In All Your Getting, Get Christ

In All Your Getting, Get Christ

If anyone ever fully understood Man’s total depravity and spiritual inability, it was Jesus. If anyone ever thoroughly comprehended the constrained nature of human free will, which can only operate within the spheres of ability and desire, it was Jesus. Man can surely will whatever he desires, but he cannot freely will what he lividly despises. Jesus knew these things about Man far better than any of us.

Yet Jesus, who understood these realities better than anyone else, urged His hearers to enter into His kingdom, and to enter at once! They were outside it. He told them to enter into His kingdom. Repent, change your mind, and believe the gospel—and do it now! In Matthew 7, He told His hearers to enter into the kingdom of God by going in at the little, plain gate; it leads to God, to eternal life and to heaven. The little, plain gate He speaks about is the gospel itself, the evangel, the good news that God has sent His Son to be our Redeemer.

Now there is another option and it looks much better and much easier. But that large, ornate, impressive, other gate opens up into a broad, easy, one-way super highway to hell. So Jesus says, essentially, “Don’t go that way! Repent and believe the gospel; enter at the little gate. Walk on this narrow, winding path traveled by only a few, for it leads to eternal life and to God and to heaven.”

Jesus knew very well that most people are all concerned about the here and now, about getting what they want, all of it, and getting it now! Two of Jesus’ remarks come to mind.

First, from Matthew 16:26, “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

Jesus points out something many of us never think about: we not only have lots to gain in this world, but we all stand in danger of losing something far more valuable than everything else put together—we stand in danger of losing our souls, the very persons we are. This is where Christians get the term “lost” to refer to those who are not yet trusting the Lord Jesus. When we request prayer for someone who is lost, we mean someone who presently stands in danger of losing his soul forever and being condemned for all eternity because of his sin—sin unforgiven because he never changed his mind (repented) and never called upon (believed) the only Forgiver of sins. Something more valuable than “the whole world” is on the line.

The other is more of a story. We are fools to think we have all the time in the world and become enamored with stuff, especially when everything seems to be going our way. We may sit down all satisfied with ourselves and our lives, thinking, “It just can’t get any better than this,” when an unexpected eternity comes calling. When God comes calling, our souls will be “required” of us.

From Luke 12:15-21, Jesus’ words: “And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

If the truth were someday written on your tombstone, could it truly say that you were “Rich toward God”? O dear soul, it’s not too late—not yet. The living God has come in kindness to your soul yet again by the words of Christ today. Do not let another moment pass until you change your mind and gladly enter the kingdom of God and His Son. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved…” This is simply the gospel of God’s grace. Repent and believe; you will be saved.

Saved forever, not lost forever. The living God can truly change a poor sinner’s forever just like that! He did it for me. He can do it for you. –TSA

Unholy Alliance: a costly expedient

By Pastor Timothy Adkins

God’s people should indeed take their stand together for what is right.  That’s a good thing.  But God’s people standing in partnership or alliance with those who believe a false gospel is wrong.  The Word of God flatly forbids it.  Sound reason surely affirms the wisdom of God’s Word in this case.

With whom may gospel-believing Christians stand?  With God’s people.  Who are His people?  What makes someone to be His child?  God’s people are reconciled to Him by grace through faith in Jesus who died and rose again—saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus alone.  Redeemed sinners repent and find new life believing in Christ.  We become His children by the free grace of adoption.  So, God’s people standing together means people who believe the gospel standing together with others who also believe the gospel!

A gospel-believer does not need to be a great theologian or a powerful intellectual to perceive that some alliances are forbidden by God’s Word as “unequal yokes.”  Our apostle writes, “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?  Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?  Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols?” (2 Corinthians 6:14-16 NASB)  Christians should stand together for what is right and good and against what is wrong and evil.  But nothing of real value is gained by any alliance with those who love not our Lord Jesus Christ.

Without flinching many professing Christians will stand side-by-side with virtually anyone who agrees with them about some contemporary political issue—a coalition, even ongoing union for the sake of united action.  It seems not to matter that their allies in the all-important cultural struggle are idolaters who believe and proclaim “another gospel” and abide under the “anathema” of God (Galatians 1).  What seems most important is to get more voters registered and to defeat this one and get that one elected.  Truly, some gains are not worth what it costs to achieve them.  The Day of Judgment will reveal this to any child of God who doubts it now.

An evangelical Christian cannot stand alongside a Roman Catholic or a theological liberal; they boldly disobey the gospel.  By definition the grace, whereby sinners are justified, is only the pure and free favor of God received only by faith in Jesus Christ—Catholicism preaches another, different, false gospel and anathematizes those of us who simply and sweetly trust in Jesus and in His finished redemption.  The biblical gospel stands on the reality of Jesus’ resurrection—Liberalism knowingly chuckles at a now-living Christ with nail-prints in His hands and a scar in His side, exalted now and seated in His Father’s throne.

Gospel-believers must not stand allied with those who deny the gospel.  No true good will ever come of it.  If a person’s faith or life disqualifies him from membership in a gospel-believing church, why would we want to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him at some political rally or anywhere else?  “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers” is God’s Word and it is not a recommendation.  Unity with those who believe a false gospel and preach a false gospel is disobedience to God.  We deceive ourselves to think that we may do evil that good may come; to say that disobedience to God is not evil is more evil still. –TSA

Hannah’s Glorious Faith

“Then they … brought the boy to Eli. And she said, ‘Oh, my lord! As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the Lord. For this boy I prayed, and the Lord has given me my petition which I asked of Him. So I have also dedicated him to the Lord; as long as he lives he is dedicated to the Lord.’ …” (1 Samuel 1:25-28 NASB)

It had been several years since Hannah had poured out her broken heart to God at Shiloh when she worshipped with bitterness in her soul. She had seen many months and years go by with no success conceiving a child; she surely wondered at the Lord’s dealings with her. ‘Why’ had to be a constant cry from her heart. “Lord, why have You withheld from me the defining blessing desired by almost all married women, the one gift I wish above all else in this world, a child of my own.”

What was God doing in Hannah’s life back in those days? Why did He make her wait for so long? If it had always been part of His great plan to give her the child she so very much wanted, and then more children besides, why didn’t He just grant her conception without subjecting her to the compounded heartache and pain of those years when she felt like an utter failure? Why does God make any of His children wait to the point of heart pain, often waiting for years before He grants our ordained desires in His ordained time? Is He unkind? Are we mere puppets in a cosmic drama? Does Jesus truly care about our weariness and frustration?

As He dealt with Hannah, so He may deal with any one of us who are His. Our Lord is glorified by the faith of His people, faith that He gives to us in the first place and faith that He strengthens over the course of time and experience. He is glorified by John’s long and faithful life of witness and suffering for the gospel; He is glorified by Simon Peter, who was led to a martyr’s death after many years of faithfulness. God is glorified as Hannah prays and weeps and waits and keeps on trusting and lays hold on God by vows made and vows kept.

He is also glorified when we follow hard after Him and refuse to relent until we have found Him and, like Jacob near dawn, refuse to let Him go until He blesses us. Indeed, when our faith seems thin and weak and so very small, He is pleased and He is glorified by the tear-filled eye that keeps on looking to Him and by the heart that keeps on hoping and believing in Him who cannot fail—who will not fail and who will answer our cries with His grace.

A sapling is nourished by nutrients from beneath; so the faith of God’s beloved people is made strong and stronger still by powers often unseen. Summer heat, winter cold, drought, and flood all test the growing tree and all our trying seasons make us more of what He intends for us to be and to become—until we, at length, stand tall and strong ‘by grace through faith.’

Through trial true faith grows and we become much more than we were before. Through those long seasons faith grows and we become more trusting of Him, the One who planted us by the mighty river of His unfailing sovereign grace for His glory. Many marvel at Hannah’s persevering faith. Let us marvel at Him who gave it and then nourished it and, at last, rewarded it over and again all because of everlasting love. –TSA

Mighty Man, Impressive Woman

It takes more than wealth to make a man noble; some rich men are very small characters, after all. Boaz was a man of wealth and influence in the region called Ephrathah and in the town of Bethlehem. He was also a man of measurable depth, evident faith and honorable character. He could recognize virtue in others; he was a businessman, knowing how to exercise and delegate authority.

When this important man came from Bethlehem to observe the progress of the barley harvest in his nearby fields he noticed an unfamiliar figure and asked the supervisor in charge who she might be. The report of this ranking servant was a good one. She was the foreigner who had returned with Naomi from Moab where all three of her men-folk had died during the course of their time there. Ruth, young and strong and likely beautiful, was no pampered wallflower waiting to be served and fed by others, least of all by her beloved Naomi. She was an eager, energetic, diligent worker from what the supervisor of the reapers told Boaz. She had worked all day except for a brief rest in the field-shelter.

We can imagine Ruth’s pulse quickening as Boaz, the owner of the field, approached. He spoke gently to one who might have been terrified by a commanding tone. He assured her that she could continue to glean in his fields and be unafraid; he had strictly commanded his young men not to touch her, which tells us that otherwise she might have expected to be ‘fair game’ to the workers. For even then it seems that some Jewish men (rather unlike Boaz) thought little of taking inappropriate advantage of female goyim, Gentiles, who were of somewhat less-than-human status. When Ruth became thirsty she was to drink from the water provided on-site for Boaz’s workers. Having no sense of entitlement and possibly expecting hostility instead of kindness, this foreigner was surprised and thankful. Her response was humility and appreciation.

It was more than hard-working diligence that made Ruth impressive. Everything Boaz had heard proved that this young Moabite woman was extraordinary. When she expressed thankful surprise at his kindness, he explained to her the why of it.

“And Boaz answered and said to her, "It has been fully reported to me, all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know before. The Lord repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge" (Ruth 2:11-12 NKJV).

Boaz was more than a successful businessman; Ruth was more than an industrious woman. This tale of God’s great love for His people should teach us to value what is valuable and to appreciate unexpected kindness. –TSA

About Ten Years

“And they lived there about ten years.” (Ruth 1:4c)

What a difference ten years made. As they began Naomi was happily married and the mother of two grown sons; at the end of those years she was a childless widow facing a bleak future.

We all live in a world where a nice little family story can quickly become a tragic tale of sorrow and struggle. In a moment hard times can descend and drive away every memory of ease and peace and comfort. Prosperity has often become a faint memory in only a few short days. The world being what it is, we must beware of finding our comfort in princes or presidents or economic good times—they all eventually change on us. God’s people must brace themselves against this uncertain world where famine and death and trouble come. But how?

“Trust in the Lord,” “Delight yourself in the Lord,” “Rest in the Lord,” and “Wait on the Lord” (Psalm 37). He alone must be our ultimate trust, our chief delight, our soul’s peace and our hope for the future.

Anyone who has lived for very long has experienced disappointment when hopes and dreams seemed to be dashed and destroyed forever. Thanks be unto God that our pains and disappointments are not ultimate. Neither are they permanent. Yet, we cannot always think or see or believe beyond the present darkness that overwhelms.

Naomi felt that her world had ended. The life she had known was now over. All alone, the whole world had tumbled down around her. Reflecting on those last ten years, she must have wept. Feelings of utter loss must have crashed over her soul like a flood.

Something amazing and wonderful may begin with a season of devastating loss, as it did in Naomi’s life. Unknown to her, the covenant-keeping God of Israel in whom she trusted was, even then, working all things for her good. But she could not see any of that at the moment. If the next ten years were anything like the last ten, how could she bear to live at all? –TSA

To Win the More

What is our goal, our aim, our wish? What do we hope to accomplish in living? If it is to win the current argument, we have a terribly small goal. If it is to secure the respect we think we deserve, we are intent on something vaporous. If our interest is to be honored by men, it is an unworthy one. If we wish for others to be charmed and dazzled by our rhetoric and awed by our intellect, then our wish is mere vanity. All such things fully achieved truly amount to nothing.

We have all been, at some time or another, acquainted with someone who intended for us to know just how superior he was. Revealing more insecurity than greatness, he trumpeted his accomplishments and boasted of how high he had climbed the ladder of this world. Any freedom or advantage he has is used to advance and promote himself, whatever the cost. He will step on you if it becomes necessary to get his way, to achieve his goal—which is self-advancement.

Seldom do we meet people with the opposite determination, to represent themselves as smaller than we think, as less noteworthy, not seeking honor, and more interested in us than in anything they might gain from us. Have you made yourself a servant to someone that you might win him, the person? That was Paul’s goal—to win men and women! That should be our goal, as well: to win people! Not win them for ourselves and to ourselves—but to win them to Christ and for Christ by the gospel!

A free man volunteers to become your slave that he might win you! What he wants is for you to know and love Jesus Christ. He wants you to become rich forever. He wants you to share in the costly but free favors of saving grace, as you believe the good news that Jesus died for you and that He was raised from the dead as your sin’s Conqueror. This slave freely serves you so that you will know he loves you and that he wants, not what is yours, but you—so that Christ may have you as His own and so that you may have the Lord Jesus as your very own. Can we honestly say, “I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more” (1 Corinthians 9:19 NKJV)? –TSA

Truly, Love Builds Up

When Paul came to Athens “his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols” (Acts 17:16). Imagine the impact on a person’s mind, to believe that an almost infinite number of gods, deities, and spirits exist—and that they either make you prosper for appeasing them or pay dearly if you offend. Then imagine, having believed all of those things just yesterday, and then hearing the gospel preached by Paul or Peter or Titus or Barnabas and trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Indeed, many people were saved out of rampant idolatry, snatched from the swirling currents of demonic occultism. If we think they came to Christ and instantly became sound in their knowledge of God and truth and life, we should rethink that.

If we had believed in many gods throughout our lives and had seen idol figures almost everywhere we looked, supposedly good ones and notoriously sinister ones, the lingering effects of that would be hard to shake. While our modern culture does not acknowledge a pantheon of deities, it is overrun with superstition of all sorts. My dear grandmother was a precious believer in Jesus, as sincere and earnest as they ever come. But she continued to think of certain things in a superstitious way; on some level many still do. A broken mirror meant ‘seven years bad luck’ and I forget what was supposed to happen if you walked beneath a standing ladder—whatever it was, it wasn’t good. In times long past and even now, many who sincerely and truly come to trust in Jesus may have no easy time shaking free of their past way of thinking, no matter how utterly silly some of it is or how entirely inconsistent with faith in the Almighty God. Their faith is real, yet some of their thinking continues to be very inconsistent with their faith.

Some of the Corinthian Christians were more knowledgeable than others who worshipped with them. Knowledge informs beliefs. Beliefs have consequences. If one believes, is absolutely clear on the fact, that there is one God and only one and that idols are not gods at all—that will instruct a person’s conscience. He will think and live under the influence of what he believes is true. Some of the Corinthian believers were crystal clear on these things. To them Paul wrote:

“…We know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one. For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him” (1 Corinthians 8:4-6).

Paul’s next few words may catch us a bit off-guard. Remember, he is not speaking of men in general, but referring to Christians in the Corinthian church. Having just stated beliefs that most of us think of as kindergarten stuff, the ABC’s of the gospel: “there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one;” and, “there is one God, the Father…and one Lord, Jesus Christ,” Paul then says something surprising about some Corinthian church members, Christians:

“However not all men have this knowledge…” (1 Corinthians 8:7a)

What? Does he mean that there are some Christians who do not fully grasp that there is one and only one God and that idols are not actual gods at all? Yes; that is what he was saying. Paul was telling the Corinthian church that some among their number were weak in conscience because they were lacking in true knowledge, not understanding certain truths, even some basic ones. And not understanding those truths and their implications, they could not yet be directed in their consciences by truths they did not understand.

But can anyone be a real Christian, a truly saved person, if he does not know—fully understand—that “there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one;” and, “there is one God, the Father…and one Lord, Jesus Christ”? We might write-off such people as unsaved, as unbelievers. Paul regarded them as weak, not as enemies of the gospel and without Christ. Was he content to leave weak brothers and sisters in ignorance and weakness? Not at all; that is why we have the epistles in our New Testaments. Paul and others wrote to teach and clarify and rebuke and strengthen.

We could adopt this attitude toward those who are weak in knowledge and, therefore, stunted in their spiritual maturity, as well. We could love them as brothers and sisters “for whom Christ died” and seek their advancement in the Way. We could be patient and kind and considerate of them, for Christ’s sake and theirs. What if they are, after all, His precious sheep—bought and paid for? –TSA

Great Knowledge & Great Love

Knowledge and love may peacefully occupy the same heart. But one or the other will always take the lead. We must be sure that love is in the driver’s seat. True knowledge is necessary for us to live a fruitful Christian life. Once we know the truth, we must still “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). Knowledge is better than ignorance. “It is not good for a soul to be without knowledge” (Proverbs 19:2). Yet we must have more than bare knowledge; love must tincture and flavor everything if we are to please Christ. Love must drive us and our knowledge of truth forward.

When love leads it builds up, edifies, fortifies. Untempered knowledge is not so good a leader as love is. When knowledge leads the way, and our ‘knowledge’ may be inaccurate much of the time, it brings us to arrogance. Even thinking that we know more than others, we become puffed up with an honorable sort of pride (that’s how we think of it). And it happens almost instantly.

We know something someone else doesn’t and we become proud of ourselves for knowing it. We well remember a time when we, too, were ignorant. Ah, but now we ‘know’ and it feels really good to be right, even if we happen to be wrong about being right. Indeed, we could all wish that ignorance made us as humble as knowledge makes us arrogant, but it doesn’t. Truly, “If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know” (1 Corinthians 8:2).

Knowledgeable Christians, well taught in the Word, learn to apply the truths of the Bible. Their knowledge is not academic; they actually begin to live in light of what God has revealed in His Word. Their goal is to please the Lord and the Bible gives them the true way of thinking and living. But, at some point, a robust Bible-believer may become amazed (even appalled) that others who also believe have learned so little from the Word. They say they believe, but they still think like worldly people. They are superstitious instead of biblically spiritual. They are strong in legalism and judgmentalism, yet weak in their commitment to the word of grace and to gospel-driven godliness. And while these criticisms may be valid enough, they are too often laced with the poison of sinful pride.

Great love, not great knowledge, is the mark of Jesus’ disciples. It is true: some genuine Christians are woefully under-taught and unlearned, therefore, they believe far too little of what they should believe. “Not all men have this knowledge” that you have. And some, who ought already to be capable teachers of the Word, need to be taught again the first principles of the faith (see Hebrews 5:12). Still, we must not permit the knowledge we possess to make us unloving, which it tends to do. Knowledgeable believers, having been privileged to hear and learn and know the truth, must be careful not to regard those who are weak in gospel knowledge as unbelievers or as purely pathetic and unworthy of a second thought.

The Apostle teaches that we must not be unconcerned for a weak brother “for whom Christ died.” Knowledge may make us confident of the truth and bold in the exercise of our liberties, even too bold. But love will make us kinder and less likely to insist on having and using our every liberty in every situation. It was love that provoked Paul’s readiness to do without his liberty: “if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, that I might not cause my brother to stumble” (1 Corinthians 8:13). To have insisted on his liberty at the expense of a weak brother’s conscience being, possibly, mortally wounded would have meant sinning against Christ. Does love for Christ, regard for His atoning death, or love for the people for whom He died have any such effect on us?

It sure is easy to let a little knowledge make us arrogant and obnoxious and unloving. It seems that all we need to know is just a little more than we used to know and we become proud of ourselves; we may then begin to think that others are shamefully ignorant and much less serious Christians than are we. It is true, “knowledge puffs up.” Love must drive us. Love must carry us and our knowledge forward and onward, everywhere we go, for “love builds up!” –TSA

Tell No One

“He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered and said to Him, ‘You are the Christ.’ Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.” (Mark 8:29-30 NKJV).

Many people think the Lord would have them (always and in every circumstance) to tell others about Him, to make it unmistakably clear that Jesus is the Christ, mankind’s only Redeemer, a sinner’s one true hope. However, after confirming the truthful confession of Simon Peter about His identity, our Lord very specifically ordered His disciples to “tell no one about Him.” There are moments when the Lord is most pleased for His faithful servants to “tell no one about Him.”

It was a timing thing. It still is. As the Preacher of old wrote, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Likewise, when Jesus commanded His disciples to “tell no one about Him,” it was not a perpetual order; rather, it was a time-sensitive command. The time was not then ripe for Him to be broadly announced as Messiah, so our Lord told His disciples, for the moment, to keep that information under their proverbial hat. When the time was right, He would give them another command “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” But for the moment, Jesus wisely restricted their preaching, knowing the times.

We might think that since the command to preach Christ to the nations has now been given we are showing disloyalty to the cause of the Lord Jesus if we ever determine that some particular moment is just not the best time to speak of Him to another person. Yet, the Scriptures in many places commend wisdom and discretion. Jesus picked His spots and so should we. There were times when He would perform miracles, one after another. On other occasions, He limited His mighty works greatly.

He found the situation at His hometown of Nazareth hostile and unwelcoming, where most of the people were neither believing nor even mildly receptive of Him and His message: “And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief” (Mark 6:5-6a). When the it says “He could there do no mighty work,” it has no reference to Jesus’ power or ability; it has to do with the fact that He decided that such faithless people could only misinterpret and despise such great works. He decided not to do many great works there among them. In mercy, He did heal a few sick people.

Surely the message about Jesus is most precious, more precious than perfect pearls. If we think of the gospel as precious and worthy, then we will listen to our Lord Jesus and refrain from casting the lovely message of His love and grace under the filthy feet of filthy swine who only despise precious things. There are some who account themselves unworthy of eternal life by refusing to hear and obey the message of the cross (cf. Acts 13:46). A faithful evangelist does not cast the precious pearls of gospel truth under the feet of vicious, raging swine.

At times and in some circumstances, faithfulness to Christ Jesus will require us to “tell no one about Him.” On some other occasion it may be perfectly right to tell those very same people about the Lord Jesus. Effective evangelism is thoughtful. Effective evangelism strikes its blow when the iron is glowing hot. –TSA

Rejected & Killed

To a first century Jew, the very thought that Israel’s long-awaited Messiah would ever “be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed”—that would truly have been unthinkable, the very opposite of every expectation. The illustrious Person designated by Yahweh Elohim to be King over all Israel, whose kingdom’s reach would extend to the very ends of earth, when He appeared He would be recognized and welcomed and loved and honored and served—that was the nigh-universal belief. However, the reality was to be far different.

Walking northward toward Caesarea Philippi from the Galilee, Jesus asked His chosen men about the general public’s thinking, “Who do men say that I am?” Public opinion was that Jesus was probably one of the old prophets returned, possibly Elijah or Jeremiah. They knew He was unusual and that He must have been sent from God, but they did not recognize Jesus as Messiah, the true King of Israel. The disciples, however, had another understanding. They knew Him to be the Christ, Messiah, the Son of the living God (see Mark 8; Matthew 16).

Jesus confirmed the disciples’ understanding of His identity: the Christ, Messiah, the Lord’s Anointed. How did they come to a right understanding about Him, while the elders of Israel and other leading religious figures, priests and scribes, all rejected Jesus as Messiah and conspired to have Him killed? Was the disciples’ understanding mere prejudice based on affection and admiration? Were they simply too impressed with Him to have a smaller opinion? Who was right, the religious elite or the fishermen and tax collectors? According to Jesus, the disciples were right. He explained how they came to right conclusions about Him.

Hearing Simon Peter’s confession, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” “Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 16:17). These men had been taught the truth about Jesus and it was Jesus’ “Father who is in heaven” who had made them understand that the Nazarene was and is Christ, the King, the Son of the living God.

But the King must die. And He well knew it before He ever came into this world by taking to Himself true humanity through the womb of the Virgin. After the disciples had acknowledged Him as Christ, as true Deity, and after they had been solidly confirmed in their understanding, Jesus then began to speak to them plainly of His death.

What a boulder of a truth and hardly one that they could have expected or anticipated! A stunning revelation it was. How could it be, that Messiah will be rejected and killed? —by every right He should be welcomed, adored and enthroned. The thought was utterly foreign to every mind—except Jesus’ mind. In fact, Simon Peter, the recent chief confessor of our faith, found His words about His impending rejection and death so unthinkable and incredible that he actually began to reprimand Him for saying such things. Simon did not yet understand God’s purpose that Jesus’ had to die to bear away the sins of His people. He would later understand it well and powerfully preach this gospel of a crucified, risen, enthroned Messiah. –TSA

Seeing More Clearly

Some things happen instantly in one event and they’re done. Many of us think of spiritual enlightenment as a momentary experience, as in “I once was blind, but now I see.” Yet for many of us Newton’s lyric is an abbreviation of our fuller experience. It tells the truth of what has happened within us and to us, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. Many of us experienced something rather like what happened to the blind man of Bethsaida.

Jesus “came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him. So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything. And he looked up and said, ‘I see men like trees, walking.’ Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly” (Mark 8:22-26 NKJV).

It is common, at least in some circles, for some people to think that others are not truly saved because their particular experience does not exactly mirror their own. Some precious Christians have been tormented by friends and relatives who doubt the reality of their salvation because they cannot recall the date of their conversion or specify the moment of their new birth. For some Christians it seems more complicated and they simply cannot pinpoint the different parts of their conversion experience; that does not mean they are not true Christians. Indeed, some have a Damascus Road moment, while others have a Bethsaida Road experience—in fact, the Damascus Road and Bethsaida Road experiences are more alike than we might, at first, think.

Saul’s Damascus Road experience was a step by step event in his life. He saw a bright light, fell to the ground, as he was blinded by brilliance; he saw nothing for a period of days until the Lord Jesus sent Ananias to him and then there fell from his eyes something like scales. Saul’s experience began in an instant but it was not over in an instant. Over a period of days the Lord used those things to transform his life and He gave him his marching orders as an apostle.

The blind man from Bethsaida instantly got some vision; he was a blind man no more. His darkness disappeared in a moment. Light broke in and his utter blindness gave way to some sight—it was true sight, but it was not clear vision. He saw things. He did see something, whereas before he saw nothing. At first nothing was truly clear. He could see men, but they looked more like trees that walked than like men. It took another touch of Jesus’ hands with another powerful and wonderful work of grace to help him to see clearly.

Having been once blind to the things of God, receiving our first glimpse of Christ is a precious gift. But we may not see things so clearly at first. If we remember well our early days as believers, we know that we saw many things we had never seen before. But many things were rather fuzzy—unclear. We needed the Lord’s further help so that we could see things accurately, as they truly were and are. We still need that. If we now have received the faculty of spiritual sight, we need more and more to behold Jesus and understand the truth as revealed in Him. –TSA

Inviting Disaster

When some prominent man in ministry falls into scandalous sin and becomes a shame to himself and an example of ministerial failure, skeptical people may quickly respond ‘I told you; they’re all a bunch of phonies.’ And is it any wonder that such an opinion would be held? It seems that ‘the Christian ministry’ is often plagued with such men (and now women). But how is that possible? How do such characters find any place, much less prominent places, in ‘the Christian ministry?’

Anything man can touch he can pollute. In some instances corruption seems to be an awkward intrusion, but in others it seems virtually invited. Without doubt it is a major factor promoting corruption when men can enter ‘the Christian ministry’ and then remain in positions of trust without meaningful accountability to anyone for their doctrine or manner of life. Unbiblical religious hierarchies can become massive monstrosities and hiding places for filthy men in priestly garb, all ordained and truly unfit to administer CPR to a dying rat. It is painful to see situations where “the people of the Lord” have little or no power to oust wicked men who have “crept in unnoticed;” and where those who do have some authority refuse to do what is right. And we wonder that some saints find it preferable to just stay home!

The fact that men are ‘in the ministry’ does not mean that they are men of God or even true believers. “And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord, were there” (1 Samuel 1:3). “Now the sons of Eli were corrupt; they did not know the Lord” (1 Samuel 2:12 NKJV). It cannot be put much plainer than that. They were priests. They did not know the Lord. They were priests ‘in the ministry’ of the covenant God of Israel, sons of a priest who honored his sons more than he honored his God. They served themselves, regarded the worship of God as unimportant, and were notoriously immoral. Sound familiar? Wickedness may follow a millennia-old pattern.

If only God’s people would insist on applying the biblical standards for the men who serve in the church’s offices as pastors and deacons, the only way wicked men could get in and stay in the ministry would be by hook and crook, by lying, cheating and sneaking in. Churches that will not insist on following the Bible’s prescription for a healthy ministry are inviting disaster. And it is disaster when the true ministry of the gospel is lost.

There is a mainline church in a nearby town, less than an hour’s drive from my home; its minister is an admitted apostate who denies every distinctive of the biblical gospel, mocking true, gospel-believing Christians who attempt to be true to God and His Word. The ‘church’ there is thrilled with him and his Christ-denying ways. In this case, the corruption is cheered by the people, not as in the days of Eli’s sons when “the people of the Lord” were grieved by the priest’s abuses. Some assemblies who have the name ‘Christian’ are truly mislabeled.

The words of Jeremiah seem very fitting: “An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule on their own authority; and My people love it so! But what will you do at the end of it” (Jeremiah 5:30-31 NASB)? –TSA

Our Little Window of Time

Every last one of us has an appointment with death, just as we had an appointment with birth. Every day we live is one that was ordained for us, a day God fashioned for us and that He always intended for us to live. You are alive today because God always intended it so. “…And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them” (Ps 139:16).

Thinking about his life and God’s intimate involvement with all of it, the psalmist was certain that his life was no accident of some mindless Fate. He was sure that his tiny existence that began in his mother’s womb was part of Yahweh’s great plan for His seemingly infinite creation. Although small as a particle of dust and seemingly as insignificant, his life mattered to God.

Before any of them actually arrive in time, “the days fashioned” for us existed in God’s mind. All of our days from birth to death were ordained, intended for us. Beyond anything we can imagine or control Almighty God’s plan is at work, unfolding through what we call history. We are living tomorrow’s history today; what we do (and leave undone) becomes part of the story. The story is being written and we who know God and His love must do all the good we can—however little it may seem in our eyes.

Time will come when time will be done—until then, there is a window of opportunity during which we may work the works of God. We work His works by believing—by grace believing in “Him whom God has sent” (Jn 6:28). Believing and seeking to please Jesus, we find joy in doing His will and substantial measures of misery in everything else. Our doing flows from our believing. If we live despising what is and grieving over what is not, we squander “the days fashioned” for us and give them one at a time to the devil’s sly servant, Demon Despair. Every day thus given away is time unredeemed (Eph 5:15) and life lost.

The works of God cry out to be done; where are workers who will live out their faith? Cups of cool water must yet be given and received; thirsty people are fainting. Kind deeds must still surprise an unkind world in which sin has soured so many poor souls. Relationships must yet be valued and nurtured, for loneliness kills men and women deader than bullets and bombs. True words must still be spoken in love so that our brothers will be strengthened for another day’s service to the King. Gospel words must yet be lifted up so that hopeless and condemned souls may find, as we once found, eternal life and peace with God through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. –TSA

The Weber City Auction

The first auction I remember attending was when I was a little boy. It was in Weber City, Virginia and the building is still there almost fifty years later; in fact, I drove by there earlier today. When I go toward Gate City I almost always take mental note of the old auction house, but I never notice it on the way back.

The auctioneer blaring his voice into a microphone that he seemed to have swallowed, there were escalating bids here, there and everywhere for whatever it was he was selling. Going once, going twice…Sold! Then it all would start over again with the next item. Quite the entertainment to a small boy who lived by the river on a rural road; attending the Weber City auction was better than going to town on Saturday morning.

The only rule dad imposed on me was to not scratch my nose or ear or anything else while inside the auction house. He didn’t want to have to pay for whatever I might have bid on by scratching something. He and Mom bought a piece or two of furniture during one of our few visits there, but mostly we went to have something to do.

The best day was when Dad bought for me a medium sized cardboard box full of cast off toys, including a mechanical robot man with gears and gears and gears of different colors behind a clear plastic exterior. That was a great day. But it only lasted a little while, that best day.

The worst day was about a week later when I didn’t stop playing with the noisy mechanical robot toy after Dad’s third or fourth warning and in a quick moment he picked up the amazing robot man thing and threw it with some force into the cardboard box and busted it. It landed with a ringing clatter and never worked again. Right away he was sorry; but he could never apologize for anything so he let me feel like it was me that broke it—my fault. Of course, I should have stopped playing with it when he told me to stop. But I was a kid with a new toy, after all.

Anytime I remember the Weber City auction, I recall that mechanical robot toy and dad breaking it in the cardboard box as I sat on the floor in the doorway of the hall closet.

If there is a lesson here it might be this: all dads need to remember that their kids may very well remember things long after they’re gone. If dads mess up and in an angry fit break their kid’s amazing mechanical robot toy that came in a cardboard box of junk, they should apologize for losing control and doing something they really shouldn’t have—a little like the excited, engrossed kid who wouldn’t stop playing with the mechanical robotic toy thing when he should have.

Dads are sometimes overgrown, misbehaving boys. Take a breath and think. Your kids are watching all the time. And sometimes the woman who gave them birth is watching, too; it never hurts to impress her any time you can. –TSA