Jim Wilson's Blog, page 34

Our Raison d'Etre

"We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete. This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:3-7).

"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls” (1 Peter 2:24-25).

I selected these two very clear expressions from the writings of John and Peter because in a succinct way they tell us about God—who He is, what He did, why He did it, and the resulting fellowship we have with Him and with each other. To declare all of this is our reason for being.

 

Written November 1990.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships

Why Study the Old Testament?

"No man can redeem the life of another, or give to God a ransom for him. The ransom for a life is costly; no payment is ever enough, that he should live on forever and not see decay… But God will redeem my life from the grave; he will surely take me to himself” (Psalm 49:7-9, 15).

This is a wonderful expression in the Old Testament of God's redemption as opposed to man's inability to redeem.

Please consider the following and become students of the Old Testament:

"These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come” (1 Cor. 10:11).

"For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope" (Romans 15:4).

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

 

Written May 1989.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships

The Death of Christ for Us

''Were not able to clear the conscience” (Heb. 9:9).

"How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God" (Heb. 9:14).

''Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" (Heb. 9:22).

"Just as a man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgement, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him" (Heb. 9:27-28).

"For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified" (1 Cor 2: 2).

The first verse tells us of the inadequacy of Old Testament sacrifices. They were a shadow, not the reality. They did not work. The next three verses tell us that the death of Christ is effective in:

cleaning the consciencedelivering from deathforgiving sinstaking away sinsdoing away with sin

Even if you think that this is five different ways of saying the same thing, the truth of it is great. The fifth verse has to do with the proclamation. Jesus Christ took away sin. We proclaim it.

 

Written August 1988.

This post coordinates with Saturday's reading in the To the Word! Bible Reading Challenge. If you are not in a daily reading plan, please join us at TotheWord.com. We would love to have you reading with us.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships

Stand in the River

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).

“It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace” (Hebrews 13:9).

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

We know that we were saved, justified, by grace. That was an event in the past that started our Christian lives. Grace, however, did not cease at that time. The three verses above represent the continuance of grace in the life of the believer. James 4:6 tells us that “He gives us more grace.” Grace is what we need for any inadequacy, weakness, or sin. This grace increases according to the needs. We cannot overdraw on the bank of grace, for “where sin increased, grace increased all the more.” Grace is really like a clean, life-giving river that never runs dry. We just need to stand in the river.

"From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another” (John 1:16).

 

Written December 1989.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships

Keep Your Powder Dry

“But in your hearts reverence Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence; and keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are abused, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame” (1 Peter 3:15-16 RSV).

Keep your conscience clear. It sounds like, “Keep your powder dry.” In both cases, it is a means of being ready for battle. A clear conscience is a means of shaming those who revile good behavior. A conscience is kept clear two ways: 1) Obeying God. 2) Confessing sin when disobedience occurs. I find that obedience is the simpler of the two. When I sin and my conscience is not clear, it is harder, because of pride, to confess my sin.

 

Written July 1984.

This post coordinates with Friday's reading in the To the Word! Bible Reading Challenge. If you are not in a daily reading plan, please join us at TotheWord.com. We would love to have you reading with us.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships

Darkness Against Light

"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me" (John 15:18-21).

The world is not sweetness and light; it is darkness against light. It is hatred against light. This is because of Jesus Christ coming into the world.

"The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world" (John 1:9).

"This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed" (John 3:19-20).

When we identify with Jesus Christ, walk in the light (1 John 1:7), and shine as lights in the world, we can expect to be hated by the world as Jesus Christ was hated by the world.

 

Written August 1989.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships

Self-Exaltation

Jesus made a statement recorded in Matthew 23:12: “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

This is following a teaching that we are not to be called master, father or teacher. He said approximately the same thing in Luke 14:11, only in this case He said everyone instead of whoever. It was the conclusion of a command not to take the place of honor but to take the lowest place at a wedding banquet.

Again in Luke 18:14, the same conclusion: “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” This time it was the conclusion to a parable of a man who considered himself more righteous than another man.

There seems to be more than one way to exalt yourself. They all seem to be evident in today’s society. They are evident because we can see self-exaltation in other people, but we do not see it in ourselves. Let us pray that we will be able to reject self-exaltation and that we will humble ourselves.

 

Written January 1985. (Photo courtesy of the #departmentofhellno.)

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships

Christian Grief

“Shouldn't you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this?” (1 Cor. 5:2).

"Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope” (1 Thess. 4:13).

There are things about which we should grieve and things about which we should not grieve. In the first category is sin in the body, the church. In the second category is the death of those who die in the Lord. Like many things, we have these backwards. Sin in the body should cause the whole body pain.

“If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it” (1 Cor. 12:26).

Let us ask God for a conscience that reflects the sin of the whole body, not just our own private sin. Let us also ask for a great joy for those who go on ahead to be with Christ.

 

Written September 1984.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships

To Judge or Judge Not: The Importance of Having Discernment

“The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason, God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness” (2 Thess. 2:9-12).

Whoever the “lawless one” is, he is identifiable in that his coming will be in accordance with the work of Satan. His characteristics are then spelled out: counterfeit miracles, signs, wonders—every sort of evil that deceives.

Satan has always worked this way and is working this way now. The first three look good to almost everyone, and the fourth, every sort of evil, doesn’t look bad because by very nature Satan is deceptive. Jesus said, “When he lies he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).

It is the nature of a lie to appear as a truth. If a lie appeared as a lie, it would not be a lie. It is therefore our responsibility to discern between miracles and miracles, truth and truth, angels of light and angels of light, ministers of righteousness and ministers of righteousness.

It is my observation that Christians take things at face value. If they have discernment, they do not exercise it because of a fear of “judging,” as if that were wrong. It is not wrong; it is a commandment. “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them” (Matt. 7:15- 20).

Written January 1984.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships

The Father Himself Loves You

 

“In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God” (John 16:26-27).

In recent years, I have found that “Christians” have views of the Father that are foreign to Scripture. These views are so awful that the same people ignore the Father and put all of their focus on the Son. This focus is not so that they can come to the Father but so that they can come to the Son only. These are evangelical, trinitarian Christians. However, their views of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are so different in character that it would be impossible to have these three be one deity.

Here is a suggested exercise. Go through the Gospel of John and mark every reference to the Father. I think it will be surprising to you, both in how many references there are and what they say.

This post coordinates with tomorrow's reading in the To the Word! Bible Reading Challenge. If you are not in a daily reading plan, please join us at TotheWord.com. We would love to have you reading with us.

Written December 1984.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships