The Heaton File

Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him. Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill Me?” (John 7:16-19)

The Power Of The Do

Since the age of twelve, Jesus astonished the teachers of the law with His clear understanding of scripture and reasoning. Often the Lord would go into the synagogues teaching from the Law and the Prophets the fulfillment of the word in His own life. The temple was another place He would frequent. What astonished the Jews was His lack of formal training yet deeper knowledge of the Law beyond the learning of the scholars. They could not see how a carpenter from Nazareth could be so versed in scripture.

Jesus affirmed His teaching was not His own. All He spoke came from His Father and the doctrine was not His own. What Jesus suggests in this reply is the value of doctrine and the need of being doers of the law. Seeking the glory of God is not just an emotional response but also a desire to do the will of the Father. Knowing the doctrine of God is paramount to serving faithfully. The religious world emphasizes the power of grace apart from works declaring that salvation comes only from grace and not by works. They deny the need of doctrine as being to formalistic and seeking salvation by works. Jesus taught the need of doing the will of the Father in accordance with the doctrine of God.

Doctrine is just as vital to salvation as grace and mercy. One does not deny the other. Saying “Lord, Lord” does not save. Doing the will of the Father is what saves a man when he follows the doctrines and precepts of the law of God. If anyone wants to do the will of God, they will be familiar with the rule of the Father.

It is easy in our soft religious world to believe salvation comes by grace alone with no effort on the part of the individual to follow doctrine. Charged with being ‘law-keepers’, true disciples are ridiculed for practicing a doctrine of works. However, religious leaders advocate a system of religion that allows man to live as he wants and serve God in a merited favor system with no regard to doctrine. Jesus condemns the grace only disciples who practice a form of Christianity without doctrine. False teachers seek their own glory giving the people false hope of salvation in a system of grace only salvation. James would later show that faith apart from works is dead. He confirms the doctrine of God taught by Jesus Christ.

Jesus never denied the importance of grace, mercy and love. He was the embodiment of all three. He never denied the need for doctrine either. As the old saying goes, we should never throw out the baby with the bath water. Doctrine has always been a vital part of the relationship between man and God. From Adam in the garden to Noah building an ark and the nation of Israel in the Old Testament; doing the will of the Lord was necessary for salvation. The power of doctrine is the first two letters of the word: DO! So it is with salvation today in Christ. Our Lord is Savior showing us His grace, His mercy and His love – and showing us the need to DO the will of the Father to be saved. If you are not DOING then you are not following the DOCTRINE of God. Without the doctrine there can be no salvation.

It is impossible to overlook the emphasis on the transmission of authoritative doctrine which is everywhere found in the New Testament. (J. N. D. Kelly, Early Christian Creeds, 1950)

Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He marveled  because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching. (Mark 6:1-6)

He Could Only Heal A Few Sick People

It was not uncommon in the ministry of Jesus for great multitudes to follow Him and He would heal them all: every one of them. The lame, blind, mute, maimed, demon possessed, diseased, lepers and those in need of healing all received the soothing hand of the Lord. Countless numbers of people saw the power of God through the working of the Finger of God showing the divinity of Jesus. He taught them the kingdom of Heaven. The common people gladly heard Him. His ministry was an inspiring success in so many places. Nazareth would be a very different story.

There is something special about the native son who returns home. Jesus was a teacher, healer, miracle worker and He caused a stir wherever He went. Religious leaders were upset with Him, crowds followed Him daily. Disciples gathered around Him leaning on every word He spoke. There was much to be said about this man from Nazareth. The city where Jesus grew up should have been very receptive to the ministry of the Lord. Jesus had spent many years in the synagogue of Nazareth. Returning now would be very different. The people were offended by Him. He was nothing more than a carpenter’s son and what gives him the right to teach them?

This had to be very disheartening to Jesus. He knew these people better than anyone. Growing up in their midst, the son of Joseph and Mary had thirty years of experience with their families, their joys and sadness, the good days and the bad days of living under Roman rule. A lot of things happen in three decades. These were the people of Jesus. As He returns to the city, He is cast out as a nobody. A few sick people came to Jesus and He healed them. He could do no mighty work and how He must have wanted to do something more in His hometown. Rejection. It caused the Son of God to marvel at how stubborn and rebellious men can be. Sometimes Jesus would see incredible faith in the lives of those who followed Him; now He was witnessing incredible unbelief among His own people.

The leading cause of death in the world is not cancer, heart attack, accidents or a long list of maladies or circumstances. What kills more people than anything is sin. Man is searching for the cure to every known disease but refuses to seek the healing from sin through Jesus Christ. Like the days of Nazareth, man will not see the power of God in Jesus Christ. He changes lives, heals broken hearts, mends shattered lives and gives hope on an eternal scale. Few come to the Lord to be healed. It would seem the Lord still marvels at the universal scale of unbelief in the world. The Bible contains all man needs to find happiness and few there are who seek it.

The kingdom of death so reigned over men, that the deserved penalty of sin would have hurled all headlong even into the second death, of which there is no end, had not the undeserved grace of God saved some therefrom. (Augustine, The City of God, XIV, 426)

And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us. (1 John 4:16-19)

The Love God Has For Us

Children do not understanding the deeper meanings of love when they are first born. They know the dependency they have on them because of all their needs. In time, as they experience the manifestation of a parents love, their relationship grows deep. A bond is created that is inseparable. Growing into adulthood does not remove the respect for the parent as love grows even more. The relationship of the child to the parent is a perfect model of emergent love that takes time and experience to fully understand. This kind of love is not unlike the love we have with our heavenly Father.

Obedience to the gospel flows from a love for God because of what He did in sending His Son. What happens to a heart touched with the good news of redemption is nothing less than a realization of what the love of God was willing to do for man. It is an incredible experience. But even at the beginning of the bond of the Father and the child, love is not quite realized. It will take many years to bring about a deeper meaning of what the love of God means in the life of a child of God. Love is something that is always perfecting itself. What is so wonderful about the love of God is how much deeper the love grows in the years one feels the tender hand of a loving Father. And, the greatest part of this love is that a lifetime of being blessed with the joy of the Lord is never quite fully understanding what that love is. The love of God is so expansive the universe itself cannot contain the parchment needed to explain it.

The more we seek to know the love of God the less we fear. Love takes away the haunting uncertainties of life. Spending time in the word of God fills our hearts with the hope of the eternal promises of the Lord who never lies. His love is pure. It never fails. The greatest evidence of love is when we ask the Father to forgive us – and He does. We fail Him again and we ask forgiveness – and He does. His mercy is so abounding. His grace is so full. Love is found when we fall on our knees thanking our God for who He is and why He loves us. The love of God is so great He knows my name out of six billion people on this planet. He cares about me – He protects me – He blesses me – He knows me. God’s love is so wonderful.

I love God because He first loved me. He proved it by giving me – yes me – His Son. What greater love is found in this world than the love of God poured out in my heart through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the atoning of my sins on the cross? There are no words to explain it. But it is real. Thank you God for loving me.

There is nothing holier, in this life of ours, than the first consciousness of love – the first fluttering of its silken wings. (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Hyperion, 1839)

Hear now what the Lord says: “Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. Hear, O you mountains, the Lord’s complaint, and you strong foundations of the earth; for the Lord has a complaint against His people, and He will contend with Israel. O My people, what have I done to you? And how have I wearied you? Testify against Me. For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, I redeemed you from the house of bondage; and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. O My people, remember now what Balak king of Moab counseled, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Acacia Grove to Gilgal, that you may know the righteousness of the Lord. With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:1-8)

The Cry Of The Prophets Are Unchanged

Reading the books of the prophets resonates with the heart of those seeking the favor of the Lord. Written in the long ago, the holy writ still pulses with the heartbreak of a rebellious people facing a merciful God. There is every reason under heaven for the Lord to completely annihilate the nation of Israel because of their stubborn will to follow the path of wickedness. Prophets like Amos bring a burning message of doom upon the leaders of the nation to no avail. Time and again the prophets plead and beg the people to turn to the Lord and the response they get is apathy; at times anger and oft times murder of the messengers of God.

Micah opens God’s court of law in pleading the case of the Lord versus the people. He reminds them of all the things the Lord has done for them – from the beginning. Creation is His first witness. The breath of life is held in the hand of God. When the morning breaks, it is by the will of the Creator. Everything that exists in heaven and earth is established by the command of the Lord. The people complained that God has been too hard on them. He begs to know why they feel that way. Why do they think He has wearied them and what has He done that would make them feel unloved? Which commands are burdensome? Is there anything that the Lord has not done for them that has not been for their good? The testimony of the Creator is manifest by the evidence of the world around them.

The Lord then turns to the history of the people. Have they forgotten where they were when the hand of God delivered them from bondage? History is an important part of believing in the Lord because it is there we learn the power of God and His might. The Lord God redeemed them – they did not do that themselves. They were in slavery and God brought them out by a mighty hand. He gave them leaders to guide them and protected them from enemies like Balak king of Moab. All of this was to show His righteousness! What evil can they find in the purpose of the Lord? There are many more examples in the history of Israel that show the might and supremacy of God in protecting the nation of Israel.

Worship had become a wearisome part of their life. The people were tired of putting forth the effort to do what God commanded them. They went through the motions of sacrifice and what a dreariness it had become. A burnt offering here, a calf there, and thousands of rams and rivers of oil and the heart of the people grew tired. They came, they assembled, they went through the motions and they went home. Life was not about service to God but about their own lives. What they had forgotten was what true worship was really like. He did not want the sacrifices as a token of their faith; He wanted their lives. The failure of the nation was to forget that life was about justice every day and showing mercy to his fellow man every day and walking every day before the Lord with a humble heart. Their religion had become an act. Like a prosthetic, the people put the robes of worship on to offer sacrifices and took them off until the next day of sacrifice.

The modern age of worship is little changed from the pleadings of Micah. Jesus built His church for the glory of His Father and buildings are filled with complacent, apathetic and bored children of God. Prosperity has clouded the mind with the things of the world so the heart easily forgets all that God has done. Long forgotten are those exciting days of redemption when salvation meant more than anything did. Every Sunday the masses go through the paces of worship in rote harmony of symphonic precision offering up the sacrifices of the five acts and going home as uninspired as the dead animals sacrificed on the altars of Israel.

God still wants the same as He desired in the long ago. A Christian should live each day seeking the justice of the Lord in everything he does. When he goes to work, when he seeks entertainment, as a part of a family and every part of life should be focused on the things that are just before God. Loving mercy is a daily walk and Christian’s should spend time in the word of God learning what mercy means so they can share that with their neighbors. Unfailing is the need for the people of God to be humble servants of the Lord. It is not about how many songs are sung, sermons preached or listened to or whether we take of the supper or pray in the right way; it is about the heart of man. Justice, mercy and humility are the traits of God’s people that love Him and want to serve Him in every way. The heart will lead the person to worship in the proper manner but without the heart worship becomes vain. What does the Lord require of you? Read the prophets and you will learn.

To know whom you worship, let me see you in your shop, let me hear you in your trade; let me know how you rent your houses, how you get your money, how you kept it and how you spent it. (Theodore Parker, Sermon, of Conventional and Natural Sacraments, 1849)

Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For each one shall bear his own load. (Galatians 6:1-5)

The More Steps I Take

Moving is never an exciting experience and this is especially true when you have to do a lot of moving boxes and things from one place to another. With the exception of someone doing all the work for you, it can be an exhausting work. Friends are great to give a helping hand with the majority of the move but there are still so many little things that must be done. In a recent move, a trailer full of stuff sat in the garage awaiting a miracle to cause it to disappear. A good friend, Lindsay Clark and his wife stopped by to see how the madness was going. As we looked at the trailer full of boxes he commented, “Let me help you because the more steps I take the less you will have to take.” Burden bearing. That is what I thought of and what a beautiful way to describe how we can help one another.

There are many brethren who have helped and will help in the move and Lindsay’s words of encouragement sum up what Paul was exhorting the brethren in Galatia to do with one another. All of us face challenges and difficulties in life and often we need a little burden bearing to take a load off. Sometimes it becomes a burden of spiritual warfare where a brother or sister is overtaken in the temptation of sin. We need to step in and walk with them to lessen their journey. The more steps we take with them the fewer they will have to walk. We have concern for one another because of our love for one another. Bearing the burdens of one another is helping with the loads of life. It is telling our brother, “Let me walk with you so that you will have less affliction and troubles.” We need each other. Fulfilling the law of Christ is walking with one another.

Jesus came to earth to walk a path we did not have to walk and because of His life, we can walk easier. He left it all that we could have it all. Jesus gave His life to give us life. He took a step so that we could walk with Him. Our spirit should be the spirit of Christ where we help one another bear their burdens. It is clear we will bear our own load but let our load reflect the care for others to share in their burdens. A word fitly spoken can make a difference in someone’s life. Doing a kind deed to help a needy brother or sister will show the love of God. Checking on the home bound will let them know we are concerned for them. Walking a few steps for others will lessen the steps they have to take. Burden bearing. As we bear our own burdens, ask the Lord to give opportunity to share the load of someone else.

God hath ordered it that we may learn to bear one another’s burden; for no one is without fault, no one but hath a burden; no one is sufficient for himself. (Thomas A Kempis, Imitation of Christ, 1441)

A wise man’s heart is at his right hand, but a fool’s heart at his left. (Ecclesiastes 10:2)

The Folly Of The Southpaw

Generally speaking, most people are right handed. Somewhere in the genetic gene of creation, the Lord fashioned man to work more diligently with his right hand. A symbol of authority describes one who sits at the right hand. Being on the right side is in contrast to being on the left side as Jesus described the scene of judgment. The sheep were blessed on the right side but the goats were condemned who stood on the left. Protection from God is symbolized by the might of the Lord’s right hand. In defense of all left-handed folk, during the period of the Judges in the tribe of Benjamin there where 700 left-handed soldiers who could sling a stone at a hair’s breadth and not miss. The application of the wisdom literature is only showing a spiritual lesson of how the Lord establishes truth and righteousness as the symbol of the right hand.

The wise man is showing a parable of truth when he shows the difference between the might of the right hand and the folly of the left. Wisdom is found in the pattern the Lord has established to give man strength. God’s word is given to instruct man in the ways of righteousness and it would be folly for him not to listen to the Creator. It is foolishness for a man to fight against the created power. Spiritually speaking, most men try to go through life left-handed when the power of their strength lies in the right hand. As in creation, the right hand of truth is the only place that man will find wisdom. Like a man who is right handed trying to live with his left hand, the failure of man to find strength with God is evident. It is without sense that man will try to fashion his life without the will of God. The right hand is more wise than the left.

To be a southpaw in the work of life is to reject the word of God and this is folly. Whether a man uses his right hand or left in the real world is not the point. The wise man is showing the failure of man to follow the power found in the word of God. Wisdom is in the right hand. Strength is in the right hand. When the final day of reckoning comes, everyone will be wishing to be on the right hand of God. The right hand of God is where the right things are and without the right hand of God, a person will be left to darkness. Left-handed people (spiritually speaking) try to save themselves by the feeble efforts of their own wisdom.

Right hand – left hand. Only two choices. Wisdom is on the right. Folly is on the left. God’s word versus the wisdom of man. Salvation on the right. Hopelessness on the left. Make certain you are on the right hand of God.

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

Truth Is Freedom

All men are created equal. Thomas Jefferson did not originate the idea. The foundation of freedom has always been established upon truth. What man has struggled with in understanding freedom is how he defines the word. What may be freedom to one person may not be freedom to another. Every nation is founded upon a form of freedom but the problem is a dictator will tell everyone how he wants him or her to live according to his terms – establishing freedom to his will. In other words, men have the freedom to do what they are told. The ideal of democratic freedom is the belief that everyone has a voice in establishing law. In truth, this kind of freedom is not the purest form because the voice of the majority can override the will of the minority. Freedom is then established by the masses and often can lead to laws of unrighteousness and immorality.

Jesus taught a truth that is beyond the frailty of man’s wisdom. Laws change over time as men change. The winds of moral consciousness fuel the desires of man to be free to act anyway he desires. The kind of truth Jesus spoke about was true freedom. This law was established before time began and is relevant to all men of all time. Freedom in Christ is the absolute purity of law where freedom can be defined by one God and one Lawgiver. The laws of man change. The law of God has always been the same for all men regarding his relationship with the Creator. Abraham served the Lord by faith and this body of truth still sets men free today when they follow the same law of faith. Moses worshipped the Father in love and devotion as men today can worship the Lord with the same devotion. David longed to live after the heart of God and all men can find the same peace in the truth of God.

There is no comparison to the message of the Bible with anything man creates. Truth is older than error as it resided in the mind of God before time and continues to this day until the Lord returns again. What guided the minds of men in 1492 when Columbus sailed the ocean blue is the same law that guide men today. Freedom from the tyranny of sin can only come from the truth Jesus spoke two thousand years ago. Freedom from fear, doubt, and uncertainty are dismissed in the book of truth. Hope is found in the words of freedom written by the disciples two millennia ago. Saul of Tarsus found freedom in Christ the same way we can find freedom in Christ today. Salvation has been given to man since the deception of Eve in the garden.

Knowing the truth will set men free. Freedom does not come from the will of man but the mind of God. What joys we may have in this country will be short lived because men grow more deceived. The joy of eternal freedom will never be taken away. Jesus died to let us live. He chained Himself to the sacrifice of the cross to make a way of freedom for all men. His life was in servitude so that men can be set free. Thank God for the freedom found in Christ and the truth that sets us free.

Human law has the true nature of law only in so far as it corresponds to right reason, and therefore is derived from the eternal law. (Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, Iae-IIae, q. 93, 1272)

When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put Him to death. And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor. Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!” Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself. But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood.” And they took counsel and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. (Matthew 27:1-7)

They Took Counsel Against Jesus

One of the striking stories about the life of Jesus is how many times the religious leaders of God’s people took counsel to destroy the man from Nazareth. The opposition against Jesus was not lead by the immoral filth of the world that were offended by His stand against morality. The political despots who feared what the miracle worker would do to their positions of power and influence did not hound the Lord. Jesus Christ was led to the cross at the begging of religious, zealous Jews who were once called the “apple of God’s eye” and who were the keepers of the Law.

The sect of the Pharisees was the so-called spiritual elite among the Jewish people and the popular party of the day. They were extremely devoted to keeping the Law of Moses to absolute perfection. Along with another party of religious zealots, the Sadducees, these devotees to Moses confronted Jesus repeatedly. From the beginning of His public ministry, the religious leaders were bitterly opposed to everything Jesus said and did. This also included the chief priests, elders and scribes of the Jews. What is more remarkable is their intent against the Lord was not merely to oppose Him but to kill Him. After Jesus was arrested and brought before Pilate, it was the persistence of the religious leaders that forced the hand of the Roman government to murder an innocent man.

Moses would have been horrified at how corrupt, immoral and decadent the leaders of the nation had become. The Law of Moses came from the mouth of God. Corrupt men used the holy word of God to murder the innocent. Through the years, the Law had been used by men to seduce the hearts of the people and give them power to reign with lusts, envy and absolute rule. The people feared the elders, scribes and religious elite. Jesus repeatedly warned against the scribes and Pharisees who sat in Moses’ seat. He called them hypocrites, snakes, children of hell and whitewashed tombs. The Lord knew what they really were. It was by their hands that Jesus died.

The death of Jesus was carried out by the Roman Empire but the hand of the Jewish leaders instigated it. Jew and Gentile alike share in the guilt of the murder of God’s Son. What is so terribly sad about the death of Jesus is the knowledge that religious men were responsible. Man has not changed. The word of God has been used through the centuries for man to oppress and harm his fellow man. Is the word of God to blame? Certainly not. The Law of Moses never allowed for the actions of the religious leaders in the day of Jesus. Today, the Bible is not a book that authorizes the actions of self-righteous zealots. Jesus came to save the eternal souls of men. His message is power through peace. Sin is the enemy. It must be conquered. Too many men take counsel without the counsel of God. Salvation does not come by religious men – it comes from the Lord God alone.

The love of power is oppressive in every sphere, but in the religious most of all. (Romano Guardini, The Church and The Catholic, 1953)

When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. (Acts 7:54-60)

Dying With God On His Lips

The death of Stephen was the beginning of the persecution of the early church that would lead to the deaths of thousands of faithful saints. Peter and John and later all the apostles first felt the pains of suffering for the name of Jesus Christ. When the Jews killed Stephen, things changed. Stephen was a man full of moral conviction and power. He was endued with power from the Holy Spirit to perform great wonders and signs among the people. His preaching was more powerful than his miracles. He boldly proclaimed the true gospel of his Lord as recorded by Luke. It was a history lesson of the Jews showing their rebellious heart. Their only response was to kill him. Laying their garments before a future apostle of Christ, Stephen was stoned to death.

When Stephen was pummeled with rocks and stones, he knew his life was over. He did not lash out as many men would do or cower in fear. The remarkable spirit of Stephen was to die the way he lived. As the stones fell hard upon his body, he called on God. One would almost believe that Stephen was at the cross when Jesus was dying, as the words sound familiar to what Jesus said. He knew his salvation was secure as he cried out through the blows for the Lord to receive his spirit. In a final example of righteousness – and like his Lord – he begged the Father not to hold the men accountable who were killing him. Remarkable. But no so remarkable because Stephen died the way he lived.

Life is congealed in the moment of death. An expression often used when facing death is, “I saw my life flash before my eyes.” No one knows what it is like to die save the life of Jesus who rose from the dead. There is no one to ask what it is like to feel the hand of death wrapping its arms around life. It is certain that what all men think about in death is the way they lived – no matter how they lived. Stephen faced death with God because he lived life with God. He did not die angry or hopeless. He died with God on his mind and the Lord on his lips. Luke tells us that death is like a sleep. Stephen just laid down and died – he went to sleep.

Death can come at any time and many ways. Facing the inevitable it best done with God. Living today with God on our lips and the Lord in our hearts will give us greater peace when death comes. Death will then be just a sleep that takes us home to the Father where we will rest through eternity. Live and die like Stephen. He lived and died like his Lord.

Each night is but the past day’s funeral and the morning his resurrection: why then should our funeral sleep be otherwise than our sleep at night. (Arthur Warwick, Spare Minutes, 1637)

Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel, and the man was very rich. He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. The name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. And she was a woman of good understanding and beautiful appearance; but the man was harsh and evil in his doings. He was of the house of Caleb. When David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep, David sent ten young men; and David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, go to Nabal, and greet him in my name. And thus you shall say to him who lives in prosperity: ‘Peace be to you, peace to your house, and peace to all that you have! Now I have heard that you have shearers. Your shepherds were with us, and we did not hurt them, nor was there anything missing from them all the while they were in Carmel. Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we come on a feast day. Please give whatever comes to your hand to your servants and to your son David.’ ” So when David’s young men came, they spoke to Nabal according to all these words in the name of David, and waited. Then Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, “Who is David, and who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants nowadays who break away each one from his master. Shall I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men when I do not know where they are from?” So David’s young men turned on their heels and went back; and they came and told him all these words. (1 Samuel 25:2-12)

He Is Such A Worthless Fellow

The Bible is filled with stories of great men and women who do great things. It is also filled with a litany of those men and women who make life miserable for everyone. Nabal was a man that everyone knew to be a worthless man, a scoundrel. He was a very rich man that was a villain or a crook. His servants called him by what he was and everyone knew talking to Nabal was a dangerous thing. In contrast, he was married to a very beautiful woman who had a very compassionate heart. Abigail was a very wise woman who must endured daily abuse from such a rogue as her husband. Then the day came when David sent ten men for supplies from the wealthy man, Nabal.

There was no reason for Nabal to be so cruel to the servants of David. The only reason was that he was selfish, arrogant and a bully of a man. He not only refused the request of David’s servants, he apparently replied to them in such a harsh manner the text says they “turned on their heels” to leave. The answer did not sit well with David and he prepared 400 men to kill all the males in the house of Nabal. Whether David’s actions were the result of unbridled rage or righteous indignation, it is left to interpretation. Abigail would later plead with David his actions would bring him greater harm. David relented from his purpose, returning to his camp.

There is such a contrast between the character of Abigail and Nabal. It is like night and day. What is evident is that everyone knew the difference in the kind of man Nabal was and the wise woman Abigail. The servants heard David was coming. In part to spare their own lives, they pleaded with Abigail to do something. Nabal is called a “son of Belial” because he was such a mean person. No one could talk civilly to him. He thought he ruled the world and everyone had to bow to him. He regarded no man to help or show kindness. This was in contrast to the customs of the people dating back to Abraham’s benevolence to the three men at Mamre. Nabal was a terrible person to be around and everyone feared him. The scripture tells us he became very drunk (not the first time) and Abigail had not told him what she did. When he sobered up the next morning, she let her husband know what she had done. She saved his life because without her intervention David’s army would have killed Nabal and every male in the camp. Great fear came over Nabal and ten days later, he died from the hand of the Lord.

There are a lot of people like Nabal in the world. They think they are a god to themselves that everyone must answer to and cower before. Filled with their own arrogance and pride they are harsh to those lower to them (which is about everyone in the world). The Bible calls them scoundrels or worthless men. Their boastfulness makes life miserable for everyone else and they reign with terror. What they forget is one day is like a thousand to the Lord. These men do not last. Time means nothing to God. A man’s life is only promised about seventy years and then what happens to all men happens to the scoundrels – they die. They die just like everyone else. All men are born in the same way and they all die in the same manner. The wickedness of Nabal returned to his own head. Now that is a great story.

The prouder a man is, the more he thinks he deserves; and the more he thinks he deserves, the less he really does deserve. (Henry Ward Beecher, Royal Truths, 1862)