Tag Archives: Matthew

An answer to an email: Giving to the Lord

Posted on June 22, 2015 by | Comments Off on An answer to an email: Giving to the Lord

givingGiving to the Lord has been an issue for many Christians. Often confused by the ridicule of the lost world and those Christians who have made giving to the Lord a part of some legalistic doctrine, it has become a subject that makes many feel uncomfortable. This morning, as I was going through my emails, I had someone send me an email asking what I believe about giving to the Lord.  Now, in all honesty, I have never been to seminary. I have come to the understanding of giving, tithes, and offerings on my own personal Bible studies, from the writings of Charles Spurgeon, John Wesley, Andrew Bonar, and the sermons of a handful of other Christian leaders. I will also share that I always did not have this understanding of what giving means for the Christian.

We are saved by God’s grace

Before I share what I have come to understand about giving, it is important to understand what salvation means. The Bible records a conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus: Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? (John 3:4). Jesus answered that question in the simplest way possible so that the meaning would be perfectly clear: Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again (John 3:5-7). Jesus also taught what is at the heart of man’s salvation: And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God (John 3:14-18).

Ssalvation is truly that simple as the Bible bears witness. Even the apostles understood the simplicity of the message taught by Jesus: the apostle Paul wrote, That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved (Romans 10:9) and For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). We must come to the place where we realize that we, personally, are in need of a savior because of sin. On our own, we are sinners. The apostle Paul wrote, For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) and he is absolutely right. All it takes is to watch the evening news to see the condition of man’s heart. What are we saved from? We are saved from what the Bible calls the wrath of God. We are saved from final judgment through our faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ; for He alone has made the atonement for our sins.

There are those that believe that there must be some great work or deed that also plays a part within salvation. Salvation is not dependent upon our works and too many times people get confused by the role of works in our faith. James wrote,  Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works (James 2:17-18). While they claim this proves the concept of works for salvation, they often neglect the rest of the passage: Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only (James 2:21-24). Throughout this chapter in James, he is teaching us a very important concept – our faith should cause within us a desire to do things for the Lord. We do them not as a part of our salvation but because of our salvation. He uses the teachings of Abraham; what allowed Abraham to offer his son, Issac, to the Lord upon the altar? His faith in God and his belief in God’s promise: And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him (Genesis 18:10) and  And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? (Genesis 18: 17-18). By Abraham’s faith, knowing God would keep His promise, he knew that if he sacrificed Issac at the request of God, God would still make a provision to fulfill the promise given! It was this demonstration of Abraham’s faith in the Lord at work.

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Posted in Christian Living, Discipleship, My Walk, Our relationship with God

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Reach out and make a difference

Posted on June 1, 2015 by | Comments Off on Reach out and make a difference

How-To-ListenReach out and make a difference – it seems what so many more people need today is to have some one reach out to them and to show genuine compassion. In our high-tech world of smart phones, wifi, Facebook, and instant messaging, it seems as if more and more people are losing the ability to communicate and to interact with others on a more personal level. A while back ago, I read an article about some relationship trends developing as a result of technology. Dating relationships, engagements, and even marriages ending through text messages and even Facebook posts and not a personal and more private conversation between two people. As technology creates opportunities to share information , many people are being left emotionally dry, isolated, and alone.

And of some, have compassion…

Within the book of Jude there is a short verse that has begun to take on a new meaning for me: And of some have compassion, making a difference (Jude 22). There’s a lot of truth within this verse if we look beyond the words. We all have had times in our lives where someone showed us compassion and it was their selfless act that did make a difference in our life. Whether it was a heartache, a spiritual battle, an illness, or even just feeling a little down, we have all found ourselves lifted up by others – maybe a coworker, a family member, or a friend. Somebody felt the need to reach out and make a difference in our lives at that moment.

I often use the converse theory used in math to study Bible verses in my personal study. If we take the converse of this verse, it becomes: and most have no compassion, making no difference. Unfortunately, we all have also experienced the times in our life where there was no one that seemed to care. No one moved to show us compassion at a time when we felt that our circumstances would overwhelm us. As Christians, we knew at that time that God was with us but we also desired to have someone to put their arm around us and to comfort us as we faced our trials and difficulties alone. People we thought were friends and who cared simply were too busy with their own lives or simply didn’t notice or want to be bothered with what we were going through. In any case, what we needed was for someone to show us compassion and to desire to make a difference in our lives.

Jesus taught about compassion

Compassion towards others should be a part of our new nature in Jesus. We should now have a desire to reach out to others because of our love for the Lord. Jesus taught: Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:  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:  Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?  Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 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 (Matthew 25:34-40). What Jesus was teaching in this passage was that compassion is a trait that defines the true believer. Those that did the things that Jesus mentioned, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and visiting those in prison, were welcomed into His eternal presence. Jesus also plainly teaches: Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal (Matthew 25:44-46).

Compassion comes from people

We live in a modern society that has forgotten that regardless of what government programs or community organizations exist, there is no replacing God’s plan when it comes to how we treat others. While government social services agencies and organizations may be able to feed the body, they cannot save the soul. When Christians show compassion to others we are actually setting up an opportunity to share Jesus with others. Peter wrote: But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear (1 Peter 3:15) and when this is our attitude while we are being compassionate towards others, we stand ready to give an account of why we can selflessly give of ourselves. We can be as David wrote in Psalms, I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed (Psalms 119:46) and what Paul wrote to the early Christians in Colossus, Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man (Colossians 3:16). When we reach out to others we are setting up opportunities to share in our faith. Others are more apt to listen to us because they will see it is our faith that compels us to reach out beyond ourselves and to show compassion to others.

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An alert watchman or passive bystander

Posted on April 13, 2015 by | Comments Off on An alert watchman or passive bystander

Chemical-Warning-Signs---Industrial-42948BBHPLY2WY-lgAre you an alert watchman or a passive bystander? That seems like a straight-forward question that deserves an honest answer but seldom will we give it when it comes to our sharing the gospel message. There’s very few of us who walk past a burning house without making sure that those who lived in the house were safe from the danger of the smoke and flames. None of us would walk past a burning car with people trapped inside without trying to get them out. Yet when it comes to having the most important conversation we can ever have with someone, many of us become passive bystanders.

An alert watchman

There’s a very telling passage of scripture within Ezekiel: Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul (Ezekiel 3:17-21). Although the Lord is revealing this to His prophet Ezekiel and his responsibility to the Hebrew people, there is a moral application that can be applied to Christians. 

Ezekiel was warned by God that because he was aware of the dangers facing Israel, he had a moral and spiritual obligation to sound the warning cry. Once the warning cry had been sounded, it was up to those that heard it to either heed the warning or to ignore it. Ezekiel’s obligation ended at sounding the warning; if he chose not to sound the warning, then anyone who died and was unrepentant of their sin, then Ezekiel would bear that responsibility. He would be held accountable by a holy and righteous God for not warning about His judgment and coming wrath. It was for this reason that Jonah spent three nights in the belly of the whale – God had given him instructions to warn those who lived in Nineveh; Jonah initially refused to sound the warning. He was content to be a passive bystander and content to watch God’s wrath and judgment poured out on people whom he (Jonah) had judged to be unworthy of God’s love and salvation.

Christians are to be alert watchmen

Within the gospels, as I shared often within this blog, Jesus gave Christians the responsibility to extend the gospel message. The book of Mark clearly defines our responsibility: And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned (Mark 16:14-16). In the book of Matthew, it states: Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen (Matthew 28:19-20). In the book of Acts, we see that this commandment and responsibility is further defined by Jesus: And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 8:7-8). There is a clear teaching here – not only is it a commandment from Jesus for us to share the gospel, there is a moral obligation for us to share the gospel. God planned for each Christian to be an alert watchman, warning about the reality of hell and the importance of accepting Him as Lord and Savior.

In our modern society, we see various warnings all the time. Today’s image is one commonly seen near places where flammable liquids are often stored. The court system within our nation have upheld laws passed by all levels of government requiring places where flammable chemicals are stored to bear these warning signs. Similar legislation requires restaurants and stores to warn customers about wet floors. There are even local ordinances that require those who are on oxygen to hang a warning sign on the doors of their home warning visitors that oxygen, an extremely explosive gas, is being used within the home. If we, by legal obligation, most warn people of the physical dangers that await them, then why do we become hesitant to warn people of the judgment and wrath to come? Why do we become spiritual passive bystanders who seem indifferent to lost people who are facing the greatest spiritual danger – condemnation to eternal punishment in the Lake of Fire.

I cannot think of anything more sad than me, as a Christian, not taking the time to share the most important thing we can ever share – our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ – with those people we say we love and care about. Just as we would warn them if their house were on fire, we should, without any reservation, be willing to approach them in love and share the gospel message with them. There is no other conversation we can have with them that literally has the power to free them from the bondage of sin, that has the potential to change their eternal destination, and to truly be able to enjoy a more meaningful and deep fellowship with Jesus at its center. Just as Ezekiel was to sound the warning of the coming judgment of the Lord to all of Israel, Christians have a mandate to sound the warning to all the world, calling them to repentance, to the Lord, and teaching them about the teachings of Christ. This mandate extends to our children, our grandchildren, our siblings, parents, friends, grandparents, and coworkers – basically anyone that crosses our path each day.

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