The Heaton File

Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” (Matthew 17:1-5)

It Seemed Like A Good Idea

Peter was a devoted disciple of Christ that despite his often blunders of judgment; had an incredible heart of love for the Lord. He is a wonderful study of how a man goes from being an impetuous and rash decision-maker to the humble and spiritually-minded man of his final epistles. Along with James and John, Peter shared a special bond with Jesus allowing the three men to see things the other disciples did not see. The mount of transfiguration was a moment in time that Peter would never forget writing about it in his epistles. Standing on the mountain with Jesus, the three disciples beheld the visage of Moses and Elijah. What an incredible moment in time to witness the personal image of men who represented the Law and the Prophets and long before the days of imaging were able to see what these great men of faith looked like. Overwhelmed by the momentous occasion of listening to Jesus talk with Moses and Elijah about his death, Peter interrupted the Lord and thought it would be a good idea to build three tabernacles; one for the Lord, one for Moses and one for Elijah. This could have been Peter’s attempt to recreate the Feast of Tabernacles as directed by the law. Whatever reason Peter had in blurting out this suggestion, it was met swiftly by the voice of God that such consideration was not His will and Peter and James and John should listen only to the voice of Jesus. Moses and Elijah were taken out of sight and the three men fell to the ground. Peter had a good idea that seemed like a way to honor the three great men of God’s dispensation but this was not the will of the Father.

The greatest challenge man has with his Creator is to think he has a better idea about something that he believes would please the Lord. This does not dismiss the character of Peter as being flippant or disregarding the will of the Father but it speaks to the problem of the wisdom of humanity trying to go beyond the established law of God. Is there something immoral about building tabernacles for Moses and Elijah and Jesus? There is nothing fundamentally wrong about building tabernacles but it becomes wrong when it is not the will of the Father. Peter was not at fault for suggesting something but like most men, he saw the situation and decided that he had a better idea and went forward with his suggestion. If it had been in the power of Peter, James and John; three tabernacles would have been built on the mountain and many people would have been drawn to the place and great things could have been done in the name of God. However, the voice from heaven said this was not the will of the Father and all men must listen to the voice of Jesus Christ and Him alone. That is the standard of authority established that day on the mountain by the only one who had the right and authority to establish the truth. Building three tabernacles was not the will of the Father. To have done so would have been in rebellion to God.

There are many tabernacles that dot the landscape throughout the world that are good ideas of how men have interpreted the will of the Lord. In many cases, there is nothing immoral or degrading about what is done or about how it is carried out. But like the suggestion of Peter, these tabernacles are not the will of the Father and do not follow the voice of God. The Father emphatically impressed upon Peter, James, and John that Jesus was the Son of God and He pleased the Father in every way and that all men should do one thing: Hear Him! Authority begins and ends with Jesus Christ. His word is truth. His way is the only way. Life can only be found in the word of God. Departing from His word is rebellion and building tabernacles without the authority of God. Religion is not based upon the good ideas of men but the will of the Lord alone. Salvation cannot be found in the profitable suggestions of human reasoning. Many are deceived into believing they are saved when they are following the doctrines of men to perdition. Peter had a good idea but it was the wrong suggestion. Eternal life will not be given to those with good ideas but to those who obey the word of the Lord.

Now it came to pass after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being one hundred and ten years old. And they buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath Serah, which is in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash. Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had known all the works of the Lord which He had done for Israel. (Joshua 24:29-31)

A Lasting Legacy

There is much to be said about the son of Nun and assistant to Moses. Joshua appears on the pages of the Bible when the Hebrews face their first battle with the Amalekites. He becomes a close associate of Moses spending much time in the presence of God on Sinai and in the tabernacle. His character was unparalleled among the Israelites as one whose spirit wholly followed the Lord. Along with Caleb, Joshua became only two of those who came out of Egypt above the age of twenty that would see the Promised Land. When Moses died, the Lord placed on the shoulders of Joshua the task of completing the work of establishing the land promise given to Abraham. Under his leadership, the land was conquered and not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord promised to the people of Israel. All came to pass. At the age of 110 years, Joshua died. Before his death, he gathered the nation together to admonish and challenge them to serve the Lord. His speech is a moving and passionate appeal for the hearts of the people to remain faithful to the purpose God brought them out of Egypt. Joshua made a covenant with the people establishing a statute and an ordinance in Shechem writing the words of the covenant in the Book of the Law of God. He also took a large stone, and set it up under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the Lord as a witness to the oath the people made with God. The legacy of Joshua was not just found in the 110 years of his life but the impact this man of God had on generations after him. The people of Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him—those who had personally experienced all that the Lord had done for Israel.

The life of Joshua was filled with the incredible story of being born a Hebrew slave and growing up in a world of oppression. If he were the same age as Caleb, he would have been somewhere around forty years of age when God delivered the people and would serve Israel for seventy years. He would see the miracles of the ten plagues, walk through the Red Sea on dry land and stand in the presence of God on Sinai. The scriptures call him an assistant of Moses. What a blessing to spend endless hours talking with Moses and discussing the affairs of Israel and the purpose of the Lord for the people. It would have been a daunting task to be given the leadership of the nation and walk through the Jordan River on dry land and begin the conquest of a heathen people. He never lost his faith. His dedication to the Lord was complete in fulfilling the word of the Lord. For 110 years the son of Nun gave his life for the work of the Lord. His example led the people to serve the Lord during his life and after he died. The legacy of Joshua was firmly implanted in the minds of the people. His faith was not a seasonal moment of time that would falter in disbelief. There were challenges he faced with courage such as the defeat at Ai but he trusted in the will of the Lord to accomplish the divine will. Because of his legacy, the lives of many Hebrews were moved to serve the Lord. As long as Joshua lived the people served the Lord. During the days after the death of Joshua, the people still honored his memory by serving the Lord in the days of the elders who had known all the works of the Lord which He had done for Israel.

A legacy is a birthright that is passed on to the next generation. Men will live their lifetime amassing great amounts of wealth, prestige and honors but these all end in death. The monies garnered for a generation are wasted by others. Fame fades in time and honors diminish. Joshua had something that all men should desire. He influenced a nation to follow the Lord. It may not be possible to change the tide of the country but the power to change the lives of a community is fully within the grasp of every individual. He never swayed from his dedication to the will of the Lord. His battles were fought with the Commander of the Lord standing before him. Joshua and Caleb were spies who went into the land of Canaan with ten other men and were the only men who believed with the power of God the impossible could be done. Their leadership was rejected but they remained faithful to the Lord and served him as leaders for the next forty years. During the conquest, they fought valiantly although they were in their eighties. Age did not deter them from serving God. This all created a legacy that others took notice of. If there is anything a man can leave others is to give them a legacy of how to live. A godly life is the greatest measure a man can leave another. Marble monuments inscribe names and dates but the heart that is moved to serve the Lord is the greatest memory. Husbands who leave their families a legacy of godliness will leave greater wealth than all the money in the world. Fathers that establish an inheritance of virtue leave their children the hope of eternal life. Israel served the Lord during the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua. May God raise up more men like Joshua and the elders.

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last. (Revelation 22:13)

The Alpha And The Omega

With the dawn of a New Year, there is an air of anticipation for what new adventures will come in the open pages of the promised tomorrows. Calendars are updated with reminders of birthdays, anniversaries, planned trips and great life accomplishments in the coming year. A whole new spirit of trying to start over again engages the hearts of many with a longing for a better year with greater will-power. There is also a reflection on the previous year with what was not accomplished. Success can be found in some places but those first resolutions of the previous year failed to materialize. The challenge for humanity is the inability to change anything of the past and the incompleteness of knowing what will happen in the future. Trapped as victims of the past and prisoners of the present the future becomes the measure of judgment to what will be. Man is finite. He cannot be in two places at once in anything and has a limited understanding of what happened in centuries before and has no power over what may come about in the days of tomorrow. Living in a fragile cocoon of time, the wisdom of human might is a weak strand of life that struggles against the tide of time. Celebrating a New Year is but a slight whimper of a joy that will be short-lived as the heart of man cannot know what the future holds and all that will unfold in the coming days is uncertain. In the midst of man’s limitation stands the Creator of the world who is the Son of God proclaiming that He is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

Writing the Revelation, John opens up the portals of Heaven to show the declarations of the will of God for His persecuted people. Jesus Christ is the King of Kings who reigns supreme over all men as Lord of Lords. He is the conquering Savior who as the Lamb of God gives His life for the redemption of the saints. In the final scene of God’s Revelation, Jesus is declared to be the alpha and the omega; a term used by the Jewish rabbis of the day to suggest the whole of anything. This phrase is used as alpha was the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet and omega was the last letter. A modern phrase would be if something was shown to be from “A” to “Z” meaning completeness. Jesus is not just the beginning and He is not only the end. The Son of God is from beginning to end in relation to the nature of man. Jesus existed before the world was formed and will continue to be God after the world is destroyed. His eyes witnessed the formation of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden; watched the world be destroyed in the flood of Noah’s day; and traced the journeys of Abraham, Moses, David, and the prophets throughout the eons of time. Jesus came to earth in the flesh and was rejected by the Jews and killed on the cross. His Father raised Him up from the grave and seated Him on the throne at His right-hand ruling until the great and terrible day of the Lord will come. All that man can do is begin a New Year and look with hope at days to come. Jesus is the beginning and the end and He is the first and the last. Everything is complete and full in Jesus Christ. There are no limitations or restrictions in the Son of God. His power existed before time began, He reigns on this first day of the year and He will have preeminence all year long and beyond. There is no limitation to the Son of God.

Through the grace and mercy of God, every person can begin the New Year with He who is called the alpha and the omega. Many of the resolutions for a new year seek to empower the body with greater health. Plans are made to gain greater financial stronghold in the coming year. Goals are measured to seek the greater good in life so that at the end of the year great accomplishments can be recognized. Lost in the shuffle for those trying to create larger figures of themselves is the only thing of value that can increase the worth of a person’s life: He who is called the first and the last. If there is one single thing that men must do to find happiness and true worth, it is to instill in their hearts a greater love for God and a willingness to serve more diligently the life of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Of all the plans that matter the most, if God is not the center of life there is no life. Resolutions that do not begin with the alpha and the omega are doomed to fail. How do you deal with the failures of yesterday? Talk to the alpha, the first and the beginning. What can you do to have hope in the future? Spend time with the omega, the last and the end. Jesus Christ was there before your life began and He will be there after your life ends. The Lord is not our Savior just so we can call Him the alpha and the omega. He is our Lord so that we find forgiveness in yesterday and redemption for tomorrow. Jesus is everything. He is our completeness, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “When I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah — not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in my covenant, and I disregarded them,” says the Lord. “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” says the Lord: “I will put my laws in their mind and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. (Hebrews 8:7-13)

The End Of The Old

When the end of a year comes it becomes a time to look back and see what was done in the previous year and challenges overcome. There is always a spirit of change with anticipation of greater things in the coming year. The changing of a calendar invokes a deeper introspection of life. After 365 days the value of change invigorates the soul to look for better promises, a better source of hope and a better way to live. Promises or resolutions are made to make health decisions that will bring about greater happiness. Decisions of the previous year help to motivate the coming year as a time of greater heights with more noble aspirations. There is something emotional about the end of year resolutions that paint a brighter picture in the coming year with everything in the spirit of newness. Each new year is a new page unspoiled by the yesterdays that remain unchanged in the memories of what could have been. Two thousand years ago there was a new day dawning for humanity that first had to bring about the end of an old era. When God created the world He ordained the Sun, Moon and stars to inhabit the heavens as signs and seasons for days, months and years. After the fall of man in the garden, a promise was made for a seed to come and through that Seed, a new hope would arise. In time the world was destroyed because of sin with only Noah and his family left on the face of the earth. From the lineage of Noah came a man called Abram who would be the father of a great nation in whom the promised Seed would come. Israel became the chosen people of God as a nation above all nations. The Hebrews were given a law that would help preserve the promise of the Seed until the grace of God brought Jesus into the world. This law was given only to the Jews who lived (unlike the Gentiles) under the penalties of the Law of Moses. When Israel rejected God and was punished for their rebellion, the Lord sent a prophet named Jeremiah to tell the Hebrews that a day was coming when the Law of Moses would be taken away and a new law would be given unlike the first. There would be a new era in the history of man that would dawn with the coming of the Christ and new hope with new promises would be ushered in through the blood of the Son of God. That promise came when God sent His Son into the world as a sacrifice for the sins of all men. Included in the grace of the Father to send His Son was a new covenant or new law. The dawning to a new promise came alive in Jesus Christ.

The book of Hebrews is a treatise written to early Jewish Christians who were in danger of giving up their hope in Christ for the trappings of the old law – the Law of Moses. Hebrews is a message of great promise for those who could clearly see the blessings of the blood of Christ over the blood of bulls and goats. It was hard for many Jews to see how God’s grace had given them the Law of Moses but contained in the prophetic words of men like Jeremiah, the Lord had promised a new law when the Law of Moses would be taken away. If the Law of Moses had been without fault, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it. Yet, the Lord Himself declared a day was coming when He would make a new covenant with man unlike the Law of Moses. What made this law different is no man would ask his neighbor to teach him to know the Lord because he would have already known who the Lord was. Under the Law of Moses, a person became a child of God simply by the act of circumcision. This was done on the eighth day of life before the formulation of a mind to know and understand the law. According to the promise given to Abraham and the covenant established through the word of God, a Hebrew became a child of God at eight days old. As they grew up they would be taught the word of God and come to know who God was. This would not be the way a person would become a child of God under the new law. In the law of Christ, a person could not be a child of God without first knowing God. He must first believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and then obey the command of Christ in the waters of baptism. Then, and only then, will he become a child of God. This was unlike the Law of Moses.

The Hebrew writer shows the Jewish Christians the coming of the new law was like the coming of a new year. When God spoke of a new covenant, it meant He had made the first one obsolete and it was out of date soon to disappear. What had been done in the Law of Moses served a purpose but it was obsolete like the passing of an old year. A new hope arose on the horizon with better promises based upon a better sacrifice through the grace of God. The law of Christ would be written on the hearts of the people and all shall know the Lord. Two thousand years ago a new year began with the taking away of the old covenant and the measure of salvation as the Gentiles found. All men must come to Jesus Christ as the only truth, the only way and the only life. Salvation as a law to self could not save (Gentiles) and serving the Law of Moses (Jews) would not bring redemption. The new year of God’s grace is found only in Jesus Christ as the new dawn of a new day with the only hope man can find. As the old year passes to the pages of yesterday, the Law of Moses passed to the ages as a reminder of God’s love and mercy coupled with His judgment and wrath. When resolutions are made in the coming year, the greatest promise to make is to serve the new covenant and come to know God. In this new covenant, the Lord said that He would forgive their wickedness, and He will never again remember their sins. What a new year this will be.

Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight. (Acts 20:7)

When The Disciples Came Together

The purpose of the revelation of the New Testament was to guide the minds and hearts of disciples throughout the generations that wanted to find the truth given by the Lord to lost men. God chooses to reveal Himself in the written word so that all people could have a common knowledge of what they must do to be saved. Without this written testimony, there would be confusion over what the will of the Lord would be for sinful man. Inscribing the testimony of the mind of God to the printed page allows everyone from all time to see, know and understand the precepts, commands and pattern of the new covenant of Jesus Christ. God does not speak to men today in a direct fashion as He did at other times. It requires a diligent study of the written word to know the measure of truth. This is how anyone will begin to understand the pattern of the New Testament church with its organization, purpose and design. Reading the scriptures opens the mind to see the beauty in God’s eternal design as found in the New Testament church. It is imperative that men see the need to establish all they do upon the word of God and nothing else. The Bible is a book containing many books telling the story of the beginning of humanity, its need for salvation and the means by which God provided that salvation. Jesus Christ is the central theme of scripture and He declares that He will build His church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. The church was not an afterthought of Christ but an eternal fulfillment of God’s purpose. If a man is to be obedient to the heavenly pattern of the New Testament church, he must find within the pages of the Bible how to establish the one true church. Luke, a historian of notable reputation, wrote a history of the early church from its beginning to its expansion into the world. One of the elements of the character of the church is found in the many journeys of the apostle Paul.

While on his third missionary journey, Paul comes to the city of Troas to worship with the saints. Paul and his company had left Philippi after the Days of Unleavened Bread arriving in Troas five days later. They planned to stay a full seven days with the church. Luke explains the church in Troas came together on the first day of the week to break bread and Paul preached to the assembly. The Holy Spirit does not mince words when He inscribes the word of God on the hearts of men. There is a clear reason the text says the disciples came together on the first day of the week. If a man desires to know about the New Testament church, one question that must be answered is when will the saints assemble and for what purpose will they gather? God could easily have given a bulleted list of organizational notations for everyone to follow but He did not. Instead, the careful student of scripture will examine thoroughly the text to find the pattern of how the New Testament church obeyed the will of the Lord. Luke reveals in the story of Troas how often the early Christians came together and for what purpose they assembled. This pattern is found in other letters of Paul when he writes to the Corinthians to gather on the first day of the week to make a collection. He also speaks to the Corinthians about the Lord’s Supper when the church came together. The church in Ephesus, Colosse, Thessalonica and all the churches of Galatia followed a common pattern based upon the information given to them by the apostles, teachers, and preachers of the day. They understood a pattern had to be established and like the brethren at Troas, assembled on the first day of the week to break bread (Lord’s Supper). This theme is constant throughout the New Testament.

For modern man the task is simple: read the New Testament and follow the divine pattern. Genesis sets forth the eternal pattern of God in creation that has remained unchanged and the New Testament sets forth the eternal pattern of God in the church of Christ that must be followed. Jesus built one church, died for one church, gave His life for one church and is the head of one church. That church is real and vibrant throughout the world today as it follows the teachings of the New Testament. There are many churches that claim to be the church but they do not follow the pattern of the New Testament church. When the disciples came together on the first day of the week in Troas, they were following a pattern delivered to them by the word of God. As they gathered to remember the sacrifice of Jesus in the Lord’s Supper, they fulfilled another New Testament pattern of every first day of the week in keeping with the command of God. The true church today will gather each first day of the week which is called Sunday. On this day, and every first day of the week (every Sunday), they will assemble to break bread or commune in the supper of the Lord. There will be exceptions or qualifying the word of God. The authority is clear. Paul left a pattern for all men to follow. Faithful churches of Christ come together each first day of the week and partake of the Lord’s Supper. That is the New Testament pattern.

Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled. Who among them can declare this, and show us former things? Let them bring out their witnesses, that they may be justified; or let them hear and say, “It is truth.” “You are My witnesses,” says the Lord, “And My servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, nor shall there be after Me. I, even I, am the Lord, and besides Me, there is no savior.” (Isaiah 43:9-11)

I Alone Am God

There are two things certain in life: there is God and no man is like Him. The greatest achievement of man’s wisdom pales in complete failure to measure to an atomic atom of the greatness of the one who created, formed and fashioned the world with the expanse of the universe and complexity of the human frame. Nothing in the history of humankind has shown evidence of eternal wisdom and power. The greatest undertakings of men lie crumpled in the dust of time. As powerful and mighty as the Egyptian dynasties have been throughout history the modern state is a base nation with only crumbling edifices of a once-great nation to call its own. Rome conquered the whole of the European continent and beyond but today it can only be found in the museums and antiquities of a history long past. Technology can put a man on the moon but they must return to earth to survive. As science explores deeper into the dark universe the light of the revelation of how incredibly unending its mass becomes clearer with each message received. Nations seek to bring peace to the world and fail on every hand. Society challenges the norms of Biblical wisdom to create a utopia of its own human philosophy which creates more chaos, confusion and anarchy than generations past. The result of the human experiment always ends in failure. In the history of man and without exception, when men exalt themselves as their own god they destroy themselves. He fails to remember that he is a created being not a creator. His limitations are governed by the one who made him. There is nothing man can do that is original. He cannot create a character larger than himself. There is nothing new under the sun and this holds true in every generation. It may be a horse of a different color but at the end of the day, it remains a horse. Man is a fool when he becomes his own god because the one true God and Creator of the Lord has declared man to be His servant and that God alone is the only Creator, Maker, and Provider of man’s existence.

Israel stands as a witness to the eternal truth that God alone is Lord. The history of Israel is not preserved in holy scrip simply as a story to read of a once-proud nation but the complete history of man’s futility to become his own god. What destroyed Israel was the worship of the gods from the nations around them. They had been fashioned by the grace and mercy of God to be His holy nation, a special people chosen from the seed of Abraham to be the apple of His eternal eye. Yet they desired to be their own god and reject the authority of the Lord God Almighty. Because of their rebellion, the Lord punished them by destroying the large majority of the tribes and preserving a remnant from whence the Son of God would enter the world. Every nation has been governed by the will of the Father. Assyria and Babylon came against Israel because God permitted it and they were destroyed by the hand of the Lord. Throughout history, the hand of God has worked in the affairs of the nations. All the despots of history who sought to gain control of the world were destroyed. No nation can stand before the great I AM. The wisdom of God is found in His prophetic word that always comes true and history bears record of the completeness of God’s judgment. Let the nations bring out their witnesses and compare them to the majesty of the Lord God Creator. There is no comparison.

Isaiah appeals to the people to stop and consider how great the Lord God has shown His way among the nations. The people of God had gone after the gods of the nations around them in the belief they could be saved through their own wisdom. How can one compare how great God is to any god created by man? The creation is creating a creation to worship? All that man can say of himself is that he is a creation. God is the only creator. No word of God has failed. The testimony of God has always been sure and true with no reservations. Through the wisdom of God man has found the reason he exists, his role in the world and the hope of a life after death. God is the Lord and besides Him, there is no savior. When men try to save themselves they drown in their own folly. When joy and peace have reigned in the hearts of men it has come from the word of God. There has never been a time in man’s short history that he has found the answer to life within himself. True happiness and self-worth come from realizing that God alone is the Creator and His word alone is truth. There is no other God – there never has been and there never will be. He is Lord and the Creator of man.

Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. (Acts 13:38-39)

Preaching Jesus

The apostle Paul never lost a chance to speak of the gospel of Christ to willing audiences and he found his chance in the city of Antioch of Pisidia in the synagogue on the Sabbath day. Gentiles were among those gathered in the synagogue listening intently to things they had never heard before. On the following Sabbath, almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God. The message of Paul and Barnabas was simple: they preached Jesus Christ. While it excited many of the Gentiles who would obey the gospel, the Jews were filled with envy creating persecution against the ministers of God. Paul and Barnabas were expelled from the region but they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. What stirred up the minds of the Jews to be so opposed to Paul? He preached the message of a risen Savior and the true Messiah as Jesus of Nazareth. Two elements of Paul’s preaching in Antioch declare the preaching of Jesus Christ. First, there is a need to preach how a man can receive the forgiveness of his sins. Second, all men must see that justification cannot come from any authority but the new covenant of God. Forgiveness of sins is the eternal question for all men as all men have sinned and fall from the grace of God. The envious Jews of Antioch needed the message of forgiveness just as the Gentiles who filled their synagogues. Because of the moral destruction of man’s wisdom, there is no answer to the plight of man’s failure apart from Jesus Christ. The first and basic need of a man is to know that he is a sinner. This shows the relationship between man and God and that because of the rebellion of man’s heart, sin has dominion leading to eternal death. Sin has destroyed the world as the insidious deceitfulness of Satan to fill the hearts of men to hate God. Without the cleansing of sin through Jesus Christ there is no hope, no promise, and no eternal life. Preaching Jesus is to preach the message of condemnation because of sin and the saving power of the blood of Christ in the forgiveness of sins. When religious leaders refuse to preach the failure of man they cannot preach the message of forgiveness. Jesus died to wash away the sins of the world and He is the only way that redemption can be found.

Jesus is the only way to the Father bringing justification of man to be in communion with God again. What was lost in the garden can only be regained in the blood of Jesus as a man is justified in the sight of the Lord in his obedience. The reason the Jews of Antioch were so obstinate against Paul and Barnabas was that they believed they could be justified under the Law of Moses. God had given the law to Israel but He had promised a new covenant. This new covenant came through His Son Jesus Christ as the gospel of salvation nailing the Law of Moses to the cross. No man could be justified by keeping the Law of Moses including the Ten Commandments. Jesus is the only truth and only in Christ is a man made right in God’s sight – something the Law of Moses could never do. The philosophies of men have tried to bring peace to the world and failed on every point. Justification can only come through the Son of God. Paul preached a message of justification in Christ alone and this did not make him acceptable in the minds of many of his day. The Jews hated him because he challenged the Law of Moses as the authority and the Romans persecuted the church who opposed emperor worship and the acceptance of a polytheistic religion. There is only one means of justification and that is Jesus Christ. This is the message that should be preached for those who believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

Preaching in the modern world has not changed from the days of Paul in Antioch of Pisidia. If a man is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ he must declare that salvation is in Christ alone and there is only one authority for truth. When modern religion denies that man is a sinner he fails to preach Jesus. Teaching salvation through any other means than the new covenant of God fails to preach Jesus. All men must first recognize that sin is the problem and without the grace of God there can be no answer. Preaching Jesus is to show man his need for the love of God. Proclaiming the story of Jesus begins with the Garden of Eden where sin changed the world and the nature of man. There is a need for redemption because man has failed. When the heart realizes the state of sin then there can be salvation in the forgiveness of Jesus. No other means can wash away sin. Being a good person will not justify a man or serving the Law of Moses. Salvation by grace alone or believing that God will accept the heart that believes in faith only will not bring about the forgiveness of sins. These are doctrines of men that do not come from the preaching of Christ. Sins are washed away in one place and that is the waters of baptism as the blood of Jesus cleanses the heart. Then, and only then, is a man justified in the sight of God. Keeping the Law of Moses or parts of the law will not justify the heart. Living under the laws of another religion will not save a man. Following the wisdom of men denies the saving grace of God. Preaching Jesus Christ proclaims salvation in Christ alone through the washing of water where the Father removes the stain of sins and justifies the heart. Failing to preach this message is failing to preach Jesus.

Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments; and He repays those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them. He will not be slack with him who hates Him; He will repay him to his face. Therefore you shall keep the commandment, the statutes, and the judgments which I command you today, to observe them. (Deuteronomy 7:9-11)

Who Is The Lord?

The question may be asked to identify the whole character of God. Most do not believe there is a Creator who demands worship and obedience rejecting the Bible as a book of myths. Many accept the idea of an eternal God but fail to fully understand the nature of who the Lord is. They view Him in partial clips of His love or His wrath without accepting the whole image of how He is portrayed in the Bible. When the Lord brought the Hebrews out of Egypt, He reminded them often that He was not like any gods the people had seen in Egypt or that other nations worshiped in their polytheistic wisdom. The one that delivered the nation from bondage was God, the faithful God who does not lie and keeps every word He established with the previous generations as well as the generations to come. There is nothing man can compare to the nature of the Lord God. As Moses writes the final chapter in the brief history of Israel since it departed Egypt forty years before, he reminds the people of their failure to appreciate and acknowledge the awesome power of the Lord God. Without a deep love for the character of the Lord the nation of Israel would not soon remain. This would form the history of Israel as they would enjoy a united kingdom for more than one hundred years before falling into civil war dividing the nation; leading eventually to its destruction and bondage. Why did the nation fail? How did a people so blessed above all peoples on the earth lose everything? When the heart of the people forgot who the Lord was and walked in their own paths, their doom was sealed.

Salvation must begin with knowing the Lord is God and God alone. There is no other. The worlds were created by the mouth of God. When He spoke the world came into existence. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth because He is God. Egypt had been the greatest power on the face of the earth but God destroyed them through His mighty works to illustrate to all men the gods of men were nothing and He was God. The deliverance of Israel was not done by their hands as they were incapable of saving themselves. They had been in bondage four hundred years and could do nothing to free them from the harsh affliction of Pharaoh. The plagues inflicted on Egypt came from the hand of God. When the night came in the final plague and all the firstborn died except among the Hebrews, this was the hand of the Lord showing His incredible power and might that He was God. Crossing the Red Sea on dry land was by the mighty work of the Lord God who then destroyed the army of Pharaoh in the same sea. Throughout the forty years of wilderness wanderings, the Lord gave the people water from rocks, manna on the ground and quail from the wind to feed and nurture His nation. No enemy could stand against Israel because God was the Lord and no power on earth could defeat Him. Moses reminds the people of the Lord God – He is God.

Believing that God is real is just the beginning of knowing who He is. His great power is manifested in so many ways but the character of the Lord is defined by His love and His wrath. The mistake that most men make with God is to believe that He is a single faceted God who is nothing but love. He is a faithful God who keeps His word for generations showing His love in innumerable ways. This is highlighted by His mercy, His grace and His everlasting love. It is easy to focus on this appealing nature of God to the exclusion of everything else. Often in the history of Israel the Lord showed His love. Having compassion on them in bondage, protecting them from the enemies that would have destroyed them, giving them water to drink when they were thirsty and feeding them with an abundance of food characterized the love of God. Moses had brought Israel to the border of the Promised Land as the hand of God would give them victory over all the peoples of Canaan and give the people great blessings. Knowing God understands His love, His kindness, and His benevolence. But love Him is not all He requires. The Lord God is a faithful God who demands His people obey Him. This means to keep His commandments. Never has the Lord extended love towards any people without the expectation of obedience. When God created Adam and Eve and placed them in Eden, he blessed them above measure but expected them to obey them. They rebelled and were punished. Israel was a holy people as a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth but when they disobeyed the word of the Lord, He punished them. Moses said that God will repay those who hate Him. Jesus would later explain that when a man did not obey the word of the Lord He did not love the Lord. Obedience is an expression of love and disobedience is an act of hatred. God does not hesitate to punish and destroy those who reject him. Knowing God is knowing He is God and that all the blessing of heaven resides in the character of the eternal one but if men refuse to obey the word of the Lord, there will be consequences. Salvation is not by grace alone and never has been by grace alone or Israel would have never been destroyed. Knowing the Lord God is keeping the commandments, the statutes and the judgments which the Lord God commands, to observe them. Anything short of this is failing to know who God is and the nature of His character.

And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. (Matthew 16:18-19)

The Kingdom Of God

There are many names the Holy Spirit attributed to the New Testament church. It was called the Way, the body of Christ and the bride of Christ, the house of God and the flock of the Lord. The nature of the church is seen from a structural viewpoint as well as the organizational emphasis of the human body. When Peter confessed that Jesus was the long-sought Messiah or Christ, the Son of God declared the divine pattern of the kingdom of God fulfilled in the church. Jesus said He would build His church and Peter would receive the keys of the kingdom of heaven showing the church and the kingdom of heaven are one and the same entity. On the Day of Pentecost when three thousand devout Jews obeyed the gospel of Christ, the Father added them to the church or the kingdom of heaven. Luke records in the Acts of the Apostles the growth of the church which can also be seen as the growth of the kingdom. Whenever the church is mentioned it also includes the nature of the kingdom. Saul of Tarsus persecuted the church or caused havoc to the kingdom of God. When Saul obeyed the gospel he became a citizen of the kingdom of Christ leaving his allegiance to the kingdom of Israel and the Law of Moses. One of the great challenges of the New Testament church was to convince citizens of the kingdom of Israel to become citizens of the kingdom of Christ. The Law of Moses was the law governing Israel and the new covenant of God took the Law of Moses away. This was hard for many to accept. Some tried to bind portions of the Law of Moses (like circumcision) upon new Christians but through the teaching of the Holy Spirit, the church established the new covenant of Christ as the law for the kingdom or church. For the Gentiles, the conflict came from the allegiance to the law of the Roman Empire and the law of Christ. Jesus taught in His ministry that a disciple should render to Caesar those things that belong to Caesar but to render to God the things that belong to God. This became very difficult for the First Century Christian who faced more than two hundred years of persecution as the two kingdoms clashed. They were taught to honor the king and submit to every law but never allow their allegiance to the kingdom of God to be overshadowed by allegiance to man.

The church is the kingdom of God with one king, one law and one spiritual territory. A kingdom is recognized when a law is established and land created. Jesus purchased the church with His own blood and thereby established the kingdom of God by His sacrifice. When the early Christians began to teach the gospel the borders of the kingdom began to spread from Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth. The kingdom of God was found in cities like Antioch, Derbe, Lystra, Ephesus, Corinth, Thessalonica and the imperial city of Rome. Citizens of the household of Caesar including the palace guard were members of the body of Christ thereby making them citizens of the kingdom of Christ. In time the gospel began to spread to the furthest reaches of the world as souls became obedient to the law of the kingdom of God and enjoying the fellowship of being fellow citizens with all saints. After the persecution from the Roman Empire ceased the apostate church began to persecute the true believers and citizens of the kingdom of God. For nearly fifteen hundred years the Roman Catholic Church held sway in the Western world while the kingdom of God silently continued to assemble in places seldom recorded by history. The writer of the book of Hebrews boldly asserted the kingdom of God could not be shaken and two thousand years have proven the statement to be true. Churches of Christ continue to dot the landscape all over the world showing the character of the kingdom of God in fulfillment of the promise of Jesus. No power or might will be able to subdue the kingdom of God. It is everlasting according to the will of the Lord.

Jesus promised to build His church and He is the head of one church. That church is the kingdom of God where Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. There is only one King. As lawgiver, there can only be one law given by the word of the Lord. Many churches have been created in the past five hundred years attempting to dethrone Christ from His throne. They have tried to change the law of God teaching things not according to the Bible. Churches have embraced different names that distinguish them as man-made religions that appeal to the whims of carnal wisdom. The Bible shows there is one kingdom and that one kingdom is the one church of Christ. No kingdom has multiple kings or multiple laws according to the interpretation of one group of citizens over another. All those who are members of the kingdom of God abide by the same law without deference to the period of time lived, national identity or historical preference. The kingdom of God today is the same church established in the First Century when men follow the same laws of the New Testament kingdom. Jesus built one church and He established one kingdom.

But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. (Galatians 4:4-5)

God Sent

At the beginning of time, the Lord God planted a garden where He placed man to enjoy all the blessings of living in the presence of his Creator. There were two trees in the midst of the garden that represented the goodness and severity of God. The tree of life would give man fullness of life without end. Adam and Eve were not permitted to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil as the wrath of God would come if they disobeyed. Through the deceitfulness of Satan, Eve was beguiled into eating the forbidden fruit and gave some to Adam. As a result of their disobedience, God sent them out of the garden. Before expelling them from Eden, the Lord promised a Seed would come and restore the garden relationship of man and God. Many centuries later an angel appeared to a maiden in Israel and told her she would have a son and shall call his name Jesus. The timing of the birth was in accordance with a divine plan when God sent His Son, born of a woman, into the world to redeem man and return the garden relationship lost in Eden. In the story of the garden, God sent the man out with no hope of saving himself. Announcing the birth of Jesus, God sent His only begotten Son into the world to bring hope to a lost man. In both cases, the grace of the Divine is found in the love of God willing to send His Creation away from him in Eden so that He could send His Son to redeem men. Without the mercy of God, there would be no joy, no redemption and no hope. Losing the tree of life condemned man to the sting of death and victory of Hades.

The early world was destroyed because all the intents and thoughts of men were evil and the Lord destroyed the world with a great flood. Through the seed of Abraham, the light of hope beamed in the heart of men seeking a Savior. This seed came about because God sent Abram away from his home promising to make his descendants as many as the stars of heaven. God sent Joseph into Egypt so that He could bring them out many years later under the leadership of Moses. Because of their disobedience, God sent the nation of Israel into a wilderness for forty years before sending them into Canaan to possess the land. The Lord sent the hand of the Israelites against the people of the land to cast them out because their sin had reached the portals of heaven and judgment had come. God sent judges among the people of Israel to judge them before sending three men to lead a unified kingdom. When the nation divided into a civil war the Lord sent the Assyrian Empire to destroy the northern ten tribes before sending the armies of Babylon against the remnant remaining in Judah and Benjamin. God sent His people into bondage for seventy years and then sent them back home to Jerusalem to await the coming Messiah. Through all these years God sent prophets and teachers to warn and instruct the people but they would not listen. Finally, an angel sent by God appeared to Joseph and Mary announcing the coming of the Divine who would save His people from their sins. At the age of thirty, God sent His Son into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. A few years later God sent His Son to Golgotha outside Jerusalem where He would die for the sins of the world. Three days later God sent his resurrected Son back to earth to testify for forty days the good news there was life after death. Jesus had conquered death and overcame the sting that beguiled the heart of men.

On the Day of Pentecost, God sent twelve men to testify to devout men gathered in Jerusalem the saving grace of Jesus Christ. From that moment on God sent His disciples throughout the world to preach a risen Christ whom God sent into the world that through His blood redemption could be found and hope realized. The day the Lord sent the man out of the garden was a day of beginnings when God would continue to send His message of hope and joy through the ages so that all men could realize the joy of knowing the grace of a divine Father. It was nothing that man could do or say that would bring his eternal hope. God sent His love from the heavenly throne as a measure of His divine love for undeserving men who constantly rebelled against His will. Because God sent His Son into the world, man can receive the garden again where he can commune and walk with the Father in peace. There is great joy in knowing that God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son that whosoever obeys His will can enjoy the paradise of eternal life. By God sending His grace all men can be redeemed receive the adoption as sons.