Hebrews 10:24-25

And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.  Hebrews 10:24-25

The New Testament stresses that Christians need the fellowship of others of like mind. An identifying mark of the true church is that the members have love for one another (John 13:35). Indeed, one of the criteria by which Christ will judge us is how we treat our brethren in the church (Matthew 25:31-46). How can we love and serve one another if we do not fellowship with and get to know each other?

God has given us ample instruction regarding how we should relate to other Christians. It is His purpose to teach us how to get along with each other so we can teach others about these things in the Millennium. We are to be unselfish and concerned for the needs of others (Philippians 2:4). God wants us to learn patience and forgiveness (Colossians 3:13), striving to be "kindly affectionate," humble, and self-effacing in our dealings with one another (Romans 12:10). We should be giving and hospitable to our brethren (verse 13).

The New Testament is replete with various admonitions on how we should interact with our brothers and sisters in the church. Obviously, God views our interaction with other Christians as vital to our training to become members of the God Family and qualifying for a position in His Kingdom. He wants us to develop interpersonal skills that equip us to deal with occasional differences of opinion and offenses.

Our fellowship should be a source of encouragement to one another. We should use this time to show love to our brethren and to motivate them to perform acts of kindness and service for others. All of these exhortations show a clear need for us to be part of an organization of God's people. God's Sabbath service is like a weekly training school for Christians. The spiritual food that God's true ministers prepare for us is vitally important for our spiritual growth and development. In discussing the relationship of the ministry to the church member, Paul explains that the ministry is given

for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:12-12)

The interaction that we have with one another when we fellowship at church services helps us to develop the fruit of God's Spirit—love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). Paul shows that the church is truly Christ's body, and like the human body, each part depends upon the other parts.

Hebrews 4:1-2

Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.  For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.  Hebrews 4:1-2

The Israelites would not use their faith; they would not step out. They held back because the bottom line was that they did not really believe it.

Do we believe what we are hearing from the Word of God? If we do not believe it, we will do nothing. We only do what we believe.

Everybody in the world operates by this principle—they do what they believe! But do they believe God? No. We are in God's church because we believe, and because we believe in the right way, we obey God. In Hebrews 3, Paul equates "belief" and "obedience." It makes for an interesting study. Despite being significantly different, the effect of one should be the product of the other.

This is why one can find words like "belief" or "unbelief" in Scripture, and see in the margin that "obedience" or "disobedience" can be an alternate translation. The words can be taken either way.

We do what we believe. The real problem is becoming apparent. The reason the Hebrews were apathetic—the reason they were neglecting their spiritual priorities—was because their belief system had undergone a serious change since the time that they had first heard.

When Satan wants to divide or destroy a church, he often does so through inspiring changes in the doctrines. When the doctrines change, the belief system changes accordingly. And when the belief system changes, those who believe the same basic way will flock together, and those who believe a different way will coalesce into another group.

When a belief changes, a change in conduct must follow. This is what happened to the Israelites in the wilderness. They did not believe God, and they failed. They all died. That whole first generation died as a result of their disbelief.

Luke 10:26-28

He said to him, "What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?"  So he answered and said, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.'"  And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live."  Luke 10:26-28

These verses give us a formula for entering the Kingdom of God. It is just that simple—or is it?

We should love the Lord our God more than anything else. Nothing is to take precedence over Him, not our desires, our will, nor anything else. God is always first. We are to love God with all of our soul. We are to be ready to give up our lives to honor God, if it is required. We are to endure all types of ridicule and torment for His sake, if it falls our lot. That is part of loving God.

It is our loving God with all of our strength. Whatever we possess has come from God. If we do something to physically serve God, or if we have to give our substance as living sacrifice, this, too, is just part of loving God with all of our strength.

Adam Clarke summed up the first part of verse 28:

In a word, he [one thinking with and using the mind of Christ] sees God in all things; thinks of Him at all times; has his mind continually fixed upon God; acknowledges Him in all his ways. He begins, continues, and ends all his thoughts, words and works, to the glory of His name. This is the person who loves God with all of his heart, his might, and strength and his intellect.

That is a tall order, but it is exactly what God wants from us. He wants us to do unto others as we would have them do unto us, loving our neighbors as ourselves. It is self-explanatory.

If we are in trouble, do we want someone to come and help us? Of course! Do we want someone to listen to us when we need someone's ear? Of course! Do we want someone to rescue us when we find ourselves in financial difficulties? Certainly! Likewise, we should be concerned for others, as we are concerned for ourselves.

Ephesians 2:8-9

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.  Ephesians 2:8-9

When we first turn to Ephesians 2:8-9, the first thing we notice is that we are confronted with a whole list of spiritual-sounding words: grace, saved, faith, gift, works.Even those of us who have been in God's church for many years and who may clearly understand each of these words individually, are slowed down in our comprehension of these verses when faced with such terms presented one after the other.

So let us take a very brief Greek lesson. Please take the time to study these words in more detail. Here are the key terms contained in this scripture in English and Greek, the Strong's Concordance reference number, and, to make the meanings clearer, other English terms translated in the New Testament from the same Greek words:

• Grace (#5485): charis (khar'-ece). Also translated as favor, thanks, thank, pleasure.
• Saved (#4982): sozo (sode'-zo). Also translated as make whole, heal, be whole.
• Faith (#4102): pistis. Also translated as assurance, believe, belief, those who believe, fidelity.
• Gift (#1435): doron. Also translated as present, offering.
• Works (#2041): ergon. Also translated as deed, doing, labor.

We have just learned that ergon is the original Greek for the English word "works." It does not appear to be a very difficult, ambiguous, or confusing term. But what do the many people and churches who claim that works are not required perceive "works" to be?

Opinions vary. One group perceives works to mean the whole law in general. A second group perceives works as specific portions of God's law, which they look upon as being "Jewish" or "Old Covenant," or that they are just not willing to keep and teach. A third group, amazingly enough in their rejection of it, perceives this term as meaning works of charity in general!

Individuals or groups who choose to substitute the word "law" for the word "works" in Ephesians 2:8-9, and who thus say that New Testament Christians do not have to keep God's law, do not appear to mean it totally and literally. Instead, most of them reserve the right to choose which parts of the law they wish to keep ("You shall not kill," "You shall not steal," etc.) and those that they do not wish to keep ("Remember the Sabbath," holy days, tithing, clean and unclean meats, etc.). God has nowhere given authority to His people to be selective in these matters, thus this stance toward the law is inconsistent and even hypocritical.

The church of God has always agreed one hundred percent with those who say that salvation is a gift, and that a Christian cannot earn salvation by charitable works or by obedience to God's law. However, obedience is a condition we must meet before God will give us His free gift of salvation. New Testament evidence is overwhelming on the matter. Here are just a few verses:

· And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit, which God has given to those who obey him. (Acts 5:32)

· He who says, "I know him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (I John 2:4)

· So He said to [the rich young ruler], "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." (Matthew 19:17)

· If you love Me, keep My commandments. (John 14:15)

The apostle Paul, in Ephesians 2:8-9, does not say that works are not required at all. The purpose of his statement is to show that works do not save us, but that grace and faith do! In fact, the very next verse, verse 10, shows that God calls members of His church for the very purpose of performing good works: "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10).

The apostle's language is very clear. God desires us to walk in good works, and He has prepared our spiritual educational process so that we will learn to do them. Doing good works in the name of Jesus Christ is a major part of the purpose for the life of each true Christian. We cannot truly be Christians without them!

Matthew 5:38-39

You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'  But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.  Matthew 5:38-39

Some may have taken the Old Testament guideline (see Exodus 21:23-25) in a literal fashion. At first glance, it seems that, if a person's tooth or eye were lost in a scuffle or accident, the one who caused the loss to happen would be required to forfeit his own tooth or eye. Though some may have demanded this in times past, it is clearly not God's intent for the law. Instead, it is a principle, given in concrete, understandable terms, that damage is to be justly compensated.

According to commentator Adam Clarke, the Jews of Christ's day abused this law to extract every last penny from another, and in the majority of cases, there was no mercy shown. Human nature being what it was then, and still is now, they insisted that the one who caused the problem receive every bit of punishment coming to him. In short, they wanted and exacted revenge! Jesus wants us to understand that His disciples are not to act this way.

In countering the faulty understanding of this Old Testament law, Jesus teaches, "But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also" (Matthew 5:39). He begins by instructing us not to escalate the situation by stubborn resistance or, worse still, by perpetrating an additional offense. Elsewhere, Paul writes, "Repay no one evil for evil" (Romans 12:17). If offended, do not offend in return. If injured, do not inflict an injury in payment. In other words, retaliation is not the answer.

Note that Jesus is not speaking of dangerous situations, like facing a robber with murderous intent or a rapist on a dark street. On His mind are circumstances of daily life that are insulting, bothersome, or even mildly injurious, but not life-threatening. The Interpreter's Bible comments on the latter half of the verse: "A blow with the back of the hand to the right cheek was an insult, thus the palm of the hand was now poised to bring a blow to the left cheek." The blow is struck contemptuously rather than homicidally.

In a situation like this, the first thing that comes to most minds is revenge. Jesus desires that, rather than avenging oneself and acting with the same attitude of hatred as the aggressor, we reflect our calling and suppress the urge to seek vengeance. We should even be willing to take a second slap, this one from the other's open hand, without retaliation. Such pacifism usually pours cold water on the situation, avoiding further tit-for-tat retribution.

I John 2:15-17

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.  And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.  I John 2:15-17

John is not the only apostle who called upon the children of God to keep themselves from being spiritually contaminated by the world. James urges us "to keep oneself unspotted from the world" (James 1:27). The apostle Paul makes a strong appeal in Romans 12:2, saying, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

This world is not God's world! Some have such a difficult time grasping the practical ramifications of this concept, perhaps because we think of God as Creator, Owner, and Ruler and marvel at the staggering beauty of what He has made. In that sense it is His world.

Nonetheless, the systems that operate our cultures are not His. The Greek word translated "world" in I John 2:16 is kosmos, which has a moral connotation and means "the world apart from God." William Barclay in his commentary on this verse writes, "To John the world was nothing other than pagan society with its false values and its false gods" (p. 56).

The world's systems generate and sustain our government and politics, entertainment, fashion, religion, business ethics, medicine and health care, culinary tastes, social programs and institutions, education, science and technology, economics, and use of power. The world's systems have formed much of our belief systems and attitudes, and these in turn have shaped our conduct.

These are the things we must overcome. And this world and its systems are so appealing! But God says not to waste our love on them because they have no future! In fact, this world is so bad that other prophecies show the whole thing will be destroyed and replaced when God invokes the restitution of all things (II Peter 3:10-11; Revelation 21:1).

The basic reason all must be destroyed is because at its very foundation is a destroying and antagonistic spirit, Satan the Devil, the god of this world. Henry David Thoreau grasped an important principle when he stated, "An institution is but the lengthened shadow of one man." As Jesus phrases it, "A corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit" (Matthew 7:18). Satan is a destroyer, and his way is at best a bad mixture of good and evil. James confirms this when he asks this rhetorical question, "Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?" (James 3:11).

Luke 14:26-27

If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.  And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.  Luke 14:26-27

A reason that a minister goes over these verses with a person seeking baptism is to affirm this very point. He must count the cost: to forsake all he has to bear his cross.

Baptism is a public declaration that we accept the blood of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins and have decided to be absolutely loyal to Him. Everything else is to be secondary; we have renounced our will, and everything we have is subordinate to His will. Will we be loyal in every situation as Jesus was, or will we be loyal only in the good times? If He chooses to send or allow poverty or sickness or even death, will we say with Abraham, "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Genesis 18:25). Doing this will not be without struggle. We are, after all, human, and even Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane struggled with this before saying, "Your will be done."

Besides Jesus, a number of men met this crisis and, as far as we can see, passed it with flying colors. Notice Eli's reply to God's sentence against him and his sons in I Samuel 3:18: "It is the LORD. Let Him do what seems good to Him." Like most of us, Eli was a mixture of strengths and weaknesses. His latter lay in failing to restrain the excesses of his sons. When God pronounces His sentence, though Eli was likely in anguish, he does not justify himself or murmur of unfairness. He accepts it without reservation.

Eli certainly felt terribly for his sons, even though they were undoubtedly a great disappointment to him. Cut off by God's judgment, they were utterly unprepared for death. There seems no possibility they died in what we would call "in the Lord." It must have been a difficult burden for Eli to accept this shocking news.

Leviticus 10:1-7 reveals another example of a godly man humbly accepting God's shocking sentence. God strikes two of Aaron's sons to death, and at Moses' counsel, Aaron holds his peace. He counsels Aaron and his remaining sons to accept God's judgment before the people lest they bring reproach upon God—as though He were guilty of wrongdoing.

God praises Job highly, saying that no one on earth was like him, "a blameless and upright man" (Job 1:8). Surely, he has every right to expect God to bless him continually throughout his life. God indeed prospers him until he is the richest man in his area. Suddenly, however, devastating disasters obscure his bright future. In one day, Sabeans and Chaldeans raid his ranches and take everything, lightning destroys his crops, and a tornado kills his ten children! What is Job's response? "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD" (verse 21).

Job looks beyond these devastating events—truly mind-numbing realities—that could never have occurred without God's permission. Beyond them he sees the Creator, whose rule extends over all peoples and things—some of which He had allowed to devastate Job's life. Job clearly recognizes God's sovereignty, even managing to rejoice somewhat in it. No wonder God says no one on earth was like him!

Once we give ourselves over to Him in baptism, recognizing God's sovereignty causes us to subject our plans to His will. It makes us recognize that, as the Potter, He has absolute power over the clay, molding it according to His pleasure (James 4:13-15).

Overall, it is for Him to say where we live and in what condition: whether in poverty or wealth, sickness or health, cut down in the flower of youth or living three score and ten. To learn this lesson is to attain very high marks in God's school. Accepting His will in all things and in the right attitude is among the most difficult of all lessons in life. It is one that, when we think we have a handle on it, something comes up, and we discover we have to learn all over again!

On the other hand, unwillingness to accept God's will in all things produces in us a resistance to obey accompanied by complaining. If this resistance to accepting what God has dealt to us were not there, we would have no reason to complain. Murmuring and disobedience go together, and murmuring is sin.

I Peter 2:17

Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.  I Peter 2:17

Peter, in three words, teaches a very difficult concept. He commands us to "Honor the king." The historical background of his words should give us a better perspective and teach us a powerful lesson.

Peter, having already written that we should honor all people, knew some brethren would resist honoring Nero, the heathen Roman emperor. Nero was a perverted madman, eventually hated by the Romans themselves. He had mercilessly tortured and killed hundreds of Christians in various cruel and demeaning ways. It is very difficult to expect Nero to be honored by someone whose mother had been crucified and used as a human candle for one of Nero's garden parties!

The pattern that we have seen all along surfaces again here. Nero was king. A king is to be honored, for he represents the office given him by God (Romans 13:1). Whether the king is honorable or not, he is king, and God says we should honor him as such. If we are resisting the power they have, we are resisting God's ordinance (verse 2). Paul even calls the civil authorities "ministers" or servants of God (verse 4).

In our time, we have seen a dishonored presidency. We do not need details, as we have heard them over and over. If Peter were writing today, he would say, "Honor the president." As badly as America's recent president has conducted his personal life, it still pales besides Nero's life, many of whose actions are unprintable. Regardless, Christians are still to honor him.

That is a tough order! Many of the early Christians no doubt despised Nero's reckless, godless behavior. Some had personal reasons to hate him. The commands from our King, however, remain the same: Forgive those who trespass against you (Matthew 6:14). "Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you" (Matthew 5:44). Honor the king.

When we obey God's command to honor all people, we are following our heavenly King and honoring Him. Then what happens? Jesus answers in John 12:26: "If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor."

So first we humble ourselves, then give honor and respect even to those who might appear to be unworthy of honor and respect. The result? God the Highest, the Supreme Being in the entire universe, will personally bestow honor and glory on those who have obeyed this and other commands. This is God's way: The more we give, the more we receive. The more honor we give, the more honor we will also receive.

Tough as it may be, we should make it our aim to honor everyone—all the time.

II Thessalonians 2:3

"Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition," II Thessalonians 2:3

 

The apostle Paul prophesies of an apostasy in II Thessalonians 2:3, 9-12, and he prefaces it with a warning against being deceived. The great apostasy may already be fully underway, spurred by the rising tide of deception in society. With so much information available (Daniel 12:4)—along with so many ways to manipulate it—men find it extremely easy to deceive millions instantly. This is especially true for those who do not really believe the true source of knowledge, God and His Word. Thus, after subtle doctrinal changes, many of the brethren have fallen away.

The "coming of the lawless one," however, is still future. His rise to prominence and power will be accompanied by incredible miracles, but they will be false signs and wonders, lies produced by Satan to appear as if they are of God (see Revelation 13:11-15). He will use "all unrighteous deception," a hint that what he does and says will appear as righteous, yet someone who knows and loves the truth can see through it and avoid being deceived.

Satan will really pull out all the stops to deceive as many as possible, especially the called sons of God. The "lawless one" will be so slick that "all who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Revelation 13:8). But, as Paul writes elsewhere, if we hold fast to "the pattern of sound words" that we learned, if we guard the truth, we will not be deceived.

Paul repeats these instructions to the Thessalonians in this context:

Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle. (II Thessalonians 2:15)

The key to resisting deception is being convicted of the truth! The truth is what was first revealed to the apostles. As Jude puts it, "Contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3).

As they saw the first-century apostasy coming, all the apostles warn about deceivers and urge the brethren to be certain of and stick to the doctrines of God. It is our surest hedge against being caught up in the deceptions of the end time that are already upon us.

The Surety of Our Salvation

The churches of God do not believe that the Bible teaches the Doctrine of Eternal Security, the idea that once we profess belief in Christ, our salvation is irrevocable, regardless of any future conduct. Some professing Christians believe that salvation is entirely the work of Christ and that we are justified and sanctified by faith alone. Jesus tells us, though, that we must repent and believe the gospel (Mark 1:15). To be justified, we need to repent of our wrong ways of thinking and living, and we are sanctified as we grow with God's help into our Savior's image.

It is undoubtedly the work of Jesus Christ and our faith in His sacrifice that justifies us, but James 2:17-26 teaches that faith without works is a dead faith. We have a responsibility to obey God, which relates directly to our salvation. Believing that Jesus is our Savior is necessary, but James also cautions us in verse 19, "You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!" By itself, belief in God puts us at the same level as demons.

As my wife and I were looking for a new home, she made the observation that people do not put earnest money down on a house they do not want or if they think the deal will fall through. This idea parallels Paul's words in II Corinthians 5:5: "[God] has given us the Spirit as a guarantee" of what is to come (emphasis ours throughout). Even though He has all the time and resources in the world, God is not in the habit of wasting His efforts on failed projects (see Isaiah 55:11).

God's purpose is to bring all humanity to salvation. In II Peter 3:9, Peter tells us that for God to accomplish that goal, He exhibits extraordinary patience on behalf of His children: "[He] is patient with you, because He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants all to turn away from their sins" (Good News Translation).

Consider how personally Paul took the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for him. He writes in Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Christ did indeed die for Paul, but as I John 2:2 says, "He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world."

John here calls Christ "the propitiation for our sins." The Greek word for "propitiation" is hilasmos, a synonym of Hebrew kippur, as in Yom Kippur, "the day of coverings." This covering involved His becoming the focal point of God's righteous wrath on the sins we have committed! Who but our Savior could have—or would have—done such a thing? With divine determination, the Word gave up the power, the authority, the peace, and the serenity that He and our Father had in heaven to become a human being and ultimately die for our sins (I Corinthians 15:3).

Scripture is clear on this point. I Corinthians 5:7 says that Christ is our Passover. John 1:29 affirms that He is the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world, and John 3:16 tells us God loves humans so much that He sent His Son as a gift to cover their sins so that He could legally grant them eternal life.

Can we grasp the enormous cost of the payment that was made to enable our eternal future? Could we dare ask or even hope for more? Jesus laid His own eternal life on the line! As the old saying goes, Jesus paid a debt that He did not owe because we owed a debt we could not pay. We could use a different metaphor: Jesus saw the truck bearing down on us and pushed us out of harm's way at the cost of His own life.

Jon Bloom, in his article "Jesus Died Because He Loved You," begins by quoting from Ephesians 5:25, "Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her." He continues:

Jesus died for the church. But for Jesus the church is not an institution like Yale University or Apple or The United Way. . . . Jesus did not die for an institution. He died for individuals.

The church isn't even a republic like The United States of America. Jesus didn't die for a republic. He died for persons.

Jesus died for persons with names, faces, personalities, disabilities, histories, and sins. He did that because he loves each person. Every sin Jesus bore on the cross had a name attached. They were real thoughts, attitudes, words, and actions. It was real anger, lust, evil motives, and murders. Some of these sins were yours. Some were mine." (Bloom's emphasis throughout.)

He urges us to consider the words of John Piper in his Fifty Reasons Jesus Came to Die:

Surely this is the way we should hear about the sufferings and death of Christ. They have to do with me. They are about Christ's love for me personally. It is my sin that cuts me off from God, not sin in general. It is my hard-heartedness and spiritual numbness that demean the worth of Christ. I am lost and perishing. When it comes to salvation, I have forfeited all claim on justice. All I can do is plead for mercy.

Bloom concludes: "It's true, the Father and the Son had you in mind when they planned the crucifixion. Jesus died because he loved you."

The New Testament contains seven verses where the words "gave Himself for" are distinctly associated with the substitutionary work of Christ. By His life and His death, Jesus Christ became the surety—the guaranteeing deposit—for our salvation, as He posted our bond and took our place on Death Row.

It is incredible to reflect on what both our heavenly Father and Elder Brother have already done for us. More than this, we can rejoice in the apostle Paul's words in Romans 8:38-39: ". . . neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." While we realize and consider how Their love has been manifested to us, we must—in appreciation—work to follow Their example. This is knowing God, which leads to salvation and eternal life.

It is a tall and daunting order. We may feel at times like the proverbial money pit—a costly and questionable reclamation project—but Paul assures us in Philippians 1:6, ". . . being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." God has given us His Word and confirmed His Word by His actions. From His end, salvation is practically an accomplished fact. It is, if we cooperate with Him in His work.

When we think of everything that God has done, is doing, and will yet do for us, despite there not being such a thing as "Eternal Security," we can feel confident and secure in the Eternal.

Titus 2:12

"teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,"   Titus 2:12

Self-mastery is self-government, self-control. A person who has self-mastery is a disciplined person, one who has his life in order. The first thing that a person has to accomplish when he begins to rid his life of evil is to get his own life in harness. Because, if we cannot control ourselves, we are sunk! The rest of the growth process will not follow. It all begins with mastering number one.

The thought in Ephesians 4 is that every part of the body has to contribute to the unity of the whole. How does one contribute to the church's unity? By making sure that one is growing, by letting grace teach us, by consciously responding to it.

Self-mastery can be even more strictly defined as "sober," which is how it is translated in the King James and New King James versions. This is a direct translation of the Greek word. In addition, it could also be translated as "sane"! Does this not indicate that before grace comes into our lives, we are all somewhat insane? Indeed, it does! Grace teaches us how to be sane—sound-minded! This is a looser translation, but it still fits.

This word also appears in Greek literature as "discreet," "self-discipline," "to behave in an orderly manner," "to be prudent," and "to be moderate," depending on the context.

We find it in the Bible in such places as Romans 12:3; Titus 2:6; and I Peter 4:7. It always suggests a person who is even-handed and has his passions under control, one who makes proper use of his drives and desires. This implication connects perfectly with the Christian work of getting rid of worldly passions. This word describes a person in whom there are no extremes in his or her manner of life. In the religious or spiritual sense, it means one who is making steady progress in growing into the balance of Jesus Christ. Someone who is not doing these things will be divisive because he is serving himself.

The Pursuit of Unity

New and old, North and South, black and white, Republican and Democrat, left and right. The vast array of differences that make up our world are an ever-present reality. Advances in technology and communications have made them more prominent in our society. Our world is filled with all kinds of entertainments, sports, hobbies, politics, and personalities that we can rally behind or stand against. Even a recent publicity campaign for the latest Star Wars movie, The Last Jedi, petitioned fans to choose between the "Dark Side" and the "Light Side."

All the while, the world is pushing us to "take a stand," "support this," or "oppose that." Aware of this constant barrage, we are also acquainted with the resultant praise or disdain that inevitably comes from choosing a side. However, following the world's prodding leads to the dissolution of unities and encourages the formation of factions: Where once we recognized "new and old, North and South," it becomes "new or old, North or South" and inevitably, "us versus them." Innocent or not, calls to rally behind this or that are subtle beatings of war drums.

In this way, Satan is cleverly inviting us to participate in his free-for-all war game known as "Survival of the Fittest." Since it is a ploy of our enemy, we need a strategy to fight against it. We find crucial instruction from Christ Himself in the hours before His crucifixion. Specifically, we will see how He used faith and humility to preserve the unity He shared with God.

The Bible is laden with images of unity. For instance, once God created man and woman, He immediately united them in marriage. Being initially separate, they were quickly bound to one another, becoming "one flesh" (Genesis 2:24). From the beginning we see Satan's work being the polar opposite: destroying the unity that Adam and Eve shared with God at that time. They were so unified that they lived in His presence. Satan, however, took action to sever this closeness to the point of their expulsion from the Garden of Eden.

The root of "unity" comes from the Latin word unus, meaning "one." This accords with the common definition of unity as "the state of being one; oneness; a whole or totality." Both the biblical account and the modern definitions express that the underlying idea of unity is oneness, not division. This kind of oneness is what Jesus wants us to share with the Father and Himself:

I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. (John 17:20-23)

Four times in these four verses, Christ in His prayer to the Father asks for our oneness with Him, the Father, and each other! He clearly desires us to work diligently toward this end.

It is interesting that immediately after this prayer, Jesus leads His disciples over the Brook Kidron and into a garden (John 18:1). Could this be hinting at the restoration of the unity that was present with God and man in the Garden of Eden? At the same time, Satan was already moving with his armed faction of disunity led by Judas. Were they anticipating a fight? Did they expect a battle to break out? Under Satan's system, it is natural that they would expect resistance, especially to an arrest that could be considered unjust.

In verse 10, Peter draws a sword, ready to fight back! To our carnal natures, this seems understandable, and many of us have wondered if we would have done the same thing. If someone we love is threatened, our instinct is to resist. Jesus however, shows a completely different attitude than Peter, healing the servant's ear that Peter had cut off (Luke 22:51).

Matthew's account adds that Jesus said He could pray to the Father to send thousands of angels to His aid (Matthew 26:53). Yet, in John 18:11, seeing through eyes of faith in God, Jesus answers, "Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?" In His answer, we begin to see how we can apply this to our lives.

Jesus was confronted with a difficult situation that, by all accounts, should have stirred up His pride to fight back, for He was God! He was innocent! He of all people did not deserve this treatment! Blameless, He would have been justified in God's sight to call down the armies of heaven to save Him from arrest and death, but He did not. Despite having all power at His disposal, He chose to work toward unity rather than destruction.

In harmony with the Father, Jesus exercised His faith by humbly submitting to the sovereign Father's will for Him. The oneness that Christ desires with us is not without tremendous cost. He chose to have faith in His Father to execute the next phase in His plan regardless of how hurt, humiliated, and lonely He would be. Rather than seeking His own desire to "let this cup pass from Me" (Matthew 26:39), He chose instead to stay unified with the Father's will, faithfully following through with each painful step (see Matthew 27:37-44).

It is difficult to imagine the amount of control and patience it took for Him to withhold His rightful power and endure everything thrown at Him. Despite being mocked, beaten, and nailed to a cross, He went to His death like a lamb to the slaughter, not even opening His mouth in objection (Isaiah 53:7).

Satan has always attacked God's people with words designed to harm, accuse, and mock so that pride is provoked, leading to anger, retaliation, and sin. Yet, Jesus did not live by Satan's words, but "by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4). Here is a template for us to emulate every day.

We have been baptized into His name, and in type, we have drunk of His cup at Passover each year (Matthew 20:22-23; Psalm 16:5). While our struggles will not be of this magnitude, we can take steps to imitate our Savior's character when stung by a sharp word from a stranger, neighbor, friend, or brother. We cannot afford to permit our pride to rise up, to lash out in retaliation. Instead, we must take up that shield of faith (Ephesians 6:16)—the same that Christ wielded when He was mistreated—and pursue unity rather than division.

Are You Zealous?

On a physical, secular level, Theodore Roosevelt embodied the virtue that we call "zeal." He expressed a passionate enthusiasm for the things he believed in, and he pursued them with all the energy at his disposal. He left nothing on the floor, nothing undone, taking matters as far as he could—then he did some more. Not content with giving a little, he had to give his all.

Can we say the same about ourselves regarding our zeal for God and His way? Are we giving our all for Christ and the way of life that God has revealed to us? Are we giving our all for the Kingdom of God? Are we truly zealous?

In Galatians 4, Paul scolds the Galatians for allowing false teachers into the church. He was upset with them because they had shown a great deal of zeal for him and the truth while he was there physically in Galatia, ardently accepting what he preached to them, but as soon as he left and false teachers came among them, they were just as zealous for the deceivers. So he writes, "But it is good to be zealous in a good thing always, and not only when I am present with you" (Galatians 4:18).

Zeal is always good as long as we express it toward a godly purpose. It is appropriate to be enthusiastic, ardent, and fervent about good things: what we believe in, what we want to achieve, and especially what God wants us to do.

We live in a culture, though, that dismisses—if not derides—zeal and enthusiasm, its secular cousin. This is an era of cool, of being detached, cynical, even apathetic. It is not cool to be enthusiastic about anything. It is not cool to care about what is going on. We are just supposed to go with the flow. For many, the standard is fashion models, both male and female, walking down the catwalk with a smoldering look, effusing a haughty carelessness.

A person zealous about a cause is suspect: "He's a true believer, a fanatic. He won't listen to reason. He's a bit off." Someone with a little bit too much enthusiasm must have an angle: "He's trying to sell me something. He wants something that I'm probably not prepared to give him." So people tend to grow up believing that it does not pay to be wholehearted or too enthusiastic about anything because others will consider them to be a bit kooky. Especially, one should not be religiously enthusiastic—zealous—because that is just weird. Such people are labeled "Jesus freaks."

Zeal receives a bad rap because there have been too many examples of overzealous behavior, which has jaded people on it. Many people see zealots as hucksters or charlatans. They say, "It's all made up—just an act. No one can be that enthusiastic about stuff like that."

Or zealous people are considered to be Pollyannaish: "You're an idealist. You don't see reality. If you really knew how bad things really are, you wouldn't be so ardent about it. You need to calm down."

Others see it as mindlessness, that the enthusiastic person has been brainwashed to feel that his belief or cause is good or worthy. Still others look at it as overwrought emotionalism or mere foolishness. In this vein, Ambrose Bierce's satirical The Devil's Dictionary defines zeal as a "certain nervous disorder afflicting the young and inexperienced; a passion that goeth before a sprawl." John Tillotson, Archbishop of Canterbury in the seventeenth century, felt the same: "Zeal is fit for wise men but flourishes cheaply among fools." An English poet from about the same time, Sir John Davies, wrote, "Zeal without knowledge is the sister of folly."

A standard dictionary, however, like Webster's American Dictionary, defines zealas "fervor for a person, cause, or object; eager desire or endeavor; enthusiastic diligence; ardor." Zeal, then, is a projection of passion, conviction, and confidence about something—whatever it happens to be. As Christians, using Webster's definition, we need to have zeal, fervor, ardor, wholehearted enthusiasm, or eager desire for a person (Christ), for a cause (God's righteous and holy way of life), and an object (the Kingdom of God).

We probably all say that we are zealous because we do not want to be thought of as not zealous, but are we truly zealous? Truthfully, realistically, do we show zeal for Christ? Do we show zeal for God's way of life? Does thinking about living God's way fill us with fervor and ardor? Does the prospect of the Kingdom of God motivate us to do what God wants us to do?

Zeal is a virtue that we need especially at this time because of what Jesus Christ Himself writes to the Laodicean church in Revelation 3:14-19:

And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, "These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: ‘I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, "I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing"—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.'"

This spiritually lethargic attitude is prophesied to dominate a good portion of the end-time church of God, and we can see in our congregations that there are members who display this lukewarm attitude. Being lukewarm—tepid, indifferent, unexcited, even apathetic—is opposed to everything that zeal represents. A word commonly used to describe the Laodiceans is "complacent," as they are satisfied with how things are, both in the world and in the church. They do not have much drive for God's way because that would rock the boat. They are satisfied with knowing the basics of the truth, and that is about it.

The Head of the church, though, is definitely not satisfied with their level of commitment and zeal for Him and His way of life! He would prefer them to be fervent for the Kingdom of God. Notice, too, that He says, "Be zealous and repent." A lack of zeal is a sure sign of underlying sin, of which a Christian needs to repent. Zeal, then, is not just a matter of emotion or personality but of righteousness. And that makes it especially important.