"And she shall bring forth a son..." ~ WHY?

"And she shall bring forth a son, 

and thou shalt call his name JESUS: 

for he shall save his people from their sins." 

(Matthew 1:21)

HER SON EXPLAINED THE REASON FOR HIS COMING, IN HIS TEACHING. HE CAME TO DIE! WHY? HE EXPLAINED IT IN :

"If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also. If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause'."

IN THIS WAY, "...he will save his people from their sins." ~ Matthew 1:21

Jesus was sent to die for EVERYONE (John 3:16). As Matt. 1:21 declares: "...he will save his people from their sins."

"For if, when we were enemies, 

we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, 

much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." 

(Rom. 5:10)

TWO QUESTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION:
#1 ~ Since the death of Jesus HAS occurred, and His death WAS for man's reconciliation, is everyone now reconciled?"

#2 ~ Consider the relevance of His teachings...IF JESUS HAD NOT TAUGHT AT ALL, WOULD HIS DEATH, APART FROM HIS TEACHINGS, SAVED MANKIND???

If yes, then explain WHY Jesus taught at all...if not, why not?

What is the key? Two passages from the apostles Paul and Peter will give us the answer:

"...and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed." ~ 1 Peter 2:24

"...and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God." ~ Rom. 6:13

If anyone does not "live to righteousness" or continues to present the members of his body to sin "as instruments of unrighteousness...", WILL JESUS' DEATH BENEFIT THAT PERSON?

Jesus commanded us to "die TO our sins...". WHAT IF WE DON'T? WILL HIS DEATH BENEFIT US?

His "teachings" were the "works" that "none other had done". His "teachings" made known to us that we have sin, and need to repent of such a life. Without our repentance, His dying will be in vain. (John 15:22-25)

DO YOU VALUE HIS TEACHING? His teaching was not ONLY for the purpose of informing man that He died, and that His death was to reconcile us to God, but also that we might know the need for and the purpose for OUR OWN DYING! Without His 'teaching', our 'dying' would have no relevance to His 'dying'. 

The apostle Paul explained it as follows: "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life." ~ Romans 6:1-4

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The Demands and Failures of Preaching.

The purpose of preaching is to reveal to man, his Creator. The Creator has revealed His will to man, and preaching is to make this known. In so doing, certain demands will be made upon man. The demands are to believe in the Creator, and in the things the Creator has purposed and promised for man. The 'demands' are not threats, a plea to accept the great love from God for man. This acceptance is simple submission of man's will to God's will. It will be seen by obedience to God. Obedience indicates belief in what God has done and in what God has promised. This is described as the "obedience of faith" [Romans 1:5; 16:26]. That God has love for man in demanding acceptance, are evident in that man will be blessed for submitting to God's will. This we see from the words of Jesus in Matt. 11:29, "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."
If preaching fails to point this out, man will not only suffer in this life, but suffer eternal consequences. Thus, the demand to accept God's offer of salvation are vitally important.

When preaching ceases to expose and condemn sin, there will always be consequences. One consequence is the hardening of the conscience. When this happens, the following changes develop in one's life: man becomes insensitive to sin, then overtaken by covetousness. What is worse, while this digression is going on, he maintains that he still has God’s favor. This is because of his spiritual blindness. We know this to be true, for we see that it happened again and again in the Old Testament, with the children of Israel. 

Many of their prophets and priests, took bribes and preached lies to the people. As a result of their failure to expose and condemn sin, the majority of the children of Israel became insensitive to their sin, and became more and more covetous, all the while claiming to have God’s favor and calling upon Him as their God. They were very religious, but very hypocritical. 

However, there were those who did not, and preached God's will (i.e., demands). Notice from the words of THESE prophets, how covetous and hypocritical the people had become: 

Hosea 7:13-15 - “…they speak lies against me. They do not cry to me from the heart, but they wail upon their beds; for grain and wine they gash themselves; they rebel against me. Although I trained and strengthened their arms, yet they devise evil against me.” 

Micah 2:1-2 - “Woe to those who devise wickedness and work evil on their beds! When the morning dawns, they perform it, because it is in the power of their hand. They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them away; they oppress a man and his house, a man and his inheritance.”

Amos 6:1, 4-6 - "Woe to those who are at ease in Zion...to those who lie on beds of ivory and stretch themselves out on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock and calves from the midst of the stall, who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp and like David invent for themselves instruments of music, who drink wine in bowls and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!”

2 Chron. 36:15-17 sums up the sad results: All the prophets that spoke truth, called upon the nation to return in repentance to God, by observing the Law that God gave them through Moses. The prophet Malachi wrote, "Remember the law of Moses My servant, even the statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel" (Malachi 4:4). What was their attitude toward his preaching of repentance and obedience? We find from the prophet Jeremiah that the word of the Lord was, “…to them an object of scorn; they take no pleasure in it.” (Jer. 6:10)

2 Chron. 36:15-17 sums up the sad results: "The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent word to them again and again by His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place; but they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, until there was no remedy."

So is it true today...there are those who preach perversions of the message that Jesus preached and gospels "other" than "the" gospel preached by the apostles of the Lord (Gal. 1:6-9).  

The same mindset that Israel had of still being in God's favor, even though they have rejected God's will exists. Therefore, the same consequences will come upon all who maintain a disobedient faith.

For those who will heed the demands of God's will, the blessing that God promised of old, yet remains. It is stated in the words of the prophet Malachi, "Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. RETURN UNTO ME, AND I WILL RETURN UNTO YOU, SAITH THE LORD OF HOSTS" (Malachi 3:7).

Jesus gave His word, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest..." (Matthew 11:28).

1/30/2019

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DOCTRINE MATTERS

In the last book of the Old Testament (Malachi), chapter 2, addresses God's displeasure with the priests. One of the responsibilities of these priests, was to teach the Law of Moses to the people.

God chose the tribe of Levi to be the tribe from which future priests would serve Him and the people of Israel. This choosing came as a result of their zeal for God years earlier at Mt. Sinai, when the idol of a golden calf was worshipped, while Moses was upon the mountain receiving the Law.

In Exod. 32:25-29, we take up the story: "Now when Moses saw that the people were out of control—for Aaron had let them get out of control to be a derision among their enemies then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, 'Whoever is for the Lord, come to me!' And all the sons of Levi gathered together to him. He said to them, 'Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, Every man of you put his sword upon his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp, and kill every man his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his neighbor'. So the sons of Levi did as Moses instructed, and about three thousand men of the people fell that day. Then Moses said, 'Dedicate yourselves today to the Lord—for every man has been against his son and against his brother—in order that He may bestow a blessing upon you today'.”

We see that this choosing of them was a blessing and a reward for their zeal in punishing the guilty among their brethren. This act of zeal and obedience is later described in Deut. 33:8-9 as follows: “Of Levi he said, “Let Your Thummim and Your Urim belong to Your godly man, whom You proved at Massah, with whom You contended at the waters of Meribah; who said of his father and his mother, ‘I did not consider them’; and he did not acknowledge his brothers, nor did he regard his own sons, for they observed Your word, and kept Your covenant.”

While many lessons can be taken from this, one lesson is obvious: the sons of Levi chose to side with God rather than family and friends. [Remember Jesus’ words in Matt. 10:37 about loving family more than Him?] Does their behavior here show who they loved ‘more’?

Malachi 2:5 says of Levi, “My covenant with him was one of life.”

However, another important truth that must not be forgotten is that the priesthood was given to the tribe of Levi, no other tribe! As time would go on, within this nation, priests were “allowed” to come from other tribes, although God never authorized such a decision. One of the more notable examples of this being done was when Jeroboam did so, being motivated to secure his rule over the people. He was condemned for such and this practice continued until the Assyrian captivity.

Another thing that happened with many priests, can be seen from the prophet Micah. Micah records the bribery among the heads of the people, the priests, and the prophets. Micah 3:11 states, “The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money...”

This too continued to Malachi’s day and brings us up to Malachi’s words in chapter 2:1-9, where God’s anger with the priests is described:

“And now this commandment is for you, O priests. If you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to give honor to My name,” says the Lord of hosts, “then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings; and indeed, I have cursed them already, because you are not taking it to heart. Behold, I am going to rebuke your offspring, and I will spread refuse on your faces, the refuse of your feasts; and you will be taken away with it. Then you will know that I have sent this commandment to you, that My covenant may continue with Levi,” says the Lord of hosts. “My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him as an object of reverence; so he revered Me and stood in awe of My name. True instruction was in his mouth and unrighteousness was not found on his lips; he walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many back from iniquity. For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. But as for you, you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to stumble by the instruction; you have corrupted the covenant of Levi,” says the Lord of hosts. “So I also have made you despised and abased before all the people, just as you are not keeping My ways but are showing partiality in the instruction."

Among their sins, was that of “corrupting the covenant of Levi”. How was the covenant ‘corrupted’? By teaching error! Notice again the phrase, “…you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to stumble by the instruction…”. Malachi also said that, “..the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.”

But this didn’t happen…

Such instructions bear upon all who preach today. As was true in the Old Testament, so today, there is truth being preached and there is error! How can one know truth from error in the preaching?

Simple. In the Old Testament, there was a standard; the Law that Moses received from God on Mt. Sinai. Compare every message to that. This was seen from Deut. 13:1-10, where Moses said that if ANY prophet taught differently from what He had taught, that prophet was to be put to death (much as was done with the guilty in Exod. 32 by the sons of Levi years earlier). Error could be distinguished from truth in this way.

An example of error being taught is seen from Jeroboam’s errors.

1 Kings 12:27-29 – Jeroboam changed the place of worship from Jerusalem to Dan and Bethel…did it matter? Yes, for God specified Jerusalem as the place of worship (Deut. 12:5-7; Exod. 20:24; Deut. 12:11, 13; 2 Chron. 7:12). Did it matter?

1 Kings 12:31, 33 – Jeroboam made priests from tribes other than the tribe of Levi…did it matter? Yes, for God commanded Moses to give the priesthood to the tribe of Levi (1 Kings 13:33; 2 Kings 17:32; 2 Chron. 11:15; 13:9). Did it matter?

1 Kings 12:32 – Jeroboam changed the day of worship from the 7th month to the 8th month. Did it matter? Yes, for God had commanded Moses to do so on the 7th month (Lev. 23:33-34).

Why did Jeroboam do this? The answer 'why' is in 1 Kings 12:27, 33.

Today, how can one know truth from error in preaching? In the same way as was done in the Old Testament with the Law of Moses.

As then, there is a standard today also. The standard is the teachings of Jesus; the teachings of the apostles…they’re one and the same. It is the gospel; God’s power to save (Rom. 1:16). But, as Moses said in Deut. 13, there are those who teach differently from what Jesus and the apostles taught. Those who do so, are accursed (Gal. 1:6-9).

While we know of Jeroboam’s motives, we also know that the same motives are found today in preachers who teach a different gospel. 2 Peter 2:10-19 details their motives. Peter had earlier said of them that, “…because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words…” (2 Peter 2:2-3).

Timothy said they were, “…men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain” (1 Tim. 6:5).

Jude said they were, “…are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage" (Jude 1:16).

Jeroboam’s motives were not known by those he deceived at the time; but by those who knew what God had commanded Moses, it mattered, and they could not support Jeroboam. He was a false teacher, with evil motives!

So, today, motives are seldom known at the outset. Peter revealed their covert ways in 2 Peter 2:1, saying that they “…secretly introduce destructive heresies...”.

Gal. 2:4 says that the innocent are brought into bondage by “…false brethren secretly brought in...”.

Jude said they creep in “...unnoticed...ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness...” (Jude 1:4).

It is sad to say, but the reality is, that some preach lies and distort the gospel. Read again Peter’s words of this occurring under the Old Testament and the New Testament (2 Peter 2:1 – “…false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you...”).

This is why doctrine matters. Friends and families are segregated because of different messages being proclaimed. Preachers need to be held responsible for what they preach. If they are preaching the same thing as Jesus and the apostles preached, then any investigation will vindicate them and prove them to be proclaimers of truth. The standard is the gospel. Compare the messages. Truth will stand out.

As this relates to salvation, the question “What must I do to be saved?”, is foremost of all matters. Is it possible to preach error on “How To Be Saved”? If so, have not people been deceived as to their own status with God? If error has been preached and error has been believed and error has been obeyed, HAS ONE BEEN SAVED? Does this matter??? Remember, the changes that Jeroboam made? Did they matter?What did Jesus command His apostles to preach on this? That is the STANDARD.

Does it matter whether baptism is taught as necessary BEFORE salvation, or AFTERWARDS (as an outward sign of an inward grace)?

All other matters are moot if error on “How To Be Saved” is embraced. There is a ‘form of doctrine’ (i.e., a standard) to be DELIVERED and to be OBEYED! (Rom. 6:17-18)

If not, then where does that leave us? Earlier, the question was asked, 'Is it possible to teach error on “What must I do to be saved?”. Consider some other questions: 1] "Is it IM-possible to teach what the Lord’s apostles taught?" 2] Is it impossible to agree on what they taught? 3] What was taught to people in the book of Acts who asked “what must I do to be saved”?

Whatever the answer THE APOSTLES gave, should be the answer given by all who preach today. If not, why not?

Did the apostles EVER tell anyone to pray a prayer for salvation? If so, where is the passage? Does it matter? Did it matter that Jeroboam changed the things he did?

There is such a thing as “another gospel”; but remember, there is THE gospel (re-read Gal. 1:6-9). DOCTRINE DOES MATTER!

It is why the Lord warned:

"Take heed WHAT ye hear" ~ Mark 4:24

"Take heed HOW ye hear" ~ Luke 8:18

1/2/2019

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The Bible says, "JUDGE NOT"! [Matt. 7:1, “Do not judge so that you will not be judged."]

This verse, without consideration of verses 2 through 5, is used as a defense by many, well-intentioned people. It is applied in the sense that making judgments are wrong for humans toward one another, for only God can judge. The logic is, only God is perfect, therefore, since no man is perfect; no man has the right to judge another man. From my experiences, it seems that the main "beef" is not with judging, but with hypocrisy. Certainly, hypocrisy, when passing judgment is wrong. Other passages in the bible bear this out:

Romans 2:1-3…"Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who do such things. Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God?"

Rom. 2:21-23…"You then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law." 

James 2:10-11…"For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. For he who said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not murder. If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law."

However, hypocrisy is not the standard by which "judging" is to be made toward others. The standard is the Bible. The Bible (in the passages above), condemns the passing of hypocritical judgments. 

Let us not be forgetful that the Bible also mentions that there is "righteous" judgment (John 7:24), which explains that righteous judgment is "not according to appearance". In this chapter, Jesus was being wrongfully judged. He had healed a man on the Sabbath day, and was accused of breaking the Law of Moses. Jesus pointed out (in John 8) that His "judging" was TRUE because it had support from His Father in the Law His Father gave thru Moses. The Father had testified about His Son in Moses' Law. If Moses' Law was from God (which they admitted), and Moses testified of Christ, why could they not "judge" righteously about Jesus, WITH THE SUPPORTED TESTIMONY OF ANOTHER - - - GOD, THROUGH THE LAW? 

Certainly the Law was clear on the matter of how to identify the promised Messiah. Why was there confusion about Jesus (some saying he was a good man; others saying he was a deceiver - John 7:12).

The Law was not "un-clear"; it was the ignorance of people about something the Law clearly foretold. The Law was the proper source as to WHO the Messiah was. So the scriptures would be the second "witness" to anyone's personal witness, thereby making it "true". Jesus plainly said, "search the scriptures...they 'testify' of Me" (John 5:39). He trusted God's testimony about Him through the word of Moses. 

In our passing of "judgment", do we have God's testimony to back up our own? We have the scriptures also. Do THEY support our judgment? If not, then our judgment will be hypocritical, just as it was unjust toward Jesus in John 7. Righteous judgment has the testimony of two - you with God, in His word. 

Let us not judge "according to appearance", but according to God's word. Jesus, used God's words when He spoke (John 12:49); there was no unrighteousness in those words. Therefore to condemn Him, was to condemn God. 

Let us speak God's words when we "judge" (1 Peter 4:11). If God's words are refused, the guilt will be on the party that refused to abide by His words. 

When God's words are condemned, God Himself is being condemned. His word will stand, and support the one who spoke them in this life, at Judgment. 

The support for our judgments today, is what God spoke thru Jesus. Let us make sure that we speak His words, for Jesus said, "He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." ~ John 12:48

When passing judgment upon one another, if we use God's word for our witness, those who also desire God's approval will be known, by their repentance (fruits). An example of this is seen in the fornicator in the church of Christ at Corinth (2 Cor. 2). God's words were written by the apostle Paul and the heart of the fornicator was moved by godly sorrow to repent.

Passing judgment ought not be done "for fear that his deeds will be exposed", on the part of the one making the judgment. Nor should the one being judged, refuse "for fear that his deeds will be exposed". If so, both are in hypocrisy, and prejudice will result. (John 3:18-21)

God gave us His word for the purpose of edification and helping one another overcome sin. not to promote prejudice and hypocrisy. 

Let us "rightly divide" His words (2 Tim. 2:15), when giving AND receiving judgment.

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