Infant Baptism

Thank you Relative's Father for your question about infant Baptism. Because it is a big question I have moved it to a separate post, but if anyone is interested in the topic of Baptism see my original post on Baptism of December 27^th. I again believe the Lutheran position on infant Baptism is the best position. I also support the Lutheran position on Infant Baptism for three reasons: It best accomplishes Jesus' Command in the Great Commission, it ties in well with the Old Testament use of Circumcision, and infant baptism is best supported by NT Scriptures, especially as shown in the Book of Acts. Let's Go!:

 

1). Jesus' Great Commission. In Matthew 28:19 Jesus commanded His Disciples to Go and make other Disciples and baptizing them in the name of the Triune God. And so, Christians have traditionally followed this instruction by having their children both instructed in God's Word and baptized as infants to comply with Jesus' Command.

The problem that is dealt with by infant Baptism is original sin. The Scriptures are clear that no one can enter the Kingdom of God without faith in Jesus Christ. And sprinkled through the Bible are examples of parents' faith acting on behalf of their children. See as examples, Genesis 9:9 and 17:10. And so, baptism may best be understood as the parents' faith in Jesus Christ being accounted to their young children until they reach an age of accountability. The Baptism is at least partly for the washing away of a person's sin (see Acts 22:16 and Titus 3:5).

 

2). Circumcision. There is a connection between the OT covenantal use of Circumcision of infants 8 days after they are born and the NT Church's use of Baptism. I do not know enough about this to write anything more, other than to make sure that it is raised.

 

3). Infant Baptism in the Book of Acts. But this is where the topic gets real fun to look at. There are a total of nine (9) baptisms of new converts described in the Book of Acts as a response to hearing the Gospel. In at least three (3) of these Baptisms described in Acts, the entire household of the New Christian is baptized along with them. Here is an example of this type of Household Baptism in the story of Lydia:

 

Acts 16:14-15 - One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. ¹⁵ And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay." And she prevailed upon us.

Here are the three main examples of families being baptized along with a New Christian:

Acts 16:15    Lydia of Thyatira, above;

Acts 16:33    Philippian Jailer;

Acts 18:8    Crispus, and as long as we are discussing family Baptisms, take a look at:

1 Cor. 1:16    Stephanus.

And so, infant Baptism started in the Church of Christ because of these descriptions of "household" baptisms shown in the Book of Acts.

And finally, let me add what Martin Luther said about infant Baptisms:

We do the same in infant Baptism. We bring the child with the purpose and hope that he may believe, and we pray God to grant him faith. But we do not baptize him on that account, but solely on the command of God…

Finally, we must know what Baptism signifies and why God ordained just this sign and external observance for the sacrament by which we are first received into the Christian church…These two parts, being dipped under the water and emerging from it, indicate the power and effect of Baptism, which is simply the slaying of the old Adam and the resurrection of the new man, both of which actions must continue in us our whole life long. Thus Christian life is nothing else than a daily Baptism, once begun and ever continued… (Luther's Large Catechism, Baptism, pp. 88-89).

 

So here is my quick summary on why infant Baptism makes sense and is properly a Biblical Sacrament. Baptism signifies the washing away of sins, it is Commanded by Jesus in His Great Commission and so should be obeyed by all Christians, and the early Church started the practice of baptizing those too young to have a saving faith as shown by the "household" baptisms performed in the Book of Acts. But most importantly, all Christians should be undergoing as Luther described a "daily Baptism", where we put to death our old Adam sinful nature with the resurrection of the new person we are in Christ.

I hope this helps - /s/Tom.

Baptism

Lutheran View of Baptism: In Holy Baptism the Triune God delivers us from the forces of evil, puts our sinful self to death, gives us new birth, adopts us as children, and makes us members of the body of Christ, the Church. Holy Baptism is received by faith alone.

 

I have a family member who is now looking for a ministry position that may set the future direction of his ministry for years to come. I am blogging today about an issue in which I believe we disagree – namely, baptism. I support the Lutheran position, and believe it is the best supported biblical position on baptism. While I believe this family member believes baptism to be mostly a symbolic act of the inner transformation and work of the Holy Spirit. And so, I write today to explain the Lutheran position and its Biblical foundations, in hopes of encouraging this family member to consider ministry in the Lutheran Church, the Church of his father and grand-father.

 

1). Luther's View on Baptism. I am going to look at three reasons for my belief that the Lutheran position on Baptism is the best of the competing views. First, a quick explanation of the importance of Baptism to Lutherans. In Luther's Large Catechism, he explain that it is one of two sacraments (the other being the Lord's Supper/Communion) that are both instituted by Christ. The foundation for the Church using Baptism is from Jesus' Great Commission – "Go into all the world and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." (Matt. 28:19). And so, Jesus commands His followers to preach the Gospel along with the Baptism of all nations. Salvation and baptism are closely tied together in several New Testament verses. See as an example, Mark 16:16, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned." See also, 1 Peter 3:21 - Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

I will discuss the relevant Baptism verses later in Section 3.

 

Here is Martin Luther's response to those who hold to salvation by faith alone: Our know-it-alls, the new spirits, assert that faith alone saves. And that works and external things contribute nothing to this end. We answer: it is true, nothing that is in us does it by faith, as we shall hear later one. But these leaders of the blind are unwilling to see that faith must have something to believe – something to which it may cling and upon which it may stand. Thus faith clings to the water and believes it to be Baptism in which there is sheer salvation and life, not through the water, as we have sufficiently stated, but through its incorporation with God's Word and ordinance and the joining of his name to it. When I believe this, what else is it but believing in God as the one who implanted his Word in this external ordinance and offered it to us so that we may grasp the treasure it contains.

Therefore, Martin Luther answers those who hold to the salvation by "faith alone" position by showing that faith includes trusting that Baptism as taught in the Bible by Jesus and the Apostles is part of God's plan of salvation.

 

2). Baptism in the Early Church. In both the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts, we see that when a person responds to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, he also receives baptism. Here is how the Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology describes it: "In nine instances Luke represents baptism as the expected response to hearing and receiving the gospel. In four of these, kinsmen, close friends, or a household hear and respond; at Luke 16:14–15 and 18:8 it is not stated that the household believed."

 

All of the early conversions described in the Gospels and Acts were based upon two foundations: faith in Jesus Christ, and Baptism. Here are a few examples:

 

• 3,000 were baptized on Pentecost (Acts 2:41);
  
• Paul immediately upon regaining his sight went and was baptized (Acts 9:18);
  
• Philip and the conversion of the Ethiopian (Acts 8:38);
  
• Peter and the Gentiles (Acts 10:44-48);
  
• Paul and Silas baptize the jailer and his entire household (Acts 16:32-34).
  

And so, the Biblical record is very clear that faith and baptism go hand-in-hand, resulting in salvation.

 

3). Bible Verses on Baptism. So why is Baptism so important? Baptism was first introduced in the Gospels through John's Baptism – a Baptism of Repentance. And so, Baptism and Repentance go together, and may even be synonymous. And so, just as most Evangelical Christians believe that Repentance is necessary for receiving salvation, likewise is the understanding that Baptism is also necessary. Here are several verses that stress the crucial nature of Repentance and Baptism in one's Salvation.

Matt. 28:19 (Great Commission, above); Mark 16:16 (he who believes and is baptized will be saved…); Acts 2:38 (And Peter said to them "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."):

 

1 Peter 3:21 - Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ..

 

Repentance - Acts 2:38, above (lots more); 2 Cor. 7:10; Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

See also, Acts 20:21: testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. (faith and Repentance going together); Salvation means death to and freedom from sin (Romans 6);

 

But let's be fair, there is one example where someone believed in Jesus and was not baptized, but yet was still saved. This is from the story of the thief on the Cross –Luke 23:39-43, where Jesus promised the faithful Thief on a cross that "today you will be with me in Paradise." The Thief likely was not previously baptized, and so this appears to be an example of salvation without baptism. But given the number of verses that support salvation by Faith with Baptism, I think the better reading of this story is that God is big enough to provide salvation even where baptism is not possible – the proverbial deathbed conversion. Therefore, I do not accept that the story of the Thief on the Cross stands for the proposition that Christ-followers do not need to be baptized, or that it is only a symbolic act of the inner transformation. Instead, given the large number of verses supporting Baptism, along with Jesus' own Command in the Great Commission, I think the Lutheran position that accepts Baptism as a sacrament, and that it is a real act of faith in a believer's life is the best position among the various views of Christians.

 

Of course, I have only scratched the surface on this topic, but I did want to hit some highlights. I hope that this post was helpful to you. God bless you in using your gifts and talents in serving the Body of Christ as you end the year.

Christmas 2008

Merry Christmas to you, and happy holidays from my family to yours this wonderful winter day in Minnesota. Here is a message I have for you:

 

If you are a sinner, I have Good News! You already understand your sinfulness before your righteous God and Creator, and that you have nothing that you can offer in exchange for seeking His forgiveness. God has seen the world's most pressing problem – the sinfulness of man. And He did something about it. He sent His one and only Son, Jesus the Messiah to pay the price for the world's sins. He alone is Savior of man's sinfulness (Acts 4:12). What does it mean that Jesus is our "Savior"? There are three things Jesus saves us from by His death on the Cross:

 

1. He saved you from God's anger caused by your sins. God will not punish or condemn you if you have made Jesus your Savior, and trust that He fully paid the price for any sin or pain in your life; God does not punish the same sin twice – and He has punished our sins through Jesus' death on the Cross;
   
2. Jesus saved you from death. By Jesus' resurrection, Jesus has overcome the grave. Because He was resurrected, we also have this promise of one day being resurrected and spending our remaining days with God in heaven (1 Corinthians 15:50-53);
   
3. Jesus saved you from being trapped in sin. Jesus has freed His followers not only from the consequences of sin, but also the hold of sin. Sin no longer has the attractiveness it once did for those who have made Jesus their Savior.
   

 

And so, if you trust that God sent Jesus to pay the price for your sins on the Cross, and repent from living your life without God (Acts 3:19), His promise is that you are forgiven and that you will now have a relationship with God, the Creator of the universe. Is this a cool idea or what! This is amazingly Good News for those who will accept it.

 

But for the other 99% of you, there is Bad News. If you consider yourself as not being a sinner, I am sorry to tell you that there is bad news. There cannot be Good News, without there also being bad news. You are ensnared in a sin called self-righteousness which causes you to be blind to the things of God. If you think that you do not sin, this means that you do not understand your place in the universe. You do not understand that before a holy God, you are judged and condemned. And this means that God's anger and wrath remain upon you, because you have rejected Jesus. God's anger is upon those who sin (Psalm 5:4-6). You see, only those who understand their sinfulness can be saved by Jesus, and if you think you have no sin, Jesus cannot save you . As God's Word describes this, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." (John 3:36). What does it mean that by rejecting Jesus "God's wrath" remains upon a person? It means that if this state continues until the day you die, and who of us is guaranteed to live 10 years from now, let alone until tomorrow, then you will die in your sins. And so, God's anger and wrath at how you have harmed yourself with sin, as well as your actions against others that you have hurt, by the self-centered life you have lived without God in it, must be accounted for because God is a God of Justice. And this will result with the unrepentant life ending in a place described as "hell", eternally separated from God. Hell is a place where perfect justice is meted out, and who of us can say that we do not deserve some amount of punishment for the lives that we have lived while on earth? This is the Bad News of a life without Christ – God's wrath rests upon you, and will rest upon you for eternity.

 

That is why I am writing to you today – please turn from living a life without God in it. It is the most important decision you will make in this life. God bless you. /s/Tom.

Odds n’ Ends (12)

1. Hamas Declares End of Ceasefire with Israel. GAZA (Reuters) - Hamas Islamists Thursday declared the end of a six-month-old Egyptian-brokered ceasefire with Israel in the Gaza Strip, raising the prospect of an escalation in cross-border fighting. This is done likely because they've managed to stockpile enough weapons and ammunition to feel brave again.
   

 

1. President Elect Obama Planning a Billion Dollar Bailout of the Abortion Industry. http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=356962; Last week, the Obama-Biden Transition Project posted a report on its website that calls for dramatic policy reversals on abortion, including $1 billion in taxpayer money for international abortion groups like Planned Parenthood. The report, titled "Advancing Reproductive Rights and Health in a New Administration," also calls for a 133-percent increase in funding for the Title X program, which funds Planned Parenthood clinics across the country.
   

   
    

   
    

2. Climate Change Chicanery. Stubborn thing, truth. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, "You can resent it, ignore it, deride or distort it—but there it is." Truth, as Al Gore eagerly lectures, is an inconvenience to people content with their cherished beliefs. Interesting how some of the most inconvenient truths are those that keep cropping up about global warming. For example:
   

• NASA's latest tabulation shows a general cooling trend over the last decade with only three years in that time frame among the 10 hottest years on record.
  
• NASA measurements indicate that the world's oceans—believed to contribute up to 90 percent to global temperature—have been cooling, not warming, for the last five years.
  
• Antarctic ice has been growing steadily since the late 1970s and, in 2008, the extent of Arctic ice increased over 9 percent from the previous year.
  
• According to NOAA scientists, the winter of 2008 was the coldest since 2001.
  

  
   

One way to turn unwelcome findings into corroborative facts is to run them through the spin cycle of computer modeling—like the German scientists who recently announced their new climate-change model. After running the latest data through the model, the researchers found that—voila!—it predicts a 10-year cooling period before temperatures resume their sizzling climb to global meltdown. Now even cooling trends are claimed to support global warming! That's one way to protect a "cherished belief." http://salvomag.typepad.com/blog/2008/12/climate-change-chicanery.html; I hope this answers Mr. Oleander's recent question to me on whether I am now accepting Global Warming – I say hah, to Gorewinism!

 

 

1. More People Believe in Hell Than in Darwinism. "Overall, more people believe in the devil, hell and angels than believe in Darwin´s theory of evolution," said a Harris Poll released Thursday. The numbers clearly favor the proverbial Big Man Upstairs: 80 percent say they believe in God; among those who attend church weekly, the number is 98 percent. Three-quarters believe in miracles, 73 percent believe in heaven, 71 percent say Jesus is the Son of God and 71 percent believe in angels, the survey found. Seven out of 10 say Jesus Christ rose from the dead and that the Bible is, all or in part, the "Word of God."
   

   More than two-thirds - 68 percent - believe in the "survival of the soul after death" and would describe themselves as religious. About 62 percent think that hell exists, 61 percent believe in the Virgin Birth and 59 percent say the devil exists. In contrast, fewer than half - 47 percent - said they believe in Darwin's theory of evolution. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/dec/12/beliefs-in-god-ufos-prevail/;
   

Daily Devotions

G'Day everyone,

 

I hope all of you are doing well, and finding light and hope during this Christmas season. I wanted to write today about taking in the 'Bread' of God, also called God's Word. I hope that everyone who visits my blog has a good way to daily take in God's Word. Of course, the best way to do this is to be in a formal Bible study with other believers, with Applications and illustrations to help you grow as a Christian. But if you are like me, there are some days when there are only a few minutes, and this is where a good Devotional can be invaluable. There are some very popular Devotionals like Oswald Chambers' 'My Utmost for His Highest', Thomas Kempis' 'Imitation of Christ', or Spurgeon's 'Morning and Evening'. But my favorite was a gift from my Father, Martin Luther's 'Faith Alone'. Luther is so wonderful at providing depth of thought packed into a few paragraphs, which makes him a valuable part of my daily Bible reading.

 

Let me give a quick example of a couple of days of Martin Luther's Devotional style in 'Faith Alone'. Here are two days entries from this past week:

 

December 10 – EVERYDAY MIRACLES.

    Psalm 111:2 – The Lord's deeds are spectacular. They should be studied by all who enjoy them.

    Luther: What the Lord does is spectacular. But in this passage, the psalmist points out that only a few devout people who notice what God has done. Most people don't praise God or thank him. They never say "The Lord's deeds are spectacular." Though they are completely surrounded by his gifts, they have gotten used to them. They take advantage of what God has given them, rooting around in God's gifts like a hog in a bag of feed. They say "what's so special about the fact that the sun shines, fire gives warmth, the ocean provides fish, the earth yields grain, cows have calves, women give birth to children, and hens lay eggs? These things happen every day!"

    Is something insignificant just because it happens every day? If the sun wouldn't shine for ten days, suddenly it would be a great thing when it began shining again. If fire only existed in one place on the earth, I think it would be more precious than gold or silver. If there were only one well in the world, I would imagine that a drop of water would be worth more than a thousand dollars.

    God showers people with rich and wonderful blessings. But how ungrateful and blind people are! They don't recognize these blessings as amazing miracles from God, so they don't admire them, give thanks for them, or act happy about them. However, if a clown can walk on a tightrope or train monkeys, people are ready to admire and praise him for it. The psalmist points out that the Lord's deeds are spectacular, but these deeds are appreciated in the eyes of God's faithful followers.

 

Tom's note – ok, did you like that one? It made me thing of the blessing of Meggan giving birth to baby Noah, and what a "spectacular" event that really is. With Peggy and I having gone through many miscarriages, the miracle of a child being born is very much appreciated by me. But Martin Luther does a great job of helping us to see that there is so much more around us that can also be described as "spectacular". Give praise to our "spectacular" God! Here is the second Devotion:

 

December 12 – THE WORD IS GOD

John 1:1-3 – In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was already with God in the beginning. Everything came into existence through him.

    Luther: John wrote about the majesty and divine nature of our dear Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in a profound way. John said that Christ, in his divine essence, is the Word of the eternal Father. If the Word existed from the beginning before anything was created, then it must follow that this Word is God. We can easily draw this conclusion: Whatever had its existence before the creation of the world must be God because only the Creator can exist separate from creation. Everything that exists is either Creator or creation – either God or creature. Through John, the Holy Spirit stated that "In the beginning the Word already existed" and "Everything came into existence through him". For this reason, we can never think of the Word as something created. The Word is eternal. No one can deny or disprove the conclusion that this Word is God.

    This passage establishes that Christ is God. On the basis of this fact, we believe and know with certainty that Mary gave birth to our Lord and Savior and that he is true and natural God, born in eternity by the Father. This is why he can't be considered an angel. Instead, he is the Lord and Creator of angels and of all things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible" (Colossians 1:16).

    Now, we know that Holy Scripture is God's Word and will last forever (1 Peter 1:25). Scripture clearly states that the Word existed in the beginning before anything was created and that the Word made everything. So, it follows that believers can't hold any other opinion or come to any other conclusion. The Word was not created or made, but already existed from eternity. (Martin Luther, 'Faith Alone' (World Bible Publishers, Inc.))

 

Tom's note – Martin Luther was obviously trained as a lawyer. I know this because as he shows in this passage with his crystal clear use of logic. My final application is that everyone should have a Devotional that challenges them, makes them think, and makes us love our God and His Word all the more. So go out and get a good Devotional and take in His Word.

Amillennial End-times Chart

Two things I’m talking about today. First, a cool Amillennial end-times chart from the Riddleblog (http://kimriddlebarger.squarespace.com/the-latest-post/2008/12/2/cool-an-amillennial-eschatology-chart.html). If you have previously seen an end-times chart of the events involved with the Last Days, it almost certainly came from the Pre-Trib viewpoint. It’s nice to see the Amillennialists are fighting back:

Let’s see if I can shed some light on what the chart is trying to show. So the resurrection of the dead, the judgment of all mankind, and the renewal of the entire cosmos will all occur at one single point in time - This is the time of Jesus' return, which is the day of the Lord The arrows show how the various Scripture passages connect all these "end-times" events as happening at one-time - at the second coming of Christ. The beauty of using this end-times view is that it fits together all of these descriptions so simply, and cleanly – all of these events happen on the Day of the Lord, the Day of our Lord’s return! And no separation of any of these events by 7 days, 7 years, or even 1,000 years is needed. I hope you find this helpful in having a better understanding of the Amillennial view.

2) And on a completely unrelated topic, here is a story that should make you SMILE! WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Happiness is contagious, researchers reported on Thursday.

The same team that demonstrated obesity and smoking spread in networks has shown that the more happy people you know, the more likely you are yourself to be happy. And getting connected to happy people improves a person's own happiness, they reported in the British Medical Journal.

And a cheery next-door neighbor has more effect on your happiness than your spouse's mood. So says a new study that followed a large group of people for 20 years — happiness is more contagious than previously thought. So here’s the easy application: An optimist is the human personification of spring. So let’s be ‘spring’ to those around us this week.

Biblical Literalism and Darwinism’s Evolution

Hi everyone,

 

First, let me ask for the Lord's blessing on the birth of my nephew Bryan and his wife Meggan's second child, that will likely take place today. I'm sorry I haven't written in a while. I have had computer problems, but these are fixed now. And so, I thought I would come back to my blog with a post on the 'light' topic of Biblical literalism and Darwinism/Evolution. (yes, that's my attempt at sarcasm.) I found an interesting article by a Jewish writer David Klinghoffer writing in the Jerusalem Post. His article is an attack against Darwinists who make a false dilemma – there's only the Scientific explanation for life on Earth, or the unscientific Religious view where the universe and everything in it was created in 6 days. I found it an interesting article because it hits on several points that help clarify the issue. And I hope you find it helpful and interesting also.

 

http://www.discovery.org/a/8051;

Most of us find it annoying to be forced into a false dilemma. In a false dilemma, alternatives and gradations of belief are arbitrarily excluded as a technique of manipulation. Accept my version of orthodoxy or you're a heretic!

Jews and Christians employ this argumentative strategy, not least when conversation turns to emotionally charged subjects - like Darwinian evolution. And not least when it is those on Darwin's side who are talking.

But in explaining how life developed, aren't there just two alternatives? That's what we're always told in the media. Either life accumulated complex features through a purely Darwinian process of natural selection, or the universe was created in six literal, 24-hour days, less than six thousand years ago.

Actually, there are gradations between the extremes of Darwinism and creationism. That fact often gets lost…

INEVITABLY, MAIMONIDES is brought forward as an authority. In the Guide for the Perplexed (II:25), he wrote that when a surface-level reading of the Bible is convincingly refuted by science or logic, then "the gates of interpretation remain open."

But Jewish Darwinists often forget to read to the end of that chapter. In Maimonides's day, Aristotelians argued that the universe had no beginning, that it existed eternally. Maimonides responded that he rejected the Aristotelian thesis for two reasons. First, because it "has not been demonstrated." And second, because it made nonsense of Judaism: "If the philosophers would succeed in demonstrating eternity as Aristotle understands it, the Torah as a whole would become void, and a shift to other opinions would take place. I have thus explained to you that everything is bound up with this problem."

Maimonides was not saying that any scientific theory can be reconciled with theistic belief, that our liberty to interpret has no limit, and certainly not when the science itself is wrong or unproven.

Another favorite authority of Jewish Darwinists is the 19th-century German rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch. Again, Hirsch is presented simplistically as a supporter of evolution. Jewish Darwinists always forget to mention his explicit comment on "Darwinism" in the context of the idol, Baal Peor, worshipped in the most grotesquely animalistic fashion. To illustrate: "the kind of Darwinism that revels in the conception of man sinking to the level of beast and stripping itself of its divine nobility, learns to consider itself just a 'higher' class of animal" (Numbers 25:3).

ON EVOLUTION, Rabbi Brody is right in perceiving "widespread fear and ignorance." It can be observed in the Christian world as well. When Jews and Christians alike aren't being forced into false dilemmas, we are given alternatives to Darwinian theory that can be imagined as reconciling science and theology only if the whole subject is kept cloudy and confused.

Thus the two most recent popes have appeared to speak of the Church's comfort with "evolution" but without defining the term. Does it mean an unguided process or a guided one? One that gives scientific evidence of a Designer's purpose, or not?

The ambiguity and hedging probably comes from a fear of putting their Church on the losing side of a historic controversy, and an unfamiliarity with the scientific details.

Last month, Pope Benedict spoke to a conference on cosmic and biological evolution held by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. His words were beautiful but gaseous, taking no clear position. The invited scientists at the conference included cosmologist Stephen Hawking, whose work denies that the universe had a beginning as Aristotle's did, undercutting basic theistic belief. Scientists who perceive evidence of design in nature were excluded from the conference. No wonder Catholics are confused about what their Church believes.

Thanks to the prevailing murkiness, Catholic doctrine is often identified in the media with "theistic evolution." Theistic evolution is another gradation of belief between creationism and Darwinism, but an unsatisfactory one. It boils down to the proposition that life's history was guided by natural laws that God designed but in such a way as to leave no evidence of that fact.

One problem with theistic evolution is that natural laws are predictable whereas Darwinian evolution, according to its own theorists, is entirely unpredictable. Think of those laws that govern weather patterns or the formation of geological features. Not so with Darwinian evolution, which can take any of countless very different directions. How could such a purposeless process reflect divine purpose?

The question is far from merely academic. If we are the product of design, then the designer sets the moral order in which we operate. If we were cast up on the cosmic shore by a purposeless, unguided natural process, then every person can decide for himself what is right and wrong. Or maybe the idea of right and wrong is itself illusory. Darwin watered the seeds of modern nihilism.

To be sure, secular opinion has contributed mightily to constructing the false dilemma of evolution versus creationism, which well suits anti-religious purposes. What a pity that in religious circles, we are so easily intimidated or overawed by secularism's prestige, automatically surrendering to its deceptive framing of this important debate.

The writer
David Klinghoffer is a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute in Seattle and the author of books including The Lord Will Gather Me In: My Journey to Jewish Orthodoxy and Why the Jews Rejected Jesus: The Turning Point in Western History.

Bible Stuff

Hi everyone,

 

1). The Voice Bible Translation. It is a nice Sunday, with the Vikings winning on the road at Jacksonville, which gives me a grateful heart this Thanksgiving season. And so with my grateful heart, one of things I am most grateful for is God's Word. And with Bible week coming up, I am thinking of the Bible, God's Word, and some new things taking place recently. First, a new Bible translation is being released called The Voice and the early take on this translation is that it is nothing more than a translation for the Emergent Church, and so should be avoided. And so, I decided to take a look to see if the Voice translation is really all that dangerous. I did this by seeing how it compares to a great literal translation like the ESV. Here is a side-by-side comparison for two passages of the Voice and the ESV:

 

 

 

The Voice:

JOHN 3:16-17 For God expressed His love for the world in this way: He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not face everlasting destruction, but will have everlasting life. Here's the point. God didn't send His Son into the world to judge it; instead, He is here to rescue a world headed toward certain destruction.

 

Hebrews 11:1-2 Faith is the assurance of things you have hoped for, the absolute conviction that there are realities you've never seen. It was by faith that our forebears were approved.

 

 

ESV:

JOHN 3:16-17 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

 

Hebrews 11:1-2 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation.

 

 

And so, my quick take of the Voice is that it seems like a nice translation to help with providing more insight into passages that may seems stale after years of reading. But even from this simple look at just two passages, I am concerned about using the Voice as one's only Bible translation. For example, in John 3:16, instead of saying that those who do not believe in Jesus will perish (as most modern translations use), the Voice says non-believers will "not face everlasting destruction." Is this a major mis-translation? No, but it sure seems to open the door for reading into this verse that non-believers will only die as their punishment. I don't know, but I am careful when it comes to the Bible, and I would need to see more before I am willing to recommend or dismiss the Voice.

 

2) Bible Study Magazine; If you are looking to add some depth to your study of the Bible, check out a new magazine put out by the makers of the great Logos Bible software, called Bible Study Magazine Their selling point is right on: "There is simply no other magazine on the market that focuses entirely on the Bible and Bible study."

I like having something in my hands to read, and so I enthusiastically recommend this new magazine. Even in this age where there is so much to read on the Internet, it's nice to take some time and read interesting articles, like an interview with Josh McDowell, a Bible Study for Hebrews, and an interesting look at the Power described in the Gospel of Luke. There is some basic Greek that is contained in the magazine, but nothing that would discourage someone without a background in studying the New Testament Greek. And so, if you're looking for something new to spice up your time in God's Word, check it out. If you'd like more information, check out this review: http://expositorythoughts.wordpress.com/;

 

3). Every Language with its own Bible Translation by 2025; Story Here. 7,000 workers set sights on Gospel around the globe. A $50 million donation is being used to kick off an effort to reach an estimated 200 million people around the world with a Bible written in their own language by the year 2025.

The Last Languages Campaign is being launched by Wycliffe Bible Translators, whose leaders believe "not only do people comprehend the Bible best when it is written in the language they speak in their home, but that critical community development – literacy, the establishment of water purification systems, AIDS education , human rights, and community empowerment – often starts in the strangest place: with Bible translation."

The organization this year is recognizing Bible Week, which runs over Thanksgiving week, with a variety of events to celebrate a new campaign that will use high-tech translation techniques to accelerate the pace of language development and translation.

What previously was projected for 125 years of work now is being organized into a 17-year effort scheduled to conclude in 2025.

Entertainment Reviews

Peggy and I have had two fun nights of seeing local entertainment the past two nights – first on Thursday night we saw a local production of 'A Little Princess', which included our daughters Asia and Maggie as part of the cast. And then last night we saw comedian Tim Hawkins at the Bethel Great Hall. Here is my review of both events:

 

The production of 'A Little Princess' was wonderful. In this fast paced play, the lead characters were well cast, and they did a wonderful job in remembering their lines. The cast are from two local Junior High Schools (one of which is the ones our daughters attend, Nicollet). And Asia as one of the 'nice' school girls and Maggie as the lawyer both did exceptional performances. They hit their cues, remembered their lines, and overall had strong stage presences. Great job girls! The play has its last two performances today/ Saturday.

 

And Tim Hawkins last night was great. He was part of KKMS' Clean Comedy Night, and all 1,500 seats were filled in the Bethel Great Hall. I had only seen Tim Hawkins on 'Godtube' with hilarious videos like 'Cletus take the Reel' (here). If you have heard the popular song 'Jesus Take the Wheel', you'll love Hawkins' rendition. And last night he was very funny, making fun of people from Iowa, people who home school, wives, and even Prince, who recently had hip surgery. Here's a couple of what I thought were his best lines:

 

Don't judge my wife and me. We have decided not to spank our children. (pause) Now we just use tazers. They don't leave a mark.

 

He told the story of being hired to sing a song during a friend's marriage ceremony, as the Bride was coming down the aisle. Here were a few of the songs he thought about singing as the Bride came down:

You're Having My Baby;

You Can't Always Get What You Want;

Etc. (I'll bet you can think of some funny songs to put in here also).

 

So Peggy and I have had a lot of fun and laughter in the last two days. Here's my prayer that God fills your lives with more light and laughter also. In Jesus' name, Amen.

What Does Evil Look Like?

What Does Evil Look Like?

I've been recently thinking about what evil really is. My goal with this post is to try and help us see evil in a slightly different way, especially as it appears the Church of Christ may now be experiencing a new type of attack against it. I have seen people in Church meetings asked this same question a number of different times - who is the most evil person in Earth's history? And invariably these groups respond with the same responses: Hitler and Stalin are always mentioned. And so, it seems it is typical in our society to believe that the worst evil is someone who is 1) responsible for the worst crime (murder), and 2) this being done in great volume, such as the horror of the Holocaust, the millions who died in Russia under Stalin, or even the hundreds of thousands of Muslims killed under Saddam Hussein. So many people rightfully think that whoever is in charge at the time of mass murders is properly the most evil person to have lived.

    

But is this the way that God's Word thinks about human evil? Perhaps a quick review of the End-times person described as the Anti-Christ, the one who will be evil personified, will help shed some light on what is true evil. So let's take a closer look at Anti-Christ. As God is best revealed and known through the human life lived by Jesus Christ, Satan will best be revealed through the human life lived by the Anti-Christ. But what will the Anti-Christ do? What sort of the evil actions will be done by this most nefarious person? Paul describes this Anti-Christ as the man of lawlessness, the son of destruction (2 Thess. 2:3, :8). He is the "deceiver" (2 John 1:7); He will be a false prophet, a false Christ, who deceives many (Matthew 24:5, :23-24). Therefore this Anti-Christ will deceive many people, will be a person of destruction, and completely lawless (see, the 10 Commandments in Exodus 20 for a description of 'The Law').

 

But there is another important characteristic of the Anti-Christ – namely, that he will exalt himself above God (Dan. 7:7-11, 11:36-45, 2 Thess. 2:4), and attack the followers of God (Daniel 7:25, Rev. 16:12-16). This person will not only speak blasphemies against God, but will even dare to declare himself equal to God (Daniel 11:36-37, 2 Thess. 2:4). And so, this is what truly makes the Anti-Christ evil: Their hatred of God, and of all things of God, including God's people.

 

So who is the most evil person to have lived? Perhaps it is Nero, who lived from 37 AD to 68 AD and was Roman Emperor. Here is how one writer describes the deeds of Nero (please excuse the graphic nature of this description):

 

…In many ways, Nero is evil personified. According to the accounts of his various biographers, Tacitus, Suetonius, and Cassius Dio, Nero murdered his brother and rival to the throne at the prompting of his mother, with whom he may have had sexual intercourse. He later arranged for his mother's "accidental" death. He killed his pregnant wife (and child) in a fit of rage by kicking her in the stomach. He then found a young man who looked much like his wife, had him castrated, and then married him in a public ceremony.

    In fact, Nero mocked all societal convention. He raped a vestal virgin (a capital crime) and arranged for a young Christian woman to be tied nude to the horns of an enraged bull, mocking her Christian modesty and chastity. He encouraged orgies in which commoners participated with members of imperial rank (something unthinkable in Roman society); he even married a male servant (taking the female role himself), and in a public spectacle, he acted as though he was giving birth. Throughout all of this despicable behavior, Nero sought to reverse the natural order of things, mocking not only Roman societal convention but the Creator himself.

    Nero lived for personal pleasures and self-indulgences…(Nero fiddling while Rome burned, and then blamed Christians for the fire, and then attacked and murdered Christians for the fire he himself was responsible for). Nero was personally responsible for turning Christians into human torches, for feeding them to wild animals in the Coliseum, and for the deaths of apostles Peter and Paul, all of which was followed by the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in AD 70, which occurred shortly after Nero's death.

 

(The Man of Sin, Pastor Kim Riddlebarger (2006), pp. 93-94.) So this is what 'lawlessness' looks like – Deception, murder, every conceivable sexual abuse, and overturning the natural order of all things. With these real world events taking place around 1^st Century Christians, the picture of the Beast described by John in Revelation 13 is more clearly understood from the life and actions of the Roman Emperor Nero.

 

But let me emphasize one point of this "Anti-Christ' Nero. He was an enemy of God and of God's people. Nero set himself up as someone to be worshipped. He murdered Christians through the deception and false charge of the burning of Rome. He was responsible for the murder of Jesus' leading Apostles, Paul and Peter, as well as many other Christians and Jews. And Nero set in motion the ultimate sacking and destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, with this leveling so complete, that the Temple still has not having been rebuilt even through this day. So what does evil look like? Complete evil is not 'just' the murdering of people, anyone can do that. But real evil is the attack against God, His order - the natural order of creation, and the persecution and murder of God's people.

 

Do you see any similarity to events taking place in the world today, with the life of Nero? Let me add one story that you may not have heard of reported here.; Worshippers at a Bible-teaching church in Lansing, Mich., were stunned Sunday when members of a pro-homosexual, pro-anarchy organization named 'Bash Back' interrupted their service to fling propaganda and condoms around the sanctuary, drape a profane banner from the balcony and feature two lesbians making out at the pulpit.,,,, the protesters also screamed at parishioners and pulled the church facility's fire alarm.

 

Is this just one example of a small attack against a Christian Church, or is there something more going on? The Apostle John describes something evil in the air in his day that he calls the "Spirit of Antichrist" (1 John 4:3). So let us stand up and contend for the faith by opposing all things evil and lawless and by this we will oppose all things of Anti-Christ, the Lawless One. And let us also keep our walk by the Holy Spirit avoiding all sin as the Apostle John wrote to encourage us: "Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. ⁵ You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. ⁶ No one who abides in him keeps on sinning..." (1 John 3:4-6a). May God bless you this week.

 

Jesus’ Commands - Sin

Hello y'all. Here is my fourth and final section on the Commands of Jesus. Again these Commands were found in JH Smith, 'New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge', entry for 1 John 2:3.

 

John 14:15 If you love Me, keep My commandments

 

IV. Sin - Commandments enjoining / Guard Against:

1. Commandments forbidding:
   

Adultery, Mt 5:27. 19:18. Mk 10:5-9 (And Jesus said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. ⁶ But from the beginning of creation, 'God made them male and female.' ⁷ 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, ⁸ and the two shall become one flesh.' So they are no longer two but one flesh. ⁹ What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate."), 5:19. Lk 18:20.

Anxiety, Mt 6:25-34. 10:19-23. Lk 12:11, 22-32 (And he said to his disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. ²³ For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. ²⁴ Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! ²⁵ And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? ²⁶ If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? ²⁷ Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ²⁸ But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! ²⁹ And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. ³⁰ For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹ Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.). Jn 14:27 (Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.).

Casting pearls before swine, Mt +*7:6 (Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.) [J MacArthur Study Bible - This principle is why Jesus Himself did not do (TEW note – many) miracles for unbelievers (Mt 13:58). This is to be done in respect for what is holy, not merely out of contempt for the dogs and swine…]

Covetousness, Lk 12:15 (And he said to them, "Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.)

Desecration of church edifices by worldly business, Mt 21:12, 13 (And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. ¹³ He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you make it a den of robbers."). Lk 19:46.

Despising little ones, Mt 18:10.

Divorce, Mt 5:32. 19:9. Mk 10:11, 12. Lk 16:18.

Doubt, Lk 12:29 (And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind.). add – Lk 21:34 (But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.)

Drunkenness, Lk 12:45-46 (But if that servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, ⁴⁶ the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful). 21:34 (But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap).

Exercise of lordship over brethren, Mt 20:25-28 (But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. ²⁶
It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, ²⁷ and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, ²⁸ even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."). 2 Co +*1:24 (Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm in your faith.).

False witness, Mt 19:18. Lk 18:20.

Falsehood, Mk 10:19. Lk 18:20.

Fear, Mk 5:36 (But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not fear, only believe."). Lk 8:50 (healing of Jairus' daughter: But Jesus on hearing this answered him, "Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.).

Fellowship with the wicked, Mt +*15:14 (Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.")

Fraud, Mk +*10:19 (You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.)

Going house to house, Lk 10:7 (instructions to 72: And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house.).

Going into the way of the Gentiles or entering any city of the Samaritans, Mt 10:5.

Heed to false teachers, Mt +*15:14 (Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit."). Mk +*4:24 (And he said to them, "Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you.).

Inconsistency, Mt 7:3-5 (Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴ Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.). 23:3 (The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, ³ so practice and observe whatever they tell you—but not what they do.). Lk 6:46 (Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you?). Jn 7:23 (If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man's whole body well?).

Indecision, Lk 9:62 (Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.")

Idle words, Mt 12:36. (I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, ³⁷ for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.")

Ingratitude, Mt 18:28-32 (But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, 'Pay what you owe.' ²⁹ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' ³⁰ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. ³¹ When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. ³² Then his master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.). Lk 17:17 (Then Jesus answered, "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? ¹⁸ Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?").

Injustice, Mt +*23:23 (Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness).

Instability, Mt 6:24 (No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.).

Jesting, Mt 12:36 (I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,).

Murder, Mt 5:21 ("You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.' ²² But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire.). 19:18 .

Murmuring, Jn 6:43 (Jesus answered them, "Do not grumble among yourselves.).

Ostentation in giving, fasting, or prayer. Mt 6:1, 5, 6 (Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven…And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ⁶ But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.), 17, 18 (But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, ¹⁸ that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.)

Profane swearing, Mt 5:34-36 (But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, ³⁵ or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. ³⁶ And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.)

Resistance, Mt 5:39 (But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.).

Retaliation, Mt 5:38-42 (You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' ³⁹ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. ⁴⁰ And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. ⁴¹ And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. ⁴² Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.)

Saluting men on the way, Lk 10:4 (Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road.)

Theft, Mt 19:18. Lk 18:20.

Troubling others doing good work for Christ, Mt 26:10 (But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, "Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me.). Mk 14:6.

Uncharitable judgments, Mt 7:1-5 (Judge not, that you be not judged. ² For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. ³ Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴ Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.). Lk 6:37, 42 (Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven…How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye.)

Uncharitableness, Mt 18:10 (See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.)

Unrighteous anger, Mt 5:22.

Vain repetitions in prayer, Mt 6:7, 8.

Worldliness, Mt 6:19 (Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal).

 

1. Commandments which are implied: Enjoining an exact conscience, Mt 6:22-24 (The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, ²³ but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! ²⁴ "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.)
   

   Against self-righteousness, Mt 7:3 (Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?).
   

   
    

   1. Commandments warning against: Anger, Mt 5:22.
      

   Covetousness, Lk 12:15 (And he said to them, "Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.)
   

   False teachers, Mt 7:15. ("Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves)
   

   Lawsuits, Mt 5:25, 26 (Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. ²⁶ Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.).
   

   Looking back, Lk 9:62 (Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.")
   

   Lust, Mt 5:28 (But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.)
   

   Oaths, Mt 5:34, 37 (But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, …³⁷ Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil.)
   

   Offending, Lk 17:1, 2 (And he said to his disciples, "Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! ² It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin).
   

   Offending little ones, Mt 18:6 (but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.). Mk 9:42.
   

   Revenge and vengeance, Mt 5:39 (But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.).
   

   Sadness, Mt 6:16 (And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.); Lk 24:17 (And he said to them, "What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?" And they stood still, looking sad.)
   

   Self-deception, Lk 11:35 (Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness.)
   

   Sinful indulgence, Lk 21:34 (But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.)
   

   Stealing, Mt 19:18. Mk 10:19. Lk 18:20.
   

   Strife, Mt 12:25 (Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.)
   

   Unfaithfulness, Lk 12:46 (the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful.); 16:11, 12 (If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? ¹² And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?).
   

   Vindictiveness, Lk 9:55, 56 (And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, "Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" ⁵⁵ But he turned and rebuked them. ⁵⁶ And they went on to another village.)
   

   Worry, Mt 6:34 (Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.)
   

   
    

   1. Miscellaneous Commands against Sin:
      

   Ambition, selfish. Mt 20:22 (Jesus answered, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?) Mk 10:38
   

   Mt 23:8 (But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers.)
   

   Lk 22:24-27. ( A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. ²⁵ And he said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. ²⁶ But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves.)
   

   Hypocrisy, Mt 6:1-5, 16. Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven…And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrite… Lk 20:46, 47 Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, ⁴⁷ who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.
   

   Watchfulness against covetousness, Lk 12:15. And he said to them, "Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
   

   Covetousness - Sell what you have, Mk 10:21 (And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."). Lk 12:33, 34.
   

   World, avoid entanglement - Dead to bury the dead, Mt 8:22. Lk 9:60.
   

   Dust, shake off feet, Mt 10:14. Mk 6:11. Lk 9:5.
   

   
    

   I an grateful to have completed this eye-opening task. Before I started, I completely relied on the Holy Spirit for my personal growth, without any self direction or awareness of how I wanted to grow. And so this exercise has helped me to see the vast number of ways believers can show their love and gratitude to Jesus for what He has done on the Cross for us. One verse that has stuck with me is the verse in Matthew 5:39, the turn the other cheek verse. It seems to me that there is more than one way to apply this verse in my life. And with this, I hope you will consider the Commands of Jesus and gratefully grow in your obedience to our Lord and Savior. For God's Glory, /s/Tom

Jesus’ Commands – Other Commands to the Elect (4)

Boo! – Happy Halloween to everyone out there. I am dressing up as Homer Simpson this Halloween. I know, what a stretch of a costume for me. We are coming down the homestretch with the listing of all of Jesus' Commands that are in the Gospels. Today's post is on the Other Commands for the Elect. I have spun off the Warnings against Sin into a fourth and final section, which I hope to post this weekend.

 

1. Other Commands for the Elect:
   
   1. Baptism/Fasting/Prayer/Tithing
      
   2. Beware of/Guard
      
   3. Commands for You;
      
   4. Conscience, guard the light of;
      
   5. Confession of Christ;
      
   6. Faith/Belief in God;
      
   7. Forgiveness;
      
   8. Renunciation of sources of temptation/hate sin;
      
   9. Seeking the kingdom of God
      

------------------

III.    Other Commands for the Elect:

1. Baptism/Fasting/Pray/Tithing – See, Jesus' Commands – Love God Outline;
   
2. Beware of/Guard:
   

Beware of false prophets, Mt 7:15

Beware of leaven, Mt 16:6 Jesus said to them, "Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Mk 8:15 (adds and the leaven of Herod.); Lk 12:1 (he began to say to his disciples first, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.)

Beware of scribes, Mk 12:38 And in his teaching he said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces ³⁹ and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, ⁴⁰ who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. Lk 20:46

Beware when all speak well of you, Lk 6:26. Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.

1. Commands for You:
   

Love yourself, Mt 22:39. (And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.)

Make friends of the mammon of unrighteousness, Lk 16:9. (And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.)

Salt, have in yourselves, Mk 9:50.

Watchfulness, Lk +*21:36. But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man."

Watchfulness against covetousness, Lk 12:15. And he said to them, "Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

Watchfulness against false christs, Mt 24:23-26. Mk 13:21-23. Lk 17:23.

 

1. Conscience, guard the light of, Mt 6:22 The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light,
   

Lk 11:34, 35. V. 35 adds - Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness.

1. Confession of Christ, Mt 10:32 (So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven). Mk 5:19 ((a man begged to go w/ Jesus, but He refused), Jesus did not let him, but said, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you."). Confession of Christ forbidden at times, Mt 9:30. Mk 1:44. 8:26.
   
2. Faith / Belief in God – See, Jesus' Commands – Love God Outline;
   
3. Forgiveness
   

Forgiveness, Mt 5:24 (leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.) Mt 6:12 (and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.). 18:21-22 (Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" ²² Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.) Mk 11:25 (And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.). Lk 6:36 (Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.) 17:3, 4 (Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, ⁴ and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, 'I repent,' you must forgive him.)

Foot-washing (seek forgiveness of sins), Jn 13:10, :14 (If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.)

Turn the other cheek, Lk 6:29.

1. Renunciation of sources of temptation/hate sin, Mt 5:29, 30 (If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. ³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.). 18:8, 9. Mk 9:43-48 (Mark adds - For everyone will be salted with fire. ⁵⁰ Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.")
   
2. Seeking the kingdom of God, Mt 6:33 (But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.). Lk 12:31 (Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.).
   

 

May God be glorified by our increasing obedience to these Commands. /s/Tom

Jesus’ Commands – Love Others, Virtues (3)

In my previous posts, I have described the Commands of Jesus Christ for his followers to obey. And the center verse that I am using to suggest that we should really follow these verses is John 14:15 If you love Me, keep My commandments. Previously I posted about these Commands involving how we should Love God (posts of October 15^th and October 18^th), and those Commands that involve Loving Others as a result of the Fruit of the Holy Spirit (October 24^th and October 26^th). Today's post is to list those Commands of Jesus that involve loving others and are part of a person's virtuous character.

 

In discussing a godly person's virtue, I think a good place to start is with the Roman Catholic Church's teaching on Virtue. The Church has four 'Cardinal' Virtues that are considered as having greater importance than other virtues. These 'Cardinal' Virtues are: 1. Prudence; 2. Justice; 3. Fortitude; and, 4. Temperance. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1805. The Catechism also starts out its' section on Virtues by quoting Philippians 4:8, which is a great place to start: Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. And so, with this background in mind, here is the list of Jesus' Commands involving human Virtues, assembled from the Commands in the 'New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge' (entry for 1 John 2:3):

 

Virtue – Chastity, Mt 5:27, 28. You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' ^28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Fidelity in marriage, Mt 19:6. Mk 10:8.

Virtue – Honesty, Mk 10:19 (You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.) Lk 6:31 (And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them). 8:15 (As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.).

Virtue - Justice, Mt +*23:23. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness.

Hear evidence before judging, Jn 7:51. Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?

Support of the oppressed, Mt 25:35-40. (end of Olivet Discourse support of hungry, those in prison…)

Virtue - Love Others - Family:

Children to come to Christ, Mt 19:14. Mk 10:14. Children not to be despised or offended, Mt 18:6, 10. Children to be fed spiritually, Jn 21:15.

Disciplining of children, Mt 19:14. Mk 10:14. Lk 18:16, 17.

Fidelity in marriage, Mt 19:6. Mk 10:8.

indissolubility of marriage, Mt 19:6 (So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.) Mk 10:9.

Marriage, Mk 10:7, 9. Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife,

Provide for parents, Mt 15:4-5 (For God commanded, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.' ⁵ But you say, 'If anyone tells his father or his mother, "What you would have gained from me is given to God," ⁶ he need not honor his father.' So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.). Mk 7:9-13 (And he said to them, "You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! ¹⁰ For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.' ¹¹ But you say, 'If a man tells his father or his mother, "Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban" ' (that is, given to God)— ¹² then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, ¹³ thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.").

Reverence for parents, Mt 15:4. 19:19. Lk 18:20 (You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.').

Support of family, Mt 15:5 (But you say, 'If anyone tells his father or his mother, "What you would have gained from me is given to God,"). Mk 7:10, 11 (For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.' ¹¹ But you say, 'If a man tells his father or his mother, "Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban" ' (that is, given to God)).

Virtue – Moral Behavior, Harmless as doves, to be, Mt 10:16. Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

Ideal character, Mt +*5:3-12. (see the Beatitudes; which include blessed are: the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, peacemakers, those who are persecuted or reviled for righteousness' sake.)

Keep the commandments, Mt 19:17. And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.

Righteousness, Mt 5:6 (Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.), 5:20 (For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven). Lk 13:24.

Virtue – Prepared for Christ's Return

Look up, Lk 21:28 ((at Jesus' Return) - Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near).

Preparedness, Mt 24:44 (therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.). 25:13 (Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.) Lk 12:35 (Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, ³⁶ and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks.)

Watchfulness, Lk +*21:36. But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man."

Weep for yourselves and your children, Lk 23:27, 28 (Olivet Discourse).

Virtue - Temperance, Lk 21:34. "But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.

Virtue – Wisdom; Prudence/be shrewd, Mt 10:16 (Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.). Lk 14:28 (But don't begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it?)

Cost must be considered, Lk 14:28.

Flee persecution, Mt 24:16. Mk 13:14. Lk 21:21. (All these are from Olivet Discourse)

Wise as serpents, be, Mt 10:16 (Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. ¹⁷ Beware of men…).

Virtue – Work, Labor, Jn 6:27. Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.

Occupy, Lk 19:13. Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, 'Engage in business until I come…

 

I hope you are finding this a helpful exercise in reviewing the Commands of Jesus. My prayer is that you are blessed by increasing knowledge of God and His character, and how He wants us to live our lives. In Jesus' name, Amen. /s/Tom

Jesus’ Commands – involving Yourself and Others (2)

Good Day! I am posting today to complete the list of Jesus' Commands involving yourself or others, under the 'Fruit of the Holy Spirit' category. The verses from the first ten of this Group were posted this past Thursday (Oct. 24^th). I realize there is a great deal to take in from what I am writing, but I didn't want to leave it as a simple summary, without also copying the actual Bible verses (the ESV is used). As you know there is power in the Word of God, and taking in the Word assists us in the following ways:

 

• through the reading of the Word and hearing it preached, people become born again. 1 Peter 1:23
  
• The Bible should be taken in daily. Lord's Prayer Petition (with John 6:35) for giving us our daily bread. Bereans examined Scriptures daily with eagerness in questioning Paul – Acts 17:11.
  
• The Bible will set free the reader with the truth. John 8:31-32.
  
• We hear Jesus' voice and instructions to us through the Bible. John 10:11
  
• The Bible gives us true wisdom from God Himself. Prov. 2:1-2; Col. 3:16
  
• The Bible teaches us the fear of the Lord and knowledge of God. Prov. 2:1,:5
  
• Knowing God's Word allows us teach others, training others in righteousness, correcting and rebuking others. 2 Tim. 3:16
  
• The Bible makes us workers of God. 2 Tim. 2:15
  
• The Bible prepares and equips a person for doing good works that God wants us to do. 2 Tim. 3:17
  
• Some hear it and bear fruit, some 30 fold, 60 fold, and some 100 fold – Matt. 13:8;
  
• The Bible is the one offensive weapon against the enemy Satan, the Sword of the Spirit. Eph 6.
  
• We are to train our children to know God and to know His Word. Book of Proverbs, teaching them in the morning, at night and as we travel.
  
• If we obey Jesus' teaching in the Bible then we are really His disciples. John 8:31-32. And we become His friends, we start developing a relationship with the Sovereign Creator of the universe. John 15:15. Is this cool or what!
  

  And so, I hope we will take in these verses together and grow in our faith, knowledge of the Triune God, and in obedience. Here again, is the outline of Jesus' Commands involving the Fruit of the Holy Spirit:
  

1. Fruit of the Holy Spirit
   
   1. Asceticism;
      
   2. Bless Others;
      
   3. Conflict;
      
   4. Endurance/Perseverance/Patience;
      
   5. Faithfulness/Standing Firm;
      
   6. Fruitfulness;
      
   7. Humility/Meekness;
      
   8. Joy;
      
   9. Love Others (by Actions/Kindness/Goodness)
      
   10. Love Others (Brethren)
       
   11. Love Others (Evangelism)
       
   12. Love Others (Giving/Generosity)
       
   13. Love Others (Mercy)
       
   14. Obedience;
       
   15. Peace;
       
   16. Repentance;
       
   17. Righteousness;
       
   18. Spirit Filled;
       

 

 

1. Love Others (Evangelism) - Mt 28:19 (Great Commission); Mark 16:15.
   

Compel to come in, Lk 14:23 (Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full.)

Fruitfulness, Jn 15:16 (You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.); also Mt 25:27?

Make friends of the mammon of unrighteousness, Lk 16:9. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. (See, MacArthur Study Bible entry for Lk 16:9 - …believers are to use their Master's money in a way that will accrue friends for eternity—by investing in the kingdom gospel that brings sinners to salvation, so that when they arrive in heaven ("an everlasting home"), those sinners will be there to welcome them. Christ did not commend the man's dishonesty;)

Preach, Ac 10:42. And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead.

Preach upon house tops/evangelism, Mt 10:27. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.

Witnessing for Christ, Mk 1:17 (And Jesus said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men."). 5:19 (And he did not permit him but said to him, "Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you."). Ac 1:8 (But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."). Great Commission – Mt 28:19;

[But see, Silence, Mt 8:4. (after healing leprosy.)]

1. Love Others (Giving/Generosity)
   

Charitableness, Mt 18:10. Lk 6:(37), 38. give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you;

Clothing to be shared with needy, Mt 5:40. Lk 6:29.

Giving, Mt 5:42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

Mt 10:42 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.

Mt 19:21 (Rich Young Ruler – go sell all and give to the poor);

Lk 6:30, Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back.

Lk 6:38 give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.

Ac +*20:35 In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'

Give according to ability, Lk 11:41n. But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you.

Invite poor for meals, Lk 14:13. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,

Liberality/generosity, Mt 5:42 (Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.) 6:30 (But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?) 12:33 (Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.), 34. Mk 12:41-44 (And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. ⁴² And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. ⁴³ And he called his disciples to him and said to them, "Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. ⁴⁴ For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on."), Lk 12:33 (Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.). Ac +*20:35 (In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.').

Lending, Mt 5:42 (Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.). Lk 6:34, 35 (And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. ³⁵ But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.).

Pay adequate wages, Mt 10:10. Lk 10:7 (And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages…)

Sell what you have, Mk 10:21 (And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."). Lk 12:33, 34.

Support of the ministry, Lk 10:7. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house.

Support of the poor, Lk 14:13, 14. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, ¹⁴ and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just."

1. Love Others - Mercy
   

Compassion, Mt 18:33. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?

Lk 10:33, 37. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion…He said, "The one who showed him mercy." And Jesus said to him, "You go, and do likewise.

Mercy, Mt 9:12, 13 (But when he heard it, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ¹³ Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."). Lk 6:36 (Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.).

1. 
   Obedience
   

Laying up treasure in heaven, Mt 6:20.

Obedience, Mt 7:21 (Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.). Lk 6:46 (Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you?). Jn 13:15, 17 (For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you… ¹⁷ If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.)

Obedience to civil government, Mt 17:24-27 (render unto Caesar story.). Mk 12:17. Lk 20:25.

Overcoming, Re 2:7, 11, 17. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.' …He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.' … To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.'

Zeal for righteousness, Lk 8:39 ("Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you." And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him. ). Jn 6:27 (Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.")

1. Peace
   

Agreement with adversaries, Mt 5:25, 26 (Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. ²⁶ Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.)

Contentment, Mt 6:25, 34. (Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?... Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.)

Peace, Mk 9:50 (Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another."). Peace, seek things belonging to, Lk 19:42(Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.)

Rest, Mk 6:31 (And he said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.). 14:41.

Settle out of court, Lk 12:58.

 

1. 
   Repentance, Mt 4:17 (From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.")
   

   7:13, 14 (Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. ¹⁴ For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.) (TEW: it's interesting that this verse was put under repentance, and so is the narrow gate the one of repentance?).
   

   18:3 (and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.).
   

   Mk 1:15. Lk +*13:3, 5 (he answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? ³ No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. ⁴ Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? ⁵ No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.").
   

   Re 2:16 (to Church of Pergamum - Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.).
   

   3:19 (to Church of Laodecia – (Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.)
   

Enter strait/narrow gate, Lk 13:24. Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. (Repentance is narrow gate?)

1. Righteousness
   

Zeal for righteousness, Lk 8:39 ("Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you." And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him. ). Jn 6:27 (Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.")

Enter strait/narrow gate, Lk 13:24. Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.

1. Spirit-filled
   

New birth, Jn 3:3, :7. Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God… Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.

 

May God bless you this week, and continue opening His Word to you – in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen. /s/Tom