John 8:2-12 "Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him, and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do you say?" This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more." Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."
This is an example of a present sin that the woman had just committed, at that very moment. Jesus did not hold it against her. As we shall see in John 13, Jesus told Peter about three future sins that he would commit, but Jesus did not hold those sins against Peter. Notice also that the accusers were convicted by their own conscience and left, beginning with the oldest and even to the last. The longer we live, the more we have sinned. We are all in need of the free gift of righteousness available through Jesus. Jesus was able to not judge and condemn her according to the Law because He was going to pay the penalty for her sin and all of our sins at the cross.
Notice the difference between the Old Testament Law of Moses, which would have the Jews stone this woman to death, and the grace of Jesus under the New Testament. Jesus did not condemn her. He told her to go and sin no more. John 1:17 states "For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." Right after He does not condemn her, Jesus said, "I am the light of the world (grace and truth). He who follows Me (by offering grace and not condemning people) shall not walk in darkness (accusing and condemning others for their sins), but have the light of life (which is grace)."
Jesus Himself defines what light and darkness is in John's gospel. The light is His grace and love. The darkness is accusing and condemning others for their sins. If we apply these ideas of light and darkness to John's epistle of 1 John, it gives a whole new meaning to the epistle. Every minister I have ever heard teach 1 John chapter 1 defines light as walking in holiness and darkness as walking in sin. But that is not the way John defines it in his gospel. Let us read 1 John chapter 1 in light of this.
1 John 1:5-9 "This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you , that God is light (grace and truth; love) and in Him is no darkness (accusation or judgment or condemnation) at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him (if we say that we know God or represent Him), and walk in darkness (accusing and condemning others for their sins), we lie and do not practice the truth (which is grace). But if we walk in the light (His grace and truth) as He is in the light (grace and truth), we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin (the actions and deeds of sin). If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth (His word of grace) is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Notice how defining light and darkness correctly, according to John's gospel, gives a whole new meaning to 1 John chapter 1. This is one of the main passages where ministers teach that we are out of fellowship with God each time we sin and we must confess our sin to get back into fellowship with Him. They teach that because they incorrectly define light as holiness and darkness as walking in sin. This incorrect interpretation would mean that God has forgiven us of past sins, but is counting our present and future sins against us until we get those sins confessed. This is error and contradicts 2 Corinthians 5:19, which states that God is not counting our sins to us. This idea contradicts many other verses throughout the New Testament.
Notice also that there are two cleansings listed in verses 7 and 9. In verse 7, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. In verse 9, we are cleansed from all unrighteousness. This is how we know that verse 9 is referring to a one-time confession of sins to receive Christ as our Savior. We are only cleansed once of unrighteousness before God. Otherwise this verse would be in conflict with other verses that declare that we are the righteousness of God in Christ when we receive Jesus. Verse 7 shows that we are cleansed from the actions and deeds of sin on an ongoing basis throughout our lives. Righteousness and holiness are two different things. Righteousness before God is a gift and instantaneous when we receive Jesus. Learning to walk in holiness is a ongoing process.
Keith Oliver
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
John Chapter 4 - Righteousness and the Holy Spirit
John 4:5-14 "So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink." For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink', you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and livestock.? Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."
There are many things to point out about this story, but I would like to focus on things that I have not heard discussed and that helped me understand this story more clearly. Jesus said in verse 10, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink', you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." The gift of God and the living water are references to the Holy Spirit. Jesus clearly defined this in John 7:38-39. He said the rivers of living water are a reference to the Holy Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive, for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. Jesus also mentions thirst in verses 13-14. In Matthew 5:6, Jesus said "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled (filled with righteousness)." This helped me to see more clearly from this story that understanding righteousness is the key to allowing the Holy Spirit to work in our lives. Jesus is the One who gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit. But He is the One who would bear our sins first and give us the free gift of righteousness. This is what then allows the Holy Spirit to do His work in our hearts and lives. The Holy Spirit then becomes a fountain of water springing up within us to everlasting life, satisfying our thirst and cleansing us from the inside to the outside. This ties to what we learned in John chapter 1, that Jesus would take away the sin of the world and baptize us with the Holy Spirit. Let us see this process in the Samaritan woman, even though she could not yet receive the Holy Spirit because He was not yet given, because Jesus had not yet become our sin sacrifice.
John 4:15-30 "The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw." Jesus said to her, "Go, call you husband, and come here." The woman answered and said, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly." The woman said to him, "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither worship on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When He comes, He will tell us all things." Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He." And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman: yet no one said, "What do You seek?" or "Why are You talking with her?" The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" Then they went out of the city and came to Him."
The woman asked for the water so that she would not thirst. Then Jesus, in a kind manner, revealed both her past and present. He did not condemn her though. Then Jesus tells her about God and reveals God as the Father. Then He reveals Himself as the Messiah. Her response is not shame but excitement. She went and told the whole city about Jesus. Jesus extended grace and righteousness to the woman and she believed and trusted in Him. Notice the pattern. Jesus reveals righteousness to us first, then introduces us to a loving heavenly Father. When we see that Jesus knows about our sin but has forgiven us and given us the free gift of right-standing with God by His grace, our lives are transformed. We experience joy, and our natural reaction is to tell others. We learn to worship the Father for who we are in the spirit and in truth. We are made righteous in our spirit. All our sins are forgiven and set aside. We worship Him through this gift of righteousness, and He leads us to walk out the truth in our actions. That is holiness or sanctification.
I became a Christian when I was 18. The Holy Spirit came to live within me. A short time later I was baptized in the Holy Spirit and prayed in tongues, as the disciples experienced in Acts chapter 2. Yet I did not have a clear understanding of righteousness through much of my adult life. I believed my past sins were forgiven, but I was taught that my present and future sins caused me to be out of fellowship with God each time I sinned, until I got the sin confessed. Within a few years, I lost much of my joy and enthusiasm for the Lord. God dwelt in me through the Holy Spirit, but it didn't seem to make much difference in my life. I prayed in tongues and was faithful in church. But because of the way I was taught, I spent much of my adult life in condemnation, not understanding His grace and gift of righteousness. Only when I came to a clear understanding of righteousness did my joy return and I started to share my faith again. Our foundation must be correct, or the rest of our lives will be unstable. Our foundation is righteousness. Jesus paid for the sins of our entire lifetime, past, present and future. He paid for every sin we have ever committed in the past and every sin we will ever commit in the future. He set them all aside and is not dealing with us according to our sins. He is dealing with us through His grace and His gift of righteousness to us. Knowing this has brought lasting peace and joy to my heart. Understanding righteousness is what allows the Holy Spirit to work in our lives. I believe this is the main point of the story of the Samaritan woman.
Keith Oliver
There are many things to point out about this story, but I would like to focus on things that I have not heard discussed and that helped me understand this story more clearly. Jesus said in verse 10, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink', you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." The gift of God and the living water are references to the Holy Spirit. Jesus clearly defined this in John 7:38-39. He said the rivers of living water are a reference to the Holy Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive, for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. Jesus also mentions thirst in verses 13-14. In Matthew 5:6, Jesus said "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled (filled with righteousness)." This helped me to see more clearly from this story that understanding righteousness is the key to allowing the Holy Spirit to work in our lives. Jesus is the One who gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit. But He is the One who would bear our sins first and give us the free gift of righteousness. This is what then allows the Holy Spirit to do His work in our hearts and lives. The Holy Spirit then becomes a fountain of water springing up within us to everlasting life, satisfying our thirst and cleansing us from the inside to the outside. This ties to what we learned in John chapter 1, that Jesus would take away the sin of the world and baptize us with the Holy Spirit. Let us see this process in the Samaritan woman, even though she could not yet receive the Holy Spirit because He was not yet given, because Jesus had not yet become our sin sacrifice.
John 4:15-30 "The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw." Jesus said to her, "Go, call you husband, and come here." The woman answered and said, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly." The woman said to him, "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither worship on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When He comes, He will tell us all things." Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He." And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman: yet no one said, "What do You seek?" or "Why are You talking with her?" The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" Then they went out of the city and came to Him."
The woman asked for the water so that she would not thirst. Then Jesus, in a kind manner, revealed both her past and present. He did not condemn her though. Then Jesus tells her about God and reveals God as the Father. Then He reveals Himself as the Messiah. Her response is not shame but excitement. She went and told the whole city about Jesus. Jesus extended grace and righteousness to the woman and she believed and trusted in Him. Notice the pattern. Jesus reveals righteousness to us first, then introduces us to a loving heavenly Father. When we see that Jesus knows about our sin but has forgiven us and given us the free gift of right-standing with God by His grace, our lives are transformed. We experience joy, and our natural reaction is to tell others. We learn to worship the Father for who we are in the spirit and in truth. We are made righteous in our spirit. All our sins are forgiven and set aside. We worship Him through this gift of righteousness, and He leads us to walk out the truth in our actions. That is holiness or sanctification.
I became a Christian when I was 18. The Holy Spirit came to live within me. A short time later I was baptized in the Holy Spirit and prayed in tongues, as the disciples experienced in Acts chapter 2. Yet I did not have a clear understanding of righteousness through much of my adult life. I believed my past sins were forgiven, but I was taught that my present and future sins caused me to be out of fellowship with God each time I sinned, until I got the sin confessed. Within a few years, I lost much of my joy and enthusiasm for the Lord. God dwelt in me through the Holy Spirit, but it didn't seem to make much difference in my life. I prayed in tongues and was faithful in church. But because of the way I was taught, I spent much of my adult life in condemnation, not understanding His grace and gift of righteousness. Only when I came to a clear understanding of righteousness did my joy return and I started to share my faith again. Our foundation must be correct, or the rest of our lives will be unstable. Our foundation is righteousness. Jesus paid for the sins of our entire lifetime, past, present and future. He paid for every sin we have ever committed in the past and every sin we will ever commit in the future. He set them all aside and is not dealing with us according to our sins. He is dealing with us through His grace and His gift of righteousness to us. Knowing this has brought lasting peace and joy to my heart. Understanding righteousness is what allows the Holy Spirit to work in our lives. I believe this is the main point of the story of the Samaritan woman.
Keith Oliver
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
John Chapter 3 - Grace and Truth
John 3:14-18 "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 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. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
Jesus made a reference to an Old Testament story back in Numbers 21:4-9. The people had spoken against God and against Moses. Under Old Testament Law, they had a conditional covenant. If they obeyed God, blessing would be theirs. If they disobeyed God, they would be cursed. When they sinned, serpents came and bit them and many people died. When they confessed their sin, God told Moses to make a fiery serpent out of bronze and put it on a pole, and whoever had been bitten, when they looked upon the bronze serpent, shall live. The bronze serpent on a pole was a type of Christ being lifted up on the cross for our sins. This Old Testament story also shows that Jesus suffered for our healing. When they looked at the fiery bronze serpent, they were healed from the serpent bites. When we look at Christ lifted up on the cross for our sins, we receive forgiveness for our sins. When we see that He was beaten and bruised for us, we see that by His stripes we are healed. Jesus healed people of every type of sickness and disease during His earthly ministry, as well as forgiving people of their sins. He is the same yesterday, today and forever.
But notice a major difference in the New Testament with the grace of God through our Lord Jesus Christ. God initiates sending His Son to bear the punishment for our sins when we were already under condemnation from the Old Testament Law. Grace is unconditional. God initiated this action independent of our obedience to Him. God so loves us that He sent Jesus, even when we were helpless. This is the difference between the Old Testament law and New Testament grace.
God did not send His Son Jesus into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. Notice what Jesus said in verse 18. He who does not believe is condemned already. This described John with his Old Testament Law mindset of condemnation. It describes the state we are in before we believe in Jesus; we are in condemnation in our thinking. When we try to earn our right-standing before God by our performance, we will always end up in condemnation. But when we believe in the gift of righteousness that Jesus extends to us by grace, we are no longer condemned. What grace!
John 3:19-21 "And this is the condemnation, that the Light (the grace of God shown in Jesus Christ) has come into the world, and men loved darkness (condemnation and judgment of others) rather than light (grace and truth), because their deeds were evil (motivated by pride or independence from God). For everyone practicing evil (self-righteousness or independence from God and His grace) hates the light (grace) and does not come to the light (grace) lest his deeds should be exposed (his pride and independence from God). But he who does the truth comes to the light (grace), that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God (in union or dependence upon God and His grace)."
John 3:36 "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." This wrath of God is the Old Testament mindset of condemnation. This mindset of the wrath of God comes from the Old Testament Law. When we believe in New Testament grace through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, we have everlasting life and the darkness of condemnation is expelled from our thinking.
Keith Oliver
Jesus made a reference to an Old Testament story back in Numbers 21:4-9. The people had spoken against God and against Moses. Under Old Testament Law, they had a conditional covenant. If they obeyed God, blessing would be theirs. If they disobeyed God, they would be cursed. When they sinned, serpents came and bit them and many people died. When they confessed their sin, God told Moses to make a fiery serpent out of bronze and put it on a pole, and whoever had been bitten, when they looked upon the bronze serpent, shall live. The bronze serpent on a pole was a type of Christ being lifted up on the cross for our sins. This Old Testament story also shows that Jesus suffered for our healing. When they looked at the fiery bronze serpent, they were healed from the serpent bites. When we look at Christ lifted up on the cross for our sins, we receive forgiveness for our sins. When we see that He was beaten and bruised for us, we see that by His stripes we are healed. Jesus healed people of every type of sickness and disease during His earthly ministry, as well as forgiving people of their sins. He is the same yesterday, today and forever.
But notice a major difference in the New Testament with the grace of God through our Lord Jesus Christ. God initiates sending His Son to bear the punishment for our sins when we were already under condemnation from the Old Testament Law. Grace is unconditional. God initiated this action independent of our obedience to Him. God so loves us that He sent Jesus, even when we were helpless. This is the difference between the Old Testament law and New Testament grace.
God did not send His Son Jesus into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. Notice what Jesus said in verse 18. He who does not believe is condemned already. This described John with his Old Testament Law mindset of condemnation. It describes the state we are in before we believe in Jesus; we are in condemnation in our thinking. When we try to earn our right-standing before God by our performance, we will always end up in condemnation. But when we believe in the gift of righteousness that Jesus extends to us by grace, we are no longer condemned. What grace!
John 3:19-21 "And this is the condemnation, that the Light (the grace of God shown in Jesus Christ) has come into the world, and men loved darkness (condemnation and judgment of others) rather than light (grace and truth), because their deeds were evil (motivated by pride or independence from God). For everyone practicing evil (self-righteousness or independence from God and His grace) hates the light (grace) and does not come to the light (grace) lest his deeds should be exposed (his pride and independence from God). But he who does the truth comes to the light (grace), that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God (in union or dependence upon God and His grace)."
John 3:36 "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." This wrath of God is the Old Testament mindset of condemnation. This mindset of the wrath of God comes from the Old Testament Law. When we believe in New Testament grace through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, we have everlasting life and the darkness of condemnation is expelled from our thinking.
Keith Oliver
John Chapter 1 Continued
John 1:29-34 "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This is He of whom I said, "After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me. I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water." And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, "Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit." And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God."
Jesus came for two main purposes, according to John the Baptist: Jesus was the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world, and He is the One who baptizes us with the Holy Spirit. His main goal was not to remove the sin of the world. His main goal was to baptize or immerse us in the Spirit of God, so that we are reunited with God again and His Spirit can live in us. No one in the Old Testament had the Spirit of God dwelling in them permanently. For God to dwell in us permanently by the Holy Spirit, Jesus had to bear our sin and suffer the penalty of sin. We are freely justified before God by His grace, demonstrated to us in Christ Jesus. He can now come and live in us because the debt for sin has been paid.
This saying that Jesus would be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world would have been shocking to the ears of the Jewish people who heard it. In the Old Testament, the lamb sacrifice was just for the sins of the Jewish people. John was proclaiming that Jesus would take away the sin of the whole world. This would have to be for every sin that we have committed in the past or ever will commit in the future. You and I were not even born yet. Every sin you and I have ever committed in the past or ever will commit in the future were all future sins when Christ died. 1 John 2:2 "And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world." So John said the same thing in the epistle of 1 John that he said in the gospel of John. Even for those in the world who have not accepted the gospel, Jesus has already paid for their sins. All they have to do is hear and believe the Good News, then God can come and dwell in them by the Holy Spirit.
The lamb sacrifice in the Old Testament is a type and shadow of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. The sacrifices under the Old Testament were for only one sin at a time, or at best for all the sins committed in ignorance for one year, according to Hebrews 9:7. But Hebrews 10:12 states that Jesus made one sacrifice for sins forever. This is in complete contrast to the daily sacrifices and one yearly sacrifice under the Old Testament.
The water baptism of John in the wilderness was a type and shadow of the baptism in the Holy Spirit that Jesus came to give us under the New Testament. Even though the people were immersed in the waters of the river Jordan by John the Baptist, the water was not in them. But when Jesus baptizes us with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God dwells within us and upon us. If the sins of our entire lifetime were not already paid for, God could not dwell in us by the Holy Spirit. The very fact that He dwells in us shows us that our sins are remitted. Our Christian growth really begins with the acceptance of the fact that our sins are forgiven. In 1 John 2:12 "I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake." John is speaking to little children in the faith. The first thing we should learn is that our sins are forgiven. Unfortunately, far too many churches teach that our past sins are forgiven, but our present and future sins are new offenses that separate us from fellowship with God. This teaching will cause us to stay baby Christians and keep us from maturity in Christ. These types of ideas will leave us insecure in our relationship with God. Know that Jesus made one sacrifice for sins forever, as Hebrews 10:12 states. He paid for the sins of our entire lifetime, past, present and future.
Keith Oliver
Jesus came for two main purposes, according to John the Baptist: Jesus was the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world, and He is the One who baptizes us with the Holy Spirit. His main goal was not to remove the sin of the world. His main goal was to baptize or immerse us in the Spirit of God, so that we are reunited with God again and His Spirit can live in us. No one in the Old Testament had the Spirit of God dwelling in them permanently. For God to dwell in us permanently by the Holy Spirit, Jesus had to bear our sin and suffer the penalty of sin. We are freely justified before God by His grace, demonstrated to us in Christ Jesus. He can now come and live in us because the debt for sin has been paid.
This saying that Jesus would be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world would have been shocking to the ears of the Jewish people who heard it. In the Old Testament, the lamb sacrifice was just for the sins of the Jewish people. John was proclaiming that Jesus would take away the sin of the whole world. This would have to be for every sin that we have committed in the past or ever will commit in the future. You and I were not even born yet. Every sin you and I have ever committed in the past or ever will commit in the future were all future sins when Christ died. 1 John 2:2 "And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world." So John said the same thing in the epistle of 1 John that he said in the gospel of John. Even for those in the world who have not accepted the gospel, Jesus has already paid for their sins. All they have to do is hear and believe the Good News, then God can come and dwell in them by the Holy Spirit.
The lamb sacrifice in the Old Testament is a type and shadow of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. The sacrifices under the Old Testament were for only one sin at a time, or at best for all the sins committed in ignorance for one year, according to Hebrews 9:7. But Hebrews 10:12 states that Jesus made one sacrifice for sins forever. This is in complete contrast to the daily sacrifices and one yearly sacrifice under the Old Testament.
The water baptism of John in the wilderness was a type and shadow of the baptism in the Holy Spirit that Jesus came to give us under the New Testament. Even though the people were immersed in the waters of the river Jordan by John the Baptist, the water was not in them. But when Jesus baptizes us with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God dwells within us and upon us. If the sins of our entire lifetime were not already paid for, God could not dwell in us by the Holy Spirit. The very fact that He dwells in us shows us that our sins are remitted. Our Christian growth really begins with the acceptance of the fact that our sins are forgiven. In 1 John 2:12 "I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake." John is speaking to little children in the faith. The first thing we should learn is that our sins are forgiven. Unfortunately, far too many churches teach that our past sins are forgiven, but our present and future sins are new offenses that separate us from fellowship with God. This teaching will cause us to stay baby Christians and keep us from maturity in Christ. These types of ideas will leave us insecure in our relationship with God. Know that Jesus made one sacrifice for sins forever, as Hebrews 10:12 states. He paid for the sins of our entire lifetime, past, present and future.
Keith Oliver
John Chapter 1 - Grace and Truth
The gospel of John reveals Jesus as being full of grace and truth. Jesus is a complete contrast from the Old Testament law, which produced condemnation. John 1:17-18 "For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him (Jesus revealed Him as full of grace and truth)."
This opens up the main themes of the gospel of John represented in two major passages. John 8:31-32 "Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you continue in My word (the word of grace and truth, not the Old Testament Law), you are My disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Also John 13:34-35 "A new commandment I give to you, that you should love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." When we continue in the Word of grace brought by Jesus, we are His disciples. When we extend that grace and love to others, people can actually see that we are His disciples. As we continue in the Word of grace, it cleanses us of the guilt and condemnation in our hearts that we experienced under the Old Testament Law. Then that grace and love are extended through us to other people. His Word of grace will have come to full fruition in our lives. Grace is His gift of righteousness to us, forgiving us of all our sins. Truth is God working in and through us, as we extend grace to others and walk in love toward them.
The gospel of John reveals John's transition from an Old Testament mindset of Law and condemnation to seeing God's grace and love through the Person of Jesus Christ. John was raised as a Jew under the Old Testament Law. In Luke 9:51-56, John and his brother James wanted to call down fire to destroy a village that did not receive Jesus, in a manner similar to Elijah in the Old Testament. In Luke 9:55-56 Jesus rebuked them and said "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them." This event was part of John's transition to understand God's grace and love. John saw that God, Who in the beginning created the heavens and the earth, is full of grace toward people.
Jesus used the words light and darkness often in the gospel of John. As we shall see, the light represents the grace and love of God that was demonstrated in Jesus Christ. God gives us grace and righteousness as a free gift through His Son Jesus. The darkness represents the accusations and condemnation and judgment produced under the Old Testament Law given through Moses. The Law of Moses is just and holy and good. But when we try to earn our right-standing with God through our own attempts at self-righteousness by trying to keep the Old Testament Law, it produces condemnation and shows us our need for a Savior. When Jesus forgave the woman caught in the midst of adultery in John chapter 8, He said "I am the light of the world (grace and love); he who follows Me (in not condemning people for their sins but offering them grace) shall not walk in darkness (accusing and condemning others for their sins), but shall have the light of life."
John 1:1-4 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." In the beginning is a reference to Genesis 1:1 and the story of creation. John is stating that this God Who created the world in the beginning is a God Who is love. 1 John 4:8 states that God is love. His very life and nature is love and grace. That life, that grace and love, was the light of men.
John 1:5-14 "And the light (His grace demonstrated through Jesus) shines in the darkness (condemnation in the hearts of people), and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John (John the Baptist). This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light (grace and truth) to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him (know that God is love). He came to His own (the Jewish people), and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name; who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word (Jesus) became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."
It is easy to see that Jesus is the Light. He is full of grace and truth. So the light is the grace of God extended to us through Jesus. Darkness or condemnation from the Old Testament Law is expelled from us when we receive the Light.
John 1:16-18 "And of His fullness (Jesus is full of grace and truth) we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him (Jesus revealed God to be full of grace and truth and love for us)."
John is making a complete contrast between the Old Testament law, given through Moses, and the grace and truth by Jesus Christ in the New Testament. The Old Testament Law brings the knowledge of sin and fear of punishment. But Jesus died for the sins of our entire lifetime, past, present and future. We are made righteous by what Jesus did for us. We should have no more fear of punishment from God.
Keith Oliver
This opens up the main themes of the gospel of John represented in two major passages. John 8:31-32 "Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you continue in My word (the word of grace and truth, not the Old Testament Law), you are My disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Also John 13:34-35 "A new commandment I give to you, that you should love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." When we continue in the Word of grace brought by Jesus, we are His disciples. When we extend that grace and love to others, people can actually see that we are His disciples. As we continue in the Word of grace, it cleanses us of the guilt and condemnation in our hearts that we experienced under the Old Testament Law. Then that grace and love are extended through us to other people. His Word of grace will have come to full fruition in our lives. Grace is His gift of righteousness to us, forgiving us of all our sins. Truth is God working in and through us, as we extend grace to others and walk in love toward them.
The gospel of John reveals John's transition from an Old Testament mindset of Law and condemnation to seeing God's grace and love through the Person of Jesus Christ. John was raised as a Jew under the Old Testament Law. In Luke 9:51-56, John and his brother James wanted to call down fire to destroy a village that did not receive Jesus, in a manner similar to Elijah in the Old Testament. In Luke 9:55-56 Jesus rebuked them and said "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them." This event was part of John's transition to understand God's grace and love. John saw that God, Who in the beginning created the heavens and the earth, is full of grace toward people.
Jesus used the words light and darkness often in the gospel of John. As we shall see, the light represents the grace and love of God that was demonstrated in Jesus Christ. God gives us grace and righteousness as a free gift through His Son Jesus. The darkness represents the accusations and condemnation and judgment produced under the Old Testament Law given through Moses. The Law of Moses is just and holy and good. But when we try to earn our right-standing with God through our own attempts at self-righteousness by trying to keep the Old Testament Law, it produces condemnation and shows us our need for a Savior. When Jesus forgave the woman caught in the midst of adultery in John chapter 8, He said "I am the light of the world (grace and love); he who follows Me (in not condemning people for their sins but offering them grace) shall not walk in darkness (accusing and condemning others for their sins), but shall have the light of life."
John 1:1-4 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." In the beginning is a reference to Genesis 1:1 and the story of creation. John is stating that this God Who created the world in the beginning is a God Who is love. 1 John 4:8 states that God is love. His very life and nature is love and grace. That life, that grace and love, was the light of men.
John 1:5-14 "And the light (His grace demonstrated through Jesus) shines in the darkness (condemnation in the hearts of people), and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John (John the Baptist). This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light (grace and truth) to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him (know that God is love). He came to His own (the Jewish people), and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name; who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word (Jesus) became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."
It is easy to see that Jesus is the Light. He is full of grace and truth. So the light is the grace of God extended to us through Jesus. Darkness or condemnation from the Old Testament Law is expelled from us when we receive the Light.
John 1:16-18 "And of His fullness (Jesus is full of grace and truth) we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him (Jesus revealed God to be full of grace and truth and love for us)."
John is making a complete contrast between the Old Testament law, given through Moses, and the grace and truth by Jesus Christ in the New Testament. The Old Testament Law brings the knowledge of sin and fear of punishment. But Jesus died for the sins of our entire lifetime, past, present and future. We are made righteous by what Jesus did for us. We should have no more fear of punishment from God.
Keith Oliver
Friday, December 18, 2015
Our Identity in Christ and in the kingdom of God - Matthew chapters 16 and 17
Jesus is teaching His disciples in a systematic manner in the gospel of Matthew. He tells them about their identity in Christ and what they look like in the spirit or in the kingdom of God.
Matthew 16:13-19 "When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Phillippe, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon answered and said 'You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
Peter first recognizes Jesus for Who He is, the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Peter recognizes Jesus for Who He is spiritually, the Son of God, God dwelling with them in the flesh. Jesus then calls Simon by his given name, but then calls him Peter. Jesus sees Simon spiritually as well and calls him Peter, which means rock or stone. Jesus then says that upon this rock I will build my church. This rock is not Peter, but the revelation that God will live in people. God did not dwell in any of the Old Testament saints, but He dwells in us through the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. Jesus is going to show the disciples what they look like in the spirit realm or in the kingdom of God in the beginning of chapter 17. God dwelling in us through the Holy Spirit is the rock upon which the church is built. It is the key to understanding the kingdom of God within us.
Matthew 16:21-23 "From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!" But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."
Jesus did not say that Peter was Satan. He was saying that Peter was not thinking about spiritual matters but upon the natural things of men. Peter had changed from thinking about spiritual realities just a few moments ago, recognizing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
Matthew 16:24-28 "Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself (deny his identity in the flesh) and take up his cross, and follow Me (recognize who we are in the spirit realm). For whoever desires to save his life (psyche or old thought life) will lose it (his new spiritual identity), but whoever loses his life (his old thought life) for my sake will find it (his new spiritual identity). For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul (his spiritual identity)? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul (his thought life or his new identity)? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom."
Luke 9:27 makes this more clear to our thinking. "But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God."
Jesus is getting ready to reveal to some of His disciples, Peter, James and John, what we look like in the spirit realm or in the kingdom of God, which is within us when we are born again. Many teachers describe the Mount of Transfiguration in different ways and to mean different things. But it doesn't help me to know that Jesus was transfigured in the past or that He will be transfigured in the future when He appears. It does benefit me to know what I look like in the spirit realm or in the kingdom of God right now. God is dwelling in me by His Spirit. My spirit has been transformed and shines as light on the inside of me. That is what Jesus is revealing to His disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration in the first verses of Matthew 17.
Matthew 17:1-5 "Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!"
Peter refers to this experience in the epistle of 2 Peter. 2 Peter 1:4 "by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these (promises) you may be partakers of the divine nature (the glory of God inside of us when we are born again), having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust (our flesh that is not yet redeemed).
He continues to refer to this experience later in the first chapter of 2 Peter. Verse 16-19 "For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. And so we have the prophetic word confirmed (we have a more sure word of prophecy, more sure than what we heard or saw on the holy mountain), which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts;"
Of all the things that Peter could have said, what is the conclusion that Peter drew from this experience? We are to pay close attention to the revelation that Jesus gave us of who we are, until the light dawns within our hearts and the morning star (sun) arises in YOUR HEARTS. We are to hold on to the revelation of who we are in the spirit realm or the kingdom of God until the kingdom of God is revealed in and through us.
Keith Oliver
Matthew 16:13-19 "When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Phillippe, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon answered and said 'You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
Peter first recognizes Jesus for Who He is, the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Peter recognizes Jesus for Who He is spiritually, the Son of God, God dwelling with them in the flesh. Jesus then calls Simon by his given name, but then calls him Peter. Jesus sees Simon spiritually as well and calls him Peter, which means rock or stone. Jesus then says that upon this rock I will build my church. This rock is not Peter, but the revelation that God will live in people. God did not dwell in any of the Old Testament saints, but He dwells in us through the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. Jesus is going to show the disciples what they look like in the spirit realm or in the kingdom of God in the beginning of chapter 17. God dwelling in us through the Holy Spirit is the rock upon which the church is built. It is the key to understanding the kingdom of God within us.
Matthew 16:21-23 "From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!" But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."
Jesus did not say that Peter was Satan. He was saying that Peter was not thinking about spiritual matters but upon the natural things of men. Peter had changed from thinking about spiritual realities just a few moments ago, recognizing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
Matthew 16:24-28 "Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself (deny his identity in the flesh) and take up his cross, and follow Me (recognize who we are in the spirit realm). For whoever desires to save his life (psyche or old thought life) will lose it (his new spiritual identity), but whoever loses his life (his old thought life) for my sake will find it (his new spiritual identity). For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul (his spiritual identity)? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul (his thought life or his new identity)? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom."
Luke 9:27 makes this more clear to our thinking. "But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God."
Jesus is getting ready to reveal to some of His disciples, Peter, James and John, what we look like in the spirit realm or in the kingdom of God, which is within us when we are born again. Many teachers describe the Mount of Transfiguration in different ways and to mean different things. But it doesn't help me to know that Jesus was transfigured in the past or that He will be transfigured in the future when He appears. It does benefit me to know what I look like in the spirit realm or in the kingdom of God right now. God is dwelling in me by His Spirit. My spirit has been transformed and shines as light on the inside of me. That is what Jesus is revealing to His disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration in the first verses of Matthew 17.
Matthew 17:1-5 "Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!"
Peter refers to this experience in the epistle of 2 Peter. 2 Peter 1:4 "by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these (promises) you may be partakers of the divine nature (the glory of God inside of us when we are born again), having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust (our flesh that is not yet redeemed).
He continues to refer to this experience later in the first chapter of 2 Peter. Verse 16-19 "For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. And so we have the prophetic word confirmed (we have a more sure word of prophecy, more sure than what we heard or saw on the holy mountain), which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts;"
Of all the things that Peter could have said, what is the conclusion that Peter drew from this experience? We are to pay close attention to the revelation that Jesus gave us of who we are, until the light dawns within our hearts and the morning star (sun) arises in YOUR HEARTS. We are to hold on to the revelation of who we are in the spirit realm or the kingdom of God until the kingdom of God is revealed in and through us.
Keith Oliver
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Hear the Gospel, See the Miracles: Matthew Chapters 11 and 13
Matthew 11:1-6 " Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities. And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?" Jesus answered and said to them, 'Go and tell John the things which you HEAR and SEE: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me."
Jesus is declaring again the pattern for ministry. The people were hearing the gospel preached to them, and they were seeing the miracles taking place in front of them. Romans 10:17 says that faith comes from hearing the word of God or the gospel. Remember the two words HEAR and SEE. We shall see them again in the parable of the sower and the seed in Matthew 13. Many have taught that the parable of the sower is about the word of God in general; but the parable is about the preaching of the gospel message in particular.
Matthew 13:3-17 "Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: "Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some seed fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop; some a hundred-fold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to HEAR, let him HEAR." And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?" He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven (the kingdom of God within you), but to them it has not been given. For whoever has (ears to hear and understand the gospel), to him more (revelation of the kingdom of God) will be given, and he will have abundance, but whoever does not have (ears to hear and understand the gospel), even what (understanding) he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because SEEING (the miracles taking place) they do not see (perceive), and HEARING (the gospel) they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says "Hearing (the gospel) you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing (the miracles) you will see and not perceive (how the miracles take place); For the hearts of this people have grown dull, their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes (the miracles taking place) and hear (the gospel) with their ears, lest they should understand (the gospel) with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them." But blessed are your eyes for they see (the miracles) and your ears for they hear (the gospel); for assuredly , I say to you that many prophets and righteous men (in the Old Testament) desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."
As we can see, Jesus is describing how the kingdom of God is spread to the hearts of people and how He brings physical healing and miracles to us. The gospel is the seed planted in hearts. As people believe it, He brings healing and does miracles in our lives.
Matthew 13:18-23 "Therefore hear the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom (the gospel or His gift of righteousness to us apart from our works) and does not understand it, then the wicked one (Satan) comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart (this person is not born again). This is he who received seed by the wayside. But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word (the gospel) and immediately receives it with joy (this person is born again in his heart); yet he has not root in himself (he is not rooted in the message of righteousness with God through Jesus apart from our works), but endures (in the gospel) only for a while. For when tribulation (within his heart) or persecution (from other people) arises because of the word (gospel), immediately he stumbles (he falls back to trying to achieve right-standing with God through his own works or self-righteousness; yet he is still born again). Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word (the gospel), and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful (he does not experience the love, joy and peace we are meant to receive; yet he is still born again). But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word (the gospel) and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."
I have come to see this parable as more of a progression in the lives of people. We are not stuck as being one type of soil. We might have received the gospel message at one point and received Jesus into our hearts and been born again. But we fall away or drift away from the gospel message of His free gift of righteousness to us in Jesus Christ. We fall back into a mindset of trying to achieve right-standing with God by our good works. It does not mean we have lost our salvation. We might also have received Jesus, but then get caught up in the cares of the world or the deceitfulness of riches. It also does not mean that we have lost our salvation. The seed is still planted in the soil of our hearts. Jesus still lives within us. We need to change our thinking and go back to the gospel message. He bore the sins of our entire lifetime. We have peace and we are reconciled to God. If we hold on to the gospel or word of righteousness, it will cleanse our conscience on the inside. Then it will begin to cleanse our actions on the outside. The fruits of the spirit, love, joy and peace are not choked out by the pain which is caused by the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and the lusts and desires of other things. We become fruitful. This should make it clear that Jesus is describing a process in the lives of all believers.
The tribulation that Jesus described here is this process within our own hearts. When we fail, our conscience will try to condemn us and cause us to stumble or fall away from the gospel or word of righteousness back into condemnation. We must cleanse our conscience by holding on to the word of righteousness apart from our works. This will help us to cleanse our actions as we learn to walk in love. Peter and James describe this process as the various trials that test our faith in the word of righteousness. Then there is persecution from other people. This is another way that we could stumble or fall away from the word of righteousness. Again, to fall away or stumble does not mean that we lose our salvation. It means we fall away from believing in grace back to an Old Testament mindset of Law and punishment, which breeds fear in us.
2 Corinthians 5:19 "that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation." The gospel or word of reconciliation is that Jesus has suffered the punishment for our sins. Notice this verse says that God is not counting people's sins or trespasses to them. It does not say just their past sins. It says He is not counting their sins to them. That is all sins, the sins of their entire lifetime, past, present and future. We are reconciled to God. Praise His name!
Keith Oliver
Jesus is declaring again the pattern for ministry. The people were hearing the gospel preached to them, and they were seeing the miracles taking place in front of them. Romans 10:17 says that faith comes from hearing the word of God or the gospel. Remember the two words HEAR and SEE. We shall see them again in the parable of the sower and the seed in Matthew 13. Many have taught that the parable of the sower is about the word of God in general; but the parable is about the preaching of the gospel message in particular.
Matthew 13:3-17 "Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: "Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some seed fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop; some a hundred-fold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to HEAR, let him HEAR." And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?" He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven (the kingdom of God within you), but to them it has not been given. For whoever has (ears to hear and understand the gospel), to him more (revelation of the kingdom of God) will be given, and he will have abundance, but whoever does not have (ears to hear and understand the gospel), even what (understanding) he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because SEEING (the miracles taking place) they do not see (perceive), and HEARING (the gospel) they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says "Hearing (the gospel) you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing (the miracles) you will see and not perceive (how the miracles take place); For the hearts of this people have grown dull, their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes (the miracles taking place) and hear (the gospel) with their ears, lest they should understand (the gospel) with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them." But blessed are your eyes for they see (the miracles) and your ears for they hear (the gospel); for assuredly , I say to you that many prophets and righteous men (in the Old Testament) desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."
As we can see, Jesus is describing how the kingdom of God is spread to the hearts of people and how He brings physical healing and miracles to us. The gospel is the seed planted in hearts. As people believe it, He brings healing and does miracles in our lives.
Matthew 13:18-23 "Therefore hear the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom (the gospel or His gift of righteousness to us apart from our works) and does not understand it, then the wicked one (Satan) comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart (this person is not born again). This is he who received seed by the wayside. But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word (the gospel) and immediately receives it with joy (this person is born again in his heart); yet he has not root in himself (he is not rooted in the message of righteousness with God through Jesus apart from our works), but endures (in the gospel) only for a while. For when tribulation (within his heart) or persecution (from other people) arises because of the word (gospel), immediately he stumbles (he falls back to trying to achieve right-standing with God through his own works or self-righteousness; yet he is still born again). Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word (the gospel), and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful (he does not experience the love, joy and peace we are meant to receive; yet he is still born again). But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word (the gospel) and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."
I have come to see this parable as more of a progression in the lives of people. We are not stuck as being one type of soil. We might have received the gospel message at one point and received Jesus into our hearts and been born again. But we fall away or drift away from the gospel message of His free gift of righteousness to us in Jesus Christ. We fall back into a mindset of trying to achieve right-standing with God by our good works. It does not mean we have lost our salvation. We might also have received Jesus, but then get caught up in the cares of the world or the deceitfulness of riches. It also does not mean that we have lost our salvation. The seed is still planted in the soil of our hearts. Jesus still lives within us. We need to change our thinking and go back to the gospel message. He bore the sins of our entire lifetime. We have peace and we are reconciled to God. If we hold on to the gospel or word of righteousness, it will cleanse our conscience on the inside. Then it will begin to cleanse our actions on the outside. The fruits of the spirit, love, joy and peace are not choked out by the pain which is caused by the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and the lusts and desires of other things. We become fruitful. This should make it clear that Jesus is describing a process in the lives of all believers.
The tribulation that Jesus described here is this process within our own hearts. When we fail, our conscience will try to condemn us and cause us to stumble or fall away from the gospel or word of righteousness back into condemnation. We must cleanse our conscience by holding on to the word of righteousness apart from our works. This will help us to cleanse our actions as we learn to walk in love. Peter and James describe this process as the various trials that test our faith in the word of righteousness. Then there is persecution from other people. This is another way that we could stumble or fall away from the word of righteousness. Again, to fall away or stumble does not mean that we lose our salvation. It means we fall away from believing in grace back to an Old Testament mindset of Law and punishment, which breeds fear in us.
2 Corinthians 5:19 "that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation." The gospel or word of reconciliation is that Jesus has suffered the punishment for our sins. Notice this verse says that God is not counting people's sins or trespasses to them. It does not say just their past sins. It says He is not counting their sins to them. That is all sins, the sins of their entire lifetime, past, present and future. We are reconciled to God. Praise His name!
Keith Oliver
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Exercising our Authority: Matthew chapter 8
The book of Matthew is systematically teaching us the things that Jesus wanted us to know for effective ministry. In the previous blog on the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapters 5-7, Jesus gave us His primary teaching on righteousness. This is the foundation of our faith; righteousness by faith in Christ apart from our works. In Matthew chapter 8, Jesus demonstrated His ministry to hurting people by exercising His authority through words. Then in Matthew chapters 11 and 13, Jesus taught about the power of the gospel in producing miracles. In Matthew chapters 16 and 17, Jesus taught us about our identity in Him.
In Matthew chapter 8, we see the ministry of Jesus in Capernaum. This is Jesus' second round of ministry in Capernaum. Jesus had already preached the gospel and healed all kinds of sickness and disease in Capernaum, as recorded in Matthew 4:13-25 and Luke 4. This is important in understanding the context of Matthew 8. The people who received miracles in Matthew 8 had already heard Jesus preaching the gospel and seeing Him do miracles previously. This is vital if we are to follow His example in ministry. Our primary job as believers is to preach the gospel; the people believe it; God does the miracles. Miracles are the result of hearing and believing the gospel.
I used to read the story of the Roman centurion and wondered how he had such great faith. But he previously heard Jesus preaching the gospel in Capernaum and saw how Jesus commanded sickness and disease to leave people.
Matthew 8:1-3 "When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, if you are willing, You can make me clean." Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing, be cleansed." Immediately his leprosy was cleansed."
This is the first of six miracles recorded in Matthew chapter 8. In each instance, Jesus spoke with authority directly to disease, demons, or a storm. The leper had heard about Jesus healing people. He had faith because of what he heard. He risked his life by approaching Jesus in the presence of the multitude; lepers could be stoned. But he trusted that Jesus would heal him. Notice that Jesus put His hand upon the leper in compassion, but the leprosy was not cleansed until Jesus spoke with authority directly to it. He did not ask God to heal the leper. Jesus spoke to the leprosy. It is interesting to note that Jesus blessed and gave thanks to the Father when receiving good things such as bread to feed the multitudes. He turned His eyes to heaven and gave thanks. When Jesus encountered evil such as disease or demons, He did not speak to God about them. He took authority over them.
Matthew 8:5-17 "Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum (again), a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented." And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him." The centurion answered and said "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only SPEAK A WORD and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, 'Go' and he goes; and to another 'Come' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this' and he does it." When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel....... Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you." And his servant was healed that same hour. Now when Jesus had come into Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother lying sick with a fever. So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them. When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits WITH A WORD, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying "He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses."
I capitalized the words SPEAK A WORD and WITH A WORD to emphasize how Jesus exercised His authority over both sickness and demons. All of this was in the context of Jesus preaching the gospel. It clearly states in Matthew 4:23 that "Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people." We can never put God in a box and say that miracles never happen without the preaching of the gospel. But the pattern for successful ministry is primarily to plant the seed of the gospel into the hearts of people and trust God to confirm His word with miracles.
I have never heard anyone say it, but I have wondered if Jesus preached Isaiah 53 to the people when He healed them in Matthew 8:16-17. It states that He cast out spirits and healed all who were sick that the words of Isaiah 53 might be fulfilled. This leads me to believe that He preached this passage to the people before He healed them. In Luke chapter 4, when Jesus preached from the text in Isaiah 61, He said "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
If we read the same story of Peter's mother-in-law being healed in Luke 4:39, it states that Jesus rebuked the fever. This is another instance of Jesus exercising His authority through words.
We see this same pattern repeated in Matthew 9:35. "Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people." Notice the pattern. Teaching, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, then healing, in that order.
Matthew 9:37 - 10:1,8"Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers into His harvest." And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease..... And as you go, preach, saying 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received. Freely give."
Notice the reference to the harvest. What do laborers do to reap a harvest? They begin by planting seed, in this case the seed of the gospel; then comes the harvest. Jesus will refer to the gospel as seed in Matthew 13. Jesus gave them power to heal, but He told them to preach first.
In summary, the gospel of Matthew is laying out systematically the principles for successful ministry. We will continue to look at the gospel of Matthew in the next few teachings.
Keith Oliver
In Matthew chapter 8, we see the ministry of Jesus in Capernaum. This is Jesus' second round of ministry in Capernaum. Jesus had already preached the gospel and healed all kinds of sickness and disease in Capernaum, as recorded in Matthew 4:13-25 and Luke 4. This is important in understanding the context of Matthew 8. The people who received miracles in Matthew 8 had already heard Jesus preaching the gospel and seeing Him do miracles previously. This is vital if we are to follow His example in ministry. Our primary job as believers is to preach the gospel; the people believe it; God does the miracles. Miracles are the result of hearing and believing the gospel.
I used to read the story of the Roman centurion and wondered how he had such great faith. But he previously heard Jesus preaching the gospel in Capernaum and saw how Jesus commanded sickness and disease to leave people.
Matthew 8:1-3 "When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, if you are willing, You can make me clean." Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing, be cleansed." Immediately his leprosy was cleansed."
This is the first of six miracles recorded in Matthew chapter 8. In each instance, Jesus spoke with authority directly to disease, demons, or a storm. The leper had heard about Jesus healing people. He had faith because of what he heard. He risked his life by approaching Jesus in the presence of the multitude; lepers could be stoned. But he trusted that Jesus would heal him. Notice that Jesus put His hand upon the leper in compassion, but the leprosy was not cleansed until Jesus spoke with authority directly to it. He did not ask God to heal the leper. Jesus spoke to the leprosy. It is interesting to note that Jesus blessed and gave thanks to the Father when receiving good things such as bread to feed the multitudes. He turned His eyes to heaven and gave thanks. When Jesus encountered evil such as disease or demons, He did not speak to God about them. He took authority over them.
Matthew 8:5-17 "Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum (again), a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented." And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him." The centurion answered and said "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only SPEAK A WORD and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, 'Go' and he goes; and to another 'Come' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this' and he does it." When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel....... Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you." And his servant was healed that same hour. Now when Jesus had come into Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother lying sick with a fever. So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them. When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits WITH A WORD, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying "He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses."
I capitalized the words SPEAK A WORD and WITH A WORD to emphasize how Jesus exercised His authority over both sickness and demons. All of this was in the context of Jesus preaching the gospel. It clearly states in Matthew 4:23 that "Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people." We can never put God in a box and say that miracles never happen without the preaching of the gospel. But the pattern for successful ministry is primarily to plant the seed of the gospel into the hearts of people and trust God to confirm His word with miracles.
I have never heard anyone say it, but I have wondered if Jesus preached Isaiah 53 to the people when He healed them in Matthew 8:16-17. It states that He cast out spirits and healed all who were sick that the words of Isaiah 53 might be fulfilled. This leads me to believe that He preached this passage to the people before He healed them. In Luke chapter 4, when Jesus preached from the text in Isaiah 61, He said "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
If we read the same story of Peter's mother-in-law being healed in Luke 4:39, it states that Jesus rebuked the fever. This is another instance of Jesus exercising His authority through words.
We see this same pattern repeated in Matthew 9:35. "Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people." Notice the pattern. Teaching, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, then healing, in that order.
Matthew 9:37 - 10:1,8"Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers into His harvest." And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease..... And as you go, preach, saying 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received. Freely give."
Notice the reference to the harvest. What do laborers do to reap a harvest? They begin by planting seed, in this case the seed of the gospel; then comes the harvest. Jesus will refer to the gospel as seed in Matthew 13. Jesus gave them power to heal, but He told them to preach first.
In summary, the gospel of Matthew is laying out systematically the principles for successful ministry. We will continue to look at the gospel of Matthew in the next few teachings.
Keith Oliver
Saturday, October 17, 2015
Righteousness: The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapters 5 - 7
Jesus preached the gospel and had miracles in Matthew chapter 4. The Sermon on the Mount is, in essence, His follow up booklet to new believers. The Sermon on the Mount by Jesus is all about the kingdom of God and His righteousness. In Luke 17:20-21, Jesus said that the kingdom of God is within us. Righteousness is right standing with God. Jesus will be contrasting our attempts at right-standing with God through our own works and discussing His righteousness, which is a free gift of God. Jesus is really preaching or teaching the gospel message, but He does not speak of His death for our sins and His resurrection. He will not speak of His death and resurrection until many chapters later. The gospel is about our right-standing with God given to us in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus bore our sins and took our penalty on the cross. When we trust in Jesus and call upon His name, we receive His righteousness or right-standing with God. Many teachers seem to teach the Sermon on the Mount as if Jesus was speaking disjointed thoughts that had no connection. Jesus is speaking in a sequential, logical manner, explaining the kingdom of God within us and our right standing in it. Matthew uses the phrase kingdom of heaven. It is the same thing as the kingdom of God. Matthew was writing to the Jews, who did not like to write the name of God, so Matthew used the phrase kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." As we try to approach God by our own works, trying to keep the Law or the commandments of the Old Testament in an attempt to gain God's favor, we will fail and see that we are poor in spirit. When we know we can only receive the kingdom of God as a gift by His mercy, then we receive the kingdom of God in our hearts.
Matthew 5:4 "Blessed are those who mourn (by trying to keep the Old Testament Law, we fail and see that we need mercy), for they shall be comforted (we receive His mercy and grace)."
Matt. 5:5 "Blessed are the meek (teachable; we learn from the Law that we actually need His mercy and grace), for they shall inherit the earth." Inheriting the earth is a reference to God supplying our needs in Matthew 6:33.
Matt. 5:6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled (with His righteousness)." When we recognize that we cannot gain His favor by our own works or our own attempts at self-righteousness, He fills us with His righteousness. God gives us right-standing with Him as a gift, by His mercy.
Matt. 5:7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." As we see that we cannot gain right-standing with God through our own works or self-righteousness, we then receive His mercy. We begin to extend His mercy and grace to others; in turn, we obtain mercy from other people.
Matt. 5:8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." God's grace and mercy flowing through us leads us to walk in holiness and purity of heart. As we are pure in heart, trusting in His gift of righteousness to us, we will begin to see or perceive God within us. We also see or perceive God as He is, that He is love and has mercy toward us.
Matt. 5:9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." We begin to share that peace with God comes through His mercy and grace. He is not mad at people. He gives us right-standing with Himself as a gift. There is peace between God and man when we approach God through His grace and mercy in Jesus. People will see the love of God in us and call us the sons of God.
Matt. 5:10 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." People who are prideful and trust in their own works or self-righteousness will not like those who are trusting in right-standing with God through mercy and grace in our Lord Jesus Christ. Persecution will result as we preach or declare right-standing with God through His grace and mercy instead of our own works.
Matt.5:11-12 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." When we preach right-standing with God through His mercy and grace, those who oppose this message will say we are just using grace as an excuse to sin and cover up the evil we are doing. Notice Jesus said we are blessed if they say all kings of evil against you falsely for My sake. If we participate in evil and use His grace as an excuse to sin, their accusations against us are correct. This will cause self-righteous people to reject our message of grace instead of seeing the error of their way.
Matt. 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men." If we proclaim right-standing with God through Jesus apart from our works by His mercy and grace, but do not walk in holiness, our message will have no effect with people. Men, not God, will reject us and our message of grace.
Matt. 5:14-16 "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." When we declare that we are right with God by His grace and mercy, but we also walk in love and holiness before people, people will glorify God and accept our message of grace through our Lord Jesus Christ.
From this point forward in His message, Jesus will raise the standard of the Old Testament Law to include not only our actions but our thoughts. None of us are perfect in our actions. We all do some good but we also do some bad things. We need mercy, not justice. Jesus will discuss your righteousness or attempt at self righteousness before God beginning in Matt. 5:20 and contrast it with His righteousness in Matt. 6:33. This is the key to understanding the rest of the Sermon on the Mount by Jesus. The rest of Matthew 5 will discuss our failure to live up to the righteous standard of the Law in our actions or thoughts. Matthew chapter 6 will discuss wrong motives behind good deeds that we do, in order to look good before other people. This should cause all of us to cry out for His mercy and grace, which He will give to us freely in Jesus.
Matt. 5:17-20 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the Law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."
The Old Testament Law was given to convict us of sin. When it does that and we cry out to God for His mercy and grace in Jesus, the Law has done its job and is fulfilled in our lives. The Law will continue doing its job of convicting people of sin until they realize that they need mercy and not justice. The key words to understanding the rest of Matthew chapter 5 and most of chapter 6 are your righteousness. This will be in contrast to His gift of righteousness in Matthew 6:33.
In Matthew 5:21-48, Jesus raises the standard of the Old Testament law to include not only our thoughts but our actions. None of us have kept these standards perfectly. We have either failed in our actions or our thoughts. In Matthew 6:1-18, Jesus tells us not to do our good or charitable deeds before men in order to be seen by them. There is not one of us who would be completely pure in regards to this either. We have all sinned; we have all done good things with the wrong motive. In Matthew 6:19-34, Jesus discusses the deceitfulness of riches and shows us how worried we get over material needs. After all of this, there is not a one of us that can stand in our own attempt at self-righteousness before God by our own good works. We need His mercy and grace.
Matthew 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, and all these things will be added to you. As we can see, Jesus was contrasting our attempt at being right with God through our own works with God's gift of righteousness through His mercy and grace. Since Jesus is speaking logically and in sequence, He tells us to stop judging one another in Matthew chapter 7.
Matt.7:1-6 "Judge not, that you be not judged (by other people). For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged (by others); and with what measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye, and look, a plank is in your eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank (of self-righteousness) from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. Do not give what is holy (your heart) to the dogs (self-righteous), nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces." When we judge others, they will judge us and tear our heart to pieces.
Matt. 7:7-8 "Ask (for His righteousness as a free gift), and it will be given to you; seek (first the kingdom of God and His righteousness) and you will find; knock and it will be open to you. For everyone who asks (for mercy and grace) receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." Jesus will then show us that God is more merciful and graceful than any human parent in Matthew 7:9-11.
Matthew 7:13-14 "Enter by the narrow gate (God's gift of right-standing through His mercy), for wide is the gate and broad is the way which leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."
Many people teach that few people will go to heaven by misinterpreting these verses. Jesus was speaking to the Jewish people. Comparatively few of the Jewish people accepted what Jesus was saying about grace because they were approaching God by trying to keep the Old Testament Law and be justified by their works. Billions of Gentiles have accepted the Lord over the centuries.
Matthew 7:15-23. Read this passage. This entire passage is referring to false prophets. Who are the false prophets Jesus was referring to? They were the Jewish teachers who were teaching that we are made right with God by trying to keep the Old Testament Law. This would have enraged those Jewish teachers of the Old Testament. Jesus said you will know them, the false teachers, by their fruits. The good tree is the one teaching the grace and mercy of God. The bad tree is the teacher teaching self-righteousness by trying to keep the Old Testament Law. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. This isn't talking about Christians struggling with sin. It is saying that those false prophets teaching self-righteousness by our own good works will be cut down and thrown into the fire, a reference to Matthew 3:12.
Finally, in Matthew 7:24-27, the rock that Jesus refers to is God's gift of righteousness apart from our works. That is the rock upon which we build our foundation. That rock is the mercy and grace of God given to us in Jesus.
We are made right with God by what Jesus did for us. He paid the penalty for the sins of our entire lifetime. He gives us right-standing as a gift by His mercy and grace. Praise the name of Jesus!
Keith Oliver
Matthew 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." As we try to approach God by our own works, trying to keep the Law or the commandments of the Old Testament in an attempt to gain God's favor, we will fail and see that we are poor in spirit. When we know we can only receive the kingdom of God as a gift by His mercy, then we receive the kingdom of God in our hearts.
Matthew 5:4 "Blessed are those who mourn (by trying to keep the Old Testament Law, we fail and see that we need mercy), for they shall be comforted (we receive His mercy and grace)."
Matt. 5:5 "Blessed are the meek (teachable; we learn from the Law that we actually need His mercy and grace), for they shall inherit the earth." Inheriting the earth is a reference to God supplying our needs in Matthew 6:33.
Matt. 5:6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled (with His righteousness)." When we recognize that we cannot gain His favor by our own works or our own attempts at self-righteousness, He fills us with His righteousness. God gives us right-standing with Him as a gift, by His mercy.
Matt. 5:7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." As we see that we cannot gain right-standing with God through our own works or self-righteousness, we then receive His mercy. We begin to extend His mercy and grace to others; in turn, we obtain mercy from other people.
Matt. 5:8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." God's grace and mercy flowing through us leads us to walk in holiness and purity of heart. As we are pure in heart, trusting in His gift of righteousness to us, we will begin to see or perceive God within us. We also see or perceive God as He is, that He is love and has mercy toward us.
Matt. 5:9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." We begin to share that peace with God comes through His mercy and grace. He is not mad at people. He gives us right-standing with Himself as a gift. There is peace between God and man when we approach God through His grace and mercy in Jesus. People will see the love of God in us and call us the sons of God.
Matt. 5:10 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." People who are prideful and trust in their own works or self-righteousness will not like those who are trusting in right-standing with God through mercy and grace in our Lord Jesus Christ. Persecution will result as we preach or declare right-standing with God through His grace and mercy instead of our own works.
Matt.5:11-12 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." When we preach right-standing with God through His mercy and grace, those who oppose this message will say we are just using grace as an excuse to sin and cover up the evil we are doing. Notice Jesus said we are blessed if they say all kings of evil against you falsely for My sake. If we participate in evil and use His grace as an excuse to sin, their accusations against us are correct. This will cause self-righteous people to reject our message of grace instead of seeing the error of their way.
Matt. 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men." If we proclaim right-standing with God through Jesus apart from our works by His mercy and grace, but do not walk in holiness, our message will have no effect with people. Men, not God, will reject us and our message of grace.
Matt. 5:14-16 "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." When we declare that we are right with God by His grace and mercy, but we also walk in love and holiness before people, people will glorify God and accept our message of grace through our Lord Jesus Christ.
From this point forward in His message, Jesus will raise the standard of the Old Testament Law to include not only our actions but our thoughts. None of us are perfect in our actions. We all do some good but we also do some bad things. We need mercy, not justice. Jesus will discuss your righteousness or attempt at self righteousness before God beginning in Matt. 5:20 and contrast it with His righteousness in Matt. 6:33. This is the key to understanding the rest of the Sermon on the Mount by Jesus. The rest of Matthew 5 will discuss our failure to live up to the righteous standard of the Law in our actions or thoughts. Matthew chapter 6 will discuss wrong motives behind good deeds that we do, in order to look good before other people. This should cause all of us to cry out for His mercy and grace, which He will give to us freely in Jesus.
Matt. 5:17-20 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the Law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."
The Old Testament Law was given to convict us of sin. When it does that and we cry out to God for His mercy and grace in Jesus, the Law has done its job and is fulfilled in our lives. The Law will continue doing its job of convicting people of sin until they realize that they need mercy and not justice. The key words to understanding the rest of Matthew chapter 5 and most of chapter 6 are your righteousness. This will be in contrast to His gift of righteousness in Matthew 6:33.
In Matthew 5:21-48, Jesus raises the standard of the Old Testament law to include not only our thoughts but our actions. None of us have kept these standards perfectly. We have either failed in our actions or our thoughts. In Matthew 6:1-18, Jesus tells us not to do our good or charitable deeds before men in order to be seen by them. There is not one of us who would be completely pure in regards to this either. We have all sinned; we have all done good things with the wrong motive. In Matthew 6:19-34, Jesus discusses the deceitfulness of riches and shows us how worried we get over material needs. After all of this, there is not a one of us that can stand in our own attempt at self-righteousness before God by our own good works. We need His mercy and grace.
Matthew 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, and all these things will be added to you. As we can see, Jesus was contrasting our attempt at being right with God through our own works with God's gift of righteousness through His mercy and grace. Since Jesus is speaking logically and in sequence, He tells us to stop judging one another in Matthew chapter 7.
Matt.7:1-6 "Judge not, that you be not judged (by other people). For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged (by others); and with what measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye, and look, a plank is in your eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank (of self-righteousness) from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. Do not give what is holy (your heart) to the dogs (self-righteous), nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces." When we judge others, they will judge us and tear our heart to pieces.
Matt. 7:7-8 "Ask (for His righteousness as a free gift), and it will be given to you; seek (first the kingdom of God and His righteousness) and you will find; knock and it will be open to you. For everyone who asks (for mercy and grace) receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." Jesus will then show us that God is more merciful and graceful than any human parent in Matthew 7:9-11.
Matthew 7:13-14 "Enter by the narrow gate (God's gift of right-standing through His mercy), for wide is the gate and broad is the way which leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."
Many people teach that few people will go to heaven by misinterpreting these verses. Jesus was speaking to the Jewish people. Comparatively few of the Jewish people accepted what Jesus was saying about grace because they were approaching God by trying to keep the Old Testament Law and be justified by their works. Billions of Gentiles have accepted the Lord over the centuries.
Matthew 7:15-23. Read this passage. This entire passage is referring to false prophets. Who are the false prophets Jesus was referring to? They were the Jewish teachers who were teaching that we are made right with God by trying to keep the Old Testament Law. This would have enraged those Jewish teachers of the Old Testament. Jesus said you will know them, the false teachers, by their fruits. The good tree is the one teaching the grace and mercy of God. The bad tree is the teacher teaching self-righteousness by trying to keep the Old Testament Law. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. This isn't talking about Christians struggling with sin. It is saying that those false prophets teaching self-righteousness by our own good works will be cut down and thrown into the fire, a reference to Matthew 3:12.
Finally, in Matthew 7:24-27, the rock that Jesus refers to is God's gift of righteousness apart from our works. That is the rock upon which we build our foundation. That rock is the mercy and grace of God given to us in Jesus.
We are made right with God by what Jesus did for us. He paid the penalty for the sins of our entire lifetime. He gives us right-standing as a gift by His mercy and grace. Praise the name of Jesus!
Keith Oliver
Friday, October 16, 2015
Hebrews Highlights Part 8
Hebrews 12:1-4 "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin."
Jesus is both the author and finisher of our faith. He is the author of our faith when He died for our sins on the cross and purged us from the guilt of our sins before God. This work is complete. He is also the finisher of our faith. This is walking out our faith in love and holiness before men. Holiness does not gain us favor with God. Jesus did that for us when He paid the penalty for the sins of our entire lifetime. But for men to see the Lord in us, we must learn to express His nature of love through us. Our bodies are not yet redeemed. We still have sinful desires in our flesh. We must lay aside the sin which so easily ensnares us and learn to walk in love instead of selfishness.
Remember Hebrews 5:13-14. It says that by reason of use of the word of righteousness, the gospel, we would discern both good and evil. We discern an evil conscience within us that condemns us before God. We need to hold fast to the gospel that Jesus purged us of our sins. This will cleanse us of an evil conscience before God. Hebrews 13:18 describes the good conscience, that we should desire in all things to live honorably before men. If we do not walk in love and holiness before men, they will reject our message of grace. They will say we are using grace as an excuse to live selfishly, and they will be right.
Hebrews 12:9-11 "Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."
Notice that God is teaching and training us to walk in holiness. He does this by His word of righteousness or the gospel. As we hold fast to the gospel, it cleanses our thoughts. This will lead to cleansing of our actions. Notice this verse says that holiness is the peaceable fruit of righteousness. Righteousness before God apart from our works is the root of our faith. Holiness is the fruit of our faith. Let me give an example. Romans 14:17 says that the kingdom of God within us is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Notice when we understand righteousness or the gospel, that Jesus bore the penalty for our sins, it begins to produce peace and joy in us. As we focus on the gospel, our anger and frustration give way to peace and tranquility. That draws others to the Lord and to us instead of alienating them with selfish behavior.
Hebrews 12:14 "Pursue peace with all people, and holiness without which no one will see the Lord:"
This verses means that if we don't walk in holiness, no one will see the Lord in us. They won't see His nature of love and holiness expressed through us. It is not a threat that we won't go to heaven if we don't walk in holiness.
Hebrews 12:18-25 "For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore.........But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven...."
Remember Hebrews 1:2-3. How is God speaking to us in the New Testament? By His Son Jesus, when He had by Himself purged our sins. These verses in Hebrews 12 are comparing again how God spoke to the people of Israel at Mount Sinai and gave them the Law. This produced fear of punishment in them. They were afraid of God and did not want to hear His voice. Hebrews contrasts that with God speaking to us under the New Testament of grace. Jesus purged our sins and sat down at the right hand of God. We should have no more fear of punishment from God. He wants to lead us into walking in love and holiness. He will accomplish this in us as we respond to Him in love because of His great love for us. If we turn away from Him Who is speaking grace to us now, we are turning back and rehearsing what He said under the Old Testament. This will leave us fearful and leave us in bondage.
Hopefully these blogs have been a good summary of the book of Hebrews. It is such a wonderful book. We are to hold to the gospel, the message of His grace in Christ Jesus, and not to fall away back to hearing or rehearsing the Old Testament Law. The sins of our entire lifetime have been purged through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, once and for all. We can draw near to God in complete peace, without any fear of punishment. He loves us so much and wants to hold us close.
Keith Oliver
Jesus is both the author and finisher of our faith. He is the author of our faith when He died for our sins on the cross and purged us from the guilt of our sins before God. This work is complete. He is also the finisher of our faith. This is walking out our faith in love and holiness before men. Holiness does not gain us favor with God. Jesus did that for us when He paid the penalty for the sins of our entire lifetime. But for men to see the Lord in us, we must learn to express His nature of love through us. Our bodies are not yet redeemed. We still have sinful desires in our flesh. We must lay aside the sin which so easily ensnares us and learn to walk in love instead of selfishness.
Remember Hebrews 5:13-14. It says that by reason of use of the word of righteousness, the gospel, we would discern both good and evil. We discern an evil conscience within us that condemns us before God. We need to hold fast to the gospel that Jesus purged us of our sins. This will cleanse us of an evil conscience before God. Hebrews 13:18 describes the good conscience, that we should desire in all things to live honorably before men. If we do not walk in love and holiness before men, they will reject our message of grace. They will say we are using grace as an excuse to live selfishly, and they will be right.
Hebrews 12:9-11 "Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."
Notice that God is teaching and training us to walk in holiness. He does this by His word of righteousness or the gospel. As we hold fast to the gospel, it cleanses our thoughts. This will lead to cleansing of our actions. Notice this verse says that holiness is the peaceable fruit of righteousness. Righteousness before God apart from our works is the root of our faith. Holiness is the fruit of our faith. Let me give an example. Romans 14:17 says that the kingdom of God within us is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Notice when we understand righteousness or the gospel, that Jesus bore the penalty for our sins, it begins to produce peace and joy in us. As we focus on the gospel, our anger and frustration give way to peace and tranquility. That draws others to the Lord and to us instead of alienating them with selfish behavior.
Hebrews 12:14 "Pursue peace with all people, and holiness without which no one will see the Lord:"
This verses means that if we don't walk in holiness, no one will see the Lord in us. They won't see His nature of love and holiness expressed through us. It is not a threat that we won't go to heaven if we don't walk in holiness.
Hebrews 12:18-25 "For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore.........But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven...."
Remember Hebrews 1:2-3. How is God speaking to us in the New Testament? By His Son Jesus, when He had by Himself purged our sins. These verses in Hebrews 12 are comparing again how God spoke to the people of Israel at Mount Sinai and gave them the Law. This produced fear of punishment in them. They were afraid of God and did not want to hear His voice. Hebrews contrasts that with God speaking to us under the New Testament of grace. Jesus purged our sins and sat down at the right hand of God. We should have no more fear of punishment from God. He wants to lead us into walking in love and holiness. He will accomplish this in us as we respond to Him in love because of His great love for us. If we turn away from Him Who is speaking grace to us now, we are turning back and rehearsing what He said under the Old Testament. This will leave us fearful and leave us in bondage.
Hopefully these blogs have been a good summary of the book of Hebrews. It is such a wonderful book. We are to hold to the gospel, the message of His grace in Christ Jesus, and not to fall away back to hearing or rehearsing the Old Testament Law. The sins of our entire lifetime have been purged through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, once and for all. We can draw near to God in complete peace, without any fear of punishment. He loves us so much and wants to hold us close.
Keith Oliver
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Hebrews Highlights Part 7
Hebrews 10:35-39 "Therefore, do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. "For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in Him." But we are not those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul."
This is one of the most touching passages I have ever seen in the Bible when we see it clearly in context. We are not to cast away our confidence that our sins have been purged by Jesus. This has great reward. We are rewarded with the Presence of the Almighty God! You have need of endurance in the gospel, so that after you have done the will of God, which is to believe the word of His grace, you may receive the promise of His Presence without fear of punishment. Verse 37 shows the loving Father heart of God. He is coming to us to see who will draw near and fellowship with Him. Now the justified shall live by faith that our sins have been purged by Jesus. But if anyone draws back from God due to fear of punishment, instead of drawing near to Him without fear, God does not receive the pleasure of our fellowship. God is not mad at us and is not counting our sins against us. But if we believe that He is, then we will draw back in fear. If we believe He is counting our sins to us, we have reverted back to an Old Testament mindset. We are not those who draw back to the judgment under the Old Testament law, but of those who believe the gospel to the saving of our soul or the cleansing of our conscience. It makes me love God as I write this when I see He loves us so much.
Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." This has been quoted so many times. What is the actual context? Now faith in the gospel, that our sins have been purged by Jesus, is the substance of things hoped for, entering into His Presence without fear of punishment, the evidence of things not seen. We have the Presence of the Unseen God in our hearts. Hebrews 11:27 confirms this. Speaking of Moses, it says that by faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.
Hebrews 11:6 "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." It means that without faith that our sins have been purged by Jesus, it is impossible to please Him by drawing near to Him. We will be afraid of Him otherwise. He who comes to fellowship with God must believe that He is and that He will reward us with His Presence and love as we diligently seek Him. Why do we have to diligently seek Him? We have a conscience that needs to be cleansed and renewed by enduring in the message of the gospel, that He by Himself purged our sins.
Hebrews 11:39-40 "And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith ,did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us." This verse opens up the whole chapter of Hebrews 11. Some people have called this chapter the Hall of Faith. These two verses are saying that these Old Testament believers obtained a good testimony before God and people, but they did not receive the promise of God living within them. These Old Testament heroes lived before the cross of Jesus and were not born again. Verse 40 says that they should not be made perfect apart from us. The book of Hebrews has used the word perfect in regard to the conscience. So until Jesus shed His blood on the cross, these Old Testament believers could not be perfected in their conscience before God.
We have seen the focus of the first 11 chapters of Hebrews. God wants us to hold fast to the gospel, that Jesus purged our sins on the cross and sat down at the right hand of God. Jesus paid the penalty for the sins of our entire lifetime. Holding to this Good News will cleanse our conscience before God so that we can approach Him without fear. Before the writer of Hebrews ever begins to discuss walking in holiness, know that our hearts are to be established in the word of righteousness. Jesus purged our sins once and for all. We are not to draw back to an Old Testament mindset. We are to draw near to God with a true heart in full assurance that our sins have been punished in Jesus and there is no more punishment for us. When this is complete and our conscience is cleansed, then God teaches us to walk in love and holiness. We do not walk in holiness to gain God's favor. We already have His favor when we trust in Christ. We walk in holiness to properly express His true nature of love in and through us to other people. We will see this in Hebrews chapters 12-13.
Keith Oliver
This is one of the most touching passages I have ever seen in the Bible when we see it clearly in context. We are not to cast away our confidence that our sins have been purged by Jesus. This has great reward. We are rewarded with the Presence of the Almighty God! You have need of endurance in the gospel, so that after you have done the will of God, which is to believe the word of His grace, you may receive the promise of His Presence without fear of punishment. Verse 37 shows the loving Father heart of God. He is coming to us to see who will draw near and fellowship with Him. Now the justified shall live by faith that our sins have been purged by Jesus. But if anyone draws back from God due to fear of punishment, instead of drawing near to Him without fear, God does not receive the pleasure of our fellowship. God is not mad at us and is not counting our sins against us. But if we believe that He is, then we will draw back in fear. If we believe He is counting our sins to us, we have reverted back to an Old Testament mindset. We are not those who draw back to the judgment under the Old Testament law, but of those who believe the gospel to the saving of our soul or the cleansing of our conscience. It makes me love God as I write this when I see He loves us so much.
Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." This has been quoted so many times. What is the actual context? Now faith in the gospel, that our sins have been purged by Jesus, is the substance of things hoped for, entering into His Presence without fear of punishment, the evidence of things not seen. We have the Presence of the Unseen God in our hearts. Hebrews 11:27 confirms this. Speaking of Moses, it says that by faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.
Hebrews 11:6 "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." It means that without faith that our sins have been purged by Jesus, it is impossible to please Him by drawing near to Him. We will be afraid of Him otherwise. He who comes to fellowship with God must believe that He is and that He will reward us with His Presence and love as we diligently seek Him. Why do we have to diligently seek Him? We have a conscience that needs to be cleansed and renewed by enduring in the message of the gospel, that He by Himself purged our sins.
Hebrews 11:39-40 "And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith ,did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us." This verse opens up the whole chapter of Hebrews 11. Some people have called this chapter the Hall of Faith. These two verses are saying that these Old Testament believers obtained a good testimony before God and people, but they did not receive the promise of God living within them. These Old Testament heroes lived before the cross of Jesus and were not born again. Verse 40 says that they should not be made perfect apart from us. The book of Hebrews has used the word perfect in regard to the conscience. So until Jesus shed His blood on the cross, these Old Testament believers could not be perfected in their conscience before God.
We have seen the focus of the first 11 chapters of Hebrews. God wants us to hold fast to the gospel, that Jesus purged our sins on the cross and sat down at the right hand of God. Jesus paid the penalty for the sins of our entire lifetime. Holding to this Good News will cleanse our conscience before God so that we can approach Him without fear. Before the writer of Hebrews ever begins to discuss walking in holiness, know that our hearts are to be established in the word of righteousness. Jesus purged our sins once and for all. We are not to draw back to an Old Testament mindset. We are to draw near to God with a true heart in full assurance that our sins have been punished in Jesus and there is no more punishment for us. When this is complete and our conscience is cleansed, then God teaches us to walk in love and holiness. We do not walk in holiness to gain God's favor. We already have His favor when we trust in Christ. We walk in holiness to properly express His true nature of love in and through us to other people. We will see this in Hebrews chapters 12-13.
Keith Oliver
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Hebrews Highlights Part 6
Hebrews 9:12-15 "Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the Living God? And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance."
The scripture uses the word 'eternal' three times in four verses. It says that Jesus obtained eternal redemption. He did not need it for Himself. He obtained eternal redemption for us, so that we might receive an eternal inheritance. God is trying to give us the security that comes with eternal redemption. We don't have temporary redemption until the next time we sin. The blood of Christ is meant to cleanse our conscience from dead works so that we can serve the Living God. We can enter into God's Presence without fear of punishment. The penalty for our sins has been paid.
It is ironic that Hebrews 6 and 10 are used as examples where Christians might lose their salvation, when the whole book of Hebrews is trying to assure us of our eternal redemption when we accept the Lord Jesus into our hearts.
Hebrews 10:10-14 "By that will (New Testament) we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified."
Hebrews 10:2 says that those Old Testament sacrifices can never make anyone perfect in their conscience. The goal of Jesus' sacrifice is that we have no more consciousness of sins before God.
Jesus made one sacrifice for sins forever. He is not dying over and over again each time we sin. His one sacrifice paid the penalty for all sins forever. Notice verse 14. By one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. The scripture is saying that our conscience can be perfected forever before God even as we are in the midst of being cleansed or sanctified from sin in our outward actions. We have peace with God forever, even though He is in the process of teaching us to walk in love and holiness toward others! Wow. This is the Good News!
Hebrews 10:19-22 "Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water."
These verses really show the true meaning for the forgiveness of sins. We can draw near to God and enter into His Presence without fear of punishment. That is a heart in full assurance of faith that our sins have been put away and a heart that is cleansed from an evil conscience. He also wants our bodies washed with pure water. This means that He wants us to walk in love and holiness toward others.
Hebrews 10:23-32 "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 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. For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses' Law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy, who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord" And again, "The Lord will judge His people." It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God. But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings....."
These verses can be scary if you take them out of context. What are we commanded to do in verse 23? We are to hold fast to the confession of our hope, that our sins have been purged, without wavering. Wavering is the same as falling away or drifting away, phrases we have already seen earlier in Hebrews. Remember Hebrews 1:2-3. God has spoken to us in these last days, in the New Testament, through His Son. When Jesus had purged our sins, He sat down at the right hand of God. We are to hold fast to this confession. What does it mean to sin willfully in this context? We sin willfully when we waver or let go of our confession that Jesus has purged our sins. What happens when we let go of our confession? We then begin to rehearse or hear again what God spoke under the Old Testament Law to previous generations that is no longer applicable to us in the New Testament. There is only a certain fearful expectation of judgment because we will not be perfect in our own works. We trample underfoot what Jesus did in our thinking. We count His blood the same as the shed blood of an animal sacrifice under the Old Testament Law. We go back to receiving forgiveness one sin at a time. We discount that He made one sacrifice for sins forever. We insult His grace and then try to approach God by our good works again. This does not mean that the person has lost their salvation and is going to hell. It means the person has stopped listening to New Testament truth and has fallen back to Old Testament thinking.
These Jews were suffering reproach and persecution for believing in Jesus. They were surrounded by people who were still participating in Old Testament rituals and sacrifices. They were being persecuted for believing that Jesus had already paid for their sins and that animal sacrifices were no longer needed. They were experiencing a very painful transition from Old Testament thinking to New Testament thinking.
There are hundreds of millions of believers today who have never left or reverted back to Old Testament thinking, believing that they are forgiven one sin at a time. They are in an ongoing cycle of repentance and confession, trying to find rest for their conscience. Rest comes when we trust that Jesus made one sacrifice for sins forever. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ!
Keith Oliver
The scripture uses the word 'eternal' three times in four verses. It says that Jesus obtained eternal redemption. He did not need it for Himself. He obtained eternal redemption for us, so that we might receive an eternal inheritance. God is trying to give us the security that comes with eternal redemption. We don't have temporary redemption until the next time we sin. The blood of Christ is meant to cleanse our conscience from dead works so that we can serve the Living God. We can enter into God's Presence without fear of punishment. The penalty for our sins has been paid.
It is ironic that Hebrews 6 and 10 are used as examples where Christians might lose their salvation, when the whole book of Hebrews is trying to assure us of our eternal redemption when we accept the Lord Jesus into our hearts.
Hebrews 10:10-14 "By that will (New Testament) we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified."
Hebrews 10:2 says that those Old Testament sacrifices can never make anyone perfect in their conscience. The goal of Jesus' sacrifice is that we have no more consciousness of sins before God.
Jesus made one sacrifice for sins forever. He is not dying over and over again each time we sin. His one sacrifice paid the penalty for all sins forever. Notice verse 14. By one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. The scripture is saying that our conscience can be perfected forever before God even as we are in the midst of being cleansed or sanctified from sin in our outward actions. We have peace with God forever, even though He is in the process of teaching us to walk in love and holiness toward others! Wow. This is the Good News!
Hebrews 10:19-22 "Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water."
These verses really show the true meaning for the forgiveness of sins. We can draw near to God and enter into His Presence without fear of punishment. That is a heart in full assurance of faith that our sins have been put away and a heart that is cleansed from an evil conscience. He also wants our bodies washed with pure water. This means that He wants us to walk in love and holiness toward others.
Hebrews 10:23-32 "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 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. For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses' Law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy, who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord" And again, "The Lord will judge His people." It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God. But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings....."
These verses can be scary if you take them out of context. What are we commanded to do in verse 23? We are to hold fast to the confession of our hope, that our sins have been purged, without wavering. Wavering is the same as falling away or drifting away, phrases we have already seen earlier in Hebrews. Remember Hebrews 1:2-3. God has spoken to us in these last days, in the New Testament, through His Son. When Jesus had purged our sins, He sat down at the right hand of God. We are to hold fast to this confession. What does it mean to sin willfully in this context? We sin willfully when we waver or let go of our confession that Jesus has purged our sins. What happens when we let go of our confession? We then begin to rehearse or hear again what God spoke under the Old Testament Law to previous generations that is no longer applicable to us in the New Testament. There is only a certain fearful expectation of judgment because we will not be perfect in our own works. We trample underfoot what Jesus did in our thinking. We count His blood the same as the shed blood of an animal sacrifice under the Old Testament Law. We go back to receiving forgiveness one sin at a time. We discount that He made one sacrifice for sins forever. We insult His grace and then try to approach God by our good works again. This does not mean that the person has lost their salvation and is going to hell. It means the person has stopped listening to New Testament truth and has fallen back to Old Testament thinking.
These Jews were suffering reproach and persecution for believing in Jesus. They were surrounded by people who were still participating in Old Testament rituals and sacrifices. They were being persecuted for believing that Jesus had already paid for their sins and that animal sacrifices were no longer needed. They were experiencing a very painful transition from Old Testament thinking to New Testament thinking.
There are hundreds of millions of believers today who have never left or reverted back to Old Testament thinking, believing that they are forgiven one sin at a time. They are in an ongoing cycle of repentance and confession, trying to find rest for their conscience. Rest comes when we trust that Jesus made one sacrifice for sins forever. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ!
Keith Oliver
Hebrews Highlights Part 5
Hebrews 8:6-13 "But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. For if that first covenant (the Old Testament) had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second (the New Testament). Because finding fault with them (Israel under the Old Testament Law), He says: "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah--not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant and I disregarded them, says the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, "Know the Lord", for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deed I will remember no more." In that He says, "A new covenant," He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away."
The Old Testament Law was a conditional covenant. If you obey God and follow the commandments, you receive blessing. If you do not obey God and do not follow His commandments, you would be cursed. This is the covenant described in Deuteronomy 28. This covenant did not work because the people could not keep His commandments perfectly. Verse 9 says "because they did not continue in My covenant and I disregarded them, says the Lord."
God had to establish the New Covenant that was not based upon our performance but upon His grace shown through our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus bore the penalty for the sins of our entire lifetime. Verse 12 shows us why the New Testament works. "For (because) I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more." God no longer remembers our sins because He punished all of our sins in Jesus.
Much of the confusion in the body of Christ occurs because we are trying to blend the Old and New Testaments. They are two separate covenants and cannot be blended. The Old Testament Law is based upon our performance. The New Testament is based upon Jesus and His mercy shown to us at the cross. When we try to blend these covenants, we end up believing that God is forgiving us one sin at a time. We end up with a mixture of condemnation and grace, depending on what verses we focus on.
Hebrews 8:13 says that the Old Testament is obsolete. This means that the Old Testament is no longer used. It is out of date. It cannot be applied under the New Testament. I did not write this. Read the verse. The Old Testament is obsolete. We are no longer offering animal sacrifices on a daily basis in the Temple. We need to stop our Old Testament thinking. God is not forgiving us one sin at a time based upon an animal sacrifice. Jesus has made one sacrifice for sins forever. We are forgiven of the sins of our entire lifetime, past, present, and future sins. So many are quoting Old Testament verses and examples as if they apply today. We can learn how God was dealing with people back then by reading the Old Testament. But we are not under that covenant anymore.
Does this mean that we can just sin and run wild, because Jesus made one sacrifice for sins forever? Absolutely not. Hebrews chapters 12-13 will be addressing these issues. But recognize that the writer of Hebrews is spending the first 11 chapters assuring us that our sins are forgiven. That is 11 chapters assuring us that our sins are remitted and the last 2 chapters on holiness. Our teaching and preaching should reflect this also. As we hold on to the gospel truth that our sins are forgiven and we are made righteous before God apart from our works, then He will lead and guide into holiness and walking in love.
Hebrews 9:7-9 "But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people's sins committed in ignorance; the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing. It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience--"
When the book of Hebrews was written, the Jewish people were still offering animal sacrifices in the Temple in Jerusalem. This did not cease until Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed in 70 A.D. They were offering animal sacrifices on a daily basis for sins that they were conscious of. Then once a year, the high priest entered the Holy of Holies where God's Presence dwelt in the Temple. He offered a sacrifice once a year for the sins of people committed in ignorance. So the Jewish people were receiving forgiveness one sin at a time and, at best, one year at a time for sins committed in ignorance. These sacrifices could never cleanse or perfect their consciences. Unfortunately, many Christians are continuing in this Old Testament line of thinking. Our consciences are cleansed and made perfect before God when we change our thinking and accept that Jesus shed His blood for the remission of the sins of our entire lifetime. This is the gospel. This is what brings lasting peace. This is the Sabbath rest discussed in Hebrews chapter 4.
Keith Oliver
The Old Testament Law was a conditional covenant. If you obey God and follow the commandments, you receive blessing. If you do not obey God and do not follow His commandments, you would be cursed. This is the covenant described in Deuteronomy 28. This covenant did not work because the people could not keep His commandments perfectly. Verse 9 says "because they did not continue in My covenant and I disregarded them, says the Lord."
God had to establish the New Covenant that was not based upon our performance but upon His grace shown through our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus bore the penalty for the sins of our entire lifetime. Verse 12 shows us why the New Testament works. "For (because) I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more." God no longer remembers our sins because He punished all of our sins in Jesus.
Much of the confusion in the body of Christ occurs because we are trying to blend the Old and New Testaments. They are two separate covenants and cannot be blended. The Old Testament Law is based upon our performance. The New Testament is based upon Jesus and His mercy shown to us at the cross. When we try to blend these covenants, we end up believing that God is forgiving us one sin at a time. We end up with a mixture of condemnation and grace, depending on what verses we focus on.
Hebrews 8:13 says that the Old Testament is obsolete. This means that the Old Testament is no longer used. It is out of date. It cannot be applied under the New Testament. I did not write this. Read the verse. The Old Testament is obsolete. We are no longer offering animal sacrifices on a daily basis in the Temple. We need to stop our Old Testament thinking. God is not forgiving us one sin at a time based upon an animal sacrifice. Jesus has made one sacrifice for sins forever. We are forgiven of the sins of our entire lifetime, past, present, and future sins. So many are quoting Old Testament verses and examples as if they apply today. We can learn how God was dealing with people back then by reading the Old Testament. But we are not under that covenant anymore.
Does this mean that we can just sin and run wild, because Jesus made one sacrifice for sins forever? Absolutely not. Hebrews chapters 12-13 will be addressing these issues. But recognize that the writer of Hebrews is spending the first 11 chapters assuring us that our sins are forgiven. That is 11 chapters assuring us that our sins are remitted and the last 2 chapters on holiness. Our teaching and preaching should reflect this also. As we hold on to the gospel truth that our sins are forgiven and we are made righteous before God apart from our works, then He will lead and guide into holiness and walking in love.
Hebrews 9:7-9 "But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people's sins committed in ignorance; the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing. It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience--"
When the book of Hebrews was written, the Jewish people were still offering animal sacrifices in the Temple in Jerusalem. This did not cease until Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed in 70 A.D. They were offering animal sacrifices on a daily basis for sins that they were conscious of. Then once a year, the high priest entered the Holy of Holies where God's Presence dwelt in the Temple. He offered a sacrifice once a year for the sins of people committed in ignorance. So the Jewish people were receiving forgiveness one sin at a time and, at best, one year at a time for sins committed in ignorance. These sacrifices could never cleanse or perfect their consciences. Unfortunately, many Christians are continuing in this Old Testament line of thinking. Our consciences are cleansed and made perfect before God when we change our thinking and accept that Jesus shed His blood for the remission of the sins of our entire lifetime. This is the gospel. This is what brings lasting peace. This is the Sabbath rest discussed in Hebrews chapter 4.
Keith Oliver
Saturday, October 10, 2015
Hebrews Highlights Part 4
Hebrews 6:13-20 "For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying "Surely blessing I will bless you , and multiplying I will multiply you." And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek."
What is the main goal of the gospel? Is it only the forgiveness of our sins? These verses open up the rest of the book of Hebrews. The forgiveness of our sins is only the means to an end. The end goal is that we can enter into the Presence of God without any fear of punishment and enjoy fellowship with Him. He wants to enjoy talking with us, leading us, guiding us, loving us. He can't do this if we are afraid of Him. If we believe that He is holding our sins against us, we will pull away out of fear. As we believe the gospel, we are rewarded with His Presence!
As Abraham patiently endured, he received the promise that God would bless him and multiply him and his offspring. We are to patiently endure in believing the gospel. As we do, we are rewarded also. Our reward is His love, His peace, His joy, dwelling in His Presence without fear of punishment. He is so kind and gentle to us.
A covenant between men is confirmed by an oath. God confirms His covenant with an oath also. The two immutable things are God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a reference to Genesis 15. Read the story. God made a covenant with to show Abraham that He would be faithful to His promise. When Abraham fell asleep, a burning oven and a burning torch passed through the midst of the sacrificed animals. This represented God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. This covenant was between God the Father and the Lord Jesus, and Abraham was able to get the benefit of it without being able to mess it up. If God cut a covenant with Abraham directly, Abraham would have been the weak link and would have failed. In the same manner, the New Testament is completed by our Lord Jesus Christ. He bore the penalty for the sins of our entire lifetime. All we have to do is believe the Good News of the Gospel! We cannot mess it up with our performance.
Hebrews 6:19 says this hope we have as an anchor of our soul or thinking. An anchor holds a ship in place so that it does not drift away from shore. Knowing that Jesus has purged our sins allows us to enter into His Presence without fear of punishment. It cleanses our conscience and gives rest to our soul.
Hebrews 7:25-27 "Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For such a High Priest was fitting for us, Who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people's, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself."
Notice that He saves us to the uttermost when we come to God through our Lord Jesus Christ. This uttermost is a reference to eternal salvation mentioned in Hebrews 5:9. Jesus is not offering Himself up on a daily basis as we sin. He offered Himself once for all, once for all people and once for all sins for all time. When we trust in what Jesus did for us, we are born again. We need never fear punishment from God anymore. This is the gospel.
Keith Oliver
What is the main goal of the gospel? Is it only the forgiveness of our sins? These verses open up the rest of the book of Hebrews. The forgiveness of our sins is only the means to an end. The end goal is that we can enter into the Presence of God without any fear of punishment and enjoy fellowship with Him. He wants to enjoy talking with us, leading us, guiding us, loving us. He can't do this if we are afraid of Him. If we believe that He is holding our sins against us, we will pull away out of fear. As we believe the gospel, we are rewarded with His Presence!
As Abraham patiently endured, he received the promise that God would bless him and multiply him and his offspring. We are to patiently endure in believing the gospel. As we do, we are rewarded also. Our reward is His love, His peace, His joy, dwelling in His Presence without fear of punishment. He is so kind and gentle to us.
A covenant between men is confirmed by an oath. God confirms His covenant with an oath also. The two immutable things are God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a reference to Genesis 15. Read the story. God made a covenant with to show Abraham that He would be faithful to His promise. When Abraham fell asleep, a burning oven and a burning torch passed through the midst of the sacrificed animals. This represented God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. This covenant was between God the Father and the Lord Jesus, and Abraham was able to get the benefit of it without being able to mess it up. If God cut a covenant with Abraham directly, Abraham would have been the weak link and would have failed. In the same manner, the New Testament is completed by our Lord Jesus Christ. He bore the penalty for the sins of our entire lifetime. All we have to do is believe the Good News of the Gospel! We cannot mess it up with our performance.
Hebrews 6:19 says this hope we have as an anchor of our soul or thinking. An anchor holds a ship in place so that it does not drift away from shore. Knowing that Jesus has purged our sins allows us to enter into His Presence without fear of punishment. It cleanses our conscience and gives rest to our soul.
Hebrews 7:25-27 "Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For such a High Priest was fitting for us, Who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people's, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself."
Notice that He saves us to the uttermost when we come to God through our Lord Jesus Christ. This uttermost is a reference to eternal salvation mentioned in Hebrews 5:9. Jesus is not offering Himself up on a daily basis as we sin. He offered Himself once for all, once for all people and once for all sins for all time. When we trust in what Jesus did for us, we are born again. We need never fear punishment from God anymore. This is the gospel.
Keith Oliver
Hebrews Highlights Part 3
Hebrews 5:9-14 "And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, called by God as High Priest "according to the order of Melchizedek," of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 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."
Notice that Jesus became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him. What is our obedience in the context of these verses? We are to believe the gospel and not be moved away from it back to an Old Testament mindset. Jesus is the author of eternal salvation. We are forgiven and saved eternally. If we believe that we are forgiven one sin at a time or, at best, one week or year at a time, that is not eternal salvation. Notice that the writer uses the phrase dull of hearing. This is the same as drift away or fall away. All of these phrases are referring to drifting away from the word of righteousness.
These Jews had accepted Christ but were under intense persecution from the people around them. They were under intense pressure to revert back to the Old Testament thinking and practices. They had accepted Christ for long enough that they should have been teaching others. But when they became dull of hearing the gospel, they had become unskilled in the word of righteousness before God apart from our works. They had become babies again in their thinking. We move into maturity through reason of use of the word of righteousness. As we face temptation or even failure, we declare that we are righteous before God apart from our works through the shed blood of Jesus. As we continue in this, we will discern within us both an evil conscience and a good conscience. Hebrews 9:14 says that our conscience must be cleansed from dead works to serve the Living God. When we try to approach God by our works and fail, our conscience will condemn us and cause us to pull away from God due to fear of punishment. This is an evil conscience that we must be cleansed from. Hebrews 13:18 describes a good conscience as desiring to live honorably in all things. We should live godly lives before the people around us. It benefits us and those around us. But we don't live godly to try and earn God's favor. Jesus paid for the sins of our entire lifetime. That is why God is pleased with us.
Hebrews 6:1-8 "Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits. For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame. For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it it cultivated, receives blessing from God, but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned."
These verses have been used to teach that a mature believer can reject and lose their salvation. Notice the phrase fall away. We have seen it already in Hebrews. It is speaking of falling away from the word of righteousness, not rejecting your salvation. It is speaking of reverting back to an Old Testament mindset of being forgiven one sin at a time. These verses are describing a person who has moved into maturity but then falls away from the word of righteousness. When we fall away from the gospel or the word of righteousness in Christ Jesus, it is impossible to renew us to repentance from dead works and faith toward God. Why? Hebrews 6:6 says that we crucify again for ourselves the Son of God and put Him to an open shame. Notice the word "again". It is in contrast to Jesus being crucified once for the sins of our entire lifetime. Hebrews 10:12 says that Jesus offered one sacrifice for sins forever. If we fall away from the gospel that Jesus made one sacrifice for the sins of our entire lifetime, then we are saying He needs to be crucified over and over again each time we sin. We have moved back to the Old Testament mindset of forgiveness one sin at a time. If we hold to this Old Testament mindset, then it will be impossible to renew us to repentance from dead works and faith toward God through our Lord Jesus Christ. It doesn't mean that you have lost your salvation and can never be saved again. The subject of these verses are people who had accepted Christ long enough ago that they should have been teaching others, but they have reverted back to the Old Testament mindset. Notice verses 7 and 8. They refer to the Old Testament Law of blessing or cursing based upon our actions. That is what our thinking will be when we fall away from the gospel, and it will produce fear of punishment in our thinking. But God is dealing with us by His grace and mercy through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Is it any wonder that Christianity has not worked very well for many people? Many Christians believe that God has forgiven our past sins, but then each new sin that we commit is a new offense to God that has not yet been paid for. We will never receive rest for our conscience when we believe this.
Keith Oliver
Notice that Jesus became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him. What is our obedience in the context of these verses? We are to believe the gospel and not be moved away from it back to an Old Testament mindset. Jesus is the author of eternal salvation. We are forgiven and saved eternally. If we believe that we are forgiven one sin at a time or, at best, one week or year at a time, that is not eternal salvation. Notice that the writer uses the phrase dull of hearing. This is the same as drift away or fall away. All of these phrases are referring to drifting away from the word of righteousness.
These Jews had accepted Christ but were under intense persecution from the people around them. They were under intense pressure to revert back to the Old Testament thinking and practices. They had accepted Christ for long enough that they should have been teaching others. But when they became dull of hearing the gospel, they had become unskilled in the word of righteousness before God apart from our works. They had become babies again in their thinking. We move into maturity through reason of use of the word of righteousness. As we face temptation or even failure, we declare that we are righteous before God apart from our works through the shed blood of Jesus. As we continue in this, we will discern within us both an evil conscience and a good conscience. Hebrews 9:14 says that our conscience must be cleansed from dead works to serve the Living God. When we try to approach God by our works and fail, our conscience will condemn us and cause us to pull away from God due to fear of punishment. This is an evil conscience that we must be cleansed from. Hebrews 13:18 describes a good conscience as desiring to live honorably in all things. We should live godly lives before the people around us. It benefits us and those around us. But we don't live godly to try and earn God's favor. Jesus paid for the sins of our entire lifetime. That is why God is pleased with us.
Hebrews 6:1-8 "Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits. For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame. For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it it cultivated, receives blessing from God, but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned."
These verses have been used to teach that a mature believer can reject and lose their salvation. Notice the phrase fall away. We have seen it already in Hebrews. It is speaking of falling away from the word of righteousness, not rejecting your salvation. It is speaking of reverting back to an Old Testament mindset of being forgiven one sin at a time. These verses are describing a person who has moved into maturity but then falls away from the word of righteousness. When we fall away from the gospel or the word of righteousness in Christ Jesus, it is impossible to renew us to repentance from dead works and faith toward God. Why? Hebrews 6:6 says that we crucify again for ourselves the Son of God and put Him to an open shame. Notice the word "again". It is in contrast to Jesus being crucified once for the sins of our entire lifetime. Hebrews 10:12 says that Jesus offered one sacrifice for sins forever. If we fall away from the gospel that Jesus made one sacrifice for the sins of our entire lifetime, then we are saying He needs to be crucified over and over again each time we sin. We have moved back to the Old Testament mindset of forgiveness one sin at a time. If we hold to this Old Testament mindset, then it will be impossible to renew us to repentance from dead works and faith toward God through our Lord Jesus Christ. It doesn't mean that you have lost your salvation and can never be saved again. The subject of these verses are people who had accepted Christ long enough ago that they should have been teaching others, but they have reverted back to the Old Testament mindset. Notice verses 7 and 8. They refer to the Old Testament Law of blessing or cursing based upon our actions. That is what our thinking will be when we fall away from the gospel, and it will produce fear of punishment in our thinking. But God is dealing with us by His grace and mercy through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Is it any wonder that Christianity has not worked very well for many people? Many Christians believe that God has forgiven our past sins, but then each new sin that we commit is a new offense to God that has not yet been paid for. We will never receive rest for our conscience when we believe this.
Keith Oliver
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