The path to freedom!

John 8:31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. ³² And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (NKJV)

Want to be free from sin and it's wide ranging and most heinous effects on both body and soul? Believe upon Jesus, abide in His word, and you will be as free as is possible in this life!

OT Israel, were they so bad or are we in denail?

I am finishing preaching through the genealogy of Jesus found in Matthew 1:1-17 this week. I had previously focused on the promises made to Abraham and David and their prominence in the genealogy. This week I will go through the rest of the list and hopefully we will marvel at the ability of God to use and complete His plans through such a bunch of sinners.

Some of their sins do seem unimaginable:

Joseph's treatment by his brothers is taking jealousy to an extreme level.

David's affair is one thing, but killing Bathsheba's husband Uriah is shocking.

Ahaz made his children pass through the fire and then liquidated the articles of worship in the temple to buy protection from pagan nations.

I could list many other heinous acts among those listed in the genealogy, but should we see the list as people to look down on or people to identify with!

If there is anything I have learned in my time in ministry it is that everyone has sin and it is often far worse than we would like to admit to God or share with others! Our situations may not always be as extreme as these listed, but we do plenty that is quite shocking and we may only have the lack of opportunity and cultural changes to thank for not doing exactly what these OT folks did.

The list given in Matt. 1 should have caused Israel then and us now to realize we are a mess and we needed the Messiah Jesus to save and change messes like us!

I think one of the most profound statements of scripture on Israel's history and the need to admit we are sinners is found here:

John 8:31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. ³² And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
³³ They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?”

³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. ³⁵ And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. ³⁶ Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. (NKJV)

The genealogy in Matt. points out that Israel had always been in slavery to sin and was often in slavery to other people, but a refusal to admit our slavery means we can never receive Jesus as our deliverer and be truly free.

May God grant us the eyes to see our own history and current lives clearly, such that we might abide in Jesus and His word, and be free indeed!

"Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."

Dr. James White on the Connecticut school shootings and evil in general.

Dr. James White offers a biblical lens through which to understand the evil events which fill our news and impact our lives.

Follow link to media -

Responding to evil and suffering, by Dr. James White

For those who feel overwhelmed today!

2 Cor. 12:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9  And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Such a marvelous reality - we call out to Him in our weakness and know His almighty power rests upon us!

"Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."

Do you sometimes find your faith unfruitful or barren?

 
Sometimes people struggle with past hurts, doubts or have “issues” that seem to be un-helped or only temporarily helped by God's promises as found in the Bible. We may know the Word says "if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation" (1 Cor. 5:17), but let's face it, we don't always live up to or feel the reality of that promise. 

Does our failure to find freedom or lasting peace from God’s Word regarding our “issues” suggest the need for secular counseling, medication or maybe the need to share our struggles with just the right person?

I would certainly not discount the need for medication if an actual medical problem is involved, and talking to others about our problems (professional or not) can bring some relief, but are God's promises dependent on these? Can we expect to find all we need to address our “issues” from God, through His Word and Spirit?

Consider some very bold and far-reaching promises from God in the passage below (bold and underlining added for emphasis) -

1 Peter 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (NKJV)

Wow! Consider the blessed promises – “Grace and peace,” “all things pertaining to life and godliness,” “partakers of the divine nature” and the promise to “be neither barren nor unfruitful” - does that sound like enough to overcome our issues?

O.K., but suppose you have read these and other promises from God's Word and still feel burdened by doubts, fears or the pain of past hurts? Suppose you have seen the promises and just don't feel like they were enough to solve your problems?

Is it time to look to other means of help? Time for a better teacher, a better book, a better friend, a professional, group therapy, a better...?  Or, perhaps it is time to do what God's Word says is necessary to actually have His promises effective in your life?

Consider the underlined “work” we are to do in order to experience the promises -

“giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love”

You see, the promises are there to believe and enjoy, but they will not be effective in our lives, we will not be fruitful, etc. unless we give "all diligence" and  "abound” in the prescribed work!

As someone who is a bit out of shape I can compare this spiritual concept to a physical one. The promise that “if I eat right and exercise, I will have a more healthy body” I believe to be true. However, believing that promise does not change my body at all. The promise tells me how to have a more healthy body; it doesn't make my body healthy by magic! If I try eating better and exercising for a few weeks, it will likely be uncomfortable and bring very little positive change to my life for all my effort, so I may quit. However, if I eat right and exercise over several years, I will undoubtedly find that I am in better shape for my efforts.

The problem we experience with our “issues,” the reason we don't find lasting peace or fruit in our lives from God's promises in relation to them, isn't necessarily because we don't know God's promises or even believe them, but that we won't do the work necessary for them to actually bring about lasting change in us!

Now, I am not talking about salvation here or a need to work for that; I am talking about experiencing the fruit of our salvation now as promised in God's Word!

Of course, if you think you need a medical doctor for your problems, by all means go to one! However, if you think you need a different book, a better teacher, a secular counselor or some form of group therapy, I simply want to ask you this - have you been and are you now doing the things God says will help? Have you continued to practice them with “all diligence”?

Are you entirely sure what “add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love” means? If not, then you certainly haven't done them as prescribed! If you do understand them well, can you honestly say you are fully committed to them now, as the answer to your “issues”? If you are only partly committed to this path - they won't be “yours and abound” and neither will the related promises!

God does not promise us a pain-free or issue-free life, but He does promise us “His divine power” to be all He intends us to be, for our good and His glory! A pain-free and issue-free life is coming, but you need to die in Christ physically to achieve the fullness of that promise, and He says we need to wait on His timing for that!

In the meantime, don't do what we do with so many other less important things…don't look for help and healing elsewhere, when you have only begun to scratch the surface of God's resources.

I do want to affirm that God's plan for helping us enjoy His promises often includes other people, but not just for some sort of supposed therapeutic sharing of our “issues.” No, God's Word gets very specific about what kind of sharing is necessary and helpful –

Sharing to a third party about what others have done to us, is gossip/sin, so we aren't helped by that, even if it seems to bring some feelings of relief. God's Word does give us direction in such matters - it says if we are sinned against we need to forgive them no matter how bad or how often they have sinned (Matt. 6:14-15, 18:21-35). It may also be necessary to go to the one who sinned against us personally regarding their sin and then eventually go through more steps of church discipline (Matt. 18:15-17). I would not deny, nor would Scripture, the right or even necessity at times to report illegal or dangerous activity to the proper authorities (Rom. 13:1ff), but simply wanting to get together with others and talk about the bad things others have done to us is generally gossip and un-helpful as far as finding lasting peace from God's power and promises is concerned.

I can get help from confessing my own sins to others and asking for prayer - James 5:16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. (NKJV)

I can also greatly benefit from frequent reminders from other believers about where hope and help lies - Heb. 3:12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; 13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, (NKJV)

Isn't this interesting? The kind of help we need from others is actually to point us back to the promises and resources of God and His Word! Holding to the end the confidence we had at the beginning is evidently hard, but necessary, so we need frequent encouragement from others.

My church is about to embark on a new ministry of meeting in homes to encourage each other in the Lord as this passage prescribes and hopefully reach the lost as well. I am very excited that we are taking this awesome and faith-stretching step.

My greatest hope for the groups is a mirror image of my greatest fear. My fear is that some people may misunderstand the way God fixes us - through His Word and His Spirit - and inadvertently substitute group therapy or good practical advice. It is absolutely crucial that people see a relationship with God in Christ and His power/truth as the ultimate answer to their issues or they may tragically see the group or certain people in it as their hope.

However, I also have very high hopes that we will fight this very natural tendency and use the groups as a way to point people to the source of our hope and peace, the only true lasting source for it - God's power and promises from His Word as made available through the work of Jesus Christ on our behalf!

"Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."