1 Timothy 4:16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.
In Paul’s closing days, he wrote to Timothy, his child in the faith, reminding him that he needed to persist.
Persist. Other translations use “persevere”, or “continue”. As you may know, I use the Blue Letter Bible web site for much of my research and they provide a parsing option of the Greek words used in the Word. Notice that to persevere is in the present tense – an action Paul expected to be occurring in the present, and was second person, to be applied to the reader. Paul isn’t speaking of Timothy persevering in the faith in order for others to become Christians. He was giving this command to Timothy for his own salvation
Now I provide this information as overkill, for the English also provides the same message. Timothy was to persevere in the faith for his own life, and for the teaching he provided.
Both arenas of effort were included. How often have you seen a Bible teacher dig into the Word, bring out doctrinal truth, and yet the witness is sullied due to his own life being shipwrecked with unfaithfulness and sin.
But Carl, is not Paul referring to sanctification before God in this passage? Does Paul not go on to say that this lack of perseverance will damage his sanctification before God.
Is that what he says? Let’s read that portion of verse 16 once more.
…by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.
Heck, let’s go back to the BLB and it’s parsing chart.
The word Paul uses is σώζω sṓzō, and I cannot find it translated as sanctification in my studies. It refers to preserving from danger, or to deliver from destruction, to rescue, or to keep safe and sound. The New Testament concept of sanctification comes from the Greek word ἅγιος hágios, and speaks of holiness, consecration or separateness from evil. Two different concepts, though linked, in the eternal life we are blessed to experience.
Notice that with this verb, it is future tense. Paul is speaking of salvation in the future for both his own life and those of the congregation. He and his current congregation will ensure their salvation by persevering in previous activities Paul lined out for Timothy.
…save both yourself and your hearers.
Paul taught this to a believer, a leader in the church!
If OSAS (Once Saved Always Saved) is correct, this makes no sense!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you would like to receive daily posts from Considering the Bible, click on the “Follow” link below
Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.
I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.
SEEING JESUS IN
Amos
Booth of David
Amos 9:11 “In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old,
John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Amos is preaching to the Northern Kingdom, and bringing judgement as a message. The Northern Kingdom was about to fall to the Assyrians, and in the midst of this message, Amos provided hope, a message that spoke of the future kingdom of God, and the tabernacle of David.
The ESV uses the term “booth” to translate the Hebrew סֻכָּה sook-kaw’, and it is typically describing a temporary shelter. Amos is not speaking of the temple built by Solomon, but of a tabernacle.
Consider – Is Amos bringing to the Northern Kingdoms attention the old days, when the ark of the covenant would reside in a collapsible tent, constructed under the care of Moses, with the glory of God manifesting as a pillar of fire or a vertical cloud over it.
For this passage in Amos, the tabernacle (or the booth) of David had fallen. Note that he refers to the tabernacle of David, but I assumed (wrongly) that the tabernacle was associated with Moses in this verse. I need to read the Scriptures for what it says!
Yes, the original tabernacle was built and managed by Moses. The tabernacle of David is something far different.
1 Chronicles 15:1 David built houses for himself in the city of David. And he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it.
David, even while the original tabernacle (associated with Moses) stood, took the ark of the covenant from the Holy of Holies, brought it to Mount Zion, pitched a tent, and began a completely new order of worship.
1 Chronicles 16:37 So David left Asaph and his brothers there before the ark of the covenant of the LORD to minister regularly before the ark as each day required, 1 Chronicles 16:38 and also Obed-edom and his sixty-eight brothers, while Obed-edom, the son of Jeduthun, and Hosah were to be gatekeepers. 1 Chronicles 16:39 And he left Zadok the priest and his brothers the priests before the tabernacle of the LORD in the high place that was at Gibeon
Notice that Zadok the priest was in Gibeon, while Asaph and his brothers were to minister before the ark of the covenant, the very heart of the original tabernacle. (Somehow, if I had been Zadok, I think I would have felt ripped off!)
There is so much more to speak of, but Amos is speaking of a tent/tabernacle/booth containing only the ark of the covenant, in Jerusalem, with direct access to the ark for worship.
When James speaks of the tabernacle of David in Acts, there is much more to the word picture than I first imagined. The tabernacle of David represented direct access to the ark, representing God Himself. The tabernacle of David was a simpler, much more humble tent than the original tabernacle. The tabernacle of David was approached by many in Jerusalem, and singing was a large component of the worship.
During the reign of David, the tabernacle of David was a beautiful picture of Jesus, being the approachable Messiah, humble in appearance, available for worship, and lastly, a temporary structure, for the day would come that the tabernacle of the body of Jesus would be tore down!
Thankfully, God raised Jesus from the dead, and from the empty grave, the Messiah restored the tabernacle of David, which we humbly call the church nowadays.
The tabernacle of David, the body of Christ, is open for the remnant of mankind, and for all the gentiles called by the name of the Lord. May the increase of the David’s tabernacle be great, and may we remember that like David’s tabernacle of old, the New Testament tabernacle of David is to be approachable, humble and realize it’s own temporary status on earth.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
161
FRIEND OF TAX COLLECTORS AND SINNERS
Matthew 11:19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”
Our last post dealt with God considering Himself as a Friend of Abraham. We spoke of how rare it was for someone to be called a Friend of God in the Old Testament , and that only Moses was somewhat considered the same as Abraham in this select club, that is of being a friend of God.
To be a friend of God in the Old Testament seemed to be linked with trustworthiness, in that both Abraham and Moses were faithful to the call of God on their lives.
As mentioned in the previous post, all that went loosey goosey in the New Testament, for as Jesus rubbed shoulders with those in the nation, He presented Himself as a Friendly One, to the point that the religious leaders of Israel tried to use it against Him.
They noticed that He liked to be around “low life’s”, the “dregs of society” and “losers”. Little did they know that it is those very people who do not have some self imposed understanding of who the Messiah is that actually creates barriers to seeing the truth.
Jesus was called a friend of tax collectors and sinners! Little did the enemies of Jesus understand that to openly be friendly with “sinners” would blow up the church! Flocks of “losers” would rush to be accepted by a God who would exhibit friendliness with then.
The Pharisees had it all wrong. Their pride and obstinance blinded them to the greatest power to influence someone else. Although the Lord’s enemies described Him as a friend of tax collectors and sinners, this didn’t go far enough. As he strode amongst the “unwashed” He cared for them, healing them, listening and teaching a radical love of God, of a simple repentance and faith in God (and not in man)!
Yes, Jesus was a friend of tax collectors and sinners, but it goes far deeper than that. His death of the cruel cross proved that He was a friend of “tax takers and sinless religious judges” – those who hated Him, those who mocked Him and spread slander about Him.
Yes a friend of tax collectors and sinners. But so much more!
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
160
FRIEND OF ABRAHAM
Isaiah 41:8 But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend;
Abraham was a friend of God. No – sorry, but that is wrong – I have my tenses mixed up!
Consider that the prophet Isaiah is speaking of Abraham as being God’s friend, present tense. Isaiah, hundreds of years after Abraham, is declaring, as so many of the prophets do, that those who have fallen asleep are not without companionship, and that companionship is God Himself.
Abraham is the only person in the Word declared to be a friend of God. Well, sort of. Moses was described as one to whom God would speak to as a friend.
Exodus 33:11 Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.
These two men are the only two men in the Old Testament that are called a friend of God. Amazing.
Consider what it means to be a friend. It must be understood that to be, or to have a friend, two people are involved. Also, I cannot state that I am a friend to someone who hates me. At least I can’t in all honesty call my enemy a friend unless I am seeking to turn them to my friend.
A friend is someone who seeks my best and will avoid inflicting pain on me. A friend is someone I can trust, and that should be able to trust me.
Was it not such with both Abraham and Moses. God requested actions from them, and they sought to comply, and out of a Master/servant relationship, friendship grew. God could, in a sense trust Abraham. He could sort of trust Moses.
But things get all loosey goosey when God comes down to earth. He is not calling anyone friend based on whether He can trust them. Granted, He does speak to His apostles as friends, having experienced a Servant Master relationship with them for a period of time. I think there was an element of trust between Him and His men.
John 15:15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
This relationship of friendship though, seems to be dependent on information provided to them, and not specifically their trustworthiness, as it was with Abraham and Moses.
Things in relation to being a friend of God are morphing a little bit here. But consider Jesus next statement, when His betrayer approaches Him with armed guards.
Matthew 26:50 Jesus said to him (Judas), “Friend, do what you came to do.” Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him.
Jesus knew what was about to happen, and yet He called the man who would become the poster boy of betrayal a friend. This is simply astounding, that He extended friendship to a man who was stabbing Him in the back.
Jesus is the Friend of God, the true Friend of God, in that He has shown by His actions the attitude God has toward those who love God, those who are learning of God, and to those who despise God.
For God, there has only been One who is completely trustworthy, only One who knows all from the Father, and the only One who has exhibited God’s love to the worst of sinners.
Abraham and Moses were called friends of God, only in that they reflected the true Friend of God, Jesus the Messiah.
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
Matthew 10:21-22 Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
The previous post spoke of how Jesus was warning His apostles of the dangers of being a believer, and of how they would recognize true believers as they went about the tribes of Israel, preaching of the Messiah.
The passage above was referred to in order to make the point that families may be split down the middle in relation to who Jesus is, and that rightness with God is not simply due to some physical bloodline, but association and relationship with Jesus and His men.
The purpose of this post is to focus on the last phrase of the provided verses.
But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
Endurance. The verb speaks of “staying under”, or “remaining behind” To endure is the English translation of the Hebrew ὑπομένω hupŏmĕnō. In our journeys through the Bible, we have broached this word a number of times. If interested, check out the following posts.
Suffice it to say, this concept pops up in the Scripture many times. In the context of our passage this morning, Jesus is telling us that to be saved we need to “stay under”, or “remain behind”, to not cut and run when the times are difficult.
But there is a finer point on His message I believe, for in the very next verse He instructs His disciples to flee, to cut and run, to not remain in the town if persecution comes.
Matthew 10:23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
So what is this endurance thing all about? Surely the Lord is not speaking of staying in a local area simply to be stubborn. He wants His people to be mobile, agile and able to move, able to escape persecution.
So if it isn’t the willingness to remain in a specific location no matter what happens, no matter what the local population wants to do to you, what might He be instructing He people to endure?
Consider verse 21. I think it gives some guidance.
Brother will deliver brother over to death
Father deliver his his child over to death
Children will rise against parents and have them put to death
This is the dissolution of society, at least in the disciples world. The very building blocks of social order are the family unit. Jesus isn’t speaking of some stranger in some far off town persecuting the believer, and staying around to take it. No – it is the closest of family that is out to get them.
This endurance is relational, an endurance to stay committed to the ways of Christ, even amongst the closest of family. In the midst of resistance within your family, when those closest to you may betray you, may deny you, may bring authorities to your doorstep, will you endure, will you stay under for the sake of the name of the Lord?
To endure to the end will result in salvation.
Jesus is the great example, for His own family rejected Him, His closest friends denied Him, one who He broke bread with betrayed Him.
Look to Him to consider how He endured. No lashing out, no condemning or vengence spoken of. When an “enemy” lost an ear, He healed it. When they spit and mocked Him, He endured.
Hebrews 12:1 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 (hupŏmĕnō) the race that is set before us,
Truly amazing. He is truly amazing. And we have been called to the same endurance. The same endurance, but note – without Him, we will not succeed.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you would like to receive daily posts from Considering the Bible, click on the “Follow” link below
Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.
I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.
SEEING JESUS IN
Amos
Lion
Amos 3:4 Does a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out from his den, if he has taken nothing? Amos 3:8 The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken; who can but prophesy?”
Revelation 10:3 and called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring. When he called out, the seven thunders sounded.
Amos is a prophet in the Northern Kingdom and the Northern Kingdom is about to vanish, disappear from the face of the earth (as a nation).
Amos begins this passage defining the exact intent of his message. God is against the people of the Northern Kingdom.
Amos 3:1 Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt
The Northern Kingdom, as long as it has existed, had been completely sold out to idolatry, and judgement was about to fall. In this judgement, the Lord is likened to a lion, roaring in the forest.
Lions are also considered to be at the top of the food chain, the rulers of the savannah, the king of the cats. It would not be an exaggeration to consider a lion’s roar as a deafening, frightful noise. A lion’s roar is so intense, that it can be heard as much as five miles away, and has been measured to over 110 decibels. The lion will belt out such a frightening roar in order to protect their pride, (that is their family not their ego!).
The flip side of this is that the roar is bellowed out to scare of intruders to their territory. Yet interestingly, a lion does not roar prior to the taking of prey. This makes sense for an animal that depends on stealth to capture prey.
Yet for Amos, the lion was an apt picture of the Lord at that time in the Northern Kingdoms history. Hosea, a contemporary of Amos, though somewhat later than Amos, preached to the Northern Kingdom, and refers to the Lord as a lion also.
Hosea 13:8 I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs; I will tear open their breast, and there I will devour them like a lion, as a wild beast would rip them open.
But notice one thing different between the two. For Amos, who was prior to Hosea, the message was of a roar of the lion. For Hosea, the lion is decribed as devouring the victim, in this case, the Northern Kingdom.
But Carl, what might that difference signify? What’s the point of noticing this?
The roar of the lion is not sent out prior to the hunt, prior to taking prey. The roar of the lion is to intimidate, to declare of territory they own, to communicate to those in the forest that there is danger. There is potential death, and the ones in the lions territory need to understand the threat.
Of course, looking in hind sight, we know the Northern Kingdom was devoured by the Assyrians. Yet at the time of Amos preaching, couched in the message of the roar of a lion, there may have been one last effort to reach the Northern Kingdom, to bring them back to the covenant.
Amos was providing a warning to the Northern Kingdom. A warning intended to produce godly fear in the nation.
Amos 3:8 The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken; who can but prophesy?”
Amos directly connects the lion’s roar to God speaking, definitely directing Amos prophecy to the Northern Kingdom. For Amos’s immediate audience, it wasn’t too late for the Northern Kingdom, as it would be by the time Hosea was preaching. The roar may be described as a severe mercy, seeking to get the nation to turn around. Yet without the intended result. So sad.
Although some debate the identification of the mighty angel in Revelation 10, I am of the opinion that it is no other than the Risen Christ. Consider how He is described, and compare that with the earlier descriptions in the first chapter. Nevertheless, the Lion roaring in Revelation 10:3 speaks of another warning, of a coming judgement.
That this judgement hasn’t fallen yet speaks of His patience and love towards His people, towards those who are in His territory, and that need to hear His message.
The Lord is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, and in His roar is a message for all to heed.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
159
FRIEND
Proverbs 18:24 A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Recently, in our series “What the Bible Probably Didn’t Mean, I considered this verse, explaining how my thoughts on the intent of this verse had changed as I understood the verse’s message. I was challenged in the concept of the first phrase of “many companions.
For this post, I would like to consider the friend referred to in the second phrase, the friend who sticks closer than a brother.
The term “friend” in this verse is the Hebrew word אָהַב ʼâhab, and in the Old Testament, it is translated as friend 12 times. But of the 208 times it is found in the Word, the preponderance of translation choice falls upon the idea of love.
The relationship is different from that of a companion, an associate, who may be somewhat of a fair weather friend, one who is in your life for their own benefit. Solomon is contrasting this friend with a companion, and to emphasize the “friendliness” or love of this friend, he goes above and beyond and says this friend is closer than a brother!
This friend has a love that is greater than that of a brother. This passage depends on our own understanding of friends and brothers, and how we relate to them. Some may be estranged from their brothers and sisters at this time in their lives. (If so, and there is any action the believer can take to reconcile, be at it!)
But Solomon is describing a person who loves greater than a brother, who is ever faithful. If there is a soul out there reading this post, and is experiencing a perfect relationship with their physical brother, the passage still elevates God’s love beyond that.
He is a Friend that sticks closer than a brother. His love is greater than the best love available on earth!
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
158
FREE GIFT
Romans 5:15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.
Paul is describing the salvation provided by Jesus as a free gift, and as believers we understand that there is no way we could pay our way out of the rebellion that is in our heart and that we have practiced in our lives. The only option we had before a holy and righteous God was that of a free gift of salvation to be provided.
In this passage he is contrasting two men and their actions, along with the consequences of those actions.
The first is Adam, and the trespass of Adam, along with the resulting fall of all of mankind. He represented both you and I in that action, and as the child of Adam, we have that same rebellion of heart.
But some would decry – That is not fair. Why should I suffer due to the actions of another, so long ago. We ”know” we could have done so much better than Adam, and complain (at least internally) that we got the short end of the stick in this deal.
What might the Old Testament saint have thought? The mud and mire they were sinking in as they carried the burden of rebellion due to someone else. Might it have seemed unfair for some? A source of complaint against God? Surely it was.
In the midst of this seeming unfairness, God had established a legal system that would provide consequences for all from the heads of their families. As Adam did wrong, all following in Adam’s lineage would suffer, owning the rebellious heart along with the judgement of death to be passed on each.
But this system of consequences being passed onto family members is a two edged sword. Yes, Adam provided a “free gift” of death for his lineage, but this also provided an opportunity for God to start a new lineage, a lineage that could receive a different free gift, a more extensive free gift.
It occurs to me that even in those systems and processes that God has ordained, that seem to be to our detriment, those same processes and systems may be turned around by the Lord Himself and provide greater blessing than we can imagine.
But that still may provide us opportunity to complain about His ways and His will. It is for us to be thankful in all things.
Paul’s message is much deeper than the scratching I have feebly entered into, but the fact that Jesus has created a new lineage for the many who are experiencing death by Adam is an amazing statement.
Death for the many due to Adam. Life for the many due to Jesus.
May we who are of the many praise the name of Jesus for His ever expanding grace to the most undeserving of people
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”
Jesus is sending out his disciples into the nation to preach the gospel, to proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The disciples were given clear instructions, especially how to treat those who received them or rejected them
Matthew 10:13 -14 And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.
In discussing those who would not receive the disciples, Jesus spoke of Sodom and Gomorrah as a preferred place to be.
Matthew 10:15 Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
Jesus continues the discourse, referring to the persecution of disciples that would occur, even within the household of their family.
Matthew 10:21 Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death,
He encourages his men to reject fear, speaking of not only physical death, but spiritual death.
Matthew 10:28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Just prior to our topic verse, Jesus speaks of bringing a sword of division, for households will be split apart due to the good news, and how people receive or reject the person of Christ.
Matthew 10:36-37 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
As we have ventured through the 10th chapter of Matthew, it seems the message was centered on the reception of the apostles, and the results of either receiving or rejecting them, of how households would respond to the message of Jesus being the Messiah.
If this is true, then for one in a household to provide cold water to a “little one”, that disciple will by no means loose his reward.
But what may I ask is the reward?
This passage is often spoken in reference to assisting other brothers and sisters in ministry, or even of simple charitable acts given to others as having an some added benefit to the giver, when they enter heaven. This may be a great application, and may be supported by many other verses in the Word, but is not the context of the entire 10th chapter of Matthew that of life and death?
By giving cold water to a disciple, especially in the midst of a household that is split down the middle concerning who Jesus is, would mark that person out as a disciple. This act would identify the person as one who believes in Jesus.
By giving cold water to one of the apostles, (little ones, as in spiritual stature, humble men) they would be associating or joining with those entering into the kingdom that was at hand.
So i ask my reader – might the reward be spiritual life itself?
Another way of considering this passage is to ask – Is Jesus speaking of folks having an option to “loose a reward” and yet maintain spiritual life?
Or is He speaking of how the disciples would recognize those who are entering the kingdom of God?
I think there are two different ways to consider this passage.
First, life in the kingdom is proven by acts of service to others in the kingdom. The apostles would know when to “shake the dust off” or to let their peace remain.
The second was of considering this passage would be that acts of service to those in the kingdom are independent of the offeror being a kingdom citizen. In my feeble mind that equates to life decisions being independent of a salvation reality. If acts of service are independent of salvation, then we might identify these acts of service as rewards instead of proof of life. If this scenario is true, a possible outcome may be seen in the soul who “got saved” 40 years ago but has not followed/obeyed Christ. He has been taught he is eternally secure, yet may have no proof of life.
Does that make sense?
My friend, I propose this passage in Matthew 10 speaks of the identification of a true believer, one who serves at the risk of being ostracized by his own household and family. At the time of giving cold water, the disciples could know they were in the midst of a fellow disciple.
No dust to be shook off, and peace to be shared with all.
It is good to be in the family of God.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you would like to receive daily posts from Considering the Bible, click on the “Follow” link below
Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.
I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.
SEEING JESUS IN
Amos
Plumb Line
Amos 7:7-8 This is what he showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. And the LORD said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass by them;
Romans 3:23-26 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
What in tarnation is a plumb line?
One dictionary defines it as a piece of string with a weight attached to one end, used either to test if something vertical, such as a wall, is exactly straight, or to find the depth of water.
For Amos, the first portion of the definition applies for us. The plumb line would check for straightness, but more specifically to test for vertical trueness. The plumb line does not cause the crookedness, nor nor can it be blamed if poor workmanship is to be blamed.
The plumb line is used to show that the wall is not vertical. The plumb line is used to show whether the wall was constructed properly and remains. It is an impartial judge.
In this instance, Amos saw that the plumb line was not giving the nation good news. When the nation was compared with the plumb line, crookedness became evident.
Now specifically, the vision was as depicted, yet I can’t help to see that the outworking of the vision may have been the application of the law of God against the people of God. When the law of God is brought forward to to judge whether the people of God were upright and straight, the law is strict, harsh and impartial.
Yes, the people were continually under the law, with expectations of living under the law. Failure in both the northern kingdom, which Amos is addressing, and the southern kingdom was common, with the mercy of God being extended over and over again.
This mercy was not available for the norther kingdom this time. When the plumb line was consulted, the verdict was given. The Lord said,
vs 9 I will never again pass by them
For the northern kingdom, judgement had been given, with no mercy available. Not one chapter later, this judgement is reiterated, stating
Amos 8:2 And he said, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the LORD said to me, “The end has come upon my people Israel; I will never again pass by them.
God will never again pass by them. Interesting terminology. Pass by them. Hmmmm
Exodus 12:12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD.
The Israelites were witness to a deliverance that crippled their masters in Egypt, and the night of the passover, that effected their freedom, Moses wrote of the Lord passing through the land of Egypt, executing judgement.
For Israel, the Lord had “passed by”, had provided mercy to the nation in their sin. This was to stop, and judgement was to be executed. He is the Lord. The nation was dispersed, with many put to death by the Assyrians. The nation never recovered.
When we look to the Law of God, the standard is the person of God. It reflects His holiness, and by doing so, reveals all unholiness and unrighteousness. No wonder it is maligned, despised and ignored by the masses. It judges! It condemns!
In the days of the theocracy of Israel, mercy was provided, and it seemed the law of God was not applied evenly, even seemingly making the law of God of no effect. For the Law of God to be executed consistently, continually and with legal force, none under the Law would survive.
Yet the nation of Israel, at least the southern nation, though sinful, continued to be protected, carried through a captivity and returned to the land to bring forth the Law of God in human form, the Messiah.
He truly was a plumb line for the nation to experience. He lived the Law of God perfectly, and because of that was condemned by sinners, and experienced the outworking of the Law of God,
His death completed many actions for the salvation we so richly enjoy, but for our post today, we can be reminded that His death also showed that the law of God was satisfied, even though it appeared to be applied unevenly, and that any mercy shown to the people of God previously was to be satisfied at the cross. All sin was dealt with at the cross, past present and future, and though Jesus acted as a plumb line in the land during His sojourn, He also provided the satisfaction of justice the plumb line revealed was necessary.
He is the plumb line, He that is the perfect representation of the Law of God, showing us how far we have fallen, and thankfully, showing us how far He will go to redeem us.
Thank you Jesus for being the standard, and satisfying the standard set. You are truly everything we could hope for!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
157
FOUNTAIN OF LIVING WATERS
Jeremiah 2:13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water
In our last post, we considered Zechariah 13:1, in which God calls the Messiah a fountain, a fountain whose purpose was to supply cleansing for an individual upon repentance. Zechariah made much of the individual responding to the piercing of the Messiah.
He gave us a beautiful picture of the sinner coming to the Lord, realizing the cost Jesus paid to provide a cleansing from sin and responding in repentance, finding the cleansing so desperately needed.
It is coincidental that Zechariah’s verse came before Jeremiah’s in our study, for it seems that it reflects the general order of salvation for all, even for us millennia later. As Zechariah may be describing the initial act of getting right with God, that initial repentance, resulting in justification before a holy God, Jeremiah may be describing the life after the initial cleansing. All of this supposition is simply my thoughts, the thoughts of a fellow that has been taught a certain salvation process.
Could Zechariah’s passage be applied to a believer as he continues on his walk with God, seeking to keep his life clean, resorting to that fountain of cleansing as we follows the Lord (1 John 1:9) Of course. Might Jeremiah’s description of a fountain of living water be the reality of first salvation? Of course!
But consider Jeremiah’s message. His verse is of a people who walked away from their God, they had known God and departed from Him. Jeremiah is crying over their departure, of the apostacy of the people of God. He described their former blessing, that of God as the living water. Jeremiah is emphasizing the nature of the water when he describes it as a fountain, and as living. Both these descriptions speak of movement, of life, of energy.
We have addressed the thought behind God being described as a fountain in our previous post, but Jeremiah goes on to describe this bubbling, spring of water as living. To be described as living has the same general message as a fountain, that is that God is alive, fresh, and full of energy, providing life and renewal, even of revival.
It seems Jeremiah can’t describe God as the source of life enough, he can’t emphasize the life provided from God enough. Movement and energy, life and renewal is his message, and that it can only be found in God.
Yet those who are of the people of God sought to make their own god, a lifeless and death dealing source that could not hold “dead water”, for a cistern holds non-moving dead water. No, the people of God could not even build a working cistern, for their “cistern”, their god they trusted in, was dry as a bone, lifeless and broken.
An illusion of hope for the thirsty soul, a distraction and a trap, for the thirsty soul might never consider an alternative, a much better and lively source of water. That broken cistern may become a weight about that thirsty souls neck, requiring much work to constantly maintain and repair that cistern, the hauling of water to it, the disappointment of it’s inadequacies in providing any hope.
Such is the condition Jeremiah found himself in.
Are you servicing a broken cistern? There is an alternative, and He is full of life, abundant in energy and is not only a cleansing fountain, but the provider of His own life for you.
The apostle John speaks of living water in two discourses of the Lord. The first is with the Samaritan woman, and speaks of life provided by the Son.
John 4:10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”
Even greater, John picks up on this concepts chapters later, and describes the one who has believed in Jesus, who has taken the water offered to the Samaritan women, as a source for others, a continual source for others.
John 7:38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”
Living water doesn’t stay put. He is constantly moving, providing life and energy to the saint and to those who interact with the saint.
Consider the source and type of water you rely on. Is it active, alive and full of energy? Is the water fresh, and life producing? For if your water is stale, bitter and sparse, you may be building a broken cistern. He is waiting for your return. Full of life and ready to cleanse.
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
156
Fountain
Zechariah 13:1 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.
Can you imagine what the Old Testament saint thought when this passage was read? I know the picture in my mind is of some ornate sculpture that spouts water in the air, or of a large pool of water with some type of moving water being shot in the air.
If this is the picture that forms in your mind, take the eraser out and wipe it clean, for this is not the picture Zechariah is trying to communicate to his listeners.
To speak of a fountain in the Old Testament referred to a spring of water, a bubbling brook or simply a well of fresh water. Nothing that is flamboyant, or necessarily appealing to the eyes, other than the hope of life that is represented by seeing the moving water.
This verse follows after (or may be considered part of) Zechariah’s great prophecy of “Him whom they pierced”.
Zechariah 12:10-14 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. The land shall mourn, each family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves.
I added this long passage for our reading to remind my reader that the image of pouring, or of releasing a spirit of grace feeds directly into our image of a fountain in the next very next chapter.
One other truth that I surely skipped over in my previous readings of this passage is the individuality of the mourning for each as they look on the One them they have pierced. Notice the repeated reference to “by itself” or “by themselves” Individual mourning is the message, and this action is the precursor the the fountain of cleansing God provides.
Even greater is the truth that the mourning is a result of God pouring our this “spirit of grace and pleas of mercy” in order that this mourning may occur. Reread verse 10 above. The spirit of grace was needed in order to or “so that” they shall mourn at the sight of Him whom they pierced.
Zechariah speaks of God providing the spirit of grace to individuals, enabling them to mourn the death of Him whom they pierced. This leads to a fountain opened for cleansing.
Such a rich description of the crucifixion, of a time when those who looked to the Messiah, gazing upon the One who hung on a torturous cross, dying in front of all. He was pierced, bleeding out His life, and Zechariah speaks of it as a cleansing fountain.
Again, this picture of a fountain that I started this post with is so offensive to the truth of this vision that Zechariah is trying to communicate.
The Fountain is a cleansing fountain, with the living water actually the blood of God flowing from His body. His cleansing blood flowed due to the beatings, the whippings and the excruciating death His judges exacted upon Him.
John 19:34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. John 19:37 And again another Scripture says, “They will look on him whom they have pierced.”
The Fountain was opened for us, never to be closed. He is the Fountain which provides the cleansing, a cleansing of those who mourned of His death, a cleansing from sin and uncleanness.
Next time I think or read this verse, my thoughts will not turn to some garish sculptured fountain, but steered to the cross, to a Man who is all alone, tortured, bleeding out and dying, in order to provide for my cleansing.
May our thoughts be centered on His love for us, and lead us to a more holy and cleansed life to honor Him who bled for us.
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
Galatians 1:6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel– Galatians 1:7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.
Paul is shocked. He is awestruck. The saints who cared for him, and had accepted him in their homes, willingly giving their time and talent due to the good news of Jesus that he brought them, were walking away from Jesus.
Walking away from the One who had called them into the grace of Christ.
Now it goes without saying that the passage speaks of God doing the calling, and not Paul himself, for their desertion may be from Paul’s gospel, but that meant the desertion was from the subject of Paul’s gospel, the Lord Jesus Christ also.
This desertion, or walking away may be defined as a removal, or a translation from one spot to another, a change. Paul is claiming these believers were in the process of being removed from the grace of Christ. But note that this isn’t due to persecution or to apathy, but by some person in the church who sought to trouble them (vs 7). It is by the teaching of these troublemakers that the believers are choosing to desert the One who called them to His side.
This is a decision these believers were making, a decision to reject the message provided by the gospel preacher and apostle, choosing to listen to those who speak contrary to the truth. True, they were being tempted with “new” teachings, but to start to succumb to the enticement of the message so quickly? How could this be?
In all of this, do they not hear the truth Paul spoke to them? Is their memory that faulty? Do they not have the privilege of remembering Paul’s passion, his love, his message of a crucified Savior, of a life of faith and not of works, providing them approach freely before a holy God?
For us today, we have multitudinous teachers in the “church”, troubling us with destructive doctrines, tempting us with worldly teaching, depending on personal experiences that cannot be verified, or teachings of religions that depend on the wisdom of man. My brother or sister, cling to the Word of God and it’s message, cling to the guiding Spirit of God and cling to the quiet Voice that guides true believers.
Having heard the truth does not allow us to venture off looking for different truths. Danger! Danger! The truth is a Person, the Lord Jesus. Religions will use Him for their purpose, but beware of those who do not walk as He did.
Remember that He stepped down in order to lift you up. He died in order that we may live. His people are to mimic this life of self denial for the sake of others. Any teacher that elevates himself over you, demands something from you, or departs from the Word of God is to be avoided like a plague.
Why allow yourself to be tempted to desert the One who loves you? Don’t walk away from Him!
It makes no sense! It is quite simply “Shocking”.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you would like to receive daily posts from Considering the Bible, click on the “Follow” link below
Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.
I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.
SEEING JESUS IN
Amos
Burden Bearer
–
Matthew 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
The topic of Amos as a burden bearer is not found in any particular verse of Amos but is related directly to the person of Amos, specifically the name his father gave him. For you see the name Amos actually has the meaning of “burden”.
In Amos’ call to prophecy, he laid out burdens (judgements) against the nations surrounding Israel. As we read the book of Amos, we find that this burden was not limited to those around his nation. He had to speak to Israel, the northern kingdom.
Amos was required to bear his burden to his very own nation, and this burden of prophecy is a foreshadow of the true Prophet Jesus, who delivered His burden of rebukes to His people. Not only was the responsibility to expose sin a burden for Amos, this burden was amplified many fold for the Messiah, for as He is greater than Amos, so His burden of prophecy is greater, delivered to the faithless and twisted nation of Israel.
Matthew 17:17 And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.”
Whereas Amos delivered his burden on the people of the northern kingdom, with the eventual dispersement of the ten tribes throughout the nations, the nation of Israel (the southern kingdom) was still standing, and for those who were faithful to God, this provided was an escape from judgement. Amos’ burden was heavy, yet in the midst of this judgement, those who sought refuge could find it in the southern kingdom.
Jesus, as mentioned above, also delivered His burden to the remaining people of God centuries later, and this judgement was final in relation to a physical kingdom. No nation of Israel would remain, no kingdom of God that could be physically found. Nothing to flee to. No country. No land. No nation. No government.
For we as believers know that the kingdom of God is not found, in a place, or through a government, or by any nation, but in a Person. The One who not only carried the burden of prophecy to His people, as Amos had, but also accepted the judgement each of us deserved, dying a tortuous death and breaking away from the tomb, to provide us an escape, a Savior who who continues to bear our burdens.
With His burden of reconciliation for the world completed, He has invited those who seek Him, to join Him in understanding His nature, His character and to become more like Him as they follow.
Matthew 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
155
FOUNDER OF SALVATION
Hebrews 2:10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.
Our previous Name of God, the Founder and Perfector of faith discussed the concept of a Founder. It is the very same word that we found in the previous passage.
It speaks of a leader, One who ventures into the unknown.
Jesus is the great Founder. He is described in our earlier post as the Founder of faith, but in this description, we find that He is the Founder, or leader of our salvation.
I ask my reader – Is there a difference? As you may expect, I consider this name to provide additional insight into the person of Jesus Christ, and hopefully I can communicate this distinction.
The difference, as can be surmised, is what Jesus is being described as “founding” or leading His followers into. In the previous post, the passage described His way of life, the faith He displayed for us to follow after. It is a faith of self denial, of self sacrifice, of full surrender to the Father’s will, even every moment of His life. Challenging to say the least, even at my best times with Him!
For this passage, His leading of His followers is to the goal of salvation, not to a way of life as in our previous verse.
Early in my faith, when salvation was discussed (or thought about), I defaulted to a location or destiny after death. And this is the intent of the passage if I understand it correctly.
Yet as I grow as a believer, I find the path and the goal is tending to melt together, for as I follow the path, I find salvation to actually be hinted at at various times in the way He protects and guides, somehow providing me an opportunity to experience His salvation a bit at a time.
Now don’t consider me some whacked out heretic yet, for I am still looking forward to being absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. There have been periods of time in my life where the Lord saves me in minor (or major) trials or temptations. He has been so kind, patient and gentle with this ol’ man in the past (and present), that looking back, I have understood His saving grace just a wee bit more with each of His “salvations”.
He is good, and as He leads, we are to follow, though at times under much trial and temptation. Hang on to Him for He is the One who Leads us into salvation, even though as He suffered, we may also suffer for Him.
He is good!
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
154
FOUNDER AND PERFECTER OF FAITH
Hebrews 12:2 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.
Could we speak of Jesus as the founder of our faith only? Of course. Might we talk of Jesus as the perfecter of our faith only. Surely this is true.
Yet for this name of God, we have both of these descriptors combined together, to bring together a mind picture for our edification.
To be a Founder is to be a leader, one who takes the lead, who ventures out into unknown territory.
Many men have ventured out, and due to the newness of the effort, unknown enemies and unexpected obstacles, adjustments had to be made by the founder/leader, revisions to their plans were reluctantly accepted, and at times the final expected result of the efforts were not realized. Success was not guaranteed for founders/leaders which may speak of why their are so few leaders/founders
Yet Jesus led. He led unexpectantly, into a path that no man ever considered. He took the apparent path of failure, of suffering, of humility and loss. He continued to lead directly into the jaws of death, wavering but never succumbing, asking for alternate wills from His Father, yet humbly accepting the worse news. And He continued to lead into the tomb.
He is the author, the leader, the founder of our faith. And He is the Perfecter, not only in His example of living the faith He preached, but following the Father’s will perfectly, without making adjustments, revisions or excuses to the calling He received.
He ventured out into a dark world, never making an adjustment to His calling, and providing us the high calling of a faith that has been walked perfectly.
He walked the faith from start (as the Founder) to the end (as the Perfecter), and through out it all, no fault was found. Never was the path ever walked, from start to finish, as He walked it even to death of the cross!
Though human, He is beyond mere humanity, as we are so frail and incapable of so much, yet He was tempted, and that without failure, to display the perfect life!
No wonder God elevated Him to be seated at the right hand of the throne of God!
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
154
FORERUNNER
Hebrews 6:20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
The high priest in the Old Testament, when he entered behind the veil, did so as a representative of the nation of Israel. On the day of Atonement, the high priest was to provide a temporary atonement for his own sin, and the sin of the nation. His entrance into the Holy of Holies required him to remove his sacred outer garments, and enter with only the linen tunic.
Leviticus 16:4 He is to put on the sacred linen tunic, with linen undergarments next to his body; he is to tie the linen sash around him and put on the linen turban. These are sacred garments; so he must bathe himself with water before he puts them on.
He entered the Holy of Holies to represent himself and the nation, to present blood from a bull, and to sprinkle this blood on the mercy seat. Upon completion of this ministry, the High Priest was to exit the Holy of Holies. His ministry was completed for one more year, at least in relation to the atonement (or covering over) of his and the nations sins.
He was not to remain behind the veil, not to make any other claims of his authority behind the veil. He entered behind the veil in the simplest of garments, signifying humility before God. Before the people, he had lavish garments, with gold and jewels and fine colored threads. Not so for before God
Consider Jesus, our Forerunner.
He entered the Holy of Holies completely humbled by the death He experienced, by the suffering and torture of His passion. Yet the author of Hebrews speaks of Him as though He was the tip of a spear, the edge of a knife, the lead spy going into the land. He was the One going ahead, venturing into new territory, doing what no man has ever attempted. As He ventured into the Holy of Holies, He was not merely representing His followers, but He was making claims of ownership for His people.
He wasn’t entering the Holy of Holies as the Old Testament priest, temporarily and with other blood than His own. He offered His own blood, not for His own sins, for He had none, but for the eternal payment for our sins. Nothing temporary about the True High Priest as a Forerunner for His people, and until we enter into glory with Him, He has entered and claimed it for His people.
Jesus has gone as a forerunner into the Father’s presence on our behalf. He is our Forerunner, perfect, sinless, high and lifted up.
May His name be praised amongst His people, His congregation and those who are seeking to be with Him in glory.
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
Ephesians 5:3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Ephesians 5:4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. Ephesians 5:5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Ephesians 5:6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
Paul provides us a tough passage here, and his motivation appears to be the correction of a slackness in the people of God, for he comes out of the gate speaking of certain sins as not even to be named among the them. Those who are in the body should never hear whispers of this type of activity. Heaven forbid that the lost hear!
But alas, in todays church, it seems to be commonplace that the world hears of every dirty little secret the church has, and it seems the church, like the Corinthian church of old, revells in their “freedoms” But enough of my whining, and back to the passage.
So when Paul speaks of something not even being named amongst them, is Paul simply lamenting the churches ability to keep things under wraps amongst themselves, that secret sins should be not spoken of? Hardly think so. He is providing a warning to those who claim to follow the Savior.
The key verse within the passage for the sake of our topic is Paul’s reference to the inheritance in the kingdom of God. Two things needed to be considered.
1. Who is Paul talking to?
Is it fair to consider Paul’s warning to be applied to the believer’s in this church. Should we understand his warning to be towards those outside of the church? (Does that even make sense?)
2. What is the intended message of inheritance.
Lets read the verse once more
Ephesians 5:5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
If he is talking to believers, (and I think that is obvious) when he speaks of having no inheritance, is he implying that they belong to the kingdom, but receive no benefits? A sort of still saved but no rewards scenario? Could that be his message?
Or might it be that having no inheritance in the kingdom, means there is no family connection, no legal standing with the kingdom, the citizenship is not existent?
This is deadly serious council from the apostle, for the specific sins Paul speaks of seems to be considered flippant in todays society, and in the church, many consider it to be a norm for many within the body.
No inheritance! This should make the heart of the believer shudder.
May we find peace in the Lord and strength to maintain purity in our lives, that judgement does not fall on the church
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you would like to receive daily posts from Considering the Bible, click on the “Follow” link below
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
153
FOOLISHNESS OF GOD
1 Corinthians 1:25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
Paul is reaching out to the Corinthians, the wise, rich, independent, strong and sinless Corinthians. A church that had attained, that was above the fray and that was beyond reproach. A group of believers that had come to understood a better way.
Throughout Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he is sarcastic, biting and ruthless in his treatment of each of their many topics of division within their body.
Who to follow, how to relate to others, sexual “freedom” issues, marriage and divorce concerns, spiritual gifts, how to properly worship, who to worship, and the very heart of the gospel was blurry or denied. They even struggled with the resurrection.
So every time I pick up a letter associated with the Corinthians, I think of two churches. The first church almost 2000 years ago, west of Athens in Greece. And another church somewhat more recent!
Given that background, consider Paul’s intent when he speaks of the all knowing, all wise God as associated with foolishness. Paul is sarcastic to an infinite level, or he is relating to his audience in their pride.
He obviously is speaking to them from their standpoint, for they had come to the point in their “spiritual maturity” that the methods God uses in bringing souls into His kingdom, providing them life and love was actually foolishness.
And of course this is true for any who consider God’s kingdom when in another kingdom. Everything to do with Christianity and God’s truth seems so upside down, so inefficient, so backwards and against reason.
Could not the wisdom of man improve God’s methods, of providing greater results and better outcomes for the church? The Corinthians had surely found out the foolishness of God in their spiritual growth. They could do better!
My friend, when I read Corinthians, I read my autobiography, for I am constantly ruminating on how to avoid (or improve – how proud!) the simple truth of the Christ, how He is the answer to all conflicts, sin issues and relationship problems.
For the name of God to be associated with foolishness speaks of my pride. His ways are so far above us that when we step out of the Spirit, we simply revert to the “Corinthian” way of thinking. He is not foolish of course. We are. Yet to communicate to a foolish people, Paul hung this name on our God.
And there is wisdom in that!
1 Corinthians 3:18 ESV – Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.
Are we not to be foolish for God, accepting the “insulting name” from the other kingdom with some honor? To be foolish from the worlds viewpoint is to reject the basic tenants of the world’s order, of it’s expectations and allowances, of how a man centered society works.
If you consider the methods God uses to reach others foolish, consider which camp you lean towards. The Corinthians were joining the wrong camp, listening to the wrong counsellor, and walking away from true wisdom, love, peace and joy.
The “foolishness of God” associated with our God speaks to our fallen, and proud condition. This insult of degrading the wisdom of God to foolishness is common for those outside of the body. Not only is it common, it is the only option for those who are blind. Not so for those who have had their eyes opened!
And yet God is willing to continue putting up with this insult in order for people to truly trust in Him instead of themselves.
He truly is the wisdom of God, even as some of His own people assign foolishness to His ways! Let us humble ourselves and line up with the wisdom of God, accepting God’s ways as best.
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
152
FLAGSTAFF
Isaiah 30:17 A thousand shall flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you shall flee, till you are left like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain, like a signal on a hill.
Be honest with me. Have you ever considered this passage to direct your thoughts to the God we serve, specifically that the term “Flagstaff” might refer to the Lord Himself?
Granted at first, I assumed not, but as I pondered, I considered that this term is very appropriate for the God we serve. Let me try to explain.
The old KJV translates this Hebrew term as beacon, as do some other popular translations. Some other versions translate it as a flag, or a mast. The message Isaiah is speaking of is that of a lone pole or mast, a beacon that all can see, that is alone, well seen, stable and strong.
What catches my imagination is the concept of being high above all, the mast not only being tall, but also being on top of a mountain. Nothing is above this mast, and as all of the nation of Israel flees from a threat, the nation of Israel will also see a flagstaff, a beacon or a mastpole, a single One that is resolute in the face of threats, setting His face as it were to Jerusalem, determined to hang on a cross for all to see.
Consider Him, who as the threats were poured out, He was resolute, being seen by all. The threats turned out to be real, and yet He persisted!
In His battles, He was left all alone, hanging on a rugged cross, His body broken, and His life snuffed out. The threats were realized by those who spit them out, but so were the promises of God who spoke them centuries earlier, for the singular One became the Risen King three days later.
His cross was on top of mount Calvary. Those in the area could not help but see Him.
Psalm 2:6 As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.
He is currently enthroned on Zion, God’s holy mountain, for all who will open their eyes to see.
He is the Flagstaff, raised for all to see. Will you consider Him, His claims as the Messiah King?
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
Hebrews 4:14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
Let us “hold fast our confession”.
It is a common refrain within the book of Hebrews, for the author uses the phrase “holding fast” and “confession” in two other passages within the book.
Hebrews 4:14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
That terminology may seem a bit archaic for us moderns, so I would like to break the phrase down for our consideration.
To “hold fast” is synonymous to retaining, or to keeping carefully. The transliteration of the Greek word is kratéō (G2904 in the Strong’s Dictionary).
Thayer’s dictionary adds the idea of it referring to becoming masterful of or to be powerful. The idea in using this term is to communicate that there is a battle, a resistance to maintaining this confession. It is not a neutral condition, for if it was, we would not be exhorted so often to persist, maintain, and persevere.
Is it not understood that our confession will be resisted against, our confession will find opposition, even a deadening. A “force” will seek to pull it from us, whether it be the world, the devil or our very own selves.
Ourselves? Why would we fight against our our confession? Is there not an assumption commonly taught that our confession, once publicly spoken, is a continual and everlasting, never changing truth?
But I am getting ahead of myself.
Let’s consider what the author is speaking of when he refers to a confession. The Greek term is homologia, and means “to say together” or to agree to the same thing with someone. It had legal connotations in the ancient world, and the context of this passages speaks of believers agreeing with God about who the Messiah is. Throughout the book of Hebrews, the author elevates Jesus above all. He is the Christ, the Messiah, God Almighty in human form.
The statement “Jesus is the Christ” is eternal. There is no challenge to this truth for there is no force capable of changing the declaration of God in the resurrection of Jesus from the grave. He is the living One. Yet that is not a confession. A confession takes two parties to agree to. God has made the statement “Jesus is the Christ” by raising Him from the grave.
But as the apostle writes to the Hebrews, he is writing to a group of believers who are under the gun, struggling with the world’s influence on them, with the devil’s temptation to return to mere religion, reducing the Lord Jesus to simply a good teacher, or a moral man that loved His enemies. He is writing to a people, not about an absolute truth statement, that is that Jesus is the Christ, but their confession of that truth in their own lives.
We know – or should I say, I know – that when an easier route to take is offered, when resistance may be reduced in the fight, the temptation is very real. If I do not keep my eyes on the crucified One, my confession will become historical. Something I entered into in the past. A confession that may not be current.
A historical confession, great as it may be, is no match for a living and vibrant confession on a day by day basis.
That is the message of this text. Yesterday’s confession was good yesterday. How is your confession today?
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you would like to receive daily posts from Considering the Bible, click on the “Follow” link below
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
150
FIRSTBORN OF THE DEAD
Revelation 1:5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood
Was it not just a few posts back that the Name of God we considered was “Firstborn from the Dead”? (It was – check it out here if you missed it)
If you did read it, you may be thinking to yourself this is a repeat. Let me assure you this is not a repeat.
The previous name considered the Jesus as being raised from the dead, and though it spoke of the resurrection, it was primarily related to His preeminence. That is that He was first and greatest, that His resurrection was and is the ultimate sign of His Kingship and the only recognized ultimate authority presented by God to all of creation.
This name speaks of King Jesus as the Firstborn of the Dead, with the implication that He is the first to be raised from amongst many. The emphasis of His resurrection in this verse is to communicate that the resurrection is associated with those who had passed on, that were in the state of physical death. He is the first to exit from that population with a new body.
Those who were in the population of the dead had hope, for He was pulled from the pit, and they also, as other passages teach, were pulled from the pit also, because of His leading out of the grave.
His resurrection is associated with our resurrection, and our resurrection is utterly impossible without His breaking the chains of death.
John is telling those in Revelation (and us) that the resurrection of the Firstborn is the signal that resurrection is an accomplished fact, that death is not the end, that resurrection is available to the dead, and that others, though not the first, surely followed Him out of the grave.
Speak of the resurrection today. Speak of the Firstborn from the Dead, and of the Dead. Let one person know that Jesus is the One who provided us life and a life completely beyond our understanding.
He is the Firstborn of the Dead. We shall all enter that realm of death some day, with our only hope of being delivered in the person of Jesus, who has gone on before us to lead the way.
He is the Resurrection and the Life!
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
149
FIRST FRUITS
1 Corinthians 15:20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
Paul has been arguing convincingly that the resurrection of Christ is a fact, and now he is simply stating this truth. Jesus has been raised from the dead.
Note that Paul describes Jesus by the act of resurrection, and then hangs on the Lord the description of His being firstfruits. Surely he is hearkening back to the Old Testament for his Jewish readers.
Let’s consider the Old Testament background Paul uses when speaking of first fruits. What might Paul want us to understand?
Old Testament Background
To my surprise, this term refers to more than simply an apple or banana. It isn’t restricted to fruits in the way I default to. The first fruits in the Old Testament included grain, olive oil, new wine, sheep wool, herds and flock, and of course fruit as I originally thought. It seems the common theme in this list is that it is the bounty of the people that was considered fruit, fruit of the field, and fruit of the animal. Fruit that the people relied on for sustenance.
Timing
Ok so I understand fruit, yet he refers to the first fruits. What is the significance of first fruits? At the risk of stating the obvious, this reference was related to time, to the earliest produce on the farm.
Consider Deuteronomy 18:4 The firstfruits of your grain, of your wine and of your oil, and the first fleece of your sheep, you shall give him.
As the Lord directed the believer to provide a sacrifice of his first bounty, the farmer would be sacrificing early harvest produced on his farm. An act of faith, since his family may be depending on food from the field.
Quality
But let us continue. To be firstfruits is not simply a timing designation, but a quality designation!
Numbers 18:12 All the best of the oil and all the best of the wine and of the grain, the firstfruits of what they give to the LORD, I give to you.
So we have the first in time, and the first in quality. How may this may apply to the name of God we are considering.
For the faithful Hebrew who has converted from dead works to the Living God, this spoke of the Messiah in both time and quality. He is the first out of the grave, but as the Hebrew would know, much more fruit would come from the field. Paul implies this strongly by associating Jesus as first fruit of those who have fallen asleep. The harvest would continue from the field of those who had fallen asleep. This implication for the Hebrew must have been a strong encouragement.
But note that it is God that is providing the first fruit, for He is the One offering the Son in His resurrection. Jesus was the first chronologically to be raised from the dead.
Do I hear some speaking of Lazarus, or the little girl Elisha raised, or of the child raised by Jesus between two little towns in Israel? My friends, those who rose prior to Jesus were destined to return to the grave. They would die again, and this is where the idea of quality comes into greater focus.
The first fruits were the best of the early harvest. In this regard, the resurrection of Jesus is the best possible fruit to be offered, for His body will never perish, He will never to die again. He has a non perishable body, immortal, never to visit the grave again.
Timing (again)
By the way, I can’t help but offer one additional truth about the topic of timing relating to first fruits. The Feast of First fruits in the Jewish calendar occurred two days after the Passover. “Coincidentally“, this is the very day of the resurrection.
So many coincidences when it comes to the Lord fulfilling prophecies. I write that with extreme irony, for if you have an interest in prophecies fulfilled in the person of Jesus, I would refer you to a series of 351 blog posts on this site called Old Testament Messianic Prophecies. A download link has been provided for the full list with each post. If you have any trouble downloading it, please contact me. I would be happy to send it to you.
He is truly the First Fruits of those who have fallen asleep, and the truth of this name is so far greater than the shadow we read of in the Old Testament.
May His name be praised in the congregation and in our lives!
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
Luke 3:8 ESV – Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Luke 3:9 ESV – Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
First off, let’s all agree that Abraham was a great man of faith. A pillar of the Old Testament, and a hero to those who came after him. He is referred to in the Gospels 33 times, and in the remaining portions of the New Testament 40 times. He is a lynch pin in the Covenant of Promise and was the chosen man to provide seed for the nation of Israel, and the Messiah. His faith shone through the ages and he is called a friend of God. What a hero, an example and a saint!
How shocking for John to tell the crowd “Don’t follow Abraham!”
John is telling those who look to Abraham as their father to quit. To stop depending on the physical lineage they claimed to have. Yes, Abraham may have some physical link with those John was speaking to, but that is of no import. Absolutely none, and this bloodline issue may actually become a snare, a point of diversion that entraps those who claim Abraham as father.
Of course having the blood of Abraham flowing through your veins is not necessarily a detriment to knowing God. Thankfully this connection can no longer be claimed. But this distraction of focus is typical of those who claim religion.
Abraham was a believer. Those who followed after him, some had faith, many did not. As a matter of fact, as we read through the Old Testament, it seems there were masses of people claiming rightness with God simply because of association with Abraham.
So Carl, your point is understood, but this passage is evangelistic, of John speaking a rebuke to the crowds who were being baptized. He spoke of them as vipers in the previous verse, and now he is demanding fruits (actions) in keeping with their repentance (changed mind).
Agreed. But His emphasis in verse 8 is on the (continuing) production of fruits based on their decision to repent and receive baptism. They have “repented” and they have been “baptized”, but now they have a life of fruits to produce.
So as I read this passage, I see personal application to those who are present at this time, to those who have entered into some covenant with the Master, though they may not understand all the ramifications.
Well, I think John makes one of the ramifications fairly clear. Make sure you don’t convince yourself of another Master. Note His clear statement.
And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’
This group facing Jesus were told to not to start to depend on Abraham. By application, we can extend this warning to all that may be tempted to see as their master the Lord’s apostles, Augustine, any pope, Buddha, Muhammad, Joseph Smith, Charles Taze Russell, or any other religious figure that appears.
As believers, they (and us) had entered into another relationship that was far greater, much stronger and so much better than what Abraham (or these teachers) could provide. Yet John knew His audience, and seemingly He knows our hearts. So He makes it clear.
Bear fruit my friends. Bear fruit or die!
Is that too blunt? Should I have said that? Is that a bit much?Am I exaggerating His message simply to make a point for my topic?
My friends, He goes on to continue the picture of fruit bearing with an illustration of an axe at the base of trees. No fruit – no life. No fruit – into the fire. How did the audience understand that. Did they explain it away thinking this was some eschatological or theological teaching those two thousand years later would understand? Did they walk away thinking the message was for someone else?
We must remember He is speaking to a religious community, a religious community that had God’s written message, and claimed they personally had a physical link to a major player in the Word. He is shaking them up with some harsh truth.
Do we also need harsh truth to understand the grace of God?
My friends, seek to produce fruit in your lives.
Love your neighbor, love your enemy, love those who can’t love you back. Exercise patience while we wait, show humility to those who are proud, have a peaceful presence in the midst of turmoil, live a joyful life while others worry, sacrifice willingly for those who may be greedy. Show self control while everyone’s hair is on fire.
In other words, keep your eyes on Jesus. Don’t look away from Jesus by looking to somewhere else, such as Abraham (or any other) as your father.
The fruit will dry up. And John is telling us that ain’t good. Not at all!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you would like to receive daily posts from Considering the Bible, click on the “Follow” link below
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