To Those Who Do Not Believe Baptism Saves

Posted on November 20, 2013 by heatonkent

 

baptismTo Those Who Do Not Believe Baptism Saves

The answer to what a person must do to be saved should be a clear and concise conclusion to all who read the revealed word of God. John reminds us the commandments of God are not hard to understand nor burdensome to keep (1 John 5:3). From Genesis to Revelation the mind of God unfolds the plan of redemption for man in printed form “by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ” (Ephesians 3:4) as Paul exhorted the saints in Ephesus. Obedience comes from a heart that follows the “form of doctrine” (Romans 6:17) setting us free from sin (Romans 6:22). The book of Acts is filled with stories of early disciples who heard and understood the word of God and “gladly received his word were baptized” (Acts 2:41); “went down into the water, and he baptized him” (Acts 8:38); “preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized” (Acts 8:12); “and immediately he and all his family were baptized” (Acts 16:33). In every story of the new birth baptism is part of the plan for redeeming man. With an overwhelming body of evidence of the place baptism has in the essential character of salvation, why do so many reject its need?

When the earliest dawns cast their shadows upon a new earth, Adam and Eve walked in communion with the Lord. Satan would not be content with this peace and came to Eve to deceive her into rejecting the word of God. He did not force her to take of the forbidden fruit nor coerce her will to do his bidding but he used the deceptive speech of a liar and attacks the simple command of God. Of all the trees in the garden she could eat of every tree save one. “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:17). The simplicity of the command was the advantage Satan used against Eve. If the command of God was complex and hard to understand it would have been more difficult for Satan to deceive her. “Has God indeed said” (Genesis 3:1) is how the devil deceived the woman into looking at the simple law of God and question if that was really fair. She knew the law and she understood the law. “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate” (Genesis 3:6).

Sin is a transgression of God’s law (1 John 3:4). The rebellion against the word of God is always at the price of refusing to follow the clearly defined will of God. The Lord has never asked of any man to do more than he could do. Abraham was told to offer Isaac as a burnt offering (Genesis 22) as a test but he was not being asked to do anything that he could not do. “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son” (Hebrews 11:17). How difficult was the command to offer Isaac (v2)? Abraham clearly understood the terms the Lord had laid down “so Abraham rose early in the morning … and went to the place of which God had told him” (Genesis 22:3). The Father asked His only begotten Son to become a sacrifice for all men and Jesus “learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him” (Hebrews 5:8-9).

Today Satan tickles the ears of men as he whispers, ‘Has God indeed said you must be baptized to be saved?’ Few in the religious world believe that baptism is essential for salvation. The ‘Standard Manual for Baptist Churches’ (Hiscox) says “Baptism is not essential to salvation, for our churches utterly repudiate the dogma of ‘baptismal regeneration;’ but it is essential to obedience, since Christ commanded it” (pp20-21). It is difficult to understand how something can be essential for obedience but not essential for salvation. Yet this illustrates a common view held by many that baptism is not essential for redemption in Christ. When Satan succeeds in drawing the hearts of men away from the simple command of God he has gained the victory of deception that leads to rebellion against the Lord.

Christ commanded baptism in two ways. First, He became the pattern of baptism by His own immersion. “And John tried to prevent Him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?’ But Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he allowed Him” (Matthew 3:14-15). Second, He told His disciples to “make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). Mark writes, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16). Luke unveils the plan of God to have the gospel of salvation begin in Jerusalem preaching “repentance and remission of sins” (Luke 24:47). He further unfolds the fulfillment of this command in his letter to Theophilus of the Acts of the Apostles.

Peter preached baptism in Acts 2 & 3 and later with the household of Cornelius in Acts 10. Ananias exhorted Saul of Tarsus to “arise and be baptized and wash away your sins” (Acts 22:16; 9:1-18). Philip baptized men and women in Acts 8:12 and took the man from Ethiopia into the water and baptized him (Acts 8:38). Paul baptized and taught the necessity of baptism in all of his preaching. Writing to the Romans he shows how that baptism is the death, burial and resurrection “just as Christ was raised from the dead” (Romans 6:4). To the Galatians he proclaimed, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27). The saints at Colosse learned that baptism is like a spiritual circumcision (Colossians 2:11-12). Peter affirmed that baptism saves in 1 Peter 3:21.

The essential nature of baptism does not remove salvation by grace (Ephesians 2:1-9) or the love of God (John 3:16) and will not diminish the mercy of God (1 Peter 1:3). Obedience is characterized by doing all the will of the Father (Matthew 7:21). Salvation comes from faith and works (James 2:14-26). As a part of the wonderful plan of saving man baptism is where the blood of Christ washes away our sins (Matthew 26:28; John 19:34; Romans 6:3-4). Baptism is indispensable, required, compulsory, necessary and essential to the saving of the soul. The Holy Spirit revealed it, Jesus commanded it, the disciples followed it and the Father demands it. How can I deny the word of God? Can it be that a simple command of faith has become a stumbling block of Satan to keep one from Heaven? “But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: ‘We ought to obey God rather than men’” (Acts 5:29).

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Building Buddha

Posted on November 12, 2013 by heatonkent

Spring-Temple-BuddhaBuilding Buddha

It was not long after the flood in the days of Noah that man turned his heart inward with pride. Genesis 11 records the story of the building of the “tower whose top is in the heavens” (v4). The purpose of the tower was to make a name for themselves. Could the story of the flood have driven the arrogance of man to do something greater than their fathers had told them? What purpose would be served to make a name for themselves? Who would they brag too? It is the proud nature of man to make something larger than himself to exalt his own image above his world. The tower in Shinar was not completed as the Lord confused the language and the people scattered “abroad over the face of all the earth” (v9).

The desire to build the tower of Babel continues today. How tall can man build a building? As of 2013 the tallest man-made structure in the world stands a dizzying 2,722 feet in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Skyscrapers fill the skyline of many cities in the world. And no greater example of the wisdom of man exalting his own wisdom is the building of statues honoring the gods of men. The Spring Temple Buddha is a statue depicting Vairocana Buddha located in the Zhaocun township of Lushan County, Henan, China. At 420 feet, which includes a 66 foot lotus throne, it is the tallest statue in the world. By comparison the Statue of Liberty is only 305 feet. Of the fifteen tallest statues in the world, eight resemble one form or another of Buddha. Located in China (5), Myanmar, Japan and Thailand these statues are the totems of the folly of man.

No one can deny the beauty of these statues from an aesthetic view. The sadness of what these statues represent is found in Isaiah’s account of man’s folly to build idols. “Those who make an image, all of them are useless, and their precious things shall not profit; they are their own witnesses; they neither see nor know, that they may be ashamed. Who would form a god or mold an image that profits him nothing? Surely all his companions would be ashamed; and the workmen, they are mere men. Let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; yet they shall fear, they shall be ashamed together” (Isaiah 44:9-11). In 2011 an earthquake and tsunami devastated the Miyagi prefecture of Japan. Located in Sendai City the Sendai Dai Kannon Temple is home to the 328 foot-tall Daikannon statue. The statue did nothing to protect or help the people as Isaiah says, “A deceived heart has turned him aside; and he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, ‘Is there not a lie in my right hand?’” (Isaiah 44:20).

Buddha did not build his statue. The folly of idol worship is that man creates his own god and bows down to it seeking deliverance (Isaiah 44:17). “They do not know nor understand; for He has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. And no one considers in his heart, nor is there knowledge nor understanding to say, ‘I have burned half of it in the fire, yes, I have also baked bread on its coals; I have roasted meat and eaten it; and shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood’” (Isaiah 44:18-19)? The real abomination of idol worship is man using the natural resources of God’s creation to form a god of his own from rock, metal, stone and wood. “Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man–and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things” (Romans 1:22-23). Michel de Montaigne wrote, “Oh senseless man, who cannot possibly make a worm, and yet will make gods by dozens” (Essays, Bk. 2, ch. 12, 1580).

It may be easy for a Christian to view Buddhism with great skepticism because there is no 420 foot image to bow down to. The idols of men are not always carved of wood and stone. They find themselves rooted deep in the hearts of those who worship other things before the Lord. The problem with idol worship has always been when we put anything before God. In the Garden of Eden Adam and Eve failed to honor God when challenged by Satan. The temptation began with “Has God indeed said” (Genesis 3:1)? That is the root of idol worship. The deception of woman and the subsequent failure of Adam to abide by the authority of God lowered the Creator to a subservient position. When God told them they could eat of every tree but the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:16-17) He wanted them to worship Him first.

In the Law of Moses Jehovah clearly stated the need to worship Him first. “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image — any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God” (Exodus 20:2-5). Israel would later be punished by God through the Assyrians and Babylonians because of their idol worship. Jesus reinforced the sovereignty of God when He said, “The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mark 12:29-30). Idol worship comes when we allow our minds and hearts to serve ourselves and not God.

A carnal mind is building a Buddha in our lives to fall down to. The carnal mind is not subject to the law of God (Romans 8:7). Refusing to yield to the will of God is exalting the wisdom of man above God. As falling down to a wooden idol is foolishness so is refusing to subject our lives to God’s will. Idol worship is where we find our dependence. The pursuit of money can be an idol. Lust of the flesh can drive our needs to worship pleasure. Fame and popularity focus our lives upon the here and now. Living for today and all of its gusto is nothing more than bowing our spirits to a temporary world of deceit. What idol delivers men in death? Why do we believe that our riches and prosperity will deliver us? None will save us but the one true God and Lord. He is not worshipped by men’s hands (Acts 17:24-31). Nothing man can build will match the grandeur of the power of God. As God said to Job, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding” (Job 38:4).

All the towers of Babel built by man will come to nothing. The world is held together by the word of God and at His word the world and all that is in it will be destroyed (2 Peter 3:5-12). The word of God endures forever (Psalm 119:89). Where does your heart rest and to whom will you give your life to honor and glorify?

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Unwilling To Change

Posted on November 6, 2013 by heatonkent

Unwilling To Accept Changebible_and_prayer 

The sect of the Pharisees was embedded into the Jewish culture when Jesus began His ministry. They held power and prestige among the people and were granted certain privileges by the Romans (John 11:48). When John the Baptist and Jesus began to challenge their position it became evident a conflict would take place. It was not the design of the Lord to target the Pharisees because Jesus came to “seek and save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). However, the work of redeeming man would challenge the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders who had used the Law of Moses as a foundation of tradition that had become a law to itself.

In Mark 7 the traditions of the Pharisees was put in the spotlight when they complained to Jesus about His disciples not washing their hands when eating bread. Jesus replied, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. And in vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men– the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do. He said to them, ‘All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition’” (Mark 7:2-9). The Lord goes on to say their traditions have made “the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down” (Mark 7:15). The anger of the Pharisees would come from their unwillingness to see the truth of the word of God. Instead they felt secure in their traditions practiced over the generations.

The heart of the Pharisees was bound to a law of tradition based upon commandments of men. It was a good practice to wash the pitchers and cups and to wash hands before eating. But when the normal things of life have been elevated to “this is the only way to do something” then a common matter has become a spiritual matter. Jesus was not against cleanness but He was against making the opinions of man to be commands of God. The Pharisees would be unwilling to change their traditions and led to the death of Jesus for envy (Mark 15:10).

Jesus had told them the problem with their hearts was the failure to see what the word of God taught. Holding to tradition can lay aside the commandments of God. The way something has been done will take precedence over what the Bible really says. Often people find themselves doing something not because the Bible says anything about it but this is the way things have been and we are unwilling to change. Why did they reject Jesus? He was not what they expected because their traditions had created a false view of God’s word and they were blinded by their own religion instead of seeing clearly the Law of Moses (Luke 4:16-30). When the Jews sought to kill Jesus He reminded them, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life” (John 5:39-40).

The covers of our Bible’s may be worn with use but the pages of God’s word should always be new. Each time we open the scriptures it should a new discovery, a new challenge and a new hope. It becomes very easy to be so comfortable with the Word that we become lazy in our approach and studies to the point that we find ourselves following more tradition than scripture. Often we may hear the plea to “speak where the Bible speaks and be silent where the Bible is silent” and yet find ourselves confident of our own traditions and unwilling to change. Is there any generation that has “the market cornered” on the whole message of God? We have been given all truth (Jude 3) but the examination of that truth will take every generation of man until the coming of the Lord. If we are not careful we will find ourselves in the same sandals of the early Pharisees who follow more after cultural tradition than what is found in scripture.

Each day with the word of God should be the beginning of a new discovery and a fresh approach to the oldest message known to man. This does not suggest that changes are necessary in what we may believe yesterday but rather the affirmation that what I believe today is from God not man. I believe that baptism is a part of man’s obedience to salvation today as much as I believed it twenty years ago. But I do not believe it today because it is a part of the culture of tradition handed down from my parents. It must be new in my mind each time I open Holy Writ and offers a new view of how wonderful the grace and mercy of God has afforded me the blessing of being resurrected with Christ. This affirms my faith. But what of traditions I have held because of the cultural views of the church in the past fifty years? Can I be unwilling to change those cultural traditions because I have accepted them as truth above the word of God? Often we find ourselves bound by tradition and not command and unwilling to change.

Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews. He realized the importance of going beyond tradition and when he came to Jesus in John 3 he shows a pattern of truth that we must follow: Nicodemus asked Jesus! He did not consult his fellow Pharisees or friends but went to the living word of God. Saul of Tarsus came to the same conclusion when he gave his life in devotion to Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:4-11). The people of God must be people of the book. Our lives, our worship, our service and our faith must come from only one source. It is time for the American culture of God’s people to realize that Jesus was not an American but the Son of God for all men. His truth has not changed. His word has not changed. Our love of God must be rooted in the word of God alone. The church of God must stand for the foundation described in 1 Corinthians 3:10-11. “According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

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Polyamorous

Posted on October 26, 2013 by heatonkent

AP0502Polyamorous

Polyamorous is such a new word that the dictionary spell check did not recognize it. However the concept of the meaning for “polyamorous” is nearly as old as the existence of man on earth. By definition it pertains to “participation in multiple and simultaneous loving or sexual relationships” (Dictionary.com). Polygamy is a similar word suggesting more than one husband or wife. The meaning of ‘amorous’ is to express romantic love or sexual attraction. Polyamorous is by definition an acceptance of having several ‘partners’ in a loving or sexual relationship. You can put a bow-tie on a rattlesnake but when all is said and done you still have lethal creature that will kill you. Sin is like that too.

The prophet Isaiah defined “polyamorous” in Isaiah 5:18-21. “Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as if with a cart rope; that say, ‘Let Him make speed and hasten His work, that we may see it; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, that we may know it.’ Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!” There is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9) as man tries to redefine what the Creator has deemed wrong. God defines polyamorous couples as adulterers.

The prophet Isaiah speaks of the vanity of man seeking the fulfillment of the fleshly passions. A polyamorous couple is interested only in the selfish desires of their own nature. Love as defined by these couples is suggested as a pure kind of love and yet by their own admission (including studies of such couples) the one factor they cannot deal with is innate in man: jealousy. Jehovah created Adam and Eve; not Adam and Bob and Eve or any other combination. Even the allowance of multiple wives in the Old Testament was fraught with jealousy (Sarah & Haggar; Leah & Rachel).

Jesus Christ defined the marriage relationship as one man and one woman in Matthew 19 and the apostle Paul confirmed this in almost all of his epistles. Sexual immorality is condemned by the Lord on every level. “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). Society may say that fornication, adultery, homosexuality and sodomites are accepted but the Lawgiver condemns them; and “there is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy” (James 4:12).

Man is not the judge but the word of God is the judge. Jesus said, “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him— the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day” (John 12:48). Polyamorous couples will never find the happiness they seek no more than homosexuals or sodomites. Committed love is found when a man and woman love one another as God has created in the family element.

Satan beguiles us in thinking that if you just paint something a different color it will change the nature of the beast. He is a master craftsman at his trade but people of God will see through the layers of deceit and reject him at every turn. Call it whatever you like (poly-this or poly-that) but it is still what it is. “Let God be true but every man a liar” (Romans 3:4).

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Twenty Bullets For A Christian

Posted on October 23, 2013 by heatonkent

Twenty Bullets For A Christian
Romans 12:9-21

  • Loving
  • Abhorring
  • Clinging
  • Kind
  • Honoring
  • Lagging not
  • Fervent
  • Serving
  • Hopeful
  • Patient
  • Praying
  • Distributing
  • Hospitable
  • Blessing
  • Rejoicing
  • Weeping
  • Humble
  • Regarding
  • Peaceable

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
(Romans 12:2)

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Lay It Aside And Leave It Alone

Posted on October 21, 2013 by heatonkent

Lay It Aside And Leave It Alone

After working in the orange groves as a young man the idea of laying aside dirty clothes is vivid memory. The summers were spent hoeing, grafting, burning, trimming, fueling, spraying and everything conceivable Mr. McIntosh could imagine to get his ten pounds of flesh out of those Heaton boys. We did not earn a lot of money but we earned our money. I think it would have been better for mom to simply burn our clothes at the end of the day. I grew up in a time when we had our “Sunday-go-to-meeting” clothes and they were taken care of very carefully. Shoes were to be polished, shirts pressed and pants clean. Hair had to be combed (if daddy left any on our head) and faces washed. Quite a contrast to the grimy filthy boys that came in from the groves.

James exhorts the people of God to “lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21). In the spiritual sense the challenge is removing the soiled garments of dirty morality and the malignant filth of sin to embrace the pure apparel of godliness. After working in the groves all day it was quite a blessing to return home to bathe and wash away the sweat and dirt of the day. A renewed and spirit of peace swept over the body. As we remove the filth of sin in our lives we will find a peace that passes understanding (Philippians 4:7).

Laying aside sinful activities is a choice. It will not remove itself on its own. We have to make choices that will remove the sinful things from our lives. Often in scripture the Lord reminds His people to “flee youthful lusts” (2 Timothy 2:22); “flee sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 6:18); “flee these things” (1 Timothy 6:11); “abstain from” (1 Peter 2:11); “no longer should live” (1 Peter 4:2); “take heed” (Luke 21:34). We make that choice to remove sin from our lives. Laying it aside is to remove it from its power of influence over me. It might be drastic measures as Jesus exhorted in Matthew 5:29-30. The idea is that we should remove anything that would cause us to sin – no matter what it is.

Can you live without the internet if it causes you to stumble (Matthew 5:28)? Is it possible to give up a career when it is destroying your faith (Matthew 6:33)? How important will your friends be in judgment that hinders your growth in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:33)? Would you be willing to serve the Lord as a spiritual eunuch because of an unlawful marriage (Matthew 19:11-12)? Removing sin in our lives will bring about a greater blessing in every part of our lives. The implanted word cleans our minds and our souls with the purity of God’s grace as we bathe in the glory of His divine will.

Only with the implanted word will the spiritual surgery of removing sin take place. Paul illustrates the need of laying aside and receiving with meekness the implanted word exhorting brethren “whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy–meditate on these things” (Philippians 4:8). The word of God is true, noble, just, pure, lovely, full of goodness and virtue and should be imbedded in the lives of every child of God. Implanting the word or grafting the new growth into the old growth will bring about the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

Laying filthiness and wickedness aside also suggests that we leave those soiled garments where we left them – aside. Sin should not be the prosthetic of our lives that we lay aside and pick up again and lay aside and pick up again. The Hebrew writer admonished the failing Hebrew Christians to “lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1). No runner can run the race when encumbered with undue weights and hindrance. Sin so easily entangles itself in our lives and the only way to run true is to run free. Our troubles often come when we try to run the race and picking up old habits or refusing to lay aside burdens that hinder our growth.

In the new man we “cast off the works of darkness” (Romans 13:12) and “put off concerning your former conduct” (Ephesians 4:22) running with sin laid aside and left alone. We put away lying, anger, stealing and filthy language (Ephesians 4:25-31; Colossians 3:8-9). Leave them where we left them – aside. Paul writes in Colossians 3:5 that putting aside is to kill the spirit of sin. “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” How often do we just wound sin and lay it aside to pick it up again one day. Putting something to death is to take the life out of it. Lay sin aside as something dead in your life. Do not pick it back up.

The implanted word is life. “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you” (John 15:3). Through the word of God we learn how to put aside sin. “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (Psalms 119:11). Putting sin aside requires knowledge and leaving sin aside requires knowledge. Through the power of God we can defeat sin and refuse to allow it to have dominion over our lives (Romans 6:14). Putting filthiness and wickedness aside is to not present our bodies as instruments of unrighteousness to sin but walking unhindered by the weight of sin (Romans 6:13). Growing in the grace of Jesus Christ will increase our strength to remove the hindrances of Satan’s darts and walk boldly with confidence. “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil” (Isaiah 1:16).

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Kingdom Citizens

Posted on October 18, 2013 by heatonkent

Kingdom Citizens

“If you are a Christian, you are not a citizen of this world trying to get to heaven; you are a citizen of heaven making your way through this world” (Vance Havner). The biggest challenge for the Christian is to realize the world about him is not his home but his home is the world about to come. “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself” (Philippians 3:20-21).

We are citizens of Heaven! Our passport does not read “Earth.” Traveling in a foreign country one is always aware they are not of the land. They do not speak the same language, follow the same culture, and look forward to the day when they can return home. The Christian is a heaven national with all ties to the King of Kings. We serve His law and live by His decrees. Heaven bound people do not speak the language of this world nor follow the culture of Satan’s realm. As children of God we are foreigners in the land of this earth.

We are longing citizens. Our life is on the earth by virtue of time but we look to the day when time will be no more and we are able to go home. As we look at the world around us we desire to be clothed with a greater glory. Only the people of God can see the realities of mortality – it is but a fleeting moment. The earth “is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:17). Longing for Christ to return helps us see through the eye of faith that only those who abide in God will live forever. Our eagerness comes from taking our eyes off worthless things and seeking the things that are above where Christ is (Colossians 3:1).

We are transformed citizens. When we obeyed the gospel we changed our lives to conform to the image of the Son of God (Colossians 3:10). In death we will be transformed into the eternal image of God (1 John 3:1-3). Citizens of Heaven will leave the portal of time and change into the glory of infinite glory as the saved. Transformation there requires transformation here. Without transformation here there can be no transformation there. We are people of God fighting the good fight of faith receiving the crown of life in victory. The good news is the war has been won (Revelation 20:10-21:4). Lord, come quickly.

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Lead Me Not Into Temptation

Posted on October 16, 2013 by heatonkent

OTPE42Lead Me Not Into Temptation

When Adam and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit in the garden Satan gained a foothold in the souls of men that will continue until the coming of the Lord. His influence, power and cunning plans lay siege to the hearts of men filling their minds with the pernicious desires of his evil seduction. The devil is ruthless in his abandon of destroying every person created in the image of God. Jesus acknowledged the success rate of the old serpent would be the large part of humanity (Matthew 7:13-14). This will include some of the children of God who at one time threw off the shackles of unrighteousness and now find themselves returning to wallowing in the mire of ungodliness and the vomit of wickedness (2 Peter 2:20-22).

Peter was very familiar with the devil breathing down his neck as he struggled to fight off the “sifting” of Satan (Luke 22:31). In his second epistle Peter contrast the blessings of God with the challenge of Satan and exhorts his fellow pilgrims to resist the allurements of evil. “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever” (1 Peter 5:6-11). Resisting the devil requires humility and submission to the Father. The Lord will give us strength to overcome sin because the Lord cares for us. Our task is to be of sound mind and realize the dangers that lurk from a roaring lion waiting to devour our lives in sin. We are not alone in this struggle and through our suffering of temptation will be made perfect, established in our faith and given the strength to overcome.

Jesus shows the avenue of overcoming the devil when he taught the multitudes on the mountain how to pray. Prayer is pleading the promises of God and the Lord has promised we can overcome Satan if we try. Prayer is humbling us before God to ask His strength to overcome temptation. Our resistance to Satan comes from the power of God in our lives. “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever” (Matthew 6:13). Our Father will not lead us into temptation to sin. He disciplines us through trials to strengthen our hearts for greater service (Hebrews 12:3-11). We fall into temptation when we jump headlong into the waiting arms of Satan. Praying this prayer will not magically keep us from temptation because we have to do our part. God will do His part to keep us from the evil one.

Paul reveals the character of our Lord when he writes how to overcome temptation. “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry” (1 Corinthians 10:12-14). We should not be so smug to think we can defeat Satan alone. Pride brings shame and destruction (Proverbs 11:2; 16:18). Every man and woman is tempted and every temptation is not something new. If sin had an “AA” meeting it would be filled with every human being on the face of the earth. Temptation is the common lot of every person. No one is exempt. Our frailties cannot be used as an excuse to say that “no one understands the trials I have” or that “I was made this way and can do nothing about it.” No one can plead innocence when it comes to sin. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

God is the faithful one that for His children will not leave them without the power to overcome the Adversary. The faithfulness of the Lord is sure and steadfast. “It is impossible for God to lie; we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast” (Hebrews 6:18-19). Jesus Christ is the gift given by the Father for all men to find relief from the pains of temptation. The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross is the assurance God has given to me that He will not allow sin to have dominion over me. Here is the plain truth: I WILL NOT BE TEMPTED BEYOND WHAT I AM ABLE TO BEAR. That is not a maybe or a possibility or a wish; it is reality. The reason I sin is because I choose to do so.

In the prayer on the mountain Jesus affirms the promise of the Father by teaching us to plead that we be not led into temptation. Yet we choose to do so against the Father’s will. Facing the roaring lion and feeling the breath of his hatred to the bottom of our souls a way of escape is offered. When we fail to take the avenue of escape we fall prey to temptation and sin. God will always (and He means always) make a way of escape so that we can escape the snares of the devil. We sin because we make that choice. We sin because we fail to take advantage of the means of escape given by the Lord.

James examines the nature of sin and temptation in his epistle. “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:12-17). The happy man is the one who has prayed for the Father not to lead him into temptation and to deliver him from the wicked one; who believes that God will not allow him to be tempted beyond what he is able to bear and takes the opportunity to follow the way of escape. The man who endures temptation has succeeded on all levels. But then there are those times of failure.

Drawn by the desires of the flesh and seduced with pleasure sin conceives in the heart and without aborting the embryo of Satan sin is born. When left unchecked sin can bring about death. Allowing sin to continue in life without purging the temptations from life will destroy the soul. Throughout the process the Father has offered His help and His power to overcome. Whether one accepts or rejects the blessings of God will determine the outcome. In the final analysis we sin because we want to sin. God does not tempt us but offers a way of escape. We are tempted when “WE” are drawn away and when “WE” choose to follow the path of least resistance. The justice of God’s punishment for sin is He has given His only begotten Son to “redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14). No one can blame God for their sin. No one can blame God for temptation. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16). Paul understood the awful nature of sin when he admitted, “O wretched man that I am” (Romans 7:24).

Until man comes to grips with the responsibility of his own sins he will never enjoy the blessings of a forgiving Father. David said what we all must say. “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Samuel 12:13). He later writes in the psalm, “For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight — that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge” (Psalms 51:3-4). His sin with Bathsheba was because he failed to take the way of escape offered by the Lord when he stood on the rooftop of his house. He sinned because he allowed the seed of passion to give birth in his desire for Bathsheba. The tragedy of his wickedness led to the death of one his mighty men and the husband of Bathsheba. His legacy of sin was noted even in the writing of Matthew hundreds of years later (Matthew 1:6). David sinned and bore the penalty of his sin.

Nathan brought home the sin of David but he also brought to the heart of David the mercy of God. “And Nathan said to David, ‘The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die’” (2 Samuel 12:13). Sin will not have dominion over those who seek the mercy of God. As sin is the common lot of all men found in the mercy of God is His love. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9). God is faithful to offer a way of escape and He is faithful that when we fail He is willing to forgive us and to remove our sin as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). A repentant heart realizes the sting of death and how terrible our rebellion is to our heavenly Father. What a wonderful God we serve that He is willing to receive the prodigal home. The mercy and grace of God is limitless when we come before His throne in penitent hearts. His cleansing is full and complete.

The good news is that sin will end one day. In death the child of God is released from its hold and when the Lord returns sin will be destroyed (Revelation 20:10-15). Sin is temporary as Satan knows his fate. The glory of heaven will be filled with the “overcomers” who worship a Father full of love, mercy, compassion and forgiveness. “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord” (Matthew 25:23). “Enter in” – the most wonderful words a man can hear. Lord come quickly.

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The Ear And The Eye

Posted on October 10, 2013 by heatonkent

AP0715The Ear And The Eye

“The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the Lord has made them both” (Proverbs 20:12).

There is design in the creation of the body. Aside from the esthetic beauty of two ears and one mouth (as opposed to one ear and two mouths) there is a divine message in the hearing ear and the seeing eye. The Lord has made the body in such a way that we should use our hearing and our seeing before we use our mouths.

THE HEARING EAR. It seems that many people hear with their ears but do not hear with their ears. Elihu said the “ear tests words as the palate taste food” (Job 34:3). Jesus exhorted, “He who has an ear let him hear” (Revelation 2:7,11,17,29; 3:6,13,22). God designed the ear that it should be used for hearing more than just sound but the ability to discern what is being said in harmony with a sound mind. James gets to the root of the problem when he writes, “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (James 1:19-20). We like to be slow to hearing and swift to speaking! Taking time to be holy is taking time to listen twice as long as we speak. Someone said that God has given man two hears to hear more than we speak.

THE SEEING EYE. Learning to listen comes from training the eye to see and hear. As the ear is closed to listen the eye is open to gain a foothold in the pride of the heart. Righteousness requires the eye to be trained to discern the right things to say. The Lord designed the eye to see clearly the needs of others. Jesus looked upon people with compassion and His eyes were always seeking the good that could be found in them. “But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). The seeing eye of Jesus was upon the needs of the people. They eye is important to the ear so that we can listen and perceive how to help others.

THE HEARING EAR AND THE SEEING EYE. The body has been designed in perfection (Psalm 139:14). Ears serve to take in sound as the eye unveils the needs before us that will be blessed when the mouth opens in truth. With two ears and two eyes the mouth should be outnumbered. The tongue becomes unruly (James 2) when we use the mouth more than the ear and the eye. Let’s learn to listen with our ears and see with our eyes so that when the mouth is engaged it will only speak what we have heard and what we have seen. “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer” (Psalms 19:14).

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Job’s Wife And Three Friends

Posted on October 8, 2013 by heatonkent

NTPE11Job’s Wife And Three Friends

Little is known of the wife of Job but it is easy to see what a blessing it was to be married to a man who was “blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil” (Job 1:1). She lived in the opulence of the man who was the “greatest of all the people of the East” (Job 1:3). Her life was filled with the glory of God sharing the blessings of seven sons and three daughters. When Satan came against Job he touched the lives of the servants lost in the destruction and the heart of Mrs. Job. She suffered the loss of animals and servants and the lives of ten children along with her husband. The crushing blow of poverty was felt in her heart as she saw the work of her husband’s hands disappear and the possessions they enjoyed together taken away. The death of children born of her womb would have been more than anyone could endure. But Satan was not finished. He then came and inflicted a most horrible malady on Job personally. “So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head” (Job 2:7).

The wise man wrote, “An excellent wife is the crown of her husband” (Proverbs 12:4). Job’s condition was so awful that when his friends came to visit they could hardly recognize him. “And when they raised their eyes from afar, and did not recognize him, they lifted their voices and wept; and each one tore his robe and sprinkled dust on his head toward heaven” (Job 2:12). Job’s wife loved her husband and to see him in such a state would have been beyond the breaking point of endurance. Job 2:9 tells us she “said to him, ‘Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!’” (Job 2:9). In the Garden of Eden Satan came to the woman deceiving her and getting man to sin (Genesis 3; 1 Timothy 2:14); in the story of Job Satan attacks Job and causes the woman to sin.

It is a remarkable irony how we charge Job’s wife in her outburst of “curse God and die” and yet being honest with ourselves find it difficult to witness all that happened to the man you love and not have a reaction of horror and fear. That is what Satan does to us. Job endured the temptation and while he challenged the Lord (bringing the wrath of God upon him); the wife of Job also had her “demons” to battle. And she lost. And so do I – so often. The story of Job’s wife is not about Job 2:9 but Job 42:12-13 – “Now the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. He also had seven sons and three daughters.” Job’s wife came through the tragedy and was blessed like Job. Her faith remained in her trust for God. Her life was blessed with ten children and prosperity and a husband who was no longer afflicted. She did okay.

Examining the life of Mrs. Job may well reflect our own fear that we would find ourselves more often in her shoes rather than the place Job found himself. She told her husband to curse God and die and it could have been the heat of the moment in her sorrow and love for her husband or her heart could have turned against God. But the end of the story is the key to seeing her life in proper perspective. She remained faithful to God in her frailty. She made a mistake but the Lord forgave her and blessed her.

The three friends of Job made a similar mistake. Their advice and counsel was wrong. They were overwhelmed in grief when they saw their friend and could hardly recognize him. Job remained steadfast in his character but they did not. But the end of the story is the grace of a loving God. “And so it was, after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, ‘My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has. Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job shall pray for you. For I will accept him, lest I deal with you according to your folly; because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.’ So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the Lord commanded them; for the Lord had accepted Job” (Job 42:7-9). Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar repented and found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

The story of Job is about God’s forgiveness to all of us who do not understand what is happening in the world and why things happen to us and “why me” and “this is not what I wanted life to be” – and the Lord gently telling us “’I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say: ‘The lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:5-6). Job’s wife and three friends are true character studies of those of us who struggle with sin and often lose the battle. Paul struggled mightily with sin (Romans 7:13-25). The apostle Peter is known for his mistakes. But the grace and mercy of God is willing to forgive my sins and bless me with His kindness and long suffering. Thank you Lord for your abundant measure of forgiveness in my frailty. Thank you for examples like Job that walk among us today who show the character of righteous strength enduring unbelievable heartache and yet faithful to the Lord.

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