by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015 | Articles
“We have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways; we refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.” 2 Corinthians 4:2 You do not commend the gospel message to the logic or intellect of people, but to their conscience. When God says that people are created in His image, in part that means they have a conscience – a moral gyroscope that allows them to know right from wrong. God created the conscience so that it conforms to His standard. Although people cannot reason their way to God, the conscience can assist in affirming what is right. The conscience can identify goodness, and it is this goodness that Paul commends. All people know that dishonesty is wrong. All people can identify hypocrisy. People who preach Jesus and live hypocritical lives become the subject of public ridicule and bad characters in movies. When you communicate the gospel with a life-style contrary to that of the gospel, a life-style that all can identify as wrong, you give the enemies of God an occasion to blaspheme, and you anger God. “It would be better for him if a millstone were hung round his neck and he were cast into the sea.” Luke 17:2 When people observe that your life is in harmony with the message, they may not believe, but they know in their conscience that they have met...
by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015 | Articles
“There He made for them a fixed rule, and there He put them to the test. He said, ‘If you will heed the LORD your God diligently, doing what is upright in His sight, giving ear to His commandments and keeping all His laws, then I will not bring upon you any of the diseases that I brought upon the Egyptians, for I the LORD am your healer.'” Exodus 15:25-26 Here God calls attention to the nature of conditional promises; they are tests God gives His people to see if they will be obedient. Note that God says this is both a command and a promise. When He makes a conditional promise that you consider essential, it becomes in your mind a command; you feel forced to meet the conditions affixed to what you deem essential. Conditional promises are, by their nature, tests in that they are dependent upon the performance of the person to whom the promise was given. As you know, the word “if” identifies the promise as conditional; if you fail to meet the conditions then you fail to obtain the promise. Grace is an unconditional promise, for God knows that we fail His tests. I cannot think of one test that I, or the nation of Israel, ever passed. Without God’s gracious unconditional promises I would be void of hope. God may test you with conditional promises and commands, but without His unconditional promise of grace, you would...
by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015 | Articles
“He said to them, ‘Where is your faith?'” Luke 8:25 KJV Returning to Jesus’ hometown, Mark 6:5-6 KJV records, “And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.” Jesus did not lack ability to heal. Rather, the whole of the New Testament teaches that in order for a person to receive what God offers, he must have faith. Jesus offered to His generation physical healing, evidenced by the whole of the narrative of His life. The lack was on the part of the people who evidenced an absence of faith. To our generation He offers eternal life, but in order for us to receive it, we must believe. “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?”John 11:25-26 KJV Of those Jesus healed in His public ministry, Scripture records only a few (like the demon possessed man in Mark 5) who wanted more of Jesus than just temporal healing. When you seek from the Savior eternal life, are you in reality seeking it in hopes of obtaining temporal gain? God, who knows your motives, will not grant eternal life as a means of acquiring temporal benefit. Faith is critically important, but it must be faith properly...
by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015 | Articles
“And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” 2 Timothy 2:2 Dawson Trotman, the founder of The Navigators, use to say that it takes four generations to ensure spiritual reproduction: “you, me, faithful men, others also.” First you reach your “Timothy,” and then teach him how to reach others. Then you must teach him how to teach others to reach others. When you have accomplished that, spiritual reproduction is operational. In the following verses Paul gives a trilogy of illustrations on what it means to be committed to this vision. The soldier illustrates the need not to become entangled. The athlete illustrates the need to play by the rules: the end cannot justify the means. The farmer illustrates that you reap what you sow. Spiritual reproduction means that you reproduce after your own kind, whether you want to or not. Therefore what you are becomes critically important as you invest in others. You have reception and transmission. You see the importance of reception in the words, “hearing” and “many witnesses.” You see transmission in the words “commit thou to others also.” Every follower of Christ must view himself as a link between generations. Reception is the privilege, transmission the...
by MIMADMIN | May 7, 2015 | Articles
“King Zedekiah sent for the prophet Jeremiah, and…said to Jeremiah, ‘I want to ask you something; don’t conceal anything from me.’ Jeremiah answered the king, ‘If I tell you, you’ll surely kill me; and if I give you advice, you won’t listen to me.’ Thereupon King Zedekiah secretly promised Jeremiah on oath: ‘As the LORD lives who has given us this life, I will not put you to death or leave you in the hands of those men who seek your life.'” Jeremiah 38:14-16 If a man knew the future, would it make any difference regarding how he lived? Zedekiah the king asks the prophet Jeremiah, “Tell me the future and I promise that I won’t get angry,” but he did not commit to doing what God said. In fact, the king ignored what Jeremiah told him. Men are fascinated with the future, seeking to ascertain what lies ahead, but with no intention of it making a difference in how they live. If a man knew that there are eternal consequences for temporal behavior, would it alter his value system? Throughout the New Testament God warns that present investments make an eternal difference. [1] Most Christians, however, view their relationship with Christ like a life insurance policy; they “buy” the policy to protect their future and then proceed to live life conforming to the values of the world instead of the values of God. Jeremiah told Zedekiah what he could expect, but Zedekiah refused to listen to God’s prophet. Are you like Zedekiah, or do you invest your life in conformity with the Word of God? [1] Cf., e.g., Matthew 6:19-20; 1Corinthians...
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