Submitting your morality to Christ's Lordship - Colossians 3:5-8

Colossians 3:4-5 "When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. 5 Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry."

Review: How we know Paul is talking about Christ's Lordship in Colossians 3:1-14

Yesterday we began considering Paul's argument for submitting to Christ's Lordship in the Christian life. We are told in Colossians 3:1 "Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God." The supremacy of Jesus Christ is expressed practically and doctrinally in the scriptures by a closely related idea called "Lordship". To say "Jesus is Lord" means "Jesus is in control of the Christian's life from the start and throughout to the end". We know when Paul is referring to "above" and "where Christ is", He is talking about Jesus' Lordship over the believer. For example consider Philippians 2:9-11  "For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Jesus Christ's Lordship defines the chief end of His accomplished work according to Romans 14:9 "For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living." Thus Christ's Lordship over individual Christians and His church practically expresses the doctrinal truth of His Supremacy, Sufficiency or what is sometimes termed "His imminency".

Point of application: As we explored in yesterday's post in Colossians 3:1-4, we express our submission to Christ's Lordship by beginning with our priorities. This area expresses our overall point of application: "Every disciple of Jesus Christ is called to submit to Christ's Lordship." So in what areas are we encouraged to practically submit ourselves everyday to the Lordship of Jesus Christ? We saw from yesterday the realm of our priorities. Today we will consider a second major area....

Submit to Christ's Lordship in the realm of your morality. Colossians 3:5-8
When we talk about the subject of morality, we are dealing with the typical actions and behaviors of people.  Ethics describes the reasoning one follows in arriving at the particular action or moral behavior. The Christian is being called in Colossians 3:5-8 to be aggressively moral and ethical in the realm of their drives and their speech. 

With regards to the drives, either a Christian's drives will "drive him" or he will govern his drives. (Romans 6:15) The wider context of  Romans 6:12-14 states: "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, 13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace."  Certainly we are to be aggressive when it comes to our drives; 1 Corinthians 6:18 states plainly - "Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body." The will of God for every Christian is sexual purity, as seen in 1 Thessalonians 4:3 "For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality."

As you go down the list of areas that can corrupt our drives in Colossians 3:5, Paul commands radical "putting to death" of the following things:

1. Immorality or unlawful sexual activity. The Greek word uses here is where we get our word "pornography". 

2. Impurity or moral uncleanliness. There seems to be a chain of cause and effect going on here. What starts out as an out of control drive in the mind quickly leads to impurity.

3. Passion. This word here is used elsewhere in the New Testament to refer to suffering. Pent up out of control desires lead to suffering.

4. Evil desire. There is a cycle being described here by Paul that feeds on itself like an out of control monster that must be put to death or "mortified".

5. Greed or excess. As the drive continues to drive the Christian, it leads to excesses.

6. The outcome is replacing one's desire for God with a consuming desire for created things - which is idolatry. 

These six areas reminds one of the seven abominable areas that God hates in Proverbs 6:16-19 and other similar listings through the scriptures. They are all areas associated with our former life before conversion. We are to regard ourselves dead positionally to our old way of life as stated in Colossians 3:3 and practically as asserted in Colossians 3:5. 

As we submit our morality to Christ's Lordship, we do so in the realm of our drives. If we are not careful to do so, such out of control drives can tempt us to re-engage with the old way of life from whence Christ delivered us, as stated in Colossians 3:6-7. 

So we submit our morality to Christ's Lordship by giving over our drives and then our speech. Just as Paul tells his readers to "put to death" those sensual areas that represent the out of control drives of the old life before conversion, we also see the need to guard the tongue. What we say is just as much a part of our morality as what we do.  As Jesus Himself states that from the heart can proceed all kinds of evil things. (Matthew 15:19; Mark 7:21) James tells us that the ability to control one's tongue is a sign of genuine and worthwhile religion. (James 1:26-27) The parallel passage of Ephesians 4:31 states: "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice." 

As we read down through Colossians 3:8, why such the emphasis on the realm of our speech?  In times of pressure we discover every quickly the level to which we have surrendered to Christ's Lordship. Thus one's morality has to do with how they use their words as wells as how much they govern their drives. We know for example that out of control anger can never work forth the righteousness of God. (James 1:20). As anger escalates in our words, the heat of wrath accompanies it, followed by malice or the intent to hurt and then spreading lies about that person to other people.  Scripture tells us to be aware of letting a root of bitterness sprouting up within us, lest we defile many. (Hebrews 12:15) The tongue is spoken of in scripture as containing the power of life and death. Such areas are yet another way of practically submitting ourselves to Christ's Lordship, namely submitting to Him our morality.

More tomorrow....

Submitting your priorities to Christ's Lordship - Colossians 3:1-4

Colossians 3:1-2 "Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth."

Introduction:

Paul's letter to the Colossians is all about communicating the fact that: "Jesus is enough".  Like many of His letters (or what are also called "epistles"), the first half is dedicated to doctrine, while the second half is committed to unpacking the practical ramifications of the doctrine.  Colossians 1-2 demonstrates all of the truth associated with the idea of "Jesus being enough". Beginning in Colossians 3, we understand that Paul is going to put legs to these truths to show his readers that acknowledgement of Christ's supremacy or sufficiency is important practically as well as doctrinally. 

How we know Paul is talking about Christ's Lordship in Colossians 3:1-14

We are told in Colossians 3:1 "Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God." The supremacy of Jesus Christ is expressed practically and doctrinally in the scriptures by a closely related idea called "Lordship". To say "Jesus is Lord" means "Jesus is in control of the Christian's life from the start and throughout to the end. We know when Paul is referring to "above" and "where Christ is", He is talking about Jesus' Lordship over the believer. For example consider Philippians 2:9-11  "For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Jesus Christ's Lordship defines the chief end of His accomplished work according to Romans 14:9 "For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living." Thus Christ's Lordship over individual Christians and His church practically expresses the doctrinal truth of His Supremacy, Sufficiency or what is sometimes termed "His Imminency".

Point of application: As we explore Colossians 3:1-14, we will be centering around the following main point of application: Every disciple of Jesus Christ is called to submit to Christ's Lordship. So in what areas are we encouraged to practically submit ourselves everyday to the Lordship of Jesus Christ? Notice first of all....

Submit your priorities to Jesus Christ

Colossians 3:1-4

From the beginning of the believer's new birth in saving faith, Jesus Christ is both Savior and Lord. (Romans 10:9) The way in which we live our lives ought to demonstrate our submission to Christ's Lordship.  Such manner of living is seen in how we prioritize our lives. Setting priorities is associated early on in the New Testament with Jesus Christ's Lordship. In explaining what is meant by His Lordship, Jesus explains in Luke 14:25-33 that in following Him, one must calculate the cost. Such calculation includes the realm of one's priorities. As Paul writes in Colossians 3:2 "Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth." 

The mind is the place where the battlefield of the Christian life is won or loss.  Whoever is the general on the battlefield will determine who wins the battle. Oftentimes we attempt to be that general. When we do, that is where things breakdown. Consider the command in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. 5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ." 

If we are to submit ourselves to Christ's Lordship, we must begin in the realm of our priorities. Paul plainly tells us that when we were born again in saving faith, we died to our old way of life. (Colossians 3:3). Simply put, we are not our own any longer, but we have been bought with a price. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Jesus says in Matthew 6:33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Christians are to continue to submit themselves in the realm of their priorities until Jesus comes. (Colossians 3:4) As a matter of fact, Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:15 "and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf."

Thus as you and I aim to submit ourselves to Christ's Lordship, let us do so by beginning with out priorities.

More tomorrow.....

The Christian's Birth Certificate

Colossians 3:1-2 "Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth."

Introduction:

The other day I was looking through some documents and came upon my birth certificate and noticed some particular pieces of information. Like most birth certificates, there is information such as the date of the birth, the location, hospital name, birth parents, the attending physician and the Superintendent of the hospital. When it comes to the Christian life, the Bible uses the language of "new birth" to define the entry point into one's walk with Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself said to Nicodemas in John 3:3 "Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Today's post is about exploring the Christian's birth certificate as spelled out in our primary text of Colossians 3:1-2. We can note the following pertinate details about the believer's birth certificate from Colossians 3:1-2 and other scriptures.

God the Father is the Father in the New Birth

Paul begins Colossians 3:1 with this statement: "Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ....". The way in which this "if" statement is constructed in the original language suggests Paul is stating: "Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ (and I assume you have)." In other words, providing that one has had this experience of the New birth, such an experience entails being: "raised up with Christ". 

What does it mean to be "raised up with Christ" in the New birth? Clearly the New Birth speaks of Someone acting upon the heart of the sinner, as seen in the phrase: "been raised up". In the parallel passage of Ephesians 2:4-6 we read: "But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." 

So by combining Ephesians 2:4-6 with Colossians 3:1 we see that God the Father is the Father responsible for the New Birth. The Baptist Faith and message 2000 explains the new birth under its discussion of what is called regeneration (which is another name for the "new birth"): "Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God's grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace."

As one goes further into the scriptures, it is very clear that God the Father is the Father in the New birth. 1 Peter 1:3 affirms this truth: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." So according to the believer's birth certificate, the Bible, God is the Father of the believer Who initiates the new Birth. But notice what else we learn....

The Word of God (the scriptures) are the believer's mother in the New birth

Being that Colossians 3:1-2 and other scriptures reveal God the Father to be the Father, the question is: who or what is the maternal component in the New birth? Being that Paul is writing scripture here in Colossians 3:1-2, and being that He is issuing commands to those who have been born again, then it follows that the scriptures themselves provide the life giving component in the New Birth. Again notice how other scriptures testify to this point. James 1:18 "In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures." Whose will is spoken of here in James? The Father's will. By what means did He ordain that sinners be brought forth from death to life, from spiritual death to new birth? The Word of God. By function the scriptures are literally the "motherly" component in the New birth. The will of the Father combined with the word of God in saving faith yields forth eternal life in salvation. 1 Peter 1:23 states - "for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God." Peter then writes in 1 Peter 2:2 - "like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation." 

Jesus Christ is the attending physician in the New Birth

Paul states again in Colossians 2:1 "Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God." The focus of Paul's statement here is Jesus Christ, the attending physician of the New Birth.  On my birth certificate I have the name of the attending physician. That particular doctor was present at my birth.  In the miracle of salvation, the New Birth, the Holy Spirit brings to me the Great Physician - Jesus Christ. Jesus describes Himself as such in Mark 2:17 "And hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Jesus Himself calls forth sinners by the work of the Holy Spirit in the human heart. (John 5:24-25) When His sheep here His voice, they follow Him. (John 10:27) All of this is made possible by the communication of the Gospel that brings with it the power of salvation. (Romans 1:16; 10:17) 

The call of Jesus resulting in salvation is an effective call, meaning that it was effective in getting the sinner's attention about the awefulness of their sin and the awesomeness of Jesus Christ. Just like the day of one's natural birth, the New Birth's timing, circumstances and situation is orchestrated by God and necessarily includes the Gospel. (1 Thess 1:5; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23). The New birth includes faith and repentance, divinely given by God to become a decision of the human will. (Ephesians 2:8-9; 2 Timothy 2:25-26) 

The Holy Spirit superintends over the New Birth

The phrase "raised up with Christ" means that in the saving experience of the New Birth, the Holy Spirit of God unites me to Christ in saving faith. On my birth certificate there is the name of the superintendant of the hospital. His job is to oversee what goes on at the hospital and making sure the proper care is applied to the patient. The Holy Spirit ensures that the accomplished work of the Great Physician is brought to bear upon my otherwise spiritually dead heart. He superintends every believer's salvation from beginning to end by applying what Jesus has achieved in saving faith. Thus whatever Jesus experienced, I now too experience.  As Paul states plainly in Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me." 

New living ought to spring forth from the new birth

All of the scriptures mentioned thus far function together like a "birth certificate", telling you personal information about the Father (God), the mother (the scriptures), the Attending Physician (Jesus Christ) and the Superintendant, the Holy Spirit.  Whenever any baby is born, people will often dream and wonder what kind of life that little person is going to live. It is understood that as important as one's birth is, the life lived out by the person is what distinguishes them. The New Birth functions along the same principles - with obviously far richer meaning. There is obviously a life to live following the new birth - a life that we call "sanctification". (Philippians 1:6; 2:12-13) Why else does God command things in scripture? To show us that only He can supply the strength to carry them out and to show us that we are responsible for carrying them out.  

Is it no wonder then that we are told what is expected of someone who has been born again. Notice Colossians 3:2 "Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth." 

When you and I set our minds upon the One who saved us, called us and was responsible for our salvation, we are "living" the life. As you and I set our priorities where Christ is above, the things here below will find their proper order. Jesus himself states in Matthew 6:33  "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." 

The new birth is not about getting eternal life and then biding one's time until Jesus comes. The New Birth comes from God and involves faith and repentance from the heart that would be impossible apart from the Spirit's supernatural work. Only when someone has been born again can the instructions written out in Colossians 3:1-2 be carried out in willful obedience.

Closing thoughts:

We have looked today at what we called "the Christian's birth certificate" in Colossians 3:1-2. By noting what is written in Colossians 3:1-2 and other scriptures, we saw the following truths that correspond to spelling out the Christian's birth certificate, the Word of God:

1. God is the Father of the new birth

2. The scriptures are the mother of the new birth

3. Jesus Christ is the attending physcian of the new birth
4. The Holy Spirit superintends the new birth

5. New living ought to spring forth from the new birth

Longings after God - A prayer from the book: "The Valley of Vision"

Psalm 73:25-26 "Whom have I in heaven but You?And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

Yesterday a prayer was featured from a collection of prayers that would had been prayed in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries by a group of Christians called the Puritans.  These prayers reflect a profound devotion to God that is beautiful to read. The collection of prayers derives from a book called "The Valley of Vision". The Valley of Vision Collection can be found at the following website: http://www.oldlandmarks.com/puritan.htm#Longings after God

I felt in reading the prayer below that it would be a great way to start the week. May this week prove to be a blessed one for every reader out there.

Longings after God

"My dear Lord, I can but tell Thee that Thou knowest I long for nothing but Thyself, nothing but holiness, nothing but union with Thy will. 

Thou hast given me these desires, and thou alone canst give me the thing desired. My soul longs for communion with Thee, for mortification of indwelling corruption, especially spiritual pride. How precious it is to have a tender sense and clear apprehension of the mystery of godliness, of true holiness! 

What a blessedness to be like Thee as much as it is possible for a creature to be like its creator! Lord, give me more of Thy likeness; enlarge my soul to contain fullness of holiness; engage me to live more for Thee. Help me to be less pleased with my spiritual experiences, and when I feel at ease after sweet communings, teach me it is far too little I know and do. 

Blessed Lord, let me climb up near to Thee, and love, and long, and plead, and wrestle with Thee, and pant for deliverance from the body of sin, for my heart is wandering and lifeless, and my soul mourns to think it should ever lose sight of its beloved. 

Wrap my life in divine love, and keep me ever desiring Thee, always humble and resigned to Thy will, more fixed on Thyself, that I may be more fitted for doing and-suffering."

For the preacher & reader alike: "A Minister's Preaching" - From the Valley of Vision

1 Timothy 4:13 "Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching."

I love Sundays. Why? Because every Sunday God's word will be preached, taught and explained in pulpits and Sunday School classrooms across America and around the world. Whenever I stand up and read the scriptures at our church or when any pastor does the same, those words carry the power and conviction of the Spirit. The Spirit uses the scriptures to bring faith and repentance to sinners and to strengthen the saints. (Romans 10:17; 1 Peter 1:23) Today's post features a prayer entitled: "A Minister's Preaching". This prayer is part of a collection of prayers that were prayed by a group of Christians called the Puritans in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. These prayers were collected and put into a book called "The Valley of Vision" that has become a devotional standard for decades. May the reader be blessed by the below prayer which like so many of the prayers in "The Valley of Vision" are anonymous. This prayer certainly expresses my heart and I'm sure many a preacher who approaches God's sacred desk to deliver His word to saints and sinners this Lord's Day.

A Minister's Preaching

"My Master God,
I am desired to preach today,
but go weak and needy to my task.

Yet I long that people might be edified with Divine truth, that an honest testimony might be borne for thee.

Give me assistance in preaching and prayer, with heart uplifted for grace and unction.

Present to my view things pertinent to my subject, with fulness of matter and clarity of thought, proper expressions, fluency, fervency, a feeling of the things I preach, and grace to apply them to men's consciences.

Keep me conscious all the while of my defects, and let me not gloat in pride over my performance.

Help me offer a testimony for thyself, and to leave sinners inexcusable in neglecting thy mercy.

Give me freedom to open the sorrows of thy people, and to set before them comforting considerations.

Attend with power the truth preached, and awaken the attention of my slothful audience. May thy people be refreshed, melted, convicted, comforted, and help me to use the strongest arguments drawn from Christ's incarnation and sufferings, that men might be made holy.

I myself need thy support, comfort, strength, holiness, that I might be a pure channel of thy grace, and be able to do something for thee.

Give me then refreshment among thy people, and help me not to treat excellent matter in a defective way, or bear a broekn testimony to so worthy a redeemer, or be harsh in treating Christ's death, its design and end, from lack of warmth and fervency. And keep me in tune with thee as I do this work."

With those thoughts from this prayer I bid every reader and pastor out there 

a blessed Lord's day.  May God's Holy Word ring forth. Amen.

Rejoice in the Kingdom of God - Matthew 13:44-46

Matthew 13:44-46 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. 

Introduction:
Today's post features another look at Jesus' ongoing series of parables about the Kingdom of God in Matthew 13. When we speak of the Kingdom of God in the scriptures, two other truths are found associated with it in the Bible. The first of those is the Gospel itself, which is called by Matthew in Matthew 4:17 "the Gospel of the Kingdom". The Kingdom of God speaks of the power and authority of God expressed through the Divine King, Jesus Christ. Thus it only makes sense that King Jesus would have a message being heralded about His identity and achievement as Savior and Lord, namely the Gospel. Whatever we say about the Kingdom we necessarily say about the Gospel.

The second truth associated with the Kingdom of God is the Christian life. The New Birth that manifests itself in saving faith by the word of God is how one enters into the Kingdom. (John 3:3; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23) Furthermore, living for Jesus is described as Kingdom living and often times has to do with the attitudes and actions of the follower of Jesus Christ. (see Romans 14:17). Again, whatever we say about the Kingdom tells an awful lot about how we view and live the Christian life. To put it plainly: if you and I are not prioritizing the Kingdom then such an attitude will come out in how we view the Gospel and the Christian life.

These observations serve to show why Jesus' kingdom parables are so important.  If you and I understand the nature of God's Kingdom, then we will necessarily understanding the importance of the Gospel and the significance of living for Jesus as His followers. 

Point of Application:
Today's post will be looking at two short parables found in Matthew 13:44-46 - "The parable of the treasure" (13:44) and "The parable of the Pearl of Great Price" (13:45-46). The main point of today's post is: "Christians ought rejoice in the Kingdom of God". Lets now look at the two parables to flesh out what we mean by this point of application.

The joy of the kingdom. Matthew 13:44
We read in Matthew 13:44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field." As we noted earlier, how one views the Kingdom will determine how they view the Gospel and the Christian life. If you and I are to rejoice in the Kingdom, we must see how joyful it is! Joy in the Kingdom of God is what comes with salvation. Zaccheus in Luke 19:6-8 illustrates this well: "And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly. 7 When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”8 Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.” Notice how Zaccheus receives Jesus "gladly". Paul speaks of this same type of joy in Philippians 3:7-9 "But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, 9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith." We understand that as Christians we too are to have joy over the Kingdom of God. Romans 14:17 reminds us - "for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." Hebrews 10:34 echoes it this way: "For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one." Joy is the essence of the Kingdom of God, since the God who is Most glorious is the Cause of it. Thus Christians ought to rejoice over the Kingdom of God because of it being joyful to think about, hear about and live out. But notice a second reason for rejoicing about the Kingdom of God....

The Value of the Kingdom. Matthew 13:45-46
Notice what we read in Matthew 13:45-46 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it." The little word "again" tells us that Jesus is connecting each of these parables together like a string of pearls, adding layer upon layer and thought upon thought.  In this little parable we see a man selling all that he had over having discovered a "pearl of great price". Whether on land or sea, Jesus' hearers would had identified with what Jesus was saying. The value of God's Kingdom is learned through see the hardships that come about through increased acquaintance with this fallen world. 

Whenever I read this short little parable, Moses comes immediately to mind, since he risked it all to follow after the Lord. Hebrews 11:24-29 records:  "By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26 considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them. 29 By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned." Moses had it all in his first 40 years of life, then lost it all in the next 40 years of his life and then had more than it all in the final 40 years of his life. 

Again when we talk about the kingdom, we can easily include the Gospel message and Christian life, since both are cut from the same Kingdom cloth. The Gospel establishes God's Kingdom reign in the hearts of men and the Christian life expresses God's kingdom reign before men. Are you and I willing to risk it all to live for Jesus and to know His Gospel in the scriptures? Have we reached the point, like Moses, where we find the Christian life and the scriptures to be so amazing that we don't need this world and its wares to thrill our souls? I read this past week a statement written by a pastor who noted that as he has gotten older, he has found himself preaching more on heaven. I too can vouch for that, being that in comparison to God's Kingdom, Christ, His Word and the Christian walk, this world pales in comparison.  

Closing Thoughts:
We ought to rejoice over the Kingdom of God because of the joy it brings and the value it has. 

P3 Reaching out to make a difference - James 1:27

James 1:17-18 ¹⁷ Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. ¹⁸ In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.

Introduction:
The church that God has blessed me to pastor and to be a part of is a church that reaches out to people. However whenever I look at this passage of James 1:17-27, I discover that there are specific ways in which we or any church can be more effective in being a church that reaches to make a difference. Today's post, like yesterday's, is all about encouraging every church and every born-again child of God to be the type of church or disciple that reaches to make a difference. Five specific ways of reaching are mentioned here in James 1:17-27.  We have explored four thus far, namely....


1. Reaching out with the Gospel 1:17-18
2. Reaching up in prayer 1:19-21a
3. Reaching for the Bible
1:21b-25

4. Reaching towards holiness 1:26

Today we finish up this study on reaching out to make a difference. So how can a church or an individual follower of Jesus Christ reach out to make a difference? Notice...

Churches must reach the hurting 1:27
James 1:27 states: "Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world." Once again James is using standards of measurement to discern the genuineness of one's profession of faith. The standard here has to do with how well we respond as Christians to two particular groups that are often "out-of-sight, out-of-mind", orphans and widows. The word translated "orphan" is only found twice in our New Testaments, here in James 1:27 and Jesus' words to his disciples in John 14:18 "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." This word speaks of those who lost their parents due to death or those who were abandoned. The closely related idea of being "fatherless" is found some 40 times in the Bible, with reference being made quite often to how God extends a specialized form of the goodness of His benevolent grace towards such little ones. If we ignore orphans or treat them badly, we are in effect opposing God.

The other group, widows, speaks of those who have lost their husbands (and by logical extension husbands who lost their wives). Passages such as Acts 6 and 1 Timothy 5 speak of the early church's efforts to care for widows. Luke's writings (Gospel of Luke and Acts) presents roughly half of the total occurrences of widows in the New Testament, with every verse presenting them in a positive light as examples of piety, faithfulness and love for the Lord.

These findings demonstrate to me the importance for every church to have some type of visitation to either the homes or long-term care facilities to encourage widows. Too often today we see churches so concerned about advancing their names among the notables of a given community that those who are less visible are neglected. Little do churches and pastors realize how much those dear widows pray on behalf of their churches. To ignore those dear people is to oppose God's hand of favor. Indeed if Christians and churches are going to reach to make a difference, we must reach out to the hurting - spoken of here in James as orphans and widows.

Closing remarks
These past couple of days we have been concerned with how we as disciples of Jesus Jesus Christ individually and churches corporately can reach to make a difference in our communities. James 1:17-27 reveals five such ways:

1. Churches must reach out with the Gospel. 1:17-18

2. Churches must reach up in prayer. 1:19-21a

3. Churches must reach for their Bibles. 1:21b-25

4. Churches must reach towards holiness. 1:26

5. Churches must reach out to the hurting. 1:27

When we do these things, the power and presence of the Lord Jesus Christ through the Person and work of the Holy Spirit will reside upon, within and through our lives to make a difference in our community and our world.

P2 Reaching to make a difference - Reach towards holiness James 1:26-27

James 1:17-18 ¹⁷ Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. ¹⁸ In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.

Introduction:
The church that God has blessed me to pastor and to be a part of is a church that reaches out to people. However whenever I look at this passage of James 1:17-27, I discover that there are specific ways in which we or any church can be more effective in being a church that reaches to make a difference. Today's post, like yesterday's, is all about encouraging every church and every born-again child of God to be the type of church or disciple that reaches to make a difference. Five specific ways of reaching are mentioned here in James 1:17-27.  We explored the first three yesterday, namely....


1. Reaching out with the Gospel 1:17-18
2. Reaching up in prayer 1:19-21a
3. Reaching for the Bible
1:21b-25

Today we continue this study on reaching out to make a difference. How can a church or an individual follower of Jesus Christ reach out to make a difference? Notice...

Churches must reach towards holiness 1:26

James 1:26 states: "If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless." The tongue in James' epistle is discussed quite a bit as being an major indicator of one's inner spiritual condition. Towards the end of James 1:27 we see these words: "and to keep oneself unstained by the world." The world in this context refers to the system of unbelief opposed to the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word. (compare 1 John 2:15-17). The tongue transmits the contents of the heart through the speech, whereas the world brings it's agenda to us through our senses (1 John 2:15-17).


In the scriptures we see several references to a person's speech indicating the contents of their heart. Psalm 140:3 describes the mouth of the wicked as having the poison of a serpent. According to Proverbs 6:17-19, a "lying tongue" is one of the seven things God hates. Romans 3:13-14 includes this description of unbelieving man: “Their throat is an open grave, With their tongues they keep deceiving,” “The poison of asps is under their lips”; 14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”. Jesus warns us of the accountability we have for our words before God in Matthew 12:36-37 "But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (also see Luke 6:45)  Truly then we can discern how much we are concerned about holiness by how well we control the tongue.


Holiness is not so much concerned with longer dresses and shorter hair as it is an attitude of the heart set on making one's life an act of worship to a Holy God. According to James, how one expresses one's holiness is measured by what rolls off the tongue. On the one hand people cannot tame the tongue by natural power nor the flesh. (James 3:8) Yet James tells us here in James 1:26 that the ability to hold one's tongue is a measurement of one's inner spiritual vitality - which indicates that only when we are under the Spirit's control and direction can control of the tongue be achieved. (Ephesians 5:18)


Whenever we exercise how we express our words in our individual life, that in-and-of itself demonstrates how much we are under the control of the Holy Spirit. 


In as much as holiness concerns the inward condition of the heart, it also has to do with how much we have set ourselves apart from the world. Without resorting to crass legalism, holiness ought to be discerned by asking the simple question: can anyone tell by looking upon my life that I am a disciple of Jesus Christ? This is why James includes this instruction in 1:27 of "keeping oneself unstained from the world." We are after all called by the Heavenly Father to "come out and be separate" - i.e. holy (2 Corinthians 6:16-18). Holiness is just as much about knowing "who we are" as "knowing who we are not". Avoiding worldliness and controlling the tongue deals with the respective outside and inside areas of practical holiness.

Imagine if you will an entire church body exhibiting this same type of concern. Clearly a church that is given to reaching for holiness in its speech, its actions and its attitudes will be effective in reaching forth to make a difference. Sadly our fellowships are more often characterized by cynicism and back-biting than edification and building up of one another - as we ought to be. (Hebrews 3:12-13; Hebrews 10:24-25) The church so often tries to be like the world in reaching the world that it ceases being effective in the world. We are called by Jesus to be salt that slows the advances of evil and sheds light in a culture of darkness. (Matthew 5:13-16; Philippians 2:14-16).

Let us be those who reach towards holiness. More tomorrow.....

 

P1 Reaching to make a difference - James 1:17-25

James 1:17-18 ¹⁷ Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. ¹⁸ In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.

Introduction:

The church that God has blessed me to pastor and to be a part of is a church that reaches out to people. However whenever I look at this passage of James 1:17-27, I discover that there are specific ways in which we or any church can be more effective in being a church that reaches to make a difference. Today's post is all about encouraging every church and every born-again child of God to reach out to make a difference. Five specific ways of "reaching" are mentioned here in James 1:17-27.  We will list them and then briefly expound on each of them:

1. Reaching out with the Gospel 1:17-18
2. Reaching up in prayer 1:19-21a
3. Reaching for the Bible
1:21b-25
4. Reaching towards holiness 1:26
5. Reaching the hurting 1:27


So how can churches and disciples of Jesus reach to make a difference? Notice first of all....


Churches reach out with the Gospel. James 1:17-18
The Book of James is the earliest New Testament we have and contains the earliest instructions to the church following Jesus' ascension. The Gospel in James' letter centers around the miracle that is regeneration. Regeneration, in the words of the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 is: "a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ." The Gospel message is the vehicle through which the Holy Spirit works to bring the gifts of faith (Ephesians 2:8-9) and repentance (2 Timothy 2:25-26). In-as- much as the local church is composed of Christ's royal ambassadors telling sinners to "believe, repent and be reconciled to God", the Gospel's results cannot occur without the Spirit working through us. God desires to make a difference in the lives of people and has so ordained the preaching and teaching of the Gospel. (1 Corinthians 1:21) This effort of reaching out with the Gospel is the primary task of the church and the chief reason why Jesus has to occupy until His return. (Matthew 28:18-20) So churches that reach in making a difference reach out with the Gospel, but notice secondly....


Churches must reach up in prayer. James 1:19-21a
The wording of James 1:19-21a reminds me of two other passages of scripture that exhort believer's to pray.  The first is Paul's admonition in 1 Timothy 2:8 "Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension." A heart full of bitterness will never be able to be a heart full of prayer. This is why we see the second passage of Ephesians 4:30-32 "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹ Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. ³² Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." Whenever we see James writing his words, implied in the instruction is the need to reach up to God in prayer. Notice what he says in James 1:21 "in humility receive the Word implanted...". How else do you humbly receive what God has, except through prayer? As Peter reminds us in 1 Peter 2:4-5 "And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." Or even more so consider Jude's instructions on the need to reach up to God in prayer in Jude 1:20 "But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit." So any Christian or church that is going to reach out to make a difference needs to reach out with the Gospel and reach up in prayer. Lets consider one more way of reaching for today, namely.....


Churches much reach for the Bible. James 1:21b-25
Clearly the bulk of James' instructions centers around the Christian's individual life and the church's corporate life being transformed by the scriptures. Notice the following statements in 1:21b-25:


1:21b - "in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls."


1:22a - "But prove yourselves doers of the word...."


1:23 - "For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror."


1:25 - "But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does."

Why does James so emphasize this point of reaching for the Bible? Because the same Words that convert in James 1:17-18 are the same words that cleanse the soul of the saint in 1:19-25. James cites or alludes to nearly 90 passages from the Old Testament and the words of Jesus in his short letter of five chapters. James' instructions are so saturated with scripture that not a verse scarcely goes by where he is not alluding to an Old Testament statement or a word of Jesus. This ought to tell us something as disciples of Jesus and churches living in the 21st century - we need to be Bible saturated. Unless we are Bible saturated people, we cannot saturate our culture with Jesus Christ. Churches that reach to make a difference reach out with the Gospel, reach up to God in prayer and reach for their Bibles.

More tomorrow....