Category: selfishness

Greet the Brethren!

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

“Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity. Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus. Amen” (1 Peter 5:14).

Dear saints all around the world, we greet you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! 🙂

Elsewhere in the Bible’s canon, we find similar expressions to today’s Scripture. For instance, 2 Corinthians 13:12-13: “Greet one another with an holy kiss. All the saints salute you.” Or, “Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss” (1 Thessalonians 5:26). And 1 Corinthians 16:20: “All the brethren greet you. Greet ye one another with an holy kiss.”

To “greet” is an action of endearment, a gesture of love and respect. As custom in apostolic days, to “kiss” other believers was to do so on the cheeks, beard, hands, or forehead. Men would kiss men and women would kiss women. Today, we shake hands, hug, wave, smile, say “Hello,” et cetera.

Many times the Greek word for “greet” is translated “salute” in our King James Bible (Romans 16:5,7,9,10-16,21-23; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Philippians 4:21,22; Colossians 4:10,12,15; 2 Timothy 4:19; Titus 3:15; Philemon 23; Hebrews 13:24; 1 Peter 5:13; 3 John 14; et cetera). Our English word “salute” is from Latin salutare ‘greet, pay one’s respects to,’ from salus, salut- ‘health, welfare, greeting’; the noun partly from Old French salut.

In this world of busyness and worldliness, love is greatly lacking—even within the professing “Body of Christ.” Christians talk about how there once was an atmosphere of love in their local assembly; now, the ambiance is cold and unconcerned, full of backbiting, division, and selfishness. Christians do not seem to be as caring as they once were concerning other Christians. It is described by the phrase “without natural affection” in 2 Timothy 3:3. What a shame when Christians treat other Christians as lost people treat Christians!

Today, find another Christian and “salute/greet” him or her. Give a handshake, a wave, blow a kiss, do something to acknowledge their presence. After all, you need your practice. There will be millions of saints for you to “salute/greet” when you get to heaven. And, never forget, some will be the exact same saints mentioned in today’s Scripture! 🙂

Glorious Freedom #3

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof” (Romans 6:12 KJV).

The third verse of Haldor Lillenas’ classic 1917 hymn “Glorious Freedom” highlights today’s Scripture.

“Freedom from pride and all sinful follies;
Freedom from love and glitter of gold;
Freedom from evil temper and anger;
Glorious freedom, rapture untold!”

Once, when we were lost, under the control of the Adversary, separated from the Creator God, on our merry way to eternal hellfire, we “were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past [we] walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others” (Ephesians 2:1-3). What a description!

“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us [given us life and power to function in life] together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)” (verses 4,5). Now, we are dead with Christ and raised with Christ (Romans 6:3-11). Today’s Scripture says that we do not have to serve sin anymore; sin does not have to reign as a king over us anymore. We can choose to walk by faith in our new identity in Christ.

We are freed from pride (Philippians 2:5-11), for it is not us, but Christ living in us (Galatians 2:20). We are freed from foolishness (Ephesians 5:3,4; Titus 3:3), for we have Christ’s wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:30; 1 Corinthians 2:9-16). We are freed from materialism, for “the love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Timothy 6:10; cf. 1 Timothy 6:6). We are freed from unrighteous anger; we are to be “kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven [us]” (Ephesians 4:26,32).

Freedom, not to serve self, but to serve others! Inexpressible delight indeed! 🙂

Glorious Freedom #2

Monday, October 6, 2014

“But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life” (Romans 6:22 KJV).

The second verse of Haldor Lillenas’ classic 1917 hymn “Glorious Freedom” highlights today’s Scripture.

“Freedom from all the carnal affections;
Freedom from envy, hatred and strife;
Freedom from vain and worldly ambitions;
Freedom from all that saddened my life!”

Lost people view Christianity as bondage (due to strict denominational oppression) and their own lives as freedom (due to the deceitfulness of their own sinful hearts). Lost people assume they freely think for themselves and freely run their own lives—they succinctly declare that they are “not fettered to ancient texts of superstition and fiction” as we are!

Still, they fail to realize that they are captive, not free; they are slaves to sin, powerless to overcome it. Our Lord plainly declared that in John 8:34-36. Actually, the Pharisees resented Jesus for those words, even going so far as to say they “were never in bondage to any man” (verse 33)—they overlooked the hundreds of passers-by, soldiers who belonged to Israel’s overbearing Roman government! Even today, lost people claim to be free as they walk around wearing chains of sin.

In Christ, we are liberated from fleshly attitudes and likings; envy; hatred; strife (fighting); worthless secular goals; and all the other miserable actions that accompany our Adamic sin nature. After illustrating a horrible (sinful) lifestyle in verses 17-19 of Ephesians chapter 4, the Apostle Paul wrote: “[20] But ye have not so learned Christ; [21] If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: [22] That ye put off concerning the former conversation [behavior and lifestyle] the old man [old, Adamic, sin nature], which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; [23] And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; [24] And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” He then delineates grace living in verses 25-32, the eternal life God has for us in Christ. We are free from sin, and, as God’s Word rightly divided renews our minds, we see that everlasting life become evident in ours!

The More Excellent Ministry #5

Friday, August 29, 2014

“For the love of Christ constraineth us… God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:14a,18bc KJV).

Our flesh is ever so weak, but Christ’s love—the unconditional love He has for us—drives us to push ourselves aside and think of others instead.

God never saves anyone to sit and do nothing. Romans chapter 6 is the simplest passage regarding Christian living, and when read with chapters 7 and 8, one unquestionably learns how the Christian life operates. (Read these three glorious chapters to get a blessing!) Father God wants us to let Christ live in us via the indwelling Holy Spirit taking verses we study and believe, and bringing them “to life” in our lives!

When we trusted exclusively Paul’s Gospel, the Gospel of God’s Grace—Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He rose again the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3,4)—the Holy Spirit instantly placed us into Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13). That moment, we died with Jesus on Calvary’s cross and we were raised again with Him “to walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:1-6). We are “dead, freed from sin” (verse 7). Now, Jesus Christ’s life is in us; we are dead to self-living. “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me…” (Galatians 2:20). We read in 2 Corinthians 5:15, the context of today’s Scripture: “And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.”

In Matthew 20:28, Jesus Christ identified the more excellent ministry: “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” As His Father instructed, Jesus did not come to be served (self life), but to serve others (Christian life). Christ’s love for us drove Him to Cavalry’s cross, so His love for us—yea, for lost people—compels us to tell them of that love exhibited at Calvary: “For God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). 🙂

The More Excellent Ministry #4

Thursday, August 28, 2014

“For the love of Christ constraineth us… God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:14a,18bc KJV).

Our flesh is ever so weak, but Christ’s love—the unconditional love He has for us—drives us to push ourselves aside and think of others instead.

“For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written [Psalm 69:7], The reproaches of them that reproached thee [God the Father] fell on me” (Romans 15:3). Hebrews 10:5-9, quoting Psalm 40:6-8, contains a Messianic passage (prophetic of Jesus’ earthly life): “[5] Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: [6] In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. [7] Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. [8] Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; [9] Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God….”

Jesus “delighted” in doing His Father’s will (note Psalm 40:8); here, to lay down His life for our sins (John 10:17,18) and thus abolish the Old Testament animal sacrifices. As Christ, in His humanity, gained more awareness—more wisdom (Luke 2:40,52)—regarding Father God’s will for Him, He better understood what to do. Our Christian life operates in the same manner, for it is the same life of Jesus Christ!

What is Father God’s will today? He wants “all men to be saved” and all saved people “to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). He wants lost people saved through faith in Jesus Christ (the Gospel of the Grace of God). He wants saved people to understand why He saved them (dispensational Bible study). God’s will for us Christians is for us to grow in knowledge of His will for us. This is where today’s Scripture and its context come in—“the ministry of reconciliation.”

Where Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry ended (His finished crosswork), our ministry literally begins….

The More Excellent Ministry #3

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

“For the love of Christ constraineth us… God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:14a,18bc KJV).

Our flesh is ever so weak, but Christ’s love—the unconditional love He has for us—drives us to push ourselves aside and think of others instead.

What sort of life did Jesus Christ live on earth? If we can understand how He lives, then we can understand how He wants us to live in Him, or technically, how He wants to live in and through us. Philippians 2:3-5 reminds us: “[3] Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. [4] Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. [5] Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus….”

Our Lord Jesus Christ lived in complete awareness of what His Heavenly Father wanted accomplished. Unlike most Christians today, He did not wonder about in spiritual ignorance. His mind was so filled with the Word of God that nothing would distract Him from fulfilling it.

Isaiah 50:4-6 actually quoted Jesus Christ seven centuries prior to His incarnation: “[4] The Lord GOD [God the Father] hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. [5] The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. [6] I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.”

Jesus Christ said, “I do always those things that please him” (John 8:29c). He had so studied the Old Testament passages describing His life and ministry, that He was able to fulfill them perfectly. Hence, God the Father was so pleased. If we want our Christian lives to be acceptable to God, it will have to be Jesus Christ’s life in us….

The More Excellent Ministry #2

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

“For the love of Christ constraineth us… God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:14a,18bc KJV).

Our flesh is ever so weak, but Christ’s love—the unconditional love He has for us—drives us to push ourselves aside and think of others instead.

Notice the middle letter of the words “sin,” “pride,” and Lucifer.” Sin, at its heart, is serving self and living for self. However, the Christian life is not designed to be one of sin (selfishness): the most basic elements of the Gospel of the Grace of God, are us dying and resurrecting with Christ. The Christian life is really Jesus Christ’s life—the life that Father God gave us the moment we trusted Jesus Christ’s crosswork as sufficient payment for our sins. What was most characteristic of the life Jesus Christ lived on the earth?

Jesus prayed, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt…. O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done” (Matthew 26:39,42). “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8).

Philippians 2:3-8 summarizes the greatest life ever lived in human flesh: “[3] Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. [4] Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. [5] Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: [6] Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: [7] But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: [8] And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

Just as Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry was to fulfill His Heavenly Father’s will for Him, so our earthly ministry is to fulfill our Heavenly Father’s will for us….

The More Excellent Ministry #1

Monday, August 25, 2014

“For the love of Christ constraineth us… God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:14a,18bc KJV).

Our flesh is ever so weak, but Christ’s love—the unconditional love He has for us—drives us to push ourselves aside and think of others instead.

I recently received a most delightful email from a dear brother (his eyes will fall on these very lines). He and his wife have decided to dedicate what time they have left on this earth, to the furtherance of the Gospel of God’s Grace, and to the propagation of other dispensational Bible truths. They are burdened to reach a local retirement home for Jesus Christ’s glory!

We rejoice in Christ with them, knowing that once we grip God’s Word, it surely clutches our hearts. God placed such power in His Holy Bible (Hebrews 4:12), and once we extract that power with dispensational Bible study, and activate it by believing those words of God, that spiritual profit not only enlivens our inner man, it also compels us to share it so others can profit, too. “[T]he word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe…” (1 Thessalonians 2:13).

Dear saints, this lost and dying world is heading toward a devil’s hell forever. Jesus Christ is not physically here to reach them before they reach it. Today’s Scripture says He left that privilege to us, His Body, but we cannot reach them with the word of reconciliation until we first study and know it (note 2 Corinthians 5:14-21). The great conflict between holy God and sinful man has been ameliorated on God’s side—He has given His only begotten Son for our sins—but the merits of that finished crosswork are of no everlasting benefit to us until we appropriate by faith/trust. God has reconciled sinful man to Himself, but unless man accepts that reconciliation by faith, then the battle between holy God and sinful man will continue, to be finally and fully settled forever in the lake of fire.

May we be willing to get out there and reach them with the message of God’s grace… and quick!

Riches and the Four Gospels #3

Sunday, August 3, 2014

“And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:24,25 KJV).

Understandably, “health-and-wealth” preachers and teachers never quote Jesus’ words in today’s Scripture!

In Luke 12:13-15, a man desired Jesus to speak with his brother, that he “divide the inheritance” with him. Christ replied, “Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? [And he said unto them,] Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” Jesus then spoke a parable, describing how a rich man wanted to demolish his barns and build larger ones to contain his many fruits and goods. This fool deceived himself into thinking he could now enjoy “the good life,” forgetting that he would perish, lose it all, and stand before God as an idolater. Jesus concluded, “So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (verse 21).

Jesus then proceeded to tell His disciples not to worry about what they would eat, drink, or wear (verses 22-29).

Verses 30-34 continue, “[30] For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. [31] But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. [32] Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. [33] Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. [34] For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

In the Four Gospels, Jesus told the Jews that selling all their possessions and giving to the poor was a sign that their heart, their hope, was in heaven. Those who ignored this command were signifying their unbelief….

Beyond Our Comfort Zone

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

“Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12 KJV).

Our Christian lives are really not our own, so may we remove ourselves from our “comfort zone!”

The “comfort zone” is “a situation where one feels safe or at ease.” How many professing Christians, yea how many true Christians, are “too comfortable” to be “bothered” with witnessing and Gospel-tract distribution? Beloved, let us not be selfish! “For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s” (Romans 14:7,8; cf. 1 Corinthians 6:19,20).

From the time He began His ministry near age 30, to when He laid down His life at Calvary three short years later, Jesus Christ accomplished every single work that His Heavenly Father required of Him (John 17:4,8; John 19:30). However, His fellow man hated Him beyond words. Most all of Israel’s apostles are assumed to have died martyrs’ deaths. Right up until his execution, the Apostle Paul labored fervently for the sake of the Gospel of Grace (2 Timothy 4:6-8). As a dear friend in the ministry quips, Paul first inspected the jail whenever he entered a city because he knew he would probably be “checking-in” there that night! The Lord Jesus and His saints stepped out of their comfort zone, risking and losing their lives for Father God’s will. Intense opposition and persecution did not deter them.

Rather than just sitting around condemning the lost world for behaving like the sinners they are, Christianity needs to study their Bibles rightly divided and learn God’s truth so they can tell it to others. We have Jesus Christ, the only key to mankind’s sin problem. As people who have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ alone as our personal Saviour, it is our privilege and responsibility to share Him with others. Absolutely, this means jeopardizing our social status, friendships, acceptance in the family, and yes, our lives. Sure, they will dismiss as crazy, shun us, perhaps imprison or kill us, but at least we cared enough about them that we told them the truth! 🙂