by John Hartshorn | Feb 5, 2018 | Articles, Mentors Corner
As you may be aware, the Apostle John, both in His gospel and his letters, has a good deal to say on the subject of abiding. Depending on your translation of choice, he notes it 40 times in his gospel, 11 times in the 15th chapter alone. He then references it 27 more time in his epistles. It is not commonly used in our modern vernacular, so it bears defining. In the Complete Word Study Dictionary NT it says ” In John’s writings, to remain in or with someone, i.e. to be and remain (emphasis added) united with him, one in heart, mind, and will”. To aid our understanding, John uses the illustration of the vine and its branches in the early portion of chapter 15 of his gospel. Note with me some of the essential elements of the illustration found in the first six verses: In v.1 He says He is “the true vine” and “My Father is the vine dresser” (which would be the term used for a farmer, husbandman, or vine dresser). In v.2 He says of the branches (those professing Christ), every branch that does not bear fruit He (the Father) “takes away”, and the branch that bears fruit He “prunes” that it may bear more fruit. In v.4 we see the two way relationship of the vine and branches. The branch cannot bear fruit of itself, it has to “be and remain” (as the definition noted) in the vine, and thus we cannot bear fruit unless we abide in Him, and Him in us. In the well known v.5, repeating the points already noted...
by Walt Henrichsen | Jan 22, 2018 | Articles, Mentors Corner
“Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” 2Timothy 2:1 Scripture uses “grace” in two ways: The salvation given through Jesus Christ, and God’s provision of help in everyday life. In this verse the apostle uses it in the second way. He also said: “But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead.” 1 A man does not obtain grace by what he does, but by his understanding what he cannot obtain on his own. The dependent follower of Christ gains all the grace he needs, a gift unmerited as well as unlimited. He cannot finish the race of life without God’s empowerment, and God will empower all who look only to Him. 2 Grace is located only in Christ Jesus and consists of having Christ as his life. This is a moment-by-moment perpetual process. This admonition reemphasizes what Paul said in chapter one: “Follow the pattern of the sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus; guard the truth that has been entrusted to you by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.” 3 To be “strong in the grace of Christ,” Timothy must cast off sloth and indifference, for the flesh is so sluggish that even those who are endued with marvelous gifts are found to slacken in the midst of their course if they are not frequently challenged. He adds “in Christ Jesus” to show that the grace comes from Christ alone and no other. If you are not...
by Jesse Hernandez | Jan 8, 2018 | Articles, Mentors Corner
The Cost of Comfort Whosoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. Luke 14:27 As a believer today I will never be able to grasp the horror and magnitude of these words from Jesus. Why? In this present day I will not be able to fully understand the images and reactions that a cross would evoke in the life of a disciple who was following Jesus when these words were uttered. In the previous verse (26), Jesus quickly obtained the attention of the crowd when He stated that whoever “does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life”, he could not be His disciple. It is my impression that Jesus pauses long enough to draw another breath before He lays out the second cost of being His disciple. The cross was an instrument of shame, torture, and unimaginable pain aimed at punishing the most vile of criminals of the day. It was also used by the Roman government to effectively stomp out any form of insurgence. The public display of the cross was so painful and horrific that it was quite effective in spreading the message to others that crime and rebellion would be dealt with very aggressively, painfully, and swiftly. This is the second time Luke records these words from Jesus, the first in Luke 9:23. No doubt He was very serious about conveying his criteria to those who wished to be His disciples. Jesus boldly stated his disciple was to forsake life as he knew it, which...
by Walt Henrichsen | Dec 18, 2017 | Articles, Mentors Corner
“…when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:8 People argue that some of the biblical commands are cultural; they apply to the culture of that day, but not to ours. If this is true, then you must answer two questions: 1) Who decides which commandments are cultural and which are not? Warning: your answer will always be subjective, and ultimately based on today’s culture rather than the culture of the Bible. 2) If the commandments are cultural, then are not the promises also cultural? Logically, you cannot conclude one group is cultural and the other not. And if the promises are cultural, you lose all hope of heaven. Commandments are by their nature clear and concise; you find them in the imperative voice. There is no ambiguity in “do not steal,” and “husbands, love your wives.” You may disagree on what loving your wife looks like, but the command is not ambiguous. Doctrine may be ambiguous, but commands are not. Most men love competition and hate confrontation. For this reason they are willing to surrender to the argument of their wives that commandments like head covering in 1 Corinthians 11 are cultural. Christians are far more influenced by their culture than they are by Scripture. Jesus said, “He who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me.”1 If you do not have a heart to obey all that God commands, you forfeit a biblical hope of heaven. Obviously, not all who have assurance of salvation go to heaven. Remember, there is no necessary relationship between God using a...
by Walt Henrichsen | Nov 20, 2017 | Articles, Mentors Corner
In Romans 5:1‐11 the Apostle asks and answers the question, “Why does God treat His friends like they are His enemies?” He answers by noting that life is filled with tribulation, which God brings into our lives to purify our hope. All tribulation and opposition in life come from God. There are only two people in the universe that can hurt you, God and you. You hurt yourself when you sin. Otherwise, all pain, hurt, opposition, persecution, etc. originates with God. This, the Bible calls testing. James 1:12‐15 teaches that the difference between a temptation and a test is the believer’s response to it. God tests, and when we fail the test by sinning, it is a temptation. God never tests for the purpose of making people sin. People sin because they refuse to respond correctly to God’s tests. It seems that there are three fundamental areas in which God tests: 1) ‐ By asking you to do what you do not want to do, illustrated by God asking Jonah to preach to Nineveh. 2) ‐ By not letting you do what you want to do, illustrated by circumstances preventing you from completing your plans. 3) ‐ By taking from you something that you consider precious, illustrated by God taking away your health, your spouse, your child, etc. God tests His people, but is adamant in His insistence that we not test Him. Hebrews 3:8‐12 reminds the reader that at Kadesh‐Barnea God tested Israel by asking them to fight the giants. Israel tested God by refusing to fight. God had Israel’s best interest in mind when He asked Israel...
by Ron Hocutt | Nov 6, 2017 | Articles, Mentors Corner
1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: But God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. I became aware recently of a beautiful real-world example of the promise in 1 Cor 10-13 and am relaying this with permission as I thought it a rare glimpse into the true day-to-day struggles, trials, and temptations we must overcome if we are to be true obedient disciples of Jesus Christ. The scenario went like this: “ …I was purchasing something online from a vendor and using PayPal to pay for it. They asked me to select the “Friends and Family” button on PayPal so they wouldn’t get charged a fee for the transaction. “ What would you do? This may seem like a simple thing not worthy of God’s attention, but with obedience, the devil is in the details, literally. I think the most common reaction among Christians and non-Christians alike would be to just select the “Friends and Family” button to avoid any conflict. If the Spirit tweaked our conscience, we might justify it as a good thing by feeling we’d done the person a favor by saving them the money. This person, however, felt differently. A man with a pretty clear sense of his own depravity, he was aware of his desire to simply do as they asked, but also aware that this would be a lie and therefore an abomination to God. Not...
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