The Lord’s Name
January 12, 2024 at 1:33 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | 2 CommentsTags: Acts 4, Exodus 20, Exodus 3, Exodus 34, Isaiah 48, Leviticus 24, Proverbs 18, Psalm 124, Psalm 7, Romans 10
I will praise the Lord according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the Lord most high.
Psalm 7:17
As we praise the Lord, we are not praising some vague, ambiguous higher power. Christians are not like the Muslims or the adherents of other religions, who can substitute the mere title “God” for whatever false deity they acknowledge. One of God’s greatest revelations of Himself to us is the revelation of His name. We are blessed to know it in any of its forms or all of its forms, and we must not neglect it as we call on Him by name.
When I used to coach my daughters’ softball teams, there was always a degree of chaos or confusion at the first couple of practices, because I hadn’t yet learned all the players’ names. God can not be confused, but, just as we appreciate it when someone learns and uses our name, certainly God deserves the honor of having His name reverenced, respected, feared, and distinguished.
I. The Knowledge of His Name
13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? 14 And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you. 15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
“I AM” or “YHWH” or Yahweh is a name of:
A. Exclusivity (He is the only true God.)
B. Nationality (He is the God Who is known to the people He has called.)
C. Universality (He is the Creator, the Uncaused Cause, the Unmoved Mover.)
D. Aseity (He is self-existent, not dependent on anything or anyone else for His being.)
Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Psalm 124:8
Our help is not in those who merely manage heaven and earth, and not in those who have acquired a certain measure of power or wealth in the earth. Our help is in its Creator. He made it all, and He upholds it. He controls it, and He runs it in a very personal, hands-on way. He is transcendent, yes, but He is also immanent. In your darkest hour, in your worst pain, in your deepest despair you must call upon this Lord, and this Lord alone – and you need to call upon His NAME: all that He is.
II. The Kindness of His Nature
The name of the Lord is not merely a signifier of His identification. It tells us not only what He’s called but something of Who He is.
5 And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
Moses wanted to see God, but no one can see God in His unveiled glory (without being supernaturally strengthened by God Himself) and live. However, God graciously allowed Moses to have a revelation of His name and what it meant
Look at the kindness of these attributes found in the name of the Lord:
A. Merciful: He withholds deserved punishment.
B. Gracious: He gives out undeserved blessings.
C. Longsuffering: He is patient and slow to anger.
D. Abundantly Good: He goes beyond finite temporary goodness, and is omnibenevolent, causing ALL things to work to together for good His people.
E. True: He does not deceive and He makes reality correspond to His will.
Why are things the way they are? Because God – the God whose NAME is revealed in the Bible – WANTS them to be that way.
III. The Key to His Nobility
Of course, there is a flip side to His kindness. Knowing Him, and knowing Him by name, is the absolute best thing for us.
This is talking about God delivering His people from bondage and destruction, and the necessity of purifying them as a part of doing that:
For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.
Isaiah 48:11
How serious is it that God’s name not be polluted? That the glory of His name not be corrupted?
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
This is the so-called Third Commandment. To “take in vain” means to count God’s name as common or worthless, or to use it frivolously or blasphemously. To what extent will the Lord not hold guilty those who do this?
15 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Whosoever curseth his God shall bear his sin. 16 And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the Lord, shall be put to death.
Leviticus 24:15-16
One of the few explicitly capital crimes under the Old Testament Law, along with murder and witchcraft and certain other serious sins of rebellion and perversion, was blaspheming God’s name. Christians are not under the Old Testament Law today, but do not think for a second that God has changed His mind regarding His own name.
1 Praise ye the Lord. Praise, O ye servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord. 2 Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and for evermore. 3 From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord’s name is to be praised.
Psalm 113:1-3
IV. Salvation in His Name
The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.
Proverbs 18:10
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Romans 10:13
10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. 11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. 12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Acts 4:10-12
“Saved” as a Term of Art
August 1, 2018 at 2:21 pm | Posted in Salvation | 9 CommentsTags: 1 Corinthians 1, Acts 16, Acts 2, Acts 4, Ephesians 2, John 3, Luke 13, Mark 10, Romans 10, Titus 3
“Saved” has, for the last several decades, been the common Baptist and evangelical term for someone who has believed the Gospel and trusted Christ to forgive his/her sins, and called upon Him to give him/her eternal life. Because it has the “ed” on the end, it sounds better grammatically as a past-tense word: “Have you BEEN saved?” But it is has become so common that we see it frequently used to describe a present-tense condition: “ARE you saved?” It can be synonymous with the terms: “born again;” “redeemed;” “converted;” “Christian;” “regenerated;” and “believer.” And, while one of its faults may lie in the fact that Christians who use it commonly can forget that non-Christians don’t really know what we mean when we use it, it IS a Bible term:
And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved?
Mark 10:26
Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them,
Luke 13:23
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
John 3:17
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Acts 2:21
Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
Acts 2:47
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Acts 4:12
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
Acts 16:31
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Romans 10:9
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Romans 10:13
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it unto us which is the power of God.
I Corinthians 1:18
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Ephesians 2:8
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Titus 3:5
…. and many, many other verses. It is not very likely that someone these days will come up to you out of the blue and ask if you are saved, but, if someone does, AND IF YOU IN FACT ARE, then you should treasure that opportunity to affirm the great undeserved gift that Christ has given you in rescuing you from paying the price for your sins for all eternity.
No More Wondering, Working, and Waiting
November 21, 2016 at 5:21 pm | Posted in Ephesians, Uncategorized | 5 CommentsTags: 2 Corinthians 6, Ephesians 2, Jesus Christ, John 1, John 3, Luke 4, Romans 10, Romans 4, Romans 5, Romans 8, Titus 3
I. When you think of God’s holiness and your own sinfulness, do you ever wonder how God could love you?
But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Ephesians 2:4-5
It is simply in His marvelous nature to show forth His great love by His wonderful grace.
He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
I John 4:8
It is understandable that you might wonder HOW God could love you, but, if you have been born again into the family of God, justified through faith alone, and adopted as His Own child, then you ought never to question IF God loves you.
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3:16
II. When you understand that God’s holiness and justice require your absolute moral perfection and obedience, do you doubt that you have you worked hard enough to earn God’s approval, favor, or blessing?
Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
Romans 4:4
You can stop asking that question. There is no doubt that you can never do enough good things to make God your debtor. HOWEVER:
But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
Romans 4:5
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9
You could never work your way to Heaven, but if you have trusted Christ unto salvation, then your disobedience, sin, and lack of good works have been washed away by the mercy of God in the blood of Jesus.
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Titus 3:5
III. Do you hope that one day God will forgive you, or decide to be kindly disposed toward you in spite of your rebellion and shame? Are you longing for a day when you will find yourself forgiven and accepted?
(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
II Corinthians 6:2
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
Luke 4:18-21
The sovereign Lord and Ruler of this universe, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, the all-powerful, majestic, and holy King above all kings, will answer your call this very moment.
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
John 1:12
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Romans 10:13
If you have repented and believed His Gospel, He loves you with an everlasting love, and nothing in this world or beyond will ever separate you from it.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39
If you have been regenerated, justified, and adopted by the Lord Jesus Christ, then you do not have to wonder at, work for, or wait upon God’s love.
Faith Illustrated
April 12, 2016 at 4:03 pm | Posted in Hebrews | 5 CommentsTags: Biblical heroes, commentary on Hebrews, Hebrews 11, Romans 10, Sunday School lessons on Hebrews, Word Faith, Word of Faith
Hebrews Chapter 11 is often called “The Faith Chapter” of the Bible, or the “Hall of Faith,” or the “Hall of Fame of Faith” because it lists several “heroes” of the Old Testament, and what they were able to accomplish through their faith in God. However, it also teaches that faith is more than just a feeling and more than mental assent to a Biblical doctrine. Nor is Biblical faith totally separate from empirical and rational evidence.
One of the chief reasons we use the Word of God in evangelism is that there is power in the Word. Faith actually comes FROM hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17). For Christians, the idea of “having faith” should never be separated from “living by faith.” Just as love – for Christians – is more of an action than a feeling, so faith – “saving” faith – is a faith that has the power to work. As we draw near to Christ by faith, we get sent out by faith, and empowered by faith.
We increase our faith by obedience and action, and it is also helpful to spend time with faithful people – to observe and to emulate faithful people. The pages of the Bible are full of people who pleased God through faith, and people who failed God by unbelief. Hebrews Chapter 11 records the success stories.
By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
Hebrews 11:4
Abel gave gifts to God by faith, and was martyred for his faith, but his actions still speak today. He was the first in a long line of God’s people who died for the faith.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
Matthew 23:29-35
By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Hebrews 11:5-6
Enoch was a man who grew closer and closer to God, until one day God drew him all the way to Himself in Heaven!
By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
Hebrews 11:7
Noah guided his family by faith, guided those who were faithful, and condemned the unfaithful world.
The line of faithful men continued with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, who, by faith, kept going toward a city that could only be seen by faith. The visible world they walked through each day was not – they knew – their real home.
By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
Hebrews 11:24-25
Moses forsook a life of ease and pleasure, believing by faith that, no matter how scary the wilderness looked and how long it lasted (40 years), following God was safer than hiding from God.
By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.
Hebrews 11:31
Rahab, a condemned heathen harlot, was grafted into the ancestral line of Christ as an illustration of faith. After reading the Old Testament, we might be surprised at some of the other “heroes of the faith:” Gideon, the frightened farmer; Samson, the macho strongman, whose greatest service to God may have been in his death; Jephthah, impatient and illegitimate, who was used by God even though he wound up sacrificing his own daughter.
There is today a false doctrine out there called the “Word Faith” movement, led by wealthy preachers who say foolish things like, “If it’s in your mouth it’s in your future” and “Don’t keep praying – it shows a lack of faith; if you must pray, just express thanks that it’s already been done, instead of repeating and making supplication.” These false teachers say that the presence of real faith excludes the possibility of suffering. It is an error easily refuted by the Bible:
And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
Hebrews 11:36-38
Not only the Old Testament patriarchs, but New Testament martyrs as well, have suffered faithfully, without earthly deliverance. I hope you don’t believe that some television preacher with a Lear jet, six Rolls Royces, a tanning bed, and a beauty salon for his wife’s pet poodle has more faith than these wanderers in deserts and caves. These faithful martyrs named eternally in the everlasting page’s of God’s holy Word do not teach us that faith is “speaking forth blessings,” “pleading the blood” over our finances, or “naming and claiming it.” They teach us that faith is believing God’s Word in spite of circumstances and consequences.
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your saving grace. Thank You for making intercession for us before the Father. As You do so, let us draw ever closer and closer to You, and make us more like You today than we were yesterday. Amen.
Catechism Question 21
April 20, 2015 at 9:52 am | Posted in Children's Bible Catechism, Salvation | 6 CommentsTags: 1 John 5, Bible catechism, children's catechism, faith, Gospel of Jesus Christ, grace, John 20, personal salvation, Romans 10, Salvation
Question 21: When did God forgive you for your sins and give you eternal life?
Answer: When I believed on Jesus and called on Him to save me.
Prove it.
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Romans 10:13
Eternal salvation is completely, fully, and totally the work of the Lord. Even our decision to trust Christ and receive Him as Savior does not add any merit to the finished work of Jesus. However, since this salvation is by grace through faith, God graciously allows the application of this miraculous gift to occur when a person, having recognized his or her sinful condition and believed the Gospel, personally calls upon the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, in repentance and faith.
Other verses to consider:
But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
John 20:31
These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
I John 5:13
Faithful Wounds Part 2
October 6, 2014 at 11:47 am | Posted in Biblical friendship, Uncategorized | 1 CommentTags: Biblical evangelism, confrontational evangelism, evangelism, friendship evangelism, Matthew 28, Proverbs 27, Romans 10, soulwinning, witnessing
In response to my post called “Faithful Wounds,” which you can read by clicking here, I received the following comments on another forum, and gave the following responses:
Commenter: If the ignorant boy knows the man, and has an ongoing trusting relationship, it’s more likely that he will heed the warning without much incident. What I think you have argued is the fallacy of incongruent analogy.
And, would not God be the one doing the chasing, or “tackling”, anyway? If the Spirit is not working in the heart of that person, it matters not what variety of message we use. It will be to no avail. So, why not build a bridge?
Me: The boy in the analogy wasn’t just ignorant – he was dangerously ignorant. And, being completely oblivious to the danger and running out of space before he met an ugly end, there wasn’t time to build a bridge of relationship. We could argue, I suppose, that the man should have built a relationship with the boy a long time ago, but the (made-up-for-analogy) “fact” that he didn’t build one before, doesn’t make the analogy incongruent.
I agree that God’s Spirit does the chasing and the tackling in one sense, but I also believe He uses loving Christians as His instruments many times. God is powerful enough to supernaturally implant the Gospel message into a person’s brain, and He is powerful enough drop a blockade from the sky that would keep everyone from racing into traffic, but the fact is, for some reason, it pleases Him to use redeemed sinners to declare His Gospel, and to form relationships, and even to, once in while, roughly shake someone we love into his senses before he hurts himself.
Commenter: You are saying that God’s Kingdom is built by hateful and rash behavior.
Me: That’s not what I said. I said the man who tackled the boy “appeared” hateful and rash, but that he actually acted out of true active love. I do not believe the Bible condones rash hatred, and did not mean to imply it.
Commenter: You are crazy. Someone needs to tackle you, mate.
Me: I’m sorry you think I’m “crazy.” Hopefully you are just joking and not being mean-spirited. Name calling is purportedly not helpful to building a bridge of relationship.
If you truly do think I’m crazy though, I guess I’ll have to live with the label. They said the same thing about Jesus (Mark 3:21) and the Apostle Paul (Acts 26:24). Anyway, “crazy” can be pretty subjective. Older Christian men will tell you that, several decades ago, it was pretty common for people to tell people right to their face that they God loved them, and that they could be saved from the consequences of their sin by trusting Jesus. They say that these people weren’t considered “crazy” at all. However, I admit that the standard has changed. These days, forcefully confronting someone with the Gospel when they don’t want to hear it is often described as “crazy,” while it is considered not only sane, but worthy of adoration, to wear a “meat dress” or to dance around in underwear on a stage while people scream out that they would die for you. “Crazy” can be sort of a relative term.
As far as someone tackling me, you’re a little too late – it’s already happened both in the literal (when I tried to stop a bigger person from beating up a smaller person, and his friends didn’t like it!) and in the figurative sense – many years ago – when a stranger who loved me enough to tell me the truth told me that, according to the Bible, I had sinned against God and needed His loving Son to save me. The Holy Spirit also “tackled” me at that point, opened my willfully blind and oblivious eyes, and showed me it was true. That Truth is something wonderful that I want everyone to know – even the ones who think they don’t want to hear it. That might appear hateful and rash, but it is not being hateful or rash.
Commenter: The primary flaw with your analogy is that anyone can by force save the boy from his path of destruction – in fact against his own will. Your analogy seems very similar to the comedian-magician Penn Gillette’s words, that “If you see someone about to get hit by a truck, there comes a point when you tackle them.” But what we are dealing with here is a soul’s choice to accept or reject the Gospel. It would be more accurate to say that one man prayed and pleaded and begged the boy to turn aside, and that the second, more forceful man, shouted and harangued and yelled at the boy to turn aside. But neither of them could do anything other than speak to the boy. The path of his own life or destruction – of any soul’s – is ultimately their own decision.
Me: You might believe that the analogy makes a point that you do not happen to like, believe, or agree with, but I respectfully submit that, in the scenario of the analogy itself, the point was not that anyone could stop the boy by force – the point was that only one person was willing to stop the boy by force. Someone had already tried more polite methods and they didn’t appear to be working.
I don’t know much about Penn Gillette, and I can’t really tell if you are agreeing with his statement or not, but on the surface (without knowing the context and without agreeing with him on other things) it appears to make sense. If I’m about to get hit by a truck, I would like someone (even someone who doesn’t particularly like me) to tackle me. As stated above, someone did that to me, spiritually speaking, several years ago, and I love him for it. Even more, I love the God Who I believe authorized and empowered him to do it. I have done it to others, and they have testified that they are grateful for it, too. I would argue that there is evidence in the Bible of evangelistic “tackling in love” and that it is portrayed in Scripture as the God-ordained thing to do in certain circumstances.
You state, “It would be more accurate to say that one man prayed and pleaded and begged the boy to turn aside, and that the second, more forceful man, shouted and harangued and yelled at the boy to turn aside. But neither of them could do anything other than speak to the boy.” Well, you are free to make up your own analogy I suppose, but to say that mine is less “accurate” kind of misses the point. The boy and his tackler landed just shy of the path of a speeding truck! Are you suggesting that the haranguing and yelling would have been worth the risk considering the magnitude of the harm averted? Everyone is free to dislike the analogy, but I would hope it wouldn’t be judged internally inconsistent, just like I would hope the tackler’s motives wouldn’t be mischaracterized as hateful and rash, when they are clearly stated to be otherwise.
You state: “The path of his own life or destruction – of any soul’s – is ultimately their own decision.” I want to give you credit (and I’m not being sarcastic) for the boldness of your convictions on this point. I would agree that each soul’s decision plays a part, but I would also argue (I think I can support it from Scripture) that other people who encounter a person also play a part in determining that person’s path, and that certainly God Himself plays a part in determining our path. To say that the person himself is the “ultimate” determiner, instead of God, is where we disagree.
Preparing to Hear from God: Responsive
February 5, 2014 at 12:26 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | 4 CommentsTags: Acts 17, communicating with God, faith, Hebrews 11, James 1, pleasing God, reaction, realism, Romans 10
The first two principles we noted in preparing to hear from God were R.eady and R.eceptive. We also need to be:
R.esponsive
Prepare to hear from God by pre-determining you are going to do what He says. Be responsive to God in two ways:
1. Be reactive.
Obey Him.
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
James 1:22
A response is a reaction. It’s changing your behavior to line up with what God says, or taking some new action – even if you don’t feel like you want to do it – because God said to do it.
2. Be realistic.
You can hear from God and not understand it completely the first time. What do you do when you honestly wanted to hear from God and you think He was speaking to you, but you are confused? You keep asking and listening.
These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
Acts 17:11
Be realistic. Don’t pretend that you have understood God when you haven’t, and don’t let somebody tell you that this is what God told me to tell you without checking it out for yourself.
This is how important hearing from God is:
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Hebrews 11:6
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Romans 10:17
If you say that you believe you are going to Heaven one day, could you open a Bible and show how you know that? People get saved by grace through faith – and that faith comes from hearing God’s Word.
A Compassionate Centurion and Contradictory Crowds
May 21, 2018 at 12:58 pm | Posted in Luke | 4 CommentsTags: commentary on Luke, compassion, Jesus Christ, Luke 7, Mark 6, Roman centurion, Romans 10, Sunday School lessons on Luke, widow of Nain
Compassion has been defined as YOUR pain in MY heart. We can learn some lessons about compassion in Luke Chapter 7.
Luke 7:1-3
This centurion had compassion for his servant.
Luke 7:4-5
It was unusual for a Roman soldier to be favorable to the Jews, but this one had even built a synagogue at his own expense.
Luke 7:6-7
Humility was not a characteristically “Roman” attribute, but this centurion did not feel worthy to have Jesus in his house.
Luke 7:8-9
The centurion had both compassion and humility, but Jesus was impressed by his FAITH.
Mark 6:5-6
Jesus MARVELED at the faith of this gentile, and at the unbelief of the Jews in Nazareth. Also, the centurion identified with Jesus’s right and power to command. The centurion commanded soldiers, but Jesus commanded diseases. Alexander the Great once ruled the world, but was killed by a tiny virus.
Luke 7:11-12
Two crowds met: Jesus and His followers, and the widow of Nain and the mourners of her son. In which “crowd” would you place yourself? Are you mourning what has been lost? Or are you cheerfully on your way to enjoy what has been gained, and to tell others what can be gained?
Next, two sons met: The widow’s son was dead but was destined to live; the Son of God was alive but was destined to die.
Luke 7:13-14
Jesus experienced the widow’s pain in His heart.
Finally, two enemies met: Jesus, the Life, and our “final enemy,” death.
Luke 7:15-16
The boy sat up (salvation) and spoke (profession). These are symbols of the two signs of new life which true Christians have received in Christ: awakening and speaking.
Romans 10:9-11