11/23/13

From Ben Fronczek... Our FATHER

Our FATHER

1 Peter 1:17 – 2:3    Our FATHER    by Ben Fronczek
A story is told of a young orphan boy who moved into another family’s home.  Since he never had a father figure in his life before, he asked the man of the house if he could be his father and call him Dad. The nice man explained to the boy that it was ok with him as long as he didn’t mind the responsibilities of being called his son.

It is more than a name it is a position. That title says you are giving someone authority over your life. That’s why I didn’t want my kids calling me Ben, but rather, dad, daddy, or father.

In Peter  1:17-19, Peter writes,  

17 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”

Sometimes when I study different Bible verses I like to reword them. It helps me understand them a little better. For example when I rework the words here it says this:  ‘Since you were redeemed with the precious blood of Jesus, the lamb without defect, and since you call on the Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time here as foreigners in reverent fear.’
Someone by the name of  By John R. Wayland wrote what I believe is a good explanation of this passage. Here it is…
 “We have the amazing privilege of calling the God of the universe our “Father.”   We are in this fantastic Father/child relationship with Him only because He was willing to pay a huge price in order to bring us into His family. To live in reverent fear of Him means we do not take any of this for granted.
Keeping in mind the huge price the Father paid to have us in His family, let’s live our lives in such a way as to honor Him. Keep in mind that He’s our Father! As His children, we are to stay away from anything that would displease Him. I am convinced that we will do that as a result of living a life of reverent fear.”  By John R. Wayland | Mon, 21 May 2007

As Peter continues on here in his letter encouraging and i
Closing Question:
How far is God’s Love and His promises going to carry you?
Will they carry you beyond your hardships, beyond your personal grief and pain?
Will His promises empower you to make needed changes in your life?
Will they be the very source of strength in your life? I hope so. I hope that God’s love and promises carry you beyond this life and into the next with God Himself telling you, ‘Well done good and faithful servant.’
nstructing those early Christians, he has some practical things to add. In the first lesson one Peter makes a special point or reminding them that of God’s grace and salvation.  He also reminds them of the hope we have as Christians; the fact that God has promised the faithful Christian an inheritance that can never perish spoil or fade. It is a place in that unseen realm where angels tread and where the all faithful who ever walked this earth will be blessed with an existence of perpetual love,  majesty and a sense of security. That is what we should all be looking forward to, and the reality of that hope should empower us and give us strength when times get hard.

And in the last lesson we saw that Peter let’s his readers know that with such blessings come responsibilities. We are to do our best to get our heads screwed on right, be self controlled,and do our best to live a holy life because our new Lord is holy and call us to that life style.
In our text today we see that Peter not only continues to remind them of how blessed they are and what responsibilities we have as Christians, he also brings to light a few more interesting facts. So let’s look these  lessons now:

#1 – Our God is not a distant celestial being who just watches from afar, rather He is our Father.  When Peter and the other disciples saw Jesus praying, and  John the Baptist and his disciple praying they asked Jesus to teach them how to pray.  (John 11:1-4)
And what did Jesus teach? He taught them to approach and pray to God as ‘Our Father who art in heaven.’   Never before had God, the Lord of the universe, been revealed in such an intimate manner as Jesus revealed Him. He is not anything like the mythical God’s of the Romans, Greeks or Babylonians, nor like the god of any other people. God is a life giving and caring father, and we can approach Him as such.

I personally believe if one wants to understand why we are here, and who God is, for me I need to look at who God is in this light. He is our Father, we are His children. He brought us into being into this universe for the same reason we want to have children; in Ephesians Paul says, it’s for His pleasure (Eph 1:5).  And Iike us, I also believe He wants us to love, honor and obey Him because we truly want to; because we love Him. Like a loving dad He even forgives us when we mess up. Just think of the Parable of the Prodigal son. It’s a parable more about the God’s fatherly love than about a son’s  mistakes. (Luke 15)

# 2 – Peter lets his readers know that Father God judges each person’s work impartially. Since we are all his children, He loves us all equally. He is not going to favor the doctor, or brain surgeon over a hired farm hand.

He is not going to give the kings, presidents, or any other ruler preferred treatment over anyone else. It doesn’t matter if we are black, white, yellow or red. It doesn’t matter what race or family we were born into. We are all his children. And in the end those differences will not matter, but He will look at what we’ve done with our life.
In Luke 19 starting with verse 12 Jesus tells an interesting parable about a noble giving his servants some money to see how well they invested it. Well after he leaves them he is appointed king over all the land and when he returns he calls those servant to him to see how faithful they were with his money. The first man turned his share into ten more and as a reward he was given 10 cities to rule over. The second man made five more share with the share given to him by his master and so he was rewarded with charge over 5 cities. But the last man did not do anything with his master share. That one share was take away from him and given to the one who had ten and then the man was punished .  Luke 19:12-27 and Matthew 25:14-30
Many commentator suggest that this parable teaches that faithful service now in our earthly life will result in blessed positions of authority later. Let me ask you this; do you think when you get to heaven all you are going to do is just sit around, play a harp forever? I think not. Yes I believe we will spend time getting to know God better and worshipping Him.  And we will spend some quality time with angels and our brothers and sister in our new home, but I personally don’t believe that God created us to be eternal beings just to exist like bumps on a log.
No, we are not told what we will be doing in that plain of existence, in Heaven; maybe we just can’t understand it all now. There must be a reason why God created us in His own image. But what we do know is that those who have shown themselves to be faithful here will be given a proportionate measure of authority there.  Let your imaginations run away with that!

# 3 – Peter also reminds them and us that we that this world is not our permanent home.  
The NIV  says that we should 

‘live in reverent fear as you live your lives as strangers here.’    

The NLT translate verse 17 as

“ you must live in reverent fear of Him during your time as “foreigners in the land.” 

The NAS version says to, 

“conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth;”  

 As Peter has told us already, this world is not our permanent dwelling place, it is not our REAL home and we should not live our life like it is.
In the reading by John Hayward, he said, “To live in reverent fear of Him means we do not take any of this for granted.” I like what he said here!
What Father God has done for us is just too important and too precious to take those things for granted.
Regarding people who accept Jesus as Lord and then turn back to a sinful life, in Peters second letter he writes,

“20 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. 22 Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.”

I don’t think you can get any more graphic than that. The point is that we need stand our ground and hang in there because the blessing outweigh any benefit that we could receive in giving up.

 #4 – So in verse 1:22 – 2:1:3 Peter gives some practical advice on how to live.  Read 1:22-2:3
  1.  Love one another deeply from the heart  vs. 22. Now we are not talking about a superficial love here. Peter encourages Christians to start loving one another deeply from the heart. The Greek word implies earnestly or with intensity.  That’s a bond that will support you through trials and temptations. That’s a bond where we will find ourselves spending time with and encourage our brother and sister in Christ.
  2. And the next thing Peter tells us is to clean up our act; to get rid some bad habits and start craving something new. 
Read 2:1-3   

“Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”


Closing Question:

How far is God’s Love and His promises going to carry you?

Will they carry you beyond your hardships, beyond your personal grief and pain?

Will His promises empower you to make needed changes in your life?

Will they be the very source of strength in your life? I hope so. 

I hope that God’s love and promises carry you beyond this life and into the next with God Himself telling you, ‘Well done good and faithful servant.’

For more lessons click on the following link: http://granvillenychurchofchrist.org/?page_id=566

From Jim McGuiggan... The Cross & God's Righteousness

The Cross & God's Righteousness

The NIV of Romans 3:25b says God set Jesus forth as an atoning sacrifice and that "He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins done beforehand unpunished." The NRSV says, "He had passed over the sins previously committed."

In this text it's clear that the cross not only saves us—it saves God! If the world in general and Israel in particular were as evil as Paul said they were in 1:18—3:20 how can it be that the holy God didn't utterly obliterate it? If Paul had told the truth about humanity's sin then God must have been soft on sin all those centuries. As Godet would have it, there existed a "four thousand year scandal." It would appear from the text that whatever else we aren't sure about, we can be sure that sin wasn't adequately dealt with until God dealt with it in Jesus and the cross. It isn't necessary to adopt a penal substitution theory of atonement to see that in the text. It isn't necessary to claim that Christ had to bear the full quota of punishment for sin if forgiveness were to be made possible. It's clearly Paul's point that God's righteousness was not proved in this ultimate sense until the cross of Christ.

The translation of paresis as "left unpunished" doesn't make sense to me in light of the Old Testament record that tells us about the flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, the Korah rebellion and the exile. I don't see how "pass over" makes a lot of sense either in light of Noah's flood and Romans 1:24, 26 and 28.

It appears to be true that the word paresis is a weak word to use if Paul was speaking of forgiveness but it can be used for the remission (of taxes, 1 Maccabees 11:34) and the verb form for the remission of debts and other obligations (Arndt & Gingrich, 626). So maybe he intends to say sins were "remitted" (as in the KJV) but uses a weaker word for the process.

But why would he choose a weaker word and avoid the stronger words (aphesis and aphiemi)? Maybe he did it not to deny full remission in the Old Testament but to stress that the atoning sacrifices by which forgiveness was gained were only provisional and shadowy. The Hebrew writer who knew full well that forgiveness was gained via atonement in the Old Testament still insisted in 10:4 that the blood of animals couldn't take away sin. And despite the fact that we're expressly told repeatedly that if ancient worshippers offered sacrifices "their sins shall be forgiven" (Leviticus 4:14-15,20,26,31,35; 5:5,10 as examples from many) the Hebrew writer still says (9:15) that Christ's sacrifice redeemed from transgressions that were under the first covenant. So while forgiveness was genuine (compare Romans 4:7) and it was mediated most often by sacrifices (Hebrews 9:18-22) there was still a sense that sin had not adequately been dealt with via the sacrificial system. Maybe this is why Paul used the weaker word, to suggest this rather than develop it. He contrasted the openness of Christ's sacrifice as over against the hiddenness of the Yom Kippur sacrifices. Perhaps he's also contrasting the fully satisfying atoning sacrifice via Christ as over against the provisional means in the Old Testament. If this has merit then he could be saying that the pre-Christ sacrifices dealt with sin but didn't fully deal with them though they mediated forgiveness to the worshippers.

It's vital that we remember that no punishment of sins can possibly reveal in fullness the righteousness of God. Retribution is only one "weapon" in God's armory in his all-out war against sin. His full purpose is redemption and salvation and not simply punishment. (I've extracted this from my little book "The Dragon Slayer," pages 133-34.)

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.

From Mark Copeland... The Sins Of The Jews (1 Thessalonians 2:14-16) 


               "THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS"

                    The Sins Of The Jews (2:14-16)

INTRODUCTION


1. In our text, Paul reveals how the Thessalonians suffered persecution
   - 1Th 2:14
   a. It was at the hand of their own countrymen - cf. Ac 17:5-10
   b. In this they were imitators of the churches in Judea, who were 
      also persecuted by their countrymen - Ac 8:1; 12:1-4

2. Mentioning the Judaean persecution, Paul lists the sins of the Jews
   - 1Th 2:15-16
   a. This passage might be construed by some as anti-Semitic
   b. But it really isn't, for it comes from the heart of one who 
      loved his Jewish brethren - cf. Ro 9:1-5; 10:1-2

[A careful consideration of these verses and related passages can
provide food for thought, especially regarding the grace of God, His
longsuffering, and the danger of despising it.  Let's begin our
consideration by looking more closely at what this passage says
about...]

I. THE SINS OF THE JEWS

   A. THEY KILLED THE LORD JESUS...
      1. Which Peter was not hesitant to proclaim - Ac 2:23,36; 3:
         14-15; 4:10; 5:30
      2. Those who were personally involved accepted responsibility for
         this act - Mt 27:25

   B. THEY KILLED THEIR OWN PROPHETS...
      1. They killed prophets in the days of Elijah - 1Ki 19:10
      2. They killed prophets, including Zechariah, despite the reforms 
         of Jehoida the priest - 2Ch 24:14-21
      3. As summarized by Ezra, Nehemiah, Jeremiah, and Stephen - Neh 9:26; Jer 2:30; Ac 7:52

   C. THEY PERSECUTED THE APOSTLES...
      1. In Jerusalem the apostles had been beaten and threatened
      2. Ultimately there was the death of James, and the imprisonment 
         of Peter - Ac 12:1-5
      3. Paul had been persecuted in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra - Ac 13:50; 14:1-6,19 
      4. He had been run out of Thessalonica and Berea by the Jews - Ac17:5-10,13-14

   D. THEY DID NOT PLEASE GOD...
      1. As rebuked by Moses in the wilderness - Deut 9:7
      2. As described by God to His prophet Ezekiel - Ezek 2:3
      
   E. THEY WERE CONTRARY TO ALL MEN...
      1. Tacitus describes them as "cherishing hatred against all 
         others"
      2. Juvenal says "They would not even point out the way to any one
         except of the same religion; nor, being asked, guide any to a
         fountain except the circumcised."
      3. Diodorus Sicuhs describes them as "those alone among all the
         nations who were unwilling to have any intermingling with any 
         other nation, and who regarded all others as enemies"
      -- As quoted by Barnes in his commentary on 1Th 2:15

   F. FORBIDDING THEM TO SPEAK TO THE GENTILES...
      1. As happened at Antioch of Pisidia - Ac 13:42-51
      2. The idea that Gentiles could now be included among God's 
         people was abhorrent to many Jews, as indicated by their 
         reaction in Ac 22:21-22
      3. Even some Jewish Christians demanded that Gentiles had to be
         circumcised and keep the Law of Moses in order to be saved 
         - Ac 15:5

[In this manner the Jews as a nation of people had been filling up the
measure of their sins, and the fullness of God's wrath was about to
come upon them (perhaps the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD - cf. Mt
23:29-39).  

Now it is important to stress that these were not the words of an anti-
Semite.  Paul loved his brethren in the flesh (Ro 9:1-5; 10:1-4).  They
are simply facts of history, given objectively by a Jew who himself had
been guilty of the same things!  Consider how Paul described
himself...]

II. THE SINS OF ONE JEW (PAUL)

   A. HE HAD BEEN A BLASPHEMER...
      1. Prior to his conversion - 1Ti 1:12-13
      2. Compelling even others to blaspheme the name of Christ - Ac 26:9-11     

   B. HE HAD BEEN A PERSECUTOR...
      1. Wreaking havoc of the church - Ac 8:3; 9:1-2; 26:9-10
      2. An indication of his zeal for his Jewish faith - Php 3:6

   C. HE HAD BEEN AN INSOLENT MAN...
      1. "a violent aggressor" (NASB), "injurious" (KJV) - 1Ti 1:13
      2. "It does not mean merely doing injury, but refers rather to 
         the manner or spirit in which it is done. It is a word of 
         intenser signification than either the word 'blasphemer,' or
         'persecutor,' and means that what he did was done with a 
         proud, haughty, insolent spirit. There was wicked and 
         malicious violence, an arrogance and spirit of tyranny in what
         he did, which greatly aggravated the wrong that was done."
         (Barnes)

CONCLUSION

1. So what is the point?  Certainly Paul was not anti-Semitic...
   a. What he says was not true of all Jews
      1) Many had become Christians (e.g., the apostles, Paul himself)
      2) There were churches "in Judea" - cf. 1Th 2:14
   b. Any Jew who came to Christ would be "grafted" back in - cf. Ro 11:23-24
   c. The Gentiles as a group were not much better - cf. Ro 1:18-32

2. But there are important lessons to be learned...
   a. The danger of even God's chosen people falling away - He 3:12-4:2
   b. The wonderful grace of God for those willing to repent
      1) As seen in the life of Paul - 1Ti 1:12-16
      2) As still extended to the Jews - Ro 11:1-5,23
   c. The wrath of God coming upon those who refuse His grace - cf. Ro 2:4-11
      1) To those who obey not the gospel - 1Pe 4:17; 2Th 1:7-9
      2) To those who persist in sin - He 10:26-31

As we are therefore reminded of how some of the Jews fell from grace,
may it serve to caution us not to receive God's grace in vain:

   "We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to
   receive the grace of God in vain. For He says: `In an acceptable
   time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped
   you.' Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of 
   salvation."  (2Co 6:1-2)

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

From Gary.... Forget something?

 

 As I age, I become more forgetful. People's names, that name of the street I am on, what I did yesterday, or- what am I in this room, ANYWAY!!!  It becomes a little embarrassing at times- but, at least I know the people who love me (even if I may call one of my daughters by her sister's name).  When my wife went to New York to say "goodbye" to her father, it was heartbreaking to realize that he did not know her and I can only imagine the pain she must have felt???  But, I wonder, how must GOD FEEL, WHEN WE FORGET HIM???  This passage from the book of Deuteronomy gives us insight into this question...
 
 Deuteronomy, Chapter 4
 22 but I must die in this land. I must not go over the Jordan; but you shall go over, and possess that good land.  23 Be careful, lest you forget the covenant of Yahweh your God, which he made with you, and make yourselves an engraved image in the form of anything which Yahweh your God has forbidden you.  24 For Yahweh your God is a devouring fire, a jealous God.  25 When you shall father children, and children’s children, and you shall have been long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make an engraved image in the form of anything, and shall do that which is evil in the sight of Yahweh your God, to provoke him to anger;  26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that you will soon utterly perish from off the land which you go over the Jordan to possess it. You will not prolong your days on it, but will utterly be destroyed.  27 Yahweh will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations, where Yahweh will lead you away.  28 There you shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.  29 But from there you shall seek Yahweh your God, and you shall find him, when you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.  30 When you are in oppression, and all these things have come on you, in the latter days you shall return to Yahweh your God, and listen to his voice.  31 For Yahweh your God is a merciful God. He will not fail you, neither destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which he swore to them.

 God gets angry when we worship other gods, but when we remember HIM and do what is right he is merciful.  So, remember to do what is right and not wrong.  I know, we all forget at times, and sin- well, sin is something that overtakes us all (to one extent or another).  Now, even when my Linda's dad looked at her unknowingly, that didn't change how SHE FELT ABOUT HIM.  It is like that with God, too.  He loves us no matter what, but actions and attitudes do have consequences- so like verse 29 above, if we really seek after him, GOD is merciful to forgive.  Humm, that is about it- but wait, did I forget something???  No, not this time- maybe later.


PS.  The Jews ultimately forgot God and were punished for it- Has America forgotten the Almighty???  You be the judge!!!!
 

11/22/13

From Ben Fronczek.... With Blessings Comes Responsibility

With Blessings Come Responsibility

With Blessings Comes Responsibility    
1 Peter (Part 2)  (by Ben Fronczek)

Introduction:
There will be all kinds of celebrations around the nation on Memorial Day, from parades to picnics, 21 gun salutes at the local VFW halls, to re-runs of old war movies on TV. The day has been set aside to remember and pay tribute to those who have spilled their blood so that we can live free and live the blessed life that we can have in this country, which not many other countries have. But with this blessed freedom comes responsibility. Idealistically, it is to uphold those ideals set forth by our founding fathers. 

We should be a free people of law and order and justice.  Living according to these ideals honor those who gave up their life for the freedom and blessings we now possess. But, permitting evil, injustice, oppression, prejudice, and the like in our land, and ignoring what our forefathers wanted dishonors those soldiers who gave up their lives for us.  The freedom and the blessings we enjoy come with a responsibility to uphold laws and a certain ethical life style. As Christians who are wonderfully blessed by God, those blessings likewise come with responsibilities.  This topic brings us to our 2nd lesson in 1 Peter. Just like Americans aren’t free to do and live anyway they want, as Christians we are called to live a certain way which is meant to glorify our Lord.
I Peter 1:13 begins with the word, ‘Therefore’.  And when we see the word, ‘Therefore’ at the beginning a new paragraph, it indicates that the reader is about to receive some information based on what he just read in the previous section. And what did Peter talk about in that last section? He reminded those early Christians, and us, how truly blessed we are because of the hope that we have in Jesus. We not only have salvation because of what Christ did for us, even more wonderful and exciting is the fact that God has promised us an inheritance  that will never perish, spoil, or fade.  It’s waiting there for us in the place we call Heaven. This is the greatest blessing one could hope for, and it’s going to be the greatest adventure we will ever experience. Jesus, Himself said that He is going there to prepare a place for you and me. Now in light of these great blessings; our salvation and heavenly hope, Peter continues on by writing,  ‘Therefore’.  

Therefore what?

 “Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

So in just 2 verses Peter gives us a list of six responsibilities that come along with the blessings we have received in Christ.

1)      To prepare our minds for action

2)      To be sober or self controlled

3)      To set our hope fully on the blessings and grace given to us

4)      To live as obedient Children

5)      To choose not to conform to the evil desires we had when we lived in ignorance

6)      And to live a holy life style, because our Lord, our new Master is holy

         With blessings come responsibility.  

In the last lesson I mentioned the fact that Peter probably wrote this letter to those early Christians because they needed encouragement because they lived during a very difficult time. It was easy to get discouraged and down in a frump. He knew that from experience, so he began his letter with these words of encouragement and hope.  But he doesn’t stop there. Now that he has caught their attention with these encouraging words of hope and blessing he tells them, 

‘Now you need to prepare your mind for action.’

I don’t know about you, but when I am down in a frump or depressed I have a tendency to shut down a bit. I am less enthusiastic about doing anything and can become a bit self-centered. But the more I am encouraged, the more excited I am about who I am as a Christian, as a child of God, and the more I am reminded of the blessings that my God has in store for me, the more enthusiastic I become and more I want to serve Him. Next Peter tells us to get control of our mind, 

‘be self controlled.’ Some versions say, ‘be sober,  ‘Keep sober in spirit,(ASV)’ ‘Think clearly and exercise self control (NLT)’

In other words, now that you have been reminded how blessed your really are and what you are going to get in the end, get your head screwed on right, and get your mind and body under control.  There is a battle going on to take control of your mind, the devil wants to rob you of the joy, and peace of mind you should have as a  Christian. Peter tells us to sober up, get that mind under control again. And the very next thing he tells us is to keep your mind set on not only the grace He has already shown us, but also on the end prize.

In Phil. 3 Paul wrote,  

“12 I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. 15 All of us who are mature should take such a view of things.”

Paul not only lived to serve Jesus, based on this text he lived and looked forward to win the prize or get what God has promises each and every one of us who have accepted Jesus; that heavenly reward.  Paul goes on to say that all mature Christians should take that same view or live like that.
In other words, stop focusing on your past failures. Stop focusing on all the negative and all the problems in this world. Stop focusing on all the heart aches and pain which will ultimately bring you down. Instead, look forward, and keep your mind on the prize. And keep pressing on to win that prize If you learn to do this it will make you Christian walk so much easier. I personally believe this focus, this hope, is what sustained those early Christians, and gave them the strength they needed in times of great persecution. They did not live for the day of suffering, but rather for the day they would enter glory. Peter does not stop there. Now with this mind-set; focused on the grace given us and the hope we have, he tells those early Christians and us as well that we need to become like obedient children.

You have a choice. As a Christians, you can live your life and act like a disobedient child who will not obey his parents, teacher, or anyone else. And like that child you will not only cause pain and heart ache to others, you will also become miserable, unhappy, and discontent yourself. Or you can become like the obedient child who does their best. In doing so you will receive honor and praise from others and you will feel good about yourself, and will have peace of mind.  Negative actions and thoughts will only produce negative results. You will reap what you sow.

So Peter instructs that we should strive to become like those obedient children. More specifically he tells us not to go back to the evil desires you had  before you were a Christian, or before you knew about Christ, when you lived in ignorance and didn’t know better or even care. As you can imagine those things will only pull you down to where you were before.

This is why Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:8-15,

“8 You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.
15 Be very careful, then, how you live —not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”

Peter’s final recommendation here is this, he wrote,

“Just as He who called to us holy, so be holy in all that you do. For it is written, be holy, because I am holy”

With our mind now focused on Jesus, and focused on amazing grace that God has shown us, and focused on the wonderful hope that we have in Heaven, we not only have the strength to become like obedient children, we have something to motivate us to become holy, like God. In between the lines I can almost hear Peter saying, ‘Come on guys, if I can do it, the guy who denied even knowing Jesus three times, then so can you.’

I believe that this is a super natural power that Christians are given when we believe and accept God’s grace and love, and when we accept our position in Him, and we REALLY look forward to our heavenly home. It’s life changing! When we choose to live like this, it honors Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross. It doesn’t dishonors Him because it is achieving His ultimate goal of truly saving your soul from the evil and sin of this world. We must always remember, with ever blessing comes with responsibility. And our responsibility is to take hold of what He has given us, and let it strengthen us, and let it help us get through this life by honoring Him by how we live.

For more lessons click on the following link: http://granvillenychurchofchrist.org/?page_id=566

From Jim McGuiggan.... The argument of Romans 7

The argument of Romans 7


Keith asked how Romans 7 functions in the argument of Romans. Paul has a lot of things to say about the Torah (covenant law) in his writings. He said that if you don't keep the Torah it's worse than not having it (chapter 2). While he insisted that having the Torah had advantages (3:1-2) he insisted it wasn't all advantage since it pronounced judgement on the Jewish nation because of its sin (chapter 3:19-20). He also insisted that God's saving purposes came to fullness in Jesus and independent of the Torah (3:21). This all made it look like he was undermining the covenant law and despising the Jews (see 3:31). No wonder they asked (3:1), "What advantage is there then in being a Jew?"
   
Worse was to come in 5:20 when he said God brought the Torah in "so that the trespass might increase." Chapter 5:12-20 summarizes humanity in Adam and "the trespass" that was to increase was the sinful rebellion of Adam's children. Instead of making things better the entrance of the Torah only made the human sinful situation worse. And Paul said it was meant to do that (note the use of "hina" and compare 11:32). This all sounded terrible. The covenant law (Torah) was meant to increase sin? Does that not make the Torah a bad thing? Besides, if the wages of sin is death and the Torah was brought in to increase sin then it was brought in to bring death rather than life. And what is more, if the purpose of the Torah was to promote sin so that God would get more glory for his increased grace that should mean that people "should" sin since they're supposed to bring God glory.
  
 His critics would claim that the logic of Paul's gospel would put them under obligation to sin or live after the flesh (see 6:1 and 8:12). The whole of 6:1 through 8:17 is one piece that is dealing with these matters.
   
Paul insists that that is not the logic of the gospel. He insists that their baptism which brought them into union with the living Christ and his death, severed them from sin in every way (6:2-10). He insisted they were now slaves to Christ and must follow this sin-destroying Master. Yes, but if the Torah has been set aside, having done its job of making the human sin situation worse, why aren't they free to sin? Because they are free only to unite with and serve Christ the sin-destroyer.
   
Yes, but has he not said bad things about the Torah? No, he insists that the Torah is holy and righteous and good and it was given to Israel that they might have life with God (7:7-13). But, like the good and holy commandment in the Garden of Eden, the Torah became an occasion for Sin to seduce Israel as the Serpent had seduced Eve. The result for both was death. Israel re-enacted the sin of Adam and Eve. It wasn't that the Torah was evil--it was the reverse. But the holy commandment bound Israel to its rebellion and pointed her out as under God's judgement. In doing this, the Torah was doing precisely what it was supposed to do. The problem was in Israel's divided heart (see 7:14-25) because the Torah was always holy and spiritual.
  
 In fact, as it turns out in the purposes of God, when people walk after the Spirit (in more ways than one) they fulfil what the righteous Torah was after (8:3-4). The holy Torah never becomes evil though it becomes a tool in the hands of Sin (7:7-11). The Torah itself never brings death (7:10). It is Sin that makes use of it to condemn sinners and so it becomes "a Torah of sin and death" (7:21-23).
   
In this whole discussion Paul is dealing with the many faces and roles of the always holy and spiritual Torah. He shows he doesn't despise it, that it serves more than one function depending on the angle one looks at it from, that its covenant form and nature has served its purpose and is restructured by the Spirit in Christ (Romans 8:1). It's only on the surface he appears to contradict himself and it's only on the surface that he seems to be promoting sin by speaking evil of the Torah. Be sure to see 13:8-10 where he calls Christians to live out the requirements of the Torah.

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.

From Mark Copeland... The Effective Word Of God (1 Thessalonians 2:13) 

               "THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS"

                   The Effective Word Of God (2:13)

INTRODUCTION

1. We have seen the character of the church in Thessalonica - 1Th 1:
   3-10
   a. Their faith, love and hope
   b. Their worthy example to others in Macedonia and Achaia

2. To some degree, the condition of the church may have been due to the
   diligent and caring nature of Paul's ministry while with them - 1 Th 2:1-12

3. But it could not have happened without their willingness to receive
   the word of God...
   a. Preached to them by Paul, Silas, and Timothy
   b. Which they received as the word of God
   -- Which worked effectively in them - 1Th 2:13

[In our text (1Th 2:13), we are reminded of the effectiveness of God's
Word for those who believe it.  In this study, I wish to expand upon
this thought in order to increase our appreciation for and reception of
the Word of God in our lives...]

I. THE EFFECTIVENESS OF GOD'S WORD

   A. LIVING, POWERFUL, ABLE TO DISCERN...
      1. The word of God is no dead letter - He 4:12
      2. Just as Jesus' words were both spirit and life - Jn 6:63

   B. PRODUCES FAITH...
      1. As we hear (or read) it, it is able to develop faith in our 
         hearts - Ro 10:17
      2. This it does through the evidence it presents - cf. Jn 20:
         30-31

   C. HAS POWER TO SAVE...
      1. For it contains the gospel, God's power unto salvation - Ro 1:16-17
      2. Which is able to save our souls - Jm 1:21

   D. CAUSES ONE TO BE BORN AGAIN...
      1. By the word of God, He has brought us forth - Jm 1:18
      2. For the word of God is an incorruptible seed, by which one is 
         born again - 1Pe 1:22-23

   E. KEY TO SPIRITUAL GROWTH...
      1. We grow by virtue of the word of God - 1Pe 2:2
      2. Just as newborn babes grow by virtue of their mother's milk

   F. HELPS TO OVERCOME SATAN...
      1. John praised young men who overcame Satan through the Word of 
         God - 1Jn 2:14
      2. Of course, Jesus overcame Satan by appealing to the Word - Mt 4:1-11

   G. POSSESSES POWER TO SANCTIFY...
      1. As praised by the Psalmist - Ps 19:7-11
      2. As prayed by Jesus - Jn 17:17

   H. PRESERVES BOTH YOUNG AND OLD...
      1. The young cleanse their way by taking heed to it - Ps 119:9
      2. The elders were told they could guard against false teachers 
         and apostasy with the help of God's word - Ac 20:28-32

[Such are the many benefits of the wonderful Word of God.  It truly is
"The Effective Word Of God"!  But as indicated in our text, God's word
must be properly received...]

II. FOR GOD'S WORD TO BE EFFECTIVE

   A. MUST BE RECEIVED WITH FAITH...
      1. For it is works in those who believe - 1Th 2:13
      2. For it is God's power unto salvation to those who believe - Ro 1:17
      3. For it does not profit those who do not receive it with faith 
         - He 4:2

   B. MUST BE RECEIVED WITH MEEKNESS...
      1. The word must be received in meekness if it is to save - Jm 1:21
      2. For such is the person God is willing to guide and teach - Psa 25:9

   C. MUST BE RECEIVED BY DOERS...
      1. Not just hearers of the Word - Jm 1:22-25
      2. It is in obeying the Word that our souls are purified - 1Pe 1:22

   D. MUST BE FERVENTLY DESIRED...
      1. Like newborn babes longing for their mothers' milk - 1Pe 2:2
      2. For the one who meditates on it day and night is truly blessed 
         - Ps 1:1-3

   E. MUST ABIDE IN US...
      1. If we are to be strong, and overcome the wicked one - 1Jn 2:14
      2. If we are not to sin against God - Ps 119:11

CONCLUSION

1. Is the living, powerful Word of God effective in our lives?
   a. Is it producing faith, saving us by causing us to be born again?
   b. Is it producing spiritual growth, manifested by overcoming Satan,
      living holy lives whether we are young or old?

2. If the Word of God is not making a powerful impact in our lives,
   could it be...
   a. We are not receiving it with faith and meekness?
   b. We are not receiving it with the intention of obeying it?
   c. We have not fervently desired it, so that it can not abide in us?

If such is the case, then we haven't taken the Word of God seriously.
We have treated it no differently than the word of men.  May the church
of the Thessalonians always serve to remind us how we ought to receive
it...

   "...you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth,
   the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe."
                                                        (1Th 2:13)

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

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