Do You Keep His Commandments?

Do You Keep His Commandments?

John 14:21

Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.

All who profess to follow Christ will unhesitatingly state that they love God.  That’s a given, and from a certain perspective it’s a good thing.  It speaks of their sincerity and of a heart-felt gratitude they have towards their Creator.

Do You Keep His Commandments?

Do You Keep His Commandments?

Yet, so many of us profess to love God…while unrepentantly doing things that grieve him, anger him, and displease him.  Consider this…

  • We say we love God but we hardly ever open our Bibles.  Do you truly love someone if you’re not interested in learning what they have to say?
  • We say we love God but we hardly ever pray.  Do you truly love someone if you’re not interested in talking to them?
  • We say we love God but we choose to worship him according to what we think will please him rather than according to his will revealed to us in his Word.  Do you truly love someone if they ask you to give them a certain gift and instead you give them what you think they will like?
  • We say we love God but we then say he has saved us in a way which is foreign to how he has told us he saves us in his Word.  Do you truly love someone if you basically call them a liar, especially over something as important as your salvation?
  • We say we love God but we do not care enough about the souls for whom he sent his Son to die to share with them the gospel as he told us to do.  Do you truly love someone if you don’t care enough to do everything you can to save the person for whom they gave such a high sacrifice?

If we truly love God and his Son Jesus, we will obey their commandments.  And when we sin and fail them, we will repent and try again because we love them.  Otherwise, all we are doing is lying to them, to others, and to ourselves.

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Little Things Are Humongous

Little Things Are Humongous

The Bible is filled with emphasis on the little things we can so easily overlook. In recent weeks, we have mentioned Gideon’s small army, the little oil the widow of Zarephath shared with Elijah, Moses’ rod, the widow’s mites and the little “pegs” God used for His purposes. God does not need the grandeur of mortals to show His glory. He can use little things.

Little ants and laziness. America has largely become a nation of people who have become dependent on others instead of knowing the blessing of working hard and reaping the fruit of our labor. Yet, the Bible plainly says, “If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat” (2 Thess. 3:10). America’s attitude of laziness was also part of the ancient world. Solomon said, “Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, which having no captain, overseer or ruler provides her supplies in the summer and gathers her food in the harvest” (Prov. 6:6-8). Wisdom comes from little things.

Little children and humility. The disciples of Jesus often struggled as to who would be the greatest in the kingdom. In one simple act, our Lord showed them the true path to greatness. “Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, ‘Assuredly I say to you, unless you be converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven’” (Matt. 18:2-3). Lazy people need to look at small ants and arrogant people need to look at small children.

Little garments and love. Hannah promised God that that she would give her firstborn child to Him (1 Sam. 1). After he was weaned, she brought Samuel and gave him to Eli, and only saw that child once each year. Hannah would “…make him a little robe, and bring it to him year by year” (1 Sam. 2:18). What a treasure those little robes must have been. Every stitch made by his mother’s hand was a stitch of love. There are so many little things we can do for others to show them this same kind of love.

Little sips of water and His eyes. When we are reminded that God sees everything, some immediately think of His remembrance of idle words, hidden sins and angry words spoken to family members in our homes and in our cars. However, we must never overlook that He sees every cup of cold water given to others (Matt. 10:42). Remember the judgment scene in Matthew 25? He sees food prepared and taken to the least disciple; He sees visits we make to the sick, especially the least among us; and He sees our hospitality to the least among us. It is these little things we might overlook which determine whether we are on the right or left hand.

God, help us to see Your lessons in “little things.”

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The Suffering of the Righteous

The Suffering of the Righteous

When we are suffering, it is common nature for us to ask, “Why?” (Psalm 73). “Why is this happening?” “Why won’t it go away?” “Why did God allow this to happen to me?” Sadder even are those who, on such occasions, blame God and turn their backs on Him and walk away. Paul gives some great advice and perspective in the beginning of 2 Corinthians concerning our attitude toward suffering.

What Good Comes from Suffering?

What Good Comes from Suffering?

First of all, he says that when we suffer and are comforted by God then we are able to comfort others who are suffering (1:4). It is important to remember that living Christian lives is predicated upon our emptying of ourselves (Matthew 16:24) and serving others (Matthew 25:31–46). He wanted the Christians at Corinth to comfort the man who had repented and confirm their love toward him (2:7–8).

Secondly, we gain strength through our ministry, for God and toward others, to “faint not” (4:1).

Thirdly, the greatest comfort comes through the ministry of preaching and sharing the gospel of Jesus and while doing so Paul says, “We are troubled…but not distressed…perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed” (4:7–9).

Considering all that Paul had been through it is amazing that all was but “light affliction,” but that it worked for “a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (4:17). How are you using your suffering to serve God and others?

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People Problems

People Problems

Check your bible. The Lord’s church in first-century Rome certainly had its challenges. So did the church in Corinth – there’s were colossal, widespread, and very well-documented in God’s eternal record. The first-century congregations of Christ’s church in the Galatian region were certainly shown to have grappled with their fair share of struggles. The Ephesian, Philippian, and Colossian congregations were surely not without their conflicts either. Neither were the congregations of Thessalonica, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, or Laodicea without their problems, conflicts, or issues. In fact, it is somewhere between extremely difficult and downright impossible to even peripherally read through the majority of some of those epistles and not come to the conclusion that the main reason they were written in the first place, was to address and correct some of the multitudinous problems in those congregations.

Much of the Bible deals with people problems.

Much of the Bible deals with people problems.

And even in first-century congregations of the Lord’s church which were not necessarily mentioned in the Scriptures, you can be sure that they certainly endured and had to deal with a plethora of seemingly impossible internal problems as well. Why? Because the church is the people. And wherever you have people seeking to work together in close proximity, you can count on having, and having to deal with, problems – even, and sometimes especially, in the church.

Several congregations that I am currently, personally (even if only peripherally) acquainted with through some of its members whom I know and love, either has had, or seems to be having, some measure of “people-problems” over the past few months. This is nothing new. This is to be expected. This is what will eventually, inevitably happen, anywhere and everywhere you have a plethora of imperfect people seeking to work so closely together. Even amongst some of Jesus’ closest and most spiritually intimate first-century disciples, they couldn’t always get along, and therefore had to learn to endure, resolve, and overcome some pretty nasty pride and personality problems (Matt. 20:20-28; Mk. 9:33-37, 10:32-45; Lk. 9:46-48, 22:24-27; Jn. 21:20-22; Acts 15:36-40; Phil. 4:2-3; Jms. 3:2-5:9)! And the reason is: because the church is the people. And wherever you have people seeking to pull together over a lengthy period of time, you can absolutely count on encountering, and having to endure and deal with, some sort of “people-problems” – even in the church. And sometimes, especially in the church. And here’s how and why…

Whenever one repents and is baptized into Christ (Acts 2:38-41), they are to bury the old man of sin there and rise to walk in newness of life (Ro. 6:1-11). However, the old man of sin doesn’t always stay dead, down, and drowned. He, with all of his ego-driven, pride-powered, selfish ambition and self-promoting sin won’t stay down without a constant and hard-fought daily fight to keep him there. Don’t think so? Then why did the once-humble sister servant-saints of Philippians 4:2-3 still have a problem? Also, please reconsider Colossians 3 if you would. It was written to those who were already Christians (Col. 1:2, 2:11-15, 3:1-4). And yet, what does the apostle Paul tell his Colossian brethren by divine inspiration in verses 5-17? ‘You’ve got to keep putting the old, sinful, selfish, petty and prideful man of sin to death!’ In other words, it is a continual, everyday, and ongoing process (2 Ptr. 1:1-11)! It is an everyday battle we all must personally fight (Lk. 9:23-25; Ro. 7:14-24; 1 Cor. 9:24-27; Phil. 3:12-14).

But sometimes we slip up, and the old man of sin slips out. Sometimes, someone will push just the right button, at just the wrong time, and before we can even begin to take the proper precautions, he shifts his ‘wait,’ sheds his shackles, and shoves his way past the ivory bars that have held him back and in check for so long. And when he breaks free, it all breaks loose. Feelings get hurt; friendships get sunk; relationships are severed; and reputations are ruined. And in some of the more tragic scenarios entire congregations can get ripped apart… while under the withering onslaught of such satanic and sinful immaturity and criticality, many blood-bought and priceless eternal souls can be lost forever, becoming spiritual casualties as a result of getting caught in the crippling, congregational crossfire of such needless warfare.

But while the church is the people; and where you have people you have problems; Jesus has and is the answer, having not changed in all the centuries since He was here. Whenever such personality and pride-driven conflicts erupt, they are the same types of “teachable moments” that Jesus’ disciples were continually given the opportunity to learn godly wisdom from (Matt. 20:20-28; Jms. 1:2-5) as are we. The Great Physician’s all-soothing, all-healing balm of Gilead (Jer. 8:22) can be abundantly found and applied, from God’s divinely-inspired prescriptions for all such certain-to-happen problems, in places like: Jn. 13; Rom. 12-16; 1 Cor. 1-3, 8, 12-13; Gal. 5-6; Eph. 4-6; Phil. 2-4; Col. 3; 1st Thess. 2-3 and other chapters, as well as entire books like James and 1st John.

Yes, the church is the people. And yes, wherever you have people, you will inevitably have problems – in the world or in the church. But the difference in the church, is that we have the divinely-inspired and all-powerful antidote and cure for all such issues directly at our fingertips! This, in the form of the eternal written word and wisdom of the almighty God of peace Himself! What a gift! May His people diligently learn, apply, and utilize it on a daily basis! …For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men. Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another… Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God (Rom. 14:17-19, 15:5-7).

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PECADOS Y ROMANOS 7

VENDIDO COMPLETAMENTE AL PECADO, UNA MIRADA A ROMANOS 7

Escuchando el debate del año 2016 sobre las aguas del bautismo entre Michael Brawner y el hermano Jack Honeycut, el ministro bautista hizo una mención a Romanos 7 para invalidar algunos argumentos sobre la necesidad del bautismo. Para el reciente debate entre el mismo predicador bautista y el hermano B.J Clarke Romanos 7 volvió a relucir dentro de las notas personales del señor Brawner en esta ocasión para tratar de invalidar la clara enseñanza de la palabra de Dios de que un creyente puede caer de la Gracia y perder eternamente su salvación. Es obvio que este pasaje con particularidad al versículo 14: “..más yo soy carnal, vendido al pecado”, ha sido durante años el refugio más prominente para cada bautista, pentecostal entre muchos otros más que han seguido la falsa enseñanza que inicio un día con Juan Calvino. No vamos a negar que este pasaje ha sido uno que se en lista dentro de la categoría de difícil interpretación de los cuales Pedro alude en 2 Ped 3:16 “los indoctos e inconstantes tuercen para su propia perdición”. Con todo no significa que sea imposible interpretarlos o que usted necesite un doctorado en Teología sistemática para hacerlo. A travez de la hermenéutica  Bíblica cada estudiante diligente puede llegar a ver el verdadero significado de este de otros pasajes difíciles, pero hechos una mirada a Romanos 7.

Romanos 7

Romanos 7

PRIMERO  ROMANOS 6: La Idea con la cual Pablo arrancó al escribir la epístola es la misma desde el capitulo 1 y no podemos por efectos de tiempo regresarnos desde allá, pero si podemos con claridad encontrar un patrón definido en cada capítulo de que la salvación se encuentra en Cristo solamente, no el Judaísmo y la ley de Moises ni tampoco había justificación para ningún gentil que argumentara que ellos no tenían ley de Moises para obedecer. En el Capitulo  6 Pablo recuerda a los santos que estaban en Roma como fue que ellos obedecieron el evangelio y el verdadero significado de esta obediencia en el bautismo (Ro. 6:1-6).  Así que el recordatorio a estos cristianos es no vivir ya más en pecado sino “morir con Cristo” (v10) , “murió al pecado” (v10), “No reine más el pecado” (v12), “ni presentéis vuestros miembros al pecado” (v13), “ el pecado no se enseñoreará de vosotros”( v14).  Al menos en 5 ocasiones el Apóstol está exhortando a no vivir en pecado y está asegurando que es posible rehusar vivir en pecado. Por favor tenga esto en mente y muy presente cuando lea el capítulo 7 ya que la Biblia simplemente no puede contradecirse así misma. Tenemos 5 versículos que contradijeran a Ro 7:14 donde Pablo escribe estoy vendido al pecado, ¿Realmente cree usted, que en estos versículos fue eso lo que estaba enseñando a su audiencia mientras que un capítulo antes les exhortó a no vivir más en pecado?¿ Cree realmente usted, que Pablo fue tan hipócrita para enseñar un cosa a su audiencia y luego declararse el mismo culpable de aquello de lo que estaba enseñando en contra de…? Amado lector, yo no creo que ese haya sido el caso, creo que Pablo era honesto al igual que debemos de serlo nosotros mientras continuamos  estudiando.
ROMANOS 8: Ahora tan solo un capítulo después observe con detenimiento las veces en las que aparece la palabra carne.
  • No andan conforme a la carne  V1.
  • Debil por la carne V3.
  • Condenó al pecado en la carne V3.
  • Porque los que son de la carne, piensan en las cosas de la carne V5.
  • Porque el ocuparse de la carne es muerte V6.
  • Los designios de la carne son enemistad contra Dios V7.
  • Los que viven según la carne no pueden agradar a Dios V8.
  • Más vosotros no vivís según la carne V9.
¿Sabe usted a que se refiere específicamente Pablo con carne?  En Gálatas 6:12 Lo define como la ley antigua en Ro 8:1explica que también a nosotros que estamos en Cristo, bajo el Nuevo pacto ya no estamos bajo condenación. El v15 de este mismo capítulo afirma que ya no estamos bajo esclavitud para estar en temor.  Luego un tanto más tarde pasa a mencionar la Nueva creación, por supuesto la Iglesia del Señor que es el lugar en donde se encuentra la salvación (2Ti 2;10).
 ROMANOS 7: Habiendo discutido brevemente ambos capítulos al rededor de este 7, ¿ De que cree usted que se esté tratando? Ciertamente de ninguna otra cosa diferente de la que se trató en el 6 y en el 8.  Los versículos 5 y 6 son la clave para entender los versículos 14-20. La Biblia dice: “Porque mientras estábamos  en la carne, las pasiones pecaminosas que eran por la ley, obraban en nuestros miembros llevando fruto para muerte. Pero Ahora estamos libres de la ley; por haber muerto para aquella en que estábamos sujetos…”(Ro. 7:5-6 énfasis HLM añadido). Observe por favor como se usa intercambiablemente el término carne con relación a la ley. Tanto así que Pablo utiliza una ilustración al inicio del capítulo 7 para que estos hermanos pudieran entender que al igual que una pareja está unida hasta que uno de los dos muere, la ley que los unía se deshace y es libre de esa ley. Ese es el punto de todo esto… ¡YA NO ESTAMOS BAJO  LA LEY DE MOISES!. Cuando Pablo llega a nuestros versículos de controversia simplemente se está poniendo él mismo en el lugar de los Judíos que se sentían atados a ley de Moises. Este es el mismo asunto que trata en Gálatas 2:20 él dice que con Cristo está juntamente crucificado. Cientos de veces este pasaje ha resonado desde un centenar de púlpitos, totalmente fuera de su contexto.  A lo que Pablo estaba crucificado era  a la ley de Moises. 
La doctrina calvinista ha propagado mucho su falsa doctrina de la total depravación hereditaria y de la mano con el gnosticismo han afirmado que no hay nada bueno en la carne que todo es malo. Hay mucho más que puede argumentarse en contra de estas creencias sin embargo a travez de los contextos es muy sencillo de comprender la verdadera intención de Pablo en Romanos 7. Los contextos siempre nos ayudarán a quedarnos donde tenemos que estar… en la correcta interpretación. Por lo tanto en la conclusión de este artículo esperamos haber colaborado mostrando los contextos del pasaje y no lo que yo aprendí, ni lo que el hermano X dice sobre el versículo ni mucho menos lo que siento es de lo que está hablando. Colocarse Pablo mismo en lugar de aquellos hermanos Judíos que querían regresar a la ley podía aclarar lo que en el 10:4 va a expresar sin tapujos “el fin de la ley es Cristo”. Amigo mío así fue, Cristo puso punto final al Antiguo Pacto y abrió la puerta al nuevo con mejores promesas, con mejor mediador, con mejor esperanza y con mejor ley. Es triste que muchos y cientos de miles de personas hoy al igual que algunos Judíos en los tiempos de Pablo quieran devolverse al yugo de esclavitud (Gal 5:1). Cualquier cristiano si así lo decide puede vivir alejado del pecado Juan escribe “Estas cosas os he escrito para que no pequéis” (1Juan 5:13). Yo creo lo que Juan escribió hace muchos años atrás, de que un cristiano puede decidir no vivir en pecado¿ y usted?.
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