He had almost by his reckoning fallen from his place of the Goodness of God.  But he didn’t.

Let us look at three reasons he didn’t fall.

1.       Vs 23-His companion in all places and at all times holds his hand so that he has the support he needs to continue upright.  He is never without the support he may need.

2.      Vs 24-His guide is ever there to see that he follows the direction and that his path is a safe one.  In Romans 8:14 Paul writes “as are led by the Spirit of God” to assure us our guide is ever with us.

3.      Vs 28-Though he may forget and fear, the fact remains the Lord God is his refuge.  He is never in a slippery place.

The Psalmist came to realize the very things he envied in the wicked were in reality the slippery places.  Psalm 73:18

¹⁸ Truly you set them in slippery places;
    you make them fall to ruin.

5/2/19 

Psalm 97:10A

O you who love the Lord, hate evil!
    He preserves the lives of his saints;
    he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

“You who love the Lord, hate evil!”

This is plainly a requirement for a particular named class.  This class is those who "love the Lord".  The single requirement in this verse is “hate evil”. It is not the only thing required of them.  In verse 12 they are to “rejoice and give thanks.”

There are three words in verse 10A that require definition, “love, hate, and evil”.  There is not room to define these words here. The one word that is most necessary is “evil”.  It is a simple term which represents those who practice opposition to God and His law in their thoughts, motives, and deeds.  This in total is to be the subjects of God-lovers hatred.  This hatred is at the least to be disapproval and avoidance.  God-lovers are never to be supporters of evil.

Psalm 5:5B and 11:5B are the Divine side of the same truth.  We are to hate what God hates, evil.  This evil is never neutral, overlooked, or forgotten.  It is to be hated, avoided, and to be condemned by God-lovers.  Neither time nor place can excuse it.  Baptism into churches will not cleanse it, nor will acceptance by Christians change its character.  Evil is evil and God-lovers hate it.

4/30/19 

Hebrews 12:1-2

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

“let us run with endurance the race”

This is an example from the track competition then, but it is equally relevant today for there is no track winner who does not finish the race.

“Once saved always saved” is a bitterly debated doctrine among believers.  But once the definition of saved is determined there is much less conflict.  Those who are truly converted will “run with endurance”.  They will complete the race in which they are entered.  It is certain about any race that not everyone is going to be first.  But the responsibility that is even more important is to give the effort the race requires and finish.

One example of this is the Boston Marathon.  There is a large financial prize for the man and for the woman who are first.  Yet there are hundreds who enter and have no expectations of doing anything but finishing.  A Christian never has to be the best at anything.  The encouragement of this text is to “run with endurance”.  All have the same great motivation, “looking unto Jesus!”

4/29/19 

Romans 4:5

⁵ And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,

This is a great Gospel verse.  It is one of my favorites.  As one who has no works; as one whose tears of repentance must be washed in the blood of Christ, I find all the comfort I need in it.

There is a particular that must be recognized and mentioned.  It is the faith that is described.  It is not a general faith in God, although that is important.  It is faith in Jesus Christ as He is presented in the gospel.  “The gospel is the power of God unto salvation”.

We are in the first quarter of the 21^st century and it is no different than the fourth quarter of the 1^st century.  The citizens of this world still hold to the faith in their works.  But it is to him that can find no ability to do God’s perfect will who can have justification that is perfect and free.

For three years I drove on an interstate highway to my daily destination.  The speed limit was 75 MPH.  But if after 1000 trips I would have driven 80 MPH I would have broken the law and have been without excuse.  So it is, no one is good enough to excuse themselves from being law-breakers.  The worker is condemned.  The believer is justified from his ungodliness.