Mat 5:42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
Give.
Mat 10:8 … freely ye have received, freely give.
Mat 19:21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
Mar 9:41 For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.
Mar 10:44 And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.
Mar 10:45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Luk 6:30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.
Luk 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
Give.
Mat 25:35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Mat 25:36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Mat 25:37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
Mat 25:38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Mat 25:39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
Mat 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Rom 12:20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
Rom 12:21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
1Ti 6:17 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
1Ti 6:18 That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;
1Ti 6:19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
1Jn 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
1Jn 3:17 But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
1Jn 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
Love NOT in word.
Love NOT in tongue.
But in DEED and in TRUTH.
We can profess our love all we want. We can talk of our love until our throats are dry and we can scarcely speak another word. We can write of our love until our fingers bleed. We can boast of love until people believe it's all we talk about and can't talk of anything else and guess what? All that talk, all that professing of love means absolutely NOTHING! We can say the words 'I love you' a million times and it's worth NOTHING! We can be the world's utmost authority on love and it will mean NOTHING! We are NOT to talk of love, we are to love.
The saying- 'talk is cheap' is very, very true. Talk means very little if our lives don't reflect what we talk about. We call people liars when they talk and talk and talk but never do any of what they talk about. Liars. When our mouths profess love and our actions say otherwise we are LIARS! Why do people think talking about love is good enough? Why do people think that 'people know I love them' when in truth if you are NEVER loving towards them they know no such thing! People want others to believe the love them just because they say they do. People want others to believe they really care with in truth they are anything but caring towards them. People want others to believe they love them when they hug them and kiss them, and yet do little else for them. The showing of affection while never providing for someone's needs means little- hollow affection- words without substance, actions void of truth.
Loving in deed and truth.
Deed-
G2041
ergon
Thayer Definition:
1) business, employment, that which any one is occupied
1a) that which one undertakes to do, enterprise, undertaking
2) any product whatever, any thing accomplished by hand, art, industry, or mind
3) an act, deed, thing done: the idea of working is emphasised in opp. to that which is less than work
Part of Speech: noun neuter
A Related Word by Thayer’s/Strong’s Number: from a primary (but obsolete) ergo (to work)
Loving in action. Loving in what we DO. Loving in how we live.
Loving in truth- really, really loving as Jesus would have us love, loving as HE loved.
Mar 10:44 And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.
Mar 10:45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Jesus came NOT to be ministered unto, but to minister!
We shall be servants!
Mat 5:42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
Minister- give.
Love in deed- give.
Luk 6:30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.
Give.
We can profess Christ and never be Christ's. Christ will not know those who profess him in word but not in deed, they will be complete strangers to the greatest Giver of all.
One who naturally gives has a gift, a blessing, because so many of us are takers more than givers. Those natural givers have something in common with our Savior in a very special way. Is it any wonder Satan will attack the natural givers so horrifically? Being able to give freely is something very, very special.
Jesus would have us LEARN to give because not everyone is a natural giver. Over and over Jesus is revealing Himself to us in His lessons. We are to treat others as Jesus treated us. We are to reveal Jesus through our lives in all ways, not just on the written page, not just by speaking. Don't get me wrong- some people give of themselves in their words I would never say otherwise but those giving in their words need to live giving. We need to be givers in all aspects of our lives and by the grace of God we will be! By the power of the Holy Spirit we will be givers, we will love in deed and in truth!
Givers.
Because He gave.
In His love!
Friday, April 1, 2011
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Christ Centered
Mat 5:41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
Giving up of self.
Jesus is teaching us, trying to teach us to give up our selfishness. We cling to it so desperately. The world revolves around…us. How could it be any different? Seriously, how can we take ourselves out of the center of our own existence. We've heard often the saying about somebody 'being their whole world'. A mother for a child- that child being the mother's whole world. A husband for a wife- that wife being the center of the husband's whole world. Or we hear that someone's job is their life. Of course we've ALL heard that we need to have a WELL BALANCED life without anyone becoming another's whole world. Well balanced meaning that instead of having your life revolve around anyone's or anything's world you have time for yourself, time for others, time for work, time for play- balance. What does Jesus want us to have? A well balanced life? I don't think so. Seriously, I think Jesus would have us have our life revolve around Him, because ONLY in Him can we find real life, real love. If our Savior is the center of ALL we do we are not in any danger of putting ourselves, anyone else, or anything else before our God. The only way our life is ever really balanced is in Christ. With Christ as the center of our lives then others will come first before ourselves and these words…
Mat 5:41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
… will be understood.
Giving to others. If someone asks you to do something, doing that and more for them without their asking is truly us revealing Christ in us.
Do some people take advantage of those who are *good* to them, knowing they'll give more of themselves than asked? Yes. Can you feel taken advantage of if you are giving from your Christ-centered heart? Seriously? Can you? Doesn't selfishness demand we feel resentful, that we feel taken advantage of when someone truly does take advantage of us? This is why we TURN THE OTHER CHEEK. This is why we go TWO miles when we are only asked to go one. This is Christ, this is selflessness. We can NEVER feel taken advantage of if Christ is our center, never. He wants us to give, give, give even to the undeserving, or those we perceive as undeserving. We can never be deserving of Christ, He gives us undeserved love and forgiveness. We have to live our lives the same way towards others, not questioning whether anyone is deserving of our giving, of our love.
We are NOT the way. We are NOT the truth. We are NOT the life.
Christ is the way, the truth and the life!
These words of Christ are OTHER centered. Jesus came to SAVE us. Jesus' life was OTHER centered- God the Father first and others second. Never was Jesus to teach us to be self centered. Never were we commanded to love only ourselves, never. God and others- this should be our focus. God always first! It's wonderful to be other centered but only if we are God centered first, pulling in others to that center where God lives in us.
Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory
Christ in us!
By His grace!
Amen!
Giving up of self.
Jesus is teaching us, trying to teach us to give up our selfishness. We cling to it so desperately. The world revolves around…us. How could it be any different? Seriously, how can we take ourselves out of the center of our own existence. We've heard often the saying about somebody 'being their whole world'. A mother for a child- that child being the mother's whole world. A husband for a wife- that wife being the center of the husband's whole world. Or we hear that someone's job is their life. Of course we've ALL heard that we need to have a WELL BALANCED life without anyone becoming another's whole world. Well balanced meaning that instead of having your life revolve around anyone's or anything's world you have time for yourself, time for others, time for work, time for play- balance. What does Jesus want us to have? A well balanced life? I don't think so. Seriously, I think Jesus would have us have our life revolve around Him, because ONLY in Him can we find real life, real love. If our Savior is the center of ALL we do we are not in any danger of putting ourselves, anyone else, or anything else before our God. The only way our life is ever really balanced is in Christ. With Christ as the center of our lives then others will come first before ourselves and these words…
Mat 5:41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
… will be understood.
Giving to others. If someone asks you to do something, doing that and more for them without their asking is truly us revealing Christ in us.
Do some people take advantage of those who are *good* to them, knowing they'll give more of themselves than asked? Yes. Can you feel taken advantage of if you are giving from your Christ-centered heart? Seriously? Can you? Doesn't selfishness demand we feel resentful, that we feel taken advantage of when someone truly does take advantage of us? This is why we TURN THE OTHER CHEEK. This is why we go TWO miles when we are only asked to go one. This is Christ, this is selflessness. We can NEVER feel taken advantage of if Christ is our center, never. He wants us to give, give, give even to the undeserving, or those we perceive as undeserving. We can never be deserving of Christ, He gives us undeserved love and forgiveness. We have to live our lives the same way towards others, not questioning whether anyone is deserving of our giving, of our love.
We are NOT the way. We are NOT the truth. We are NOT the life.
Christ is the way, the truth and the life!
These words of Christ are OTHER centered. Jesus came to SAVE us. Jesus' life was OTHER centered- God the Father first and others second. Never was Jesus to teach us to be self centered. Never were we commanded to love only ourselves, never. God and others- this should be our focus. God always first! It's wonderful to be other centered but only if we are God centered first, pulling in others to that center where God lives in us.
Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory
Christ in us!
By His grace!
Amen!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Jesus' love- not our love
Mat 5:40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.
Mat 5:41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
I didn't touch on this so much yesterday but it does need to be touched on especially in our day and age when we think nothing of suing people. It's true, we sue for anything nowadays. We cannot fathom being sued by someone and NOT trying to get away from having to pay them, or trying to get away with paying them the least amount possible. It's always considered a 'good deal', a 'win', when a person gets sued and they don't have to pay a lot of money. You won! You only have to give them a 100 dollars! It could have been much worse, you might have had to pay them 1000 dollars! Do you see the thrill? The thrill is with getting away without having to pay- it doesn't matter if it's due the person or not if we can get away without having to pay much we will and call it wonderful, call it good.
So here is our Savior and He says- if any man sues us and takes our coat- we give him our cloke too. WHAT?! Time to do a double take, right? If we're sued and someone *wins* and gets our coat we are not to only give him our coat but MORE! We are to give more than is rewarded, how can we possibly get our heads around this? Seriously. Being sued is horrible. I wouldn't want to be sued. You know, Jesus doesn't specify whether or not this is a justifiable suing- that we deserve to be sued, but in truth most people never believe they deserve to be sued, they'd rather work things out without involving the justice system. Not all believe that way, there are some that understand things happen - like an accident on their property- and they know they should be sued. Not everyone fights being sued.
There are a lot of different scenarios but the fact is - Jesus simply said if any man sues us.
Does this mean we are to give more to someone who is already taking us for something? Can you imagine being sued and having to pay 1000 dollars and then giving the person suing you 2000 dollars? Giving more, giving perhaps undeservedly. Giving. This does go hand in hand with turning the other cheek it really does and the same principle applies. Compassion. Revealing Christ not revealing ourselves. Our nature is completely selfish. It really is because so often those who do give and think themselves unselfish are even more selfish than the takers because they lament no one appreciating them enough-- SELFISH. We are selfish…are carnal nature will constantly try to rule us and it does a good job. Turning the other cheek, giving more than we are required to someone taking from us, deserved or not, these things are not common.
Jesus is not common.
Jesus wants HIS love to be revealed, love we embrace and let shine through us, not our love, not love that we give in order to get, not love that is corrupted by selfishness. Jesus' love! JESUS' LOVE!
By His grace me His love be revealed through us now and always!
His LOVE, not our love, HIS LOVE!
In Him forever!
Amen.
Mat 5:41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
I didn't touch on this so much yesterday but it does need to be touched on especially in our day and age when we think nothing of suing people. It's true, we sue for anything nowadays. We cannot fathom being sued by someone and NOT trying to get away from having to pay them, or trying to get away with paying them the least amount possible. It's always considered a 'good deal', a 'win', when a person gets sued and they don't have to pay a lot of money. You won! You only have to give them a 100 dollars! It could have been much worse, you might have had to pay them 1000 dollars! Do you see the thrill? The thrill is with getting away without having to pay- it doesn't matter if it's due the person or not if we can get away without having to pay much we will and call it wonderful, call it good.
So here is our Savior and He says- if any man sues us and takes our coat- we give him our cloke too. WHAT?! Time to do a double take, right? If we're sued and someone *wins* and gets our coat we are not to only give him our coat but MORE! We are to give more than is rewarded, how can we possibly get our heads around this? Seriously. Being sued is horrible. I wouldn't want to be sued. You know, Jesus doesn't specify whether or not this is a justifiable suing- that we deserve to be sued, but in truth most people never believe they deserve to be sued, they'd rather work things out without involving the justice system. Not all believe that way, there are some that understand things happen - like an accident on their property- and they know they should be sued. Not everyone fights being sued.
There are a lot of different scenarios but the fact is - Jesus simply said if any man sues us.
Does this mean we are to give more to someone who is already taking us for something? Can you imagine being sued and having to pay 1000 dollars and then giving the person suing you 2000 dollars? Giving more, giving perhaps undeservedly. Giving. This does go hand in hand with turning the other cheek it really does and the same principle applies. Compassion. Revealing Christ not revealing ourselves. Our nature is completely selfish. It really is because so often those who do give and think themselves unselfish are even more selfish than the takers because they lament no one appreciating them enough-- SELFISH. We are selfish…are carnal nature will constantly try to rule us and it does a good job. Turning the other cheek, giving more than we are required to someone taking from us, deserved or not, these things are not common.
Jesus is not common.
Jesus wants HIS love to be revealed, love we embrace and let shine through us, not our love, not love that we give in order to get, not love that is corrupted by selfishness. Jesus' love! JESUS' LOVE!
By His grace me His love be revealed through us now and always!
His LOVE, not our love, HIS LOVE!
In Him forever!
Amen.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Compassion for evil doers
Mat 5:38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
Mat 5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Mat 5:40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.
*******
Exo 21:24 Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
Exo 21:25 Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
Lev 24:20 Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again.
Deu 19:21 And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
*******
It had been said, in fact it was a common practice for criminal matters to be handled this way- an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. If you did something bad to a person and were caught- you paid with a *like* action. It sounds like fairness doesn't it? More than one person would easily say that a person who steals deserves to have their things taken from them, a person who maims another deserves to be maimed, a person who murders deserves to be killed, and so on. It's only fair, right? Those who intentionally hurt others deserve to be hurt- justice needs to be served, vengeance needs to be had.
We've thought it, we've felt it, we've wanted justice, we've wanted others to get their just reward, we're guilty of this - none of us are exempt. Now with that in mind ask yourself this question… did you ever want *more* than justice for some wrong done to you or a loved one of yours? Did you ever want them to suffer more than they really deserved? Did you want that simply because that person had the audacity, the evil in them to commit the evil act? Do we want a person to pay double, triple because they had NO right to do what they did? Do we sometimes want their death even if they did not commit murder- simply because of the horrifying pain they caused? Do we in our finite judgment really believe we have a right to take life from anyone?
I'll be the first to admit that evil, true, real evil exists- that there are people who have embraced evil to its fullest and their lives reflect that. Evil deserves to be wipe out, but we aren't the ones who are to do that wiping out.
We were given an instruction on how to deal with the wrong doing others would inflict upon us and we weren't satisfied with getting just and eye for an eye- we wanted two eyes for one eye. We weren't happy with getting a tooth for a tooth we wanted a whole mouthful of teeth for a single tooth. We couldn't be trusted to err on the side of good because inevitably we would err on the side of evil. Our own evil nature would take over and we don't mete out justice fairly but allow our judgment to be colored by all that makes us who we are. Who hasn't heard about a judge being harsh because he/she was having a bad day? We can try our hardest to be fair and that's a good thing- as far as it goes- but we are very imperfect and the imperfect judging the imperfect is never very good.
Does this mean I think all evil should be simply ignored? No.
But I believe ANY evil person we judge needs to be judged with compassion.
Mat 5:38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
Mat 5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Mat 5:40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.
Those who would hurt us need to get compassion from us- not returned evil. What's this doing? What's this compassion all about? It does what? It REVEALS JESUS.
The salvation each of us can have is given to us freely and totally undeserved. The compassion that is within us through the love of our Savior can be freely given to those undeserving. This is the message we are to hear from these words of our Savior, this is the lesson we need to learn. Not to do unto others as they've done to us, no… but do what our Savior would have us do unto them… reveal undeserved compassion and in doing so we reveal the love of God.
By His amazing love and grace may we seek Him and His wisdom whenever we are in a situation needing compassion over justice or revenge.
In His love!
Mat 5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Mat 5:40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.
*******
Exo 21:24 Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
Exo 21:25 Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
Lev 24:20 Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again.
Deu 19:21 And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
*******
It had been said, in fact it was a common practice for criminal matters to be handled this way- an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. If you did something bad to a person and were caught- you paid with a *like* action. It sounds like fairness doesn't it? More than one person would easily say that a person who steals deserves to have their things taken from them, a person who maims another deserves to be maimed, a person who murders deserves to be killed, and so on. It's only fair, right? Those who intentionally hurt others deserve to be hurt- justice needs to be served, vengeance needs to be had.
We've thought it, we've felt it, we've wanted justice, we've wanted others to get their just reward, we're guilty of this - none of us are exempt. Now with that in mind ask yourself this question… did you ever want *more* than justice for some wrong done to you or a loved one of yours? Did you ever want them to suffer more than they really deserved? Did you want that simply because that person had the audacity, the evil in them to commit the evil act? Do we want a person to pay double, triple because they had NO right to do what they did? Do we sometimes want their death even if they did not commit murder- simply because of the horrifying pain they caused? Do we in our finite judgment really believe we have a right to take life from anyone?
I'll be the first to admit that evil, true, real evil exists- that there are people who have embraced evil to its fullest and their lives reflect that. Evil deserves to be wipe out, but we aren't the ones who are to do that wiping out.
We were given an instruction on how to deal with the wrong doing others would inflict upon us and we weren't satisfied with getting just and eye for an eye- we wanted two eyes for one eye. We weren't happy with getting a tooth for a tooth we wanted a whole mouthful of teeth for a single tooth. We couldn't be trusted to err on the side of good because inevitably we would err on the side of evil. Our own evil nature would take over and we don't mete out justice fairly but allow our judgment to be colored by all that makes us who we are. Who hasn't heard about a judge being harsh because he/she was having a bad day? We can try our hardest to be fair and that's a good thing- as far as it goes- but we are very imperfect and the imperfect judging the imperfect is never very good.
Does this mean I think all evil should be simply ignored? No.
But I believe ANY evil person we judge needs to be judged with compassion.
Mat 5:38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
Mat 5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Mat 5:40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.
Those who would hurt us need to get compassion from us- not returned evil. What's this doing? What's this compassion all about? It does what? It REVEALS JESUS.
The salvation each of us can have is given to us freely and totally undeserved. The compassion that is within us through the love of our Savior can be freely given to those undeserving. This is the message we are to hear from these words of our Savior, this is the lesson we need to learn. Not to do unto others as they've done to us, no… but do what our Savior would have us do unto them… reveal undeserved compassion and in doing so we reveal the love of God.
By His amazing love and grace may we seek Him and His wisdom whenever we are in a situation needing compassion over justice or revenge.
In His love!
Monday, March 28, 2011
Swear not at all
Mat 5:33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
Mat 5:34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:
Mat 5:35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
Mat 5:36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
Mat 5:37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
Let your communication be Yes or No- whatsoever is more than these comes from evil.
When we use 'Maybe', what are we really doing? Seriously, think about it for a moment. We've ALL used the word maybe when someone wanted us to say yes or no, haven't we? Ask a question and someone says maybe… you get that gut feeling their real desire is to say no, but when we want them to say yes, or yes when we want them to say no. Maybe is used when a decision isn't ready to be made and that's not such a bad thing. But this isn't really talking about saying maybe it's talking about swearing an oath. We need to understand something- historians of the day tell us that it was common for people before Christ to swear and oath to someone but NOT feel obligated to truly keep that oath believing that God would understand the reasoning- the performing unto the Lord the oaths and NOT the people to whom you've made them was a way to appease the guilt of not keeping your word- and THIS wasn't right. Just as God allowed people to divorce for petty reasons until Jesus came to set them free with the truth because of the people heart hardness- people were allowed to appease their guilt of being unable to complete an oath by claiming God's understanding.
No more! This would be allowed NO longer! People who were genuine in their needing God's help, God's forgiveness when they failed to keep an oath were overshadowed by those abusing the situation. How easy it became for them to make an oath and then know that they NEVER really had to keep that oath- they LIED. Just as people used the allowable reason for divorce and abused that reason, they abused this too.
No reason was good enough to lie! No reason was good enough to make an oath and then NOT keep it! People have DIED to stand by their oaths, but for some reason others think absolutely nothing of lying to a person. Some think nothing of making an oath all the while they know even as they are making that oath that they won't keep it. LIARS!
God cannot abide a liar, and is it any wonder???
Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
The devil is a LIAR. The devil is the Father of LYING!
Is it any wonder Jesus said this--
Mat 5:34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:
Mat 5:35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
Mat 5:36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
Mat 5:37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
Swear NOT at all.
Swear by NOTHING!
Don't even swear by yourself, not even a HAIR on your head!
If you don't swear - if you don't make any oaths- if you don't make any promises especially if you don't know if you can keep them- then you won't be lying. An oath, a promise, is important. We are NOT to make any oath lightly. In the third commandment God states we are not to take His name in vain. We do take it in vain when we swear by God, when we perform our oaths to God while lying to others. Jesus would have us understand that sin separates us from Him. Lies separate us from God. Every time we lie we sin. People don't want to believe that, they just plain don't want to believe that it's true. They love their lying, they love their cherished white lies, they love the ease with which they can tell untruths and deceive others and they pacify themselves by telling themselves that it isn't hurting anyone. Wrong. It hurts God. It hurts us and we don't even realize it because we don't feel physical pain when we lie. We don't feel physical pain when we are being separated from God. If we felt the pain we wouldn't believe that lying hurts no one. Spiritual pain, agonizing spiritual pain… if we could only realize. God realizes, God knows. Jesus knows and anything that separates us from Him is not acceptable to Him. Love, this is love- God and God with us.
By His grace may we keep from swearing any oaths. By His grace may we keep from lying. By His love now and forever and ever!
Amen.
Mat 5:34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:
Mat 5:35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
Mat 5:36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
Mat 5:37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
Let your communication be Yes or No- whatsoever is more than these comes from evil.
When we use 'Maybe', what are we really doing? Seriously, think about it for a moment. We've ALL used the word maybe when someone wanted us to say yes or no, haven't we? Ask a question and someone says maybe… you get that gut feeling their real desire is to say no, but when we want them to say yes, or yes when we want them to say no. Maybe is used when a decision isn't ready to be made and that's not such a bad thing. But this isn't really talking about saying maybe it's talking about swearing an oath. We need to understand something- historians of the day tell us that it was common for people before Christ to swear and oath to someone but NOT feel obligated to truly keep that oath believing that God would understand the reasoning- the performing unto the Lord the oaths and NOT the people to whom you've made them was a way to appease the guilt of not keeping your word- and THIS wasn't right. Just as God allowed people to divorce for petty reasons until Jesus came to set them free with the truth because of the people heart hardness- people were allowed to appease their guilt of being unable to complete an oath by claiming God's understanding.
No more! This would be allowed NO longer! People who were genuine in their needing God's help, God's forgiveness when they failed to keep an oath were overshadowed by those abusing the situation. How easy it became for them to make an oath and then know that they NEVER really had to keep that oath- they LIED. Just as people used the allowable reason for divorce and abused that reason, they abused this too.
No reason was good enough to lie! No reason was good enough to make an oath and then NOT keep it! People have DIED to stand by their oaths, but for some reason others think absolutely nothing of lying to a person. Some think nothing of making an oath all the while they know even as they are making that oath that they won't keep it. LIARS!
God cannot abide a liar, and is it any wonder???
Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
The devil is a LIAR. The devil is the Father of LYING!
Is it any wonder Jesus said this--
Mat 5:34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:
Mat 5:35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
Mat 5:36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
Mat 5:37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
Swear NOT at all.
Swear by NOTHING!
Don't even swear by yourself, not even a HAIR on your head!
If you don't swear - if you don't make any oaths- if you don't make any promises especially if you don't know if you can keep them- then you won't be lying. An oath, a promise, is important. We are NOT to make any oath lightly. In the third commandment God states we are not to take His name in vain. We do take it in vain when we swear by God, when we perform our oaths to God while lying to others. Jesus would have us understand that sin separates us from Him. Lies separate us from God. Every time we lie we sin. People don't want to believe that, they just plain don't want to believe that it's true. They love their lying, they love their cherished white lies, they love the ease with which they can tell untruths and deceive others and they pacify themselves by telling themselves that it isn't hurting anyone. Wrong. It hurts God. It hurts us and we don't even realize it because we don't feel physical pain when we lie. We don't feel physical pain when we are being separated from God. If we felt the pain we wouldn't believe that lying hurts no one. Spiritual pain, agonizing spiritual pain… if we could only realize. God realizes, God knows. Jesus knows and anything that separates us from Him is not acceptable to Him. Love, this is love- God and God with us.
By His grace may we keep from swearing any oaths. By His grace may we keep from lying. By His love now and forever and ever!
Amen.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Two As One
Mat 5:31 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:
Mat 5:32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
The cause of fornication.
Fornication-
FORNICA'TION, n. [L. fornicatio.]
1. The incontinence or lewdness of unmarried persons, male or female; also, the criminal conversation of a married man with an unmarried woman.
2. Adultery. Mat 5.
3. Incest. 1 Cor 5.
4. Idolatry; a forsaking of the true God, and worshipping of idols. 2 Chr 21. Rev 19.
*******
Save for the cause of fornication. If a married man or woman commits adultery then they may be divorced- but other than this there is NO cause for divorce. Simple NOT enjoying the company of your married partner any longer is not a reason for divorce. Let's read the OLD law of divorcement-
Deu 24:1 When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.
Deu 24:2 And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man's wife.
Deu 24:3 And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife;
Deu 24:4 Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the LORD: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
Some uncleanness- the world here for uncleanness is…
From H6168; nudity, literally (especially the pudenda) or figuratively (disgrace, blemish): - nakedness, shame, unclean (-ness).
1. pudendaplural of pu·den·dum
Noun: A person's external genitals, esp. a woman's
If a husband found uncleanness in his wife- obviously it can't be nakedness because a husband and wife are allowed this privilege- so figuratively if they found some disgrace, some blemish the man could divorce his wife. This left it open to so many possibilities for divorce. A blemish… can you even imagine. A woman gets a freckle that the husband doesn't like- he could divorce her! You know that's not much different than it is today. We can divorce a person for any reason we like- we just have to say we're incompatible and what exactly does that mean? It means we just don't get along with each other any more. That could be ONE person not getting along with the other even if the other does everything in their power to please them. We have NO real binding contract any more, none whatsoever. And guess what, they didn't in the Old Testament times, the times before Christ, either. Is it any wonder at all that Jesus once again explained the TRUE meaning of God's word? This all goes so much deeper than just marriage between a man and a woman. This symbolizes God and His church, God and His people!
Jer 3:8 And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.
God's people committed adultery! God's people can choose to worship other gods and when they do they are committing adultery! There is NO way God would frivolously divorce His people, no way!!! This was a SERIOUS offense. To believe that God would use fickleness as a reason to divorce His people is to misunderstand God completely! Is it any wonder we as married people should NEVER divorce save for adultery? If we believe it's fine to divorce each other for any little reason, then we have to believe it's fine for God to divorce Himself from us for any little reason.
Let's read more...
Mar 10:2 And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him.
Mar 10:3 And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you?
Mar 10:4 And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away.
Mar 10:5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.
Mar 10:6 But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.
Mar 10:7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;
Mar 10:8 And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.
Mar 10:9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
For the hardness of your heart- this was the reason that they had been allowed to divorce so frivolously because they didn't have their hearts right! There hearts were hard, and a hard heart is a heart that isn't fully open to our Savior's love. When we harden our hearts we are pushing God out of our lives.
These words- hardness of your heart- means this:
sklērokardia
sklay-rok-ar-dee'-ah
Feminine of a compound of G4642 and G2588; hard heartedness, that is, (specifically) destitution of (spiritual) perception: - hardness of heart.
Destitute of spiritual perception! Being UNABLE to perceive GOD! People hardened their hearts and in doing so they can no longer perceive God's love! Unable to perceive God in His full truth God allowed the people to have their way to because they were too HARD hearted to perceive what marriage between a man and woman really meant.
No longer would our Savior accept a hard heart- no longer would divorce for frivolous reasons be allowed.
From the beginning God made man and woman- a pair that would procreate, a pair that would stay together as one, a pair that would LEAVE their parents to join with one another. Two that would become ONE joined by GOD. A spiritual joining that if God joins NO man can separate.
The idea that we can be separated from God is very frightening! Separated from our Creator, our Redeemer, our Sustainer! Loving God- longing to be ONE with God through the grace of our Lord and Savior who makes the ONENESS possible (makes ATONEMENT for us), this is LIFE. We only have real LIFE in our God, in our Savior, in the Holy Spirit!
Is it any wonder at all that God wants married couples to stay together as one?!
If God's people separate themselves from God they are committing spiritual adultery.
If a man or a woman separates themselves from their husband or wife by taking ANOTHER husband or wife, they are committing adultery.
Separation- something together coming apart. Something that is two becoming one and then becoming two once again.
We don't ever want to be separated from God!
And we should never want to be separated from our marriage partner.
Yes, divorce is allowed when there is fornication, why? Because God will NOT join with a people who have separated themselves from Him and gone with other gods. God does not force people to stay with Him. People are allowed to choose to separate themselves from Him, Satan chose to separated Himself from God. The price that is paid for those who choose to apostatize from their Creator, their Sustainer, their Redeemer, their God is very high- eternal death, it will be as if you never were. Why? Because the truth is, we CANNOT survive eternally without God, it's just not possible. We can try all we want to come up with our own plan to be saved and live eternally but nothing we do will work, nothing. We cannot LIVE without God. People think they can because they really believe this life here and now is real living, they don't understand this is just a stepping stone. This isn't REAL life, we are living under the weight of sin, suffocating under sin and people call this life. Life is in Jesus! Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Mat 5:31 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:
Mat 5:32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
By the grace of God may we never leave our Savior, may we NEVER leave our God, may we stay true to Him now and always!
In Him always and forever!
Amen.
Mat 5:32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
The cause of fornication.
Fornication-
FORNICA'TION, n. [L. fornicatio.]
1. The incontinence or lewdness of unmarried persons, male or female; also, the criminal conversation of a married man with an unmarried woman.
2. Adultery. Mat 5.
3. Incest. 1 Cor 5.
4. Idolatry; a forsaking of the true God, and worshipping of idols. 2 Chr 21. Rev 19.
*******
Save for the cause of fornication. If a married man or woman commits adultery then they may be divorced- but other than this there is NO cause for divorce. Simple NOT enjoying the company of your married partner any longer is not a reason for divorce. Let's read the OLD law of divorcement-
Deu 24:1 When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.
Deu 24:2 And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man's wife.
Deu 24:3 And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife;
Deu 24:4 Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the LORD: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
Some uncleanness- the world here for uncleanness is…
From H6168; nudity, literally (especially the pudenda) or figuratively (disgrace, blemish): - nakedness, shame, unclean (-ness).
1. pudendaplural of pu·den·dum
Noun: A person's external genitals, esp. a woman's
If a husband found uncleanness in his wife- obviously it can't be nakedness because a husband and wife are allowed this privilege- so figuratively if they found some disgrace, some blemish the man could divorce his wife. This left it open to so many possibilities for divorce. A blemish… can you even imagine. A woman gets a freckle that the husband doesn't like- he could divorce her! You know that's not much different than it is today. We can divorce a person for any reason we like- we just have to say we're incompatible and what exactly does that mean? It means we just don't get along with each other any more. That could be ONE person not getting along with the other even if the other does everything in their power to please them. We have NO real binding contract any more, none whatsoever. And guess what, they didn't in the Old Testament times, the times before Christ, either. Is it any wonder at all that Jesus once again explained the TRUE meaning of God's word? This all goes so much deeper than just marriage between a man and a woman. This symbolizes God and His church, God and His people!
Jer 3:8 And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.
God's people committed adultery! God's people can choose to worship other gods and when they do they are committing adultery! There is NO way God would frivolously divorce His people, no way!!! This was a SERIOUS offense. To believe that God would use fickleness as a reason to divorce His people is to misunderstand God completely! Is it any wonder we as married people should NEVER divorce save for adultery? If we believe it's fine to divorce each other for any little reason, then we have to believe it's fine for God to divorce Himself from us for any little reason.
Let's read more...
Mar 10:2 And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him.
Mar 10:3 And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you?
Mar 10:4 And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away.
Mar 10:5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.
Mar 10:6 But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.
Mar 10:7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;
Mar 10:8 And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.
Mar 10:9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
For the hardness of your heart- this was the reason that they had been allowed to divorce so frivolously because they didn't have their hearts right! There hearts were hard, and a hard heart is a heart that isn't fully open to our Savior's love. When we harden our hearts we are pushing God out of our lives.
These words- hardness of your heart- means this:
sklērokardia
sklay-rok-ar-dee'-ah
Feminine of a compound of G4642 and G2588; hard heartedness, that is, (specifically) destitution of (spiritual) perception: - hardness of heart.
Destitute of spiritual perception! Being UNABLE to perceive GOD! People hardened their hearts and in doing so they can no longer perceive God's love! Unable to perceive God in His full truth God allowed the people to have their way to because they were too HARD hearted to perceive what marriage between a man and woman really meant.
No longer would our Savior accept a hard heart- no longer would divorce for frivolous reasons be allowed.
From the beginning God made man and woman- a pair that would procreate, a pair that would stay together as one, a pair that would LEAVE their parents to join with one another. Two that would become ONE joined by GOD. A spiritual joining that if God joins NO man can separate.
The idea that we can be separated from God is very frightening! Separated from our Creator, our Redeemer, our Sustainer! Loving God- longing to be ONE with God through the grace of our Lord and Savior who makes the ONENESS possible (makes ATONEMENT for us), this is LIFE. We only have real LIFE in our God, in our Savior, in the Holy Spirit!
Is it any wonder at all that God wants married couples to stay together as one?!
If God's people separate themselves from God they are committing spiritual adultery.
If a man or a woman separates themselves from their husband or wife by taking ANOTHER husband or wife, they are committing adultery.
Separation- something together coming apart. Something that is two becoming one and then becoming two once again.
We don't ever want to be separated from God!
And we should never want to be separated from our marriage partner.
Yes, divorce is allowed when there is fornication, why? Because God will NOT join with a people who have separated themselves from Him and gone with other gods. God does not force people to stay with Him. People are allowed to choose to separate themselves from Him, Satan chose to separated Himself from God. The price that is paid for those who choose to apostatize from their Creator, their Sustainer, their Redeemer, their God is very high- eternal death, it will be as if you never were. Why? Because the truth is, we CANNOT survive eternally without God, it's just not possible. We can try all we want to come up with our own plan to be saved and live eternally but nothing we do will work, nothing. We cannot LIVE without God. People think they can because they really believe this life here and now is real living, they don't understand this is just a stepping stone. This isn't REAL life, we are living under the weight of sin, suffocating under sin and people call this life. Life is in Jesus! Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Mat 5:31 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:
Mat 5:32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
By the grace of God may we never leave our Savior, may we NEVER leave our God, may we stay true to Him now and always!
In Him always and forever!
Amen.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Horror of Sin
Mat 5:29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
Mat 5:30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
Do you think for ONE moment that plucking out an eye or cutting off a hand would stop a sinner from sinning? Seriously. How wondrous it would be to think that all we had to do was sacrifice and eye and we would no longer sin through the things we look on to lust for. And our hand, is it truly the hand that is sinning? Think about it. If we could lose a hand and gain salvation why we'd have whole churches filled with one-handed, one-eyed people guaranteed salvation. Sin is in our hearts and we can't pluck or cut those out.
Jesus knew that the actuality of us plucking out our eyes and chopping off our hands wasn't what He was trying to teach us. Using such GRAPHIC depictions allows us to realize just how important it is that we don't accept sin in any form in our lives. We cannot condone sin. It's better for us to do all we can not to sin, to rid our hearts of sin through Him than it is to die eternally. It's better for us to SUFFER the agonies of denying ourselves our sinful desires than to burn in the lake of fire.
Remember our study on Hell? Maybe not, let's just recap a bit of it…
We talk of hell and there are different meanings for that word throughout our Bibles. Geenna is one of those words--and the particular word used here in Matthew 5:29,30
G1067
γέεννα
geenna
Thayer Definition:
1) Hell is the place of the future punishment call “Gehenna” or “Gehenna of fire”. This was originally the valley of Hinnom, south of Jerusalem, where the filth and dead animals of the city were cast out and burned; a fit symbol of the wicked and their future destruction.
Originally the valley of Hinnom- a place that had a fire continually burning to burn the constant refuse brought to be destroyed- much like a garbage dump only this dump destroyed the garbage turning it into ash rather than let the garbage just simply accumulate. The fire there in the valley never went out - day and night it burned having a constant, steady stream of refuse to feed it.
Using this word for hell here in Matthew 5:29,30 refers to the body being cast in the 'lake of fire' the lake of permanent punishment that all wicked will be burned in.
Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Obviously Jesus is telling us that it's better to SUFFER whatever we need to suffer in order not to sin than to give into sin and make it part of our lives- accepting sin, indulging in the perversities of sinning rather that risk being among the wicked not found in the book of life.
THESE are Jesus' words! These aren't my words! I'm not telling you it's better to pluck out your own eye, or cut off your hand than be burned to the point of total annihilation in the lake of fire reserved for the wicked.
I can already hear the cries- WE CAN'T SAVE OURSELVES! You're telling us by our actions we are saved! You're telling us if we don't sin then we are saved! You're telling us if we mortify the flesh we have salvation! It's not me, it's not my words, it's the word of Inspiration! It's the word of GOD!
Col 3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
Col 3:6 For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
Col 3:7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.
Col 3:8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
Col 3:9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
Col 3:10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him
Rom 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Don't you see? It's better for US to realize that we are NOT the same people after we accept Christ as our Savior. We have HIM on our side. We have the Holy Spirit to lead us! We HAVE to put off sinning. We HAVE to mortify our members. We HAVE to mortify the deed of the body. We have to live after the Spirit, not the flesh at all costs! And don't make the mistake of thinking that it's not hard, or that you must not be right with God if it's hard. Such a HUGE mistake. Jesus is telling us to CUT OFF OUR HANDS! Jesus is telling us to PLUCK OUT OUR EYES! Just for one moment imagine doing it…go on, IMAGINE IT!
Visualize yourself bringing your hand up to your face, your thumb and forefinger heading towards your eye… touching your eye…pressing inwards… are you shuddering at the thought yet? Can you truly imagine plucking your own eye out? How about raising a butcher knife over your wrist getting ready to slam it down and hack your own hand off? SICK! Disgusting! Horrifying thoughts! We NEED to understand how horrific sin is. You and I will suffer when we war against the cherished sins in our lives. You and I will agonize over the hold sin has on us as we weep at the feet of our Savior begging forgiveness. We must constantly seek forgiveness and we must constantly place our salvation in the hands of our Savior who alone has the power to save us. We must never forget the horror of sin and Satan would have us do just that, Satan wants us to trivialize sin and make it of little consequence. We can't do that, we mustn't do that! We have to recognize sin and fight it, mortify our flesh, resisting sin, striving unto blood against sin!
Heb 12:4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
Never minimalize sin, never ever think that it is of no importance, it is sin that brings eternal death, it is sin that reserves for us a place in the lake of fire, it is sin that will make us as if we never were one day, it is sin that killed our innocent Savior!
Jesus was talking to a group of people who had a sacrificial system in place- they knew all about sin and what they needed to do to find atonement - to be one with God again. They had daily sacrifices, yearly sacrifices- they knew that sin cost the life of an animal that symbolized the coming Messiah. They knew blood had to be shed for the remission of sins. These people understood, but they'd grown complacent, they'd become immune to the horrors of sinning. This had become a way of life for them- they sin- they sought forgiveness through a sacrifice the priests made for them. Sin had lost a lot of it's horror, much as it has today for so many people - in fact for the majority of people.
Here Jesus was teaching that what they knew to be sin was even more sinful than they'd imagined, that their thoughts could be sin, that their hearts could be corrupted by sin and that sin was so horrific they needed to understand that it would be better to maim themselves than sin and warrant everlasting destruction. And we understand just as our Savior wanted us to understand that to rip out our own eyes, to cut off our own hands are very graphic reminders of the horrors of sinning going unchecked within us.
By His grace through the Holy Spirit may we keep from sinning, may we be found in the Book of Life! In His amazing love now and forever!
Amen.
Mat 5:30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
Do you think for ONE moment that plucking out an eye or cutting off a hand would stop a sinner from sinning? Seriously. How wondrous it would be to think that all we had to do was sacrifice and eye and we would no longer sin through the things we look on to lust for. And our hand, is it truly the hand that is sinning? Think about it. If we could lose a hand and gain salvation why we'd have whole churches filled with one-handed, one-eyed people guaranteed salvation. Sin is in our hearts and we can't pluck or cut those out.
Jesus knew that the actuality of us plucking out our eyes and chopping off our hands wasn't what He was trying to teach us. Using such GRAPHIC depictions allows us to realize just how important it is that we don't accept sin in any form in our lives. We cannot condone sin. It's better for us to do all we can not to sin, to rid our hearts of sin through Him than it is to die eternally. It's better for us to SUFFER the agonies of denying ourselves our sinful desires than to burn in the lake of fire.
Remember our study on Hell? Maybe not, let's just recap a bit of it…
We talk of hell and there are different meanings for that word throughout our Bibles. Geenna is one of those words--and the particular word used here in Matthew 5:29,30
G1067
γέεννα
geenna
Thayer Definition:
1) Hell is the place of the future punishment call “Gehenna” or “Gehenna of fire”. This was originally the valley of Hinnom, south of Jerusalem, where the filth and dead animals of the city were cast out and burned; a fit symbol of the wicked and their future destruction.
Originally the valley of Hinnom- a place that had a fire continually burning to burn the constant refuse brought to be destroyed- much like a garbage dump only this dump destroyed the garbage turning it into ash rather than let the garbage just simply accumulate. The fire there in the valley never went out - day and night it burned having a constant, steady stream of refuse to feed it.
Using this word for hell here in Matthew 5:29,30 refers to the body being cast in the 'lake of fire' the lake of permanent punishment that all wicked will be burned in.
Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Obviously Jesus is telling us that it's better to SUFFER whatever we need to suffer in order not to sin than to give into sin and make it part of our lives- accepting sin, indulging in the perversities of sinning rather that risk being among the wicked not found in the book of life.
THESE are Jesus' words! These aren't my words! I'm not telling you it's better to pluck out your own eye, or cut off your hand than be burned to the point of total annihilation in the lake of fire reserved for the wicked.
I can already hear the cries- WE CAN'T SAVE OURSELVES! You're telling us by our actions we are saved! You're telling us if we don't sin then we are saved! You're telling us if we mortify the flesh we have salvation! It's not me, it's not my words, it's the word of Inspiration! It's the word of GOD!
Col 3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
Col 3:6 For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
Col 3:7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.
Col 3:8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
Col 3:9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
Col 3:10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him
Rom 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Don't you see? It's better for US to realize that we are NOT the same people after we accept Christ as our Savior. We have HIM on our side. We have the Holy Spirit to lead us! We HAVE to put off sinning. We HAVE to mortify our members. We HAVE to mortify the deed of the body. We have to live after the Spirit, not the flesh at all costs! And don't make the mistake of thinking that it's not hard, or that you must not be right with God if it's hard. Such a HUGE mistake. Jesus is telling us to CUT OFF OUR HANDS! Jesus is telling us to PLUCK OUT OUR EYES! Just for one moment imagine doing it…go on, IMAGINE IT!
Visualize yourself bringing your hand up to your face, your thumb and forefinger heading towards your eye… touching your eye…pressing inwards… are you shuddering at the thought yet? Can you truly imagine plucking your own eye out? How about raising a butcher knife over your wrist getting ready to slam it down and hack your own hand off? SICK! Disgusting! Horrifying thoughts! We NEED to understand how horrific sin is. You and I will suffer when we war against the cherished sins in our lives. You and I will agonize over the hold sin has on us as we weep at the feet of our Savior begging forgiveness. We must constantly seek forgiveness and we must constantly place our salvation in the hands of our Savior who alone has the power to save us. We must never forget the horror of sin and Satan would have us do just that, Satan wants us to trivialize sin and make it of little consequence. We can't do that, we mustn't do that! We have to recognize sin and fight it, mortify our flesh, resisting sin, striving unto blood against sin!
Heb 12:4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
Never minimalize sin, never ever think that it is of no importance, it is sin that brings eternal death, it is sin that reserves for us a place in the lake of fire, it is sin that will make us as if we never were one day, it is sin that killed our innocent Savior!
Jesus was talking to a group of people who had a sacrificial system in place- they knew all about sin and what they needed to do to find atonement - to be one with God again. They had daily sacrifices, yearly sacrifices- they knew that sin cost the life of an animal that symbolized the coming Messiah. They knew blood had to be shed for the remission of sins. These people understood, but they'd grown complacent, they'd become immune to the horrors of sinning. This had become a way of life for them- they sin- they sought forgiveness through a sacrifice the priests made for them. Sin had lost a lot of it's horror, much as it has today for so many people - in fact for the majority of people.
Here Jesus was teaching that what they knew to be sin was even more sinful than they'd imagined, that their thoughts could be sin, that their hearts could be corrupted by sin and that sin was so horrific they needed to understand that it would be better to maim themselves than sin and warrant everlasting destruction. And we understand just as our Savior wanted us to understand that to rip out our own eyes, to cut off our own hands are very graphic reminders of the horrors of sinning going unchecked within us.
By His grace through the Holy Spirit may we keep from sinning, may we be found in the Book of Life! In His amazing love now and forever!
Amen.
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