Don’t Touch That!

Don’t Touch That

In the beginning, man was warned not to touch a certain food or disastrous consequences would happen:

Genesis 2:16-17 – And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Man defied God and paid the consequences. Now, some 6000+ years later, man starts each new year warning themselves not touch certain foods or there will be disastrous consequences. Of course, the disaster of increasing one’s waistband is not as serious as the physical and spiritual death which resulted from the first poor choice.

Food choices seem to haunt many and there are many solutions. Some individuals who claim we should follow a pre-flood diet, eating only vegetables. However, as part of the New Covenant in Christ, man was given the blessing of being authorized by God to eat bacon and other meats:

Mark 7:18-19 – And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) [ESV]

I Timothy 4:3-4 – Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.  For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:

On another extreme, some instruct others to eat whatever and as much as they want, but to counteract the gluttony with diet pills. Gluttony is not smiled upon in scripture.

Deuteronomy 21:20 – And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.

Proverbs 23:21 – For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.

Proverbs 28:7 – Whoso keepeth the law is a wise son; But he that is a companion of gluttons shameth his father.

Titus 1:12 – One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, idle gluttons.

So gluttony countered by diet pills, this too is doomed to fail. Is there a Biblical solution? Why yes, of course, God has given us all we need to tackle the diet dilemma.

2 Peter 1:2-3 – Grace to you and peace be multiplied in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that his divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that called us by his own glory and virtue;

The call to action harkens back to the beginning. Where did Adam and Eve fail? They failed to control their behavior. No one forced them to partake of the forbidden fruit. They made the conscious decision to do something which was detrimental to body and soul. Self control is fruit of the spirit:

Galatians 5:22-23 – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  meekness, self-control; against such there is no law.

It is not a miraculous gift, but an attribute of man subjecting himself fully to God. Paul spoke of the need for self control and Felix was afraid.

Acts 24:25 – And as he reasoned of righteousness, and self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was terrified, and answered, Go thy way for this time; and when I have a convenient season, I will call thee unto me.

A lack of self control is what individuals must fear and correct. Embrace self control now and rejoice in God.

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Holy Priesthood

Peter told the church that “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” (1 Pet. 2:5). He also said that the church is “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:” (1 Pet. 2:9).

When the Law of Moses was handed down on the mountains of Sinai and the tabernacle was constructed and finally assembled, God authorized specific people from the tribe of Levi to be the priests of the tabernacle. Moses was told to, “take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons.” (Ex. 28:1).

It was the responsibility of these priests to offer sacrifices to God on behalf of the people of Israel (Lev. 1:17). The priests were also made to wear special clothing that would set them apart from others. We are told, “And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office.” (Ex. 28:4).

But, both the Law of Moses and the Levitical priesthood was taken away when Jesus died on the cross for mankind. Paul wrote, “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:” (Eph. 2:13‐16). Thus, since the priesthood had changed, it was necessary to change the law (Heb. 7:12).

Under the Christian time, Jesus Christ is our “great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.” (Heb. 4:14). Under his teachings, there is no special class of priest among the people. Under Christ, every Christian is a priest and is authorized to go directly to God through Jesus Christ to confess HIS sins and to OFFER up his worship for the Hebrew writer said, “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” (Heb. 13:15-16). How blessed Christians are today to be able to be a priest under our great high Priest!

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Blessed Assurance

To children of God, one of the great blessings from God is the assurance of the safety of our souls. Fanny J. Crosby wrote the following words to the old, familiar hymn:

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of his Spirit, washed in His blood.

In fact, some Christians fail to understand this wonderful blessing as the word of God teaches. Such individuals believe that we go through life without really knowing whether we are in a saved condition or not. Fear and worry haunt them continually, but this should not be when we correctly understand this wonderful blessing.

Of all the books of the Bible, there is probably no greater book on the subject of assurance to the Christian than the book of First John. In this first inspired letter from the beloved apostle, we have no less than five reasons how we, as Christians, can have blessed assurance of our salvation.

First, we can have blessed assurance of our salvation when we walk in the light (1:7-10). Note the emphasis in the preposition “if” (John uses it four times in this passage to begin each statement). Therefore, by stating the condition, he gives the promised results. Consequently, the point is quite clear—as long as we are meeting the conditions, we can possess our blessed assurance of gaining the aforementioned promises. One might ask, “How do we know if we are walking in the light?” The entire book explains this, and this passage begins to clarify itself—if we are walking closely to the precepts of our Savior, recognizing our transgressions along the way and confessing them each and every time, then we are walking in the light.

Second, we can have blessed assurance of our salvation when we keep His commandments (2:3-5). Again, we can have full assurance as long as we are keeping the commandments. John stated, “…we do know that we know him” when we meet the declared conditions. This assured knowledge provides peace for the condition of our souls.

Third, we can have blessed assurance of our salvation when we love our brethren (2:9-11). Once more, here is another condition of blessed assurance—we can know the safety of our salvation if we truly love our brethren.

Fourth, we can have blessed assurance of our salvation when we do not commit willful sin (3:6-10). This difficult passage for some simply assures us that a true Christian is one who understands the will of God in his life and does not even desire to commit sin. While all will sin accidentally, there is a great distinction between this and one who commits willful sin.

Finally, we can have blessed assurance of our salvation when we believe on Jesus (5:10-13). In the closing words of this book, we find the most beautiful words of assurance for every Christian: “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God” (5:13). If anyone doubts that one may know in full assurance the safety of our salvation, these words prove such blessed assurance exists.

As Christians, may we all quit riding the roller coaster ride of doubt and seek to possess the calm, soothing, peaceful and enjoyable journey of blessed assurance.

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Bride Name

My Faithful Bride; My Family Name

When we were young, our moms would write our names on such items as belonged to us before shipping us off to school or summer camp. This showed ownership. When we got older and purchased cars and homes, our names appeared on the titles and deeds, thus denoting exactly who had paid the often hefty prices necessary to purchase them. And when we men got married, our wives took our last names as a sign of honor, respect, and to denote who they now “belonged” to (in the biblical sense of course).

As a husband myself, I can only try to imagine how I would have felt, if after many years of our covenant relationship my wife one day suddenly decided to change her name to that of a former – or even worse yet, newfound – suitor. I can only try to imagine how devastated I would have been if she all of the sudden decided to honor and glorify some other man, by changing and taking His name instead of mine, thereby giving and bringing to him, the honor, respect, and submission – let alone the implied suggestion of a deeper intimate relationship – due her rightful husband! Tell me husbands, how would you feel in such a situation?

Jesus Christ is the King of kings and the Lord of lords (Rev. 19:5-16); the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last (Rev. 22:13); the Builder/Founder, Purchaser, Owner, and “Husband” of His church or saved group of people (Matt. 16:18-19; Acts 20:28; Rom. 16:16; Eph. 5:22-32). As such, He is supposed to have absolute and complete pre-eminence in everything – especially when it comes to His bride which is His church (Eph. 1:15-23; Phil. 2:5-11; Col. 1:15-18; etc) “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

So then, my question: In light of all of the above, how can anyone who considers themselves to be a Christian, even consider attending or becoming part of a church which calls itself by or honors the names/teachings of such mere men as Martin Luther or the Baptist for example, or a method, day, community, or event, more than the Christ, by wearing (and thus honoring) their/that, or any name above His (1 Cor. 1:10-13)? While the question may seem hard, the answer really is incredibly simple… After all, His church both was, and is, built upon such reverence for, recognition of, and submission to, Him and Him alone (Matt. 16:13-18; Acts 2:36-41) as His bride.

My question? In light of all that, how can anyone who professes to honor and follow Him as Lord consider worshipping with a group which honors the names/teachings of mere men such as Martin Luther or the Baptist, or a method, day, or event, more than the Christ, by wearing, and thus reverencing, celebrating, and honoring that name above His (1 Cor. 1:10-13).

So what about your friends and neighbors? They really need to be lovingly asked the questions… “What name does the group they affiliate/worship with wear, honor, and promote over and above Christ’s?”  “Does that really make good sense to them?” Because here’s the scariest part of all – at least for me: If one can’t truthfully, scripturally, and in good conscience answer that question both here and now, how will they ever answer to God for it? Or better yet, to the Christ Himself? How will they ever stand before God and Christ and tell Them that Their name wasn’t good enough? That some sinner’s man-made name was worth glorifying and honoring more than His was to them? Think about that… and if that thought bothers them, as it surely should and once certainly did me, then it provides a perfect opportunity for you, fellow saint, to invite them to come and check out what – or better yet, WHO – the church of CHRIST is all about this coming Sunday!!!

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Evil Rulers

God Sees, God Knows and God Will React to Evil Rulers

The psalmist looked at the corruption of those who governed the land of Israel, and his heart was in great distress. The future looked so dismal and the psalmist’s only hope was to be found in God. Take a moment to read Psalm 94 and see if you do not share in this prayer to God to do something about the evil actions of those who rule.

Power corrupts society when evil men become powerful. Those who ruled were proud (verse 1); they were insolent and were not hesitant to show it in what they said (v. 4). The people were oppressed, and widows, orphans and strangers were often their victims (v. 6). They were workers of iniquity whose goal was to promote themselves (v. 4).

Power corrupts, but it does not matter to evil men. Their response when confronted about their actions was to say, “The Lord does not see,” and even if He does, He does not understand (v. 7). Sin often binds mankind so completely that we forget these most fundamental truths.

Power corrupts men, but God sees it all. The psalmist reminded the leaders of his day how senseless and foolish they had become. Do they not understand that God created the human ear? How could anyone say He does not hear what they are saying (v. 9)? Do they not understand the He who has the power to create the human eye sees all they are doing (v. 9)! God Almighty knows them. He knows their thoughts. He is just and will never cast off the righteous (vs. 8-14).

Power corrupts, but God some day will bring the wicked to justice. In the interim, the souls of the saints are agonized. The righteous author of this amazing psalm felt his own faith being tried and beginning to waver. He knew that unless the Lord did something he would find himself silenced, with his feet almost slipping away from God (vs. 17-18). God had been his defense in past times so he turned to God for His help (v. 22-23). He knew that in the midst of his anxiety the Comforter would bring delight to his troubled soul (v. 19).

Power corrupts, but it has no fellowship with God. Evil has within it the seeds of its own destruction. There is no way that the “throne of iniquity,” which seems often to prevail, has fellowship with God (v. 20). Our holy God cannot sit idly by, seeing evil apparently triumphing, and do nothing. Such would violate His nature.

The psalm closes with words to help us all when we see the evil deeds of those who rule us. “The Lord has been my defense, And my God the rock of my refuge. He has brought on them their own iniquity and shall cut them off in their own wickedness; The Lord shall cut them off” (vs. 22-23). When evil prevails, trust God. It is still always right to do right!

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