10/30/19

"THE BOOK OF PROVERBS" Somatic Therapy For Wise Living (4:20-27) by Mark Copeland


"THE BOOK OF PROVERBS"



 Somatic Therapy For Wise Living (4:20-27)

INTRODUCTION

1. In our study of chapter four thus far, we have seen Solomon make two
   appeals concerning wisdom,   which I entitled...
   a. Childhood Memories Of A Wise Man (4:1-9)
   b. The Two Paths (4:10-19)

2. Solomon's third appeal to wisdom (4:20-27) makes metaphoric use of
   body parts...
   a. Such as the ears, eyes and mouth
   b. Such as the heart and feet

3. I like to think of this section as "Somatic Therapy For Wise Living"...
   a. Somatic means "of or relating to the body"
   b. Somatic therapy normally refers to holistic treatment designed to
      integrate the mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical aspects
      of one's being
   c. I am using it accommodatively in this lesson for the sake of illustration

[If we are to live wisely, then we need to apply "somatic therapy".
Let's begin with the fundamentals, what we might call...]

I. SOMATIC THERAPY 101

   A. INCLINE YOUR EAR TO WISDOM...
      1. "My son, give attention to my words; incline your ears to my
         sayings." - Pr 4:20
      2. In other words, careful attention to words of wisdom is required
      3. If we have ears to hear, then we must use them, leaning forward
         to listen if necessary
      4. Similar to the Bereans, who "received the word with all
         readiness" - Ac 17:11
      -- Do we make good use of our ears, listening carefully when
         wisdom is shared?

   B. FOCUS YOUR EYES ON WISDOM...
      1. "Do not let them depart from your eyes" - Pr 4:21a
      2. The eyes should be fixed on wise teaching
      3. This implies careful reading of that which imparts wisdom
      4. As Paul charged Timothy: "give attention to reading" - 1 Ti 4:13
      -- Do we make good use of our eyes, reading things that help make
         us wise?

   C. APPLY YOUR HEART TO WISDOM...
      1. "Keep them in the midst of your heart" - Pr 4:21b
      2. The heart in the Bible often refers to the mind or affections of a person
      3. This implies meditation upon those things we have heard or read
      4. As Paul exhorted the Philippians:  "...meditate on these things" - Php 4:8
      -- Do we spend time contemplating the wisdom we hear and read?

   D. THE BENEFITS OF SOMATIC THERAPY...
      1. "For they are life...and health..." - Pr 4:22
      2. Wisdom's words are life-giving and creative - Believer's Bible
         Commentary (BBC)
      3. And they are health to the whole body because they deliver a
         person from the sins and stresses that cause so much illness - ibid.
      4. As Jesus said:  "The words that I speak to you are spirit, and
         they are life" - Jn 6:63
      -- Do we let the wisdom of God give us a better life for both body
         and soul?

[Wise living truly involves more than just the inner man.  We must use
the whole man, including the eyes and ears that God gave us.  As we
continue, let's progress to the next level...]

II. SOMATIC THERAPY 201

   A. FOR THE HEART...
      1. "Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the
         issues of life" - Pr 4:23
      2. Diligence is required to guard the heart (the mind, the thoughts)
      3. For it is the fountain from which all actions spring - BBC
      4. As Jesus revealed concerning sin:  "For from within, out of the
         heart of man, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications,
         murders, thefts..." - Mk 7:21-23
      -- Are we careful about what goes into our hearts (minds)?

   B. FOR THE MOUTH AND LIPS...
      1. "Put away from you a deceitful mouth, And put perverse lips far
         from you." - Pr 4:24
      2. We must not use our mouths and lips to lie or otherwise mislead
         others
      3. As Paul commanded:  "putting away lying, let each one of you
         speak truth with his neighbor..." - Ep 4:25
      4. Again:  "Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but
         what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart
         grace to the hearers" - Ep 4:29
      -- Are we careful about what comes out of our mouths and lips?

   C. FOR THE EYES AND EYELIDS...
      1. "Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right
         before you." - Pr 4:25
      2. This suggests singleness of purpose, but it can also be take rather literally
      3. In a day when the mass media bombard us with publicity designed
         to arouse our animal appetites, we must learn to keep our eyes
         on Jesus. - BBC
      4. As Jesus warned, the eyes can be a conduit into the soul of man
         - cf. Mt 6:22-23
      -- Are we careful upon what we let our eyes linger?

   D. FOR THE FEET...
      1. "Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be
         established." - Pr 4:26
         a. Think about the direction in which your feet are taking you
         b. Work toward walking on established ways, not the unstable
         c. In this, the Lord is willing to assist us - cf. Ps 37:23;40:2; Pr 3:6
      2. "Do not turn to the right or the left; remove your foot from evil." - Pr 4:27
         a. With the Lord before you, don't let the allurements of the
            world distract you
         b. Should you take a step in the wrong direction, quickly step back
         c. Again, the Lord is willing to help - cf. Mt 6:13; 26:41; 1Co 10:13; 2Pe 2:9
      -- Are we careful about where our feet are taking us?

CONCLUSION

1. Through proper "somatic therapy" we can live wisely...
   a. Using our ears, eyes, and mouths in ways that are wholesome
   b. Filling our hearts with good, so that it is good that proceeds
      from our hearts
   c. Watching where our feet are taking us, turning away when headed in
      the wrong direction

2. How are we using our bodies as we go through life...?
   a. Do we listen attentively to the spoken Word of God?
   b. Do we read carefully the written Word of God?
   c. Do we apply God's word to our heart and soul?
   d. Are we careful about what we see, say, and hear?
   e. Are we watching the direction our feet are taking us?

Fail to apply the lessons of "Somatic Therapy 101" and "Somatic Therapy
201", and we will fail to succeed in the course of life...!
















Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2016





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Jesus or Yeshua? by Justin Rogers, Ph.D.




Jesus or Yeshua?

by Justin Rogers, Ph.D.
[EDITOR’S NOTE: A.P. auxiliary writer Dr. Rogers serves as Director of the Graduate School of Theology and Associate Professor of Biblical Studies at Freed-Hardeman University. He holds an M.A. in New Testament from F-HU as well as an M.Phil. and Ph.D. in Hebraic, Judaic, and Cognate Studies from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.]
A minority of Christian voices through the centuries have insisted on stressing the Jewishness of Jesus.1 Already in the New Testament, we learn that some Christians were retaining Jewish customs and doctrines in an attempt to create a hybrid religion. These attempts met stern apostolic criticism (e.g., Galatians 5:2; Colossians 2:16). Generally, as Christianity transitioned from a majority-Jewish to a majority-Gentile religion, these voices were steadily muted. However, a resurgence of the Jewish Jesus movement has led a number of people to allege ecclesiastical conspiracies to “cover up” the Jewishness of Jesus. Among the sensational claims is the alleged “change” of the name of God’s Son from Yeshua to Jesus.
Before we analyze the rationale and legitimacy behind the question of the name, let us affirm two incontrovertible truths. First, Jesus was a Jew. Scripture is clear that the New Covenant was not inaugurated until the death of Christ (Hebrews 9:16-17). Therefore, Jesus (or Yeshua, if you like) lived His entire life as a Jew under the Law of Moses. The name has nothing to do with His Jewishness. Second, His name in Hebrew was indeed Yehōshūa‘, or more likely in Aramaic Yēshūa‘. Growing up in the Galilee region, Jesus would have almost certainly spoken Aramaic, and He would not have heard His name as “Jesus.” Indeed, the Syriac translations of the New Testament spell the name Yēshūa‘.2 The New Testament, however, is not written in Aramaic or in Syriac, but in Greek. And the English name “Jesus” is a transliteration based on the Latin, which is based on the Greek, which is in turn based on the original Aramaic.

ALLEGED REASONS FOR THE NAME “CHANGE”

“Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet.” This maxim is taught to third-graders and college students alike. Still, it doesn’t seem to sink in. People continue to read Web sites that propagate fictional conspiracy theories to allege the name of God’s Son was changed from its pure Hebrew form to its current corruption. And here are a few of the most common reasons why.
First, it is alleged that early Christians—even the authors of the New Testament!—were racists. They wished to erase the Jewishness of Jesus from the record in an effort to make Him seem “Christian” and “Gentile.” This simply isn’t true. First, every author of the New Testament seems to possess a Jewish background of some kind, and most were born Jewish (cf. Galatians 2:15). Second, Paul can boast not only of his Jewish lineage (Philippians 3:5), but also claim, “I am a Pharisee” (present tense!) long after his conversion (Acts 23:6). Third, where there is racism in the New Testament, it is usually against Gentiles rather than Jews (Galatians 2:12-16; cf. Romans 2:14).
Second, some would never lay such an allegation as racism at the feet of the Apostles, but they have no qualms about hurling this insult at the Catholic Church. They believe the early church falsified manuscripts of the New Testament in order to erase “Yeshua” and insert the more Western-sounding “Jesus.” There is no evidence for such a claim. We have nearly 6,000 manuscripts of the Greek New Testament, and approximately 19,000 New Testament manuscripts in other early languages, such as Syriac, Coptic, and Latin. In addition to these direct copies, we have tens of thousands of pages of early Christian writings, some of which are from Jewish-Christian groups. The name of Jesus occurs hundreds of thousands of times collectively in these ancient documents, and none of them speaks to a conspiratorial name change. If the “change” from Yeshua to Jesus was an early Catholic conspiracy, it is the best-executed cover-up in world history.
Third, it is occasionally alleged that the name Jesus is an attempt to insert paganism into Christianity. A few (very, very few) argue the name “Jesus” means “hail Zeus.” I suspect someone somewhere noticed the pronunciation of the name, especially in a language such as Spanish, sounds strikingly like “Hey-Zoos.” This must be a furtive nod to the chief god of the Greek pantheon, right? Not in the slightest. The New Testament was not written in English or Spanish, but in Greek. In Greek, “hail Zeus” would be chaire zeu, which bears absolutely no phonetic resemblance to “Jesus.”

HOW DID WE GET FROM YESHUA TO JESUS?

Although Jesus probably grew up in Galilee hearing His name as Yēshūa‘, it is not the case that the Christian world moved from Yeshua to Jesus. This is because Yeshua and Jesus are not different names, but different pronunciations of the same name. Different languages hear sounds differently. The Hebrews of the Old Testament era heard the name of the Persian king as “Ahasuerus” whereas the Greeks heard it as “Xerxes” (compare ESV with NIV in Ezra 4:6). If your name is Peter in the United States or Great Britain, you are Petros in Greece, Pietro in Italy, Pierre in France, and Pedro in Spain. Did each of these languages change your name!? No. These languages simply pronounce the same name in different ways. And so it is with Jesus. The Greek Iēsous represents the Aramaic Yēshūa‘.
But what about the meaning of the name? Those who argue in favor of the superiority of the name Yeshua insist that the Hebrew form means “salvation” whereas the Greek form is meaningless. This is true, and I believe every Christian should know the name of Jesus in Hebrew and Aramaic means “salvation.” However, Peter-Petros-Pietro-Pierre-Pedro means “rock” only in the Greek language. It is meaningless in the others; yet none of us seems bothered by this problem, and no one insists on a consistent, universal pronunciation as Petros. Second, Matthew already felt the need to explain the name of Jesus in his Gospel (Matthew 1:21). And it is routine in the New Testament to translate the meaning of certain foreign words (e.g., Matthew 27:46; Mark 5:41; John 1:38, 41). If the inspired writers were content to use the medium of the Greek language, while also providing explanations, is it wrong of us to follow their example?
Third, there is more than one “Jesus” in the New Testament. In the genealogy of Christ a certain “Jesus son of Eliezer” is named (Luke 3:29). Then there is the Jesus also known as Justus (Colossians 4:11). Finally, the Old Testament hero Joshua is known in Greek transliteration as Iēsous, his name being indistinguishable in Greek from Jesus the Christ (Acts 7:45; Hebrews 4:8, KJV). 

CONCLUSION

Technically, if the New Testament were written in Hebrew or Aramaic, Yeshua would have been the form the authors used. But it wasn’t. It was written in Greek. So the authors represented the name as it was known in Greek. The name “Jesus,” in fact, was well-established in Greek transliteration as Iēsous thanks to the Septuagint, where it is found over 250 times. The New Testament authors did not change the name from Yeshua to Jesus, nor did the early Catholic Church.
Whenever modern theorists insist on the name Yeshua, they are contending for a position the New Testament authors themselves never took. The name of Jesus appears over 900 times in the Greek New Testament, every single time as Iēsous. If one travels to Israel, one will find the name of Jesus is still pronounced “Yeshua” today. But not in China, nor in Russia, nor in any European, North, or South American country will he or she find this pronunciation. The spelling and pronunciation of the name of Jesus is not a matter of conspiracy, but of culture.

ENDNOTES

1 For a convenient survey of some of the early attempts, see Oskar Skarsaune and Reidar Hvalvik, eds. (2007), Jewish Believers in Jesus: The Early Centuries (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson).
2 Syriac is an Eastern language closely related to Aramaic. The first translations of the New Testament from Greek into Syriac appear in the fourth century A.D.

Jesus Christ—Historical Figure or Fairy-Tale Character? by Kyle Butt, M.Div.




Jesus Christ—Historical Figure or Fairy-Tale Character?

 by Kyle Butt, M.Div.

 Most children and adults easily recognize the name Jesus Christ. Many even can tell the story of His life. However, those same people also recognize the names Peter Pan, Snow White, and Cinderella. And they can relate the “facts” of these fairy tales as well. Is Jesus of Nazareth a fictional character that deserves to be included in a list of mystifying magicians, daring dragon slayers, and flying boy heroes? Or should His name take its well-deserved position in the halls of factual history?

 Some people say that He is a myth, a legend that never walked the Earth. After all, it is true that we do not have one single book or letter written my Jesus Himself. And, of course, no one has produced any physical evidence (such as His body) to verify His existence. What evidence is available to prove that Jesus actually walked on this Earth?

 HOSTILE TESTIMONY
Interestingly, the first type of records comes from what are known commonly as “hostile” sources. Hostile sources were written by people who disliked Jesus and His followers. Such men certainly did not want to further the cause of Christ or add credibility to His existence. In fact, they rejected His teachings and often reviled Jesus and His followers. Therefore, when these sources speak about Jesus, no one can accuse them of shading the facts in Jesus’ favor.

 A man named Tacitus will be the first hostile witness called to the stand. He was born about A.D. 56 and died about A.D. 117. He was an upper-class Roman with a good education who held high governmental positions under several Roman emperors. He is most famous for writing Annals—a history of Rome written around the year A.D. 115. In the Annals he told of the Great Fire of Rome, which occurred in A.D. 64. Nero, the Roman Emperor, was suspected by many of having ordered the city set on fire. Tacitus wrote:

 Nero fabricated scapegoats, and punished with every refinement the notoriously depraved Christians (as they were popularly called). Their originator, Christ, had been executed in Tiberius’ reign by the governor of Judea, Pontius Pilatus. But in spite of this temporary setback the deadly superstition had broken out afresh, not only in Judea (where the mischief had started) but even in Rome.

 Tacitus hated both Christians and their namesake, Christ. He therefore had nothing positive to say about what he referred to as a “deadly superstition.” He did, however, have something to say about it. His testimony establishes beyond any reasonable doubt that the Christian religion was historically relevant and that its originator was a verifiable historical figure so famous that He even attracted the attention of the Roman Emperor himself!

 Additional hostile testimony comes from Suetonius, who wrote around the year A.D. 120. The writings of Suetonius are reliable piece of historical evidence. Twice in his history book, Suetonius specifically mentioned Christ or His followers. He wrote, for example: “Because the Jews at Rome caused continuous disturbance at the instigation of Chrestus, he [Claudius] expelled them from the city” (note that in Acts 18:2 Luke mentioned this expulsion by Claudius). Chrestus is probably a misspelling of Christos, the Greek word for Messiah. Suetonius further commented: “Punishments were also inflicted on the Christians, a sect professing a new and mischievous religious belief.” Again, it is clear that Suetonius and the Roman government had feelings of hatred toward Christ and His so-called “mischievous” band of rebels. It is equally clear that Suetonius (and, in fact, most of Rome) recognized that Christ was the noteworthy Founder of a historical religion.

 Another Roman by the name of Pliny the Younger also provided hostile testimony to the life of Jesus. In a letter he wrote around the year A.D. 110, he used the terms “Christian” or “Christians” seven times, and wrote the name “Christ” three times. It is undeniably the case that Christians, with Christ as their Founder, had multiplied in such a way as to draw the attention of the Emperor and his officials by the time of Pliny. After examining this kind of evidence, it is impossible to deny the fact that Jesus Christ was recognized as an actual, historical person.

 Even a casual reader who glances over the testimony of the hostile Roman witnesses will be struck by the fact that these men did not portray Christ as the Son of God or the Savior of the world. They verbally stripped Him of His Sonship, denied His glory, and belittled His magnificence. They described Him to their contemporaries, and for posterity, as a mere man. Yet even though they were greatly mistaken about Who He was, they nevertheless documented that He was. And for that we are indebted to them.

Jehoiachin, the Bible, and Archaeology by Kyle Butt, M.Div.





Jehoiachin, the Bible, and Archaeology

by Kyle Butt, M.Div.
For centuries, God had warned the sinful nation of Judah to turn from its wicked, idolatrous ways. Judah refused, and strayed farther from the true God. Due to Judah’s immoral, rebellious behavior, God sent His prophets to foretell the nation’s destruction and exile at the hands of the Babylonians. Just as God had predicted, the Babylonians crushed the forces of Judah and took them into exile.
The ruling king of Judah at the time of the Babylonian invasion was an 18-year-old young man named Jehoiachin. His brief reign of three months is chronicled in 2 Kings 24:12-15. The text states that he did evil in the sight of the Lord and that the Babylonian king (Nebuchadnezzar) came against the capital city of Jerusalem and besieged it. In response to this siege, the text states: “Then Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his princes, and his officers went out to the king of Babylon; and the king of Babylon, in the eighth year of his reign, took him prisoner” (2 Kings 24:12).
Jehoiachin’s miserable state of affairs lasted over thirty years, throughout the entire reign of Nebuchadnezzar. Yet, when Evil-Merodach became king of Babylon, he took pity on Jehoiachin and released him from prison. The biblical text mentions that the Babylonian king “spoke kindly” to Jehoiachin, and “gave him a more prominent seat than those of the kings who were with him in Babylon” (2 Kings 25:28). In addition to releasing him from prison, the Bible says that Evil-Merodach gave Jehoiachin a set amount of provisions: “And as for his provisions, there was a regular ration given him by the king, a portion for each day, all the days of his life” (2 Kings 25:30).
These rations given to Jehoiachin have become increasingly important in light of an interesting archaeological discovery. Several administrative documents have been found in ancient Babylon that record events and transactions that took place during the reign of Evil-Merodach. These documents were preserved on clay cuneiform tablets, of which many have been found broken into several pieces. Jehoiachin’s name, however, is clearly legible on the tablets. Not only is he mentioned, but documentation for an allotment of grain, oil, and foodstuffs also is also provided. Alfred J. Hoerth mentions the find in his book Archaeology and the Old Testament and includes a picture of the cuneiform tablet that mentions Jehoiachin (1998, pp. 378-379).
The significance of this find is not lost on the observant reader. The Bible mentions Jehoichin’s captivity and subsequent elevation and daily rations at the hand of Evil-Merodach. The secular record uncovered in the ruins of ancient Babylon verifies the facts to an exacting degree. Biblical accuracy is unparalleled by any ancient or modern book in existence. Only due to the superintending of a divine hand could a book as extensive, exhaustive, and historically infallible as the Bible have been produced.

REFERENCES

Hoerth, Alfred J. (1998), Archaeology and the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker).

UNREPENTANT CHRISTIANS? BY STEVE FINNELL



UNREPENTANT CHRISTIANS?    BY STEVE FINNELL


Will unrepentant Christians spend eternity with God? Are Christians promised eternal security even if they live ungodly lives? 

The devil and his angels were once with God in heaven. Did they have eternal security. Of course they did not.

Jude 1:6 And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day,

Angels who abandoned God will be lost. Calvinists say Christians cannot fall away because they have eternal security.

Hebrews 6:4-6 For in the case of those who were have once been enlightened and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers to come, 6 and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance.....

It is impossible for these Christians to repent simply because they have no desire to repent. They are not once saved always saved.

DO UNREPENTANT CHRISTIANS HAVE ETERNAL SECURITY?

The letter the apostle Paul sent to Corinth was addressed to Christians, it was not sent to guests of the church nor anyone outside the body of Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:2 To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.) The message to those Christians was if you continue in a sinful lifestyle you will not inherit the kingdom of God.

1 Corinthians 6:8-11 ...you do this even to your brethren. 9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.  11 Such were some of you ; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

The operative phrase here is "Such were some of you." It is not, are some of you.

Unrepentant Christians will meet the same fate as unbelievers who reject Jesus as the Christ. Unrepentant sinners and unrepentant Christians will not inherit the kingdom of God.

There is a difference between Christians who sin and Christians who live an unrepentant sinful lifestyle.

1 John 1:5-10... 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;

ALL CHRISTIANS SIN, BUT NOT ALL CHRISTIANS ARE  UNREPENTANT SINNERS.


ONCE IN GRACE ALWAYS IN GRACE IS ONE OF SATAN'S MANY LIES. 

“Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). “The word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8). by Roy Davison



“Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever”
(Hebrews 13:8).
“The word of our God stands forever”
(Isaiah 40:8).
Jesus said: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Matthew 24:35).
The galaxies are disintegrating. Our bodies grow old and die. All visible things perish. For that reason, “We do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).
Since God is eternal, His word is also eternal. “The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever” (Psalm 119:160). “The truth of the Lord endures forever” (Psalm 117:2).
In Isaiah, chapter 40, God's messenger is told to cry out. (A message from God is not to be spoken timidly. It is backed by the Creator of the universe!)
“The voice said, 'Cry out!' And he said, 'What shall I cry?'” (Isaiah 40:6). The answer is: “All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, because the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:7, 8).
The eternity of God's word is contrasted with the brevity of life. Our life passes quickly. “What is your life? It is a mist that appears briefly and then disappears” (James 4:14 RD). Each day brings us one day closer to the day of our death.
Yet good news was to be preached from Jerusalem: “O Zion, you who bring good tidings, get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, you who bring good tidings, lift up your voice with strength, lift it up, be not afraid; say to the cities of Judah, 'Behold your God!'” (Isaiah 40:9).
What is this good news that goes forth from Jerusalem? Jesus came to the cities of Judah and told His followers: “Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death” (John 8:51). “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life” (John 5:24).
That really is good news! By believing in God and obeying the word of Christ, one can live forever. By obeying the truth one receives cleansing and a spiritual rebirth: “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because 'All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever.' Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you” (1 Peter 1:22-25).
“The world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:17).
We must lift up our voices and tell people that by obeying God's word they can live forever.
There is no reason to be timid. With Paul we may say: “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek” (Romans 1:16). Jesus warned: “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels” (Mark 8:38).
We will be judged by the word of Christ. Jesus said: “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him -- the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day” (John 12:48).
On judgment day, what will all the theological books on earth be worth? Along with the earth, they will be consumed by fire, but “The word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8). God's word will still be there to judge us, after the heavens and the earth have passed away (2 Peter 3:10-13).
But that same word is also the word of life. When Jesus lost His popularity with the masses because His teachings were not what they wanted, He asked His disciples if they also would go away. Peter replied: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). Jesus had just told them: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). Jesus is the “Word of life” (1 John 1:1).
After the church was established, the apostles were commanded: “Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life” (Acts 5:20).
Later Paul and Barnabas traveled about proclaiming the good news of eternal life in Christ. Certain Jews rejected the message. “Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, 'It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us: “I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, that you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.”' Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was being spread throughout all the region” (Acts 13:46-49).
The word of God is not a dead letter. It is “living and powerful” (Hebrews 4:12). Although our flesh is like grass that withers away, through the “living and powerful” word of God we can live forever. Let us hold fast the “word of life” (Philippians 2:16).
“Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). Jesus said: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Matthew 24:35). “The word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8).
Believe in Christ, repent, confess your faith and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Romans 10:9, 10). Then in Christ you can live forever.

Roy Davison
The Scripture quotations in this article are from
The New King James Version. ©1979,1980,1982, Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers.
Permission for reference use has been granted.

Published in The Old Paths Archive
(http://www.oldpaths.com)

The right direction by Gary Rose




There are many things I would like to do in this world and cannot. The list is long and varied; ranging from having artistic and musical abilities to being 27 again. Alas, these things will never be, but I just need to learn to be happy with God has given me and as Larry Shatzer would say: “Do the best you can, where you are, with what you have”. Now, it took me awhile to come to this point in my life (because I’m a bit stubborn). But, what would life be like if I just kept trying to do something that God didn’t want me to do? What would it take to get me on the right path? Time seems to be the most obvious answer; could there be another? Humm, reminds me of something from the book of Acts…


Acts 16 ( World English Bible )
[6] When they had gone through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. [7] When they had come opposite Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit didn’t allow them. [8] Passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. [9] A vision appeared to Paul in the night. There was a man of Macedonia standing, begging him, and saying, “Come over into Macedonia and help us.” [10] When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go out to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the Good News to them.


Now, I don’t expect that God would send me a vision like he did the Apostle Paul, but God does teach us about how to live our lives and sometimes as we read God’s Holy Word, a verse just seems to stand out and say something special to you.

Many years ago, when I first thought of becoming a Christian, I thought to myself: You know, Gary, you really can’t do that because after all – you know how bad the Rose family is and are you any better”? Then, a verse from the book of Matthew that I had read the previous day came back to me…

Matthew 19 ( WEB )
[26] Looking at them, Jesus said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Is there something preventing you from following God as you should? Perhaps you may find something in the Bible that will point you in the right direction? Begin reading and find out!

PS. One more thing. Don’t ever walk through a meadow with morning dew on it, wipe off you shoes and grab an electric fence- it won’t turn out well; I know.

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