January 31, 2018

Ephesians 4:22 – 24

(All Scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated)

We highlighted the negatives of Little Acceptable Sins from Ephesians 4:31 in our last blog.  Now it is time to move on to verse 32 where Paul emphasizes the positives!  This series is based on Ephesians 4:22 through 24:  ‘Little’ Sins being those that the old man (the sinful nature) produces.  And they are ‘Acceptable’ in that too many Christians don’t consider them serious!  But Paul does!  And so does God!  Here, once again, is our featured Scripture:

      …put off concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows cor-
      rupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your
      mind, and…put on the new man which was created according to God, in
      righteousness and true holiness.

We are admonished to put off the old sinful nature, and put on the new godly nature – because there are a lot of Little Acceptable Sins that come out of that old sinful nature, defeating the purpose for which God has called us! (See John 13:34, 35; Romans 8:29; Acts 1:8).  They are Acceptable only because (and especially because) modern Western Christians tolerate these sins in their lives and the lives of other believers!  Ephesians 4:32 generally shows us how we should be living:  “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you.”

•      “And be kind to one another….”

       ✞      What does it mean to be kind?  Thayer’s Greek Defiinitions tells us the Greek word for kind – χρηστός (pronouced khras-tos’) – means, “…fit for use, useful… virtuous, good…[concerning people] kind, benevolent.”

       ✞      We can get a better understanding of being kind from how the word is used concerning God:

               ▸      Ephesians 2:4 through 7 – “…God…because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ…and raised us up together, and made us sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”  God’s grace, love, and kindness provided salvation and the potential of a full life for sinners! (See John 10:10).

               ▸      Titus 3:3 through 5 – “…we…were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.  But…the kindness and…love of God our Savior toward man appeared …[and] He saved us….”

       ✞      Kindness is included in the nine manifestations of the fruit of the Spirit (see Galatians 5:22, 23) – fruit that is to be absolutely vital in our Christian lives!

       ✞      Kindness is also translated goodness in Romans 2:4 (Contemporary English Version):  “God’s wonderful goodness….Don’t you know that the reason God is good to you is because He wants you to turn to Him? ”

•      “…be…tenderhearted…to one another….”  A combination word in the Greek as well as in English – Strong’s Greek Dictionary says εὔσπλαγχνος (pronounced yoo’-splangkh-nos) means, “…well-compassioned, that is, sympathetic.”  I believe the word empathetic belongs also in the definition because it is ‘deeper’ than just being sympathetic.  Having sympathy is described by Google Dictionary as, “…feelings of pity or sorrow for someone else’s misfortune.”  But being empathetic means, “…showing an ability to understand and share the feelings of another.” (Google Dictionary).

•      “…be…forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you.”

       ✞      The basis of forgiving one another lies in the fact that God in Christ also forgave you!

               ▸      Could anyone ever go through more torture, degradation, and pain than did Jesus at the cruel hands of men?

               ▸      More than the physical suffering and death, Christ “…was made sin for us…” (II Corinthians 5:21).  The perfect and sinless Son of God took upon Himself all the sins of the world – my sins and your sins – and suffered in our place the eternal hell of the Father’s condemnation!

               ▸      Yet what did Jesus say while He hung dying on the cross?  “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” (Luke 23:34).

                        ➨      Even in the midst of experiencing what the worst men could do to another man, the Lord asked forgiveness for His persecutors!

                        ➨      Anything we are asked to forgive that another has done against us, is far less than what Jesus experienced!  In other words, if He can forgive those who so abused Him, I can forgive my adversaries!

       ✞      Christ taught us to pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “…forgive us our sins, as we forgive everyone who sins against us.” (Luke 11:4 – International Standard Version).  Then Jesus adds these words after Matthew’s version of the Lord’s Prayer:  “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

               ▸      It is not that God’s forgiveness is dependent upon our forgiving others first!

               ▸      It is more that if we are unforgiving, it is a strong indication that we have never expereinced, understood, and accepted the Father’s forgiveness through the Son!

       ✞      Because we are imperfect people still infected with a sin nature, even the strongest Christian will sin against other believers!  If the Body of Christ (see I Corinthians 12:27) is to remain strong, there has to be a lot of forgiveness among its members!  And so, we are admonished:  “…be…forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you.”

We will continue on Friday with the seventh offering in this series.

January 29, 2018

Ephesians 4:22 – 24

(All Scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated)

We have been looking at Little Acceptable Sins from Ephesians 4:22 through 24 – ‘Little’ Sins being those that the old man (the sinful nature) produces.  And they are ‘Acceptable’ in that too many Christians don’t consider them serious!  But Paul does!  And so does God!  Here, once again, is our featured Scripture:

      …put off concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows cor-
      rupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your
      mind, and…put on the new man which was created according to God, in
      righteousness and true holiness.

We have considered the verses following our featured Scripture, verses 25 through 30 so far, where the apostle gets specific about how those Little Acceptable Sins are manifested in a Christian’s life.  We’ll continue with verse 31:

•      Ephesians 4:31 – “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.”  Paul mentions five manifestations of Sins we must be careful to avoid:

       ✞      “Let all bitterness…be put away from you….”  Strong’s Greek Dictionary defines bitterness as, “…acridity (especially poison), literally or figuratively….”  Webster’s New World Dictionary tells us acrid is “…sharp, bitter, or irritating… speech.”  Bitterness poisons wherever it is spread!

               ▸      It poisons our own lives!

                        ➨      According to Mathew 12:34 and 35, “…out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  A good man out of the good treasure of the heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.”  So if bitter words are coming out of our mouths, bitterness has already poisoned our hearts (our lives)!

                        ➨      Bitterness replaces what God wants within – and so to be manifested without:  “…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…” (Galatians 5:22 and 23 – English Standard Version).

But too often we tend to say about the Christian who spews bitterness, “Oh, that’s just her! ” or “That’s just him! ”  This is unAcceptable!

               ▸      Bitterness poisons the lives of those around the bitter person!            I Corinthians 15:33 (Easy-to-Read Version) says, “Don’t be fooled:  ‘Bad friends will ruin good habits.’ ”  Don’t let a bitter person ruin your Christian walk!

       ✞      “Let all…wrath [and] anger…be put away from you….”

               ▸ Wrath is defined by Strong as, “…passion (as if breathing hard)….”   It is anger out of control!  Webster says it is “…intense anger; rage; fury…[or] any action carried out in great anger, especially for punishment or vengeance.”

               ▸      Anger, closely associated with wrath, is bad enough!  Solomon, in Ecclesiastes 7:9 warns us, “Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools.”  Remember, it was anger that turned Cain against his brother Abel when he “…rose up against his brother and killed him.” (Genesis 4:8 – see also I John 3;11-15).  And Jesus warns us in Matthew 5:22, “…whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.”

Do not let anger and wrath dominate your life, or the lives of other Christians around you!

But also carefully remember, as stated in Little Acceptable Sins – I (January 19th blog):  Certain occasions for righteous anger are ok! (See Psalm 7:11; 139:19, 21, 22).

       ✞      “Let all…evil speaking…be put away from you….”  Strong says evil speaking is “…vilification (especially against God)….”  The Greek word βλασφημία (pronounced blas-phe-mi-a) is obviously from where we get our words blaspheme and blasphemy.  It is speaking against the name, and so the person, of another – whether of God or fellow human being!  It is attacking the integrity of another!  This means it is much the same as gossip! (See the discussion of gossip in Little Acceptable Sins – III, the January 24th blog).  Evil speaking must not be tolerated or encouraged as an Acceptable Sin among believers!

       ✞      “Let all…malice…be put away from you….”  Malice, according to Strong, is “…badness, that is, (subjectively) depravity, or (actively) malignity, or (passively) trouble….”  This refers more to the inward brew out of which flows the four previous actions the apostle names – more so than the outward actions.  Because it is bubbling within, out of sight – unless manifested by bitterness, wrath, anger, or evil speaking – it is perhaps the most dangerous of the five Little Acceptable Sins Paul names in Ephesians 4:31!

Verse 31 highlights the negatives!  The next verse the positives!

•      Ephesians 4:32 – “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you.”  Three good things are named here that are to be manifested in the believer’s life!  And these three will totally negate the five evil things highlighted in verse 31!

But we will have to wait until Wednesday to carefully examine these three.

January 26, 2018

Ephesians 4:22 – 24

(All Scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated)

Paul wrote Ephesians 4:22 through 24 admonishing the Ephesian Christians to put off the old nature with its sinful outworking, and put on the new nature that was birthed by the Holy Spirit and manifests itself in Godly thought, word, and deed!  Here are the three verses of our featured Scripture:

      …put off concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows cor-
      rupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your
      mind, and…put on the new man which was created according to God, in
      righteousness and true holiness.

Then Paul gets into specifics – which is the main topic of this series.  We have examined verses 25 through 29. Let’s go on to…

•      Ephesians 4:30 – “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God….”  This is more of a general instruction for believers, in the midst of specifics.

       ✞      How do we grieve the Holy Spirit of God ?  By disobedience!  We grieve Him when we…

               ▸      …do things we should not do!  A good example of this is what we studied in Wednesday’s blog – “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth…” (Ephesians 4:29).  It happens far too often that we let corrupt communication come out of our mouths – corruption such as “…dirty or foolish or filthy words.” (Ephesians 5:4 – Contemporary English Version).

               ▸      …don’t do things we should do!  The last part of Ephesians 4:29 covers this idea – “…but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”  How often it has been that the Spirit has led me to say an edifying word to someone, but I haven’t.  That, too, is sin!

       ✞      How do we not grieve the Holy Spirit of God ?  By obedience!  But, the problem is, it is so easy to disobey!

               ▸      Often we do it consciously.  Other times we are not aware of our disobedience.  But even sinning in ignorance (see Leviticus 4:27-31), it is still in opposition to what God wants our Christian lives to manifest!

               ▸      I believe that to be more consistent as God’s obedient children, we need to sincerely and often pray what David prayed in Psalm 139:23 and 24 (King James Version):  “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts:  and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

•      Ephesians 4:30 – “…by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

       ✞      This Holy Spirit act of being sealed is one of the main functions of Him residing within us! (See II Corinthians 1:22; 5:5; Ephesians 1:13, 14).  This is also the main reason I believe in eternal security!  But that’s a discussion for another day.

       ✞      But being sealed for the day of redemption is not the only function of the Holy Spirit within us!

               ▸      He leads us, as He did Paul and Silas in Acts 16:6 and 7 – “Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia.  After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them.”

               ▸      He empowers us!

                        ➨       As Jesus told the disciples in Luke 24:49, “Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”

                        ➨       Paul wrote in Romans 15:19, “…by the power of the Spirit…from Jerusalem…to Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.”

                        ➨       Philippians 2:13 – “…it is God who works in you [by the Holy Spirit] both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”

               ▸      He gifts us!  In I Corinthians 14:1 (Contemporary English Version), Paul encourages us to “Be eager to have the gifts that come from the Holy Spirit…”  The nine gifts of the Spirit are listed in I Corinthians 12:8-10.

               ▸      He produces spiritual fruit in our lives!  “…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…” (Galatians 5:22 and 23 – English Standard Version).

               ▸      He teaches us!  “…the anointing which you have received from Him [the Holy Spirit sent from God] abides in you, and…teaches you concerning all things….” (I John 2:27).

               ▸      He sanctifies us!  In II Thessalonians 2:13 we are told, “…God…chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.” (see also I Peter 1:2).

       ✞      We are sealed for the day of redemption!  But were not we redeemed when we put our faith in Jesus Christ?  Yes!  But that is only the beginning of the process.  The completion of redemption will occur at our resurrection, when we are totally conformed to the image of Jesus Christ! (See Romans 8:29; I Corinthians 15:49; I John 3:2).  As Paul wrote in Philippians 1:6:  “…being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ [when He returns].”

We only covered one more verse – Ephesians 4:30 – but there is so much here to learn!  And we will learn more on Monday.

January 24, 2018

Ephesians 4:22 – 24

(All Scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated)

Once again, here is our featured Scripture, Ephesians 4:22 through 24:

      …put off concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows cor-
      rupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your
      mind, and…put on the new man which was created according to God, in
      righteousness and true holiness.

The one called by God to put his or her faith in Jesus Christ is then instructed to “…put off…the old man….and……put on the new man…” (Ephesians 4:22 and 24). In other words, put down the corrupt human nature with its sinful works, and build up the Godly nature! Starting with Ephesians 4:25, Paul then gives specifics of what a believer in Christ is to do. In the last two blogs, we have examined the first five things to characterize a Christian’s life – verses 25 through 28. So let’s continue with…

•      Ephesians 4:29 – “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth….” Now this is a challenge for a lot of Christians! Just what is considered corrupt communication?

       ✞      In the next chapter, Ephesians 5:3 and 4, Paul expands on one aspect of this: “…filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting…let it not even be named among you….”

               ▸      filthiness – “shamefulness, that is, obscenity…” (Strong’s Greek Dictionary).

               ▸      foolish talking – “silly talk, that is, buffoonery…” (Ibid.)

               ▸      coarse jesting – “well-turned, that is, ready at repartee, jocose…witticism, that is, (in a vulgar sense) ribaldry…” (Ibid.)

       ✞      Another idea of corrupt communication would be gossip! Leviticus 19:16 says, “You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people….” (See also Proverbs 11:13; 18:8; 20:19). Paul told Timothy to be careful as a pastor concerning the church helping widows. The younger widows especially, he warned in I Timothy 5:13, are learning “…to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle but also gossips and busybodies, saying things which they ought not.”  Dawson McAllister, Christian Talk Radio host and originator of the off-air “let’s talk” TheHopeLine® writes this in his blog, The Danger Of Gossip: “The most dangerous part about gossip is that it steals another person’s reputation. A reputation is very fragile. When you gossip, you are helping to destroy something extremely valuable.”

       ✞      Steven J. Cole, pastor of Flagstaff Christian Fellowship, on the website Bible.org, offers in Lesson 35: Transformed Talk, twelve examples of ‘rotten speech’

               ▸      Name-calling, put-downs, & trading insult for insult (see I Peter 3:9).

               ▸      Inaccurate labeling – tearing others down by lumping them with a negative group (see I Corinthians 15:33).

               ▸      Sarcasm, ridicule, mockery – used positively only with extreme caution (see I Kings 18:27; Matthew 23).

               ▸      Blaming (see Genesis 3:11-13), exaggerated attacks – “You always…” or “You never….”

               ▸      Destructive criticism – given to vent, not to help or heal (see Proverbs 12:18).

               ▸      Angry words, including threats and revenge – domination or control through fear and intimidation (see Matthew 20:25 – English Standard Version).

               ▸      Arguments where you seek to win so as to maintain power – your aim should never be just to win the argument (see John 9:24-34).

               ▸      Deception, lies, and manipulative speech – Paul covered this in Ephesians 4:25.

               ▸      Gossip and slander (see the preceding ✞ symbol above).

               ▸      Profanity – desecrates God and/or His creation (see Exodus 20:7).

               ▸      Filthy talk and coarse jokes – Paul expounds more on this in Ephesians 5:3 and 4 above.

We would do well to remember what James has written in his epistle – James 3:5, 6, 8, 9, and 10:

      …the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a
      forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The
      tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets
      on fire the course of nature, and it is set on fire by hell….no man can tame
      the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our
      God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the
      similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing.
      My brethren, these things ought not to be so.

•      Ephesians 4:29 – “Let…proceed out of your mouth…what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” What is good? That which builds another up in his or her faith!

       ✞      We are to teach one another the Christian faith – especially if God has gifted you as a teacher! (See Ephesians 4:11, 12; Hebrews 5:12).

       ✞      We are to compliment one another for jobs well done! Jesus will say just that to some of God’s children at the judgment of believers (see I Corinthians 3:11-15). The fondest dream I have is to hear Him say to me, “Well done, good and faithful servant….” (Matthew 25:21).

       ✞      We are to encourage one another in the faith! Hebrews 10:24 (Contemporary English Version) tells us, “We should keep on encouraging each other to be thoughtful and to do helpful things.”

       ✞      We are also to challenge one another if a brother or sister is sinning against God! Here is what Leviticus 19:17 says (Modern King James Version): “You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall always rebuke your neighbor, and not allow sin on him.”

Be careful to use your tongue for good, and not for evil purposes!

January 22, 2018

Ephesians 4:22 – 24

(All Scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated)

Our featured Scripture is Ephesians 4:22 through 24 – the lifestyle that believers should be living after putting their faith in Christ:

      …put off concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows cor-
      rupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your
      mind, and…put on the new man which was created according to God, in
      righteousness and true holiness.

We are to do two major things according to these three verses:

•      Verse 22 – “…put off…your former conduct, the old man….”  The old man is the sinful human nature which all of us have inherited from our first father (see Romans 5:12).  The former conduct includes the sins listed in Romans 1:26 through 31, 3:10-18, II Timothy 3:2 through 4, and other places.  Galatians 5:19 through 21 is perhaps the most complete list in one place:

      Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornica-
      tion, uncleanness, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions,
      jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,
      envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like….

•      Verse 24 – “…put on the new man…created in righteousness and true holiness.”  This new nature, given by God (see Ezekiel 36:26; II Corinthians 5:17), manifests good and holy works like those listed as the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22 and 23 (Easy-to-Read Version):  “…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

Now it is God who produces the fruit of the Spirit!  It is also God who births the new man within us by the working of the Holy Spirit.  Our part is to repress that old man (the old sinful nature – see Ephesians 4:22), and to develop the new man (the Godly nature – see Ephesians 4:22, 23) so we can become mature believers! (See Ephesians 4:13-15).  This is done mainly by the Christian disciplines of Bible reading and study, prayer, fellowship and worship with other believers, giving, and sharing the gospel with others.  Unfortunately, too many Christians allow too many Little Acceptable Sins to creep in and tarnish the lives of the followers of Jesus!  It may be in their own lives, or it may be in the lifestyle of fellow believers.  But to let these Little Sins go unchallenged is wrong!  And it greatly hampers the development of mature Christians!

So what does a mature believer look like?  The verses following our featured Scripture describe that mature one.  We examined last Friday three of those characteristics in Ephesians 4:25 through 27:

•      Ephesians 4:25 – “…put…away all lying, each one speak truth to his neighbor….”

•      Ephesians 4:26 “‘Be angry, and do not sin’; do not let the sun go down on your wrath.”

•      Ephesians 4:27 – “…nor give place to the devil.”

Let’s go on…

•      Ephesians 4:28 – “Let him that stole steal no longer….”  “I am not a thief! ” someone might say in self-defense.  But what do you do when…

       ✞      …filing your tax returns and you can fudge a bit on the value of deductions taken?  In his 1986 tax return, Bill Clinton claimed $726 for ten items – non-cash donations of clothes to various charitable agencies – including $6 for three pair of used underwear donated to the Salvation Army!  The Americans for Tax Reform website has an article entitled, “How the Clintons Cheated on Their ‘Used Underwear’ Tax Return.”  In 2016 dollars, the claim amount for the donations would be worth $1,595.45.  What is legally allowed in 2016 by the IRS is between $75 and $373!  This is a high–profile couple and a highly publicized example.  But how many who call themselves Christians do something similar?

       ✞      Awhile ago, we had our driveway resurfaced.  The price quoted was $1,800.  I offered the company owner cash, so he said it would just be the $1,800 and no 6% sales tax.  I went for a walk and prayed.  God brought to my mind Romans 13:7 (English Standard Version):  “Pay to all what is owed to them:  taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.”  So when I came back from my walk, I told the owner, “God laid it on my heart to pay the $1,800 plus the 6% sales tax of $108.  That’s what I will do.”  He was a Christian also, and told me, “Not many would do that! ”  It is too bad that “…not many would do that! ”  But I know God can quickly bless me with far more than $108 as I obey Him!  As a follower of Jesus Christ, what would you do?

•      Ephesians 4:28 – “…but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.”  According to Leviticus 27:32, “…concerning the tithe…the tenth shall be holy to the LORD.”  But how many Christians give “…what I can afford…”?  And that is one of those Little Acceptable Sins!  But what does God say to His ‘pious’ people in Malachi 3:8 through 10?

      Will a man rob God?  Yet you have robbed Me!  But you say, “In what way
      have we robbed You?”  In tithes and offerings.  You are cursed with a curse,
      for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation.  Bring all the tithes into the
      storehouse that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now in this…
      if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such
      blessings that there will not be room enough to receive it.

Give faithfully the tithe to God – and much more!  You cannot out-give God! (See Luke 6:38; Romans 8:31, 32; Philippians 4:19).

More on Wednesday.

January 19, 2018

Ephesians 4:22 – 24

(All Scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated)

In Ephesians 4:22 through 24, Paul writes concerning the lifestyle that believers should manifest after their conversion to Jesus Christ:

      …put off concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows cor-
      rupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your
      mind, and…put on the new man which was created according to God, in
      righteousness and true holiness.

But then, in the following verses, the apostle goes into more specific details of Little Acceptable Sins that plague our lives!  And why are they called ‘Little’ and ‘Acceptable’?  Because too many Christians think that Little Sins are just that – Little, and not really that important to God or concerning the effect they have on our lives!  Here is Paul’s list of Sins that are often tolerated in Christian circles:

•      Ephesians 4:25 – “…put…away all lying, each one speak truth to his neighbor….” Some will say, “It’s just a little white lie.  It is no big thing.”  But a lie is a lie! And here is what the Bible says about it:

       ✞      Proverbs 12:22 – “Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD….”

       ✞      Jonah 2:8 (KJV) – “They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.”

       ✞      Revelation 21:2 and 27 – “…I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God….But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie….”

•      Ephesians 4:26 (Paul is quoting Psalm 4:4) – “‘Be angry, and do not sin’; do not let the sun go down on your wrath.”  Being angry can be dangerous!

       ✞      Think about incidents of road rage!  Being angry at someone who even unintentionally cuts another driver off has resulted in angry confrontations and even death!

       ✞      But the repercussions of anger can be worse than that!  Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:22 (Good News Bible):

      But now I tell you:  if you are angry with your brother you will be brought to
      trial, if you call your brother ‘You good-for-nothing!’ you will be brought
      before the Council, and if you call your brother a worthless fool you will be
      in danger of going to the fire of hell.

Certain occasions for righteous anger are ok!

       ✞      We are even told in Psalm 7:11, “…God is angry with the wicked every day.”  But that does not mean He does not love them.  He has made provision for sinners to cease from being under His anger through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ!

       ✞      David in Psalm 139:19, 21, and 22, wrote, “Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God!…Do I not hate them, O LORD, who hate You?…I hate them with a perfect hatred; I count them my enemies.”

•      Ephesians 4:27 – “…nor give place to the devil.”

       ✞      If we are not going to give place to the devil, we must be prepared to say with Paul in II Corinthians 2:11:  “…for we are not ignorant of his devices.”

       ✞      And Jesus tells us in 10:16, “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves.  Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”

We are told to study our adversary’s personality, mind, goals, and tactics – not to imitate those tactics, but to be ready to defend ourselves against them!  Unfortunately, far too many Christians do not take the enemy of their souls seriously!  We must know him and his ways to successfully battle the evil one!

•      Ephesians 4:28 – “Let him that stole steal no longer….”  “I am not a thief! ” someone might say in self-defense.  But what do you do when…

       ✞      …filing your tax returns and you can fudge a bit on the value of deductions taken?  In his 1986 tax return, Bill Clinton claimed $726 for ten items – non-cash donations of clothes to various charitable agencies – including $6 for three pair of used underwear donated to the Salvation Army!  The Americans for Tax Reform website has an article entitled, “How the Clintons Cheated on Their ‘Used Underwear’ Tax Return.” In 2016 dollars, the donations claim amount would be worth $1,595.45.  What is legally allowed in 2016 by the IRS is between $75 and $373!  This is a high–profile couple and a highly publicized example.  But how many who call themselves Christians do something similar?

       ✞      Awhile ago, we had our driveway resurfaced.  The price quoted was $1,800.  I offered the company owner cash, and he said it would just be the $1,800 and no 6% sales tax.  I went for a walk and prayed.  God brought to my mind Romans 13:7 (English Standard Version):  “Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.”  So when I came back from my walk, I told the owner, “God laid it on my heart to pay the $1,800 plus the 6% sales tax of $108.  That’s what I will do.”  He was a Christian also, and told me, “Not many would do that! ”  It is too bad that “…not many would do that! ”  But I know God can quickly bless me with far more than $108 as I obey Him!  As a follower of Christ, what would you do?

We will continue with Little Acceptable Sins on Monday.

January 17, 2018

Philippians 3:7, 8

(All Scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated)

In the last blog we looked at Saul, who became the Apostle Paul.  He had traveled the known world spreading the gospel of Christ and establishing churches in major metropolitan areas.  About ten years before writing to the Philippians, on his second missionary journey, he had been used by God in the Greek city of Philippi for the salvation of some key people – among them Lydia (see Acts 16:11-15) and the Philippian jailer and family (see Acts 16:23-34).  After his third missionary journey, Paul was arrested in Jerusalem (see Acts 21:27-34) and kept in custody in Caesarea for more than two years, according to Acts 24:27.  Having appealed his case to the emperor, the apostle was taken to Rome and held in prison there awaiting his trial.  During this time he wrote what is known as ‘the prison epistles’ – Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon.  In the letter to the Philippian church, Paul shared the famous declaration of his goal as a believer – Philippians 3:7 through 14.  Our featured Scripture is verses 7 and 8:

      …what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.  But
      indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of
      Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and
      count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.

Paul’s goal was Character, not Comfort!  We saw how he could have had a very comfortable life as a Pharisee and member of the Jewish Sanhedrin – especially if he is (as I believe) one and the same as the rich young ruler! (See Matthew 19:16-22; Mark 10:17-22; Luke 18:18-23).

Why do so many who have accepted Jesus as their personal Savior seem to seek Comfort over Character?  I would doubt that they would agree with this last statement.  But let’s look at some of the implications of our calling when one becomes a Christian:

•      The Lord calls us out of the world, but leaves us in the world to be a witness unto His grace!  We can learn much from His High Priestly prayer in John 17:

       ✞      John 17:6 and 16 (Good News Bible) – “I have made You known to those You gave Me out of the world.  They belonged to You, and You gave them to Me….Just as I do not belong to the world, they do not belong to the world.”

       ✞      John 17:18 – “As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.”

       ✞      John 17:22 and 23 – “…the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:  I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.”

•      This world system stands in opposition to God and His purpose!

       ✞      It is currently under the temporary dominion of the god of this world – Satan! (See Luke 4:5, 6; II Corinthians 4:4).

       ✞      According to II Thessalonians 2:4, the devil “…opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits…showing himself that he is God.”

       ✞      Jesus warned His followers in John 15:18 and 19, “If the world hates you, know that it hated Me before it hated you.  If you were of the world, the world would love its own.  Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”

•      Jesus tells us in Mark 8:34, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”

       ✞      The cross is an instrument of death!  When we follow Jesus bearing our cross, we are going out to die with Him!

       ✞      We do not necessarily die physically, but we are to die to self!  We are to take the continual attitude with which Jesus prayed in the Garden – Luke 22:42: “…neverthe-less not My will, but Yours, be done.”  This is saying to God that we will obey and do what He leads us to do – not what we want to do!

       ✞      Paul was an example of this.  He wrote in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

•      How far are we to take this attitude of being crucified with Christ ?

       ✞      …even unto suffering for the cause of our Lord!

               ▸      Paul writes in Galatians 3:10, “…that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His suffering….”

               ▸      In II Timothy 3:12 he says, “…all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”

               ▸      Peter tells his readers in his first epistle, I Peter 4:13 and 16: “…you partake of Christ’s sufferings….if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.”

       ✞      …even unto death!  Paul told Timothy just before the aged apostle was martyred in Rome – I Timothy 4:6 (God’s Word to the Nations):  “My life is coming to an end, and it is now time for me to be poured out as a sacrifice to God.”

It is not to a life of ease and personal pleasure that we are called to live as followers of Jesus Christ!  We are to become more and more like Jesus!

•      Romans 8:28, and 29 – “…those who are…called…He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.”

•      II Corinthians 3:18 – “…we all…beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into that same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

•      Colossians 3:10 – “…the new man [the Christian] is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him.”

God wants Character…not necessarily Comfort! (See also Romans 5:3-5; James 1:2-4).  Be conformed to the image of His Son!

January 15, 2018

Philippians 3:7, 8

(All Scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated)

The pastor of my home church, Pastor Ken is a dedicated Christian man and a good leader.  He delves deeply into the Bible and builds his sermons on the truths of Scripture.  When I can, I attend Sunday morning service – I rarely do because of my own preaching schedule – and I always listen closely to my pastor’s sermons, taking notes.  I have told him that I get ten or a dozen ideas for blogs out of every sermon he preaches!  This is one idea from a sermon he preached a year and a half ago – “The Importance of Holiness.”  I call it this blog, “Character Or Comfort?”  And the featured Scripture I have chosen is part of Paul’s great personal declaration in Philippians 3:7 through 14. Here are verses 7 and 8:

      …what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.  But
      indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of
      Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and
      count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.

I think you can see what I see in this Scripture:  Paul is striving for Character, not Comfort!  But he certainly could have had a comfortable existence!  Here are some of the highlights of Saul’s life before he was confronted by Jesus Christ on the Damascus Road, recorded in Acts 9:1 through 6 (he was known as Saul before he became Paul the apostle – see Acts 13:9):

•      Acts 23:6 – Saul was the son of a Pharisee, and a Pharisee himself!  While Pharisees were not often rich, they were influential along with the more elite Sadducees in the Sanhedrin (the ruling body of the Jews composed of 71 people – the High Priest and 70 others).  They were the scribes – the ultra-studious teachers of the Jewish law!

•      Acts 22:3 – He was educated and trained in the school of Gamaliel.  According to Acts 5:34, “…Gamaliel [was]…one in the council [Sanhedrin], a Pharisee…a teacher [doctor – KJV] of the law held in respect by all the people….”  He held “…the title ‘Rabban’ which…was borne only by presidents of the highest religious council [and] was first prefixed to the name of Gamaliel.” (JewishEncyclopedia.com).  His grandfather was the famous Hillel, who was head of the School of Hillel which flourished during the first century AD, and of which Gamaliel was later headmaster.

•      Galatians 1:14 – “…I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation….”  Saul was the ‘fair-haired, up-and-coming’ young man among the Jewish leaders!

•      Acts 26:10 – “…many of the saints…when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.”  Such a death penalty decision was reserved to the members of the Sanhedrin.  So this is a probable reference to the fact that Saul was a member of that distinguished group of Jewish leaders!

•      Matthew 19:16 through 22; Mark 10:17 through 22; Luke 18:18 through 23 – For years I have studied Saul of Tarsus and the rich, young ruler – their lives, personalities, and their historical settings.  I have come to the conclusion that the rich, young ruler is none other than Saul of Tarsus!  If this is true, then Saul was already quite wealthy even at a young age, and so was enjoying a very comfortable life!

“But what things were gain to me, these I have counted…all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord…” (Philippians 3:7 and 8).  Saul encountered Jesus, and he was never the same after that!  Lot’s of people encounter Jesus, but in too many there is not a whole lot of change evident thereafter in their lives.  What made the difference with Saul ?

•      He was dramatically called!  As stated above, the record of Saul‘s salvation experience is in Acts 9:1 through 6.  Few are call by a vision of Christ knocking them to the ground and blinding them!  However, if we would desire drama in our calling to become a Christian, just look to the One who made it possible – Jesus Christ!

       ✞      He left heaven – with all its perfection and glory – to humbly come to earth where He didn’t even have a place to lay His head ! (See Matthew 8:20; Philippians 2:5-8).

       ✞      He lived the perfect life that God demanded (see Matthew 5:48), never sinning once (see I Peter 2:22) – a life no other human being could ever live! (See Romans 3:10, 23).

       ✞      Then He voluntarily laid down His life (see John 10:17, 18) on the cross, taking our sins and our punishment upon Himself (see Isaiah 53:5, 6; I Peter 2:24) so we could go free from God’s condemnation (see Romans 8:1) and live righteously before the Father! (See Romans 6:20-22).

       ✞      He rose again from the dead, and lives forever to apply that purchased salvation to all who come unto Him in faith believing! (See Ephesians 2:8, 9; Hebrews 7:25).

By the way, a study of what Jesus went through when He was crucified is very profitable for us to understand the extent of the sacrifice and suffering He made for us!  It is an older book, but The Shroud Of Turin by Ian Wilson (first published in 1978, but still available on Amazon) is an excellent study of the crucifixion!  This book, more than any other, has helped me to understand the extent of our Lord’s suffering.

•      Saul, having met Christ on the Damascus Road, then pursued Him “…with all [his]… heart…soul…mind, and…strength…” (Mark 12:30).  As he said in Philippians 3:10, “…that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death….”  But isn’t this the way all of us who are saved should respond?  Paul wrote in Romans 12:1 that we should “…present…our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is…our reasonable service.”  It is reasonable service because considering all that Jesus has done for us, we should be completely dedicated to Him!

Such is our call to develop Christian Character!  More on this in the next blog.

January 12, 2018

I Corinthians 15:45-49 (Bible in Basic English)

(All Scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated)

For this edition of In The Image Of… I compared 17 Bible translations for the most under-standable version of today’s featured Scripture – I Corinthians 15:45 through 49.  I picked the Bible in Basic English:

      …it is said, “The first man Adam was a living soul.” [Genesis 2:7].  The last
      Adam is a life-giving spirit.  But that which is natural comes before that
      which is of the Spirit.  The first man is from the earth, and of the earth:  the
      second Man is from heaven.  Those who are of the earth are like the man
      who was from the earth:  and those who are of heaven are like the One from
      heaven.  And in the same way as we have taken on us the image of the man
      from the earth, so we will take on us the image of the One from heaven.

We have looked at the first two Images we have borne:

•      “God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:27).

•      But in John 8:44, Jesus told the Pharisees (and all of us are included):  “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.”  So ever since Adam, we have carried Satan’s image of sin!

The third Image is our being brought back into the image of God !  That’s what           I Corinthians 15:45 through 49 is all about.

•      In our featured Scripture, Jesus is called the last Adam, the One of the Spirit, and the second Man from heaven.  Though we have not had a choice concerning us hosting the second image of Satan, Christians are destined to be in the third image – Jesus’ image!  And since Jesus is the Son of God, God the Son, we will once again be in the image of God !

       ✞      Both Adam and Jesus came directly from being fathered by God!

               ▸      Genesis 2:7 – Concerning Adam:  “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.”

               ▸      Luke 1:26, 27, and 35 – Concerning Jesus:  “…the angel Gabriel…said to…Mary…,‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.’ ”

       ✞      Both were the first of the human race!

               ▸      Adam is head of all human beings!  In being that head, he passed the devil’s image, sin, and death to all his progeny! (See Romans 5:12).

               ▸      Jesus Christ is the Head of a new race of restored human beings – restored into the image of God !  These ones are again under the fatherhood of God! (See John 1:12; Ephesians 2:16-19).

       ✞      While both came directly from God, “…the first man is from the earth…the
second Man is from heaven.” (I Corinthians 15:47).

•      That change offered to us by Jesus Christ – back into the image of God – has a perfect completion in the future, and as well it is an on-going process now!

       ✞      As the Apostle John wrote in his first epistle – I John 3:2, “…we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as he is.”  This will happen at the Rapture (see I Corinthians 15:51-54; I Thessalonians 4:13-17) – “…at the resurrection of the just.” (Luke 14:14).

       ✞      In the meantime, we “…are being transformed into that same image from glory to glory…by the Spirit of the Lord.” (II Corinthians 3:2).

So this image of the heavenly Man is the third Image human beings can hold!

•      The first is past!  “In Adam…all have sinned and…all die…“! (Romans 3:23; I Corinthians 15:22).

•      The second is ongoing!  “…death has spread to the whole human race because everyone has sinned.” (Romans 5:12 – Good News Bible).

•      The third is both ongoing and to be completed in the future!  (See the fourth major bullet discussion above).

The main point of all this study is this:  We are all in the position of the second ongoing image – the image of Satan!  Being in the image of the devil, we will all share in his destiny – “…the lake of fire and brimstone…[to] be tormented day and night forever and ever…” (Revelation 20:10) – if no change is made!  But the change back into the image of God is offered through Christ the Lord – and only through Him! (See John 3:16; 5:24; 14:6; Acts 4:12).  The choice is yours!  Receive Jesus Christ as Savior, and follow Him as Lord!

January 10, 2018

Luke 2:30, 31, 34, 35

(All Scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated)

Considering the featured Scripture for Monday’s blog was Genesis 1:26 through 28, Luke 2:30, 31, 34, 35 seems like an odd choice for this second installment of In The Image Of….  But here it is, and I will explain why I chose this Scripture:

      …the angel said… “…behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring
      forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus….”  Then Mary said to the
      angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”  And the angel
      answered…“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the
      Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to
      be born will be called the Son of God.”

I said in the last blog, “This image of the devil we carry has been passed down from Adam to infect all human beings!”  Why didn’t I mention Eve in that statement?  Why is it that the father – and not the mother – passes on the sin nature to the offspring?  There is an intriguing medical fact that illumines this question:  No maternal blood is ever found in the child developing in the womb!  Where, then, does the unborn’s blood come from?  The late Martin R. DeHaan, M.D. beautifully describes what takes place (www.jesus-is-savior.com/BTP/Dr_MR_DeHaan/Chemistry/04.htm):

      It is now definitely known that the blood which flows in an unborn baby’s
      arteries and veins is not derived from the mother but is produced within the
      body of the foetus itself only after the introduction of the male sperm.  An
      unfertilized ovum can never develop blood since the female egg does not by
      itself contain the elements essential for the production of this blood.  It is
      only after the male element has entered the ovum that blood can develop….
      The mother provides the foetus (the unborn developing infant) with the nu-
      tritive elements for the building of that little body in the secret of her bosom,
      but all the blood which forms in that little body is formed in the embryo it-
      self and only as a result of the contribution of the male parent.  From the
      time of conception to the time of birth of the infant not ONE SINGLE DROP
      OF BLOOD ever passes from mother to child.  The placenta, that mass of
      temporary tissue known better as “afterbirth,” forming the union between
      mother and child, is so constructed that although all the soluble nutritive
      elements such as proteins, fats, carbohydrates, salts, minerals and even
      antibodies pass freely from mother to child and the waste products of the
      child’s metabolism are passed back to the mother’s circulation, no actual
      interchange of a single drop of blood ever occurs normally.  All the blood
      which is in that child is produced within the child itself as a result of the
      introduction of the male sperm.  The mother contributes no blood at all.

In Leviticus 17:11, God told Moses, “…the life of the flesh is in the blood….”  Likewise, after Adam sinned, the death of the flesh is in the blood – and the sin that caused that death!  Sin so affects the blood, it becomes sin’s carrier, infecting the whole nature of the human being, and resulting in all males and females (who inherit sin-cursed blood from their father) to become sinners themselves!  Reflecting this truth, Paul writes in Romans 5:12, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men [all humanity], because all have sinned….”  And so permeating is sin’s effect that everything we do is tainted and spoiled by sin!  As Isaiah 64:6 tells us:  “…we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags….”  Our righteousnesses are the very best we can do!  Yet, before God, they are like an unclean filthy rag!  Why? Because God demands perfection!  Jesus reveals God’s standard in Matthew 5:48:  “…you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”  To be acceptable to God, just be perfect in every thought, word, and deed!

Where does that leave us – all humankind?  Because of sin, we are all sinners!  We are all unacceptable to the Father!  And so we are all under God’s condemnation and headed for eternal judgment!  We can do nothing to save ourselves!  All we can do is look for Another to pay the sin-debt we owe.  But that One must be just like us in every way except sin-tainted!  That One is Jesus!  Romans 8:3 speaks thus concerning Him:  “…God…sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin…condemned sin in the flesh….”  Paul, being very specific with his words, says, in the likeness of human flesh!  Jesus did not have sinful human flesh, only its appearance!

But how was it to be accomplished that someOne, even God, could become a human being without being sinful?  The answer is the virgin birth!  Jesus received His full humanity from his mother Mary.  But His Father was the perfect God – through the Holy Spirit impregnating the young Jewish girl!  If, as Dr. DeHaan is quoted as saying, the developing child in the womb receives the element from the father that begins the production of its blood, then Jesus’ Father, having no sin, would not have passed sin on to His Son!  Thus Jesus had no sin! (See John 8:46; I Peter 2:22).

•      He was fully, but perfectly human – from His mother!

•      He was fully and perfectly divine – from His Father!

This is why He could live His life never sinning once, and meeting God’s standard of perfection!  And then He voluntarily laid down that perfect life (see John 10:17, 18) as an offering – taking all our sins upon Himself (see Isaiah 53:5, 6; II Corinthians 5:21) and fully paying the debt of the sinner before God – so we could go free! (See John 8:34, 36; Romans 6:18, 23; 8:2; Galatians 5:1).  By the way, when the Lord cried out in John 19:30, “It is finished!” He only uttered one Greek word, “Τετέλεσται.”  It can be translated as Paid, Completed, even Paid in full !  However, it does mean that what Jesus came to do has been done!  There is no more to do but for us to enter into that completed work of salvation!

And entering into this salvation results in another Image change – discussed in the third blog of this series.