Surviving or Living?

Surviving or Living?

The apostle John wrote in 3 John 1:2, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.” John shows warm concern for brother Gaius regarding both the physical and the spiritual. Gaius soul was prospering, and John prayed that his physical health would be the same. John’s concern for Gaius’ well-being (both physical and spiritual) flows from brotherly love acknowledginghis need for both physical and spiritual wellness, a balanced approach to living. Love desires balanced living for self and for others.

balanced living

Is your life a balanced one?

When we make physical pursuits the sole concern of our life, we will find ourselves being out of balance very quickly. We will move away from living to just surviving. Just surviving means constant worry about income, necessities, and safety. These things become an obsession that preoccupies one’s thoughts incessantly. Jesus addressed such poor thinking in Matthew 6:25-34. What was His remedy? “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:33-34). Jesus came to bring the abundant life (John 10:10). Jesus doesn’t want us to just survive—He wants us to live! The key to living is putting spiritual things first in our lives.

Are you living or just surviving? Let’s not permit the thief to steal away our peace, love, and joy in an ultimately futile effort to “secure” a better future. Let’s remember that today is a gift from God worth receiving and live for Him. When God is in it, we can live for the moment, and enjoy the abundant life.

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Iniquity or Lawlessness in the King James

Iniquity or Lawlessness in the King James

It is remarkable how accurate those scholars, commissioned by King James in 1604, were in accomplishing their assigned tasks. Forty-seven leading Biblical scholars of England spent seven years to produce a translation of the mind of God which even today has a profound impact on our culture.

They consistently translated the Greek word anomia as “iniquity,” and such is far from being a wrong translation. However, this Greek word reflects an even richer meaning of anomia. This word is a compound word combining two Greek words literally rendered as “no law.” Truly those who practice iniquity are living outside the law of our Lord. With this in mind, look at the following passages.

Jesus described the events of the Day of Judgment of all mankind as including a discussion between the Lord and those who are lost. Knowing their fate, they seek to convince the Lord they should not be condemned. “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?” (Matt. 7:22). Many in our day would view this kind of service to Christ as something to admire—prophesying, casting out demons and doing mighty works in the name of the Lord.

Such was not the way the Judge of all mankind saw their actions. He describes their works as anomia. The King James Version translates this word as “iniquity,” but the literal meaning of this word is lawlessness. Whatever they had done, even though they described it as being done in the name of Jesus, was not His law. It was not authorized by Him. They had no respect for what Jesus had said, and ignoring what He said, they were lawless individuals.

When we read the word iniquity, we tend to think of those whose lives are openly filled with immorality and evil. Look again at that passage in Matthew. They were guilty of iniquity while appearing to be doing His will. What they were doing was iniquity because they were lawless!

When one starts down the road of ignoring the law of God, he has crossed the boundary which separates men from God. Lawlessness in “righteous actions” opens the door to even more lawlessness. Paul described those who became slaves “…of lawlessness (Greek word is anomia) leading to more lawlessness” (Rom. 6:19).

We are told to discern false teachers by their fruits (Matt. 7:15-16). However, do not just look at the mighty works they appear to do. This is seen when just six verses later those works are described as lawlessness (Matt. 7:22). “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father” (Matt.  7:21).

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Judging According to Appearance

Judging According to Appearance

Jesus commanded us to judge when He said, “Judge not according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment” (John 7:24). When we judge according to appearance, we can easily miss the real truth.

God told Samuel to go to the house of Jesse to anoint the new king to replace evil King Saul, and he failed to understand this truth. When Samuel saw Eliab, Jesse’s firstborn, he said, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him” (1 Sam. 16:6). The Lord responded to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (16:7). God rejected seven sons of Jesse until David, the youngest was chosen as the next king.

Consider how easily hypocrites use this weakness of judging by appearance to deceive. Jesus described hypocrites in various ways to call attention to how they seek to hide their evil hearts by appearing to be holy. “Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence” (Matt 23:25). He also described them as being like beautifully adorned tombs, “…but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness” (Matt. 23:27-28). They prayed long prayers standing visibly on street corners. They gave great sums to help the needy but not until they had sounded the trumpet to call attention to themselves. Judge not according to appearances!

Some want to judge a church by how many notable people attend. Compare the ornate temples of the first centuries with the places Christians met, often in secrecy. “You see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world…” (1 Cor. 1:26-27). The Lord also said, “Listen my beloved brethren: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him” (Jas. 2:5).

So, when you look at others remember what Samuel forgot—man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. A person’s true nature is not determined solely by his outward appearance as a Christian. Remember that Jesus judges us by how we regard the least in the kingdom (Matt. 25:40). Righteousness is determined by the heart of a man, not by how he makes himself to appear.

As you make judgments about other’s worth, use righteous judgments—look on the inside!

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A Verse Few Understand… “Judge Not”

A Verse Few Understand… “Judge Not”

Our theme for July is looking at the judgment and seeing it as God sees it. There are many aspects of judging, for we make judgments every day. Let’s take time to look at one of the most misunderstood verses in the Bible about judging others. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Judge not that you be not judged” (Matt. 7:1).

The evidence that is so misunderstood is best seen when you are discussing the Bible with another and simply restating truths which are found in it. Far too many seek to negate what you have said by accusing you of violating Jesus’ words about not judging others. While the reality is that what you said is what Jesus said, they have felt the force of what you have shown them in the Bible. They hope to end the religious discussion with these words.

To see that these words of Jesus are being misunderstood, look on the same page where they are found and note that Jesus also said, “Beware of false teachers who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” (Matt. 7:15). How could we beware of these false teachers without making a judgment against them? The fact that Jesus teaches us to beware of the “wolves” shows that not all judging is wrong.

On another occasion Jesus spoke about judging. “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgments” (John 7:24). The One who said do not judge also said judge! He commanded righteous judgment. His words about not judging concerns unrighteous judgment.

What kind of judging did He forbid? Look again at all that He said in the Sermon on the Mount. He describes the situation when one with many faults harshly condemns another. “Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank that is in your own eye” (Matt. 7:3)? This is unrighteous judging.

How will God treat this kind of judging? “For with what judgment you judge you shall be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you” (Matt. 7:2). If we use the standard of sinless perfection on others, God will use that standard on us! God is full of mercy and willingly treats us this way. “Blessed are the merciful, for they will obtain mercy” (Matt. 5:7). Read Psalm 18:24-26 to see David’s description of this. This man of God understood our God.

So do not hesitate to deal with ungodly behavior. Keep yourself out of the discussion and use the words of the Bible in talking to others. Speak the truths of God, using the words of God. They cannot accuse you of judging when the words of judgment are the words of God!

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Until the Harvest… Sowers, Laborers

Until the Harvest… Sowers, Laborers

Before Jesus died, He revealed to the apostles what lay in their future. They were to be sowers of the word of God into hearts that were like wayside, thorny, stony and good soils (Matt. 13:1-9, 18-23). He also told them that in the field they were planting seed which would produce the kingdom of God. He then told them they should expect Satan to come add seeds of evil among the seed the apostles had planted (Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43).

That kingdom began, and Satan began his work by “planting weeds” in the church. He tried to change the very nature of the church into one which demanded all men, especially Gentiles, be circumcised. For the next generation, the church of Jesus struggled with tares (weeds) of Judaism. Take a moment and look around you. The church of Christ is eternal and will always be on the earth, but Satan has never ceased trying to hide it among the tares of religious division.

When the Owner of the field was asked about removing the tares planted by Satan, He said, “Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barns’” (Matt. 13:30). Good seed and tares will be here “until the harvest.”

So, what are we to do until the harvest? Jesus said, “Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Matt. 9:38). The time of the harvest is not yet, but He wants us to pray that laborers may be in the fields. He even told the apostles that they were laborers in that field (John 4:38). We need to pray for laborers and to be laborers.

What do we do until the harvest? We need to realize that all of us can be laborers in many ways. Paul spoke of those who planted and those who watered. He then reminded us that it does not make any difference who does any of this work. He said he who sows and he who waters are to do their work realizing it is God who gives the increase (1 Cor. 3:7).

What are we to do until the harvest? Ask God to use you. Lift up your eyes unto the field. Plant, water and ask God to put you in situations where you can be used as one who goes into the world sowing the seed. The fact that others might be better “sowers” or “waterers” than you makes no difference. Remember every seed sown and every drop of water added to the seed together makes for a great harvest.

There is so much that is happening in our world which can only be changed by those who are sowers and waterers, lights in the darkness and salt seasoning the earth. Pray, ask, sow, water, light and salt—let God use you!

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