Jim's Footnotes

Thursday, August 24, 2006

The Word of God (8-27-06)

The Word of God
Bible Study Time 8-27-06

In Luke, Chapter 11, the Lord Jesus told His disciples that when they were praying, they should call God Father. Up to this point, the Jewish people knew God only as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but the Lord Jesus wanted His disciples to know that they had been called into a close personal relationship with God.

In Luke, Chapter 6, the Lord said to the crowds:

Luke 6:35-36 (NKJ)
35 " . . . love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; . . . and you will be sons of the Most High . . .
36 "Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

To be accepted as a Son of God based on good works, we would have to be perfect even as God is perfect, but the disciples had already been accepted as Sons of God because of their relationship with Jesus Christ. The fact that they believed in Jesus Christ gave them this special position of favor in God’s sight. The Apostle John later revealed that Jesus Christ is, in fact, the way, the truth and the life and that no man can come to the Father except through Christ.

The Lord also taught His disciples to pray that the kingdom would come so that God’s will might be done on earth as it is in heaven. In this we see the central focus of the Lord’s earthly ministry. As Jesus Christ went preaching the kingdom of heaven, He did miracle after miracle to prove that He was the promised Messiah and that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. All who believed in Jesus were called to be the Sons of God.

Then, after telling His disciples to pray for the kingdom, He taught them to pray that God would give them their daily bread, and this is what I would like for us to focus on for the rest of our time together this morning.

We know that God is the One who supplies our daily needs. We can all attest to the faithfulness of God in doing so. Paul said, “My God shall supply all of your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

It is interesting that Christ instructed His disciples to pray for their daily bread. While most of us feel a little better if we have enough food in the refrigerator for at least a couple of days, we know that God is able to provide for us even on a day by day basis if that’s in keeping with His plan and purpose. Actually, that is exactly what He did when He provided manna for the children of Israel in the wilderness.

Exodus 16 says that when the children of Israel grumbled in the wilderness because they were hungry, God sent down bread from heaven. It says:

Exodus 16:1316,19-21 (NKJ)
13 . . . in the morning the dew lay all around the camp.
14 And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground.
15 So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, "This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.
16 . . . Let every man gather it according to each one's need, one omer for each person, according to the number of persons; let every man take for those who are in his tent.'"
19 And Moses said, "Let no one leave any of it till morning."
20 Notwithstanding they did not heed Moses. But some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them.
21 So they gathered it every morning, every man according to his need . . .

God wants us to work hard and save during the good times so that we will have plenty during the hard times. Joseph advised Pharaoh to do exactly that. They stored the surplus grain that was produced during the seven years of plenty so that they would have grain for food during the seven years of famine. As a matter of fact, it was this stored grain which provided for Joseph’s family during the famine.

The Bible also tells us that we can learn a good lesson from the ant. The New Living Translation interprets Proverbs, Chapter 6, this way:

Proverbs 6:6-8 (NLT)
6 Take a lesson from the ants, you (who are lazy). Learn from their ways and be wise!
7 Even though they have no prince, governor, or ruler to make them work,
8 they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter.

So God may allow us to store up and save for the future, or He may provide for us one day at a time, but either way, our faith in His ability to provide is something that has to be renewed by the Spirit of God on a daily basis.

Now as we look a little closer at Luke, Chapter 11, it seems that the Lord Jesus was probably alluding to some even deeper spiritual truths as He spoke of our daily bread. First, we know that Jesus is the bread of life. In John 10 He told the Jews:

John 6:49-51 (NKJ)
49 "Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, (but they) are dead.
50 "This is the bread which comes down from heaven that one may eat of it and not die.
51 "I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."

The Lord Jesus is the true bread which came down from heaven so that we might partake of Him, or more literally, so that we might partake of His spiritual life and receive spiritual nourishment from His Spirit. Then Jesus said something that was and is very hard to understand. He said:

John 6:53-54 (NKJ)
53 . . . "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.
54 "Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

Now these are strange words, and John said that when Jesus said these words some of the people who had been following Him went back home and “walked with Him no more.” Nevertheless, those who were true believers listened carefully as Jesus explained the actual meaning of His words. He said:

John 6:63 (NKJ)
63 "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.

He encouraged His disciples to look beyond the normal earthly meaning of His words to see the spiritual meaning behind His words. The Lord said, “The words that I speak to you are spirit.”

He was not saying that we have to eat His physical body or drink His literal blood in order to have eternal life, and neither was He saying that we have to eat or drink anything that represents His body or His blood. No, He said, “The words that I speak to you are spirit.” Jesus Christ is the living bread which came down from heaven so that we could eat and drink of His spiritual life and live forever.

This gives us a clue concerning the daily bread for which the disciples were instructed to pray. When the Lord told His disciples to pray for their daily bread, He was referring to Himself and to the Word of God. To be filled with Christ is the same as being filled with the Word of God. Paul said in Ephesians 5:

Ephesians 5:18-20 (NKJ)
18 . . . be filled with the Spirit,
19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,
20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Then in Colossians, Chapter 3, he said:

Colossians 3:16-17 (NKJ)
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Now, those of you who love math are going to love these two verses because in them we see the transitive property. The transitive property says that if A=B and B=C then A=C. Since being filled with the Spirit and being filled with the word of Christ both result in the same thing, they must both be equal to each other. These two expressions, being filled with the Spirit and being filled with the word of Christ, can essentially be used interchangeably since being filled with the Spirit will result in a desire for the word and being filled with the word will result in a heart that is open to the Spirit of God.

Therefore, when Jesus taught His disciples to pray for their daily bread, He was asking them to pray for a daily portion of the Spirit of Christ. There is no such thing as storing up enough of the Spirit today so that we will have enough to last us for two days or two weeks. We need a fresh supply of the Spirit of God moment by moment as we serve the Lord.

This means that we need the Word of God on a daily basis. We can’t just read the Bible through one time, and then say, I’ve already read that book. We need to take in the Word of God on a daily basis so that our hearts will be open to the working of the Holy Spirit.

As we look at the rest of Luke, Chapter 11, we do see what appears to be an emphasis upon the Word of God. In verse 5 Jesus said:

Luke 11:5-10 (NKJ)
5 . . . "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; (Again, we see the bread, and you say lend me three loaves,)
6 'for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him';
7 "and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'?
8 "I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.
9 "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
10 "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

Notice that in this story, the Lord says that if you are seeking some bread, or in other words if you are seeking to understand the Bible, you may have to be fairly persistent. You may not be able to just pick up the Bible and understand everything you read right at first. But don’t give up. God does want you to understand the word of God. He wants you to understand every word of it, but the Word of God is the kind of bread that you have to digest a little bit at a time.

God chided Israel in Isaiah, Chapter 55, saying:

Isaiah 55:2-3 (NKJ)
2 Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance.
3 Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live . . .

But in Isaiah, Chapter 28, Isaiah said:

Isaiah 28:9-10 (NKJ)
9 "(To) Whom will (God) teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? . . .
10 . . . precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little."

Yes, God wants us to understand the Word of God, but it will become clear to us one precept at a time. Here a little and there a little. We must be persistent in our desire and persistent in our asking. If we seek, we will find; if we ask, we will receive.

Then, down in verse 27 of Luke 11, a woman cried out after hearing the wonderful words of the Lord Jesus. She said:

Luke 11:27-28 (NKJ)
27 . . . "Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!"

But what did Jesus say in response? He said:

Luke 11:28 (NKJ)
28 . . . "More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"

Our family relationships on this earth are the most cherished relationships that we have in all the world, but we have to realize that they are of this world. Jesus said that hearing the word of God and keeping it is more important than even our family relationships. Our family relationships are for the here and now, but the Word of God will stand forever. In fact, the best way for us to enjoy and secure our family relationships is to hear the word of God and keep it.

I see that our time is almost gone for this morning, but as we close I’d like to remind you that if you don’t know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you can’t come to God as your heavenly Father. You do not have personal access to the Father because no one comes to the Father except through Jesus Christ. But if you put your faith in Christ and believe that He died on the cross for your sins, God will forgive your sins and accept you as one of His sons and then you can experience the blessing that it is to come to the God of the universe and call Him Father.

Thank you for listening to another broadcast of Bible Study Time. I’ll look forward to being with you again next week at this same time..

Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com

Church links:

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Everything New (8-20-06)

Everything New
Bible Study Time 8-20-06

Last week we saw that the curse of death came upon all men because of Adam’s sin, but because of God’s amazing grace, all men now have access to eternal life because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Even before Adam’s sin and before the curse was pronounced, God had already formulated His plan of redemption, and His plan provided for the restoration of mankind as well as the restoration of all of creation. His plan was to make everything new.

For 2000 years, God gave no real clue as to what His plan for redemption might entail other than the fact that He sacrificed an animal to provide clothing for Adam and Eve and His statement that the seed of the woman would bruise the head of Satan.

Nearly 2000 years past before God took the first step in His plan for redemption. That first step was the calling out of Abraham.

While Abraham was still living in Ur of the Chaldeans, the Lord said:

Genesis 12:1-3 (NLT)
1 . . . "Leave your country, your relatives, and your father's house, and go to the land that I will show you.
2 I will cause you to become the father of a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and I will make you a blessing to others.
3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you."

Later, God told Abraham:

Genesis 17:4,6-8 (NLT)
4 "This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of not just one nation, but a multitude of nations!
6 I will give you millions of descendants who will represent many nations. Kings will be among them!
7 "I will continue this everlasting covenant between us, generation after generation. It will continue between me and your offspring forever. And I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
8 Yes, I will give all this land of Canaan to you and to your offspring forever. And I will be their God.

In making these promises God had identified the people through whom redemption would come, and He had identified the land which would serve as the focal point in His plan of redemption. The people would be the children of Abraham, and their land would be the land of Canaan.

By the time another thousand years had past, the children of Abraham had indeed grown into a great nation, and they were well established in the land of Canaan. It was at this point that God told King David that someday even the heavens and the earth would be redeemed from the curse and that one of his descendants would rule over all the earth. In Psalm 102 David said:

Psalms 102:25-28 (NLT)
25 In ages past you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26 . . . they will perish, but you remain forever; they will wear out like old clothing, (but)You will change them like a garment, and they will fade away.
27 . . . you are always the same; your years never end.
28 The children of your people will live in security. Their children's children will thrive in your presence."

David was allowed a glimpse into the future when even the present heavens and the present earth will pass away, but after David the nation of Israel sinned against the Lord. They forsook the Lord God and went after the pagan gods of the Canaanites. As a result, God sent the prophets to warn them of the judgment that was sure to come, the time when the children of Israel would be carried away into captivity to live as slaves in a foreign land.

However, the prophets also confirmed the prophecies of David and said that God would restore Israel and all of creation at some point in the future. In Isaiah 51, the Lord spoke to the believing remnant of Israel, saying:

Isaiah 51:1 (NLT)
1 "Listen to me, all who hope for deliverance — all who seek the LORD! Consider the quarry from which you were mined, the rock from which you were cut!

(Here the Lord refers back to Abraham and more specifically to the faith of Abraham, pointing out that Israel had become a great nation because of the faith of people like Abraham. So He says, “Consider the rock from which you were cut.”)

Isaiah 51:2-3 (NLT)
2 Yes, think about your ancestors Abraham and Sarah, from whom you came. Abraham was alone when I called him. But when I blessed him, he became a great nation."
3 The LORD will comfort Israel again and make her deserts blossom. Her barren wilderness will become as beautiful as Eden — the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found there. Lovely songs of thanksgiving will fill the air.

Now notice in verse 6 the Lord says:

Isaiah 51:6 (NKJ)
6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look on the earth beneath. For the heavens will vanish away like smoke, the earth will grow old like a garment, and those who dwell in it will die in like manner; but My salvation will be forever, and My righteousness will not be abolished.

In Isaiah 55 the Lord said:

Isaiah 55:3 (NKJ)
3 Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you-- the sure mercies of David.

Indeed, Isaiah knew that a new covenant was coming and that this new covenant was going to be an everlasting covenant based on the promises which were given to David.

The author of the book of Hebrews wrote about the glory of the New Covenant, and in the very first chapter, he went right back to David’s prophecy in Psalm 102, saying:

Hebrews 1:10-12 (NKJ)
10 And: "You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
11 They will perish, but You remain; and they will all grow old like a garment;
12 Like a cloak You will fold them up, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not fail."

Peter expanded on this theme, saying:

2 Peter 3:10-13 (NKJ)
10 . . . the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,
12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?
13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

The Apostle John looked into the future and said:

Revelation 21:1-2 (NKJ)
1 . . . I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.
2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Someday, God is going to make everything new. What a comforting thought that is for us today as we hear the dreadful news that planet earth can not continue as it is. It used to be that the Bible teachers who were called the prophets of gloom and doom, but now it’s the scientists who predict a dire future for planet earth. Between global warming and natural disasters and wars that have to be fought in order to preserve the peace, what kind of future does this planet have?

Never fear, the Bible says that God has everything under control. Everything is going along precisely in accordance with His plan and purpose. Things will continue to get worse and worse, but the long term future for planet earth looks very positive.

Someday God is going to do away with our present earth, and He’s going to make a new heaven and a new earth. The old heaven and earth will be cast away like an old garment that’s completely worn out. Then God will make everything new. Isaiah said that all things will be as beautiful as they were in Eden, the Garden of God.

But what are we to do in the meantime. Well, God has already started the process of making everything new, and He decided to start that process with those of us who believe in Jesus Christ. In II Corinthians 5, Paul said:

2 Corinthians 5:17,18,20,21 (NKJ)
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,
20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.
21 For He made (Christ) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

What we as believers have experienced so far in our walk with Christ is just the beginning of the process of our salvation. The writer of Hebrews says that:

Hebrews 7:25 (NKJ)
25 (Jesus Christ) is . . . able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him . . .

We can look at the word uttermost in two ways. We can look at it in terms of quantity, and we can look at it in terms of quality. First, God is able to save us all the way to the end. He will never leave us or forsake us. Jesus said:

John 10:27-28 (NIV)
27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.

Second, Jesus Christ saves to the uttermost in the sense that He will save every aspect of our being, inside and outside, and He will save everything around us. The redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ will leave no stone unturned. His salvation will save to the uttermost.

At this present time we have experienced the salvation of our souls. God has crucified the old man with Christ and has created within us the new man which is created according to God in true righteousness and holiness. Romans, Chapter 6, says that:

Romans 6:4 (NKJ)
4 . . . just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Romans 8:1-2 (NKJ)
1 (And) There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made (us) free from the law of sin and death.

Romans 8:14-17 (NKJ)
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father."
16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
17 and if children, then heirs-- heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ . . . that we may also be glorified together.

According to Hebrews, God has made Jesus Christ the heir of all things, and we are joint heirs with Christ. Now, this does not say that we are co-heirs with Christ. A co-heir is one who gets a portion of the inheritance when the inheritance is divided among the heirs.

But we are not co-heirs with Christ; we are joint heirs with Christ. That means that all of us get everything. We have been made the heir of all things with Christ, and this includes the new heaven and the new earth. Romans 8 says that:

Romans 8:19-24 (NLT)
19 . . . all (of) creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are.
20 Against its will, everything on earth was subjected to God's curse.
21 All creation anticipates the day when it will join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay.
22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
23 And even we Christians, although we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, also groan to be released from pain and suffering. We, too, wait anxiously for that day when God will give us our full rights as his children, including the new bodies he has promised us.
24 Now that we are saved, we eagerly look forward to this freedom . . .

Well, I see that our time is already gone for this morning. I trust that you are rejoicing in the fact that someday God will make everything new, and He has already started that process in the hearts of those of us who believe in Jesus. Thank you for listening to another broadcast of Bible Study Time, and I’ll look forward to being with you again next week at this same time.

Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com

Church links:

Friday, August 11, 2006

All Sufficient Grace (8-13-06)

All Sufficient Grace
Bible Study Time 8-13-06

In Romans, Chapter 5, the Apostle Paul said:

Romans 5:12-14 (NKJ)
12 . . . just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned--
13 (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.

Here we see that before the Law, God did not hold people accountable for their individual sins because there was no law. As Paul said, sin is not imputed where there is no law.

However, it is clear that all people from Adam to Moses were under the curse of death because they all died. Paul’s question then was this: On what basis did God sentence everyone to death? His conclusion: All people received the death sentence because of Adam’s sin.

The curse of death passed from Adam to all those who followed after him though they did not commit the same sin that Adam committed. No one after Adam had the opportunity to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. When God pronounced the curse, He said:

Genesis 3:22-24 (NKJ)
22 . . . "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, (he may) put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"--
23 therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.
24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

Obviously, God is the One and only being who has the right to determine what is good and what is evil, to determine what is just and what is unjust. There is no one above God to pass judgment upon His judgments or upon His actions. He is the ultimate authority over all of creation. It was God who determined that because of Adam’s sin the sentence of death would pass upon all people.

That’s bad news, and some people say, I just can’t believe in a God like that. Well, for those people there is some more bad news. We don’t get to chose the character of God. God is who He is, and it is in our best interest to find out who He is. Proverbs, Chapter 9, says:

Proverbs 9:8-12 (NLT)
8 . . . don't bother rebuking mockers; they will only hate you. But the wise, when rebuked, will love you all the more.
9 Teach the wise, and they will be wiser. Teach the righteous, and they will learn more.
10 (The) Fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in understanding.
11 Wisdom will multiply your days and add years to your life.
12 If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit. If you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer.

Those who are wise will want to find out who God is because the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Accordingly, those who are wise rejoice in the word of God. The Bible is the direct result of God’s love and of His grace. The Bible is the only book which is written by God, and it is God’s purpose to reveal Himself through the Bible. Paul said:

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NKJ)
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Peter said:

2 Peter 1:19-21 (NKJ)
19 And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts;
20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation,
21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

Because God loves us, He gave us His word. Because He wants all men to be saved, He gave us His word, and in His word we find that because of one man’s sin, death passed upon all men.

Why did God tell us this? He wants us to understand why we look around and see so much evil. He wants us to understand why we look around and see people who do foolish things and create so much needless pain and suffering. He wants us to understand why we do foolish things that create so much pain and suffering. He wants us to understand how to be saved from sin and from eternal condemnation.

The good news about the word of God is that it is not something that we have to travel across land and sea to find. It’s not something that we have to search for in the far reaches of outer space or in the depths of the ocean. No, the word of God is close at hand. As Moses told the children of Israel:

Deuteronomy 30:11-14 (NLT)
11 "This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you to understand or perform.
12 It is not up in heaven, so distant that you must ask, 'Who will go to heaven and bring it down so we can hear and obey it?'
13 It is not beyond the sea, so far away that you must ask, 'Who will cross the sea to bring it to us so we can hear and obey it?'
14 The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it.

The Apostle Paul wrote the book of Romans during the Acts-period while God was offering the New Covenant Kingdom to the nation of Israel. Paul said in Romans 10 that his heart’s desire and his prayer for Israel was that they would be saved, but he went on to say that they were ignorant of the fact that:

Romans 10:4-11 (NKJ)
4 . . . Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
5 For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, "The man who does those things shall live by them."
6 But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down from above)
7 or, " 'Who will descend into the abyss?' " (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).
8 But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach):
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."

God’s wants people to understand how to be saved from the curse of sin. Oh, what a simple message of salvation God has provided for us through the Bible. The book which is close at hand. It’s found in almost every home in America and is being distributed all around the world even as we speak. This book is the book that contains God’s simple message of salvation:

Romans 10:9 (NKJ)
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Romans 5 says that by one man sin came into the world, and by God’s decree, death passed upon all men. God had the right to do that because He is God, but He also has the right to offer salvation to any and all who believe in the work of one righteous man. Romans 5 says that:

Romans 5:15-17 (NLT)
15 . . . this one man, Adam, brought death to many through his sin. But this other man, Jesus Christ, brought forgiveness to many through God's bountiful gift.
16 And the result of God's gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man's sin. For Adam's sin led to condemnation, but we have the free gift of being accepted by God, even though we are guilty of many sins.
17 The sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over us, but all who receive God's wonderful, gracious gift of righteousness will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.

It was by God’s decree that death passed upon all men, and it is by God’s decree that all men can be saved because of Christ’s finished work upon the cross. Just as surely as all people face physical death because of Adam’s sin, all who believe in Jesus Christ will be given victory over sin and death and will someday be given an immortal body which is not subject to death.

This salvation has nothing to do with our good works. It has to do with God’s overwhelmingly abundant grace. Paul said:

Romans 5:20-21 (NKJ)
20 . . . the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,
21 so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Law was given so that we could understand the magnitude of our sin, but where sin abounded, grace did much more abounded.

God’s superabounding grace is beautifully illustrated in the parable of the king who forgave the debt of His servant. In that parable the Lord said that the king forgave his servant even though the servant owed him 10,000 talents, which was probably more than 15 million dollars by our standards today. Specifically, Jesus said:

Matthew 18:23-27 (NKJ)
23 "Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.
24 "And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.
25 "But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.
26 "The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'
27 "Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.

Of coarse, we know that according to this parable this same servant went out and found a man who owed him only a hundred denarii, or a few thousand dollars, but he refused to forgive the debt. The Lord said:

Matthew 18:28-34 (NKJ)
28 "But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, 'Pay me what you owe!'
29 "So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'
30 "And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.
31 "So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done.
32 "Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.
33 'Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?'
34 "And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.

What an incredible illustration of God’s forgiveness and of our own reluctance to forgive! The king represents our heavenly Father and the fact that He is willing and able to forgive all of our sins, regardless of how great our sin debt may be. He makes no requirement for us to even try to pay the debt ourselves. Our debt is too great to even begin to pay it off.

When I read this story, I am convicted that I often view my sin debt as being somewhat like the 100 denarii, which was about what a man would receive for a hundred days worth of work, or four or five months worth of work. Well, even that is a sizable debt. I know that most of us would be fairly upset if someone owed us 4 or 5 months worth of back pay, but they refused to pay us.

But I am amazed when I see that my sin debt in the sight of God is not represented by a hundred denarii, but it’s represented by 10,000 talents, by millions of dollars. Truly the grace of God is amazing. I know that I can’t even image the vastness of my sin, but this I know, according to Romans 5, where sin did abound, grace did much more abound. Where I am often unwilling to forgive even the sins that I can understand, God is willing to forgive my sin debt which is greater than I can imagine.

Our heavenly Father is willing to forgive our sin debt because of the work of Jesus Christ, His Son, upon the cross of Calvary. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

If you have never accepted God’s forgiveness for your sin, won’t you confess your sinful state today and accept God’s forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ and His sacrifice upon the cross of Calvary.

Well, I see that our time is gone for this morning. Thank you for listening to another broadcast of Bible Study Time.

Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com

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Thursday, August 03, 2006

Life After Death (8-6-06)

Life After Death
Bible Study Time 8-6-06

In Mark, Chapter 12, the Sadducees asked Jesus a question about what marriage will be like after the resurrection. Of coarse, the Lord Jesus knew that the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection so He said:

Mark 12:24-27 (NLT)
24 "Your problem is that you don't know the Scriptures, and you don't know the power of God.
25 For when the dead rise, they won't be married. They will be like the angels in heaven.
26 But now, as to whether the dead will be raised — haven't you ever read about this in the writings of Moses, in the story of the burning bush? Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said to Moses, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'
27 So he is the God of the living, not the dead. You have made a serious error."

The fact that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were already poised to be raised from the dead makes them living beings even though their bodies lie in the grave.

After Elisha died, his body was placed in a tomb. Some time later, some Israelites were burying a man when they spotted a band of Moabite raiders. They hurriedly placed the man’s body in Elisha’s tomb, and when the man’s body touched Elisha’s bones, he suddenly revived and stood upon his feet.

In this we see a powerful demonstration of the potential for life that lies dormant within the bodies of all those who have died. Being raised from the dead is a sure thing for all those who face death.

Believers who die in our present age will be resurrected before the tribulation period. All other believers will be resurrected just before the thousand year reign of Christ. Then all of the unsaved dead will be resurrected at the end of Christ’s thousand year reign only to face Christ at the Great White Throne of judgment.

When Moses went to Egypt to deliver his fellow countrymen from Egyptian bondage, he became discouraged when Pharaoh refused to let the children of Israel go, but God encouraged Moses, saying:

Exodus 6:2-4 (NLT)
2 . . . "I am the LORD.
3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty, though I did not reveal (to them that) my name (is) the LORD . . .
4 And I entered into a solemn covenant with them. Under its terms, I swore to give them the land of Canaan, where they were living.

Notice that God did not say, “I swore to give you the land of Canaan.” He said, “I swore to give them the land of Canaan.” The implication of these words is clear; someday Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will be resurrected to receive the land of Canaan.

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived their whole lives knowing that God had not and would not fulfill this promise until after many generations. At one point God actually told Abraham that his descendants would be strangers in a strange land and would be afflicted for 400 years before being brought back into the land of promise.

Even so, Abraham was not discouraged. Hebrews 11 says that:

Hebrews 11:8-10,13 (NLT)
8 It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave (his) home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going.
9 And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith — for he was like a foreigner, living in a tent. And so did Isaac and Jacob, to whom God gave the same promise.
10 Abraham did this because he was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.
13 All these faithful ones died without receiving what God had promised them, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed the promises of God. They agreed that they were no more than foreigners and nomads here on earth.

Why were these men willing to live their whole lives without ever seeing the fulfillment of God’s promise? They believed in the resurrection. The book of Hebrews goes on to say that

Hebrews 11:17-19 (NKJ)
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
18 of whom it was said, "In Isaac your seed shall be called,"
19 concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

Clearly, Abraham’s faith was not weakened by the prospect of death. Death had no bearing on his faith because he knew that God has the ability to raise the dead.

I’m afraid that many times we get wrapped up in the things of this life, and we start feeling that all is lost if things don’t go just this way or that way, but Abraham did not seem to worry about the details of this life. He was able to keep his eyes steadfastly fixed upon the reward that God had promised Him. He knew that there was nothing in this world that could keep him from seeing and obtaining that heavenly city with eternal foundations.

The Apostle Paul expressed pretty much the same idea in Romans, Chapter 8, when he said:

Romans 8:16-18 (NKJ)
16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
17 and if children, then heirs-- heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Romans 8:28-30 (NKJ)
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

Romans 8:33,35,38,39 (NKJ)
33 Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,
39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

On the other hand, in I Corinthians 15, Paul said that:

1 Corinthians 15:19-20,23-26 (NLT)
19 . . . if we have hope in Christ only for this life, we are the most miserable people in the world.
20 But the fact is that Christ has been raised from the dead. He has become the first of a great harvest of those who will be raised to life again.
23 But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised first; then when Christ comes back, all his people will be raised.
24 After that the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having put down all enemies of every kind.
25 For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet.
26 And the last enemy to be destroyed is death.

Notice that here in I Corinthians, Paul gives the order of the resurrections, and He says that the first resurrection after that of Christ will be the resurrection of believers at Christ’s second coming. Then he says that the end will come and death will be destroyed.

Since Christ’s second coming will occur at the end of the tribulation period, it seems apparent that at this point Paul did not see a resurrection of believers before the tribulation period. This timeline of events is in perfect agreement with Revelation, Chapter 20, where the Apostle John said that the “first resurrection” will be before the thousand year reign of Christ, and it will include those who were killed for refusing the mark of the beast. In Revelation 20, and verse 4, John said:

Revelation 20:4-5 (NLT )
4 . . . I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus, for proclaiming the word of God. And I saw the souls of those who had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their forehead or their hands. They came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
5 This is the first resurrection. (The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended.)

Clearly, John did not see a resurrection of believers before the tribulation period, but he went on to say that the second resurrection will take place at the end of the thousand year reign when Christ subdues all of His enemies. This will take place at the Great White Throne judgment when all of the unsaved dead are cast into the lake of fire.

The Bible says that the lake of fire is the second death, and as I Corinthians 15 says, this is the time when death as we know it will be destroyed. The death that we are familiar with is one which is not eternal. People today who die without accepting Christ go to a place known as hell or hades, but at the time of the Great White Throne judgment, death and hell will be cast into the lake of fire along with those who are unsaved. .

It is somewhat startling to many people when they see that neither Paul (in I Corinthians 15) or John (in Revelation 20) saw a resurrection of believers before the tribulation period, and unfortunately, many people look at these verses and conclude that the Church of our present age will go through the tribulation period. However, we must not forget that I Corinthians was written during the Acts period before the Church, the Body of Christ, was revealed.

During the Acts period, the Apostle Paul was preaching as a minister of the New Covenant. He was anticipating the tribulation period, the second coming of Christ and the setting up of the kingdom. By the time the Apostle Paul wrote Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, I and II Timothy and Titus, he had been given the revelation concerning the Church which is the Body of Christ.

Paul said that this revelation was something which none of the other apostles or prophets knew about because it was revealed specifically to Paul. In the letters which he wrote after the Acts period, Paul never even once referred to the second coming of Christ. Instead, he always referred to the appearing of Christ. In Paul’s first letter to Timothy he said:

1 Timothy 6:13-14 (NKJ)
13 I urge you in the sight of God . . .
14 that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ's appearing,

In Paul’s second letter to Timothy he said:

2 Timothy 4:8 (NKJ)
8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.

To Titus Paul wrote that we should:

Titus 2:12-13 (NKJ)
12 . . . live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,
13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,

Paul may not have known about the significance of the appearing of Christ when he wrote his Acts period epistles. If he did, he gave no such indication in those letters.

Today, our hope of the pretribulation rapture lies in Paul’s revelation of the mystery concerning the Church which is the Body of Christ. In this body of truth Paul revealed that the program for the Church, the Body of Christ, is separate and apart from God’s program for Israel.

Therefore, the Church, the Body of Christ, will be taken up into heaven before God resumes his dealings with Israel. Specifically, the rapture and resurrection of the Church will occur at the time of Christ’s appearing for:

Colossians 3:4 (NKJ)
4 When Christ who is our life appears, then (we) also will appear with Him in glory.

I see our time is gone for this morning. Thank you for listening to another broadcast of Bible Study Time.

Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com

Church links: