The Social Gospel

Posted on December 24, 2023 by heatonkent

Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. (2 Timothy 4:2-4)

The Social Gospel

Satan always likes to make things fun, enjoyable, and pleasing to the flesh. One of his greatest tactics is to take something good and wholesome and turn it against the will of God. He appeals to the nature of the heart to seek the betterment of others as a ploy to change the purpose and design of authority for his own malicious ends. It is a difficult issue to discuss because of the emotional baggage of the social gospel. There is a feeling of doing good for others. Good people aim to do good things in the name of God. Who can blame a person for this kind of philosophy?

The ‘Social Gospel’ is the gospel of Christ driven by the community’s social needs. As the church began to grow, men sought ways to embrace more people with a greater effort to become like the world around them. The church began to be a place of benevolence to all the poor. Programs were established to feed, clothe, and care for everyone. Leaders of the church began to embrace a political role in the community to further their cause. The church services changed to appeal to what the people enjoyed. A time of social preaching, tickling the ears of the respondents, grew churches in great numbers.

Nothing is sinful about feeding people in need, setting programs up to care for others, and creating opportunities for fun and frolic. The challenge the church faces is how to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ without the social gospel of health, wealth, and prosperity. Someone identified the social gospel as a social movement applying ethics to social problems, especially issues of social justice such as economic inequality, poverty, alcoholism, crime, racial tensions, slums, unclean environment, child labor, lack of unionization, poor schools, and the dangers of war. All noble causes, but to what end must the church include this in its work?

Another part of the movement of the social gospel, but according to the social gospel, is that Jesus didn’t complete our salvation. Instead, it’s up to humanity to achieve Jesus’s mission and bring salvation at a societal level. To this end, many churches spend more time on the social aspect of the work of the church instead of the fundamental purpose of the church to save souls. The rise of the social gospel has changed the message of the gospel of Christ to be less abrasive. If social programs bring in all different types of people, it would be unwise to preach the truth about sin because it would offend them. Preaching the social gospel excludes the message of the gospel of Christ. The two cannot dwell in the same space.

Feeding a man a loaf of bread will not save his soul, but giving them the Bread of Life (Jesus) will. Jesus could have built His kingdom on the social gospel when He fed five thousand men (not counting women and children), but He refused. When the crowds came to Him the next day (John 6), they were offended that the miracle bread maker was out of business. He upset them by demanding they change their hearts. Many turned and walked with Jesus no more. Jesus did not preach the social gospel. Many churches use the “carrot at the end of the stick,” trying to draw people by it. Jesus had the greatest carrot in the world to offer the people. They wanted to make Him their king. Jesus refused because that was not the purpose of His work.

The church is limited in what it has the authority to do because the word of God defines the work of the church. This does not suggest individuals do not have obligations. Jesus pictures the judgment scene in Matthew 25 as one of benevolence from the individual. The mission of the church is not to feed the poor of the world. An adage from the pioneer days of preaching suggested if the church brings someone in with fried chicken, ice cream, and sweet tea, they have people as dead as the chicken, cold as the ice cream, and weak as the tea. What drew believers to Christ in the first century was the preaching of the gospel.

Many churches have ‘Fellowship Halls’ where great kitchens and dining areas are found. A study of the word “fellowship” in the New Testament church shows it never refers to the eating of a meal, with one exception. The Lord’s Supper is called a fellowship. No other passages use the word “fellowship” in the context found in churches today. Gymnasiums are built to bring in the social gospel advocates to tickle the fancies of the youth. Softening the gospel helps the crowds grow in number. Sin is no longer a bad thing. The Bible is barely opened and read. Devotees to the social gospel become social Christians who have a zeal for God but not according to knowledge (Romans 10:2).

Kyle Pope writes, “Man is a spiritual creature dwelling within a physical body. The focus of the gospel and the primary responsibility of the church is to address man’s spiritual needs. There are responsibilities that the church has to assist Christians in need, but it is not the work of the church to attempt to feed, clothe, and provide medical treatment to the world. The word of the truth of the gospel is God’s means of drawing people to Himself.”

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He Can Melt Mt. Everest

Posted on December 21, 2023 by heatonkent

The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. (Psalm 97:5)

He Can Melt Mt. Everest

The highest mountain in the world is found on the border of China and Nepal in the Himalayas. It towers to a height of 29,031 feet elevation above sea level. Mt. Everest is a huge mountain. God created Mt. Everest as a powerful testimony of the grandeur of the earth’s topography. From the first time that man gazed upon its beauty, the mountain symbolized nature’s incredible majesty. The Tibetan name for the mountain is “Holy Mother.” Mt. Everest is so high it reaches into the upper troposphere and stratosphere. The air is very thin, with freezing winds that can go as high as 100 miles per hour.

As magnificent as Mt. Everest is, the One who made the mountain is greater. The psalmist made a startling statement when he wrote about the power of the sovereign Lord. He says God reigns with power that can melt the mountains like wax. Imagine a mountain so vast as Everest melting like wax before a flame. The only thing it takes to destroy the highest mountain on earth is the presence of the Lord. If God can melt Mt. Everest, what can He do with Sugarloaf Mountain in Florida (312 feet above sea level)?

The contrast the psalmist makes is between the power of God and idols. There is no comparison. God can melt any mountain on earth by His presence, but an idol cannot melt a candle. An idol is a dumb (without a voice) god. He is carved by man to be his god. What boast is there in an idol when an idol cannot speak? Men fall before their images, seeking their man-made gods to deliver them. The one true God can melt a mountain. What comparison is there?

When the psalmist wrote his poem thousands of years ago, he addressed the gods of wood, stone, and metal. There are many gods served today that take on another form of worship. A man’s job can become his god when he spends his life working to gain wealth to live a comfortable life, and then he dies. When a man dies, he does not wish for more time to spend at his job. It has become a futile god. Pleasure is the god of many. They live seeking all the pleasures of life and worshiping the joys of the flesh, and they die. What purpose did their life serve with pleasures that are no more? A failed god.

Serving the one true God that can melt mountains is the greatest joy a man can find in life. He serves the Creator of the mountains, oceans, stars, and planets. Everything in the world is formed by the word of the one who can melt mountains. Imagine for a moment standing at the foot of the towering Mt. Everest and watching it melt away like a fading candle. Would you not serve the One who can do that? His name is Jehovah God, and He can melt mountains. What He wants to do is melt your heart with His love.

God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son to die for you. You did not know Jesus, but you can know Jesus. God has provided a testimony of His Son that you can read and understand the knowledge of salvation found only in Jesus Christ. He will not melt Mt. Everest. It is just that He is that powerful. If you obey Him, He will remove your sins as far as the East is from the West. There is nothing He will not forgive if you are willing to repent. Mt. Everest is not important to God in the scheme of redemption, but you are. The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad.

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Formed Of Dust

Posted on December 20, 2023 by heatonkent

For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. (Psalm 103:14-16)

Formed Of Dust

On the way home from church, a little boy asked his mother, “Is it true, Mommy, that we are made of dust?” “Yes, darling.” “And do we go back to dust again when we die?” “Yes.” “Well, Mommy, when I said my prayers last night and looked under the bed, I found someone who is either coming or going.”

Moses writes, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). The human body is made up of oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen. Calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium, chlorine, and sulfur are macronutrients or elements the body needs in a significant amount. Some suggest the value of the chemicals in the human body is worth about five dollars.

What makes the human body amazing is that in the life of a man living seventy years, his heart pumps blood through the veins for 613,200 hours – nonstop. The brain processes incredible amounts of information that can be recalled for many years. A child is conceived in the womb and grows into nine months to a baby born through an amazing process. That little bundle of arms and legs begins to grow into an adult, with body changes marking the age of growth. Old age comes, and then the body dies. All of this in a lifetime measured in less than ten decades.

Everyone dies. Men have tried for ages to find a cure for death, and there is none. The body is made of dust, and to dust it will return. If a man possessed all the money in the world, it could not buy him one minute more of life. Men will spend a lifetime living in pleasure and still grow old and die. The body is created to die. Graves fill the earth’s landscape, reminding men of life’s brevity.

Man is dust, but he possesses something that no other creature has – an eternal spirit. God created man from the dust of the ground, but He created man in His own image. The body returns to the dust, but the eternal spirit lives on. When an animal dies, that is the end of its existence. Death places man into the realm of the eternal, where there is no end. This can be a time of joy or a time of horror; but it is reality! If a man lives for the pleasure of the flesh, he lives for the pleasure of dust. When a man sees his eternal spirit, he will live to find eternal life in Jesus Christ.

The Bible shows us the path to true happiness. We are worth more than $5.00. Jesus died to save us because we are more than dust.

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The Church

Posted on December 19, 2023 by heatonkent

Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:17-19)

The Church

Jesus made a promise that would change the world and usher in the most amazing family on earth. That promise was made when Peter confessed Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of the Living God. This promise was not an idle thought of last resort or something to substitute for a plan gone wrong. The promise Jesus made to build His church was ordained before time began. Long before the world was formed in its perfection, the perfection of the church of Christ Jesus was in the mind of the Father, His Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The church is the divine institution of God’s plan to save men. When the twelve apostles preached to the multitude gathered at Pentecost, three thousand souls were saved as God added them to the church. Luke writes extensively about the church promised by Jesus. There was a church in Jerusalem. Saul of Tarsus persecuted the church or, as it was known, the “Way.” There were many churches throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria. These were groups of the faithful of God assembling together to worship and praise the Lord.

Defining the matter of the church is simply the idea of a group of people called out for a special purpose or reason. The Greek derivation is EKKLESIA, from “out of” and “a calling.” How appropriate for Jesus to promise to build His “out of” and “a calling” to signify the group of saved souls. Luke signifies the saved are in the church or called out people of God. To be outside the church is to be lost. Jesus purchased the church with His blood. Paul talked about the church as a people called together in the same place. He described the church coming together to worship. This would be the public gathering of the saved to carry out the commands of God to worship in spirit and truth.

The church could mean a group of people in a certain place, a gathering of churches in an area, or the universal assembly of the saints. There were churches in the cities of Jerusalem, Rome, Corinth, Ephesus, Corinth, Thessalonica, Miletus, Cenchrea, and many other places. Sometimes, the scriptures refer to churches in areas such as the churches throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria. There were churches in Syria, Cilicia, among the Gentiles, churches of Christ, Galatia, and of Asia.

Jesus is head over all things to the church. This is in a universal sense of all believers found in the haven of salvation, the church. Jesus died for the church, representing all those who were first added to the church on the day of Pentecost; to all those through the centuries who were saved in the body of Christ, and all those who will be a part of the house of God until the Lord returns. The church is important because it is where the saved are. Many people view the church as unnecessary, but that is not the pattern of the New Testament. If the church is not important, why is Jesus the head? Why would the Lord give His blood for something that is not essential? Those in Christ are in the church. To not be in the church is to not be in Christ. Without the cleansing blood of Jesus, there is no salvation.

Paul’s letter to Ephesus is about the glory of the church. He explains how the church was in the mind of God before time. The relationships of the members one to another show the necessity of the church. A final note about the church is that Paul wrote there is only one church. The church is the body of Christ. Jesus is the head of the body, as He is the head of the church. There is only one body and one church. It is clear from the New Testament only one church existed. There was no diversity of churches with different names, patterns of worship, avenues of salvation, and varied forms of leadership. The New Testament is the pattern of the one true church. It makes a difference what church I belong to because Christ is only head of one church, and there is only one church that God adds the saved.

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Called To Be A Blessing

Posted on December 18, 2023 by heatonkent

Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. (1 Peter 3:8-9)

Called To Be A Blessing

When a man obeys the gospel of Jesus Christ, they are called to a higher calling. The idea of a calling is how a man uses the blessings given to him for the glory of the one who has blessed him. There is no greater gift God has given to the world than the sacrifice of His Son and, through His Son, eternal life. Those who embrace the calling of God must live a life of blessing to others. This calling begins with self. If there is no joy in being a Christian, there will be no joy to share with others.

Peter knew the heartache of denying the Lord. The apostle writes to the dispersed Christians to show Jesus in their lives by being of one mind, sympathizing with others, and loving those in the body of Christ as brothers and sisters. Obeying the gospel is to have sins washed away but also to recreate the person’s life to be a light to others. Salvation is not totally wrapped up in one act but the actions of a lifetime. Jesus died for sinful men to let them be a blessing in a dark world.

The Christian is tenderhearted and humble. That is in contrast to a world that is harsh and proud. Being called to be a blessing shows how Christ changes the pride of the heart to a love for others with tenderness and humility. The remnant of God’s people is the salt that flavors the world with its love for God and compassion for others. Salt is very small, but it has a tremendous taste. A small amount of salt can make a difference. Salt is a blessing to a juicy steak that is medium rare and steaming. The life of a Christian must be a blessing to others.

There is a negative side to how God wants His people to act. Returning evil for evil is not being a blessing to others. The world expects if a man is confronted and challenged, he should respond in kind, if not with greater force. A Christian is a blessing by not repaying an evil act with more evil. If someone is verbally accosted, the blessing of the Christian is not to return in kind. Jesus was severely treated with evil and contempt; and He never responded in kind. He was a blessing to those who saw a humble man refuse to react with vengeance and anger. The centurion realized when Jesus died that He truly was a righteous man.

It is hard to be a blessing, but training the heart, soul, and mind to show a tender spirit without the revenge of worldly wisdom is how each Christian is a blessing. First, love is shown toward the family of God. When the world brings its heavy burden of sin, the Christian becomes a blessing by offering forgiveness and kindness. God wants His people to be a blessing in every part of their lives. Jesus died and suffered so that His citizens would be a blessing. This can only be done by making God’s word the day’s first blessing. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. Be a blessing to the family of God. Learn how to be a blessing to the world. You are called to be a blessing. Let the calling of the Lord Jesus Christ change your heart to show Christ to others. The world needs more blessings. Let it begin at the house of God.

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The Eldership Of The Church

Posted on December 17, 2023 by heatonkent

And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. (Acts 14:21-23)

The Eldership Of The Church[1]

When Moses was leading the children of Israel to Mount Sinai, he was overcome by the immensity of the burden of leadership. The man of God was trying to deal with all the people’s problems, and it was too much. His father-in-law, Jethro, saw how Moses struggled and advised him to appoint others to make decisions and Moses to address the weightier problems. The key was organization, and it made things work much easier for Moses.

The church was in the mind of God before time began, and the Lord had a plan for its organization. Jesus would be the head of the church. Through the Holy Spirit, the early church learned of the pattern of worship, the authority of the church, and the organization that would define the church of Christ as an autonomous body of believers. The first reference to one of the key elements of the first-century church is found less than ten years after its beginning. Peter had opened the keys of the kingdom to the Gentiles, and Barnabas had brought Saul from Tarsus to the church at Antioch, Syria, to evangelize.

A prophet named Agabus spoke of a great famine worldwide, and the disciples determined to send relief to the saints dwelling in Judea. Luke first mentions how the brethren sent the relief to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul. On the first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas, the evangelists appointed elders in every church. When the question of circumcision was addressed in Jerusalem, the apostles and elders came together to consider the matter.

Paul called the elders of Ephesus to meet him in Miletus, where he reminded them to fulfill the work given to them by the Holy Spirit. They are called overseers who shepherd the church of God. Paul warned them to be watchful of false doctrines creeping among them. A few years after Luke wrote his book on the early church, Paul wrote to Timothy and Titus, outlining certain qualities necessary for those seeking to serve in the work of the bishop. This was not the first time these qualities had been discussed, as elderships existed many years before the letters to Timothy and Titus.

The qualities described in Paul’s letters are two similar but different lists. There are sixteen qualities given in 1 Timothy and seventeen in Titus. Six are the same, six are similar, and four qualities are found in Timothy that are not in Titus and four in Titus not found in Timothy. God wants His people to see the summation of these qualities to describe the kind of men who will lead the flock. These are not suggestions but requirements. And these are not qualifications as much as qualities that define the man’s character and his work. The qualities of the wives are also under consideration as essential.

Elders are men who serve the Lord. The pattern of leadership in the church is not held by one man but by a plurality of men. They are charged with leading the flock as a shepherd, not driving cattle like a cowboy. The overseer’s work is to see over the flock’s spiritual needs. As a bishop, the elder(s) will seek to mold the members into the image of Christ. As husbands, they will be called on to guide families in distress. God desires an elder to be a father so that he will be able to guide parents in the raising of their children. Having believing children illustrates the capability of the man to guide his family in the way of truth. He will need abundant patience, temperance, self-control, and wisdom to watch over the family of God.

Peter was an apostle and a preacher and served as an elder. He was married and had children. He writes to other men who served as bishops, reminding them to serve not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly. They are not to lord over the flock or rule as an authoritarian figure. Their lives should be examples to others in their manner of life. Those men who are elders are shepherds who will receive the crown of glory from the Chief Shepherd, Jesus Christ. The brethren must obey those who rule over them and submit to them as men who watch out for their souls. There is a harsher judgment for those who serve as elders as they must give account of the work they do in the church.

There have been abuses of leadership in the church over the centuries. The first apostasy came from among elders who walked away from the divine pattern of organization. As a result of the apostasy, the Catholic church was born. In the modern world of denominationalism, the concept of New Testament organization is ignored. Among the churches of Christ, many congregations go for years without an eldership and have no plans to establish an eldership, contrary to the command of God.

The divine wisdom of God created the church in a perfect design, and failing to follow that pattern denies the word of God. What the church needs today are men and women willing to give their lives to serve in the leadership of the church. It takes time and a great spiritual awakening in the souls of young men and women to live so that one day, they can be called upon to serve in the leadership role.

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They Did Not Believe

Posted on December 15, 2023 by heatonkent

And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country. And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either. Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. (Mark 16:11-14)

They Did Not Believe

Resurrection was not a new idea to the early disciples of Jesus. At least they could believe in the possibility of raising the dead from the story of Abraham and Isaac. During the ministry of Jesus, people were raised from the dead. The apostles had the power to raise the dead. Lazarus had been in the tomb after the body decayed and Jesus raised him. Nearing the end of His ministry, Jesus often told His disciples that He would go to Jerusalem, suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and raised on the third day. It seems no one was listening.

After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons. She went to the disciples who were still reeling from the sudden death of Jesus and told them He was alive. They would not believe her. She pleaded with them to believe she saw Jesus and talked with him, but they were too distraught to accept it. Jesus appeared to some men on the road to Emmaus and spoke with them at length. The men returned and told the eleven what happened on the road and how He was made known to them in the breaking of bread. No one believed the two men. They thought what the witnesses were saying were idle words.

Jesus appeared to ten apostles on the evening of His resurrection, and they believed. Thomas was not there when Jesus came the first time. A week later, when Thomas was with the ten, Jesus again appeared and spoke directly to Thomas. He wanted to see the scars identifying Jesus as Lord. Thomas believed when shown the evidence. The eleven (and others) must have seemed foolish in not believing Mary and the others who testified they had seen Jesus but were rebuffed.

The testimony of those who had seen and talked with Jesus came from credible sources. These were not the enemies of Jesus but disciples of the Lord. They must have been discouraged from being so excited about seeing their Lord and the apostles not believing. Maybe that is why Jesus first appeared to them and not the eleven. Their faith readily believed what they saw with their eyes and heard with their ears that Jesus was alive. As impossible as that seemed, it was real.

Faith is more than a shallow acceptance of a few facts. To have a deep faith, the heart sometimes must believe in the impossible. For Mary and the two men, they were talking to a man who had been killed by the Romans three days earlier. They knew Jesus was dead, buried, and guarded by a complement of Roman soldiers. Jesus did not fain death. He was dead. There was no question. The empty tomb puzzled Peter and John but left them disbelieving the testimonies of those who saw Jesus alive. Jesus was alive. How difficult it would be for those who saw Jesus to be unable to convince others of the truth. They saw the truth and testified of the truth. No one believed them. The unbelief of the apostles did not change the truth. Jesus was alive.

The Bible is the divine revelation of God. All truth is found within its pages. It is a testimony created over 1500 years by forty individuals with diverse backgrounds and lives. The Bible is a complete harmony of context, purpose, and design. It shows the story of Jesus Christ from Genesis to the Revelation. Sadly, the message of salvation told from the pages of the Bible is treated as a children’s story or a fanciful myth. People do not believe. Their unbelief does not change the fact the Bible is all truth. When Jesus appears, then they will know His word is truth. What do you believe?

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How To Keep Going

Posted on December 14, 2023 by heatonkent

We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. (2 Corinthians 4:8-10)

How To Keep Going

Life is hard. There is no disputing the fact. There are many joys in life, but life can have its cruel hand upon the spirit of a man that could drive him to despair. Life brings its own issues with numerous frailties limiting a person’s abilities. The world can stand against the soul seeking to honor God. Misfortunes can cripple the dreams of the hopeful. All who desire to live godly will suffer persecution in one form or another. Life can be hard. How is it possible to keep going with a positive spirit?

Someone rightfully suggested the Lord never promised life would be a rose garden. Even a rose garden comes with thorns. Modern religion’s “health and wealth” philosophies make people think that holiness is next to happiness and dependent upon one another. God never promised happiness, but He does demand holiness. In the face of the trials of life, the Lord offers an avenue of escape to bear up under the burdens of life.

The apostle Paul lived a remarkable life when he obeyed the gospel of Christ. Before his conversion, Paul was a successful, powerful, wealthy, and influential man with great authority. That all ended when Ananias baptized him into Jesus Christ. Paul would spend the rest of his life with the burdens of dependency, direction, and disposition. Many actively sought to kill Paul. There were more than forty men who bound themselves under an oath to kill Paul, swearing they would neither eat nor drink until that time. They would soon break their oath as they could not kill the apostle.

Paul’s attitude is what separates him from other men. He faced many trials in life, including imprisonment, beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, hungry, destitute, and facing dangers from his countrymen. The apostle was hard-pressed, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down. His life was filled with suffering. Yet, in the face of his daily hardship, the apostle told the saints in Corinth that he was not crushed, in despair, forsaken, or destroyed. His faith in Jesus Christ remained strong and vibrant.

The outlook of Paul seemed bleak but his uplook was spirit-filled. He knew the things he suffered were for the cause of Christ. It is easy to forget God’s blessings when life’s burdens begin to crush upon the spirit. God promises that He will wipe away every tear from the eye and make eternal life a place where there is nothing to sorrow for or cry over. This shows that life here is filled with tears and sorrows, which should not be surprising. Through the grace of God, the spirit of patience will help us see through the gloom of this world to a place of light and glory.

How is it possible to continue in the face of sorrow? Believe and have faith when life presses hard against the soul; God will not allow us to be crushed. The sorrows of life will confuse our souls with doubts and fears, but the Lord will keep us from despair. Persecution will be a part of holy living. God will never leave us nor forsake us. Death is not our final destiny but the beginning of our eternal destination. Joy comes in death. Suffering ends, and comfort begins. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. That is how I get through the day, and that is how I keep going.

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Acceptable Worship Matters

Posted on December 13, 2023 by heatonkent

“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am the Father, where is My honor? And if I am a Master, where is My reverence?” says the Lord of hosts, to you priests who despise My name. Yet you say, “In what way have we despised Your name?” You offer defiled food on My altar, but say, “In what way have we defiled You?” By saying, “The table of the Lord is contemptible.” And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor! “Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably?” says the Lord of hosts. (Malachi 1:6-8)

Acceptable Worship Matters

Five centuries before Christ, the people of God have returned from captivity to a land broken and desolate. The Temple is to be rebuilt within twenty years, but it would take nearly a century for the walls to be rebuilt. Disheartened by their lives, the Jews struggled to worship the Lord God in spirit. Prophets like Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi preached the message of spiritual restoration. As the word of the Lord began to fade for four hundred years, Malachi addressed the post-exilic Jews against their religious laxity. They dishonored God in worship by bringing broken and damaged sacrifices. Their hearts were far from worship. Malachi advises them to repent.

God has always required men to worship Him. Cain and Abel knew what was required of them. After the flood, Noah built an altar to the Lord in worshipful thanksgiving. The journeys of Abraham can be marked by the fires of his sacrifices as he worshiped his God. When Moses led the Hebrews from Mt. Sinai, they took with them the Law and the Tabernacle to worship. Solomon built the Temple in Jerusalem as the House of the Lord. One thing that never changed in these stories is the type of worship that made men acceptable to God.

Cain’s worship was rejected because his heart was evil. Malachi deals with the same problems as the people of God who say they loved the Lord but were wearied because they had to obey His commands. The prophet parallels the honor a son gives his father, and the lack of honor the children of God show their Father. Even a servant knows his place before his master to give him respect. The Lord accused them of offering defiled food on His altar, and they were incensed at the accusation. Their worship may have been according to the pattern, but their sacrifice was offered with contempt.

The sacrifices offered were not as the Law of Moses prescribed. The blind, lame, and sick animals were given to God for sacrifice, contrary to the clear teaching of the Law demanding animals without blemish. They would never dare bring such animals before their governors or rulers. Yet, they felt no obligation to give God their best. Their hearts were not in worship. They had no zeal for God, no love for the Lord, and they were tired of all the ritual patterns they had to follow. Worship for them was boring and out of place.

Malachi would do well to write a book for the church. Sadly, the character of man has changed little over the centuries. What the prophet addressed to the Jews of his time is the same message that must be preached today in the churches of God. It is easy to go through the motions of the scriptural worship in the divine way by the divine pattern – and have no love for the Lord, His Son, and the Holy Spirit. In the place of bulls, goats, and lambs, now the Lord requires hearts to be sacrificed. What the Lord sees too often are hearts that are blind, lame, and sick.

There is such a thing as acceptable worship and vain worship. Saying the right things in the right ways does not make worship acceptable. There is no worship if the heart is not bowed in submission before God. When men treat God with disrespect and contempt, they will face a certain wrath. Malachi reminds the people God is King, Lord of Hosts, and His name is to be feared among the nations – and the church! Let us not weary the Lord with our vain worship. Behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven. All those who worship in vain will be the stubble that is burned up. Fear His name. Remember His word. Worship in spirit and truth.

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Pilate Knew Jesus Was Innocent

Posted on December 12, 2023 by heatonkent

Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, said to them, “You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people. And indeed, having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him; no, neither did Herod, for I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him. (Luke 23:13-15)

Pilate Knew Jesus Was Innocent

Pontius Pilate was the sixth in order of the Roman procurators of Judea (A.D. 26-36). He was a rather infamous ruler of no known Roman family with no exceptional credentials to make him stand out among the Roman rulers. Being pushed to Palestine was the backwaters of leadership away from the pleasures of Rome. He was a pleasure-loving and corrupt ruler, and he hated the Jews. It did not bother his conscience to kill them in any number. The governor had murdered Jews from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at the Temple. He was as corrupt as his colleagues.

Pilate was governor when the Jewish council brought Jesus to the Roman court. The Jews accused Jesus of being an evil-doer, and the governor told them to deal with Him amongst themselves. They insisted Pilate try Jesus because they wanted Him put to death. Jesus was accused of perverting the nation, forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and calling Himself a King. On the surface, these were charges worthy of death.

After questioning the man from Nazareth, Pilate returns to the Jews, telling them he found no fault in Him and that no crime was committed. The people cried out to Pilate that Jesus was a troublemaker who needed to be punished. Hearing Jesus was from Galilee, Pilate sent Jesus to Herod, who was in Jerusalem then. Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate with no judgment. Pilate calls the chief priests and rulers of the people together, asking them if it would be possible to release Jesus back to them in accordance with the custom of the day. During Passover, it was customary to release a prisoner. Pilate wanted to release Jesus. He tells the leaders after examination that he could find nothing Jesus had said or done was worthy of death.

The rulers cried out the more for Jesus to die. Pilate’s wife warns him against having anything to do with Jesus of Nazareth. He desires to release Jesus, knowing He is innocent. The rulers demanded the death of Jesus. Pilate again says he found no cause of death in Him. He tells the crowd he will scourge Jesus and release him. But they cried out the more, “Crucify Him.” Pilate scourges Jesus, thinking this will change the minds of the people. Presenting Jesus in a mocking robe and crown, Pilate believes he can release Jesus. It does not work. The people demanded the death of Jesus.

When Pilate saw that he could not prevail against the tumult rising before him, he washed his hands before the multitude, declaring his innocence of the blood of the righteous man, Jesus. He then condemned Jesus to death and delivered Him to the Centurion in charge of crucifixion. Jesus was taken to Golgotha and nailed to a cross. An innocent man – the most innocent man that has ever lived – was killed because of the hatred of His countrymen and the cowardice of the Roman rulers.

Pilate would fall into disgrace before Caesar Caligula a few years later. According to Josephus, the Jewish historian, Pilate, disheartened over his misfortunes, committed suicide. “Fear of man, the Jews’ accusations, and the emperor’s frown, and consequent loss of place and power, led him to condemn Him whom he knew to be innocent and desired to deliver” (Fausset’s Bible Dictionary). Death opened the eyes of Pilate to the man whom he condemned to die, knowing Jesus was not guilty of death. Sadly, Pilate faced eternal death for rejecting Jesus.

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