Jesus’ Description of a Righteous Man

Posted by David on November 17, 1996 under Sermons

Jesus Christ stands at the heart and center of everything we are spiritually and everything we do religiously. We belong to Jesus. Jesus is our Lord as well as being our Savior. We are saved because of Jesus. We are forgiven because of Jesus. We can be children of God because of Jesus. Nothing is more important than understanding Jesus. All proper Christian knowledge begins with a proper understanding of Jesus. A proper knowledge of the epistles begins with an accurate understanding of Jesus. Paul urged Christians to develop the mind of Christ.

I want to begin my Sunday evening studies with you by reaffirming and advancing our understanding of Jesus. I want to begin our focus on Jesus by developing an overview of the longest recorded sermon of Jesus in the gospels, the Sermon on the Mount.

This evening I want us to examine Jesus’ description of a righteous person by looking at what we call the beatitudes in Matthew 5:1-12.

1. Important background considerations:
   1. Matthew 5:1 states that Jesus gave these teachings to his disciples.
      1. Though a massive crowd of people continued to follow him, he created a context in which he could address his disciples.
         1. He went up on a hill and sat down.
         2. His disciples gathered around him.
      2. It is particularly important that we understand that he is teaching disciples.
         1. These are people who have already committed themselves to follow Jesus for the purpose of learning anything he wants to teach them.
         2. They have already accepted the fact that he is the teacher, and that nothing is more important than learning from him.
         3. These are people that belong to him, that follow him on a day-by-day basis who are committed to learn anything and everything that he can teach them.
         4. They are not there to question or challenge; they are there to understand.
   2. It is equally important to understand that Jesus is teaching his disciples a totally different concept of religion, of spirituality, of relationship with God, and of relationship with people.
      1. The most influential voice, the most powerful religious teachers in Israel, are the Pharisees.
         1. The concepts and teachings of the Pharisees were accepted as being truth by “the man on the street” in Palestine.
         2. The positions and thoughts of the Pharisees were so commonly accepted and had been so commonly accepted for such a lengthy period of time that they represented what most Jews accepted to be the “way things are.”
      2. In this sermon, and in much of Jesus’ teachings, he is contrasting his teachings and concepts with the thoughts and understandings that the common Jewish population accepted without question or doubt.
      3. This contrast was very evident to those who seriously listened to his teachings.
         1. Jesus is not merely telling them something different.
         2. He is sharing with them thoughts and revelations that radically oppose what they always accepted, always understood to be the truth of the scriptures.
2. Interestingly, Jesus begins this series of contrasts between himself and the Pharisees by presenting his description of the righteous person.
   1. The beatitudes are a composite description of Jesus’ righteous person.
      1. He is not talking about eight different kinds of people who follow God.
      2. He is talking about basic qualities of righteousness that are typical of the person that God acknowledges to be righteous.
   2. Those eight qualities are:
      1. The righteous person is poor in spirit, or, he or she recognizes his or her spiritual poverty and owns that spiritual poverty.
      2. The righteous person mourns, or, because he or she sees and owns his or her spiritual poverty, he or she is grieved because that poverty exists.
      3. The righteous person is meek, or gentle, or under control.
      4. The righteous person is famished for righteousness–he or she has a consuming appetite for righteousness, that is what he or she wants and wants to become.
      5. The righteous person is merciful–the person who abuses them, or offends them, or hurts them, or treats them unjustly will receive mercy, not justice; and the righteous person will extend mercy to those who have failed.
      6. The righteous person is devoted to developing and having a pure heart; he or she does not merely want to look pure in deeds; he or she wants to be pure within.
      7. The righteous person is a peacemaker; he or she is the kind of person who can help those who are alienated find reconciliation.
      8. The righteous person is willing to endure suffering and mistreatment for Jesus’ sake.
3. Jesus’ description of a righteous person stood in total contrast, stark contrast with the Pharisees’ concept of a righteous person–and remember that was the commonly accepted definition of righteous person at that time.
   1. The Pharisees’ description of a righteous person was the exact opposite of Jesus’ description.
      1. The righteous person was a religiously accomplished person (he had no spiritual poverty to own).
         1. By virtue of his accomplishments, he knew he was right, he knew he had God’s truth.
         2. He could say, as the Pharisees did to Jesus, “By what authority do you do these things?”
         3. He could say, “We have Moses on our side, and we are descendants of Abraham.”
         4. He could tell you in detail what was right and what was wrong in any situation.
      2. The righteous person took pride in his religious achievements (he had nothing religiously to mourn).
         1. In the parable of the Pharisee and the publican who were praying at the temple, the Pharisee in his prayer is a superb example (Luke 18:9-14).
            1. God, I thank you that I am not like other people who do not do your will.
            2. I don’t swindle, I am not unjust, I don’t commit adultery, and I don’t take advantage of other people.
            3. I fast two times every week.
            4. I give you ten percent of everything I receive, no matter how big or small it is.
         2. I am proud of what I am not, and I am proud of what I do.
      3. The righteous person was aggressive as he opposed those he declared to be God’s enemies (meekness or gentleness was weakness).
         1. Like the Pharisees did when they came from Jerusalem to Galilee to examine the deeds and teachings of Jesus.
         2. Like the Pharisees as they followed Jesus searching for mistakes as they were doing when they saw his disciples stripping raw grain and eating it on a Sabbath.
         3. Like the Pharisees, who were certain Jesus was evil, and plotted to discredit and destroy him.
      4. The righteous person was knowledgeable (he had no need to hunger for righteousness); he did not seek understanding–he dispersed understanding. He fed those who were starved to understand.
         1. Jesus never taught the Pharisees one thing.
         2. They were always certain they understood and Jesus did not, they were right and Jesus was wrong, and they had the right interpretation of God’s will and Jesus was misrepresenting God’s will.
      5. The righteous person exercised righteous indignation (mercy compromised God’s will).
         1. It was an act of righteousness to trap someone that you declared was teaching error.
         2. It was an act of righteousness to falsely accuse and discredit someone who was doing what you declared to be evil.
         3. It was an act of righteousness to destroy a person who was a religious threat to what you knew was right.
      6. The righteous person was ceremonially pure; he ate the right things, washed his hands the right way, practiced the commands regarding body purity–purity existed in how you used your body, not your emotions, not your motivations, not your inner being.
         1. Purity had nothing to do with the mind and the heart.
         2. Purity concerned only your body.
         3. Is it not easy to see how that reasoning could lead to the mock trials and execution of Jesus?
      7. The righteous person was devoted to justice, to condemning the wrong doers, to destroying those who violated the commandments (not to making peace).
         1. It was perfectly consistent with the Pharisees’ concept of righteousness to bring the woman captured while committing adultery to Jesus and say, “The law says kill her, so what do you say?”
      8. Obviously, from this description of righteousness, a righteous person would not endure suffering in loyalty to Jesus–in this definition the righteous person would inflict suffering on those who were loyal to Jesus.
4. Those who accepted and lived by the Pharisees’ description of a righteous person became hardened, inflexible, judgmental people who did evil things for what they declared to be godly purposes.
   1. They were cold and unsympathetic to the failures and struggles of others.
   2. They became emotional deserts and loveless religious robots who always went through the motions of doing the declared right thing without feeling and without faith as God defines faith.
5. Those who would accept Jesus’ description of a righteous person:
   1. Had citizenship in God’s kingdom.
   2. Would receive comfort for their spiritual grief.
   3. Would endure in this world.
   4. Would have their craving for righteousness satisfied.
   5. Would receive mercy when they made mistakes and failings.
   6. Would see God.
   7. Would be called God’s children.
   8. The kingdom of heaven belongs to them.

Those who are righteous by Jesus’ description become warm, alive, and filled with kindness, love, and compassion just as was Jesus. The righteousness Jesus described will make us Christ-like.

Hope For Those In Despair

Posted by David on under Sermons

In most of the nations of our world, the majority of the population live in open despair. Their despair is no secret–the truth is it cannot be hidden. There is not enough food to feed families, and what they eat we would not consider eating. They exist in crude, inadequate forms of shelter. Every day they face incredible hardships and short life spans–when we observe their hardships we wonder how they survive at all. They endure sickness and disease with little hope for medical treatment.

Despair is no stranger to the people in our society. We have people who live in open despair in our society. We have our homeless, our hungry, our jobless, our people who exist in inhumane conditions. But the majority of people in our society who live in despair live in hidden despair. In daily life they try hard to act as if everything is fine in their lives. But it is anything but fine. Some are trapped in horrible marriages and endure outrageous abuses. Some struggle with deep depression and are filled with anger. Some are trapped in addictive behaviors that they struggle to hide. They often wonder if their lives are worth living, often think that there is no reason for them to go on. But they are determined to keep their despair a well hidden secret.

I want to ask you a serious question. What do all these people need? These people who are living in open despair or hidden despair in any society, what do they need. We answer, “They need the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ!” May I ask a second question. If these people heard the gospel, if they received the gospel, how would this good news about Jesus Christ address their despair?

I am in total agreement that it can address their despair, but it can only if one thing is true. The good news of Jesus will address their despair only if it gives them hope. Not speculative hope, the hope that says, “Well, maybe things can get better.” Not wishful thinking hope, the hope that says, “I wish this could change.” But the hope emphasized in the New Testament, the hope based on solid assurance.

Last weekend we heard the great commission emphasized, and it should be emphasized. But I am convinced that Jesus’ great invitation must always accompany Jesus’ great commission. It is the great invitation that reveals the solid hope of Jesus’ great commission.

1. In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus issued his great invitation:
   Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my load is light.
   1. There are several striking things to note and to accept in Jesus’ great invitation.
      1. Jesus wants struggling people to come to him.
         1. He did not call those who are confident that they have their lives together.
         2. He did not call those who would have us believe that they have no problems.
         3. He called the people who are so distressed in their lives that they can hardly struggle on.
            1. The word weary here literally means “those who have worked to exhaustion.”
            2. These folks have struggled with life until they are exhausted.
            3. Their burdens are so heavy that they are being crushed under them.
      2. He wants the struggling and the burdened to put themselves in his hands, to place themselves under his control, and to allow him to teach them. He assures the struggling and the burdened that:
         1. He is gentle.
         2. He is humble in heart.
         3. Jesus is not some egomaniac that exploits people to advance his self-importance.
         4. Instead, Jesus is totally devoted to helping the weary, struggling person who is being crushed by his or her life.
      3. This great invitation includes a promise, a promise that is stressed twice: “I will give you rest; you will find rest for your souls.”
         1. When we are distressed, we can’t rest.
         2. When we are struggling and so burdened with life that it is crushing us, we can’t rest.
         3. But Jesus promised that if we come to him, he will extend a rest to us that we can receive and experience.
2. One of the rich blessings that has touched my life has been the joy of witnessing the hope of the good news at work.
   1. In West Africa:
      1. I gave a Bible to a woman who had never touched a Bible before.
         1. Even though she could not read, you could see the joy in her face and her eyes.
         2. She had a child who was going to school who could read her Bible to her in the evenings.
      2. I listened as a converted witch doctor implored me to return to America and tell the people who supported my mission work how much he appreciated being a Christian.
         1. His conversion had cost him his wife, his property, and his prestige.
         2. But he regarded those to be acceptable sacrifices when he compared them to what he found in Christ.
   2. In Kaliningrad, Russia, I was the first American invited by the Institute to speak in English about Christianity to their students.
      1. For four days the lecture hall was packed with students who listened with total attentiveness–no one left the lecture hall for any reason even when I spoke for over an hour.
      2. The first day a few professors came.
      3. By the last day, professors took over the first row of seats in the lecture hall.
      4. The first day, a lady professor told me that she had never entered a church.
         1. The second day she told me, “You are sharing things that can be useful to our people.”
         2. The next day she said, “I see that I need to give serious consideration to the things that you are saying.”
         3. The last day she said, “I am ready to go to a church.”
3. But here in our own country equally moving experiences have touched me.
   1. A few years ago I met a young woman whose life was about as messed up as a life can get.
      1. Though she was an accomplished, capable professional, she was struggling to find a reason to live.
         1. She was close to recovery from anorexia.
         2. She was a recovering alcoholic.
         3. She was as depressed as a person can be and still be alive.
         4. She lived every day of her life terrified by fears that she could not identify.
      2. Years prior, at the lowest point of her life, she was converted to Christ and became a member of a very controlling religious group.
         1. When she could not instantly overcome her problems, when she could not meet their demands, the group was ordered to withdraw their support and association and she was told that she was possessed by demons.
         2. When I met her, she knew that she needed God, but the thought of seeking God terrified her.
      3. She was so filled with fear that she literally could not enter a church building to study or to worship–church buildings were places that hurt struggling people.
         1. At that time we were conducting some group work one night a week for struggling people.
         2. She came, but she stood outside the door trembling; when she could come in, she might be so overwhelmed with fear that she would have to get up and leave.
   2. She was rooming with another young lady who was an agnostic.
      1. This lady’s father delighted in getting her drunk when she was six because he thought it was funny to watch a drunk child stagger around.
      2. She was an alcoholic before she was 10.
      3. Though her family never worshipped, they forced her to attend Bible classes and worship.
      4. In Bible class, as a child, she became friends with the teacher’s daughter.
         1. After a class, the teacher caught them together.
         2. The teacher told her daughter, “This is the kind of person that you must not associate with.”
      5. She detested the church and God from that day forward.
   3. Listen to what happened.
      1. The agnostic lady said to the fear-filled lady, “This class is obviously helping you. I will go with you so you will be able to walk in the building.”
      2. That is the only reason the agonistic came.
      3. But the agnostic could not believe how the group and the discussion was building hope.
      4. By the third class the agnostic was coming because she wanted to be there.
      5. That led to personal studies and, in time, to baptism into Christ.
      6. I have never seen a person in any country any happier than was this lady on the day she was baptized.
         1. She said, “For the first time in my life I understand what love is. For the first time in my life I know what a friend is.”
4. The hunger, the burning desire that I have for us as a congregation focuses on three great needs.
   1. I want us to grow as we expand our mission outreach into the world.
      1. I want our commitment to reach out to other peoples in other nations to capture our imaginations.
      2. I want us to bring the good news of the hope of assurance to other people.
   2. But I also want us to grow as we develop and expand our outreach to the Fort Smith area.
      1. I want that commitment to also capture our imaginations.
      2. I want to bring the good news of the hope of assurance to those who know despair all around us.
   3. And I want each of us as a part God’s family to grow and develop spiritually as never before.
      1. I want each of us to understand and to trust the hope of the gospel as we never have before.
      2. I want the assurance of our hope to draw us closer together than we have ever been, to make us more respectful and forbearing with one another than we have ever been.

Jesus was the most compassionate, merciful man who ever lived. When you read the gospels, his unselfish compassion is beyond belief. Again and again he astounds you with how much he cared, and who he cared for. He amazes you with the kindness and consideration he extends to the most unlikely people. Constantly he proved that his great invitation was genuine, that it was sincere, and that he meant it.

With all my heart and being, I want us to be a congregation in which we can see Jesus in each other. I want everyone of us to know that we will help each other when we are struggling. I want those who visit with us to see Jesus in us. I want them to know that this is a congregation that helps anyone who struggles and lifts burdens.

The Internet Mission Field

Posted by Michael on October 1, 1996 under Articles

In Mark 16:15 the Lord made it clear that He expects us to go everywhere sharing the Gospel. We should spread the Good News to those who will accept it and to those who will not (Matthew 13:19-23). The Lord did not specify a particular way to go. We know that the apostles used every available means of transportation and communication available to them to spread the Gospel. I believe we have the same responsibility today.

The Lord has provided us with incredible technological advances in this century. We can physically move from where we are to almost any point on the globe in under 24 hours. God surely expects us to take advantage of this rapid transportation to carry His saving grace to lost souls. God has provided us with several methods of communication which allow instantaneous transmission of voice or written words.

The most recent technological wonder which God has given us to aid in the spreading of the Gospel is the Internet. Hundreds of congregations of the Lord’s church have already taken advantage of the World Wide Web by placing information there which is immediately and constantly available to any of the millions of people all over the world who have Internet access. These “pages” which churches have created are tools which teach others about our Savior, His message, and His church.

World Bible School has utilized this technology by making a powerful presence on the Web. The site is continuously used to recruit new Bible students. Each student is assigned a Christian “study helper.” The study helper sends out lessons one by one, grades lessons returned, and answers Bible questions from their students, all by electronic mail over the Internet. At their own pace hundreds are being taught lessons from the Bible who would never be reached by any other method. We expect the number to grow into the thousands as more people become Internet users.

Many churches of Christ who have Web pages, as well as Christians who have personal Home Pages, are including messages at their Web sites which encourage potential Bible students to link to WBS where they can enroll in free Bible correspondence courses.

If the Lord has provided you with a computer, we want you to look for ways to use it in service to Him. If you are a Christian who desires to do God’s will, can send and receive e-mail, and know how to “copy and paste” text, then we want you to begin assisting us with teaching World Bible School e-mail students. You need no additional skills. We have a “discussion list” which allows you to send an e-mail message, such as a question from a student which you are not sure how to answer, to all other WBS e-mail teachers for help.

Nothing is more important than our Messiah’s Great Commission. If I have time in my busy schedule to teach by this method, then I am certain that you do, too. You can have as many students or as few as you want. It is really quite simple to be an Internet missionary.

The Holy Spirit and Miraculous Gifts

Posted by Roy on January 1, 1996 under Articles

INTRODUCTION

1. 1. When you and I read the Bible we will know as much as can be known about spiritual gifts because all that can be known about them is found in the Bible.
   2. We cannot fully comprehend all that is involved in these gifts because no one possesses them today.
   3. Many think the Bible teaches that these gifts are available today, so they try to help God out by trying to manufacture these gifts.
   4. These people are hindering the cause of Christ rather than helping. They are causing unbelief among thinking people. Many think these gifts and the Bible stand or fall together and since they see nothing they can come to grips with they dismiss the Bible as the word of God.
   5. On the other hand there are those who deny the indwelling Spirit. Perhaps they think to admit to the indwelling Spirit would be to accept the miraculous gifts of the Spirit. This is not true.

1. WE NEED TO MAKE A DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE SPIRIT HIMSELF AND GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT.
   1. The Holy Spirit is a person. One of the three modes of being in the Godhead. “Howbeit when HE, the Spirit of truth . . .” (John 16:13).
   2. The Spirit dwells in every obedient person. (Acts 5:32)
      1. Before Christ died the Spirit was in the world (Genesis 1:2) but did not in-dwell. The Spirit could not dwell in an unclean tabernacle. Man was separated from God because of sin and until the sin problem was solved man would remain so. (Isaiah 59:1-2; Hebrews 10:4, 9:13-15)
      2. Jesus said “He that believeth on me as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive: For the Holy Ghost was not yet given because that Jesus was not yet glorified.” (John 7:38-39) After Jesus died man could have forgiveness of sins by obedience to the gospel (Romans 6:17-18) and at that time his body would become a temple of the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 6:19-20). Notice John 14:17 concerning the indwelling Spirit. “For He dwelleth with you and shall be in you.” Jesus is speaking of a new relationship. The Spirit has been beside you but He shall be inside you.
      3. The first gospel sermon preached after the death of Jesus is recorded in Acts chapter 2. In this sermon Peter told the people to “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” We cannot tell from this text whether or not he was speaking of the Spirit himself or gifts of the Spirit. But we can tell from other passages he was speaking of the Spirit as in chapter 5:32. Peter said, “and we are His witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey Him.” (Acts 5:32)
      4. In Galatians 3:26-27 Paul tells us how to become children of God. And in chapter 4:6 he tells us what happens because we are sons. “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.”
      5. We have people who tell us God dwells in us through the Word. There is no passage that teaches this as far as I know. But there is a passage that tells us how God in-dwells. Paul said to the Ephesians “Ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:22)
      6. When we think about the Spirit dwelling through the Word we must realize there is no difference in a man’s knowledge before and after baptism. We recognize a man’s body is not the temple of the Holy Spirit before baptism and we recognize it is after baptism. He must accept the Word before baptism or he is not scripturally baptized. We receive the Spirit at baptism (Galatians 3:26-27; 4:6) but we do not necessarily possess more of the Word. Therefore the indwelling of the Spirit is based on forgiveness of sins and not how much knowledge one possess of God’s Word.
   3. What does the indwelling Spirit do?
      1. The realization that my body is a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in me serves as a restraint against the abuse of my body. Paul said to the Corinthians “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of THE HOLY GHOST which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (I Corinthians 6:19-20)
      2. The Spirit helps us bear fruit. (Galatians 5:22-23) Love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. This is not your fruit but “the fruit of the Spirit.” Concerning love notice John 13:34-35; Romans 5:5.
      3. The Holy Spirit working in cooperation with our spirit enables us to put to death the deeds of the body. “If ye through the Spirit do mortify (put to death) the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” (Romans 8:13)
      4. The Spirit helps us in our prayer life. (Romans 8:26)
      5. The Holy Spirit is given as an earnest and a seal. (Ephesians 1:13-14) A seal indicates ownership. One of the functions of the Holy Spirit is to make actual the ownership of God in my life. (I Corinthians 6:19-20) An earnest is a pre-sample, plus a guarantee of something to come. What does that mean? I believe this has to do with the quality of life the Spirit enables me to live. The Holy Spirit has been given to enable me to live now the same quality of life that I will live hereafter in the eternity to come. (Romans 8:13; Hebrews 6:4b-5) That is an “earnest” or pre-sample. (Galatians 5:22-23)
      6. When we abuse our body, or do not produce the fruit of the Spirit, or fail to “put to death the deeds of the body”, or neglect our prayer life, or do not display the seal and earnest of our inheritance, we “grieve” and “quench” the Spirit of God. (Ephesians 4:30; I Thessalonians 5:19)
2. MIRACULOUS GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT.
   We have looked at the indwelling of the Spirit. Now let’s look at the gifts of the Spirit.
   1. There are nine gifts of the Spirit listed in I Corinthians 12:8-10. Wisdom, knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, kinds of tongues, and the interpretation of tongues.
   2. How did a Christian receive these gifts?
      Through the laying on of the apostles hands! It is recorded in the 8th chapter of the book of Acts “that Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ unto them” (verse 5). Verse 12 says, “But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ ,they were baptized, both men and women.” According to what we have already learned they received the indwelling of the Spirit but not gifts of the Spirit. (Acts 2:38; 5:32)
      1. When the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the Word they sent Peter and John that they might pray for them to receive the Holy Spirit. “For as yet He was FALLEN UPON none of them.” There is a difference in indwelling and “falling upon.” We know from Acts 5:32 that they had already received the indwelling of the Spirit. Verse 17 says, “then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Ghost.”
      2. And Simon saw that through laying on of the Apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given. Why didn’t Philip lay his hands upon them to impart the Holy Spirit? Evidently only the apostles had this power. Verse 18 says, “and when Simon saw.” What did he see? Can you see the Holy Spirit? No! But you can see manifestations of the Spirit, such as speaking in a tongue or prophesying. I would conclude from this that the Samaritans received the indwelling Spirit at baptism and gifts of the Spirit through the laying on of the apostles hands. (Acts 19:1-6)
   3. What was the purpose of these spiritual gifts?
      1. Revelation: Man needs a revelation from his Creator “It is not in man to direct his own steps;” therefore God gave the gifts of knowledge and wisdom. (Jeremiah 10:23)
      2. Proclamation: Man needed to proclaim the right message in the right language; therefore God gave the gifts of:
         1. “Prophecy” – the message.
         2. “Discerning of spirits” – the right message. (I John 4:1)
         3. “Interpretation of tongues” – the right language.
      3. Confirmation: Early Christians did not have the Bible as we do today. They had to prove that the revelation they had received and were proclaiming was from God. How would the audience know they were speaking God’s Word without miracles. (Acts 8:6) Therefore God gave the gifts of:
         1. Faith – I Corinthians 13:2.
         2. Healing – Acts 3:11.
         3. Miracles – Acts 13:11.
         4. Tongues – I Corinthians 14:22; Acts 2:1-5.
            “These signs shall follow them that believe; in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them. They shall lay hands on the sick; and they shall recover. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, He was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached every where the Lord working with them; and confirming the Word with signs following.” (Mark 16:17-20) “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him.” (Hebrews 2:3) “Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.” (Galatians 3:15)
   4. How long were these miraculous spiritual gifts to last?
      To answer this we must look again at their purpose.
      Revelation, Proclamation, Confirmation.
      1. A complete revelation from God was given in the first century or during the life time of the apostles. In John 16:13, Jesus promised the apostles that the Holy Spirit would guide them into ALL TRUTH. That doesn’t leave any truth to be revealed. Jesus said in John 17:8, “I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them.” Paul said in Ephesians 3:3-5, “How that by revelation He made known unto me the mystery as I wrote afore in few words. Whereby, when you read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ, which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.”
         1. Paul said the Holy Spirit revealed the mystery unto him. He wrote it down and we can read it and understand it. Our faith is to be based upon the written Word (John 20:30-31). It is complete and final (II Timothy 3:16-17). This statement would take into consideration the concluding work of the then living apostles and prophets.
         2. Jude said “contend for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (verse 3). Not over and over again, not even twice but “ONCE”.
         3. Therefore, since we have a complete and final revelation from God, I would conclude that no one has the gift of “wisdom” and “knowledge” (miraculous) today. These gifts served their purpose and terminated in the first century.
      2. Proclamation: There are three gifts of the Spirit that fall into this category.
         1. Discerning of spirits. John said, “believe not every spirit. But try the spirits whether they are of God: Because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” (I John 4:1) We do not need this gift today because we test a man’s message by the Bible. (Revelation 22:18, 19)
         2. Interpretation of tongues. Within 29 years after the church was established the gospel was preached in every nation to every creature. (Colossians 1:6, 23) The ability to translate the message of God into a man’s own language helped to make this possible. After this was accomplished this gift was no longer needed.
         3. Prophecy. “The speaking forth of the mind and counsel of God . . . it is the declaration of that which cannot be known by natural means.” (W.E. Vine, p. 221) With the completion of the canon of scripture prophecy passed away. In his measure the teacher has taken the place of the prophet. (I Corinthians 13:8, 9) Note the significant change in II Peter 2:1. The difference is that, whereas the message of the prophet was a direct revelation of the mind of God for the occasion, the message of the teacher is gathered from the completed revelation contained in the scriptures. (Notes on Thessalonians by Hogg and Vine, pp. 196, 197) Therefore this gift ceased with the completion of scripture in the first century.
      3. Confirmation: Men of God received a revelation from God and the abiltity to proclaim it; but they also needed to confirm it, so God gave the gifts of “FAITH” that could remove mountains (I Corinthians 13:2), the gift of “healing” (Acts 3:11), the ability to perform “miracles” (Acts 13:11), and the ability to speak in other “tongues” (languages) as a sign. (I Corinthians 14:22) All of these “gifts” were to back up or confirm the message they taught. Once the message was revealed, proclaimed, and confirmed, there was no further need for these gifts. The message was revealed, proclaimed, and confirmed in the first century. (Mark 16:17-20; Hebrews 2:3; Galatians 3:15) Unless a man has a new revelation from God there is no need for these gifts today. And if any man preaches a new message he is to be “accursed;” and he “hath not God.” (Galatians 1:7-8; II John 9)
3. HOW LONG WERE THESE MIRACULOUS SPIRITUAL GIFTS TO LAST?
   Until “that which is perfect is come.” (I Corinthians 13:10)
   1. In view of their purpose and the fact that that purpose has been fulfilled I would conclude that these gifts ceased with the death of the apostles and prophets and at the death of those on whom the apostles laid their hands to impart these gifts.
   2. “Whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.” (I Corinthians 13:8-10)
   3. We notice here instead of bringing all nine gifts from chapter 12 to chapter 13 Paul only brings three, one from each category.
      1. Prophecies: Having to do with the proclamation of the Word.
      2. Tongues: Having to do with the confirmation of the Word.
      3. Knowledge: Having to do with the revelation of the Word.I understand this to be inclusive of all nine gifts.
   4. We understand these gifts will cease when that which is “PERFECT” is come. What is that which is perfect? There are three views that I know of.
      1. LOVE.
         Some say love because of the dominating theme of the chapter. I am looking at this answer from a critical view and it doesn’t make sense. Did the apostle Paul not possess love? And did he not also possess these spiritual gifts? Many at that time possessed love and sprititual gifts. Love is the new commandment. (John 13:34-35) Without love we do not know God. (I John 4:7-8) Love is proof of our sonship and spiritual life. (I John 4:10-14)
         God was not waiting on an overwhelming of love to engulf them before He removed the spiritual gifts! But He was waiting on that which is “PERFECT.”
      2. CHRIST.
         Christ is perfect and some say that when Christ returns then these gifts will cease. We know this is not true by what follows. Some things are ceasing (spiritual gifts) and some things are remaining (faith, hope, and love – I Corinthians 13:13).
         1. The Corinthians were envious and jealous of each other over these gifts. Paul is saying you are desirous of something that is of a temporary nature. You should be seeking those things that abide: faith, hope, and love. If “that which is perfect” is Christ, then “spiritual gifts” faith and hope will cease at the same time. This would destroy Paul’s argument on the time differential between the two. What will happen to faith when Christ returns? It will become sight. (Hebrews 11:1; I John 3:lff)
         2. What will happen to hope when Christ returns? It will become realization. (Romans 8:24-25) Love is eternal!
         3. Besides there is no point in saying these gifts will cease when Christ returns. That is self evident. When Christ returns we will not be given the message but judged on the basis of what we did with the message. (John 12:48; Revelation 20:12).
         4. These miraculous gifts will cease. But faith, hope and love will continue until Christ returns.
      3. PERFECT KNOWLEDGE, COMPLETE REVELATION.
         Paul said, “We know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.” That which is “in part” gives way to that which is complete. The things that were in part must balance with that which is complete. The things that were in part, the spiritual gifts, were used of the Lord to bring the revelation of His will to man. But when this revelation was committed to writing as it was in the first century, there remained no further purpose to be fulfilled by these gifts. Therefore, when the completed revelation, the Bible, came the things that were in part were abolished.
         1. Notice the amplified Bible on this text: “For our knowledge is fragmentary (incomplete and imperfect), and our prophecy (our teaching) is fragmentary (incomplete and imperfect). But when the complete and perfect (total) comes, the incomplete and imperfect will vanish away, become antiquated, void, and superceded.”
         2. There are many scriptures that point out the perfection and completion of the scriptures. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” (II Timothy 3:16-17)
            1. There are some, before they would take the apostle seriously in this statement, would have him and his fellow apostles lay aside their pens at this point.
            2. I believe this statement (II Timothy 3:16-17) would be inclusive of the remaining work of the then living apostles and prophets. However, I believe it would be carrying it a bit too far to take on a second generation of apostles and prophets. The apostle John was privileged to put that final touch to the scriptures. (Revelation 22:18-21)
         3. There are some who apply Mark’s statement, “these signs shall follow them that believe,” to all believers. (Mark 16:17-20) If this passage applies to all believers then all believers perform miracles! If not, why not? I see three alternatives from Mark’s statement.
            1. I perform miracles.
            2. I do not believe.
            3. I admit Jesus was speaking to the apostles.I do believe! I do not perform miracles! I am forced to the conclusion He was speaking to the apostles. What is your conclusion?

CONCLUSION

1. 1. To appreciate the indwelling Spirit we should read Romans 7:14-24, “man without the Spirit.” And Romans 8:1-18, “man with the Spirit.”
   2. Some feel that because we do not have these “miraculous spiritual gifts” we have a sub-standard spiritual life. They feel this way because they do not really understand what the Christian possesses.
      1. When I was baptized into Jesus all of my sins were forgiven; God made me as though I had never sinned. (II Corinthians 5:21; Romans 6:3-4)
      2. As I walk in the light His blood continues to cleanse me from sin. (I John 1:7)
      3. Over nineteen hundred years ago Jesus went to heaven to prepare a place for me. (John 14:1-3) And now reservations are made. (I Peter 1:3-5) It is “a place that is incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven” for me.
      4. He told me, if I would “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” I would not have to worry about food, shelter, and raiment, these would be supplied. (Matthew 6:33)
      5. He said, He would not allow me to be tempted above my strength. (I Corinthians 10:13) That He would never, never, never, leave me. (Hebrews 13:5)
      6. He said, if I continue to love Him He will work all things for my good. (Romans 8:28) I know all these things are true because of what Romans 8:32 says.
      7. The substandard spiritual life is seen in the one who would neglect these things and go back to those “childish things” that were needful in the infancy of the church. We need to act like men and put away childish things. (I Corinthians 13:11)
   3. Miraculous spiritual gifts of  I Corinthians 12:8-10 are no longer available. They have ceased. But the gospel still remains God’s power to save. (Romans 1:16) Will you not obey?

Our Purpose for Existence

Posted by Michael on May 10, 1992 under Articles

As people search for meaning in life there are three questions that they ask.

1. “Where did I come from?”
2. “Why am I here?”
3. “Where am I going?”

Everyone who has heard more than a few Bible sermons knows the answer to the first and third questions. Nearly every Christian should say, “We came from God,” and “We are going to Heaven.” When we ask various people what the answer is to the question, “Why are you here?”, we get many different answers.

We should occasionally take time to consider what our purpose is for being here. Let me share with you some things that help me get meaning out of life. Whether I am at home in the United States or living in Italy or working in South America, I have discovered there is a simple answer for the frequently asked question, “Why am I here?” Why am I getting up and going to work every day? Why am I searching for ways to be a better person? There is a very simple answer, but it is understood only after we discover our purpose for existence.

If we can find the best possible answer to this question “Why am I here?”, then we can live the best possible life.

Everything around us has a purpose. Most of us can quickly tell what the purpose is for most everything with which we come into contact. But when it comes to explaining our own purpose, for many it is a difficult, if not impossible, task.

Atheistic humanism claims that everything about us exists merely because of countless accidental evolutionary changes. If everything merely exists because of purposeless evolution, then the final product can have no meaningful purpose. If I am the product of an accident or series of accidents, then there would be no purpose except what I could make of my own life by my own power.

We live in a culture that has been greatly influenced by the consequences of evolutionary thought. Evolution denies a purpose greater than self. Where there is no purpose greater than self, we are forced to live only for ourselves. Therefore our culture says, “You deserve a break today.” “Look out for number 1.” “If it feels good, do it.” “It may cost a little more, but I’m worth it.” Advertisers have become rich by giving attention to this human tendency to put ourselves first.

There are many people in this world who have been tricked into believing their purpose in life is to be a “success.” Money is their goal. Accumulating the most things is important. Collecting the “most toys.” For some the goal is becoming the highest achiever. Becoming the most intelligent. Becoming the most beautiful. Finding the greatest pleasure.

None of these goals will provide an adequate answer to the question, “Why am I here?” We know people who make such things as success, beauty, money, or pleasure their primary motivating forces in life. If these worldly ambitions were desirable as primary goals, then those people who make them their purpose for existence would be the happiest people in the world.

But as you and I know, those people who never find some purpose for their life that is greater than self, are the world’s most miserable people. Failure to discover the intended purpose for existence will cause us to suffer from the destructive consequences brought on by self-centeredness.

The public schools fail to teach us a legitimate purpose for our existence. If we do not discover what our purpose for existence is, we will not be able to fulfill the purpose for which God intended when He created us. Those who are Christians are quick to reason that we exist for a purpose greater than self. Yet, can our acquaintances see that we live as if something besides ourselves is of the greatest importance to us? Do we appear to live by the world’s standards? Have you chosen a purpose that is worthy of your best efforts? Have you chosen a purpose that will bring you the greatest happiness?

Many people are searching for a life based upon something besides their own selfish desires. They try to choose to do what they should do rather than what they want to do. I believe that without guidance from the Scriptures people can never be sure what it is that they should do. So, let’s examine a few ideas from the Bible that will help us discover our purpose for existence.

Romans 8:28 tells us that God knows what our purpose is. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” I believe that He has made our purpose clear in the Bible. He has revealed to us the answer to the question, “Why am I here?”

In Isaiah 43:7, we can learn that God created us for His glory. We learn in John, chapter 17, that Jesus lived to glorify God. We want to be like Jesus Christ, so we also should live such that our lives glorify God. We can correctly conclude that the purpose for our existence is to glorify God. But this is not the simple answer I said we can discover for the question “Why am I here?” For one might now ask, “How do I glorify God?”

Jesus makes it clear in John 4:34 that His purpose for being on the earth was to do the will of God. If we want to find the happiness that Jesus our Savior had, then we, too, must be committed to doing the will of God. When we do His will, God is glorified. So, “How do I glorify God?” — By doing His will.

By the way, no matter who you are, even if you are trying your best, it can be predicted that there will be times when you will fail to do God’s will. Nevertheless, God is glorified when we keep trying to do His will even after our failures.

As you know, most Americans believe it is improper to surrender their own wills and allow themselves to be placed under the control of someone else. Our culture teaches us to be independent. We think we can’t be independent as our forefathers meant for us to be if we give up ourselves and submit to another’s will. But, God knows what is best for us. As His creation, He knows what we need. We fulfill our purpose not by living first the way we want, but rather by living the way we should. God teaches us through the Bible the way we should live. He wants us to do His will, knowing that we will only find true happiness by serving Him.

Consider the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30: “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, `Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, `Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ He also who had received two talents came and said, `Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, `Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ Then he who had received the one talent came and said, `Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’ But his lord answered and said to him, `You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. There-fore you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'”

This story is about 3 servants. Two of them had discovered how to please their master through their service to him. One was unprofitable, not having learned how to serve or how to submit to the will of the master. Most of the problem seems to be related to the unprofitable servant’s failure to know his master, as shown in verses 24 & 25. We can acceptably serve God only by getting to know Him. We can please God only by discovering through His Word what He wants us to do and what He wants us to be.

So we can conclude that to please God and have a meaningful and happy life, we must live to serve God through doing His will to fulfill the purpose for our existence. Let me say that this is much too complicated an answer for the question, “Why am I here?”

Many honest people would now ask, “Why should I be interested in glorifying, pleasing, or serving God?” Most in our society would say, “What’s in it for me?” As we mature as Christians, we find the answer to the question, “What’s in it for me?”, to be of little importance. But God surely provides a simple answer to explain to the Christian and non-Christian alike why we would even consider serving Him.

When many of us became Christians we were acting out of fear. Frankly, we were afraid of going to Hell. This is not bad that our initial motivation was fear. People can be shaped by force through fear. Fear is probably necessary for the beginning of wisdom. But, fear of the wrath of God is not an adequate motivating force that can be sustained throughout a lifetime. Fear of failure will not properly motivate us to strive for Heaven. Eventually fear produces rebellion and alienation and frustration. Human nature resists and resents fear and force. People do not have to be controlled by fear and force. Christians, who do not mature beyond the stage of serving God out of fear, will not find the happiness which God has promised to those who serve Him.

The force which moves us away from fear and also provides us with a satisfactory answer to the question “why serve God?” is LOVE. Love is the only alternative to fear and force. I John 4:18 says, “Love casts out fear.”

Love doesn’t come naturally. We must learn how to love. After we learn how to love, then we will want to do what we ought to do in spite of our failures.

Hollywood has successfully sold the idea to many that the consequences of love are first pleasure and comfort. Society thinks that if it isn’t pleasurable and painless to self, then it can’t be love. Reason teaches us that love for another cannot be justified only by personal want, or be based on selfish desires.

So, what really is love?

Jesus answered this question beautifully in the parable of the Good Samaritan. (Luke 10:25ff.)

“And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Jesus, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” “Jesus said to him, `What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?'”

“So the lawyer answered and said, `You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and `your neighbor as yourself.'”

“And Jesus said to him, `You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.'” (Many people, like this lawyer, have chosen to try to love God without getting involved with anyone else.)

Luke 10:29, “But the lawyer, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, `And who is my neighbor?'” (People were always trying to get our Savior distracted from teaching about the two main themes of each of His lessons: Love God and love others, which Jesus called the greatest and second greatest commandments in Matt. 22:37-40.)

Luke 10:30-37: Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, `Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” And the lawyer said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

Note in verse 37 that the Samaritan fulfilled the command of “Love thy neighbor as thyself” when he “showed mercy.” He demonstrated his love. Which do you think God considers more important: what we think and say or what we do? We can prove our love only by our actions.

Would my wife be pleased if every day I said, “I love you,” but every day I also hit her? Our actions show whether we really love someone or not. Attending every worship service is important, but your presence here does not prove to me or to God or to anyone else that you love God, though we sometimes try to fool ourselves into thinking so. God cannot be pleased by formal worship alone, today, any more than He was with the Jews when He said, “I have had enough of your worship,” as in Isaiah 1:11. It is all meaningless unless we love God enough to serve Him.

In Matthew 21:28-30, Jesus said, “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, `Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ He answered and said, `I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. Then the father came to the second and said likewise. And the son answered and said, `I go, sir,’ but he did not go.”

The first son demonstrated his love by his actions. The second son gave lip service without doing anything to please his father. We must be careful or we will think that through our worship services we are serving God, when it may be nothing but lip service from God’s point of view.

We must learn to want to serve God because of our love for Him. Now, a question that deserves an answer is, “Why love God?” Why do you love God? Why should others love God?

Here is the best answer that I can think of. “For God so loved you that He gave His only begotten Son, that if you believe in Him you should not perish but have everlasting life.” In Romans 5:8 we read, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

I love God because He first loved me. He has not merely claimed to love us, but He has proved His love for us. When I recognize the love God has for me, I cannot but respond with love in return.

The most remarkable thing about God’s love is that it is totally unconditional. The Bible teaches me that no matter what I am or what I do in this life, I know that God will love me. I cannot help but respond to this. This sort of love makes me want to serve God. It makes me want to please God. It makes me want to glorify God. I don’t have to be forced to do the things that I should.

The simplest answer to the question I asked at the beginning of the lesson, “Why am I here?” — is that I was created to love. I can find no simpler answer to the search for my purpose for existence. Without love, “I am nothing,” Paul wrote in I Corinthians 13:2.

Now that we have established that love is our purpose for existence, we must learn to love the way we should. Make love your goal. I Corinthians 14:1 says, “Make love your aim.” We must make all other goals of lesser significance in our lives.

“If you love me, keep my commandments,” Jesus tells us in John 14:15. We have likely all been guilty at some point in our lives of trying to keep the commandments as if they were the principle concept in this verse. Jesus is telling us that obedience will be the result of our love. Love will not be the result of our obedience. We prove our love by our actions. But we cannot offer our actions as proof of our love.

When we get the order of things reversed in John 14:15, we get our goals and our rewards confused. If love is our primary goal, then we can’t make going to Heaven our purpose. We must get our perspective straight — Heaven is our reward. Learn to serve God because you love God. Because He loves you.

In Colossians 3:23 & 24 we read, “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.”

Let us mature beyond the idea that we are serving God so that we can go to Heaven. Understand that your goal is different from your reward. Out of love, learn to want to serve God even as if it doesn’t matter whether Heaven exists or not.

To help you understand this better, let me tell you about two choices I have as a physician. I could choose to be like some doctors I know and get my goal and my reward confused. Have you ever been to a doctor like that? When he works primarily because of the reward, he is leaving out the service. This doctor fails to serve his patient because his goal only is to make a buck. Rather than serving patients, he is serving himself. The patient actually becomes a burden, when God meant for this to be a blessing. He has to see patients because his primary goal is to make money. He becomes a slave to his work because he sees it as the only way to get rich. The stress becomes unreal because he can never make enough money to serve that kind of goal.

The alternative is to choose to become the kind of doctor that the Bible indicates God wants me to be. Based on Christian principles, I can make it my goal to serve patients and as a reward I receive payment. I don’t go to work just to make money. You shouldn’t either. Greater happiness is found by going to work in order to serve God by serving others. Trust God to provide the reward.

Now consider the Christian who is serving God with the primary goal of going to Heaven. This might be okay in the early stages of Christian development. But as we mature, we need to recognize that Heaven is merely our reward — a reward which God provides. We will never be good enough to deserve it. We cannot work hard enough to earn it. Because of God’s love, He will reward those who love Him.

We get a taste of this reward even here on earth. In John 10:10, Jesus told us that as His disciples we can have life and have it abundantly. Sometimes it is hard to remember that the abundant life is not sometime in the future or somewhere else; the Biblical attitude is to understand that the abundant life is right here, right now. God promises to bless us today.

If we focus on the purpose for our existence, we will understand that our goal must be to love God and to love others. The Bible makes it very clear that we demonstrate our love for God when we are serving God. I believe the Bible also shows that we serve God only when we are serving others. If you love God, you will be serving others.

In Matthew 4:10, Jesus Christ said, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.” If we are to serve only God, then how can we be serving our fellow man? Because, when we, out of love, serve those in need, we are serving God.

Note a commonly quoted passage from I John 1:7, “If we walk in the light . . .” How do we know if we are in the light? The answer is in I John 2:10, “He who loves his brother abides in the light . . .”

Numerous passages in I John teach us that loving God affects how we love others. Keep in mind that the only God many others will see is the God others see through you. God’s love will be felt by many only through the love they feel from you.

We must love unconditionally if we are going to show others how God loves them. We must have agape love — sacrificial love, self-denying love, submissive love, yielding love. This will truly allow people to see Christ living in us. Do they know we are Christians by our love? If not, we are not loving enough.

Don’t think in any way that I am suggesting that doctrine is not important. Why do we tend to think that to have the kind of love we hope for that we must compromise our doctrine? Why do we tend to think that to have the kind of doctrine we know is necessary that we must suppress our love? Jesus came and showed us how to have perfect love and perfect doctrine, both at the same time.

I challenge us to be a people who strive to love others unconditionally and to uncompromisingly uphold the truths found in the doctrine of the New Testament. Matthew 22:40 indicates that all the doctrine hangs on love. Love cannot be separated from doctrine without destroying them both. Galatians 5:14 teaches us that all God’s commands are fulfilled by love.

Men and women who pursue happiness, without discovering that they exist only to love God and others, find nothing but emptiness. If you have been seeking the wrong goals, there is time to change. Though change can be painful at first, when we seek to glorify, serve, please, and love God, He can provide a peace that surpasses all understanding. Let God fill the void that is in your life.

If you have never surrendered to God’s will, He requires that after you believe that Jesus is who He said He is, you must turn from your sinful ways that lead to destruction. Then you must be buried in water as Jesus was buried in the grave. Then as Christ was raised up without the sin for which He died, so, too, will you become a new creature having God’s forgiveness.

If you have obeyed the Gospel, but now find yourself back in the realm of the lost, remember that God loves you no matter what your sin. He will forgive you if you repent and ask for His forgiveness. He promises we can have an abundant life even before we get to Heaven. The rewards start now. Don’t let another day go by without pleasing your Creator.

“Wow che fede!”

Posted by David on December 31, 1969 under Bulletin Articles

Un ufficiale dell’esercito romano, incontrò Gesù al suo arrivo a Capernaum (Matteo 8:5-13). L’ufficiale aveva un servo paralizzato che soffriva tanto, e chiese a Gesù di guarirlo. Gesù era d’accordo ad andare da lui per sanarlo. L’ufficiale disse: “No” non venire perché sono indegno di farti entrare a casa mia, tutto quello di cui hai bisogno è di dire una parola e il mio servitore sarà guarito. So cosa significa avere autorità, quando io comando ad uno dei miei soldati di far qualcosa egli lo fa.”

Quanto grande è Dio?

Posted by David on under Bulletin Articles

Oh, profondità della ricchezza, della sapienza e della scienza di Dio! Quanto inscrutabili sono i suoi giudizi e ininvestigabili le sue vie! Infatti, chi ha conosciuto il pensiero del Signore? O chi è stato suo consigliere (Isaia 40:13-14)? O chi gli ha dato qualcosa per primo, sì da riceverne il contraccambio (Giobbe 41:11)? Perché da lui, per mezzo di lui e per lui sono tutte le cose. A lui sia la gloria in eterno. Amen.(Romani 11:33-36)

La saggezza umana non può comprendere la profondità della sapienza di Dio, neanche un cristiano può farlo. Gli uomini possono dipendere dalle vie di Dio, ma non possono capirle.

Un uomo o una donna che affermi di comprendere Dio, inganna se stesso/a e di conseguenza gli altri. I farisei erano convinti d’aver capito Dio.

Erano esperti delle scritture (Matteo 23:2,3). Avevano enorme fiducia nella loro intelligenza e conoscenza, e credevano molto nel loro sistema religioso e nelle proprie tradizioni.

Erano così certi d’aver compreso le intenzioni e la volontà di Dio che si permisero di contraddire, castigare, ridicolizzare e cospirare contro Gesù.

Gesù era Dio fatto carne (Giovanni 1:1-5) Se loro erano così esperti nella conoscenza come hanno potuto fallire, nel non riconoscere Dio in carne?

Se erano così conoscitori delle scritture, come hanno potuto fallire nel non riconoscere il Creatore fatto carne?

Se loro avevano conoscenza accurata dei modi di Dio, come hanno potuto fallire nel non riconoscere la mano di Dio, negli insegnamenti e nelle opere di Gesù?

Sorprendentemente, incoraggiarono la morte del figlio di Dio perché erano sicuri di conoscere Dio. Io lo trovo spaventoso e voi? Quanto è grande il Dio che ci ha mandato Gesù?

Grande abbastanza per salvarci con la Sua misericordia, grande abbastanza da sostenerci con la Sua grazia, grande abbastanza da usare il sangue di Gesù per redimerci dai peccati.

Così grande da santificarci nella morte di Gesù, da giustificarci nel sacrificio di Gesù, grande abbastanza da essere sordo di fronte alle accuse mossaci da Satana.

Grande abbastanza per distruggere la nostra colpa. Grande abbastanza da darci la pace in Cristo.

E perché forse comprendiamo la Sua sapienza e conoscenza?

No, è solo perché gli crediamo!