The Heaton File

Even the stork in the heavens knows her appointed times; and the turtledove, the swift, and the swallow observe the time of their coming. But My people do not know the judgment of the Lord. (Jeremiah 8:7)

Man Is Not The Smartest Animal

It was a sad and tragic time for God’s people. The apple of His eye had turned their backs on Him and the Lord lamented the punishment He would bring upon them for disobedience. Many prophets came to the nation seeking to turn the hearts of the people back to the Lord but to no avail. Israel continued in a downward spiral of wickedness and rebellion drawing closer to the final judgment of God upon them. There would be no heeding the dire warnings of the prophets. All of the pestilence sent by the hand of the Lord did not change the hearts of the people. Doom overshadowed the special people of God and they seemed to give little heed or concern. Jeremiah pleaded with his fellow countrymen to change the course of their hearts. The condition was so dreadful the prophet remarked that the animals had more sense than God’s people.

Comparing a flock of birds to the people of God was an obvious condemnation to the depth of Israel’s depravity. Migratory birds live according to the natural laws instilled in them by their creator. “The instinct of the migratory birds leads them with unfailing regularity to return every spring from their winter abodes in summer climes (Song of Solomon 2:12); but God’s people will not return to Him even when the winter of His wrath is past, and He invites them back to the spring of His favor” (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary). Isaiah had used the ox and the donkey as an example of how they knew their master’s care for them and yet Israel did not know the Lord. Animals act in a more dedicated manner than the one creation who is a free moral agent. Man has the ability to choose his destiny yet fails miserably to heed the grace and love of his Maker. The animals trust in their Creator. They do not worry like man does. The sparrows of the field are provided for by their Maker and they are content.

Jeremiah’s comparison was not a flattering commentary on the plight of man’s rebellion against the will of God. The animals of the world have no free moral agency yet they have greater faith in the Creator than the one who has dominion over them. How sad that man cannot trust in the Lord with greater faith when he was made a little lower than the angels and received the gift of God in the form of the crucified Christ. Jesus did not die for the animals of the world. He gave His life for men because they can be saved if they are willing. Taking time to look at the animals of the world and see how they are provided for and trust in the care of their Maker should remind the creature made in the image of God to serve Him in faith. Man is eternal; animals are not. God sent His Son to show men His love and to know of His judgment. Sadly, like the days of Jeremiah, most men do not know the Lord or believe in His word.

And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works. (Hebrews 10:24)

What I Miss When I Do Not Attend

Worship has always been a part of the relationship between man and God. Cain and Abel brought offerings to the Lord, Abram built altars to honor his God, Melchizedek was a High Priest serving under the will of the Lord and Moses gave the Hebrews a law filled with exhortations on true worship. In Christ worship is a precious remembrance of the sacrifice of the Father to send His Son for the sins of all men. The death of Jesus abolished the Law of Moses and gained an entrance for the Gentiles to enjoy the blessings of all men coming to God as one people. Only in the name of Jesus Christ would salvation be offered to the world.

The pattern of worship in the early church was a simple plan of God for His people to gather as one in the fellowship of how each person could exhort and admonish one another. They would sing together with voices blended in speaking to one another through hymns, psalms and spiritual songs. Examining the scriptures would be a time of faith building as they studied together and learned from one another. Remembering the sacrifice of Christ highlighted the service as the supper was taken of the bread and fruit of the vine. Paul reminded the Corinthians of the necessity of obeying the word of Christ to remember Him in a manner of reverence. Bonding the hearts together in worship came from prayers lifted to the Father in thanksgiving, praise, honor and glory. The New Testament church established a weekly observance of worship.

Through the centuries methods have changed in carrying out the first day of the week worship. The scriptures teach assembling on the first day of the week is a command. Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:2, Hebrews 10:24-25 and 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 are examples of the command to gather on the first day of the week. It must be especially noted that if a person does not assemble for the Lord’s Supper they cannot take of it in a worthy manner bringing severe judgment from the Lord. Whether this command is carried out one time on Sunday or multiple times is left to man to decide as long as the word of God is followed in assembling on the first day of the week. In our modern world of easy transportation, electricity and comforts of prosperity, many churches meet multiple times on Sunday and during the week. The buildings are adequate to allow worship to be carried out with ease. For most people, travel to and from the places of worship are also with great simplicity.

With all the comforts of a modern world and convenience of more time on our hands, many saints only come to one service during the week. Sunday morning worship is routinely a larger crowd than Bible class and evening services. There are exceptions to some who are unable to attend more services than one (distance, darkness, well-being, etc.). What is sad to see are swelling numbers on Sunday morning dwindling down 40% or more when the evening service comes or mid-week studies. Because of this many churches are cancelling services in the evening. What do people miss when they do not attend the services?

They miss the fellowship of other saints. Many churches are filled with people who do not know one another because they seldom spend time getting to know their brethren. In part this comes from seldom or infrequently coming to services. Even coming to the Sunday morning service alone makes it very difficult to build a relationship with another person. Those who do not to attend will never enjoy the close relationship that begins in worship and blossoms into relationships in life. Those who miss the services do not enjoy the blessings of Hebrews 10:24 – “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works.” See also Colossians 3:16.

Those who do not attend the services do not grow in faith with their fellow saints. Bible classes and preaching are vital parts of the work of the Lord but when the services are neglected, faith dwindles. Self-study is important and an answer can be given that personal studies are done but where is the discussion, the examination, the challenge of iron striking iron (Proverbs 27:17)? Families with children who seldom bring them to Bible studies realize much too late their children have little interest in the Lord. Teachers prepare great lessons for their students only to see them attend sporadically. Children have a funny way of growing up and becoming just like us – no matter how hard we try to teach them different. They learn more by our example than our words.

Failing to assemble with the saints makes a statement to the community. My life is an open book to my neighbors and friends and when church services are not important enough to attend – they see my faith. I miss the opportunity to let my light shine to others. Our lives may be the only Bible some folk will read and what a great impact I can have on others when I show my faith by my works (James 2:14-26).

The growth of a local congregation comes from what everyone puts into the effort. Paul explained church growth in Ephesians 4:16 when he writes, “From whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” If the members of a local congregation are not engaged enough to be an active part of the work, what is the message they are sending? The whole body must be joined together. It must be knit together. Each person must do their part to create an effective work in the local congregation. When members do not find enough interest to meet but the minimum requirements of the law the church struggles to grow.

Maybe it is time for the Lord to take away the work of the church from the soft-peddled Americans who have every comfort and convenience to worship and give it to a people who are not burdened with the blessings of prosperity. Folks in Nicaragua sit in buildings without air-conditioning on plastic chairs and dim lights and have little to complain about. Churches in South Africa meet under a tree allowing the shade to be their only relief from the sun. Saints in Bulgaria gather in a small apartment with little fanfare and lift their voices to God in praise. What will we tell Abraham, Moses, David and the Apostles of the glory days of the Kingdom and all the opportunities we had to worship together under the banner of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords – and we complained and fussed about having to do so much and go so far and stay so long and … ? Sad isn’t it? Jesus died on a wooden cross and we complain about splinters.

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:2-11)

Developing A Spirit To Endure

Running a race requires the will to carry through the inevitable pain and suffering to the end. There is a need to have the staying power of pushing ahead mile after mile overcoming each obstacle with a resolve to finish the race. Those who run in marathons spend years developing their bodies to endure the punishing abuse the body will take during the long hours and difficult course. For most it is not about winning the race. Victory comes in crossing the finish line. The beginning of the marathon is where there is a lot of hope and energy as people rush forward excited about the race. In time, some begin to slow down as the energy diminishes but they carry on. As the hours pass, the line of runners stretches out further from one another as some fall back and some drop out. The champion is crowned who crossed the line first but the greater victors are those who kept moving forward step after painful step and in the fading darkness of the day stretch forth and crossed the finish line. They persevered and won the victory. It was not about the crown for the swift but the reward of finishing.

The Christian race is little different than running a marathon. Those who have begun the race have put on Christ in obedience to His word and enjoy the spiritual blessings of the Father. There is a lot of excitement and hope as the new born child bursts forth in life running with the joy of salvation. Hope fills the heart with the grace of God. Energy is high. Time begins to wear on the life of the Christian and the soul begins to face the pounding of daily living. Facing the onslaught of the hosts of wickedness, faith is put to the test. The lessons of virtue, knowledge and self-control begin to strain under the weight of temptation and spiritual fatigue. Peter shows that with all of these great examples of character so vital to the growth of the Christian, perseverance is the key ingredient that keeps the focus of the race before the mind of the child of God to keep pressing forward.

Adding perseverance to self-control (including virtue and knowledge) is the vitamin of a heroic, brave patience that bears up under any trial. The word means something like “remaining under” and contending daily without stopping. Knowledge will have little use if there is not a willingness to submit to the divine will of God and endure the trials of life with courage. Perseverance is the moral discipline to put one foot in front of the other without looking to the left or right but keeping the eyes clearly set on eternal life. It involves the trials of life and the strain of running a long race. For the Christian, there is no question where each day will take them. Satan seeks to discourage and if he is successful will cause the Christian to stop running. For those who have run the race, they know the pain involved and the temptation to give up. Faith does not allow them to quit but to fight through the pain and keep running. Steadfastness is necessary to run the Christian race. It requires a resolute mind, committed and dedicated to serving the Lord. Paul reminds us running this race is not about the swift but about those who finish. Keep on running. Never, never give up. Heaven awaits.

And the gatekeepers were Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and their brethren. Shallum was the chief. Until then they had been gatekeepers for the camps of the children of Levi at the King’s Gate on the east. Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his brethren, from his father’s house, the Korahites, were in charge of the work of the service, gatekeepers of the tabernacle. Their fathers had been keepers of the entrance to the camp of the Lord. And Phinehas the son of Eleazar had been the officer over them in time past; the Lord was with him. Zechariah the son of Meshelemiah was keeper of the door of the tabernacle of meeting. All those chosen as gatekeepers were two hundred and twelve. They were recorded by their genealogy, in their villages. David and Samuel the seer had appointed them to their trusted office. So they and their children were in charge of the gates of the house of the Lord, the house of the tabernacle, by assignment. The gatekeepers were assigned to the four directions: the east, west, north, and south. And their brethren in their villages had to come with them from time to time for seven days. For in this trusted office were four chief gatekeepers; they were Levites. And they had charge over the chambers and treasuries of the house of God. And they lodged all around the house of God because they had the responsibility, and they were in charge of opening it every morning. Now some of them were in charge of the serving vessels, for they brought them in and took them out by count. Some of them were appointed over the furnishings and over all the implements of the sanctuary, and over the fine flour and the wine and the oil and the incense and the spices. And some of the sons of the priests made the ointment of the spices. Mattithiah of the Levites, the firstborn of Shallum the Korahite, had the trusted office over the things that were baked in the pans. And some of their brethren of the sons of the Kohathites were in charge of preparing the showbread for every Sabbath. These are the singers, heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites, who lodged in the chambers, and were free from other duties; for they were employed in that work day and night. (1 Chronicles 9:17-33)

Serving In A Trusted Office

The logistics of the Law of Moses was an incredible achievement to carry out. Beginning at Sinai with the construction of the Tabernacle and all of the requirements implemented by the Lord continuing through the building of the Temple by Solomon, there were major and minor parts of the services that had to be carried out daily, weekly, monthly and yearly. Only certain people were allowed to care for the Tabernacle as it journeyed throughout the wilderness. Responsibility and care of the Tabernacle was given to the tribe of Levi. The family of Kohath oversaw the assembling and disassembling of the Tent of Meeting. When the people came into the land of promise, the Tabernacle was set up in Shiloh and the tribe of Levi ministered daily for the worship prescribed by God. Many years later when the Temple was finished under the leadership of Solomon, responsibility moved to caring for the furnishings and work of the House of God. This would require legions of servants in various places doing their work as proficient as possible. Among these servants were the gatekeepers.

Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and their brethren had a very important job to do. Their names may be hard to pronounce but the Holy Spirit impresses upon the pages of holy writ the work of being a gatekeeper was a trusted office. It was more than opening and closing the gates for the two hundred and twelve men that served in this place. There was a lot of responsibility in the position of being a gatekeeper. The work to be carried out was to maintain the integrity of God’s word. It may not have been the glorious work of being a High Priest or even serving as a priest within the walls of the Temple but there was little doubt the Lord had given special instructions to those who kept the gates and He expected those servants to do the best they could do. They served in an office of trust overseeing the chambers and treasuries of the house of God. The scripture says they had the responsibility and they were in charge of opening the house of God every morning. Someone had to do that job and God assigned them to this task. It was an office of trust.

The New Testament church finds a lot of gatekeepers in its midst. Not everyone could be an apostle. Elders were selected among the early Christians serving with distinction as shepherds of the flock watching out for the souls of the people of God. Deacons and preachers served in their capacities and stories of Peter, Paul, Silas, Barnabas and Timothy fill the pages of the book of Acts. But there were a lot of people doing the important work of opening their homes for the saints to meet in, feeding the hungry, sharing their garments and tunics made from loving hands, teaching and encouraging the downtrodden. Being a gatekeeper under the Law was an office of trust. There are many things to be done in the church and the Lord sees each one as a work of trust. He implemented the positions of the Law of Moses to show a pattern of how important the work of serving Him would be reflected in the kingdom of His Son. The church is in need of all those who will take up the mantle of faith to do whatever the Lord needs in whatever capacity they can be used.

Not everyone can be in the place of an elder or preacher. Some of the most important work of the Lord is done away from the church building. Visiting the sick is being a gatekeeper. Writing notes and making phone calls keeps the gates open. Having families in the home to increase fellowship genders spiritual growth within the local congregation. Setting up Bible studies with friends and neighbors is being a gatekeeper. The Lord told Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and their brethren they had a trusted office to keep. His word reminds us all that we have a part to play in the work of the Lord. Each one of us has been entrusted to carry out a part of the work that forms the whole of the local congregation spreading the news of Jesus Christ. Everything we do is important as the effective working by which every member does what they can do – because we all have a trusted office. This will bring growth of the body for the edification of itself in love. The Lord is depending on you and me. Let’s do the best we can do.

There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers. There are those who are clean in their own eyes but are not washed of their filth. There are those—how lofty are their eyes, how high their eyelids lift! There are those whose teeth are swords, whose fangs are knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, the needy from among mankind. (Proverbs 30:11-14)

There Is A Generation

Agur is not a well-known Bible character. He was the son of Jakeh and his writings are found in the book of Proverbs. He declares to Ithiel and Ucal that he is not a very smart man but he wants to write some words that are on his heart. His humble spirit is evident when he considers how great the Lord has manifested Himself. The word of God is pure and Agur knows the power contained in the wisdom of the Lord. He did not want much in life so that he could live simply before the Lord and serve Him. His observation of the youth of his day is startling but familiar. Children curse their fathers and mothers and live in the “me, me, me” world of selfishness. The world revolves around their every desire and with the expectation of getting anything they want, like wolves they devour those who stand against them. His generation turned away from the Lord living for their own needs to be fulfilled in fleshly pleasure. Sound familiar?

The amazing part of history is how often generations repeat themselves. There is a misguided notion that each generation improves on the last and with more technology and wisdom man gets smarter. Sadly that is not the way of men. Agur wrote his proverbs nearly three thousand years ago but his observations can be put in many generations including the present. More and more the family is becoming a dysfunctional haven of spoiled children who disrespect parents, believe the world owes them everything and rush through life drinking every drop of self-gratification and pleasure they can find. The Holy Spirit kept the writings of Agur for a reason. It shows how that man needs God and every generation fights the same battles; just a different kind under different circumstances.

Finding the views of Agur familiar with the problems faced today, the solution remains the same. The great message of the ancient writings of the Old Testament is the power of the word of God for all men in every generation. Families faced a crisis of identity in the days of Agur and they face the same problems today. The only way to resolve the issues of the family is to allow the Lord to guide the home, train the children and build a better community. Men change little and the word of God never changes. The family was created as a place of safety, peace and where the Lord was to be the central hope. Sin destroys that harmony. What Agur wrote about can be laid at the feet of parents who fail to bring their children up in the training and admonition of the Lord. The reason children become rebellious is because they are allowed to be rebellious. There are exceptions to the rule of children who leave the wisdom of the parents because they are free to make moral decisions that are sinful. By and large many homes are filled with cursing, selfish children because parents have spoiled, coddled, pampered and created the storm they witness in their family. Teaching children to love, respect and honor the Lord will instill in them a love for family. Parents are heard to say they want to give their children all the things they never had growing up and failing to give them the one thing they were given – a love for the Lord. The words of Agur still ring loudly in our generation. There is a need for families to build their homes upon the word of God. If the Bible is not the center of the home, the framework of the family will be destroyed. Listen to the words of Agur. Do not allow this generation to repeat the mistakes of the past.

Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give his angels charge over you,’ and, in their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’” Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” (Matthew 4:3-10)

Dealing With The Devil

Temptation is the common lot of all men and Jesus would be no exception. Satan knew who Jesus of Nazareth was and he fully intended on doing his best to destroy the Son of God. For thirty years the devil threw everything he had at Jesus with the temptations all men must face. As the Lord began His ministry Satan approached the weakened Jesus to offer Him an easy path to glory. First, he tempted Jesus with the physical needs of hunger but to no avail. The devil turns to scripture to lure the Son of God to test His Father’s will but again ending in failure. Finally the great deceiver offers Jesus a shortcut to glory without the price of the cross and is abruptly rebuked and told to leave. Facing each temptation Jesus followed a simple plan: He appealed to the word of His Father. He did not rely on His own wisdom or His own ability to dissuade the appealing songs of Satan’s lures. Each provocation by the devil was met with a firm, “It is written.”

There are many lessons to learn from this story. If the devil will tempt the Son of God then why should we think he will not come after us with greater temptations? The most important lesson to learn is the only way to deal with temptation is to be familiar with the words of God. Without His word in our hearts there is an open door for the devil to bring us down. Vance Havner said, “Jesus met the devil not in His own name, not in His own power, but with the Scriptures: ‘It is written … it is written …’ If He could defeat the devil with three verses out of Deuteronomy, we ought to be able to do it with the whole Bible.” There is a point to be made. Knowledge is power and with this power we are able to discern between good and evil. Faith comes from hearing and hearing must come from the word of God. The level of faith is proportionate to our knowledge. If we are not actively seeking the word of God in our daily life we are inviting the devil to find his way in our lives.

More often than not we try to deal with temptation by our own wisdom. Bible study is a rarity and knowing anything about the Bible is more common in the lives of God’s people. Like the days of Hosea the people of God are being destroyed for lack of knowledge. Satan does not have to tempt us with great sins that will destroy us. He simply tempts us with the leisure approach to life that is busy about so many things that time with God’s word is seldom found. The church is filling with hearts that know little about scripture and finding their faith as weak as water. This is a ripe harvest for Satan as he turns the souls of saints away from the Lord. We cannot defeat temptation with “It is written” if we do not know what is written. The result is that we are lulled into a false sense of security as the siren song of the devil’s melody soothes our souls to destruction.

Learning the word of God takes time and energy. It requires the courage to face our failures for not knowing what we should about the Bible. The Lord did not give us a book that we cannot understand. A lifetime of study will not glean every morsel of truth from this great book but the more we spend time in the word the more powerful our lives will become. Satan’s greatest victory is to keep God’s people ignorant. The greatest victory the child of God can have is to stand boldly before the great deceiver and say, “It is written” because I know what is written. There can be no other way to deal with the devil. He is bound to hell fire and he is trying desperately to take every child of God he can find with him. Let him go alone. Take the sword of the Spirit and slay every temptation the devil throws at you with the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. If Jesus can defeat Satan with three verses then we should throw the whole book at him. Now – go open your Bible and get busy learning about God.

Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. (Romans 11:22)

The True Nature Of God

It is easy to think of God as being a kind, benevolent old man sitting on a brilliant throne with angels swirling around Him as the heavens fills with the praises of eternity. Everyone is standing before the throne as He smiles down upon all men. There is comfort in the knowledge that no matter how a person lives he can go to heaven. God welcomes all men into His embrace. All religions, in whatever form they decide to approach God, will be there. There is a feeling that no matter what happens on earth all men will enjoy eternal life in Heaven because the Lord God is all compassionate, all loving and all forgiving to the sins of man. This hymn of deception is the same tune the devil played for Eve in the Garden of Eden. There is some truth but in reality it is all a lie.

God is compassionate beyond the understanding of man. Thinking of the Lord in terms of forgiveness is one of His remarkable traits that He would consider forgiving man of sin. His greatest show of love was sending His Son to die for all men. There was nothing in man that would deserve such a sacrifice. The reason Jesus died was because of the hatred of men – His own creation. They abused Him, rejected Him, beat Him and nailed the Son of God to a cross and the Father allowed that to happen. His plan was fulfilled in the resurrection of His Son from the dead so that all men could inherit eternal life in Christ. The grace of God is unbelievable. His mercy is so great the universe could not hold the truth of His love. He stands ready to forgive and accept men into His bosom so they may live with Him forever. But there is another side of God that most refuse to acknowledge. Salvation is offered is Jesus Christ but the vast majority of men will never accept it. Because of their refusal the Father will punish them with eternal fire.

The nature of God is twofold: His goodness and His severity. Salvation has always been conditional. There has never been a time when the choices of life and death have not separated men from the will of God. Why did God save Noah and his family but destroy every human being on the face of the earth in the flood? The goodness of the Lord was shown to Noah because he found grace in the eyes of God. Noah and his family lived according to the word of God and they tried to follow His will. Saved through grace the family of Noah stepped out of the ark on a world destroyed because of the wrath of God. This came about through their obedience to His word. Those who perished suffered destruction because they refused to accept the word of God. The goodness of God saved eight people and the severity of the Lord destroyed everyone else. This pattern of grace is seen throughout scripture. Jesus taught His Father was love but He also taught His Father was a severe God.

One of the most familiar passages in the Bible is where Jesus said that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son; that whoever believed in Him would not perish but have everlasting life. The goodness of God is found in His love and the promise of everlasting life. His severity is realized when He warns of those who will perish. If you believe in God you will not perish. The severity of the Lord is a reality. Refusing to obey God will bring punishment. Not everyone is saved because most men will be lost. Jesus explained this in His mountain sermon. Entering by the narrow way is the path of salvation and the broad way is where most people live. The end of the broad way is destruction. The goodness of God is wonderful. There is another side of God that cannot be ignored and that is the severity of God. Obedience will bring blessing. Disobedience will bring the harsh judgment of the Father upon those who refuse to obey Him. God is love. He is also severe.

Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty firmament! Praise Him for His mighty acts; praise Him according to His excellent greatness! Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; praise Him with the lute and harp! Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise Him with loud cymbals; praise Him with clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord! (Psalm 150)

New Testament Music

The New Testament church is a unique organization of people gathered together in Christ to show forth the wonderful blessings of salvation through the love of God. There has never been a more perfect union of the mind of God and man than the church bought with the blood of Jesus Christ. Before the worlds were created, God had determined the existence of the church to be fulfilled with the sacrifice of His only begotten Son. Through the centuries the Lord showed His will to men like Abraham and Moses with promises of something greater coming in the last days. Jesus was born of a woman and lived under the burden of flesh in sinless perfection so that He could be offered as the lamb redeeming all men from the condemnation of sin. After His ascension, His apostles received power from on high on Pentecost and the New Testament church was begun. The message was different. Salvation would not come as it did in the days of Abraham. As the church began to grow it was clear the Law of Moses had been abolished. A new law was given to men whereby they would be saved. The gospel was first given to the Jews as a sign the trappings of old law was no longer in effect. Only through the gospel of Christ would men be saved.

Jesus referred to the Old Testament as the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms. The early disciples learned through the writings of men like Paul that Jew and Gentile were now under the covenant of grace. Circumcision, keeping of days, Sabbaths and temple worship was no longer required as the new law of Christ’s blood saved men. The worship had changed from a physical priesthood to a spiritual. Animal sacrifices were no longer required but the sacrifice of the heart. Under Christ, the law of salvation would come from the teachings of the New Covenant. One of the changes that was evident in the first century was the absence of instrumental music. The first Christians ushered into the church were Jews who knew everything there was to know about using trumpets, lutes, lyres, stringed instruments and loud cymbals. Psalm 150 declared the glory of God through the use of these instruments. Yet the early Christians never used instruments in their worship. The first occasion of an instrument used in the worship of the church would appear six hundred years after the first century church. How do we understand passages like Psalm 150 and the use of instruments today?

Authority must be established for everything that is done in worship to God. This has been the pattern since the first offerings are recorded by Cain and Abel. Before the Law of Moses authority was needed to worship the Lord. When God gave a law to the Jews (and to the Jews alone) He inscribed upon the Law of Moses the pattern of authority the nation of Israel must follow to be obedient. Christ came to establish a better covenant with better promises and effectively removed the means of salvation as found with Abraham and destroyed the Law of Moses and its authority. The Old Testament has been retained as a pattern of example to know God and His will but the authority of the Old Testament has been removed. Can we appeal to passages like Psalm 150 as a pattern of authority for instrumental music? If we are allowed to use Psalm 150 as authority then the conclusion would be the other 149 psalms would also be allowed to be used as authority. This would present a serious challenge to the Christian.

The book of Psalms is a book of books containing 150 different writings by many different men. Psalm 150 says to praise the Lord with many different kinds of instruments. Psalm 149 also declares praise to the Lord with the timbrel and harp. If we use Psalm 150 and Psalm 149 as authority for worship today we must also include everything contained in the two psalms as part of our worship. Psalm 149 says the saints are to be joyful in glory, sing aloud on their beds and let the high praises of God be in their mouth and a two-edged sword in their hand to execute vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples. The saints are to bind their kings with chains and nobles with fetters of iron executing on them the written judgment of God. All of this is the honor of being a saint. It is clear the teaching of Psalm 149 is not the teaching of Jesus Christ. If we are to take instruments of worship from Psalm 149 then we must take instruments of war as well.

All of the writers of the psalms were inspired by God. There is a lot of violence in the psalms. David spoke of his enemies falling by the sword, breaking their teeth, letting arrows fly, and washing feet in the blood of the wicked. Psalm 137 concludes with the hope that all the little ones of Babylon will be dashed against the rock. Are we to assume that since this language is contained in scripture that we are to commit such acts? The challenge of using Psalm 150 as authority for instrumental worship is that we are obligated to keep the whole law. Jesus explained how the old law was the writings of Moses, the prophets and the psalms and the early Christians learned the old law was abolished. Instruments of music have no authority in the church today because it was not in the first century. All of the passages that refer to the worship of the early church show that singing is the only means of worship. Paul was one of the finest students of the Law of Moses and the Psalms and he never suggested that instrumental music was accepted. He understood the only worship authorized was to sing. Praise the Lord but leave the instrument at home.

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:2-11)

Governing The Passion Of Self

There is an animal that is more difficult to control than any of God’s creation. That creature lies within the soul of man and is the agent of goodness or wickedness. It is the part of man that declares his free moral agency allowing him to be accountable for his life. Established by the Lord by separating him from the beasts of the field, the struggle of self-will makes man a moral creature accountable for his words, thoughts and actions. The passion of the spirit of man can make him to be a creature of worship toward his creator or it can lead him down a path of self-destruction. Giving the ability to choose right and wrong the condition of the heart decides what the will of man will do. Self-control is learning how to guide the desires of the heart towards what the Lord wants man to do. More often than not man will choose to follow his own self-will because he believes he knows more than God and the appeal of the flesh is better served with no limits. Disciplining the passions of lusts is very difficult. As the fruits of the Spirit manifest themselves in the life of the child of God, the need to restrain the free spirit of man is more apparent. The forbidden fruit looks appealing and desiring to become wise man allows self-restraint to be forgotten. Self-control is learning how to control the creation of man’s inner desires for good.

The passions that drive a man were placed there by God. It is what separates us from the animal world. Right and wrong are determined by the manner we control the will of self. Placed before man is the choice of life or death and the control of the passions will either come from obedience to the word of God or abandoning the Lord for self-gratification. What makes self-control so difficult is the willingness to follow the path of righteousness but the temptation to enjoy the temporary fruits of sin overtakes the heart. David failed to control the feelings of self when he committed adultery with Bathsheba. He further lacked self-control when he devised a plan to cover up his sin and in the end lost control of every part of his life. A choice was made and he made the wrong choice. The heart of the problem was the lack of self-control. Without the governing influence of the word of God, there is no guidance and the devil wins.

Self-control is where character comes from. Peter shows that knowledge is a vital part of the growth of the Christian but without the discipline to implement that knowledge in the proper manner, sin will have its victory. Self-control is dependent upon knowledge and will need to be fortified with a spirit of perseverance. Self is hard to wrangle as it wiggles around seeking its own enjoyments. The wiles of the devil can only be defeated when the spirit is controlled with the strength of God’s word and the steel character of goodness protecting the way. Every sin can be defined by the lack of self-control. Growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ comes from the character building exercise of discipline. Learning to control the heart from anger, jealousy, passions, sinful lusts and a host of maladies that challenge the character of righteousness will change the person of God into a valiant soldier of Christ. Battle worn veterans in the war with Satan know that controlling self is where victory is found.

The graces defined by Peter present a complete picture of the Christian model of righteousness. No one character is more important than the other but without self-control there will be failure. Self-control is a key to fighting the passions of sin that destroy character, reputations, families and the work of the Lord. Faith must be fortified with the discipline of placing the will under the hand of God and forging a heart guided by the knowledge of truth established with a mind of perseverance. The great men and women of scripture have one thing in common: the presence of self-control. Every story of failure can be laid at the feet of lacking self-control. The word of God trains the mind to control the passions in the proper context. Finding the courage to stay the course and allow the Spirit of God to possess the soul will bring greater victory. Eternal life is rest from the weary battle of self-control. Learning to put self in its proper place will bring everlasting joy in this life and the life to come.

You shall therefore keep all My statutes and all My judgments, and perform them, that the land where I am bringing you to dwell may not vomit you out. And you shall not walk in the statutes of the nation which I am casting out before you; for they commit all these things, and therefore I abhor them. But I have said to you, “You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the Lord your God, who has separated you from the peoples. You shall therefore distinguish between clean animals and unclean, between unclean birds and clean, and you shall not make yourselves abominable by beast or by bird, or by any kind of living thing that creeps on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean. And you shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine. (Leviticus 20:22-26)

Separate From The World

It is not easy to be different. The world is a tough place to separate oneself from because of the peer pressure, desires and temptations that allure the soul to follow after what everyone else is enjoying. As Israel prepared to enter Canaan, the Lord gave them strong admonitions about the world they would face. Throughout the giving of the Law, God impressed upon the minds of His people how important it was for them to be separate and not follow after the iniquity of the nations before them. When Abraham had come into the land, he had been promised Canaan when the iniquity of the people had come full and that time had come. One of the reasons the Lord brought His people to the land beyond the Jordan is to punish the nations because of their wholesale wickedness. The people engaged in gross immoral acts that were a stench before the nostrils of the Lord. They offered their children to idols as burnt offerings, followed after mediums and spiritualists, cursed father and mother, committed adultery, incest, bestiality, homosexuality and filled the land with violence. Canaan was not given to Israel because they were a righteous nation. God was bringing judgment against the land because they were so filled with wickedness that a cleansing needed to take place. At the same time the Lord warned His own people that they must remain separated from the influences of the immorality of the land lest they also were destroyed.

The Law of Moses was very clear about the penalties of being like the nations around them. Any child of God that followed after Molech (god of Ammonites) was to be put to death. If a child cursed father or mother they were put to death. The man and woman who committed adultery were put to death. Incest required death. Homosexuality was punished by death. Marriages of incest were burned with fire. The people of the land committed sexual acts with animals and the Lord demanded death on His people that practiced such things. God told the nation of Israel to consecrate themselves and be holy and to keep His statutes. He was their God and He would rule over them if they did not become like the nations around them. If they disobeyed the word of the Lord the land would “vomit them out.” They were not to walk in the ways of the nations that were before them. He abhorred what the nations were doing. Consecrating themselves from the peoples of the land would mean they distinguished between clean animals and unclean animals. They were to be holy to Him and to Him alone. Sadly their history would prove to be unholy.

As the centuries unfolded for the children of Israel they never quite rid the land of the immoralities warned against by God. In time the people did exactly what the Lord had commanded them not to do. They began to follow after the idol worship of the nations and served the Baal and other gods of men. Sexual immorality became rampant among the nation as fornication and adultery were common. Homosexuality was accepted along with bestiality. Parents were ridiculed as the home crumbled. Every man did what was right in his own eyes as personal rights became the rule of law. Nakedness was the accepted norm in the fashion world of ancient Israel. There was no distinction of those things that were clean and unclean. Warned repeatedly by God to change their ways, Israel fell into moral chaos and finally met their destruction at the hands of the Assyrians and Babylonians. The apple of God’s eye was destroyed because they had failed to separate themselves from the appealing temptations of the world.

The church faces a crisis as more and more of God’s people are no longer separating themselves from the world. It is hard to tell the difference. Children are being offered on the altars of selfishness, pride, and arrogance and are becoming self-centered lovers of themselves with no barriers to correct them. Spoiled with the desires of everything they want they have no interest in God. Sexual freedoms are no longer frowned upon as young people freely engage in premarital sex with parents giving their blessings. Children are born without the bonds of marriage because it has been accepted in the land that God is not real. Incest is accepted through the channels of pornography and adultery is a common practice in marriage. Homosexuality is a national pride and more challenges are found in the church of the Lord of those who have followed its seditious path of unrighteousness. Bestiality is over the horizon as acceptable. In all of these things the church is being plagued by those who refuse to separate their hearts from the desires of the world.

There was a time when women dressed modestly with shamefacedness. Now it is not unusual for the dress to be very short, the neck lines plunging with shoulders and backs exposed to glorify the body. Sensual dress is the market of the day. Women old and young will wear shorts to church services and in some cases very short shorts. Belly shirts, tight fitting pajama type clothing or expressive clothing of an immoral world fill the pews. Swim wear covers less than underwear. The Christian woman is clothing herself in the dress of the world or the lack thereof. And like the nation of Israel that was warned by God to separate themselves; consecrate themselves; be holy and make a distinction between what is clean and unclean; the church is being crushed by the influence of the nations that do not love God or keep His word. It is hard to be different and to set oneself apart from a world gone mad with lusts. Sadly, if separation does not take place in this life there will be a separation in the next life that is eternal. God’s people have always battled with the influence of the world but the challenge remains the same. There must be separation. Consecration requires sanctification and sanctification demands a choice. We must be holy to God because He is holy and He separated us by the blood of Christ that we should be His and His alone.