The Heaton File

For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the Lord loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. (Deuteronomy 7:6-8)

Why I Am Redeemed

Forty years had passed since the Hebrews came out of Egypt by the power of God. They stood at the edge of the promised land for the second time and with a heart devoted to serving the Lord. Four decades earlier, their parents arrived at the land promised to them and through unfaithfulness were rejected by God and punished with a long wilderness journey. Moses was retelling the history of Israel admonishing the new generation to follow the word of the Lord. This new nation of God’s people were very special because they were the ones who would cross the Jordan River and fulfill the long-ago promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Israel was a holy people to the Lord. Through the grace of a compassionate God, Israel had been plucked from the slavery of Egypt to become the special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. No nation on earth had the blessing of the Lord God Almighty as their King, Savior, and Lord. The Law of Moses was unique among all peoples giving the Hebrews the eternal thread of redemption that would one day bring the Son of God to earth. Israel was the crown jewel of God’s plan to save all men, the apple of His eye.

Lest the Hebrews would think more highly of themselves in their station of grace, Moses reminds them they were not chosen because of any special merit on their part. As a nation, they numbered only a few million souls. They were small and insignificant people compared to the nations of Egypt and the surrounding nations. There was nothing special about Israel that made them more powerful against their enemies. They were a small multitude of nomadic herdsmen that had wandered in the wilderness for forty years with no home of their own. What separated them from all other peoples was not because they had embraced the Lord God with tender love but that God Himself had chosen them and saved them.

First and foremost Moses tells the Hebrews they had done nothing to deserve the love of God. They could not and did not save themselves from the Egyptians. Giving the Ten Commandments to the people, the Lord begins by reminding them that it was He who delivered them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage by His mighty hand. There was nothing the Hebrews could have done to affect their release. God delivered Israel because He loved Israel. Love was the motivating factor of their salvation based upon the grace and mercy of the Lord God. If it had not been for the love of God, Israel would still be enslaved. Secondly, the Lord had made a promise to Abraham the land of Canaan would be given to his descendants. Forty years earlier the people rejected that promise. Now a new generation with hearts of courage was willing to follow the Lord across the Jordan and take the land promised by God. The Lord never failed on a promise He made. Israel was a nation because God had said He would deliver them and He did. Redemption came for the Hebrews because of God’s love and God’s promise.

The nation of God is no longer defined by the borders of rivers, mountains, and seas. God’s people are those found in the church. On the Day of Pentecost, the Lord added to the church those who were saved. Only in Christ are the spiritual blessings found. The joy of redemption is given to all who will obey the word of the Lord subjecting themselves to His grace, love, and mercy. Like Israel of old, the church is called the holy nation of God, a chosen generation, and His own special people. Every Christian is a special priesthood in the presence of the Lord. Through the mercy of God, deliverance from sin is granted to hearts that submit to the will of the Father. Is a man saved because he is a worthy candidate or deserving of the forgiveness of sins? In many ways, he is less deserving than Israel to be redeemed from sin. God’s love delivered Israel from Egypt at the cost of a lamb on the night of the Passover. It cost the Son of God His life to save all men from sin. This sacrifice was never because any man deserved it nor was worthy of the price paid for redemption. The redeeming of sinful man came because God loved man – period.

There is nothing man can brag about. All men deserve the wrath of the Lord God but He chooses rather to show love. The sacrifice of Jesus did not come from the mind of men but the heart of a loving Father. Jesus died in fulfillment of a promise made in the Garden of Eden that when sin first destroyed the fellowship of God and man, redemption would come in the form of the Seed. Only through the Son of God would the word of God be confirmed. Jesus died to fulfill the word of His Father. Love was the reason for Jesus dying and no man deserves such love; and yet it must be embraced to be saved. There is nothing you can do or will be able to do that merits the love of God but He has offered His Son to save you. When you obey the grace of God you will find redemption and in that redemption, you will find eternal love. Know that the Lord is God, the faithful God who keeps His word. He loves you – yes, He loves you.

And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. Immediately many gathered together so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!” (Mark 2:1-12)

Jesus Claimed To Be God

The fundamental truth of salvation is to believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God. If a man refuses to accept Jesus as God’s Son, there can be no salvation. John writes in his gospel that Jesus was the Word and He was God. The miracles were written to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing there would be life in His name. Critics suggest that Jesus never claimed to be God. During the first year of His ministry, the Lord is in Capernaum teaching in a home crowded with disciples. It was so crowded; there was no room to come in the door. Four friends brought a paralytic seeking Jesus to heal their friend but they could not find a way into the house. They uncovered the roof and let down the bed with the man upon it. Jesus, seeing their faith, forgave the sins of the man.

Jesus did not heal the man at first. He chose to forgive the man’s sins and then He perceived what the crowd was thinking. Those gathered included the scribes and the Pharisees. The Jewish leaders kept a constant attack on Jesus challenging Him with His teachings. They never denied His miracles. When Jesus told the man his sins were forgiven, the Jewish leaders were incensed. What they thought was correct and in accord with the will of God. They thought Jesus spoke blasphemy to forgive sins. On the surface, the scribes and Pharisees were correct to say that no man could forgive sins because only God has the authority and the power to remove sin. Sadly, what they failed to see was the power of God affirmed the authority of Christ.

The paralytic man remained on his bed without any healing. He remained in the same condition physically as he had when he arrived. Jesus, knowing the hearts of the people, challenged them with the proclamation that anyone can say they forgive sins but who among men can show the power to raise a paralytic from his bed? Turning to the man He said, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” The man did. Immediately. There was no hesitation, no therapy, and no long lapse of time. It seems the man was near death when brought by his friends and yet now he immediately arises, takes up his bed, and goes out in the presence of the crowd. Jesus proved He could forgive sins because He healed the man.

No man can forgive sins unless they are God. Jesus demonstrated that He was God when He healed the paralytic. The miracle proved Him to be the Son of God. He claimed that right to be God and forgive sins. When Jesus was crucified between two thieves, He forgave the sins of one thief as he begged for mercy. How could Jesus forgive the thief? He was God. The power and authority of God gave Jesus the right to forgive any person of sin. No record is given of others Jesus may have forgiven but the healing of the paralytic establishes that Jesus affirmed to the multitudes that He was God. Refusing to believe Jesus is the Son of God is refusing the avenue of salvation for the forgiveness of sins. There is salvation in no other name.

And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds. Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed. (Acts 19:18-20)

Let The Word Of The Lord Prevail

The work of the apostle Paul in Ephesus was filled with incredible success and severe opposition. Arriving in the region, the apostle met twelve men he thought were Christians but discovered they had only known the baptism of John. What a joy it was for Paul to baptize the twelve in the name of Jesus. For three months Paul arguing persuasively about the Kingdom of God in the synagogue of Ephesus until he had to yield to the persecutions of those who spoke evil of the Way. He left the synagogue and continued teaching at the lecture hall of Tyrannus.  During the years Paul was in Ephesus, the Lord worked unusual miracles among the people with many believing in the name of Christ. There was great joy in the city of Ephesus as disciples of Christ were made through the teaching of the gospel. Persecution would arise from the silversmiths of Ephesus who saw their trade being impacted by the preaching of Christ. Paul would leave Ephesus after three years.

Preaching in Ephesus was a daring and difficult work. One of the great sources of income for the city was the temple of Diana. As a chief city of the province, Ephesus was the “center of the mother goddess worship of western Asia. The goddess was known to the Greeks as Artemis and to the Romans as Diana. Ephesus boasted a theater that could accommodate 24,500 persons, and the great temple of Diana, which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world” (Homer Hailey; Commentary on Revelation). This would have been a most unlikely place to have success and yet Paul was able to establish a thriving congregation of fully devoted saints in this city.

What makes the story of Ephesus so remarkable is the faith of the new converts. Those who believed confessed their deeds as unrighteous as they repented of their sins publically. More extraordinary is the action of those who had been practicing magic and sorcery. When they became children of God they brought their incantation books and burned them in the sight of everyone. The value of the books was 50,000 pieces of silver or several million dollars in modern coinage. Imagine the shock on the faces of people of Ephesus as they watched them burn books worth incredible amounts of money. What impact did this have on the city? The word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.

To the mind of the worldly person, burning books of untold value is a waste. Those who practiced magic could have sold their books, stored their books, or used them as collateral for others means. Realizing what they were doing was against the word of God; these practitioners voluntarily burned and destroyed all vestiges of their past life – regardless of the cost. They made a statement. Their conversion was not a whimper – it was an explosion. God had broken the hold of sin in their life and they demonstrated their faith in clear terms. They abandoned their former life. There was no desire to keep a shadow of their previous lives because they were now children of God. It was clear to everyone of their abhorrence to their former path of life and they wanted the world to know it. Abandoning their magic books was an incredible financial sacrifice but for these noble Christians, it was a blessing to burn their books.

Conversion is not an easy thing to do for many. There are trappings of a past life that hold on alluring the soul to retain the former things. When the heart is fully devoted to the Lord, burning books worth millions is a small exchange for the eternal hope of glory. As a result of these saints in Ephesus, the word of the Lord grew mightily. Everyone could see what Christ had done in the lives of these former magicians. God was glorified because these saints had shown their faith in the world. The gospel of Christ prevailed in a chief city of the Roman Empire filled with idolatry because the hearts of the Christians were fully dedicated to the cause of Jesus Christ.

There are many reasons the gospel of Christ has not impacted the communities of churches throughout the land. The world has changed, false religion has diluted the message and Satan is busy adding more souls to his band of condemned. Sadly, one of the reasons the word of the Lord does not grow can be found in the lives of God’s people. They are unwilling to remove the shackles of their former life and devote themselves completely to the word of God. The life of a Christian is so often identical to the life of the non-Christian. There is no change, no distinctive pattern of righteousness, or refusal to be a part of the world. And the word of God dies. If the word of the Lord is to grow and prevail, it begins with a bonfire. Burn the past and embrace the future was fully devoted disciples of the Lord. Let the word of the Lord prevail and let it begin with your life.

Who would form a god or mold an image that profits him nothing? (Isaiah 44:10)

Does God Profit You?

The idea of idol worship is foreign to those who believe in Jesus Christ as the nature of Christianity is not based upon the image of a piece of stone, wood, or totem. Baal and Asherah worship common in the time of the Old Testament derived its strength from the idols, groves, and high places where sacrifices were made. During the reign of Manasseh king of Judah, a carved image of Asherah was put in the Temple of Solomon. During the final days of Judah, prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah denounced the nation for following after idols and rebelling against the Lord. The foolishness of idolatry is they are created by man to become a god to man. Idols are useless, prized objects that are worthless. The people who worship idols cannot see the folly of bowing down to an idol that a moment earlier was a tree used to build a fire and bake bread. It becomes a shame to trust in something that cannot save itself and cannot help a man in any way.

Isaiah declares that only a fool would make his own god—an idol that cannot help him one bit. Men create totems that resemble their own image to fall down and worship a carving they believe will profit them and save them. This is foolishness. The key to seeing the difference between the one true God and an idol is the value of each. An idol is dumb, cannot move on its own, has no mind, gives no blessing, and has no will of its own. When danger threatens it is the man who saves the idol; not the idol that saves a man. The Lord God Almighty – on the other hand – is a great God of value because He speaks, moves through the universe and through time, possesses all knowledge, is found abundant in blessings, and declares His will to man to find happiness, peace, security, and hope. How can one compare the greatness of God with a trinket or image? Nothing man has created can bring such blessings and value as the presence of God.

Idol worship in its basic ideal may not be a common temptation for the modern man but he must not be deluded into believing that idol worship is not a problem. The foundation of idol worship is whose allegiance a heart gives itself to and to whom it owes its existence. Isaiah defined idolatry as foolishness and it would be easy to see why. Sadly, idols take on many forms and there are many idols that ply for a man’s heart with greater consequences than a piece of wood. Satan is very capable of luring Christians to believe that falling down to a piece of wood is wrong but then allowing their hearts to be filled with the cares of the world and pursuits of life to take their hearts away from God. Idolatry did one thing against God – it took the heart of the people away. Carnality and worldliness are the modern versions of Baal and Asherah.

The church is continually battling against the hearts of brethren who fail to see a need to devote themselves to the cause of Christ. Idol worship takes on many forms today. Immodesty is an idol of fleshly allurement where the heart is more intent on the glare of others than the glow of God. Social drinking is the Asherah of the church where indulgence of the flesh is accepted as part of the Christian’s life. Recreation is of greater importance than diligence to worship the Lord on the first day of the week. Assembling with the saints is only a matter of convenience when vacation or weekend trips come up. Social standings are gods of self-importance. Wealth is the familiar god of temptation that divides churches, destroys families, and drives people to seek after everything that will never go with them in death. The gods of men are of no profit and yet they blindly follow them with great urgency.

There are two choices in life: either a man will seek after something that will bring him great profit or he will follow after dreams that end with empty promises. History is abounding with the bones of failed lives scattered across the expanse of broken promises and failed hopes in the pursuit of what could never be. Men sought after gods that profited them nothing. Only in God can a man find completeness. Hope comes from the only true God. The way of righteousness is right because it has a profit. Its value is found in its author. He gave His only begotten Son to give all men the hope of eternal life. What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and then in death lose his soul? How sad. He followed the wrong path and found no joy. The only path to follow that has value is the way of the Lord. All who walk that road will find life.

Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other. (1 Corinthians 4:6)

Thinking Beyond God

The universe is an expanse of space that limitless. Scientists admit that all that is known and seen of the universe is only a microcosm of what is beyond the known worlds. The sun in the earth’s solar system is 92 million miles away from where light takes 8 minutes and 20 seconds to traverse and yet it would take a spacecraft months to arrive near the sun. This is not possible with modern technology as no provisions exist to come close. There are billions upon billions of stars in the known universe and the closest star, Proxima Centauri, is a short trip of 4.244 light-years away from the sun. A light-year is how fast light travels in one Earth year (nearly 6 trillion miles). An enormous blue star nicknamed Icarus is the farthest individual star ever seen and it takes light 9 billion years to reach earth.

Man has uncovered an immense system of stars and worlds that will never be explored. Through instruments like the Hubble Space Telescope, the human eye can gaze upon worlds never before imagined but that is all he will ever accomplish. Paul told the Athenians two thousand years ago the habitation of man is determined by the will of God. The earth and the expanse of the universe testify to the power of God, His determined will, and the nature of man. Gazing into the heavens is a canopy of the Creator’s eternal brush of who He is and how incredibly great and majestic He is. The universe is not given to man to show how huge the world is but how small man is. At the height of man’s wisdom, he knows nothing.

When the heart of man accepts his place in the world and that all that makes up the small blue dot in a vast expanse of black emptiness is his domain, God becomes so much greater. So why does man continually believe that he can go beyond the word of God? The amazing part of man’s failure is the exalted pride that he believes he is greater than the One who holds the known universe (and more) in the palm of His hand. Paul rebuked the saints at Corinth for changing the word of God. They sought to go beyond the will of the Father. Their carnal minds caused division, disharmony, and destroyed the word of God. They needed to learn to not go beyond what was written. How could a man have greater wisdom than the Creator who formed the universe and allows the world to continue by the command of His voice?

The nature of apostasy is the incredible audacity of someone to believe they know more than God. Critics of the Bible say it is corrupted, changed, perverted and there can be no reliance on its message. It must be remembered that anyone who charges the Bible with being a corrupted book does not believe in God. On the one hand, a man will say he believes in God but then teach the Bible is not the divine word of God. That is contradictory at its highest level and hypocritical as one believes in an eternal being that is not wise enough to create a book and protect it. If men can’t travel to the sun or even to Proxima Centauri, what makes him believe he can go beyond what is written? The Lord God Almighty is plenty powerful enough to give all men a book that can be read and understood and that His message remains uncorrupted through the centuries. Men need to stop believing the lie of Satan and embrace how great God is and perfect His book is. If you do not believe the Bible is the divine word of God you do not believe in God. When you go beyond what is written you are on an impossible journey that will not end well. Stay home and read your Bible.

Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” (John 8:57-58)

How Old Is Jesus?

The gospel writer Luke is an eminent historian of the highest quality. His story of Christ is considered a masterpiece of investigative research that was careful with the depth of attention given to details of the life of Jesus. Only in the gospel of Luke is the age of Jesus revealed when the Lord began His ministry. Luke writes that Jesus was about thirty years of age when He began a public ministry that would last for less than three years. While we are never given any concrete descriptions of what Jesus looked like, Luke offers a glimpse into the imagery of the Christ as He was seen by His fellow Jews. Near the end of his ministry, the Jews remark that Jesus was not yet fifty years old when He claimed to have known Abraham. It could be conjectured that Jesus looked much older than His age due to his rigorous work of teaching, healing, administering, and facing His ultimate death on the cross.

After the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus taught some very hard lessons about the will of the Father. The Jews were increasing their pressure upon Him and the Lord knew the time of His departure was quickly coming. His teaching offended many of the disciples and they turned and walked away from Jesus. The Jews were seeking ways to kill Jesus. His brothers did not believe Jesus was the Christ. There was confusion to whom Jesus of Nazareth was whether He was the Prophet or the Christ or another man. The Jewish leaders rejected Jesus and tried to trap Him when they brought a woman caught in adultery before Him. Failing in their attempt, they sought the more to kill Him.

The Jewish leaders continued their attack on the teaching of Jesus. They said Jesus had a demon because He appealed to Abraham as proof of His character. Was Jesus making Himself greater than Abraham? It was obvious that Abraham had been dead for many centuries and yet Jesus claims to have known the patriarch. The Lord told the Jews that Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to the coming of Christ and he saw it and was glad. This puzzled the Jews because they looked at Jesus and considered he was not yet fifty years of age so how could He have seen Abraham? Jesus explained that before Abraham was born, Jesus existed with the Father. He said that He was the I AM.

To call oneself I AM was to invoke the imagery of God. When Moses was told to go to the Hebrews in Egypt, he was told to tell them the name of the Lord was I AM WHO I AM and that I AM has sent him to lead the people. The name I AM articulates absolute, and therefore unchanging and eternal Being. Jesus claimed to be I AM saying that before Abraham was, He existed. All the Jews could see was a man in His thirties who looked like a man in His fifties claiming to be someone thousands of years old. They took up stones to throw at Jesus for claiming to have literally known Abraham. Sadly, what they could not see was the real age of Jesus. He was without number of days and years. In the body, He was in His thirties but in reality, Jesus was eternal. John would write that Jesus was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and dwelt among men and they beheld the glory of the only begotten of the Father but most men could only see a man in His thirties.

Jesus must be seen for how old He really is. He is not a historical figure that lived two thousand years ago who went about doing good and performing miracles but the Son of God who looked down upon a space of nothingness void of God’s love and watched as the Father created the heavens and the earth. Jesus formed Adam from the dust of the ground because He is God. He has no age. Unbound by the fetters of time, Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. Knowing how old Jesus is will help a man see that God so loved the Lord He gave His only begotten Son for the redemption of man and that this same Jesus is coming back for the final day of reckoning. Before Abraham was, I AM.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

A Sinner Is A Dirty Sheep

Looking across a green field dotted with sheep is a beautiful pastoral image of peace, serenity, and contentment. Sheep are docile creatures that exhibit a character of quietness. The unassuming nature of their small bodies exhibits a defenseless animal needing the care and protection of a shepherd. Images of sheep fill the pages of the Bible. David wrote a powerful psalm of the relationship of the sheep to its shepherd as a graphic image of man’s relationship to God. Jesus would use sheep to show His love and care for humanity and His divine willingness to give His life for the world as the sacrificial shepherd.

Without understanding the nature of sheep, the full meaning of God’s parabolic use of sheep to describe men is lost. They have a form of beauty about them but sheep are filthy, dirty, and smelly animals. Sheep are prized for their wool but what is prized about them is what makes them one of the filthiest animals on earth. Lanolin is secreted by the sheep to help protect the animals from the weather. Combining this with the wool also makes the wool a magnet and prison for everything the sheep come in contact with. Everything clings to the wool of the sheep from dirt, grass, manure, and anything else found in the field. David describes the sheep lying down in green pastures but he did not mean outdoor carpet. The ground is filled with all types of bugs, worms, debris, weeds along with mud, dirt, and animal refuse.

Another characteristic of sheep is that unlike some animals such as the feline species, sheep cannot clean themselves. David said sheep must be led by still waters because sheep are so skittish and nervous. Fast running water would scare the sheep. If they fell in there would be no hope. The wool would burden them down and their short legs cannot swim. Only at the moment of birth is a sheep clean but afterward, his whole life is consumed with living with dirty wool. Adding to the complex nature of the sheep is the have an incredible smell. Without cleaning themselves, they carry their filth with them.

There is a reason God uses sheep to describe the plight of humanity. If a warrior was choosing an animal to be his symbol of courage, he would select a lion, a bear, or an eagle. The Vikings would have never had a sheep as their emblem of power. You will not find among the Roman Legions a shield bearing the mighty sheep. The sheep is a dirty, filthy, smelly, dependent animal that has no natural defenses and cannot care for himself. They are completely helpless just like the one who looks after them. The problem with the pride of man is that he thinks he is a roaring lion when in reality he is nothing more than a baying sheep. That is all he can be and will ever be. The greatest achievement a man can have is only heard as the voice of a sheep. Nothing more.

Sheep are dirty. All men are dirty because of sin. A man enters the world pure and clean but then begins to wallow in the filth of the world. Everything about the world sticks to him and in time he becomes a smelly and dirty creature. The key to the imagery of man being a sheep is that he cannot clean himself and he cannot protect himself. Jesus came as the Lamb of God to take away the filth of man and to clean Him in the living water. The wisdom of men, riches, honor, and power cannot save men from sin. Without the cleansing blood of Jesus, Christ man remains a filthy animal. The sacrifice of Jesus was not from the will of man but the will of the Father. Nothing man could do would save Him but God gave the world His only begotten Son so they could be clean.

Many passages speak of men as sheep. Do not be fooled into thinking these are creatures you would want to bring home and make pets. These animals are detestable for their filth. Sin must be recognized for what it is. All men are sinners, undeserving of God’s grace, and should face the wrath of God. There is nothing beautiful about sin. It makes the soul of man loathsome in the eyes of the Lord. Grace, mercy, and love come from the hand of the sacrificial Shepherd who died on a Roman cross to clean those who come to Him. Only by the power of God will sin be removed. Without that spiritual bath, man remains a dirty sinner. Check yourself – what do you smell?

Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:20-21)

Maintaining Continuity

At the end of a cinema production is a long list of cast, directors, producers, and staff at every level involved in putting together the movie or show. Rarely noticed yet one of the most important roles in any production is the people assigned to script supervision or continuity. In the modern world of film, the task of maintaining a uniform story with scenes being done many times is a daunting job. Shooting a part of the story can take many days. If careful attention is not given to the costumes, makeup, jewelry, props, and structure of the movie, obvious contradictions will creep into the final cut. When an actor holds a glass in his right hand and the scene is repeated over a period of time, someone must make sure each scene the glass is in the same hand. The job of the script supervisor is to maintain the continuity of the project.

There is a whole discipline given to inconsistencies in movies where obvious errors were made. In the classic film The Wizard of Oz, when fighting the trees Dorothy is first wearing her Ruby slippers but in the next a pair of black shoes. The cameraman took a larger frame than expected. Andy Griffith, starring in the television series The Andy Griffith Show, is shown wearing his pants leg inside his boots but in the next scene (in an obvious hurry to put his boots on), the pants leg is outside the boot. John Wayne and Robert Mitchum made a classic movie in 1967 called El Dorado where Mitchum’s character was shot in the right leg and Mitchum used a right-handed crutch, but Mitchum switched the crutch to the left side in the scene where he drives the wagon. During the shooting of the final scene, Wayne mentions the inconsistency, and both Wayne and Mitchum walk down the road in the final scene with their crutches under the wrong arm.

Keeping continuity over months is an impossible task with small errors creeping into any production. There will always been inconsistencies because man cannot keep pace with the ticking clock and remember every detail and catch every variation that easily finds its way into production. Imagine trying to be the script director or the person in charge of continuity for a production that takes nearly 1500 years to produce? If the best script director in the business of movie-making can’t produce a film with zero mistakes, consider how universally impossible it would be for one book to come together after 1500 years and find its completeness as one unit. The Bible is that book and God is its author.

Moses lived 1400 years before Christ and penned the first five books. Over the next millennia plus years, nearly 40 men from different parts of the globe, living under extreme conditions varied by the time and place they lived, penned 61 more books. Many of these authors never knew one another. They came from all walks of life. Moses was a Hebrew raised in the palace of Pharaoh, highly educated and orator with wealth, honor, and power. He killed a man and fled the country becoming a shepherd for forty years. Called by God to lead His people, Moses became the leader of the great nation of Israel. A shepherd boy named David became the King of Israel authoring many psalms that bear his name. Amos was a herdsman, Daniel a slave to the Babylonians who served in the king’s court, Ezekiel a priest, Nehemiah a cup-bearer to a Persian king, Matthew a hated member of the Roman tax collection, Peter a fisherman, and Paul a Rabbi.

The story of the Bible comes from the wilderness of Sinai, and cities like Babylon, Jerusalem, Rome, and cities across the Roman Empire. Hebrew, Chaldean, and Greek make up the language of the Bible. The Bible deals with thousands of controversial subjects covering matters of law, history, poetry, biographies, narratives, and prophecies. There is unity in its doctrine, purity in its ethics, and confirmation in its detail. The key is the question of continuity. No man could have maintained the purity of the Bible message that began 3500 years ago. The Bible is the declaration of the mind of God preserved and maintained by divine will to be His word. There is more evidence for the validity of the Bible than any book written by man. God maintained the continuity of the Bible so that all men in every generation can know one thing: His Son, Jesus Christ.

The Lord has made all for Himself, yes, even the wicked for the day of doom. (Proverbs 16:4)

God’s Purpose

It is hard sometimes to see the forest for the trees in the unfolding events of life. The challenge of humanity is to remember that all men live in a cocoon of time limiting their sight to what lay before, what impact the day has, and all that is found in the promise of tomorrow. All the pursuits of life can only be measured by one generation and then another generation comes along. With each passing lifetime, everything changes, and what was done in the past is forgotten. Heroes of today are hailed and honored but then pass to the annals of history as a dust-covered memory or decaying monument. The wisdom of man is limited to his existence. This is not the case with the Lord Creator.

Everything in the world is made for the purpose and design of God. Only He can see the broad canopy of man’s history experiencing every part of the victories and failures of humanity. Nations rise and fall by the will of the Father. Armies come and go but the power of God rules. Natural calamities fill the world with destruction bringing misery. Diseases spread across the face of the planet. Great discoveries are made through the inquisitive eye of brave explorers. Incredible achievements are made in science, medicine, and technology. There is a wealth of things that a man will experience in a lifetime and one thing remains constant. With all the changes and upheavals and victories of the existence of man, the Lord continues to work out everything to its proper end and for His own purpose.

What men forget is the world does not revolve around their existence. The Sun is the center of the Solar System but the system where planet Earth is suspended is not in the center of the universe (not even in the Milky Way). Man’s tragedy is to convince himself the world serves his purpose and his domain. In the beginning, God gave man dominion over the world but what man forgot is his life is held in the hand of his Creator and all things he has comes from the providential care of the Father. The world was created for the purpose of God. Man was created for the purpose of God. Only God is the center of the universe. Everything in life will find its proper end through the working of the Lord. His eternal principles are the foundation of everything. Nothing is lacking.

When the heart of man understands his place and the eternal dominion of God, he will find greater happiness and fulfillment in life. Pride is an insidious parasite that destroys the soul of man because he thinks he is bigger than God. Knowing that everything is for the purpose of God and not man will help the frail worm called humanity to enjoy the blessings of a benevolent caregiver and provider. Selfishness, pride, arrogance, and self-pity are dismissed before the throne of Him who purposes everything to His glory. It becomes easier for men to trust in God when they realize who rules in the affairs of the world. Riches mean little, personal gain is defeated and the haughty pride of human wisdom is replaced with the glorious knowledge that God rules in all things so that His glory will shine.

The greatest reminder of the purpose of God is found in Jesus Christ. It was not the will of man that brought the Son of God to earth. There was no human wisdom in a poor carpenter from Nazareth dying on a cross outside Jerusalem that will tickle the fancy of men. When the church was established no government could imagine the expanse of one kingdom that would dominate the world until the end of time. Everything is for the purpose of God. Jesus died to save all men. Simple. Clear. Demonstrative. Eternal. Jesus Christ is the answer for the sin of mankind and the demonstration of the eternal purpose of God’s glory for His creation. The church rules in the hearts of men as the measure through which men are saved. Death is the final reminder that all things are to the glory of God. No man can stop death but one man defeated death. Men fear death but those who see the purpose of God welcome death. All things are purposed for the will of God. Until the heart surrenders to this word, there can be no joy and no hope. Obedience to the purpose of God brings eternal life.

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. (Matthew 28:18-20)

No Need To Make Disciples

A disciple of Jesus is someone who follows Jesus and seeks to learn as a student from the teacher. These were learners desiring to know the heavenly message of the one they called, “Rabbi.” It was not uncommon for men to have a company of disciples around him. Teachers were highly considered in ancient times drawing many to their doctrines and beliefs. The philosophers had their disciples as well as the Jewish Rabbis including the many disciples of John the Baptist and Jesus. After His resurrection, the Lord instructs the eleven to go into all the world and instruct men on how to become learners of the way, disciples of the truth, and seekers of the life found in Jesus Christ. This was a key component of the growth of the church to evangelize the world with those who would follow Jesus.

Two thousand years have passed since Jesus gave those instructions to the early disciples but something has changed. Men are not making disciples of every nation. Multitudes of souls are being lost because they are not disciples of Jesus Christ. The instructions of Jesus are not being followed in the modern religious world and the reason is clearly seen in the doctrines of men. There is no need to make disciples because men have rejected the command of Jesus. The Lord told the eleven to go into all the world and they did. These men sought to make disciples of everyone they could find that would hear the truth and multitudes turned to the Lord. Many churches today claim they are going into all the world to make disciples and they are. They are saying the message of Jesus is being proclaimed to make men followers of Christ and they call themselves Christians. Sadly, they are only disciples of the false teaching taught by religious groups that deny the clear statement of Jesus is what makes a disciple of Jesus.

Jesus told the men to go into all the world, make disciples of every nation, and to baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit. Almost all religious groups today deny salvation in baptism. If men will not baptize in accordance with the word of Christ, disciples cannot be made. In truth, the teachings of men have made of no effect the word of Christ to disciple men. There is no need to disciple all nations if one is unwilling to teach the whole counsel of God. The only thing that is left when the whole truth is not taught is a misguided individual who thinks they are saved when they are not. Satan knows full well that when he convinces men to believe in God and almost do what the Lord commands rejecting baptism as necessary for salvation, he has gained a foothold in the heart and draws it closer to condemnation.

There is no need to teach men a perverted gospel. It is difficult to understand how a simple, plain, and clear statement of Jesus can become so misguided, misused, and ignored as the religious world has denied the necessity of baptism. This does not deny grace, mercy, love, truth, righteousness, and a host of divine attributes that bring a person into a covenant with Christ. What is lost in the white noise of religious error is there must be a point – a moment in time – an instant in the eternal cosmos – when a person is born again into the kingdom of Christ. That moment is found in the waters of baptism. Without obedience to the divine plan of God to wash away sins in the blood of Jesus Christ buried into His death, there will be no and there can be no salvation and remission of sins. Jesus told the disciples to go into all the world and make disciples, baptizing them under the authority of the Godhead. The historian Luke records in the Acts of the Apostles they did exactly that and multitudes became Christians. Are you a disciple of Jesus?