The Heaton File

Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” Having said this, He breathed His last. (Luke 23:44-46)

Three Hours Of Darkness

The Palestinian sun brilliantly shone down on the tragic events taking place outside Jerusalem. Three men were nailed to crosses with the proficiency of the Roman Army. A crowd gathers around the scene, jeering, mocking, screaming, and hurling insults. Two of the men were known criminals charged with robbery and murder. The man in the middle was charged as a criminal but was innocent of all sin. It was a noisy place and smelled of death. Golgotha was a place of death used by the Romans to carry out capital executions of the government. No one escaped the cross. It was the most horrific means to kill a man perfected over the years to prolong suffering as long as possible. A merciful act that heightened the severity of the execution was breaking the legs of the criminals. Jesus was the man in the middle who endured the suffering of the crucifixion along with the other two men. His legs were never broken as He died around three in the afternoon.

Three hours after Jesus is nailed to the cross, the sun becomes obliterated from sight, and darkness falls over the land. It is not an eclipse of the sun or some natural phenomena explained by an erupting volcano, or a flock of birds, or dark storm clouds. This darkness permeated everything as the darkness veiled Egypt when the Hebrews were in bondage. It was a darkness that could be felt. The darkness of Egypt lasted for three days, but the darkness at the cross of Jesus lasted three hours. It was the middle of the Palestinian day when the sun was the highest and brightest. Suddenly, darkness covered the land with no explanation. It lasted for three long, troubling hours as the life of Jesus slowly slipped away.

God gave humanity a powerful sign in bringing the darkness. Jesus was bearing the darkness of sin for all humanity, and the earth responded in kind. It was as if nature itself was yielding itself to the reality of the death of God. Jesus was not coming down from the cross alive. He would endure the terrible pain of the cross for nearly six long, agonizing, and incredibly painful hours. There was no wine mingled with myrrh to dull the pain. Jesus refused it. The penalty of sin would be paid in full, and darkness was part of the price. Jesus hung on the cross for three hours, engulfed with darkness. There was no sun to offer hope. He could not look out in the crowd to see His mother. His first words when the darkness fell were pleading with His heavenly Father why He had forsaken Him. He cried for thirst as the darkness heightened His suffering. The darkness reminded Jesus why He came, and He declared His work finished. Finally, in the midst of the darkness, Jesus died. It was the sixth hour of the day when the sun would fill the sky with brilliant rays of sunshine, but not today. An unnatural darkness covered the land when Jesus died.

Man is not made for the darkness. He is not a nocturnal creature. His place is in the sunlight of the day. When God created man, he was made in the image of the Father for the glory of the Father. He was not created to be a spiritual nocturnal being. Sin brought darkness to the heart of man. Adam and Eve hid in the shadows of the trees seeking to flee the presence of God. Jesus died in darkness to bring light to the world. To die in the cover of darkness made the suffering even more. Jesus bore the physical suffering of the cross, but He did not die on a bright sunny day. He gave up His spirit as darkness covered the land.

It would not be until the morning of the third day that light would return to the soul of man. When Jesus died, the sun shone once again, and the world seemed to return to normal. What remained was the darkness of sin. On the first day of the week, Jesus rose in the early morning to bring the light of redemption to all men so they would never live in darkness again. The land was covered with darkness three hours when Jesus was dying, but the sun came back. Jesus died and rose to show men the darkness of their eternal spirit needs the light of His love. The sun may shine brightly in the sky, giving God the glory, but when the light of Jesus Christ shines bright in a heart darkened in sin, God is glorified, and Jesus praised.

The centurion got it right when the darkness ended, and he saw Jesus give his last breath. He said, “Truly, this Man was the Son of God.” It may have worried the centurion when three hours earlier, darkness filled the land. There was no explanation and no answer. Somewhere in the heart of the centurion, he realized the crucified man in the middle was different. Jesus died, and the darkness went away. The gospel changes hearts when Jesus dies in the soul of man and takes away the blackness of sin. Light comes in death. Let the light of Jesus take away your darkness.

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

The Unrighteous Will Not Be Saved

Peter said that some of Paul’s writings were hard to understand, and the untaught and unstable people will twist to their own destruction. That is not the case in the first letter to the saints at Corinth. There is clear and demonstrative language in Paul’s epistle to the Corinthians that cannot be missed. The world will muddy the word of God, bending truth to fit their pernicious ways, but that will not take away from the truth. Paul’s language is unambiguous, unmistakable, and unequivocal when he writes the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. There is no room for misunderstanding the message of the Holy Spirit. The reality of eternal damnation is not to be missed. Jesus taught that hell is real and the disobedient will be cast in the lake of fire and brimstone with no exceptions. Paul echoes the teaching of the Lord in showing that those who persist in sin will not find joy in death.

Eternal damnation is not a pleasant subject, and it is natural to recoil from its message. There is a healthy view of looking at hell as real because it is real. Denying it does not change its reality. It does not fit the human model of wisdom. God is full of love, but the wrath of God is the exercise of His divine righteousness. He has no desire to condemn anyone, but He must because of His character. Paul says the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. The unrighteous hearts of those who reject the grace of God cannot stand before a Holy God and find eternal life. Righteousness demands justification against unrighteousness. God created man; man did not create God. The law of God is what determines the destiny of humanity. Sadly, most people will never see eternal life. Jesus affirmed this in His teaching.

Paul asked a rhetorical question when he wrote to the Corinthians. They knew the unrighteous would not be saved. What the apostle did was to remind the saints of the damning influence of sin and that God did not show partiality of one sin to another. He suggests a list of sins as examples of what is commonly accepted in the world yet condemned by a Holy God. Fornication is sexual immorality accepted by a carnal world but will condemn a soul to hell. Sex before marriage is viewed as the passing rights of young people, but God calls it sin. Those who engage in sexual relationships outside of marriage will go to hell. Idolaters are not limited to those who fall before a stone image. Covetousness is idolatry. Adulterers will be condemned to hell. Men and women who defile their marriage vows by engaging in promiscuous relationships will not be saved. Infidelity is sin, and engaging in sex outside of the marriage bond condemns a soul to hell.

The world is becoming more desensitized to the immorality of homosexuality, but God’s view has never changed. Men and women who turn against the natural way to have sex and instead indulge in sex with each other will be damned. The unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God, and this includes the sexually perverted. Among the list given by Paul are thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, and extortioners. Stealing will damn a soul. Worshiping wealth damns a soul. Alcohol will send many to perdition, and those who live life as a wild party of indulgences and greed will find no joy in death. This list is not a final list but an example of God’s view of unrighteousness.

Paul’s language is offensive to the moral sensitivities of modern man. He was not writing to appeal to human wisdom but the reality of God’s judgment upon those who refuse to obey the word of the Lord. The Bible is filled with God’s wrath against unrighteousness. His righteousness demands justice. The only hope is found in leaving unrighteousness and seeking the paths of holiness, purity, and righteousness in the love of God. Among the Corinthians, some lived unrighteous lives, but when they came to the grace of God in obedience, they were washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus. Their sins were all washed away in the waters of baptism. What joy the unrighteous became righteous. The message is clear. There is eternal damnation to those who live after the lusts of the world. Joy can only come in obedience.

You are my portion, O Lord; I have said that I would keep Your words. I entreated Your favor with my whole heart; be merciful to me according to Your word. I thought about my ways, and turned my feet to Your testimonies. I made haste, and did not delay to keep Your commandments. The cords of the wicked have bound me, but I have not forgotten Your law. At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You because of Your righteous judgments. I am a companion of all who fear You and of those who keep Your precepts. The earth, O Lord, is full of Your mercy; teach me Your statutes. (Psalm 119:57-64)

I Will Keep Your Words

The affirmation of the psalmist to God is clear: You are mine. There is no hesitation and no wavering of thought. The spirit of the child of God is devoted to the affirmation and confirmation of the word of the Lord in his soul. Reading the psalms, one finds a wealth of devotion unparalleled in scripture. These are not timid hearts trying to decide whether they are committed to the Lord God or not but people that have fully put their trust in the word of God. They have made a promise they will keep the word of the Lord with their whole heart. Every fiber of their being longs to know the statutes, commandments, and instructions of the Divine. When the author begins this section of his lengthy declaration of God’s word, he confesses to God that He is his portion and inheritance.

Dedicated people are committed people. It is not easy to dissuade hearts wholly committed to the Lord because they have the word embedded deep in their souls. Life has many turns and ups and downs with challenges abounding. What makes the heart of the child of God secure is the knowledge they have of the word. This is not a good-feeling-religion of mediocrity. Pondering life brought the heart to follow the laws of God, His will, commandments, precepts, and testimonies. There is an urgency to keep the word of the Lord as he seeks the mercy of God. Sin is not something to be trifled with, and the immediacy of knowing the word protects the heart from temptation. The wiles of the devil are ever-present, but the man secured in the word of God is like an anchor fastened to a rock.

The psalmist declares to the Lord that he promises to keep His words. This commitment must come through tedious hours of study and examination of the word. The significant part of his declaring allegiance to the Lord is his willingness to know the word. It is impossible to keep the word of God if a man does not know the word. Keeping the commandments of God necessitates the knowledge of those commandments. He promises not to forget the law of God rising at midnight to thank the Lord for His word. Imagine waking in the middle of the night to tell the Lord, “Thank you.” That is how much the word meant to this man.

Because of the righteous judgments of the Lord found in the word and discovered in the life of the man, there is much to be thankful for and give praise to God. Evil abounds in the world, but the heart of the child of God safely trusts in the word of God. The association of fellow believers is fortified by their desire to obey the commands of God. Finding people of like precious faith enjoins the hearts of the faithful to one another. The loyal heart has committed itself to the word of the Lord and to be a companion to all those who fear the Lord God. His final desire is to know the statutes of the Lord and to understand the decrees of God.

The need of every Christian is to have the heart of the psalmist. There must be a dedicated spirit to know the word of God. It must be the most important part of life to understand God’s will for a man’s life. Life is filled with evil and the temptation of the devil. Without a firm knowledge of the word of God, the soul will lose the battle, and Satan will gain the victory. Knowledge is power because it gives the heart the ability to fight off the wiles of the devil. There must be a firm resolve to know all that can be known in a lifetime of the word of God. A thousand years will not exhaust the knowledge of God, but a life filled with the precepts of the Lord will find peace, safety, hope, and promise of eternal life. Keep the word of God.

Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. (Ephesians 5:1)

Be Like God

To imitate something is to copy or use something as a model, form, or design. Within personal relationships, it is to act the same as or to impersonate and mimic. One of the keys of imitation is to present an accurate model of what is being copied. The result will be that what is imitated will be like the original. Authors have suggested imitation is the highest form of flattery, but it is more than trying to flatter someone else. Imitation is the foundation of man’s relationship with God. The Lord demands it and includes it in His canon of doctrine. Paul’s exhortation to the saints in Ephesus included the need to form one’s life to model God. As dear children, the Father’s offspring is to look like the Heavenly Father in every way.

Herman Melville wrote, “It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.” Melville was not writing about the relationship between man and God in a spiritual sense. Still, his statement rings true with the struggle humanity has with obedience to the word of God. The days of Noah were characterized by individuality, where everyone did what they wanted to do. Only eight souls imitated the character of God, and only eight souls were saved in the ark. Throughout the period of early days of Israel, the land was governed by judges who the Lord would send to rescue the people out of bondage. This cycle continued for many years because there was no king in Israel, and everyone did what was right in their own eyes. They imitated what they wanted instead of seeking the divine blueprint. The failure of “originality” not only led to their failure but their destruction.

The human spirit has a hard time wanting to imitate the Divine. Freedom of life-choices is the banner most live under, believing that life is about the here and now. They believe that imitation is one letter short of limitation. Trying to mold their character after God will limit their pleasures, wisdom, and purpose in life. Why do so many people refuse to obey the will of the Father? They do not want to imitate God. According to human reasoning, imitating the world is a lot more productive and much more fun. Sadly, when these souls stand before the Father in eternity, they realize that human imitation was the greatest limitation.

Imitating God is a powerful task, daunting at best and humbling to try. How can a man imitate God? The Father has not given an impossible task, but with His divine help, any man can model their lives after the character of God. Children of God become like God. Reading the Bible helps a man see that God is loving, kind, merciful, benevolent, forgiving, and slow to wrath. There are myriads of ways to describe God as found in God’s word for His charity. It must not be lost on the student of scripture that the Lord God is also just, fair, punishing when required, without partiality, and unwavering in His word. All of the characteristics of God (goodness and severity) must be imitated by His children.

Love and forgiveness are the spiritual DNA of the child of God because they belong to the Father. The follower of Christ cannot endure sin as the Father abhors sinful conduct. The Lord God is pure and holy, and His children must be pure and holy. God so loved the world, He gave His only Son to die for those who did not deserve grace. Children of God learn to forgive and remove the stain of prejudice against others. Imitating God shows kindness, being tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave His children. When the world looks at the life of a Christian, they see the Father. If the world sees the child of God walking like the world, talking like the world, and living like the carnal world, they will not see the imitation of God. Who do you look like?

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

Spirit Fruit: Kindness

The fruit of the Holy Spirit is an amazing contrast of the world and the child of God. There are few similarities as the light of God shines in a world darkened by the hatred, prejudice, and self-serving dictates of the human soul. The Christian is filled with the fruit that will show kindness to all men while the carnal heart looks out for self and no one else. A contrast of spirits shows the disposition of a disciple of Christ to be mild of temper, calm in spirit with an unruffled nature seeking the betterment of his neighbor. He is a kind and gentle person. This is not something a person naturally develops in life but comes from the Holy Spirit.

Kindness is a gentle word that is a moral platform of God’s grace. Joseph Joubert defined kindness as “Loving people more than they deserve.” Kindness began with God, and He expects His children to follow His example. The fruit of the Spirit shows kindness to be part of the growing process in the heart of the Christian. It also suggests that kindness is not a natural outgrowth of a disposition someone is born with. Kindness is an act that shows love toward enemies. It takes the hatred of self and follows the pattern of Jesus, who sacrificed Himself for others. The home is established on kindness as an integral part of the marital relationship of husband and wife. A happy marriage is when the husband shows kindness to his wife, and the wife expresses kindness to her husband. Parents teach their children to be kind to everyone. Respecting the elderly, helping those in need, and showing respect to those in authority is how young people learn kindness.

The proverb writer says that what is desired in a man is kindness, and the mouth of the virtuous woman is filled with wisdom and the law of kindness. It is interesting to see that kindness is a law. The fruit of the spirit is given for men to accept the will of the Father to be people who are kind, slow to anger, and merciful. Paul would tell Colosse saints to be the elect of God; they must put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering, and forgiveness with love. The cousins of kindness are the true characteristics of a child of God. Christians are known for their kindness. This is one of the great dividing pictures of those who live according to the Spirit and those who live according to the flesh.

Kindness is a fruit of the Spirit that must be developed. It is not a natural outgrowth of a person’s disposition. Peter will include in the graces of a Christian the need to add to godliness brotherly kindness. It is a formula that must come from the heart of God, learned in the spirit of man, and shown through the active hands of a Christian. If there is any kindness in the world, it must come from God’s people first. Grouchy, angry, discontented, unhappy, and resentful people do not show the love of God and His kindness. It may be hard for some folk to be kind, but God expects it. Nay – He demands it.

The joy of kindness is the fruit it bears. Open a door for another. Smile – it becomes contagious. Let others know you care about them. Send a note to encourage. Help others. Help someone without being asked. Prepare a meal. Tell someone you care about them. Give a flower. Say thank you and please. Never fall victim to gossip but speak the truth in love. Forgive. Sing. Pray. Show the heavenly Father your kindness. The greatest kindness you can do for another is to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and help them find eternal life. That is the kindness that will never end. Be kind.

Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?” When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you? What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.” From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. (John 6:60-66)

Refusing To Walk With Jesus

When the people heard Jesus teach, they recognized He was a man of authority. His preaching was not like the Jewish leaders of the day. The sermon on the mount was a masterpiece of a direct, unmistakable, and powerful message from the word of God. There was division about Jesus because of the manner of His teaching. Some accepted His word while others held fast to the doctrines of the Jews. Jesus answered questions about allegiance to the Roman government, how to deal with unruly brethren, the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, viewing sin as the detestable thing it was, and a host of issues that would not win Him many friends. No one could deny the teachings of Jesus. His messages were always without contradiction.

Jesus often accompanied His teaching with miracles by healing all manner of disease, casting out demons, and raising the dead. Multitudes came to Jesus to be healed. He took away their maladies and then taught them the healing power of the Father’s word. Following the feeding of more than five thousand people, Jesus went away to the other side of the sea. When the crowds found Him, they chided Him for not telling them where He had gone. Jesus knew the reason they sought Him was to be fed the bread and fish again. After the Lord taught the message of the bread of life, many were offended by His words. Many of His disciples told Jesus He had offended the people by His teaching. They had witnessed His miracle and now rebuked the miracle worker.

The miracles of Jesus showed the power of God so the people could be drawn to the Son. However, the miracles did not save them. Jesus fed five thousand people, but they were hungry the next day. The fish and loaves only took away their hunger for a moment. What the people needed more from Jesus was the bread of life that would always endure. Jesus was extremely popular when He fed them fish and bread, but people were offended when it came to His teaching. The selective nature of the human spirit is to desire something that will not last and be more inclined to refuse that which is eternal. This is what the people did with Jesus.

When God sent His Son to earth, He desired to save all men. Sadly, the human heart gets easily offended, and the people turned away from Jesus. They would never find a man who spoke like Jesus. There was no great manifestation of the power of God than found in the miracles of Jesus. The Lord had power over nature, time, distance, death, and the world of Satan. In the face of all the testimony of the divine power of God, the people turned away and walked with Jesus no more. When the human heart is offended because what is told to them does not fit with their wisdom and desires, man quits. That is what the people did to Jesus – they abandoned Jesus.

The crowds still walk away from Jesus. With all the teachings of Jesus in the Bible and the proofs of His miracles testifying to His divine nature, people walk away from the Lord because the word offends them. The Bible is not a book difficult to understand. There are many different types of churches, faiths, beliefs, and practices that do not harmonize with the teaching of Jesus. Modern religion has walked away from Jesus long ago because the truth offends them. Many people refuse to accept the Bible because they would have to change their life to mold it into the image of something that offends them. The ‘Cancel Culture’ has been around for a long time as men cancel the word of God for what they accept as truth.

Those people offended by the teaching of Jesus and who walked away from Him walked back to Him in death. The sad reality is that no one will ever be able to walk away from Jesus. A man can turn away from Jesus in this life and follow after human religion and serve the flesh to his full desire, but there will come a day when all men will come back to Jesus. On that day, there will be no time and no mercy. The Son of God they rejected will now be their Judge. All the teachings that seemed hard and offensive in life will then be crystal clear. Salvation will only come to those who walk with Jesus, not away from Him. The joy of eternal life is to walk with Jesus now so that we can walk with Him in death. Who are you walking with? Have you walked away from Jesus?

Dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is His delight. (Proverbs 11:1)

God Demands Honesty

There are many things that scripture calls an abomination to the Lord. Idolatry is at the top of the list with everything attached to it loathsome to the nostrils of God. Incest is unconscionable to the character of the Lord. Adultery was considered an abomination as well as sodomy. The sacrifice of children to Molech and other idols as burnt offerings were abominations to the eyes of the Lord. Sorcery and necromancy were condemned in the Law of Moses as an abomination. Prostitution was considered a vile act. Homosexuality was a detestable sin and repulsive to the Lord. For something to be called an abomination would bring about the wrath of a furious God who viewed these matters with great disgust and anger.

It is easy to look at sinful acts at different levels of consequence. Sexual sin may have a more significant impact than other sins, but one sin is just as damning as another. Lying is one of the most prevalent sins committed by men but not considered as serious as murder. As the Bible speaks of many things that are an abomination to God, one overseen abomination is clearly stated in scripture. Unjust weights and measures are just as much a detestable thing in the eyes of God as incest.

The Proverbs are filled with practical and everyday wisdom based upon the holy law of God. These are not mere suggestions to follow but commands to be entrusted to the hearts of the faithful. There are many contrasts between the righteous and the unrighteous, the proud and the humble and the wise man and the foolish found in the wisdom literature. God gives a severe warning that he views dishonesty with the same wrathful fervency as sodomy, murder, adultery, and homosexuality. The Lord detests dishonesty. A man who would cheat his neighbor is an abomination to God. Honesty is not the best policy – the Lord commands it.

People of God must live at a higher standard of integrity. They are not honest because it serves them some reward in life. The Christian is honest in all his dealings because he is a child of God. Dishonest scales were a specific problem, but the underlying cause was a corrupt heart. If a man weighs out a measure knowing that he is cheating another man, God sees his dishonesty and is repulsed by his action. The cheated man may never know, but the Lord will remember the deceit of the accused man in judgment.

Dishonesty can happen in many ways. Failing to work full hours on a job, skimping on production, lying on an application, not being honest on taxes, selling a car with known defects, knowingly allow a man to receive less than he expects for greedy purposes and a host of common maladies in the world that Christians have allowed to influence their decision making. A just weight is something that pleases the Lord and should be the motive behind every action a Christian takes. Honesty is the character of a man of God. His word is a bond of truth. There is no deceit or misinformation. The eyes and ears of the Lord are seeking hearts that are true and just.

For the word of the Lord is right, and all His work is done in truth. (Psalm 33:4)

It Is Right And It is Truth

When a thing is right, it is a matter that conforms to unalterable facts. It is genuine and real. Truth is along the same lines as what is right as the foundation of real and factual. The elements of being right and truth conform to the authority of the one who establishes what is right and true. In sports, delegating organizations establish rules that apply to football, baseball, basketball, soccer, etc., individually. Governments pass laws directing which side of the road to drive on and penalties for breaking the laws. A body of truth is how the authorities delegate and regulate the letter of the law. What is right is determined by the precedent of the governing authorities. This is all true except for how men view the word of God.

The Bible is the mind of God revealed to humanity for understanding, guidance, direction, and knowing the will of the Lord. From the Garden of Eden, Satan has challenged the truth of God by suggesting the question, “Has God indeed said?” His ploy has been successfully used against the word of God as men refuse to obey the commands of the Lord. Moses wrote the law down for the people of Israel to read, but they still disobeyed. Jesus taught for nearly three years the will of His Father, and the Jews rejected and killed Him. After two thousand years, the Bible is still viewed with suspicion and distrust, and religions pick and choose which parts of the Bible they will accept. Sadly, while the Bible is the most prolific book in history, it is the least read and understood.

God’s word is right. There is no deviation from this principle. It’s not right about some things; it is right about everything. What makes people uncomfortable with the word of God is that it invades every part of life and demands recognition. Man desires to establish his own code of what is right so that he can enjoy the pleasures of sin. If he calls evil good and calls light darkness, he feels good. Calling evil good does not make good evil, and trying to change the light to darkness does not diminish the light. God’s word is right all the time, and it is unchanging. No man can change the word of God without permission from God – and that will never happen.

Truth comes from the body of what is right. If God’s word is right, His word is truth. The measure of truth is determined by establishing the body of law determining what is right and wrong. This becomes the truth. God’s word is true because everything God says is right, just, perfect, everlasting, and represents the only truth that will bring man happiness. Sin is rebellion against God’s truth and always (without exception) fails to get the pleasure expected. The truth of God is the right way and the only way to find happiness. Mixing the truth of man with the truth of God denies the righteousness of the Lord. Truth is pure. It comes only from what is right in the eyes of God. What is right is what God says is right, which establishes the only truth that will save a man. To reject what is right is to deny truth. Believing the righteousness of God will bring the heart of man to the truth of righteousness and salvation.

Afterward, I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. And I was unknown by face to the churches of Judea which were in Christ. But they were hearing only, “He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith which he once tried to destroy.” And they glorified God in me. (Galatians 1:21-24)

Glorifying God In Me

Saul of Tarsus was a driving force against the church of Christ as he sought to destroy all remnants of the early church. He went everywhere to destroy those of the Way. The authority given to him by the high priest in Jerusalem was sweeping in its reach to destroy all those who professed Jesus Christ as Lord. No laws were protecting the Christians from Saul barraging into their homes without provocation, arresting people, and committing them to prison. He was not sympathetic to men or women. The threats of Saul’s persecution reached a fever pitch of threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. Many of the Christians in Jerusalem were thrown into prison. Saul cast his vote to have Christians executed. He forced followers of Christ to blaspheme God. His wrath against the church was so intense he persecuted them to foreign cities. Saul did a lot of harmful things against the Lord’s church. All the disciples feared him.

On a trip to Damascus to arrest Christians, the Lord met Saul on the road and changed his life. In the mind of God, Saul was a chosen vessel to bear His name to the world, including kings and the children of Israel. The Lord told Saul to go into the city and wait. Three days later, Ananias comes to the house where Saul has been staying and baptizing him for the remission of his sins. Saul immediately begins to learn the gospel of Jesus Christ and to preach its message with great zeal. The Jews plotted to kill Saul, but he escaped. Coming to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were terrified of him. Barnabas brought him to the apostles and declared to them how Saul had become a disciple of Christ. Saul was accepted as a follower of Christ.

Much of the work of Saul, who would later be called Paul, was in the region of Galatia and other parts of Asia Minor. Writing to the churches in Galatia, Paul recounted the story of his conversion. He was unknown to the churches of Judea, and the brethren were afraid of him because of his past. The people were puzzled because the one who used to persecute them was now preaching the very faith he tried to destroy. This did not cause them to shrink back from him but to embrace him. Paul said that people glorified God in him because of his life and his willingness to obey the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Paul’s life was a testimony to the abundant grace of God and His love for a man who called himself a chief sinner. No one would have imagined that Saul of Tarsus would become one of the staunchest defenders of the faith. Saul was not at the top of the list of possible candidates for a Bible study. He would not have been someone a Christian tried to approach with a tract or an invitation to worship services. Even Ananias was scared to go and see Saul and this came from the request of the Lord. His faith overcame his fears, and he went. What an amazing scene when Ananias walked into the room where Saul, the great destroyer of the church, sat hungry and blind, and soon after, Ananias lifted him out of the waters of baptism. God’s grace is so compelling.

The story of Saul’s conversion serves a purpose. That purpose is to show the glory of God’s grace. Paul said the disciples glorified God in his story. His conversion was a remarkable event. The least likely person in the world answered the gospel call. God washed away the sins of Paul in the waters of baptism, and the early Christians glorified God for His grace. His conversion story was a hallmark for all the early saints to teach the lost – and those who seemed really lost. Stories that Paul abound in the church today. It seems hard to imagine a Moslem obeying the gospel, but my son-in-law did. God is glorified by his willingness to accept the gospel of Christ as true. Stories abound of prostitutes, drug users, drunks, immoral and ungodly people hearing the gospel of Christ and obeying the word in baptism. Their stories glorify God. How did you learn the truth? Let your story of conversion glorify God. The church needs to hear those stories.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

Spirit Fruit: Longsuffering

With each passing day, the world becomes a little older and its history longer. Known historical records date somewhere beyond five thousand years. While this seems infinitesimal to the staggering billions of years suggested by those who deny God, the span of man’s history is small compared to the eternal landscape stretching out before and after the existence of humanity. During this short time, God created the world, destroyed the world save eight souls, and has permitted humanity to engage in wars, destruction, wickedness, and for the majority of souls, deny the existence of God. Most of the world refuses to follow the teaching of the Lord. Many people follow other gods. All in all, the world has no desire to believe in or follow the grace of God. And yet, the world continues for a time.

Longsuffering is when love suffers long. The longsuffering of God is to understand how He allows the world to continue in the face of the world’s hatred of Him. He does not act according to the whims of human wisdom that would destroy the universe if given a chance. God’s love is beyond the comprehension of carnal men who thrive on personal pride. The love of God allows time to continue giving men an opportunity to find Him. If the wickedness of men were the gauge to destroy the world, it would have been destroyed long ago. Long-mindedness is where the Creator bears with the frailties and provocations of men. It is to this kind of love, the fruit of the Spirit implores the child of God to show longsuffering to others.

Life is filled with troubles and difficulties. It can be unfair and unjust at times. The fruit of the Spirit instills in the heart of a Christian the calm patience to endure the inequities of life, knowing that God sees and cares for His children. Longsuffering changes the outlook of life because the ‘up-look’ of life comes from the Holy Spirit. The world can only see despair, hatred, prejudice, misery, and life as a single moment with nothing beyond. For the Christian, life is about loving the unlovable, helping the defenseless, and praying for their enemies. David Lipscomb writes, “Love leads the Christian to bear with the mistakes and wrongs that grow out of weaknesses, infirmities, and evil designs of others.”

Longsuffering is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, and its full worth cannot come but through the grace of the Holy Spirit. Human wisdom does not understand longsuffering. Without the divine morsel of patience, the Christian becomes like the world. It is a strong passion that brings men like Paul and Silas to sing in prison or for Peter to be awakened from a sound sleep with a death sentence hanging over him. Longsuffering is the love of Paul writing to the church at Corinth with all of its problems. Jesus gave an eternal example of longsuffering with His willing sacrifice on the cross. The church of Christ needs to be filled with longsuffering saints who look out for others more than themselves. This is how the Holy Spirit dwells in the child of God.