Randy Green's Blog, page 443
May 9, 2013
A Human Jar – Part 2
Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each. Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” [John 2:6-7]
Jesus used the miracle of changing water to wine to teach invisible spiritual truth. This was common with the Lord. In fact in the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, God made it a point to employ visible physical realities to teach invisible spiritual truth. Let’s interpret what invisible spiritual truth Jesus taught by His miracle of changing water to wine.
We would serve ourselves well if we first enumerate the several items involved in the miracle. Each one holds significance in our interpretation of the miracle. Here they are:
• six stone jars
• water
• wine
The “stone” jars were earthenware. They were baked clay. Clay comes from the earth. It is soil, dirt, dust. The clay is molded into the shape of a jar, then baked in an oven to transform it into “stone” of sorts. In the Bible man’s body is represented as an earthenware jar. We have this treasure in earthen vessels [2 Corinthians 4:7]. Jesus employed the six earthenware jars as a type of the human body.
This understanding is corroborated by the number of jars which were filled with water. There were six earthenware jars, not seven or twenty-three or two. The number “6” in Scripture is the number of the natural man. Man was created on Day 6 of God’s creation of nature. The number of the natural man and the composition of the natural man’s body combine to identify what the six earthenware jars represented.
The servants filled the jars with water. Since the jars represented the natural man, the man of the earth, the water inside the earthenware jars symbolized the life of the natural man. This should be self-evident and need no more elaboration.
What did Jesus do with the life of the natural man? Answer: He transformed it to wine. In the sacrifices and offerings of the Old Testament, drink offerings consisted of wine. The wine typified blood. Wine has the appearance of blood. Wine is known as the blood of the grape. The wine typified blood.
In the same way the life of the animal was offered up to the Lord, so too was the offerer’s life symbolically offered to the Lord by the act of wine poured out on the altar in the form of a drink offering. The Word of God teaches that the life of man and animal is in the blood. By pouring out the blood, the life is offered to the Lord. Blood cannot be poured out apart from life being taken, i.e., without death occurring.
At the Last Supper Jesus employed wine as the same symbol. He identified the wine as His blood, which He would soon shed as payment for the penalty of man’s sins. He would not again drink the wine with His disciples until they did so in His Kingdom. In His Kingdom the wine would serve as a type of His blood (i.e., His life) in the resurrection. This means the wine also signifies the new life, the resurrection life.
In the context of the miracle of John 2, did the wine symbolize the natural life or the new resurrection life? Answer: it symbolized the new life. How so? Well, the contrast was between the water and the wine. Remember how the servants would not fare so well, should they serve the wedding guests water? Water was an unacceptable liquid to drink at the wedding celebration!
Spiritually speaking, what is unacceptable to God is the life of sin, man’s natural life. This is what the water typified. Hence the wine, the transformed water, symbolized a changed life. The wine was a type of the new life we receive through faith in Christ Jesus. It is eternal life, the resurrection life which Jesus imparts to His kids.
Mama Mary wanted to use her natural relationship as mother, in order to influence Jesus to perform a miracle. When Jesus entered His ministry, however, the rules of the natural life were no longer in force. His parents directed Jesus how to conduct His ministry. The Word of God and the Holy Spirit did.
The miracle of changing the water to wine was a picture story to teach this invisible spiritual truth. We cannot see this truth with the natural eye. It requires the eye of faith to envision it. Let’s spend time alone with the Lord Jesus now. Maybe He has some more goodies to teach us.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Jesus used the miracle of changing water to wine to teach invisible spiritual truth. This was common with the Lord. In fact in the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, God made it a point to employ visible physical realities to teach invisible spiritual truth. Let’s interpret what invisible spiritual truth Jesus taught by His miracle of changing water to wine.
We would serve ourselves well if we first enumerate the several items involved in the miracle. Each one holds significance in our interpretation of the miracle. Here they are:
• six stone jars
• water
• wine
The “stone” jars were earthenware. They were baked clay. Clay comes from the earth. It is soil, dirt, dust. The clay is molded into the shape of a jar, then baked in an oven to transform it into “stone” of sorts. In the Bible man’s body is represented as an earthenware jar. We have this treasure in earthen vessels [2 Corinthians 4:7]. Jesus employed the six earthenware jars as a type of the human body.
This understanding is corroborated by the number of jars which were filled with water. There were six earthenware jars, not seven or twenty-three or two. The number “6” in Scripture is the number of the natural man. Man was created on Day 6 of God’s creation of nature. The number of the natural man and the composition of the natural man’s body combine to identify what the six earthenware jars represented.
The servants filled the jars with water. Since the jars represented the natural man, the man of the earth, the water inside the earthenware jars symbolized the life of the natural man. This should be self-evident and need no more elaboration.
What did Jesus do with the life of the natural man? Answer: He transformed it to wine. In the sacrifices and offerings of the Old Testament, drink offerings consisted of wine. The wine typified blood. Wine has the appearance of blood. Wine is known as the blood of the grape. The wine typified blood.
In the same way the life of the animal was offered up to the Lord, so too was the offerer’s life symbolically offered to the Lord by the act of wine poured out on the altar in the form of a drink offering. The Word of God teaches that the life of man and animal is in the blood. By pouring out the blood, the life is offered to the Lord. Blood cannot be poured out apart from life being taken, i.e., without death occurring.
At the Last Supper Jesus employed wine as the same symbol. He identified the wine as His blood, which He would soon shed as payment for the penalty of man’s sins. He would not again drink the wine with His disciples until they did so in His Kingdom. In His Kingdom the wine would serve as a type of His blood (i.e., His life) in the resurrection. This means the wine also signifies the new life, the resurrection life.
In the context of the miracle of John 2, did the wine symbolize the natural life or the new resurrection life? Answer: it symbolized the new life. How so? Well, the contrast was between the water and the wine. Remember how the servants would not fare so well, should they serve the wedding guests water? Water was an unacceptable liquid to drink at the wedding celebration!
Spiritually speaking, what is unacceptable to God is the life of sin, man’s natural life. This is what the water typified. Hence the wine, the transformed water, symbolized a changed life. The wine was a type of the new life we receive through faith in Christ Jesus. It is eternal life, the resurrection life which Jesus imparts to His kids.
Mama Mary wanted to use her natural relationship as mother, in order to influence Jesus to perform a miracle. When Jesus entered His ministry, however, the rules of the natural life were no longer in force. His parents directed Jesus how to conduct His ministry. The Word of God and the Holy Spirit did.
The miracle of changing the water to wine was a picture story to teach this invisible spiritual truth. We cannot see this truth with the natural eye. It requires the eye of faith to envision it. Let’s spend time alone with the Lord Jesus now. Maybe He has some more goodies to teach us.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
May 8, 2013
A Human Jar – Part 1
Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each. Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” [John 2:6-7]
In John 2:1-11 Jesus was at a wedding in Cana of Galilee. Mary His mother had an official role of some sort. During the celebration the wine ran out. This was most embarrassing for the newlyweds. They didn’t adequately provide for their guests.
Mary approached Jesus and informed Him of the need. From the story it is obvious she knew He had miraculous powers, though He hadn’t been about His ministry very long and had yet to perform miracles (cf., v.11).
Jesus politely declined His mother’s request, informing her that the new life of ministry to God established new relationships. The natural birth relationships such as parents no longer ruled. The Word of God and the Holy Spirit did.
After setting the bounds of leadership in ministry, Jesus then acted out a picture story to teach the spiritual truth of this very point. There were six stone water jars at the celebration. This was typical for the Israelites of that day. The jars held water—from 20 to 30 gallons each, we are told. The water was used by the Jews for ritual washing of various kinds, religious ceremonies if you would.
Jesus instructed the servants to fill the jars to the brim with water. They obeyed His word, which is always a good thing to do when Jesus speaks! Next Jesus instructed them to draw the water from the jars and serve it to the guests.
This was awkward for the servants. If they knew which side their bread was buttered on, they wouldn’t be so keen to obey this part of Jesus’ words. Imagine the wedding guests. They drank all the available wine and wanted more. Here come the servants with a fresh brew. The guests hold out their goblets and the servants fill ‘er up.
The guests take a deep gulp of the wine. Oops! It isn’t wine. It’s water! The guests demand in voices of outrage, “Tie those wretched servants to the whipping post, ya’ hear! We’re gonna exact our pound of flesh for their inappropriate prank. Fie fie on them! Serve us water when we want wine? Hmpf. The nerve of some folks!”
So we can see why the servants would not be excited by Jesus’ instructions to them. Notwithstanding, they obeyed. Praise the Lord! Would that all of us were so readily agreeable to the Word of God. In fear and trepidation the servants served the guests the water…and waited to be flayed alive for their mischief.
Not to worry. The guests began with one voice to sing the praises of the groom. “This is the best wine ever! Congrats to you, Mr. Groom. You sure are strange though. Everyone else serves the best wine first. After we’re all somewhat sated with wine, then the cheaper stuff makes the rounds. But you saved the best for last. Good things come to those who wait. My mama told me that, and she was right!”
And so it was that Jesus began his ministry of miracles. The water-to-wine in Cana was His first, but it was by no means His last, praise God! Being His first miracle, Jesus put it to work doing double duty. For one thing it revealed His powers. For another it taught spiritual truth.
This was common with the Lord. We will explain how so in our next study. See you then, and don’t forget to talk with Jesus a while.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
In John 2:1-11 Jesus was at a wedding in Cana of Galilee. Mary His mother had an official role of some sort. During the celebration the wine ran out. This was most embarrassing for the newlyweds. They didn’t adequately provide for their guests.
Mary approached Jesus and informed Him of the need. From the story it is obvious she knew He had miraculous powers, though He hadn’t been about His ministry very long and had yet to perform miracles (cf., v.11).
Jesus politely declined His mother’s request, informing her that the new life of ministry to God established new relationships. The natural birth relationships such as parents no longer ruled. The Word of God and the Holy Spirit did.
After setting the bounds of leadership in ministry, Jesus then acted out a picture story to teach the spiritual truth of this very point. There were six stone water jars at the celebration. This was typical for the Israelites of that day. The jars held water—from 20 to 30 gallons each, we are told. The water was used by the Jews for ritual washing of various kinds, religious ceremonies if you would.
Jesus instructed the servants to fill the jars to the brim with water. They obeyed His word, which is always a good thing to do when Jesus speaks! Next Jesus instructed them to draw the water from the jars and serve it to the guests.
This was awkward for the servants. If they knew which side their bread was buttered on, they wouldn’t be so keen to obey this part of Jesus’ words. Imagine the wedding guests. They drank all the available wine and wanted more. Here come the servants with a fresh brew. The guests hold out their goblets and the servants fill ‘er up.
The guests take a deep gulp of the wine. Oops! It isn’t wine. It’s water! The guests demand in voices of outrage, “Tie those wretched servants to the whipping post, ya’ hear! We’re gonna exact our pound of flesh for their inappropriate prank. Fie fie on them! Serve us water when we want wine? Hmpf. The nerve of some folks!”
So we can see why the servants would not be excited by Jesus’ instructions to them. Notwithstanding, they obeyed. Praise the Lord! Would that all of us were so readily agreeable to the Word of God. In fear and trepidation the servants served the guests the water…and waited to be flayed alive for their mischief.
Not to worry. The guests began with one voice to sing the praises of the groom. “This is the best wine ever! Congrats to you, Mr. Groom. You sure are strange though. Everyone else serves the best wine first. After we’re all somewhat sated with wine, then the cheaper stuff makes the rounds. But you saved the best for last. Good things come to those who wait. My mama told me that, and she was right!”
And so it was that Jesus began his ministry of miracles. The water-to-wine in Cana was His first, but it was by no means His last, praise God! Being His first miracle, Jesus put it to work doing double duty. For one thing it revealed His powers. For another it taught spiritual truth.
This was common with the Lord. We will explain how so in our next study. See you then, and don’t forget to talk with Jesus a while.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
May 7, 2013
I Forgive You – Part 3
Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, “I repent,” forgive him [Luke 17:3-4].
We concluded yesterday’s study with the question, “But why did I deserve the death which Jesus died for me?” Answer: because I am a sinner, and the wages of sin is death. Do you see it? I came to Jesus as the Savior, confessed my sins to Him, and asked His forgiveness based on His finished work for me on the cross.
Don’t miss the part about recognizing my sins and the part about asking His forgiveness, dear friends. Until I am sorry for my sins and want to be forgiven, God Himself doesn’t—even more, He cannot—forgive me. Otherwise He would be complicit in my sins. He would receive me into heaven in my sins, making heaven to be unclean. By living in an unclean heaven God would be unclean.
What blasphemy this entire line of reasoning is! God cannot tolerate sin, period. He will not allow it in His presence, period. Sin must be removed and its penalty paid, before a sinner can relate to God. If God cannot forgive the unrepentant sinner, how dare any of His people believe themselves to have the power to do so.
No, dear friends, we mustn’t brew and stew over sins committed against us. Nor must we hold a grudge and feud with the sinner. We must always have the heart to forgive any sin done against us, and even long to do so while we pray for the sinner to repent. Even more, we must rebuke the sinner, thus bringing his sin to his attention so he knows he needs to repent.
Notwithstanding all this, we haven’t the power to forgive sins when the sinner isn’t repentant. God doesn’t do so and neither can we. If we are brash enough to think we can, our words make us complicit in the sin and we sinned against the sinner by confirming him in his sin.
Modern affluent middle-class morality teaches us to forgive everyone regardless. It gives sinful man the impression that he is a good person because, look! he forgives everyone! The focus here is on the forgiver, when it should be on the one to be forgiven.
Middle-class affluent morality is not Bible, dear friends. It is egocentric all the way down to its roots. The world is steeped in it, but that’s to be expected. What isn’t to be expected, in fact what is to be decried, is middle-class affluence permeating the Church. Such a scenario exposes Christians as being conformed to the world.
The Word of God warns of this and exhorts us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. This comes from daily feeding on the Bible, from feeding on solid meat in the Bible rather than just sipping on baby milk.
If Christians are to be transformed by the renewing of their minds, then their leaders who are supposed to teach them the Word of God must first be transformed in the same manner. We need a return to the Bible on the part of the pastors and teachers in the churches. There is far too much involvement in church activities on their part, such that they aren’t able to devote considerable time daily to feeding on the Bible alone with Jesus.
If they don’t receive a fresh word from Jesus regularly, what are they feeding their flock? Answer: the stale words of men! They rush to a commentary and plagiarize a sermon. It sounds good to the unsuspecting flock and gets them by, so why not? And it does take scant time to do it that way, certainly much less time than waiting on the Lord Jesus daily.
Nay nay, dear friends! Rather, let us heed the words of Isaiah 8:20, “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.”
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
We concluded yesterday’s study with the question, “But why did I deserve the death which Jesus died for me?” Answer: because I am a sinner, and the wages of sin is death. Do you see it? I came to Jesus as the Savior, confessed my sins to Him, and asked His forgiveness based on His finished work for me on the cross.
Don’t miss the part about recognizing my sins and the part about asking His forgiveness, dear friends. Until I am sorry for my sins and want to be forgiven, God Himself doesn’t—even more, He cannot—forgive me. Otherwise He would be complicit in my sins. He would receive me into heaven in my sins, making heaven to be unclean. By living in an unclean heaven God would be unclean.
What blasphemy this entire line of reasoning is! God cannot tolerate sin, period. He will not allow it in His presence, period. Sin must be removed and its penalty paid, before a sinner can relate to God. If God cannot forgive the unrepentant sinner, how dare any of His people believe themselves to have the power to do so.
No, dear friends, we mustn’t brew and stew over sins committed against us. Nor must we hold a grudge and feud with the sinner. We must always have the heart to forgive any sin done against us, and even long to do so while we pray for the sinner to repent. Even more, we must rebuke the sinner, thus bringing his sin to his attention so he knows he needs to repent.
Notwithstanding all this, we haven’t the power to forgive sins when the sinner isn’t repentant. God doesn’t do so and neither can we. If we are brash enough to think we can, our words make us complicit in the sin and we sinned against the sinner by confirming him in his sin.
Modern affluent middle-class morality teaches us to forgive everyone regardless. It gives sinful man the impression that he is a good person because, look! he forgives everyone! The focus here is on the forgiver, when it should be on the one to be forgiven.
Middle-class affluent morality is not Bible, dear friends. It is egocentric all the way down to its roots. The world is steeped in it, but that’s to be expected. What isn’t to be expected, in fact what is to be decried, is middle-class affluence permeating the Church. Such a scenario exposes Christians as being conformed to the world.
The Word of God warns of this and exhorts us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. This comes from daily feeding on the Bible, from feeding on solid meat in the Bible rather than just sipping on baby milk.
If Christians are to be transformed by the renewing of their minds, then their leaders who are supposed to teach them the Word of God must first be transformed in the same manner. We need a return to the Bible on the part of the pastors and teachers in the churches. There is far too much involvement in church activities on their part, such that they aren’t able to devote considerable time daily to feeding on the Bible alone with Jesus.
If they don’t receive a fresh word from Jesus regularly, what are they feeding their flock? Answer: the stale words of men! They rush to a commentary and plagiarize a sermon. It sounds good to the unsuspecting flock and gets them by, so why not? And it does take scant time to do it that way, certainly much less time than waiting on the Lord Jesus daily.
Nay nay, dear friends! Rather, let us heed the words of Isaiah 8:20, “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.”
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
May 6, 2013
I Forgive You – Part 2
Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, “I repent,” forgive him [Luke 17:3-4].
We paused our last study by noting how the argument from silence is pulled out of mothballs and freshened up, to be used to misinterpret Matthew 18. Peter asked Jesus about the obligation of a person who was wronged, not about the obligation of the wrongdoer.
The argument from silence seizes upon this silence about the wrongdoer’s obligation to repent, claiming it isn’t necessary since in Matthew 18 Jesus didn’t say it was. Neither did Jesus demand that the priest come along, but what does that have to do with anything?
In Luke 17 the same subject is taught, but this time the requirement on the part of both parties is addressed. The wrongdoer recognizes his wrong and apologizes to the person he wronged, asking him for forgiveness. In this case it is obligatory on the part of the Christian who has been wronged to forgive him, and that from the heart, in spirit and in truth.
Implied in this teaching is that the person wronged needs to want forgiveness. You see, in Luke 17 there is no argument from silence. The subject of the wrongdoer’s responsibility is literally brought up by Jesus. When a person does a wrong and asks for forgiveness, the child of God must forgive the one who wronged him.
The implications are, for one thing, that we cannot hold grudges and conduct feuds. We cannot harbor ill will at others because our feelings are hurt.
But there is a more solemn implication to be garnered from Luke 17. If someone wrongs us and does not want forgiveness, we can’t forgive him. This doesn’t mean we can hold a grudge in such a case, or harbor ill will and pray for his damnation! It means we cannot pretend to him that all is well with the world.
Suppose I go up to someone who sinned against me and say, “Ken or Barbie, you did such and so to me and it is sin. But not to worry. I forgive you.” What just occurred?
I’ll tell you what just occurred. Someone sinned, but they had no remorse for their sin and didn’t see any need for forgiveness. My words helped harden them in their sin by allowing them to experience forgiveness without repentance, should their conscience ever experience any uneasiness over their sin.
This implicates me in their sin! I caused my brother to stumble. He has no need to repent of his sin. He’s forgiven already. Wow! This makes me more powerful than God Himself!
How so? Consider how a sinner is saved. Is it because Jesus died on the cross for his sins? Answer: no, it is not. Huh? You say you thought the answer was yes? Well, sorry. You’re mistaken. Yes, Jesus died for the sins of all mankind, past, present, and future. But no, everyone past, present, and future, is not saved because of it.
Oh, then what else is needed in order to be saved? Answer: believe on the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved. Okay, so what does it mean to believe on the Lord Jesus? Answer: to recognize His death on the cross as being for my specific sins. Jesus died my death in my stead, so that I can live His life with Him.
But why did I deserve the death which Jesus died for me? We will answer the question in our next study. For now ruminate a while on what Jesus taught us in this study. I’ll see you tomorrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
We paused our last study by noting how the argument from silence is pulled out of mothballs and freshened up, to be used to misinterpret Matthew 18. Peter asked Jesus about the obligation of a person who was wronged, not about the obligation of the wrongdoer.
The argument from silence seizes upon this silence about the wrongdoer’s obligation to repent, claiming it isn’t necessary since in Matthew 18 Jesus didn’t say it was. Neither did Jesus demand that the priest come along, but what does that have to do with anything?
In Luke 17 the same subject is taught, but this time the requirement on the part of both parties is addressed. The wrongdoer recognizes his wrong and apologizes to the person he wronged, asking him for forgiveness. In this case it is obligatory on the part of the Christian who has been wronged to forgive him, and that from the heart, in spirit and in truth.
Implied in this teaching is that the person wronged needs to want forgiveness. You see, in Luke 17 there is no argument from silence. The subject of the wrongdoer’s responsibility is literally brought up by Jesus. When a person does a wrong and asks for forgiveness, the child of God must forgive the one who wronged him.
The implications are, for one thing, that we cannot hold grudges and conduct feuds. We cannot harbor ill will at others because our feelings are hurt.
But there is a more solemn implication to be garnered from Luke 17. If someone wrongs us and does not want forgiveness, we can’t forgive him. This doesn’t mean we can hold a grudge in such a case, or harbor ill will and pray for his damnation! It means we cannot pretend to him that all is well with the world.
Suppose I go up to someone who sinned against me and say, “Ken or Barbie, you did such and so to me and it is sin. But not to worry. I forgive you.” What just occurred?
I’ll tell you what just occurred. Someone sinned, but they had no remorse for their sin and didn’t see any need for forgiveness. My words helped harden them in their sin by allowing them to experience forgiveness without repentance, should their conscience ever experience any uneasiness over their sin.
This implicates me in their sin! I caused my brother to stumble. He has no need to repent of his sin. He’s forgiven already. Wow! This makes me more powerful than God Himself!
How so? Consider how a sinner is saved. Is it because Jesus died on the cross for his sins? Answer: no, it is not. Huh? You say you thought the answer was yes? Well, sorry. You’re mistaken. Yes, Jesus died for the sins of all mankind, past, present, and future. But no, everyone past, present, and future, is not saved because of it.
Oh, then what else is needed in order to be saved? Answer: believe on the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved. Okay, so what does it mean to believe on the Lord Jesus? Answer: to recognize His death on the cross as being for my specific sins. Jesus died my death in my stead, so that I can live His life with Him.
But why did I deserve the death which Jesus died for me? We will answer the question in our next study. For now ruminate a while on what Jesus taught us in this study. I’ll see you tomorrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
May 5, 2013
I Forgive You – Part 1
Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, “I repent,” forgive him [Luke 17:3-4].
There is this concept which is habitually proclaimed from the pulpits, that it is incumbent on every Christian to forgive those who wrong them. In and of itself the concept is Biblical, and I heartily give my “Amen!” to it. Thus far we hear nothing which is to be gainsaid.
But then in ignorance the leaven of false teaching is smuggled in unawares. An addendum is added to the effect that it matters not whether the person doing the wrong is sorry for his wrongdoing. If he doesn’t think it is wrong, no matter. We are obligated to forgive him!
Various proof-texts are summoned to the witness stand to testify to the validity of this addendum. One example is to quote, “Thou shalt not judge!” If we accept such an interpretation of those Biblical words, we are left with the inability to share the Gospel because the Gospel by definition judges sinners. So I think we’ll pass on such an interpretation.
Consider another example. In Matthew 18:21-22 Peter asked the Lord Jesus, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”
Jesus instructed Peter to forgive him not just up to seven times, but up to seventy-seven times. This teaching is held up as proof that Jesus didn’t require repentance first, before a child of God can forgive anyone.
If all we had to go by was the Matthew 18 account, we would not know the context accurately. We might well reach the interpretation just given, apart from a context. However, we have the same subject addressed by Jesus in Luke 17, which we quoted at the start of this study.
In Matthew 18 Peter asked the Lord for clarification on how often to forgive someone. Peter asked nothing about whether or not the person was sorry. That issue isn’t addressed in Matthew 18. Don’t take my word for it. Read the account in your Bible and see for yourself.
To conclude from the Matthew 18 account that Jesus didn’t answer a question Peter failed to ask, this is circular reasoning. It has a formal title in Logic 101: argumentum e silentio or the argument from silence. Someone didn’t refer to Topic X, so Topic X must be okay, or Topic X must not apply, etc. The argument is recognized as invalid and false by all logical persons!
In the case of Matthew 18 this argument states that Jesus didn’t require repentance on the part of the wrongdoer, so repentance isn’t required for forgiveness. But as we noted already, Peter didn’t ask about the wrongdoer’s part in the equation. He only asked about the part of the person wronged. Hence Jesus only taught him the part required of the person wronged.
Let’s call it a day and take our leave at this time. Converse with the Lord Jesus about the subject before going to sleep. We’ll meet together again tomorrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
There is this concept which is habitually proclaimed from the pulpits, that it is incumbent on every Christian to forgive those who wrong them. In and of itself the concept is Biblical, and I heartily give my “Amen!” to it. Thus far we hear nothing which is to be gainsaid.
But then in ignorance the leaven of false teaching is smuggled in unawares. An addendum is added to the effect that it matters not whether the person doing the wrong is sorry for his wrongdoing. If he doesn’t think it is wrong, no matter. We are obligated to forgive him!
Various proof-texts are summoned to the witness stand to testify to the validity of this addendum. One example is to quote, “Thou shalt not judge!” If we accept such an interpretation of those Biblical words, we are left with the inability to share the Gospel because the Gospel by definition judges sinners. So I think we’ll pass on such an interpretation.
Consider another example. In Matthew 18:21-22 Peter asked the Lord Jesus, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”
Jesus instructed Peter to forgive him not just up to seven times, but up to seventy-seven times. This teaching is held up as proof that Jesus didn’t require repentance first, before a child of God can forgive anyone.
If all we had to go by was the Matthew 18 account, we would not know the context accurately. We might well reach the interpretation just given, apart from a context. However, we have the same subject addressed by Jesus in Luke 17, which we quoted at the start of this study.
In Matthew 18 Peter asked the Lord for clarification on how often to forgive someone. Peter asked nothing about whether or not the person was sorry. That issue isn’t addressed in Matthew 18. Don’t take my word for it. Read the account in your Bible and see for yourself.
To conclude from the Matthew 18 account that Jesus didn’t answer a question Peter failed to ask, this is circular reasoning. It has a formal title in Logic 101: argumentum e silentio or the argument from silence. Someone didn’t refer to Topic X, so Topic X must be okay, or Topic X must not apply, etc. The argument is recognized as invalid and false by all logical persons!
In the case of Matthew 18 this argument states that Jesus didn’t require repentance on the part of the wrongdoer, so repentance isn’t required for forgiveness. But as we noted already, Peter didn’t ask about the wrongdoer’s part in the equation. He only asked about the part of the person wronged. Hence Jesus only taught him the part required of the person wronged.
Let’s call it a day and take our leave at this time. Converse with the Lord Jesus about the subject before going to sleep. We’ll meet together again tomorrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
May 4, 2013
Missouri, the Show Me State – Part 2
If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead [Luke 16:31].
Yesterday we paused in Hades, where the rich man wanted Lazarus to return to earth and warn his five brothers to repent. Abraham denied the rich man’s request, noting that the five brothers could read the Word of God and learn of their need to repent. Let’s continue from there now.
Hades was so unbearable that the rich man was truly worried sick about his five brothers’. So he pleaded with Abraham, “They won’t listen to the Word of God, Father Abraham. But if someone were to return from the dead, then they’d listen!”
Isn’t that what all of us believe deep down? If the secrets of our hearts were laid bear for all to see, the truth would express itself something like this: “Show me a mighty miracle, and then I’ll believe whatever it is you’re selling, God! But some of the things in the Bible, well, it’s expecting a little much to hold me to them, don’t you think?”
This is where the conclusion to Jesus’ story comes into play, dear friends. We quoted it at the start of this study. What did Abraham answer the rich man? Just this: if your five brothers won’t listen to the written Word of God, they won’t be convinced by someone rising from the dead either.
Do you hear Father Abraham, dear friends? Do his words ring in your ears and descend into the depths of your heart? The written Word of God takes priority over miracles any day of the week, even such an astounding miracle as the resurrection of Jesus Christ!
The purpose of miracles was never to convince people to repent and be saved. Miracles never did achieve such a result. Miracles served to confirm that a prophet was truly sent from God. Miracles also confirmed that what was written by prophets and apostles was the inspired written Word of God.
But miracles never have, don’t now, and never will serve to convert anyone to salvation. The Word of God is required to do that, along with the Holy Spirit to impress the Word of God on the person, so that he is convicted of his sins and brought repentance.
The story of Lazarus and the rich man foretold the resurrection of Jesus Christ and what would follow. Those who believed before the resurrection continued to believe after the resurrection. Unbelievers before the resurrection continued in their unbelief after the resurrection.
The purpose of the resurrection was not to convince anyone of the truth. The resurrection was the necessary outcome of the crucifixion. By means of the resurrection Jesus was declared to be the Son of God with power (cf., Romans 1:4). He died, yes, but death could not keep its hold on the Author of life.
By means of the crucifixion Jesus paid the penalty for the sins of all mankind. By means of the resurrection Jesus’ death was proven to be accepted by the Father as payment for the sins of all mankind.
But no one present at the crucifixion could see with the visible eye that the penalty for his sins was paid. Nor could they view the empty tomb and see with the naked eye that the Father accepted this payment. Only the eye of faith can see these and all spiritual truths. Faith comes from hearing the Word of God, not from observing miracles.
There is this saying, “I’m from Missouri. You got to show me.” No offense intended for any of our Missouri friends, but let’s not take such an approach!
Let’s put our faith in the trustworthy Word of God, rather than in visible things like sign gifts and miracles, dear friends. By grace are we saved through faith.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Yesterday we paused in Hades, where the rich man wanted Lazarus to return to earth and warn his five brothers to repent. Abraham denied the rich man’s request, noting that the five brothers could read the Word of God and learn of their need to repent. Let’s continue from there now.
Hades was so unbearable that the rich man was truly worried sick about his five brothers’. So he pleaded with Abraham, “They won’t listen to the Word of God, Father Abraham. But if someone were to return from the dead, then they’d listen!”
Isn’t that what all of us believe deep down? If the secrets of our hearts were laid bear for all to see, the truth would express itself something like this: “Show me a mighty miracle, and then I’ll believe whatever it is you’re selling, God! But some of the things in the Bible, well, it’s expecting a little much to hold me to them, don’t you think?”
This is where the conclusion to Jesus’ story comes into play, dear friends. We quoted it at the start of this study. What did Abraham answer the rich man? Just this: if your five brothers won’t listen to the written Word of God, they won’t be convinced by someone rising from the dead either.
Do you hear Father Abraham, dear friends? Do his words ring in your ears and descend into the depths of your heart? The written Word of God takes priority over miracles any day of the week, even such an astounding miracle as the resurrection of Jesus Christ!
The purpose of miracles was never to convince people to repent and be saved. Miracles never did achieve such a result. Miracles served to confirm that a prophet was truly sent from God. Miracles also confirmed that what was written by prophets and apostles was the inspired written Word of God.
But miracles never have, don’t now, and never will serve to convert anyone to salvation. The Word of God is required to do that, along with the Holy Spirit to impress the Word of God on the person, so that he is convicted of his sins and brought repentance.
The story of Lazarus and the rich man foretold the resurrection of Jesus Christ and what would follow. Those who believed before the resurrection continued to believe after the resurrection. Unbelievers before the resurrection continued in their unbelief after the resurrection.
The purpose of the resurrection was not to convince anyone of the truth. The resurrection was the necessary outcome of the crucifixion. By means of the resurrection Jesus was declared to be the Son of God with power (cf., Romans 1:4). He died, yes, but death could not keep its hold on the Author of life.
By means of the crucifixion Jesus paid the penalty for the sins of all mankind. By means of the resurrection Jesus’ death was proven to be accepted by the Father as payment for the sins of all mankind.
But no one present at the crucifixion could see with the visible eye that the penalty for his sins was paid. Nor could they view the empty tomb and see with the naked eye that the Father accepted this payment. Only the eye of faith can see these and all spiritual truths. Faith comes from hearing the Word of God, not from observing miracles.
There is this saying, “I’m from Missouri. You got to show me.” No offense intended for any of our Missouri friends, but let’s not take such an approach!
Let’s put our faith in the trustworthy Word of God, rather than in visible things like sign gifts and miracles, dear friends. By grace are we saved through faith.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
May 3, 2013
Missouri, the Show Me State – Part 1
If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead [Luke 16:31].
I’ve had occasion over the years to hear it all, or at least most of it! One common statement coming from folks who stepped in it goes like this, “If only I had known, I wouldn’t have done what I did.” Perhaps not. Just perhaps. But then again…
It is troubling to hear suchlike talk, mainly because the words usually amount to no more than rationalization. The person speaking wants to explain away his guilt and make himself innocent without ever being sorry for his wrong. He is attempting to induce sympathy.
Most of us are familiar with Jesus’ story of the rich man and Lazarus, at least partially so. I refer to it as Jesus’ story and not His parable because I don’t believe it to be a parable at all. It was a true story by the telling of it, not containing the usual phraseology of a parable. Jesus usually began His parables by stating something to this effect, “The kingdom of God is like…”
In addition, the story could only be told by someone from eternity, seeing how it reveals events from eternity. This detail adds proof to Jesus’ claim to be God. Let’s review the story, shall we?
There was this rich man and there was this poor man, Larazus by name. The rich man was filthy rich and the poor man suffered from abject poverty. What’s more, the poor man was sickly—small wonder!—not having the means to pay medical expenses to care for himself.
Without money for food Larazus had to sit at the rich man’s door, in hopes of receiving some small token of charity from the rich man. Larazus served as the Lord’s opportunity for the rich man to do a righteous act.
Alas, but Larazus went unnoticed day after day, until one day he no longer sat at the rich man’s door. The Lord saw fit to promote Larazus to eternity, where at last he enjoyed his good things in Abraham’s bosom.
Then one day the rich man ceased to pass back and forth through his front door, the same door where Larazus once upon a time used to sit daily. The rich man’s hour glass ran out of sand, and the day of salvation ended for him. The Lord dispatched him to Hades, a place we should never wish upon anyone.
In Hades the rich man was in torment. He was able to see Lazarus enjoying himself in comfort and spiritual contentment. And there was Abraham right there with Lazarus.
Calling out to Abraham the erstwhile rich man pleaded, “Father Abraham, I am parched and suffer the most intense and searing pain. Please have Lazarus dip his finger in some water and come here to touch my tongue with a drop of the moisture.”
Abraham explained that no one was permitted to travel between the two locations. To this the rich man responded, “Then please send Larzarus to my five brothers who are still alive, with a message to warn them of what’s in store for them if they don’t repent.”
“Oh no,” Abraham rejoined. “Can’t do that either. They can read the Word of God and learn that information.”
Not wanting to stop the horse in the middle of the stream, nonetheless our time is up. The horse can drink his fill and we can spend time with the Lord while he drinks. We’ll continue this study tomorrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
I’ve had occasion over the years to hear it all, or at least most of it! One common statement coming from folks who stepped in it goes like this, “If only I had known, I wouldn’t have done what I did.” Perhaps not. Just perhaps. But then again…
It is troubling to hear suchlike talk, mainly because the words usually amount to no more than rationalization. The person speaking wants to explain away his guilt and make himself innocent without ever being sorry for his wrong. He is attempting to induce sympathy.
Most of us are familiar with Jesus’ story of the rich man and Lazarus, at least partially so. I refer to it as Jesus’ story and not His parable because I don’t believe it to be a parable at all. It was a true story by the telling of it, not containing the usual phraseology of a parable. Jesus usually began His parables by stating something to this effect, “The kingdom of God is like…”
In addition, the story could only be told by someone from eternity, seeing how it reveals events from eternity. This detail adds proof to Jesus’ claim to be God. Let’s review the story, shall we?
There was this rich man and there was this poor man, Larazus by name. The rich man was filthy rich and the poor man suffered from abject poverty. What’s more, the poor man was sickly—small wonder!—not having the means to pay medical expenses to care for himself.
Without money for food Larazus had to sit at the rich man’s door, in hopes of receiving some small token of charity from the rich man. Larazus served as the Lord’s opportunity for the rich man to do a righteous act.
Alas, but Larazus went unnoticed day after day, until one day he no longer sat at the rich man’s door. The Lord saw fit to promote Larazus to eternity, where at last he enjoyed his good things in Abraham’s bosom.
Then one day the rich man ceased to pass back and forth through his front door, the same door where Larazus once upon a time used to sit daily. The rich man’s hour glass ran out of sand, and the day of salvation ended for him. The Lord dispatched him to Hades, a place we should never wish upon anyone.
In Hades the rich man was in torment. He was able to see Lazarus enjoying himself in comfort and spiritual contentment. And there was Abraham right there with Lazarus.
Calling out to Abraham the erstwhile rich man pleaded, “Father Abraham, I am parched and suffer the most intense and searing pain. Please have Lazarus dip his finger in some water and come here to touch my tongue with a drop of the moisture.”
Abraham explained that no one was permitted to travel between the two locations. To this the rich man responded, “Then please send Larzarus to my five brothers who are still alive, with a message to warn them of what’s in store for them if they don’t repent.”
“Oh no,” Abraham rejoined. “Can’t do that either. They can read the Word of God and learn that information.”
Not wanting to stop the horse in the middle of the stream, nonetheless our time is up. The horse can drink his fill and we can spend time with the Lord while he drinks. We’ll continue this study tomorrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
May 2, 2013
Counting When It Counts – Part 3
If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple [Luke 14:26-27].
Let’s present the additional proof of our interpretation now, as we promised at the close of yesterday’s study. The proof is in the pudding, dear friends. As we noted earlier, Jesus provided two examples for interpreting verses 26-27. These two examples are recorded in Luke 14:28-33. Let me summarize the two for you.
No one starts constructing a building, without first counting his money to see if he can afford to build it. He needs to do the counting when it counts. Otherwise he might get the foundation laid and the framework built atop the foundation, but haven’t the money to add the roof and walls and floors and windows. He’d be the laughingstock of the entire town!
Again, no one decides to rush over to his neighbor’s house and kick his rear end, unless he first knows whether the neighbor is a wuss or a warrior. Otherwise he might kick the door down and rush inside, only to find himself staring down barrel of a shotgun! His family won’t find it funny at his funeral, though the rest of the town might!
Jesus concluded those two illustrations with the words, So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions (v.33). In the example of constructing a building, the person had to count his money to see if he had enough to finish building. He couldn’t start off building unless he was willing, if necessary, to spend all he had to finish.
In the example of going to a fight, the person first had to be totally committed, even at the cost of paying with his very life. In both cases total sacrifice to the job he undertook had to be recognized and agreed to beforehand.
No one can be a disciple of Jesus, so long as he expects affluent living in country club church settings. To be a disciple of Jesus each of us is required to want the job so badly, that we no longer receive pleasure from the things of the world. The only pleasure we can receive from the things of the old life must come from serving Jesus and placing Him first and foremost.
We can and should use the things of the world to serve Jesus. This is what Jesus meant by His parable of the unjust steward (cf., Luke 16:1-9). But we cannot desire anything the world offers, including family, except in the context of serving Jesus first and foremost.
That, dear friends, is the definition of Jesus’ words “his own cross”. Our cross is Jesus, His death on the cross and His resurrection life. We take up our own cross by dying to our life of self-living, substituting in its place the new life of the resurrection Christ who lives in us.
I have a fantastic idea. Let’s take up our own cross. I’ll bet you it’s the cross of Christ.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Let’s present the additional proof of our interpretation now, as we promised at the close of yesterday’s study. The proof is in the pudding, dear friends. As we noted earlier, Jesus provided two examples for interpreting verses 26-27. These two examples are recorded in Luke 14:28-33. Let me summarize the two for you.
No one starts constructing a building, without first counting his money to see if he can afford to build it. He needs to do the counting when it counts. Otherwise he might get the foundation laid and the framework built atop the foundation, but haven’t the money to add the roof and walls and floors and windows. He’d be the laughingstock of the entire town!
Again, no one decides to rush over to his neighbor’s house and kick his rear end, unless he first knows whether the neighbor is a wuss or a warrior. Otherwise he might kick the door down and rush inside, only to find himself staring down barrel of a shotgun! His family won’t find it funny at his funeral, though the rest of the town might!
Jesus concluded those two illustrations with the words, So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions (v.33). In the example of constructing a building, the person had to count his money to see if he had enough to finish building. He couldn’t start off building unless he was willing, if necessary, to spend all he had to finish.
In the example of going to a fight, the person first had to be totally committed, even at the cost of paying with his very life. In both cases total sacrifice to the job he undertook had to be recognized and agreed to beforehand.
No one can be a disciple of Jesus, so long as he expects affluent living in country club church settings. To be a disciple of Jesus each of us is required to want the job so badly, that we no longer receive pleasure from the things of the world. The only pleasure we can receive from the things of the old life must come from serving Jesus and placing Him first and foremost.
We can and should use the things of the world to serve Jesus. This is what Jesus meant by His parable of the unjust steward (cf., Luke 16:1-9). But we cannot desire anything the world offers, including family, except in the context of serving Jesus first and foremost.
That, dear friends, is the definition of Jesus’ words “his own cross”. Our cross is Jesus, His death on the cross and His resurrection life. We take up our own cross by dying to our life of self-living, substituting in its place the new life of the resurrection Christ who lives in us.
I have a fantastic idea. Let’s take up our own cross. I’ll bet you it’s the cross of Christ.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
May 1, 2013
Counting When It Counts – Part 2
If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple [Luke 14:26-27].
We concluded yesterday’s study by noting the need to put Luke 14:27 into context, in order to understand it aright.So what is the context for Luke 14:27? Answer: verse 26. In fact Jesus provided two illustrations of what He meant in verses 28-33. First we will note the context from verse 26, and then we will briefly taste the proof in the pudding of verses 28-33.
In v.26 Jesus presented the one condition everyone must meet, if he would be Jesus’ disciple. Note the context, viz., discipleship. This in and of itself refutes 99.99% of the references to the phrase “my cross to bear”.
Seldom are those words used in the context of discipleship. They are almost always spoken during times of personal issues, not issues resulting from persecution and martyrdom because we are serving Jesus. Ergo, the phrase isn’t used vis-à-vis discipleship.
Consequently it is used out of context.
What was Jesus’ one condition everyone is required to meet, in order to be His disciple? Answer: we must die to our old life in every aspect, in order to live His new life in us. Read v.26 and see if this isn’t true. Even our most prized relationships must be put on the back burner, in order to give Jesus first place. Nothing, absolutely nothing, must be allowed to come between Jesus and His disciple.
In that context reread verse 27 now. Verses 26 and 27 are given in the style of Hebrew poetry. They are spoken as synonymous parallelism. Today we rhyme words at the end of lines and call it poetry. In the Bible the Hebrews rhymed ideas between lines to create their poetry. Jesus did this in verses 26-27.
Verse 26 is synonymous with verse 27. How do we carry our own cross? Read v.26 and see. We renounce our own life, in order to replace it with the life of Jesus in us. We stop living to please self, and we start living to please Jesus. We don’t allow our family relationships to dictate our lifestyle or our actions. Instead we allow the Word of God and the Holy Spirit to do so.
The Son of God took upon true humanity and lived in this very way. He willingly laid aside His prerogatives as Deity, and lived in the body by obeying the Word of God in the power of the Holy Spirit. When He died on the cross, it wasn’t for His own sins. He didn’t have any sins. He died for our sins.
When I renounce my own life in favor of the life of Jesus in me, I am identifying myself on the cross of Christ with Him. I am dying to myself and all my family relationships, in order to rise out of death with Jesus to newness of life. I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The old life is dead in Christ on His cross. The new life inside me rules me, so I live for Him as His disciple.
This is what it the phrase “cross of Christ” means to His disciples. And without first being born again no one can be His disciple. So when Jesus commands His disciple to take up his cross, He means for His disciple to renounce living for self by identifying how he died “in Christ” on the cross of Christ. The words “his own cross” in verse 27, when taken in context, mean the cross of Christ as it is recognized by the disciple to be his own cross because he was on that cross “in Christ”.
We will present further proof of this interpretation in tomorrow’s study. For now enjoy some quiet time alone with Jesus.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
We concluded yesterday’s study by noting the need to put Luke 14:27 into context, in order to understand it aright.So what is the context for Luke 14:27? Answer: verse 26. In fact Jesus provided two illustrations of what He meant in verses 28-33. First we will note the context from verse 26, and then we will briefly taste the proof in the pudding of verses 28-33.
In v.26 Jesus presented the one condition everyone must meet, if he would be Jesus’ disciple. Note the context, viz., discipleship. This in and of itself refutes 99.99% of the references to the phrase “my cross to bear”.
Seldom are those words used in the context of discipleship. They are almost always spoken during times of personal issues, not issues resulting from persecution and martyrdom because we are serving Jesus. Ergo, the phrase isn’t used vis-à-vis discipleship.
Consequently it is used out of context.
What was Jesus’ one condition everyone is required to meet, in order to be His disciple? Answer: we must die to our old life in every aspect, in order to live His new life in us. Read v.26 and see if this isn’t true. Even our most prized relationships must be put on the back burner, in order to give Jesus first place. Nothing, absolutely nothing, must be allowed to come between Jesus and His disciple.
In that context reread verse 27 now. Verses 26 and 27 are given in the style of Hebrew poetry. They are spoken as synonymous parallelism. Today we rhyme words at the end of lines and call it poetry. In the Bible the Hebrews rhymed ideas between lines to create their poetry. Jesus did this in verses 26-27.
Verse 26 is synonymous with verse 27. How do we carry our own cross? Read v.26 and see. We renounce our own life, in order to replace it with the life of Jesus in us. We stop living to please self, and we start living to please Jesus. We don’t allow our family relationships to dictate our lifestyle or our actions. Instead we allow the Word of God and the Holy Spirit to do so.
The Son of God took upon true humanity and lived in this very way. He willingly laid aside His prerogatives as Deity, and lived in the body by obeying the Word of God in the power of the Holy Spirit. When He died on the cross, it wasn’t for His own sins. He didn’t have any sins. He died for our sins.
When I renounce my own life in favor of the life of Jesus in me, I am identifying myself on the cross of Christ with Him. I am dying to myself and all my family relationships, in order to rise out of death with Jesus to newness of life. I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The old life is dead in Christ on His cross. The new life inside me rules me, so I live for Him as His disciple.
This is what it the phrase “cross of Christ” means to His disciples. And without first being born again no one can be His disciple. So when Jesus commands His disciple to take up his cross, He means for His disciple to renounce living for self by identifying how he died “in Christ” on the cross of Christ. The words “his own cross” in verse 27, when taken in context, mean the cross of Christ as it is recognized by the disciple to be his own cross because he was on that cross “in Christ”.
We will present further proof of this interpretation in tomorrow’s study. For now enjoy some quiet time alone with Jesus.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
April 30, 2013
Counting When It Counts – Part 1
If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple [Luke 14:26-27].
Often in life we face excessive and overwhelming burdens or trials, requiring us to trudge through the thick marsh to reach deliverance on the other side. It is not uncommon when facing such dire straits to utter the phrase, “This is my cross to bear.” Have you ever heard it?
Seldom is the distress identified by those words truly the person’s cross…at least not in the Biblical sense. The idea of bearing or carrying or taking up the cross has become a meaningless platitude. It would be well worth the effort for us to delve into this issue a bit.
Scripturally speaking there is only one cross, just as there is only one Savior who died on the cross and one salvation resulting from His death on the cross. We are of course referencing the cross of Christ. Though countless people were subjected to crucifixion under Roman rule, still none of their crosses deserves mention from God’s standpoint. Each one died for his own sins. Only Jesus did not.
The cross of Christ is the symbol of the God-man, as He died to pay the penalty for the sins of all mankind past, present, and future. The cross in and of itself holds no value. It was only some rough lumber, unfinished and unsightly. It was the Lord’s death which created eternal value. The cross was merely the instrument employed in putting Jesus to death. Hence the cross is the symbol of His death, but in and of itself the wood cross on which He died holds no value.
From this understanding we can deduce that a cross in and of itself has no merit or value. I mean, since the cross of Christ in and of itself merits no value, certainly any other “cross” you or I supposedly bear cannot have merit or value. Am I not right?
So then what good is it, to identify troubles we face by the phrase “my cross to bear”? Such rhetoric can only muddy the waters of spiritual truth by devaluing the Lord’s death. Each of us would be well served to refrain from rhetoric about crosses, and instead focus on only the cross of Christ with regard to its true meaning.
Someone will object, “Oh, but Jesus commanded us to take up our cross daily and follow Him. Are you saying Jesus was wrong about us having our own personal crosses?”
You are indeed correct, dear friend, to recall Jesus’ words. It warms my heart that you know them. In fact we quoted one example of this in the verses which kicked off this study. You err, however, in your understanding of what Jesus meant. Let’s consider this issue and see what we can learn.
What did Jesus mean in Luke 14:27, when he stated, Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple? To answer this we need to recall Rule #1 for Bible study: a text without a context is a pretext.
Oh, dear. Out of time again! Let’s spend some time alone with the Lord now and meet back here tomorrow, same time, same station.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Often in life we face excessive and overwhelming burdens or trials, requiring us to trudge through the thick marsh to reach deliverance on the other side. It is not uncommon when facing such dire straits to utter the phrase, “This is my cross to bear.” Have you ever heard it?
Seldom is the distress identified by those words truly the person’s cross…at least not in the Biblical sense. The idea of bearing or carrying or taking up the cross has become a meaningless platitude. It would be well worth the effort for us to delve into this issue a bit.
Scripturally speaking there is only one cross, just as there is only one Savior who died on the cross and one salvation resulting from His death on the cross. We are of course referencing the cross of Christ. Though countless people were subjected to crucifixion under Roman rule, still none of their crosses deserves mention from God’s standpoint. Each one died for his own sins. Only Jesus did not.
The cross of Christ is the symbol of the God-man, as He died to pay the penalty for the sins of all mankind past, present, and future. The cross in and of itself holds no value. It was only some rough lumber, unfinished and unsightly. It was the Lord’s death which created eternal value. The cross was merely the instrument employed in putting Jesus to death. Hence the cross is the symbol of His death, but in and of itself the wood cross on which He died holds no value.
From this understanding we can deduce that a cross in and of itself has no merit or value. I mean, since the cross of Christ in and of itself merits no value, certainly any other “cross” you or I supposedly bear cannot have merit or value. Am I not right?
So then what good is it, to identify troubles we face by the phrase “my cross to bear”? Such rhetoric can only muddy the waters of spiritual truth by devaluing the Lord’s death. Each of us would be well served to refrain from rhetoric about crosses, and instead focus on only the cross of Christ with regard to its true meaning.
Someone will object, “Oh, but Jesus commanded us to take up our cross daily and follow Him. Are you saying Jesus was wrong about us having our own personal crosses?”
You are indeed correct, dear friend, to recall Jesus’ words. It warms my heart that you know them. In fact we quoted one example of this in the verses which kicked off this study. You err, however, in your understanding of what Jesus meant. Let’s consider this issue and see what we can learn.
What did Jesus mean in Luke 14:27, when he stated, Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple? To answer this we need to recall Rule #1 for Bible study: a text without a context is a pretext.
Oh, dear. Out of time again! Let’s spend some time alone with the Lord now and meet back here tomorrow, same time, same station.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
