Christ

THE 1 John 1:9 CONTROVERSY 5: STAYING ON THE SAME PAGE

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same-page.png“This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you.” John has a message from Jesus and he does not want his readers to miss what he is saying. In fact, he uses excessively longer phrases and more words to emphasize the meaning of his teaching when he could have simply used shorter phrases and fewer words. For example, he could have simply said, “God is light.” or he could have said, “There is no darkness in God.” It is as though John is saying, “This is what I mean and this is what I don’t mean.” He wants all Christians who read this to be on the same page. 

What is this message? “God is light and in him is no darkness at all.” 

John teaches that God is light. He uses the term “the light” (v.7) later but that has another meaning. In this verse it refers to God’s nature and essence as light. This is not physical light, but spiritual light that spreads everywhere and invades everything. His essence is truth, purity, holiness. In him there is no darkness at all. John emphasizes that there is not one bit of darkness in God. James says “There is never the slightest variation or shadow of inconsistency.” in God. (James 1:17 Phillips). God is untouched by the darkness of sin and He is “absolutely perfect…there is nothing in him …which would dim or mar the pure splendor of his character.” (Barnes). 

With this is mind, the Apostle takes another sharp turn in his teaching and He puts truth and lies; light and darkness; obedience and sin; deception and honesty; reality and fantasy; saying and walking side by side. John says that the talk and action of some of the people does not match up to God’s standard of fellowship, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not do the truth.”  (v.6). These are very strong words. He calls these people liars and says they are not practicing Christians. People have no fellowship with God if they practice sin. They are living a lie. Truth is not just sterile doctrinal beliefs that you can distance yourself from. Truth is all about how you behave and act. God is in his nature is light and not in any way dark and what he says is light and not in any way dark. So in this passage the word truth means acting lawfully and walking in darkness is living in deception and disobedient behavior.

“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”   Walking in the light of God means that we are drawing closer to God.We act and live in that light. His word and truth are like light that exposes our errors and deception has nowhere to hide. We welcome that because he cleanses us and purifies us continually from all sins. Now John again wants to make sure we are staying on the same page by showing our fellowship with God and one another is by these two things: walking the light of God and his cleansing holiness by the blood of Jesus.

Then John takes another turn and says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (v. 8)  The Bible teaches here that people who deny indwelling sin and do not admit their wrongdoing have gone so far off course they are believing their own lies. They claim to know the truth but they are deceived. Saying one can reach a place where they never sin after they are saved is a terrible error. Saying that we can live without confessing our sins or be disobedient is also a soul damning teaching. John say these type of people have deluded themselves to the point their hearts are evacuated of truth.

The Apostle turns again in this winding passage, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (v.9). We MUST freely admit we have sinned,  God says we MUST consent to this truth. Notice HE is faithful and just it says. As the Amplifies comments, “he is true to His own nature and promises.” The ISV says that “he might forgive us and might cleanse us of our sins.” As we must pray to receive an answer to prayer we must confess our sins to be forgiven. Christ forgave us on the cross, but we still must ask his forgiveness as proof that the truth is in us and that he is loyal and consistent in all his ways.

If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (v.10). The dangers of misrepresenting Christ and his teaching should always be on our mind. He says if we do not say what he says about sin we are saying God is falsifying his Word and misrepresenting Himself. In effect, we call God a liar. Unthinkable! This failure also shows exposes that the Word is not in us if we say such things. It used the word “truth” in verse six but here it says “word.” This is a person who insists they know “the Word” and refuse to own up to their sin nature and their acts of sin. We are actually destitute of God’s life-giving Word if we refuse to, “humbly welcome the word of truth that will blossom like the seed of salvation planted in your souls.” (James 1:20Voice).

“John condemns the man who claims that he is so far advanced in knowledge and in the spiritual life that sin for him has ceased to matter; he condemns the man who evades the responsibility for his sin or who holds that sin has no effect upon him; he condemns the man who has never even realized that he is a sinner. The essence of the Christian life is first to realize our sin; and then to go to God for that forgiveness which can wipe out the past and for that cleansing which can make the future new.” (Barclay).

© 2016 Stephen S. Gibney, if you quote it, gives us some credit and God the glory.

Christ? Wash my feet?

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washingfeetshort1Would Christ wash my feet? It depends on who you ask and upon the condition of the feet. I guess in these days of manicures and pedicures it does not matter. I know the Lord washes feet. The Bible says so. It is just so hard to imagine. I mean after all he’s….Jesus.

So I am trying to imagine myself reclining with them at that table. I would be thinking, “Is this all necessary for him to wash their feet and even mine?” Is he rubbing this in, forgive the pun, because we did not do the most simple of cultural practices at that time? He would use this as an object lesson demonstrating how we should serve one another. I get that. But the feet, man…the feet they are so dirty. My feet are so dirty. Yet no one even thought about it. Jesus said nothing at first.

Roads were muddy and dusty back then. People wore sandals. Feet were rough and abused. In most homes water was provided so people could wash their own feet.  Rich people had a slave who was in charge of foot washing in their homes. You know what bothers me? We are eating reclined at a low table so dirty feet are an issue-at least with me. Seriously, who wants some Apostle’s dirty feet near your food?

Jesus still -saw my filthy feet and still went on with the dinner and teaching the new commitment God was making with us. This bread is MY BODY…this cup IS MY BLOOD. Then he fed us. This was his object lesson about His body being broken for our healing and his blood was being spilled for our forgiveness. Although it was just bread and drink something spiritual was happening. It was as though he gave us spiritual meat and drink so that we could know that we live in HIM, and HE lives in us (John 6:56).  We are and were healed. Awesome.

What could show his love for us more than this? NOTHING. So, what did he have to prove? He could have waited just to show his love later on the Cross. Instead he does THIS.  It seems he uses as many opportunities as he can to show his love to us. So I began to think that it must have mattered they had dirty feet. 

I mean Jesus let the disciples eat with dirty hands one time (Mk. 7:1-23) and explained that it is not unwashed hands but a dirty heart that was the issue. That time He left them as is, but not here.

Dirty feet and all, raw, uncultivated rejects of society (I fit in there, insert name) he selflessly and tangibly loves us. He goes right ahead and touched and washed their dirty feet. Then Christ, the eternal Son of God washes my feet and I am still confused why he would do this for me (John 13:7). All I could do is touch his shoulder and say, “Thanks Lord” and probably start crying. What else can you say to such an unmerited act of grace? But again what I sense is more than clean feet. The whole thing was refreshing. Then he tells us that we are all clean, except one. Judas. His feet were clean but not his heart.

Christ washes us by his name and Spirit. (1 Cor. 6:11). Hearing about Jesus will cause us, his genuine followers, to be filled with his presence. By this He refreshes my soul and your soul. (Psalm 23:3). He has cleansed us. He has washed us. He rejuvenates us and we feel refreshed.  We are and were washed.

He washes us because he loves us perfectly. This is why I plead with preachers and churches to preach the Word-even Jesus, the living Word. This is why we should study and contemplate the scriptures, which focus on revealing Christ, the Word becoming flesh (John 5:39; John 1:14).

All this just shows he rejects the dirt not the disciple. We often think of Christ being so repulsed at us that he must wash us because we stink so bad. Nothing could be further from the truth. He washes us because we are his own. He does not wash us because he is repulsed at us but because we are his body. We are one with him.

He said that if he does not wash us we have no part with him (John 13:8). Jesus prays at a later time and says, “For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” (John 17:19).  Sanctified in this context would mean he is clean so we are clean. As he is, so are we (1 John 4:17). We are made clean through his Word, the truth and Jesus is the Word and Truth. He brings a washing-not out of repulsion but love. He washes us because we are one with him. The mystery of the church is that it is his body, his flesh and his bones (see Eph. 5:23-32). We are and were one with him.

FOR THOSE WHO FEEL DESPAIR

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HoldOnGodKnowsWhatsHesDoing“In my desperation I prayed, and the LORD listened; he saved me from all my troubles.” (Psalm 34:6).

When you pray remember you serve the All Powerful God! God is a God of miracles. Does anyone doubt that? I don’t think so. The struggle is not that God can do anything but that he will answer our prayer (Ps. 17:6)

I realize we don’t live from miracle to miracle. But we make a lot of mistakes, act stupidly and we know it. But our frailties do not hinder God. As he answers our prayer he teaches us. But we are a blessed people, loved by God (Eph. 1:1-6).

God the Father did not withhold his Son from us so he might secure our salvation. He sets the standard of answered prayer by that act. He will withhold nothing from us. He hears and answers our prayers because He promised He would and he is our generous Father (Rom 8:32).

You may doubt or waver when you pray at first because of emotion, shock and even past trauma you may have a hard time believing. The life of faith is not automatic, it takes time but over time, “your faith will grow strong in the truth.” (Col 2:7NLT).

“Doubt is not unbelief. But it can become unbelief…Doubt is like an attention-seeking child. The more attention you pay to it, the more attention it demands. By worrying about your doubts, you get locked into a vicious cycle of uncertainty.” (Alister McGrath).

Deal with your doubts and move on. Unbelief is a serious thing it charges God with lying. Confess that to God! Ask his forgiveness and his help to believe and whether you feel like it or not begin to use the Psalms and scriptures to thank God for his desire and ability to answer prayer. I challenge to you tell God why you think he can’t or won’t help you. Go ahead see his response in your heart and the scriptures he will show you. You will have an attitude change for sure.

I am not big on the “confess it possess it” mentality but there is no use in saying lies when God word says differently. You keep saying God is against you? You thinking God has abandoned you? That is a UGLY LIE Satan that big fat liar is pounding you with and he is trying to plant seeds of distrust in your mind (Rom 8:31-19). Evict his lies IMMEDIATELY! (Luke 10:19). He is misrepresenting your God.

You may feel abandoned, anxious, fearful, lonely, discouraged and depressed. It is an emotional roller coaster, I know. Don’t deny it. Tell God! Pour out your heart to him. He does not mind, he knows it already. You don’t have to fake prayer with your all knowing Father. Don’t pretend everything is OK but go to God and just be honest with him (Isaiah 1:18).

His heart is moved when he hears your cry and pray. He is full of mercy and he pays attention to your tears, broken heart and crushed spirit. The High and Holy God promised to sit down with you and refresh you! (Isaiah 57:15). 

THE ANOINTING

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Anointing_of_fresh_oil1I found it necessary show the Biblical language about the Holy Spirit and the anointing and how it lines up with the Bible. There are always misuses and extremes but that NEVER eliminates or hinders the real and genuine anointing. Today, we speak of the anointing of the Holy Spirit. 

“And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.” (Isaiah 10:27NKJV).

This verse has been translated many different ways.

  • The Hebrew word for anointing here shemen can be translated oil or fatness. To anoint something or someone described the act of rubbing, smearing, sprinkling or pouring oil.
  • Then the anointing of which it refers is said to destroy the yoke. The word “destroy” means to take away strength, putrefy, rot or spoil.
  • The yoke is a bar of wood that joins two animals together as they work. It is symbolic of a burden, slavery or oppression.

Isaiah describes a, “fatness that breaks the yoke” or on translate this as “the yoke will rot at the presence of the oil”, or the one I really like is, “the yoke will be destroyed with one look from the Anointed.” All these wordings show the powerful agency of the “anointing.”

The sacred oil is a type of the Holy Spirit (1 Sam 16:13). The most familiar term for anointed comes from another Hebrew word masah where we get the word Messiah and the Greek word christos, where we get the title for Jesus the Christ (John 6:69). 

Thus, the anointing is the presence and power of God as seen in the Lord Jesus Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit in the individual Christian’s life as they are in the world but not of it. The anointing is also present when Christians meet together under the pure biblical teaching and gospel preaching in church, worship or in prayer. The presence of Jesus though the anointing brings freedom, strength, healing and wholeness, edification and refreshing.

(c) 2013 Soul Health Care Ministries. I wrote this, not you-but feel free to share it and give credit where credit is due.

DUST!

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dust man“For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” (Gen 3:19).

After the first couple, Adam and Eve sinned verbal chaos seemed to ensue like a football team fighting over a fumble. There was fighting and blame-shifting.  You can see guilt and shame at work bringing confusion and conflict.

Adam blames, “the woman you gave me.” OK I admit that blaming your wife is a bad habit, even dangerous, but I do not know about you, it does not seem like a good idea to imply the Creator as the reason you blew it.

Then Eve blames the serpent. We still love to blame the devil-hey why not? No one likes him. But Satan did not make her or her husband do anything. It was all their decision.

Finally, God steps in and basically says, “Enough.” He pronounces his sentence of judgment on all of them. The snake will crawl, the woman will have pain and Adam gets told he is dust.

That phrase, “For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” carries with it a certain finality.  In our world all you can see is dust-everywhere. On the shelves, the tables, the mirror, the ceiling fan, the desk and the computer-everywhere. This world is dusty.  Ever wonder why?

After Adam sinned he is told, “you were made of dust and now you will turn into dust.”  This is a common theme in the Bible. Abraham saw himself as dust and ashes (Gen. 18:27).   Dust refers to death and the grave (Psalm 22: 15; Eccl 3:20; 12:7). It is the final fade to black moment-the end.

But dust is like a sense of personal sinfulness guilt as well. Job is an expert on dust. He talks about it a lot and it is a reference to hopelessness and despair (Job 17:11-16). I mean we all sin, everyday and we are very good at it- thank you very much.  But there are some sins that really bother our conscience-those sins you combat more than others. Those sins that have got you in more trouble than others.  When my conscience bothers me. that is not all bad. This sort of  “dust” clouds everything and yet gives a dark clarity to who I am in and of myself-it gives the sense of my own mortality and depravity.  After I sin, if I do something especially stupid, I sense my own personal dustiness.  I feel like Job who said, “When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night be gone? and I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day. My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and become loathsome.” (Job 7:4-5). Yeah that says it. In those moments, I am not feeling much like the “righteousness of God in Christ.” I must deal with my sin by simple confession and see how Christ has dealt with my sin on the cross as a cure.

But guilt must not go unchecked  or it chokes my joy and it weighs me down with Adam dust.  Living in guilt, remorse and regret does not glorify God, nor satisfy God. It makes faith turn into ashes.  That is why we look to Christ as the one who removes the dust of our souls by the rushing mighty wind of his presence.

Sin happened in dusty Adam, but perfection happened in the Lord Jesus Christ. “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.” (1 Cor 15:45).

We are no longer just earthly dust but we are heavenly and spiritual because of Christ. He has made us alive forever by his saving power. Adam was just a man, Jesus was the Lord God from heaven. Yes, we have had an earthly image, but now because of Christ we have a heavenly dust free image.

We must look to Christ who takes away our sins and guilt by his precious blood. This is why God’s forgiveness and grace cleanses away sin and remove the dust of guilt. This continual uninterrupted grace and cleansing is offered to us through the blood of Christ (1 John 1:7-9). If we come clean with God this is just evidence that he is cleansing us continually from all the dust of this world.

The Conveyor Belt of Guilt

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The picture that you see is an X-ray of a unnamed 36 year old Norwegian man who passed out and curled up into a fetal position on a baggage claim belt at a very busy Rome airport in August 2012, and inadvertently received this full body scan in the process.

He had arrived at the international terminal with a backpack and a can of beer in his hand and when he went to check in for his flight he found nobody on duty at the airline desk. So, he jumped over the counter and went to sleep.

Eventually, the belt began to move and took the man for a ride. It is believed he traveled for 15 minutes before his body was spotted by shocked officials in an X-ray image on their screens.

Officials say it was difficult to wake up the snoozing traveler, who was still clutching his beer as he went through the scanner and traveled 164 feet on it before anyone noticed.

If you have any kind of sense of humor this is quite the story to tell around the office.

But as I heard about this story I immediately began to think of how we are laying in a fetal position on a conveyor belt of  another kind. Did you know that when a certain people suffer extreme trauma or distress, they resort to a fetal position. It seems this is a natural reaction of the brain and the body to protect itself  and when they are no longer able to cope-the mind just shuts down for a time. Drug addicts during withdrawal or even people suffering from extreme anxiety resort to a fetal position.

This is the dangerous conveyor belt of guilt and misguided self examination on which some believers in Jesus have been crippled and traumatized by the wrong view of God and sin.

Paul says this, “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” (2 Cor. 7:10NIV 1984).

There is a godly sorrow. There is a worldly sorrow. There is a sorrow that results in repentance and salvation. There is a sorrow that results in death.

There is a healthy repentance and there is a toxic regret and remorse. Repentance is a special grace, a gift of tears, a result of seeing our sin in light of the Cross. Where sin abounds grace abounds even more. The gospel offers God to the ungodly and forgiveness to the unforgiven. Repentance is a God-kind of change. Your thinking changes and the direction of your life changes as a result. You were moving away from God and His love brings you back home.  It is the gift that God gives when He releases the human will from the confinement and chains of sin and enables a person to turn to Christ for salvation.  That is repentance after a godly manner. It is a change only God can bring about.

Many Christians due to bad teaching have a caricatured view of God, a distorted view of sin and a toxic view of obedience. They actually should repent of their thinking when it comes to who God is! That is the deepest repentance one can have. They way you see God must be through the scriptures especially in light of the finished work of the Cross and New Covenant. God loves you and it is not his will you walk about in sorrow all the time.  He has forgiven you and offers a clear conscience to you and complete open access to him and his gifts.

You do not have to live in regret and call yourself a sinner all the time. Do you think that pleases God? Walking around all day thinking how unworthy and undeserving you are? It does not please God at all  that you are going around and around on this conveyor belt with the baggage of guilt. God is not hostile to you, nor does he treat you like a stranger. You are a warmly welcomed, dearly loved child of your Heavenly Father.

All this is real change is it not. It is a changed life, with a changed heart and a changed destiny.

Sadly, some Christians are dominated by a guilty conscience and consciousness. They attempt to earn forgiveness and acceptance with God by saying, “I am sorry” over and over again confessing their sin as if they were an legal accountant and there is always simmering in their heart a sense of guilt and hurt because they think God will reject them when they fail. It seeks to make such an account of sin that it must name each individual sin specifically to satisfy their conscience and God. But can one confess sin perfectly? We always leave some sin out. We cannot even do this  correctly. I get exhausted just thinking about the way I used to confess sin. This so called form of repentance is “worldly”  it is spiritually suicidal  not Christ-centered nor founded on the biblical fact that God offers forgiveness at the point of failure and mercy when we crash and burn. He gives beauty in exchange for ashes. He takes off your dense heavy overcoat of sorrow and replaces it with the light linen fabric of joy! All you need do is ask and he has answered “forgiven” before the words are on your lips.

Some of the oldest “Christian” churches in their tradition are nothing more than a mill for legalism. The conveyor belt of guilt is incorporated in their rituals. They are taught to ask for God’ mercy over and over again as if by mere words and repetitive chanting God will hear them. Ever wonder why legalistic people are so mean? Because people who feel unloved get angry. Oh that they knew they were loved by God!

We may criticize the Roman Catholics for their sacrament of penance or Eastern Orthodox for their view of Penthos but we have our Protestant penance we call it revivalism. We think by our efforts we will bring the church back to life do we not? There is only one problem- we end up looking like we are trying to kill the people who are alive. We are attempting to satisfy God and please God by our own efforts and there is no need to do that. God is at rest and reposes on the work of Christ his perfect Son on the cross. He calls us to lean with all our soul on the cross and what Jesus did for us.

The sad truth is there are so many Christians who are alive but they are wrapped in a shroud of guilt, they are camouflaged in the legalistic uniforms of remorse and joyless living that must be unwrapped by the teaching of God’s generous grace. God is rich in mercy and he has thrown open the door to his throne room of grace! He has already shown it powerfully in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus the Son of God. Yet there are people who say they are saved and born again who never find any relief or rest in their hearts and they live in a fog of uncertainty about where they stand with God. It is a mindset that is hard to break and only understanding God’s generous grace can unravel the slavery of guilt fear and anxiety.

Don’t allow your guilt and disobedience to overshadow God’s grace! Repent!  You have become nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that you have been cleansed from your past sins  (see 2 Peter 1:9). You do not need to morbidly and constantly confess in the name of spirituality or godliness.  Your sin consciousness is working in reverse cornering you in sin and your attempts to keep the law is reinforcing sins grip over-making you feel dead. Like the shocked officials who found this man on the conveyor belt, may this article find those who are in the fetal position of guilt and wake you up out of this stupor of  remorse and regret!  Christ has given you a new life, a new heart and a new spirit.  It is time to move ahead.  God wants us to build on what he has started in us by grace! We mature spiritually not by riding in a helpless fetal position of the conveyor belt of keeping religious rules but by actively maturing and growing in the fruit of the Spirit.

© 2012 Soul Health Care Ministries. If you use this article tell people about us and where you found it. Don’t plagiarize.

2012

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It is my belief that the disease that has infected the churches of the United States of America is NOT fatal and can be cured.

That cure is still found in the remedy of God and his Gospel, flowing from the bloodstained hill called Calvary and administered by those who will DARE to preach it amid the disgust and revulsion of the religious empire disguised as the church.

Any soul that has been treated by the power of the Cross can attest, “Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost but now I am found twas blind but now I see!”

Jesus Christ the great Intercessor can save to the uttermost! He can still raise up the worst profligates and prodigals among men and women out of the miry pits of sin and abject lostness and bring the precious news of peace with God through Christ.

They may even today be lying in a gutter, homeless, living under a bridge and God can save and fill them with his power and raise up an Luther, Spurgeon, Whitfield among them.

There are in the worlds eyes among the exploited and abused, no- names who have already been recorded in heaven’s annals as among God’s own choice in the book of life, whose names cannot be blotted out.

They will sing and preach better than anything you may have ever heard. They will have an iron will in politics, unyielding to compromise. They will revolutionize the medical filed and discover cures for disease that were considered incurable. They will rebuildl the broken down walls of the family.

They will solve social ills that have plagued our country and will feed the hungry, clothe the naked, house the homeless.  They will be missionaries they will break down the fortresses of gospel hardened nations and reach those who have never heard the name of Jesus.

Is anything too hard for the Lord?

Those of you who know this gospel MUST GO out and reach them. Those who know their God will do exploits! Don’t waste your precious time, money and energy in religious slavery with those who love their agendas, programs, buildings and entertainment more than Christ.

Make this year a year that Calvary and the Gospel are lifted up higher than before! Immerse your minds and hearts in the scriptures and feast everyday and then serve the bread of Life so needed by those God is calling to himself.

 

The Love Behind the Words

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The last time we discussed the wonder of the Holy Spirit’s work of heart in Psalm 45. Here we see the results.

The sweet singer of Israel says, “His heart is “indicting a good matter.”

This is word carries a different meaning than the english word for “indict.” In the original Hebrew language it  means to bubble up and overflow. In this Psalm the song writers heart steadily boils and then overflows at what it understands.  His teaching in song (Eph 5:19-20) serves to reveal Christ. The saint serves God with heartfelt affection and gratitude! I know we joke about God’s chosen frozen, but there is no room for a frigid, aloof relationship with the Savior of our souls! The problem with church people and preachers is Jesus is not quite enough for them! Preaching the cross seems too simple for them despite their abject ignorance of  penal substitutionary atonement. Calvary is not the Gospel 101 and we move on to better or deeper things-it is our doctorate of divinity! It is the love behind the words!

Christians are men and women who have been given access to the Holy of holies by the blood of Christ (Heb 10:19) and there like Moses they may hear and read the written word of God (Heb. 4:12) and see his ultimate Word in Christ (Heb 1:1-2).  The Bible says, “Whenever Moses went into the Tabernacle to speak with the LORD, he heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the Ark’s cover–the place of atonement–that rests on the Ark of the Covenant. The LORD spoke to him from there.” (Num. 7:89NLT). The LORD spoke to him from there. Where? The place of atonement? Only the Bible can bring us directly to the place where Christ’s blood and cross still speak his love to his own people through the gospel!  Christ and his gospel, his love behind the Words, is the only cure for men’s sin sick souls and the power of God that raises them from among the spiritually dead!

The one who truly stands in His presence will melt  and their eyes fill with tears as they see the battered body of Jesus on Calvary! We see his pain, his forsakeness and it comforts us in our trials and we give that gospel comfort to those in need (2 Cor 1:3-6). Ah how we look for the finely crafted hand made, melted and molded preacher of the pure gospel and not these factory cookie-cutter models of today! These are the weathered Shulamites among all the sterile daughters of Jerusalem (Song 1:5-6). They may not be attractive, people are repulsed by their sun baked blackness and brokeness as they derided Jesus on the cross (Mk 15:29) but God has ordained that these people are his workmanship (Eph 2:10) and they are those who know their God, who LOVE their God and that have served him graciously and humbly no matter the trials or circumstances. You don’t have to be good-looking and talented to be a vessel for the Master-just one who has endured the storm with this testimony, you pleased God (Heb 11:5) and speak with love behind the words.

This Psalm is an outburst of one who loves the Lord who has knowledge of the holy (Prov. 9:10) and unlike so many rude, meaningless, emotional outbursts that distract us from true worship these days, this directs us to “seeing him who is invisible.” (Heb. 11:27).  We must point with forthtelling  prophecy to Christ for their welfare. Paul says, “But one who prophesies strengthens others, encourages them, and comforts them.” (1 Cor. 14:3NLT).  We need MEN (and I mean MEN) who can mark the Word of the Lord! Jeremiah asks, “For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it?” (Jer. 23:18). This is the churches greatest advantage over the enemies of the Lord. In these days of apostasy how there is need for an intelligible, clear and meaningful sound from those who preach.

There is so much false doctrine these days it is like chasing pillow feathers, we must preach Christ crucified as the cure for sin and error! People must not only repent of sin but false ideas about God. The Holy Spirit will convince and cross-examine (oh what a thought) of their need of Christ (John 16:8).  May the preacher cross-examine his congregation. What I mean is preach the cross so that they will examine their hearts (1 Cor 11:28)! “As they listen, their secret thoughts will be exposed, and they will fall to their knees and worship God, declaring, “God is truly here among you.” (1 Cor 14:25NLT).

I must also add that our friend the psalmist heart began to become full and gush with so much love that he felt compelled to speak the revelation he received to bring relief to his soul. For example, in Luke 3:2 it says that, “the word of God came unto John” or it came upon (epi) John. It pressed down upon him and exerted force. This teaches that there is a Divine pressure that comes upon a man who loves Christ in that he must preach Christ in order to sense release in obedience. There is a weight with which the Word of God is carried by a man (Jer. 23:38). I doubt if we could even see a finer example of the superintendency of the Spirit of God in breathing the scriptures into the hearts of men. May God in his mercy grant those who preach his word that if our message be not from the Lord that our tongue would cleave to the roof of our mouths and if it is his message that we would be free to speak (Ezek 3:26-27)! Oh that God would grant us men in the pulpit that could not feel relief unless they obediently preached the Word of God as written.

Those of us who have settled the issue of the Holy Spirit’s power in the authorship of the Bible sometimes fail to see the Divine love that was in the weeping pens of the writers. The love of God was poured into their hearts (Rom. 5:5)! Like a cloudburst of rain upon a parched and dry countryside so the love of God is poured into our hearts from these Bible words. We have a dire need for true gospel preachers whose hearts have been warmed by being with God in the oracle room of the written Word (1 Kings 6). In that place there is only one light-the candlestick of the Holy Spirit that illuminates their hearts with understanding (Eph. 1:17) and that room has no place for the counsel of the ungodly (Ps. 1:1) and there they learn the love behind the Words.

The love of God constrained the writers of scripture (2 Cor 5:14). They sensed not only obligation but divinely inspired devotion as they wrote. Most translators see this as the word constrain as “control”, but from what I have derived is the love of Christ pressed in on them, motivated them and took up their thoughts!  It gave them focus, it kept them in a straight line.

It is amazing what happens to the heart when it is focused on Christ! When John preached in the wilderness his message carried a sense of urgency because Christ was coming. There is much teaching about foretelling prophecy these days, one for every mood or opinion. But John’s message was not just eschatological but Christological. He pointed to Christ in his message!

Such is the direction in the torrents of the river of scripture. It rushes toward Christ and when he arrives there is nothing more that needs to be said (Heb 1:1-2). Could it be that the Spirit of God caused such a love for Christ in the hearts of apostles and prophets that they wrote down the testimony of the scriptures in an unbroken, elegant and fluent manner that could only be described as the truth in love (Eph 4:15). Is it any wonder that when a true child of God reads the scripture he begins to shed tears or rejoice every time he beholds in the mirror of scripture the love behind the words, the glory of the Lord Jesus?

© 2011 Soul Health Care Ministries, If you share this article just let them know about us and where it came from.

God’s Statutes: Loving God’s Law

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“The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart…”

AMONG church attendees there are two kinds of people, those who see God’s law as constraining, others which see it as liberating.  That is because they make a distinction between God’s Word and God’s Law that the Bible never makes.  God’s law reveals God’s will and nature. We do not make up our own standard of obedience once we are saved by grace. That standard has never changed, nor will it ever.

The human heart by nature is opposed and hostile to God’s laws (Rom. 8:7). After regeneration the laws that they once hated are written upon their heart by the flaming pen of the Holy Spirit and He ignites a love for God’s written Word that they did not have before (2 Cor. 3:3). God’s law before and after salvation reveals sin in our lives (Rom. 3:20), but we come to love the law of God because when it exposes our sin, it leads us to Christ over and over again.  The same external law that led us as a schoolmaster to Christ for salvation (Gal. 3:24), acts now as the internal law that reveals his perfect will and leads us to Him as the Lover of our souls (Rom. 7:22; 8:2)! 

When God exposes our error and sin, the Bible promises, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9). The word “confess” or homologeo according to Dr. Ken Wuest is not just to freely admit our sins but  in the Greek it is in the  “present subjunctive, meaning continuous action. This teaches the constant attitude of the saint toward sin should be one of a contrite heart, ever eager to have any sin in the life discovered for him by the Holy Spirit and ever eager to confess it and put it out by the power of that same Holy Spirit.”   We are liberated to confess our sins, repent and with tearful joy knowing that our fellowship with Christ is growing each time as he delights to forgive us. Glory to God!

Now the word statutes in today’s culture refers to the policy that prohibits something or permits something.  In the Hebrew language in Psalm 19:8 statutes comes from a root word which teaches that God is paying attention and overseeing how He wants things ordered. His Sovereign grace is at work in our becoming more holy and Christlike. This verse teaches that God orders and oversees his law in all of it facets especially those of the heart and our relationship to Him. He is tending and gardening the soil of our hearts through the sharp blade of his Word (Heb 4:12). He plants the seed of the Word (Mt 13:37) and sustains it by the water of the Word (Eph 5:26) and that makes our hearts fertile and productive for him (1 Cor 3:6-7).

These statutes are right. What He says, He has every right to say because He is Creator and King. God is God. Those who believe his Word are orthodox, those who do not are heterodox.  Simply put one is right and one is wrong. As Christians we believe the Bible is right, it is the settled and established policy of heaven. It is the rule that rules our lives. Unlike relativists or humanists we believe that God has given us those rules as our absolute truth and sole authority.

These statutes are so right and just and equal that obeying them brings great joy to the heart.  A person who is a Christian does have a fear of God, for sure, yet they need not live under the threat of penalties for not doing God’s will. Instead, they trust in the law of God as a prescription for health. He provides through his statutes the internal understanding and motivation to do God’s will as he directly communicates with us, “I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.” (Heb. 8:10). When the Word is in the heart it affects the thoughts and emotions.  Because they are written on our heart they provide the desire and the ability to act upon God’s will (Phil 2:12, 13). They bring rejoicing of heart, a joy of heart that has a clear conscience knowing we are going the right way, heading in the right direction.

God calls us to serve him for his own sake. He is our motivation and we love his laws. We serve Christ for Christ. We love and serve God because he is worthy and has given us worthy laws that propel us to be zealous of good works (Titus 2:14). 

The Truth in Love

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How often do you hear people half quote the scripture and say, “Well, now brother…sister…we need to speak the truth in love.”  But how often has that out of context phrase been misused to sacrifice truth and to justify people’s sinful lifestyle all in the name of fake love.  It is what the old preachers used to call “sloppy agape” or it is “grease” instead of grace. We know how often Satan is prone to misquote scripture when he employs his choice weapons of compromise and deception.

But we know that truth refers to the holy book of the scriptures (John 17: 17) and Christ is the truth personified (John 14:6) and the real church guards that truth (1 Tim 3:15).

The context is as follows:

That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, [even] Christ. From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. (Eph. 4:14-16).

That phrase will somehow seem different in light of the other verses with which it is associated.

It is clear from this passage that God calls people to stop acting spiritually childish or immature and in order for that to happen the truth must be expressed in love.

1. People who act spiritually childish are (v. 14):

  •  Fluctuating: Their hearts and minds are in disorder like the surf on the beach they are back and forth. They are double minded (James 1:6-8).
  • Restless:  The word used here periphero where we get the word peripheral. They are easily moved by the winds of side or surface issues. They love the latest spiritual fads and trends and reject biblical tradition (2 Pet 3:16).
  • Unstable:  No matter the wind whether a gentle breeze or tornado, because they are not firmly anchored to the pure doctrine they are easily blown away (2 Tim. 2:18).
  • Cheated: The sleight of men is kubeia which means they roll the dice by taking chances on the methods and formulas made up by false teachers (Jude 12, 16).

2. Speaking the truth in love means (v. 15):

  • The truth needs to be spoken, the clear, unvarnished truth of scripture. It represents things as they are.
  • The truth spoken in the original language means “truthing in love” it is seen as walking or holding up the plain truth of scripture in Calvary love or agapao love (3 John 4).
  • The truth must be spoken without a sour, unfeeling disposition and a genuine concern and love for others spiritual welfare.
  • The truth has a goal of maturity of the hearer which has for its model Jesus Christ who is the truth (John 14:6).
  • The truth is necessary because we are members of one body and when one part is infected all are in danger of being hurt (Eph. 4:25).

3. Christ is the head and body of all pure teaching (v.15-16):

  • Incorporated: The truth incorporates us into Christ who is the head and Lord of everyone and everything (Eph. 1:22).
  • Positioned: The truth of scriptural teaching brings organization and body’s parts are anatomically correct. It represents Christ (1 Cor. 12:12, 27).
  • Consolidated: The body is united and connected by the truth of scripture and Christ (1 Cor. 12:3; 1 John 2:19).
  • Proportioned: The body is supported and not one part overworked, every part is in exact proportion to its strength in Christ (1 Cor. 12:24).
  • Edified: The body grows and builds itself in strength and maturity all by the principle and power of Christ’s love (1 Cor. 14:5).

We need to speak the truth with “Calvary love” to those who are easily affected by waves of doubt on the inside and winds of deception on the outside. They are being cheated by false teachers and lying spirits who use the methods of men and extra-biblical practices to mislead them and by hurting the immature and weaker brethren they hurt us and they attempt to steal the glory from Christ.

We speak the truth with the love of Christ, not human compassion or understanding but in light of the truth. This is an hour where unity cannot be based on the LOWEST common denominator but the high standards of scripture and the loftiest model of Jesus Christ head of the body, his church!

“When principles that run against your deepest convictions begin to win the day, then battle is your calling, and peace has become sin; you must, at the price of dearest peace, lay your convictions bare before friend and enemy, with all the fire of your faith.” Abraham Kuyper