The Heaton File

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

Headline America

The Bible describes the eternal plan of salvation wrought through the grace of God sending His only begotten Son into the world to save the world. There is no doubt that the veracity of what is found on the pages of holy writ magnifies the wonderful love of God for humanity. The Bible is a multi-faceted book of insight into people’s character regardless of culture, historical timestamp, or moral persuasion. One of the clear messages of the word of God is how it constantly describes in detail the way of man with God.

Paul is nearing his death when he writes to Timothy about the coming perilous times. He was not writing to a specific moment in time exclusive to a singular event. The last days have been going on for nearly two thousand years, and the nature of man seeking wisdom without God remains unchanged. Paul does not introduce anything new to the world Timothy lived in. Some aspects of the Roman world are far more degrading and degenerate than what is found in America today. Still, it is easy to read the text of Paul’s letter and see how true the character of man’s failure remains the same.

There will always be difficult times in the affairs of humanity. These are grievous and terrible times when the putridity of human wisdom is on full display for history to record its failures. Reading Paul’s description of the perilous times is ripped from the headlines of The Daily Journal of America. People will love only themselves and their money. Everything is about wealth and having more stuff. The lottery fans the seeds of greed and covetousness. Debt is enormous for most families. The vanity of the human body has created an industry of plastic surgery, drugs, weight loss, body sculpturing, piercings everywhere, body art, etc.

The world is filled with boastful and proud people who scoff at God, are disobedient to their parents, and are ungrateful. This movement and that movement destroy sacred institutions long held as foundational to the community. The home is eviscerated with transgenderism, homosexuality, divorce, and sexual immorality. It’s a “me, me, me” world at the cost of young children victimized by a cruel society. Politicians cannot define what a woman is. A woke society seeks to recreate a world that does not exist. There is nothing sacred.

Communities have become war zones of neighbors against neighbors (there are shows highlighting the conflict). People have become unloving and unforgiving. Respect for authority has disappeared. It is common for people to slander others and have no self-control over anything. Good things are scoffed at and vilified. People are cruel to one another, even the aged. Friends will betray their friends. Pride exalts the nation to become filled with its own self-worth. Religion and a belief in God will increasingly come under attack as American rejects the need to believe “In God We Trust.” Many will act religiously and have no concept of obedience to the word of God.

Headline America is filled with the message of Paul. Warned by the Holy Spirit, it should not come as a surprise when the world turns away from God. These are perilous times, which have been around since Adam and Eve lost the garden. Sin is at the root of the problem. Jesus came to offer the solution to the problem, and until men accept the message of Jesus Christ, perilous times will exist. The good news is the kingdom of God will never fail, and in the darkest days of perilous times, lights of glory shine in the hearts of those saints who reject the world and live for God. A little leaven goes a long way. Be that leaven in a perverse generation and a light in a very dark world.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

Will There Be Animals In Heaven?

On the fifth and sixth day of creation, God created all the animals that dwell on the face of the earth. Before the flood in the days of Noah, there was no fear of man on animals, and animals were not used for food. After the flood, the fear and dread of man came upon every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all fish of the sea. Man could eat animals. When God made a covenant with Noah never to destroy the world with a flood, He also made a covenant with the animals included in that promise. The rainbow serves as a reminder that God will not kill all the humans and animals on the planet as He did with the flood.

God’s covenant with animals does not include eternal life. Do animals go to Heaven? Man was created as an eternal being who lives in a physical body and is given life by the breath of God. Genesis 1:27 is where God said he would create man in His image, and He did. When God created the animals on the fifth and sixth day, He never said He would create them in His image (Genesis 1:20-25). What separates man from animals is the nature of eternity. From this nature, man is a moral agent, able to make decisions based on good and evil. Animals cannot determine moral judgments because they are not eternal. Nothing can reside in eternity unless they are created in the eternal spirit.

Jesus came to die for men who are sinners. Animals cannot sin because sin is a transgression of the law of God requiring the knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, not animals. Jesus promised eternal life only to men, not animals. After the flood, God told Noah murder was defined as when a man kills another man. Killing an animal is not murder because an animal does not have an eternal nature (Genesis 9:6).

Isaiah 65 is about the coming of the kingdom found in Christ. The prophet uses metaphorical language in Isaiah 65:25 to describe the nature of that kingdom with animals who are enemies of one another being at peace. Isaiah never suggests animals will be in Heaven. Animals cannot dwell in Heaven without an eternal nature. This applies to the context of Romans 8. The world suffers under the weight of sin but does not suggest animals suffer a moral dilemma in understanding right and wrong. Jesus told Nicodemus that He had come to die for the whole world, but He never suggested He died for the cricket, worm, dolphin, eagle, rattlesnake, elephant, alligator, etc.

Heaven is a place for the saved. What can animals be saved from if they have no moral nature? Salvation comes from the understanding that a person is lost, but an animal has no consciousness that he is lost or saved. Can an animal (a giraffe, for example) believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God? Obviously not. God has a covenant with animals, but only in His relationship with the world. That covenant does not extend to animals being in Heaven. If one animal is in Heaven, all animals are in Heaven (including the mosquito). Only the animal created in the image of God will be in eternity – either in Heaven or Hell. If animals can be in Heaven, can animals be in Hell? The answer is obvious. Jesus died for men – not animals. The Bible reveals the mind of God to men – not animals. Dogs and cats will not be in Heaven, no matter how cute and lovable they are. Jesus died to save men from sin, not dogs and cats.

But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. (1 Peter 1:19)

A Lamb Without Blemish

Sacrifice has always been a part of worship. Cain and Abel gave offerings to the Lord because the law of God required it. When giving a sacrifice, the Lord has always wanted the best. This appeals to the nature of man’s pride to give up something of greater value as an offering to the Lord. Abel gave of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Cain’s offering was rejected because of his heart. Abel’s offering was accepted because he was righteous.

Under the law of Moses, the offerings of a lamb could only be a lamb without blemish. God would not accept any animal that was blind, broken, maimed, or diseased with a tumor, scurvy, or infection. Without blemish meant, the sacrifice was a perfect specimen. God expected nothing less. He wanted the very best a man had and demanded he give of the firstlings of the flock and the lamb that had so spot or blemish. The prophet Malachi condemned the nation of Israel after the Babylonian captivity for offering blind sacrifices and the lame and the sick. They had despised the name of God by offering defiled sacrifices.

The imagery of the lamb without blemish would become the shadow of the greatest sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Redemption came through the blood of a lamb without spot that was offered by men to appease the wrath of God. Jesus was the divine Lamb who offered Himself as the sacrifice for sin to redeem man from the wrath of God. What set Jesus apart from all men is His perfection. All men are blemished in the metaphorical sense of their relationship with God, which means all men sin. Men are blemished. Even if a man were able to commit one sin in his life, he would still be blemished and unfit for a sacrifice to God. There are some great people in the Bible’s history, but none could offer an unblemished life as proof of God’s love.

Jesus is the only man who lived without sin. There is no blemish in His life – without exception. He never sinned – period. Consider the magnitude of a life where a man never says an ill word, seeks revenge for injustice done against him or others; who always left His life in the hands of the Father. As a teenager, Jesus never disobeyed His parents or acted rebelliously. He never lusted after a woman, used vain language, filled His heart with pride, got angry and sinned, or disobeyed any commandment of God. His life was perfection to perfection.

The blemish so common to all men is never found in Jesus Christ. Like a lamb without blemish, there is nothing in the more than thirty years of Jesus’ life that was not in harmony with the will of the Father. Everything He did, what He said, how He conducted Himself – was perfect. There was not the slightest hint of sin in the life of Jesus. When He stood before the Roman court of Pilate accused by false witnesses, He remained silent. Jesus knew He must die to save all men, including those who lied about Him. His sacrifice was the perfect offering of a sinless life to pay the debt of sinful man. The blood of Jesus is precious because it is without sin. Jesus is a lamb without blemish and without spot. Thank God!

Now when much time had been spent, and sailing was now dangerous because the Fast was already over, Paul advised them, saying, “Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives.” Nevertheless the centurion was more persuaded by the helmsman and the owner of the ship than by the things spoken by Paul. And because the harbor was not suitable to winter in, the majority advised to set sail from there also, if by any means they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete opening toward the southwest and northwest, and winter there. (Acts 27:9-12)

Listening To The Majority

Maritime travel in the first century was a hazardous undertaking. Ships were small and ill-equipped for the harsh conditions of the Mediterranean. Navigation was still primitive to a large degree, allowing for little guidance for sailors to measure their journey. Paul’s trip to Rome from Caesarea was complicated by the rigors of sea travel that almost cost him his life. They changed ships in Myra, a city of Lycia, bound for Rome. Under armed escort, Paul sailed with two hundred seventy-five people (including the gospel writer Luke). After many days, the ship arrived in Crete, in a place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea. The time of year was dangerous for ships to sail.

After staying in Fair Havens for some time, Paul warned the soldiers and the ship’s crew it would be best to remain in port until a suitable time was found to sail. He warned the trip could end in disaster and much loss, including their lives. The centurion decided to take the advice of the owner of the ship and set sail. Luke writes the majority of people on board agreed it would be best to sail immediately to reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, and to winter there. This decision would be a fateful decision for the ship’s owner and his cargo.

Beginning the voyage, the journey went well with a soft wind, and everyone felt assured the decision was good. Not long after they set sail, they were caught in a storm called Euroclydon. A Euroclydon is much like a hurricane or Levanter (a strong easterly Mediterranean wind). It caught the ship and tossed it about for more than two weeks. It was very perilous, but Paul assured the people that if everyone followed his instructions, no life would be lost. God assured Paul he would reach Rome, and those who traveled with him would not perish. The ship wrecked on the coast of Malta with no loss of life. Paul taught many the gospel in Malta and would eventually arrive in Rome.

The majority thought it was a good idea to sail. Paul had warned them it would be an unsafe journey. It seems clear Paul’s advice came from the word of the Lord, but his warning was ignored by the democracy of the more than two hundred people on board. After they were caught in the storm, Paul reminded the stricken crew they should have listened to him. Ignoring the word of the Lord would cost the owner his ship and cargo. When men do not listen to the word of the Lord, a price is paid.

Majority rule is a wonderful form of democracy, but the kingdom of God is a monarchy. Supreme authority is vested in one person under a monarchy. The kingdoms of men find the rule of a monarchy problematic. They also refuse to accept the rule of God in the spiritual realm. Jesus warned the wisdom of the majority is destruction. The masses follow the broad way, and most people will never see Heaven. That is a stark and difficult statement to accept, but it is true. Listening to the majority is never a good idea unless the majority is listening to God. That seldom happens.

Salvation is an individual choice, not measured by the decisions of the masses. The influence of the majority can sway the hearts of the individual, but ultimately, eternal life will be granted to each individual based upon the choices made by the individual, not the majority. Following what the majority says is seldom a wise choice. Going with the flow or following the path of least resistance is a dangerous path to walk. Following the majority is remaining silent when a word of caution should be said. If the people traveling with Paul had listened to his counsel from the word of the Lord, the journey would have turned out differently.

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. (Hebrews 5:12-14)

Growing As A Christian

When a baby is born, they are unable to digest solid food as their bodies have yet to develop the proper tools for consumption and digestion. God created the newborn without teeth and the intestinal requirements to eat food that an adult would eat. Milk is the nutrition of all babies. The mother’s milk has all the required nutrients to sustain life until the infant matures to handle solid food. As an adult with fully developed tools to chew, swallow, and digest food, there is no limitation to what a man can eat.

Spiritual growth is like the needs of an infant growing to maturity. When a person obeys the gospel of Jesus Christ, much is unknown. They are not expected to process the deeper meanings of the Word that someone who has examined the scriptures for many years possesses. Spiritual growth begins with the milk of the word, and then by reason of use and careful study of the Word, the heart starts to unfold the deeper meanings of those things, good and evil. Everyone begins with milk, and the Father wants everyone to grow to eat solid food.

An adult who cannot wean themselves from milk will become sick and die. A growing body demands greater calories and nutrients than milk can provide. Spiritual growth follows the same pattern as the physical body. To grow in Christ, the heart must move beyond the first principles of the word of God and grasp larger tracts of knowledge. The goal is not to attain all the knowledge contained in the Word because no man can understand all the knowledge kept within the pages of the Bible in ten lifetimes or more. God does expect His children to leave the milk of the word.

The problem faced by the first century Christians is the same problem the church faces today. There are too many saints who have never given up the milk of the word and are satisfied to partake only of milk and become unskilled in the word of righteousness. They are grown adults with the mind of a baby. This is contrary to the design of the spiritual body. If a man grows to adulthood and retains the mind of a baby, he is unable to function in the world. When the hearts of God’s people reside in the realm of spiritual milk, they cannot fight against the wiles of the devil. The end is apathy, ignorance, and destruction.

It takes time to learn the word. The desire must be to leave the milk for stronger food. Becoming skilled in the word of righteousness is not a scholarly development left only to the few who possess keen minds of wisdom. Secular education does not determine whether a man has the skill to know the word of God. When an open heart seeks to discern what is good and evil through the reading and study of the word of God, they will become skilled in what the Divine will of the Father must be for the individual. Anyone can do this if they are willing.

Growing as a Christian is the most fundamental part of the Christian’s life. Either a person is growing or they are dying. There is no middle ground. When someone has been a Christian for many years and still requires milk, they are unskilled and vulnerable. Those who daily seek the wisdom of God will find their lives full of the eternal wisdom established before time began. You can read and understand God’s mysteries if you take the time. Grow in Christ. Discern good and evil and long for the solid food of the word. It will fill your life with an incredible feast of good things.

Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. (2 Samuel 12:10)

Repentance Does Not Change Consequences

David’s sin with Bathsheba was a tragedy in the life of a man who was so devoted to the Lord. Few men have risen to the stature of the son of Jesse as a faithful man of God whose life so emulated the spirit of holiness and truth. The sad reality is the larger the faith, the larger the target for Satan to use his wiles. Bathsheba was bathing at her home. She was very beautiful to look upon, and David saw her from his rooftop. After inquiring who the woman was, the king sent messengers to bring the woman to his house, and he lay with her. Sending her home, he could not imagine the horror of consequences that would soon envelop his life.

In time, Bathsheba discovered she was pregnant and told David. The king realized a plan needed to be created to cover up their sin and ordered Bathsheba’s husband home from the war. Uriah was a Hittite, but he was a noble warrior and one of David’s mighty men. After repeated attempts to get Uriah to go home to his wife, David finally signed a note (delivered by Uriah) to Joab, the king’s commander, to ensure Uriah is killed in battle. The plan succeeded as Uriah was killed in battle, and Bathsheba mourned her husband. David had Bathsheba brought to his home, where she became another wife for David, and the child was born.

God sent Nathan, the prophet, to tell David of the consequences of his actions. David repented for what he had done, and the Lord set aside the penalty of the law requiring the death of David and Bathsheba. However, God did not remove the consequences of David’s action. Uriah had been murdered by the hand of David, and that could never be changed. The Lord told David the sword would never depart from his house. David’s reign as king of Israel would be marred by those who sought to take his life and kingdom. Ironically, the greatest enemies of David would be those of his own household.

Nathan warned David his sons would take his wives and rape them in the presence of the nation of Israel. The consequences of David’s action would bring years of heartache, pain, and sorrow. Amnon, son of David by Ahinoam, raped his half-sister, Tamar, daughter of David by Maacha. Her brother Absalom would avenge her when he killed his half-brother, Amnon. Absalom would try to take the throne from his father and be killed by Joab. Near the end of David’s life, his son Adonijah (son of Haggith) tried to usurp the throne. David repented, but he lived with the consequences of his sin.

The law of sowing and reaping is an absolute law often ignored. Sin will bring consequences both in the eyes of the Lord and the affairs of man. A man can rebel against the word of the Lord and be forgiven, but this may not remove the consequences of what he has done. If a man commits murder, he can be forgiven, but that does not mean he will not pay the civil penalty of either prison or death. Sexual immorality can be forgiven, and the body still suffers from the disease of the act. There is nothing that suggests repentance can and will remove the consequence.

If a man first ponders the consequences of his actions, the sin may not happen. Foresight is the key to removing heartache from a lifetime of sorrow. Taking the time to consider how the act will impact the relationship with God and how that action will bring about consequences can often dispel the desire to sin. Joseph was tortured daily with the sexual advances of Potiphar’s wife. When she tried to force herself upon him, Joseph immediately knew the penalty of his sin against God and refused her. He suffered grave consequences for being pure, but he did not live the rest of his life regretting the outcome of forbidden lust. Suffering for righteousness has a greater taste than swallowing the bitter pit of regret over sinful actions.

Never commit an act you will regret for the rest of your life. The grave is full of broken hearts whose lives were filled with the agony of times past when bad decisions were made. David suffered because of one night with the wife of Uriah. When Matthew wrote his gospel of Jesus Christ, he reminded the world again of the mother of Solomon as the one who had been the wife of Uriah. Sometimes, consequences continue to mar the name generations after a person dies. God forgives, but remember, the seed sown in haste may bring about a harvest of pain.

Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. (1 Corinthians 10:12)

Be Careful How You Stand

All men are the same. They have been the same since Adam and Eve. Centuries have changed technologies, but at the end of the day, everyone will find themselves in the same dilemma as the generation before. It is easy to look at a culture one thousand years removed and call it primitive compared to the modern, civilized world. The manner of living may have changed, but the nature of the heart has not. Modern families live in air-conditioned homes with indoor plumbing, refrigerators, freezers, internet, smartphones, and drive machines that offer more comfort than most homes. Instead of hunting for food, provisions are prepackaged in plastic at the local store.

The nature of man is what is unchanging. Struggles with sin and righteousness are as old as Adam and Eve. The Egyptians who built the Great Pyramids battled with sin. In the Americas, the natives of the land were either righteous or unrighteous. The battle with sin afflicts the souls of every person in every culture through all generations. There is no difference in how the modern man battles the lust of the flesh, the pride of life, and the lust of the eyes than his predecessors’ generations removed.

Paul argued to the saints at Corinth that Israel of old struggled with sin and, sadly, lost the battle often. The Hebrews that came out of the Egyptian bondage through the Red Sea were tempted with the same wiles of the devil as the modern Corinthians. They all drank the same spiritual drink and ate the same spiritual food. For most of them, God was not well pleased and died in the wilderness. The stories of old serve to illustrate the unchanging nature of men and the battle with sin. Paul used an example nearly fifteen hundred years old to prove a point to the Christians of his day. Lusting after evil is not a new phenomenon. Sexual immorality has plagued the soul of man since Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden. Temptation is the lot of all men, unchanging and undeniable.

The revelation of God’s word reminds every generation of men that sin is a constant problem, and God is the only answer. A man can believe he is a modern soul who does not have the issues of those who lived before him because he is a nobler, stronger, vigilant, and watchful person than his ancestors. The remarkable irony of this kind of mind is the poisonous sin of pride has already condemned him. He thinks he is standing righteous before God because he is a better person than those before him. The warning is for those who believe they stand without fear to prepare to fall badly. It is easy to read about the failures of the Israelites and think that could never happen today. That is the warning Paul gives to the proud heart.

Sin will topple the strongest and destroy those who trifle with its power. A man who thinks he stands without temptation has begun to fall. Paul assures the saints God will not allow them to be tempted beyond what they are able to bear, but they must be warned they will be tempted. Satan has never taken a day off since he deceived the woman to eat the forbidden fruit. He is not impressed with the trinkets of a new generation, but he is deadly serious about damning souls to a lake of fire and brimstone. Having the courage to stand and withstand the wiles of the devil can only be done through the power of God. Stand firm, but stand with the courage to know how easy it is to fall. When you fall, you will only be defeated if you fail to rise again and fight. Stand up, stand up, for Jesus. Have courage. Stand strong.

But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?” And Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.” (1 Samuel 15:14-15)

Refusing To Accept Blame

King Saul was the first king of Israel. He was tall and handsome and the son of Kish, whose great-grandfather was a mighty man of power. Samuel the prophet was disappointed the people desired a king, but the Lord assured him it was in keeping with the divine plan. The reign of Saul did not begin well as Saul took it upon himself to offer a sacrifice as he impatiently waited for Samuel. This was against the commandment of the Lord, and Samuel rebuked the king for his unlawful act.

Sometime later, Samuel came to Saul and told him to punish Amalek for what he did to Israel when he ambushed the people of God when they came up from Egypt. Samuel instructed the king to utterly destroy all that they had and not to spare anyone. This demanded killing man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox, sheep, camel and donkey. Saul was to destroy all the Amalekites, sparing nothing and no one. The king gathered his army of two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men of Judah and attacked the city of Amalek. He took Agag, king of the Amalekites alive and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. The best of the sheep, oxen, fatlings, lambs, and all that was good was spared. Saul was unwilling to destroy them. Everything despised and worthless, he destroyed.

The word of the Lord came to Samuel, regretting He had made Saul king. Saul had refused to obey the voice of the Lord by sparing Agag and all the good things. Samuel comes to Saul, and the king acts as if everything he has done has glorified the Lord and that he has done the commandment of the Lord. The prophet asks the king what the bleating of the sheep and the lowing of the oxen means. Saul immediately turns the blame upon the people, telling Samuel the people brought the flocks from the Amalekites. It was the people that spared the best of the sheep and the oxen. Saul suggests what the people were seeking was to glorify God and do a good thing to spare all of the best of the flocks. The animals could be used for sacrifice to the Lord. He reminds Samuel all of the rest had been destroyed.

Saul was to blame, and he turned the blame on everyone but himself. He was king, and his decisions spared Agag and the best of the flocks. As the leader of the people, he should have taken ownership of his failure to obey the word of the Lord. He alone had decided to disobey what Samuel had told him to do. Worse, he would not accept blame for what he had done, charging the people for what had happened and explaining away his actions by glorifying the Lord. As the leader of the people, he stood above accusations of blame in his eyes. He was only seeking the good of the nation.

What Saul believed in his heart did not change the word of God. Blaming others instead of accepting the blame for his own actions did not change the word of God. Leadership fails when those in authority deflect responsibility for their actions. After Saul died in battle, David became king of Israel. When David sinned with Bathsheba and Nathan the prophet came to him, David did not follow in the steps of Saul. He could have blamed Bathsheba. David could have excused his actions away, suggesting the wars had weakened his spirit. There were many whom David could lay the blame for his failure. David took responsibility for his actions. So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” That is true leadership.

Failures become greater failures when men refuse to acknowledge and accept blame. Deflecting the blame is the greatest weakness of leadership. Accepting responsibility is the greatest strength of leadership. Men of God who excelled were men who faced their own failures with courage. Saul blamed everyone but himself and lost everything. Samuel told Saul the problem was in the heart of the king, who allowed pride to distort the truth. Saul was a better man when he was little in his own eyes. David accepted his failure and became a greater man. Refusing to accept blame does not glorify God.

The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” And they said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” (John 6:41-42)

They Knew Jesus As A Young Man

One of the great problems the people had with Jesus was to see past His humanity and understand His divinity. This was especially true for the people who lived in the town of Nazareth. Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea but grew up in Nazareth. Joseph and Mary lived in Nazareth when the angel told them of the conception of the Son of God. After going to Bethlehem for the census in the days of Caesar Augustus, the family remained for just over two years. Being warned by an angel Herod sought the life of Jesus; Joseph and Mary fled to Egypt, where they stayed until the death of Herod. Returning to Israel, Joseph took the family back to Nazareth, where he worked as a carpenter.

Nazareth was in the secluded valley of lower Galilee, north of the Plain of Esdraelon. It was in Nazareth Jesus attended the local synagogue, learned the trade of the carpenter, and increased in wisdom and stature and favor with God and man. Joseph and Mary would welcome four brothers and at least two sisters to the family of Jesus. Life in the small village of Nazareth was filled with daily chores, trips to Jerusalem (eighty miles) to the Temple, and working in the carpenter’s shop. In a small community, everyone knows everyone; and everyone knows Jesus.

Jesus did not begin His ministry until he was thirty years old. The people of Nazareth watched the son of Mary grow from adolescence to teen years and then manhood. What they never saw was disrespect, mischievousness, dishonor, or anything that marred the character of Jesus. He never disobeyed his parents or disrespected the Roman government. His life was perfection – in the literal sense. To say Jesus lived a blameless life is factual. No one in the community could bring any charge against Jesus for any reason, small or large. Everyone knew the kind of man Jesus had become.

When Jesus began His ministry, He taught the people with authority. At the age of twelve, He shocked the religious leaders at the Temple. Now, He was going through the regions of Judea, Samaria, and Galilee with thousands of people following Him. Multitudes flocked to Him to be healed of every disease known to man. Jesus raised the dead. He fed thousands of people with almost nothing. His teachings struck a responsive chord in the hearts of the common man and anger in the minds of the Jewish leaders. Jesus was a man to be reckoned with.

Following the feeding of more than five thousand people with five barley loaves and two small fishes, the multitudes flocked to Him again, seeking the abundance of the food enjoyed the day before. Jesus began to show the purpose of His mission was not to feed the belly but the soul of men. The Jews complained about the teachings of Jesus, suggesting they knew Him as the son of Joseph and Mary whom they knew and He could not have come down from heaven. It seems they could not see the forest for the trees. Standing before them was a man they knew, and a sinless life of three decades did not help them see the incredible man that stood before them.

Blindness comes in many forms. Most men see what they want to see, refusing to see what they do not want to see. The people of Nazareth and the Jews did not want to see the man they knew from Nazareth as the Son of God. They failed to remember the unusual son of Mary was perfect. If they could have stopped to think about the past thirty years in the life of the carpenter’s son, they would have seen who He really was. His life was a testimony to the will of the Father. They thought they knew Jesus, but they did not. Do you know the Jesus of scripture?

Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, ” ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” (Matthew 19:16-19)

Which Ones?

Jesus was asked many questions in his life, and none was so telling as the conversation with a rich young ruler seeking eternal life. The heart of the man was honest in seeking how to find eternal life. There is no greater aspiration of life than to know what will happen after death. The young man came to the right source for his answer. Jesus was the Son of God, and if the question could be answered directly, it would come from Him. The man commends the character of Jesus by calling Him a good teacher, but Jesus deflects the accolade to show He was only seeking the Father’s will. Jesus answers the question of eternal life with the simple answer given to men from the beginning of time. Obedience has always been the hallmark of those who are faithful to the Lord. If the man wants to enter into eternal life, he must keep the commandments of God.

There is no more straightforward manner to answer the question of eternal life than keeping the laws, testimonies, statutes, and commandments of the Lord. God commanded Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil. Satan attacked the word of God, suggesting Eve could ignore the word of God. Spiritual death was the consequence. Moses delivered the law to the Hebrews with the preamble of the Ten Commandments to codify the will of the Lord. The Holy Spirit inscribed the Ten Commandments on stone as a guide for the people with the full intention that all ten commandments would be followed.

The young man’s question to Jesus of which laws to keep would be as if a man read the Ten Commandments and asked which part of the Ten Commandments were required to be followed. Why would God give ten laws without the expectation that all ten laws were to be kept? The Ten Commandments were not the Ten Options! Israel was to keep all ten commandments plus the various laws in the Law of Moses. There was never an option of the law allowing the picking of which laws were favored and which were not. God expected Israel to keep the whole law fully. Asking Jesus which laws were required was an effort to find loopholes in the word of the Lord to allow a man to live as he pleases. Which laws did the rich young ruler think he could live without? How would a man decide which to include and which to exclude? The idea is preposterous at best and dangerous in the end.

When a man comes to the Bible trying to find which laws apply to him and which do not, he will never find eternal life. Salvation is not measured by how successful a man keeps the laws of his liking. The Bible contains the mind of God so that everyone can read and understand the will of the Father. Keeping 90% of the commandments of God will not bring eternal life. Salvation is not measured on the merit badge that the individual decides to maintain, with the exception of others. The whole law judges, and the whole law condemns. There is no middle ground.

Jesus summarized the keeping of the law, showing the need to obey the whole law. The reality came when the young man’s heart turned away from God because he was unwilling to give up his riches. He wanted to serve God about 90% without giving away all his wealth. To the rich young ruler, obedience was determined by how much he was willing to sacrifice without giving it all away. He could not do what Jesus required because he tried to justify himself by asking which laws to keep. The better question would have been, “What more can I do?” Do you measure your eternal life by choosing which laws to keep?