The Happiest Slaves
February 8, 2010 at 9:31 am | In Uncategorized | Leave a CommentTags: 1 Kings 10, Christ our Ransom, eternal life, happiness in the Bible, happy slaves, joy in serving, King Solomon, Luke 11, Mark 10, Matthew 20, Queen of Sheba, servants of Solomon, serving, serving others, slavery, slavery in the Bible, slaves, Solomon, wisdom of Jesus Christ, wisdom of Solomon
When the Queen of Sheba came to see King Solomon, it was with no small amount of expectation. She had heard great things about his wealth and his wisdom. After traveling approximately 1500 miles, she was not disappointed.
And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom. Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard.
I Kings 10:6-7
After saying these things the Queen said something even more remarkable:
Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom.
I Kings 10:8
Conventionally, we think of the person being served as the one who is happy. The happiness of the ones doing the serving is of little concern. However, we know from the Bible that the blessings of serving are even greater than the blessings of being served. (Matthew 20:27)
If it was a great blessing to be the servant of Solomon, consider how much greater it is to be a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not only does Christ’s wisdom far exceed that of Solomon’s (Luke 11:31), but who would not want to serve a Master Who wants better things for His servants than they want for themselves, and Who has given His own life to purchase eternal life for those who serve Him?
We’ve Come a Wrong Way
February 2, 2010 at 2:42 pm | In Genesis | 1 CommentTags: Day of Pentecost, Sunday School lessons on Genesis, lessons on Genesis, commentary on Genesis, Bible study on Genesis, division, Genesis, Book of Genesis, Genesis 11, effects of sin, consequences of sin, murder, Genesis 10, Nimrod, hunter, Biblical hunters, first army, Bablyon, Assyria, hunting and fishing, Peleg, Go to, Babel, ziggurats, tower of Babel, confusion, languages, speech, Disobedience, God's chastening, deception, dishonesty, druckenness, Mardi Gras, nudity, rebellion
Genesis Chapter 10 is a chapter of genealogy. It is not a complete genealogy, but a summarizing genealogy. There are two parenthetical references. One is Nimrod.
And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.
Genesis 10:8
Nimrod began to be “mighty” in the sense of being opposed to God. He began to be a mighty one “in the earth” in the sense of being recognized by many people.
He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.
Genesis 10:9
It may have been that Nimord was known for his bravery and skill in hunting and providing. He may have been known as one who was able to rid habitable areas of dangerous animals in the post-flood era where there was new animosity between men and animals. It is possible that he recruited other hunters into an “army.”
And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
Genesis 10:10
Here we can see why Nimrod is especially mentioned in a parenthetical way amidst the genealogy. He came before the Lord, and the Lord used him to set up kingdoms (such as Babylon) which would later be used by the Lord to chasten His Own people.
Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,
Genesis 10:11
Assyria (Asshur in Verse 11) is another example of a nation that God would one day use to chasten His people.
Some people find a little corny humor in the name “Nimrod,” since he was known for being a hunter, and he has the word “rod” (as in fishing rod) in his name. “Nimrod’s Hunting and Fishing Supply.”
Nimrod is one parenthesis in the genealogy of Chapter 10. Peleg is the other one.
And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan.
Genesis 10:25
Peleg was the “divider,” referring to the peoples, races, nations of the earth, not to the division of land masses or continental shifts or anything like that.
Genesis Chapter 11 contains the account of the the tower of Babel.
And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.
Genesis 11:3
That was the first time they said, “Go to.”
And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
Genesis 11:4
That was the second time they said, “Go to.” What they were building was probably a ziggurat. “Babel” may have meant “Gate to the Gods.”
And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
Genesis 11:5
Note the reference in Verse 5 to the “children of men,” as opposed to the children of God.
And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.
Genesis 11:6-7
The confounding of speech at Babel was reversed, in a sense, at the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem in Acts 2.
So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
Genesis 11:8-9
“Babel sounds like “balal,” the Hebrew word for confusion. God is not the author of confusion, but He used their own word to mock them, and allowed their own confusion to be manifested.
Chapters 3 – 11 of Genesis record a series of failures – of man utterly failing to do what God created him to do. There is a tendency to read through Genesis and think, “What savages!” We think we’re so much more enlightened today. They had none of our “advances,” modern technology, or civilized behavior. However, we need to remember that, just because those were ancient days and ancient times, their sins were not any different from our sins today. In fact, we might pause here a moment to take a look at which are worse.
Disobedience
Genesis records the disobedience of the first human beings. Our newspapers record the existence of abortion clinics, strip clubs, and a skyrocketing divorce rate.
Murder
Genesis records a number of murders. Our nightly news programs record rising murder rates, crime scene tape, and multiple killings every day.
Deception
Genesis records mankind’s earliest penchant for dishonesty. We have political speeches and wealthy televangelists today.
Drunkenness
Genesis records excessive drunkenness. Mardi Gras is almost here.
Nudity
Genesis records the post-sin shame of nudity. Our society revels in public displays of nudity.
Rebellion
Genesis records man’s rebellion against God. Today… Have you seen the teenaged children at your local shopping mall or church youth group?
Genesis introduces us to the consequences sin entering into the world, and its effects. Today we see the exponential multiplication of sin and its effects.
The Legend of the Unsaved Christian
February 1, 2010 at 10:01 am | In Eternity | Leave a CommentTags: 2 Peter 2, dogs, eternal, eternal life, eternal nature of God, eternal salvation, eternal security, eternal security of the believer, eternality of God, Eternity, everlasting life, everlasting salvation, everlasting security, fairy tales, false professors, John 10, mire, modern fairy tales, once saved always saved, perseverance of the saints, pigs, Prodigal Son, urban legends, vomit
“Urban legends” are sort of modern day fairy tales. They are stories that have been told and re-told, but can never be confirmed as actually happening. “I know someone who told me about his brother’s old roommate, and you would not believe what happened to him.” This is usually the sort of third- or fourth-hand pedigree that signals the onset of an urban legend about to be told.
There is even a sort of Christian urban legend. I hear it fairly often when I speak about the doctrine of eternal security. “I just know a Christian can lose his salvation,” someone will tell me, “because my cousin’s uncle’s great aunt’s stepfather was saved when he was nine, and he grew up to be an alcoholic and a big jerk, and he even killed a guy one time.”
This sort of experiential tale might make for an interesting story, but it carries no weight whatsoever when he held up to inerrant Scripture.
And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.
John 10:28-30
So, what do we do with the person who claims to be a Christian, but lives like a devil? I don’t know about you, but I would hope for the opportunity to give him the Gospel message. There are two possibilities. One, this person is a child of God, saved by grace through faith, and is under the chastening hand of His loving and omniscient Father, Who knows things we can never know – including whether someone is really saved or not. Two, this person is only a “professing Christian,” and has never really been saved to begin with.
The true Christian’s job is not to help other Christians figure out who’s really saved and who’s not, and it is certainly not to help God figure out who really belongs to Him, and who doesn’t.
Whether the person who claims the name of Christ but lives in egregious sin is a prodigal son or a false professor, the proverb of the pigs and the dogs is no urban legend.
For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
II Peter 2:20-22
Big Words of the Christian Life: Adoption (Part 1)
January 29, 2010 at 10:48 am | In Bible Studies | Leave a CommentTags: acrostics, Adoption, adult children, adult standing, adults and children, assurance, Bema Seat, Biblical adoption, Biblical adults, Biblical assurance, Biblical children, Biblical direction, big words, big words of Christianity, big words of the Christian life, blessings, blessings of adoption, direction, doctrine of Adoption, Ephesians 2, God's family, Hebrews 5, immature believers, learning to walk, mature believers, privileges, privileges and responsibilities, responsibilities, rewards, rewards in Heaven, Romans 8, throne of Christ, toddlers
Adoption, in the common every-day sense of the legal adoption of a child, involves three entities: a parent, a child, and a family. So does Biblical Adoption. However, the Biblical doctrine of Adoption demolishes some of our false applications of earthly practices to Heavenly realities.
Supposedly, when Charles Spurgeon, who held different views about God’s sovereignty in relation to man’s will from John Wesley, was asked if he expected to see Mr. Wesley in Heaven one day, Mr. Spurgeon replied, “No.” The questioner was somewhat taken aback, until Mr. Spurgeon elaborated further: “I don’t expect to see him in Heaven because he will be so near the throne of God, and I will be way in the back.” This was undoubtedly a tongue-in-cheek remark, and an example of Mr. Spurgeon’s good-natured self-deprecatory humor, but the fact remains: Many people do believe that, in Heaven, there may be people standing closer to the throne of God than others. This type of theory seems to fit in with the idea of rewards given to believers at the Bema seat of Christ, but, in one sense, it is a very worldly concept.
It is true that some believers are more mature than other believers (Hebrews 5:12-14). However, no believers have greater family rights than other believers. All believers have an “adult” standing in the family of God. That is the meaning of Biblical adoption: It is the act of God by which He grants believers an adult standing in His family. We get into God’s family by “birth” (regeneration, the second birth.) But we are given our standing (not our righteousness) by God through His act of adopting us. In other words, regeneration is how you get into God’s family. Justification is God’s declaration that you are right before Him in Jesus Christ. Adoption is how you experience your status as God’s child.
Your experience includes privileges and responsibilities. You are treated as an adult child, and God expects you to act like an adult child. The term “child” can refer to age or to relationship. Therefore, there are “adult children” (which sounds like an oxymoron, but is not in this case.)
Adoption, like justification, happens instantaneously. I want to use an acrostic to help study some key blessings under the doctrine of Biblical adoption. With each of these blessings we receive both a privilege and a responsibility.
A.ssurance
D.
O.
P.
T.
S.
The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
Romans 8:16
Immediately upon being saved, through the act of adoption, we have knowledge of our own standing.
Privilege: Adults, unlike babies, know and understand who their parents are. They understand what it means to be in a family.
Responsibility: To learn more and more about God.
A.ssurance
D.irection
O.
P.
T.
S.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Romans 8:14
Babies cannot “follow” because they cannot walk. They have to be “carried.” Adults can walk. They can follow willingly. When my children were just learning to walk they would pull themselves to their feet and hold onto the edge of a piece of furniture. The reason they would let go of the furniture and take a few staggering, tentative steps to their dad was not because they wanted the independence of being able to move around freely on their own. The reason that they did it was because they wanted their father more than they wanted the security of the piece of furniture they were using to hold themselves up.
Privilege: We are able to walk in obedience.
Lost people cannot do this.
Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Ephesians 2:2
Responsibility: Being given the freedom to follow willingly, we must not walk after the flesh.
That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Romans 8:4
Next time, we will fill in some more of the acrostic:
A.ssurance
D.irection
O.
P.
T.
S.
The Degrees of Estimation
January 27, 2010 at 12:46 pm | In Uncategorized | Leave a CommentTags: 1 Peter 2, 1 Samuel 24, agape, agape love, beginning of knowledge, beginning of wisdom, charity, Christian brethren, Christian charity, Christian love, Ephesians 1, esteem, estimation, fear God, fear of God, fear of the Lord, government officials, Hebrews 6, honor, knowledge, Matthew 10, personal politics, Philippians 2, Proverbs 1, Psalm 111, Psalm 8, respect for leaders, respect for public office, the brotherhood, wisdom
Christians have clear instructions from the Word of God on how to relate to the authorities the Lord has ordained to govern us. These instructions can be found in numerous passages of Scripture, but I Peter 2:17 is a good summation: “Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.”
Notice that Christians are generally to esteem others better than themselves (Philippians 2:3), but to different degrees, and with different types of deference. All men who are worthy of honor should be honored (Psalm 8:4-5). Other Christians (“the brotherhood”) are to be loved (Ephesians 1:15). Christian love is an active love, a giving love, and a love which carries a sacrifice of self, and a true desire that the recipient of love will grow in Christ-likeness (Hebrews 6:10). The king, or, in modern terms, the high-ranking government official, is to be honored in his office, regardless of personal politics (I Samuel 24:6-8).
The highest esteem – fear – is reserved for God (Matthew 10:28). This encompasses all the other forms of esteem – honor, love, reverence, etc. – and speaks of a very real desire to please a loving Father who wants to give good gifts to His children, but is not overly hesitant to chasten in love. Biblical fear of God is an often misunderstood and unpopular concept in today’s culture, but it is a great comfort for the true believer and lover of the Living Word. After all, the fear of God is both the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10), and the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7).
From Cursing To Blessing
January 26, 2010 at 10:05 am | In Salvation | Leave a CommentTags: altar calls, Biblical salvation, bless, blessing, blessings, Christ Jesus, curse, curses, cursing, Galatians 3, God's plan of salvation, Jesus Christ, Salvation, salvation invitations, the Gospel
Have you perfectly kept all of God’s commandments your whole life? If not, you may be in serious trouble. In fact, you may be under a curse. The Bible says,
…Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
Galatians 3:10b
By posting this, I am hoping to bless you, even though you are under a curse! Can such a thing be done? Only in Christ Jesus.
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
Galatians 3:13
If you will repent, believe the Gospel, and trust Jesus Christ to save you, you can, by faith, go from being cursed to being blessed!
The Big Cover-Up
January 25, 2010 at 2:56 pm | In Genesis | Leave a CommentTags: Bible lessons on Genesis, Bible study on Genesis, Biblical cover-ups, Biblical covering, Book of Genesis, commentary on Genesis, cover-ups, covering, covering sin, exposing sin, flood of Noah, Genesis, Genesis 9, Ham, Japheth, lessons on Genesis, love of Christ, love of the Savior, Noah, Noah's Ark, Proverbs 17, Proverbs 28, rumors, Shem, Shem Ham and Japheth, Sunday School lessons on Genesis, the Savior's love, vineyards in the Bible
Noah was a preacher of righteousness. In obedience to God, he built the ark that, upon the waters of the world-wide flood, saved the human race from extinction. Noah, however, was human, and, like everyone who has ever walked the face of the earth – except for the Lord Jesus Christ – Noah did commit sins. Genesis Chapter 9 records the shameful account of Noah’s post-flood vineyard, his drunkenness, and his exposed condition in his tent.
Noah’s son, Ham, found him in this condition, and, instead of discreetly covering his father, he went to tell his brothers.
And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness.
Genesis 9:22-23
Shem and Japheth did what Ham should have done. In love, they covered their father’s sin. The Bible teaches us that a sinner who covers his own sins shall not prosper. (Proverbs 28:13) However, Christians, imitating the love of their Savior, should seek to cover the transgressions of their brothers and sisters, rather than seeking occasions to harvest grist for the rumor mill. (Proverbs 17:9)
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When It’s Okay To Be Irrational
February 3, 2010 at 12:40 pm | In Haggai | 1 CommentTags: Bible lessons on Haggai, Book of Haggai, commentary on Haggai, Haggai, house of the Lord, irrationality, Jerusalem, lessons on Haggai, Matthew 6, priorities, rationalism, rationalizations, re-ordered priorities, spiritual check-ups, Sunday School lessons on Haggai, the Priority of God's Kingdom, the Priority of Jesus, the prophet Haggai
The people had made a good start. Bravely, they had gone back to Jerusalem, and had begun rebuilding the temple. Then, for 16 years the work stopped. God sent the prophet Haggai to get the people working again. We can see from the prophet’s words three major sins that were the cause of the delay.
First, the workers were guilty of the sin of rationalization. To rationalize something is to give an excuse for not doing what we really don’t want to be doing anyway.
Haggai 1:2
When we say that we intend to do what the Lord has commanded, but that right now is not the right time, we must be careful of the sin of rationalization.
Second, the workers were indulging in the sign of rationalism. Rationalism is man-centered thinking in disregard of the principles and precepts of God’s Word.
Haggai 1:6
Man-centered reasoning says that if there is opposition to God’s work, He must not want us to continue. However, God-centered reasoning says that if God has commanded it, He will make a way to overcome all opposition.
Third, the workers had sinfully re-ordered their priorities. They were working on their own houses while the house of the Lord remained unfinished.
Haggai 1:9
We must put the things of God first on our priority list. If we seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, all our needs will be met by Him. (Matthew 6:33)
Christians today should beware of working for themselves instead of working for the Lord. Ask the Holy Ghost to give you a spiritual check-up today, to make sure you are free from the sins of rationalization, rationalism, and re-ordered priorities.