Rattlesnakes

I hate snakes. A simple garden snake will make me jump out of my boots. When I was a boy, I had a bucket of snakes dumped on me, and any tolerance I had for them died then. I have had folks tell me about how good they can be, but the only good snake I ever saw was a dead snake. They always seem to be where I am, which is often outdoors, in the sticks, and around rocks.

In the US, rattlesnakes bite more humans than any other snake. Not so surprising considering Genesis 3, there are some attributes that rattlesnakes share with Satan.

First, unless you enter its space, a rattler cannot harm you. So stay away! My wife suggests screaming and running.

Proverbs 4:14-15 –  Enter not into the path of the wicked, And walk not in the way of evil men.  Avoid it, pass not by it; Turn from it, and pass on.

Second, a rattler is camouflaged so you cannot easily see him.

2 Corinthians 11:4 –  For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

Third, once you discover the snake, if you stay away, it will go away.

James 4:7 – Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Fourth, a rattler will hunt down its prey. If it thinks it has you, it doesn’t give up easily.

I Peter 5:8 – Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Fifth, if a rattler bites you, you need help.

2 Timothy 2:24-26 – And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,  In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;  And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

Six, the bite of a rattler can lead to death.

Hebrews 2:14 – Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

Finally, if you know you are going to be somewhere that has the danger of rattlers, wear the proper clothes (thick high boots and jeans!)

Ephesians 6:11– Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

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Western Justice

One of my favorite classes at PTP (Polishing the Pulpit) examines case studies for elderships. The format involves groups of men examining real dilemmas faced at unnamed congregations. The exercise is used to prepare men to serve as elders and make Godly decisions.

In one case study, a gentleman had been guilty of cleaning out a congregation’s bank account, then continuing on as if nothing had happened. The dilemma was what to do about such a gentleman. In jest, I made the comment that out in Wyoming we would introduce the man to Western Justice. Could something be so simple?

Romans 13:1 – “Let every person be in subjection to the governing
authorities…”

Different times and different lands have had varying systems of justice. Some may be harsh or lenient, quick or slow, even just or corrupt.

“We must obey God rather than men” – Acts 5:29.

Though we may have the desire to take justice in our own hands, there are authorities who enact justice. A rash decision by a mob of angry individuals would not be lawful or Godly. Remember Revelation 6:9-11:

“And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of them that had been slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: and they cried with a great voice, saying, How long, O Master, the holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And there was given them to each one a white robe; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little time, until their fellow-servants also and their brethren, who should be killed even as they were, should have fulfilled their course.“

God will judge all men someday, with righteous judgment, none will be missed. We must trust His time frame and His good Will toward man.

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Acceptable Faith

Acceptable Faith

The Bible defines faith as “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Simply stated this means that faith is the foundation of our hope and a conviction in our hearts of things we cannot see. In fact, the words “faith” and “belief” are from the same original root word in the Greek New Testament–pistis, a noun that has to do with being convinced of something.

Hebrews 11:6 teaches that it is impossible to please God without faith, of which there are two types recognized in Scripture: (1) there is intellectual faith (“the devils also believe and tremble,” James 2:19), and then (2) there is functional faith (“Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works,” James 2:18). In other words, acceptable faith is not simply one’s assent to revealed truth, but his absolute submission to the guidance and control of that truth, something that starts and ends with bringing “into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (Second Corinthians 10:5).

An active (functional) faith attitude is that which generates unconditional obedience to the higher authority of the Godhead. Anything less puts one’s faith in the category described by James as “dead” (James 2:20). The believing devils spoken of by James did not have an obedient faith, rendering it unacceptable, and Jude 6 teaches that they, through their disobedience to God, “kept not [deserted] their first estate [proper dwelling place],” resulting in their placement “in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” James used those insubordinate devils as an example of what lies in store for those who have faith but have not added works (obedience) to their lives.

The concept of an obedient, working faith is soundly supported by Scripture. Paul began and ended the book of Romans with the idea of “the obedience of faith” (Romans 1:5 & 16:26). The same apostle once spoke of the Thessalonians’ great “work of faith” (1 Thessalonians 1:3 and 2 Thessalonians 1:11).

Jesus Himself stated that belief (faith) itself is a work: “This is the work of God, that ye believe.” (John 6:29).”

The whole purpose of James chapter two is that “faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone” (James 2:17); “and by works was faith made perfect” (2:22); and “as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (2:26). Incidentally, all that is meant by “works” is obedience, so one can easily understand this principle by simply substituting the word “works” with the word “obedience.”

Hebrews chapter eleven, sometimes called God’s Hall of Faith, lists a number of individuals who perfected their faith through the works of obedience. Moved by conviction in their hearts, each and every one of them worked God’s will towards a faith that was validated by their efforts, leaving examples for God’s people of all time to follow.

Faith is absolutely necessary for our salvation, (Hebrews 11:6). But, it is a comprehensive term which includes many things. Belief is faith assenting; repentance is faith turning; Confession is faith speaking; baptism is faith submitting; the Christian life is faith rejoicing. Therefore faith is inextricably linked to obedience. One cannot have either belief or obedience alone and live a pleasing life before God. Acceptable Faith is the product of belief AND obedience.

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But He Lied Unto Him

A very interesting account takes place in 1 Kings 13, from which the titled quote comes. In the previous chapter, we see the sad split of the twelve tribes of Israel. Although Jeroboam clearly had an opportunity to satiate a stormy situation that Rehoboam created (cf. 1 Kings 11:29-39), he rather created a disastrous distortion in leading ten tribes away from Jerusalem and the temple. In an effort to control the people who followed him, he set up false places of worship at Dan to the extreme northern edge and Bethel to the extreme southern edge, building altars at both locations. Thus, in 1 Kings 13, an unnamed prophet from Judah travels up to the southern edge in Bethel and pronounces prophetic judgment on Jeroboam while he is offering incense at the altar (heaping sin upon sin). When the startled king invites him to stay overnight, the unnamed prophet explains that God charged him not to do so. The record continues to reveal another unnamed prophet, this one from Bethel, who hears of what has happened and rushes to meet this man of God out of Judah. Upon finding him, he urges him to deviate from his divinely-appointed plan and go to his house, which at first, he declines, but upon his insistence with a story about an angel telling him otherwise, he consents. The words then follow: “But he lied unto him” (1 Kings 13:18). As a result, God pronounces judgment upon the disobedient prophet and sends a lion to kill him in punishment for his wicked ways.

As a result, we note the following three things. First, he heard the lie (1 Kings 13:18). Second, he believed the lie (1 Kings 13:19). Rather than questioning within himself as to why God did not communicate with him about the change of plans, with which he was quite clear since he communicated such earlier to King Jeroboam (1 Kings 13:8-10), he chose simply to believe the lie that this false prophet gave. Third, he obeyed the lie. While sitting in the false prophet’s house, God spoke through him to the man of God out of Judah (just as he spoke through the mouth of Balaam and the donkey in Numbers 22-24) and said that because he had heard, believed and obeyed the lie, he would lose his life (1 Kings 13:20-22).

At the heart of all lies is Satan (cf. John 8:44). He is the great deceiver and tempter. We see the same thing happening with Eve in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3). Upon asking her about the instructions from God concerning the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, Satan lied unto her with the words, “Ye shall not surely die” (Gen. 3:4). She heard his lie, believed his lie (by noting the attractive qualities of the fruit as John portrays in 1 John 2:15-17), and obeyed his lie by eating of the fruit and sharing with her husband (Gen. 3:5-7).

In like manner today, false teachers are speaking lies. Every day, they spread forth their venom in hopes of gaining an audience and filling their wallets (cf. 2 Pet. 2:1-3). Every day, people hear their lies, believe their lies and obey their lies. This is why the following words from Paul are so important to ensure our love for the truth and to guard our hearts from believing a lie:

For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thess. 2:7-12)

In closing, I believe the situation in which we find Jacob serves as a great warning. When the brothers of Joseph had sold him into slavery and brought back his coat of many colors drenched in the blood of a goat, they deceived their father into believing a lie when they simply said, “This have we found: know now whether it be thy son’s coat or no” (Gen. 37:32). For years, Jacob bought into their lie and believed that which was false. We must be very careful to guard ourselves from deception and lies. We should not hear, believe or obey anything unless we first search the scriptures for ourselves to see whether it is so (cf. Acts 17:11).

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Thoughts for Those Who Preside at the Lord’s Supper

As you walk into the building on a Sunday morning, what are your thoughts as you anticipate worship? Joyfully we think about how good it will be to see those special people who will be there, but what about the actual worship? Some may think about who will be leading singing or the choice of songs. Others the length and content of the sermon. Others are concerned about the temperature or their personal comfort. Nothing is wrong with any of these thoughts, but we might be blessed to see the emphasis the Bible places on our worship.

The Scriptures focus on the Lord’s Supper as the central aspect of worship. The disciples in Troas came together “to break bread” (Acts 20:7). The preacher that day was Paul, but the prime reason they assembled was to commune with Jesus. The church at Corinth also “came together to eat” (1 Cor. 11:33). We are in His house with His family to eat with Him around His table. Because of this truth, let’s take time to consider the following suggestions for those who preside at His table.

  • Plan what you are going to say ahead of time. A communion thought that rambles with little direction does little to help us eat the supper remembering Him.
  • Make sure that you focus on His death. The Lord’s Supper does not celebrate His resurrection. The bread and the cup send us to the cross, not to the empty tomb.
  • Keep your remarks simple. It is not a time for a complex sermonette. The reading of scripture is always good, and there are verses other than the one in 1 Corinthians 11.  Recently, someone read the words of a song as he lead the communion. It took less than a minute, but such a simple act carried all of us to the cross. Have you considered taking just one (not all seven) of His sayings on the cross as an opening communion thought?
  • Another thought to share might be focusing on the joy of knowing that Jesus is in our assembly right now and communing with us.
  • Remember that it was Jesus who died on the cross not the Father. When one is nervous, it is easy to address the Father and then thank Him for HIS body which was given for us. It was not HIS body; it was the body of His Son.
  • Speak loudly enough to be heard. A soft spoken voice cannot be amplified to a level where those who have hearing loss can understand you. Your thoughts and leadership are meaningless if they are not heard.

Let’s improve our worship.  Do you have some suggestions for those who preside?  I would be glad to hear them.

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