Wrong Understanding of Revelation 3:20

Many of us have grown up in churches where the Pastor/ Evangelist would quote

Revelation 3:20: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.”

and say that Jesus is on the other side of the door and waiting for us to open the door and Jesus would save us.

Jesus is not a jilted suitor shut out in the cold by those who reject Him. As Paul Washer once said, “If He wants to kick the door down, He’ll kick it down.” Additionally, the door does not represent the hearts of all people but rather the particular church that Christ’s message was aimed at. John MacArthur rightly points out:

Though this verse has been used in countless tracts and evangelistic messages to depict Christ’s knocking on the door of the sinner’s heart, it is broader than that. The door on which Christ is knocking is not the door to a single human heart, but to the Laodicean church. Christ was outside this apostate church and wanted to come in—something that could only happen if the people repented. . . . The Lord Jesus Christ urged them to repent and have fellowship with Him before the night of judgment fell and it was too late forever. ^[1]

Not only is Jesus not waiting at the doorstep of your soul, He is also not waiting for you to offer an invitation, or even respond to His invitation. The language of Scripture is that of compulsion. Paul preached, “God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent” (^{Acts 17:30). When the apostles preached the gospel their messages ended with the strong commands to repent and believe (Acts 2:38; 3:19).}

Finally, while it is true that Jesus promises to reside in believers (^{John 15:4), a drastic change must happen before that can take place. The unbelieving heart is dead, hard, and cold to spiritual things. Before Christ can reside in one’s heart through the Spirit, He has to exchange the heart of stone for a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26).}

When you stop to think about it, asking Jesus into your heart goes against the nature of the gospel, and begins one’s new spiritual life with a poor understanding of what has just occurred.

Who Needs Acceptance?

The sloppiness of modern evangelistic clichés is also painfully evident in the phrase “accepting Jesus as your personal Savior.” A brief moment of reflection should be all that’s needed to identify the problem. On the day of judgment, it is we who will need Christ’s acceptance. To say that we accept Christ dangerously assumes that we sit in judgment and Christ stands on trial.

Our evangelistic terminology needs to reflect the knowledge of our proper place with respect to Christ when it comes to gaining His acceptance. Jesus clarifies who needs to accept whom when He says,

Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons, and in your name perform many miracles?” And then will I declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.” (^{Matthew 7:21-23)}

There is an eternal difference between you accepting Christ and Christ accepting you. I’ve often argued that the thief on the cross was a very good theologian because he had no trouble recognizing who needed whose acceptance. Perhaps, like me, you bought into the cliché without thinking it through. Whatever the case, it’s always dangerous to assume that Christian slogans equate with biblical truth.

We need to get a better understanding of the Scripture when it comes to salvation.

 

Growing In Spirtual Graces

The Process of Growth in Grace in the Believers Life: Five Mistakes and Three Signs of Growth in Grace

Holiness is an ongoing process of growth in grace that constitutes a condition of personal spiritual health.

 Some common mistakes about spiritual growth.

 1A  Growth in Grace is Visible:  The first mistake is to think that growth in grace is always clear to see.

 Rather growth in grace is a process wrought by the Holy Spirit that centers on the human heart.  The quality of a person’s responses to a crisis, a shock, or the demands of any new situation, may tell us all sorts of things about them that we did not know before, and one of those things may well be their spiritual stature.

 2A  Growth in Grace is Uniform:  A second mistake is to think that growth in grace always is uniform process, either in itself throughout the stages of a believer’s life, or in comparison with what God is doing in the lives of others.  Sanctifying grace works differently in all people  Its always conditioned by their natural make-up.

 God’s heath-giving, growth-producing, work of sanctification is differently shaped in detail, and appears to proceed at different speeds, in different lives.
But all Christians can testify that knowing God through Jesus Christ enables them now to live and act in ways that were simply beyond them before; and a professed Christian with no such testimony can hardly be genuine, and is certainty not growing in grace.

 3A  Growth in Grace is Automatic: A third mistake is to think that growth in grace automatic if you are a religious professional, be a minister or missionary, full time worker,. 

 All Christians need God’s help to know who they are, and to live with Him, and with their own human intimates in honest, integrity, and vulnerability. 

 4A  Growth in Grace is Protection:  A fourth mistake: to think that growth in grace shields one from strains, pains, and pressures in one’s Christian life.  Christians have no exemptions from these then did Jesus or Paul. As a matter of fact, compassion generates more distress for growing Christians than other human beings ever know.

 5A  Growth in Grace is a Retreat: A fifth mistake is to think that growth in grace may be furthered by retreating from life’s hard places, heavy burdens, and hurtful relationships. Of course it might be a good idea for some good reason why some Christians should choose to live relatively withdrawn lives, but the belief that only so can they grow in grace.

 Christians grow as they accept their destiny of self-denial and cross-bearing. Luke 9:23.

 So when spiritual growth does take place and graces of Christian character, and in intimacy with God is taking place, one may at least expect to see a few signs of it:

 1A  Sign one is growth delight in praising God, with an increasing distaste for being praised oneself. Psalms 115:11

 2A  Sign two is a growing instinct for caring and giving, with a more pronounced dislike of the self-absorption that constantly takes without either caring or giving.  Luke 23:24, 44

 3A  Sign three is a growing passion for personal righteousness, with more acute distress at the godlessness and immorality of the world around, and a keener discernment of Satan’s strategy of opposition, distraction land deception from ensuring that people neither believe nor live right.  2 Corinthians 2:11

 4A  Sign four is a growing zeal for God’s cause, with more willingness to take unpopular action to further it.  Psalms 144:1

 5A  Sign five is a great patience and willingness to wait for God and bow to His will, with a deeper diastase of what masquerades as the bold faith, rather then trying to force God’s hand. Matthew 26;39

 

Is There Benefit in Study or Not

ECCESIASTES 12:11-12  part one  “Who is the “shepherd” in verse 11.

 10The Preacher sought to find delightful words and to write words of truth correctly. 11The words of wise men are like goads, and masters of these collections are like well-driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd. 12But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body.…

11 The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. 12 My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. ESV

The words of wise men are like goads, and masters of these collections are like well-driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd. NAS

The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.12 And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh. KJV

The Question Is Ask Should We Study The Bible Or Its Not All That Important?

So the question that is often ask, did Moses and David, and Solomon know that they were writing the very Word of God when they sat down to write their books, Genesis, Psalms and Song of Solomon!  And many will say “no.”   Some will say that Proverbs and Ecclesiastes , because when you read them they don’t seem to be written by in a bibical worldview,  so they say they were just wrtting what they were thinking.

When you are not careful in your interpretation of a verse or even words you could arrive at a wrong idea of the meaning of the text.

In the verse there is reference to “one shepherd.”

Treasury of Scripture  gives us some references:

Acts 2:37
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

Ezra 9:8
“But now, for a brief moment, the LORD our God has been gracious in leaving us a remnant and giving us a firm place in his sanctuary, and so our God gives light to our eyes and a little relief in our bondage.

Proverbs 1:6
for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.

Proverbs 22:17
Pay attention and turn your ear to the sayings of the wise; apply your heart to what I teach,

Ecclesiastes 7:5
It is better to heed the rebuke of a wise person than to listen to the song of fools.

Ecclesiastes 10:12
Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious, but fools are consumed by their own lips.

Isaiah 22:23
I will drive him like a peg into a firm place; he will become a seat of honor for the house of his father.

Treasury of Scripture  which I often use for references

The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd. kjv   One Shepherd  (esv)

as goads

Jeremiah 23:29 Is not my word like as a fire? said the LORD; and like a hammer that …

Matthew 3:7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, …

Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said …

2 Corinthians 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through …

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any …

masters

John 3:10 Jesus answered and said to him, Are you a master of Israel, and know …

given

Genesis 49:24 But his bow stayed in strength, and the arms of his hands were made …

Psalm 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Psalm 80:1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you that lead Joseph like a flock; …

Isaiah 40:11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs …

Ezekiel 34:23 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, …

John 10:14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

Hebrews 13:20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, …

1 Peter 5:4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, you shall receive a crown

 

Matthew Henry gives this view:

 12:8-14  The Shepherd of Israel is the Giver of inspired wisdom. Teachers and guides all receive their communications from him. The title is applied in Scripture to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The prophets sought diligently, what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. To write many books was not suited to the shortness of human life, and would be weariness to the writer, and to the reader; and then was much more so to both than it is now. All things would be vanity and vexation, except they led to this conclusion, That to fear God, and keep his commandments, is the whole of man. The fear of God includes in it all the affections of the soul towards him, which are produced by the Holy Spirit. There may be terror where there is no love, nay, where there is hatred. But this is different from the gracious fear of God, as the feelings of an affectionate child.

The fear of God, is often put for the whole of true religion in the heart, and includes its practical results in the life. Let us attend to the one thing needful, and now come to him as a merciful Saviour, who will soon come as an almighty Judge, when he will bring to light the things of darkness, and manifest the counsels of all hearts. Why does God record in his word, that ALL IS VANITY, but to keep us from deceiving ourselves to our ruin? He makes our duty to be our interest. May it be graven in all our hearts. Fear God, and keep his commandments, for this is all that concerns man.

John Gill comments:  John Gill was the pastor of the church where Charles Spurgeon came after John Gill who was there for 50 years

John Gill

John Gill (23 November 1697 – 14 October 1771) was an English Baptist pastor, biblical scholar, and theologian who held to a firm Calvinistic soteriology. Born in Kettering, Northamptonshire, he attended Kettering Grammar School where he mastered the Latin classics and learned Greek by age 11. He continued self-study in everything from logic to Hebrew, his love for the latter remaining throughout his life.

His first pastoral work was as an intern assisting John Davis at Higham Ferrers in 1718 at age 21. He became pastor at the Strict Baptist church at Goat Yard Chapel, Horsleydown, Southwark in 1719. His pastorate lasted 51 years. In 1757 his congregation needed larger premises and moved to a Carter Lane, St. Olave’s Street, Southwark. This Baptist church was once pastored by Benjamin Keach and would later become the New Park Street Chapel and then the Metropolitan Tabernacle pastored by Charles Spurgeon.

During Gill’s ministry the church strongly supported the preaching of George Whitefield at nearby Kennington Common.

Which are given from one shepherd. All these words of the wise, collections, etc., proceed from one source, or are set forth by one authority. Who is] this shepherd? Some say that he is the archisynagogus, the president of the assemblies of wise men, to whose authority all these public utterances are subjected. But we do not know that such supervision existed or was exercised at the time when Koheleth wrote; and, as we saw above, there is probably no reference to any such assemblies in the passage.

The “one shepherd” is doubtless Jehovah, who is called the Shepherd of Israel, who feeds his people like a flock, etc. (see Genesis 48:15; Genesis 49:24; Psalm 23:1; Psalm 80:1, etc.). The appellation is here used as concinnous with the thought of the ox-goad, intimating that God watches and leads his people like a tender shepherd and a skilful farmer. This is an important claim to inspiration. All these varied utterances, whatever form they take, whether his own or his predecessor’s, are outcomes of wisdom, and proceed from him who is only wise, Almighty God. It is no disparagement of this work to imply that it is not the production of the true Solomon; Koheleth is ready to avow himself the writer, and yet claims a hearing as being equally moved by heavenly influence. It is like St. Paul’s assertion (1 Corinthians 7:40), “I think that I also have the Spirit of God.”

When you see in the text “shepherd”  in the kjv you might not view this as the Great Shepherd, but as we see what Gill says, its should be “Shepherd” which the ESV  capitalized it.  Which does make good sense because the ancient Hebrews often referred to God as their “shepherd” as in Psalms 23:l

And as the writer sums up his teaching by calling us to “fear God and keep His commandments (12:13) would give evidences that the “Shepherd” here in these verse se would be our Creator.

 

THEN WHEN SHOULD BE ABLE TO SAY THAT THESE ARE WORDS THAT GOD GAVE THEM TO WRITE IN TERMS THAT WOULD BE KNOWN TO THE WRITER.

So to study the Scritpures would be of a benefit to every Believer.

We will address the reason the Preacher said the other comment in these verses  next

Jesus Was God In the Flesh

 

This last Sunday January 10, 2016 sermon from Luke 7, my outline that I gave out was contained notes that I was able to teach.  As a matter of fact I only was able to finish the first point, and I taught fifty minutes at that.  

In my study of the Word of God I must confess as I have for 40 years I study from some really great teachers.  I have never denied my study from others.  When you do exposition teaching, which means you “exegesis”  i.e. an explanation or critical interpretation of a text.  

In order to “exegesis” the passage of scripture requires some study.  And in the old days before the internet we used books to help us with interpretation of the text which I still like to do, but now the Internet is filled with so many good resources. 

The greatest joy that a preacher has is to preach Jesus Christ. So teaching Luke has been great. Luke’s gospel gives us the clearest view that Jesus Christ was God in the flesh. Jesus Christ has made know God to the world. Jesus shows the character of God.

The writer Luke in his historical setting of the life of Jesus Christ takes us step by step showing that Jesus was God.

Luke’s gives us the update status of Jesus, His daily walk, His dally teaching, His daily miracles, His daily encounter with the religious leaders of the day

JESUS RAISES A WIDOW’S SON

Luke’s View Jesus As God in the flesh

LUKE 7:11-17

Charles e. Whisnant, Teacher, Expositor and sometime Pastor

Why is it important that we know that Jesus Christ was God in the flesh?In John 1:18 we read “No man has seen God at any time.”

What man has seen is the only begotten God. that is God the Son, which is He who is in the bosom of the Father. True so one has seen God at any time. But the best view ever is the view of God broguht to us by the only begotten Son of God, the One who is literally intimate with God, in the bosom of God, That is the One who is the same essence as God, He has declared Him or explained Him.

Jesus “exegesis” God, i.e. Jesus explains God. Jesus unfolds God. Jesus reveals God. So when we look at Jesus, you’re seeing God. So that is what Jesus Himself said , “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.” John 14:9

So the best, clearest view of God that any man has ever had, will ever have is in Jesus Christ, here on earth or in Heaven. Jesus Christ has made known God to the world. Jesus has exegeted God. He is, in fact, God in human flesh.

And it happened, that he went into a city

Point One: Divine Purpose

Jesus never did anything without a determinate destination and a predeterminated intention and there were no unforeseen events or problems and there was no second plans.

He is sovereign. He has perfect intentions for everything He thinks, everything He says and every act. His mission is clear, His objective is clear, His strategy is clear, His plan, His purpose will come to pass. God has a sovereign-bent for sure. (He was pre Calvinist before John Calvin)

Jeremiah 29:11; Isaiah 55:11, Isaiah 49:9-11

Every thought God has, every word God says, every act God does operates perfectly on divinely established purpose. And that is the way it is with Jesus. John 4:4; Luke 9:51; Luke 13:33

and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd.

The Sovereign Knowlege of Jesus Christ: God knows the beginning and the end. Jesus Christ Himself as well, He is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. So here is Jesus with intentionality, moving in a direction toward an obscure little town that would never be known to us biblically if it weren’t for this one incident.

++++++++++++

The above notes is as  far as I got in the message.  I seem never to finish a sermon.  I just quit and pick up next week.

Just Maybe

Post all the stuff about our President, but when the next Presdient gets in, you will think this President was not that bad after all.

Maybe the reason this is true, is maybe we as Christians have not prayed like the Scriptures has taught us to do.

 

Maybe Christians should carry a Bible with them rather than a gun.  Maybe Christians should wear a smile about the love and wrath of God with them rather than ….

Maybe Christians should welcome in to their church fellowship those who need the fellowship that would help them follow Christ.

Maybe we should talk to one another in a church service rather than just walking out of church. Just Maybe we should be willing to shake hands with those who need one rather than worrying about catching a cold from them.

Just maybe if we had professing Believers living their lives to the glory of Christ we just might have a place that God could accomplish someting.

For all the Hand gun carrying Christians, all the Hate talking Christians about our country, and all the superficial churches and preaching, and the rest of us, would just live and die to the glory of Christ and know we are not living for us but for the glory of God, just maybe ……..

When the church fellowship of professing Christians in some of our churches do not engage with each other, and think its them and no more, than we have failed as Christians.

When church members in some churches believe its all about them and what they want, they have failed to understand the Scriptures.

When members fail to follow the leadership of the church they fail to do what Scripure tells them to do.

Romans 14  – There is a sense in which “no man is an island”, for all our actions affect our fellowmen. But that is not what Paul is saying here. His thought is rather that neither in life nor in death can we escape the fact that what we do and are we do and are before God. Neither in life nor in death are we quite alone; we do both before God. No one lives or dies “for himself” (GNB). It is God, not self, that is important ultimately; to concentrate on self is to neglect our Maker and to sin against him (Black quotes D. M. Baillie, “the very essence of sin is self-centeredness”). V. P. Furnish sums up this section of the epistle by saying, “All these expressions refer to man’s release from the tyranny of a life turned in upon itself, preoccupied with its own ambitions and accomplishments, and thus alienated from its true destiny”; he cites 2 Cor. 5:15

 

 

 

 

THEREFORE WHETHER WE LIVE OR DIE WE ARE THE LORD’S:

THEREFORE WHETHER WE LIVE OR DIE WE ARE THE LORD’S:  Romans 14

Pastor Charles and Richard Lemaster

John MacArthur – The last phrase of Ro 14:8 is one of the greatest injunctions to holy living in all the Bible: “We are the Lord’s.” Every Christian is subject to the unconditional sovereignty of God. We are the Lord’s–we are His possession. First Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “Know ye not that … ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price.” I’m not my own, so I don’t live to myself and I don’t die to myself. I am His, so I live to Him and I’ll die to Him. All believers have the same relationship to the Lord; we all serve the sovereign Lord we have embraced as our Redeemer. If we’re weak and we limit ourselves to living a certain way, we do so because we believe we are pleasing Him. If we enjoy our freedom in Christ, we do so because we believe we are pleasing Him. Since those are matters of preference and not sin, let’s not cause a rift in the church over them…. Some would have us believe that weak believers accept Jesus as their Savior, but not as their Lord. He may not yet understand all that his new life in Christ means, but he understands the basics of the Christian life–and nothing is more basic than the lordship of Christ in the believer’s life. No one can tell me that I can have Jesus as Savior but not as Lord. In all the years I’ve known Christ, there has never been a time when I didn’t sense a tremendous weight of responsibility to obey Him. Jesus is Lord. _{(Receiving One Another with Understanding, Part 2)}

“None of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord: and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live, therefore, or die, we are in the Lord’s.”–Ro 14:7-8.

Spurgeon’s devotional from Morning and Evening (June 10 AM) –

If God had willed it, each of us might have entered heaven at the moment of conversion. It was not absolutely necessary for our preparation for immortality that we should tarry here. It is possible for a man to be taken to heaven, and to be found meet to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light, though he has but just believed in Jesus. It is true that our sanctification is a long and continued process, and we shall not be perfected till we lay aside our bodies and enter within the veil; but nevertheless, had the Lord so willed it, he might have changed us from imperfection to perfection, and have taken us to heaven at once. Why then are we here? Would God keep his children out of paradise a single moment longer than was necessary? Why is the army of the living God still on the battle-field when one charge might give them the victory? Why are his children still wandering hither and thither through a maze, when a solitary word from his lips would bring them into the centre of their hopes in heaven? The answer is—they are here that they may “live unto the Lord,” and may bring others to know his love. We remain on earth as sowers to scatter good seed; as ploughmen to break up the fallow ground; as heralds publishing salvation. We are here as the “salt of the earth,” to be a blessing to the world. We are here to glorify Christ in our daily life. We are here as workers for him, and as “workers together with him.” Let us see that our life answereth its end. Let us live earnest, useful, holy lives, to “the praise of the glory of his grace.” Meanwhile we long to be with him, and daily sing—

Paul is “not talking about funerals, and life and death in that sense. He is talking about those who feel free to enjoy liberty to the fullest. They are living, while others, because of deep convictions of their own, limit themselves, and to that degree they are dying, because death is limitation The important thing is that we belong to the Lord. He understands.” That, therefore, is what we ought to remember in our relationships with one another. We belong to the Lord. We are brothers and sisters. We are not servants of each other. We are servants of the Lord and he has the right to change us.”

 

 

 

But HOW shall the heart be kept right?

1. First of all, remember that He who made the heart, can alone fashion and dispose it to that which is good. Whatever is amiss, He knows how to remedy it:

He gives it a new mainspring–He puts within it the love of Christ, instead of the love of the world;
He sends His Holy Spirit to control and order its unruly passions and affections;
He can cleanse it from all its defilements;
When the chain is off the wheel, He can replace it–I mean, when something has turned our desires from their right object, He can restore them.

Then ask earnestly for grace, “Create in me a clean heart, O God! Incline my heart to Your testimonies! Let my heart be sound in Your statutes that I may honor You!”

But then, He bids us to be workers together with Him in this matter. There is that which He alone can do–but there is that which is our part by His grace to do also.

2. You must take care not to run into scenes of temptation. If a man carried a bag of gunpowder with him, he would be very careful not to go where sparks were flying about–he would feel that in a moment a spark might be his destruction.

Now your heart is very like that gunpowder–a little thing may set it all alight with evil passions! Words may be spoken that may arouse unholy thoughts or desires–therefore be careful. Never go near places where the devil is accustomed to come. Keep far away from the theater, the dancing-room, and never enter the bar of a tavern if you can avoid it.

3. You must watch against any evil thoughts lodging in your mind. You may not be able to prevent them arising, but endeavor to drive them away as soon as you can. A flock of birds may fly over your head–but you would not let them build a nest in your hair! Little flies or insects in summer are very troublesome sometimes–but you take pains to keep them from getting into your eyes, or irritating your face and hands. In the same way, watch against every bad thought.

Remember that among the thousands of thoughts that pass through your mind in a day, there is not one hidden from God! He understands your thoughts afar off, and in His sight the thought of foolishness is sin. Therefore be watchful–do not dwell on anything that may pollute the mind. Cast away murmuring thoughts, angry thoughts, impure thoughts–and pray that God would preserve you from them. “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart be always acceptable in Your sight, O Lord!”

4. But to keep away thoughts that do harm–nourish thoughts that will do you good. “Finally, brothers . . .
whatever is true,
whatever is noble,
whatever is right,
whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable,
if anything is excellent or praiseworthy
–think about such things.” Philippians 4:8

There is a good old proverb, “Fill the sack with wheat–and there will be no room for chaff!” Fill your heart with kind thoughts, grateful thoughts, holy thoughts–and you will be safe. Let God’s thoughts which are given to us in the Bible–leaven all your thoughts. Hide in your heart the promises and precepts of His Word.

5. But above all, live in a spirit of prayer. Believe that God is always ready to hear you–and often go to Him for help. Draw near to God–and He will draw near to you. Nothing will keep your heart in a holy, happy frame, so much as prayer.

The Judgment Seat of Christ

What Happens When You Die? All Appear Before the Judgment Seat of Christ

108 billion people have been born and all will die

Romans 14:10 2 Corinthians 5:1-10

Eschatology – Doctrine of Last Things / End Times

January 03 2016  Pastor/Teacher/Preacher/Expositor 

Charles e. Whisanant

The Participants at the Bema

(1) All the passages dealing with the Bema or rewards are addressed to believers or pertain to believers of the church (Rom. 14:10-12; 1 Cor. 3:12f; 2 Cor. 5:9f; 1 John 2:28; 1 Thess. 2:19-20; 1 Tim. 6:18-19; Tit. 2:12-14 [note the emphasis on good works]).

The resurrection program and the thus the reward of Old Testament saints occurs after the tribulation, after church age saints are already seen in heaven and rewarded and returning with the Lord to judge the earth (cf. Rev. 19:8 with Dan. 12:1-2; Matt. 24).

(2) All believers, regardless of their spiritual state, will be raptured and will stand before the Bema to give an account of their lives and will either receive rewards or lose rewards. Some believe in a partial rapture theory which says that only those in fellowship with the Lord will be raptured as a form of punishment for their sin. As mentioned above, this is not only contrary to the finished work of Christ who once and for all paid the penalty for our sins, but it is contrary to the teaching of 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11.

The context suggests that Paul has in mind the return of Christ for the church—the rapture (1 Thess. 4:13-18). The rapture is the means of our deliverance from the wrath he discusses in chapter 5:1-3. Further, the words “awake or asleep” of verse 10 refer to a spiritual or moral condition, not whether one is alive or dead when Christ returns as in 4:13-14. This is clear from both the context of 5:4-8 and by the fact he changed the words he used for sleep. He used the Greek katheudo in 5:10 rather than koimao, the word he used metaphorically in 4:13-14 of physical death. Though katheudo was used of physical sleep and even death, it was also commonly used of spiritual apathy or carnal indifference to spiritual matters, and this is clearly the context of chapter 5. The point, then, is this: Because of the perfect and finished nature of Christ’s death (note the words “who died for us” of verse 10), whether we are spiritually alert or not, we will live together with Him through the rapture to face the examination of the Bema.

The Examiner or Judge at the Bema

This is none other than the Lord Jesus who is even now examining our lives and will bring to light the true nature of our walk and works when we stand before Him at the Bema (Rev. 1-2; 1 Cor. 4:5f; 2 Cor. 5:10; 1 John 2:28). In Romans 14:10 the Apostle called this examining time the Bema of God while in 2 Corinthians 5:10 he called it the Bema of Christ. The Point: Jesus who is God is our examiner and rewarder.

The Purpose and Basis of the Bema

The purpose and the basis is the most critical issue of all and brings us face to face with the practical aspects of the Bema. Some crucial questions are: Why are we brought before the Bema? Is it only for rewards or their loss? Will any punishment be meted out? Will there be great sorrow? What’s the basis on which the Bema is conducted? Is it sin, good works, or just what?

 

Show Respect: Romans 14:10

Romans 14:10

There is no room in the family of God for one group to pass judgment on another. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus settled the issue:

Do not judge (present imperative with a negative can be paraphrased = “Stop doing this” – it was going on) lest you be judged.” (Mt 7:1, one of the most inappropriately quoted text in the Bible! Why? Because they stop here – the context tells us more about “judging”.).

As noted Jesus’ warning about not judging has far too often been taken out of context and used by many to say that we are never to disapprove of anything another person does. What Jesus actually said in context was…

You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then (this is critical, not before but after the log removal) you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

Furthermore how would we be able to follow through on Jesus’ charge He gives a few verses later declaring “You will know them by their fruits” (Mt 7:16 — speaking of false teachers)?

And so believers are called to be “fruit inspectors” but this assessment is still in the context of first being “log removers”! What Jesus is prohibiting in Matthew 7:1 is harsh and censorious criticism, not insight based on Biblical truth and the indwelling Spirit of Truth (cp 1Th 5:21, 22, Ro 12:9 1Jn 4:1).

Regard with contempt (1848) _{(exoutheneo from ek = an intensifier + outhenéo = bring to naught) means to treat someone or something as of no account and so to despise then based on the judgment that they are worthless or of no value. It means to show by one’s attitude or manner of treatment that the brother has no merit or worth!}

Stop trying to take God’s place. You, the weak, why do you judge your brother? And you, the strong, why do you look down on your brother? It is wrong. You are trying to take Christ’s place when you do that. But remember that all of us, men and women alike, all brothers and sisters in one body of Christ, must individually stand before God’s judgment seat.

 

The Preacher Should Keep In Mind

1. Does it help the congregation understand the Bible better?

Or, I could ask it this way: Am I preaching/teaching them the Bible? I mean this in two senses: Is what I am teaching them a faithful explication and interpretation of the text under consideration? Paul’s words from 2 Corinthians 4:5 are important here: “We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as servants for Jesus’ sake.” I must preach/teach the text before me and not anything else.

I ask this question also because good preaching entails teaching. Jesus, the master teacher, was called “Rabbi”—teacher—which is instructive. I want every sermon to help my people learn to interpret and apply their Bibles more accurately. May the description of one late-19th century Virginia Baptist preacher’s flowery, erudite sermons never be true of us: “If his sermon had had the smallpox, his text would have never caught it.” I want to look out and see people with their faces buried in God’s Word, examining the text to discern where I am getting every piece of my exposition.

2. Does it show them Christ?

In Colossians 1:28, Paul expressed this central task succinctly: “Him we proclaim, warning every and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.” Several pastors in church history had the request of the Greeks in John 12:21 carved into the wood of their pulpits: “Sirs, we wish to see Jesus.” If I do not show them the Christ, in both his glorious person and work, in his glorious offices, then in what way is my preaching strictly Christian? None but Jesus can do helpless sinners good.

Spurgeon puts this necessity well in a story of an old divine regaling a young minister with words of wisdom: “From every text in Scripture, there is a road to the metropolis of the Scriptures, that is Christ. And my dear brother, your business is when you get to a text, to say, ‘Now what is the road to Christ?’ and then preach a sermon, running along the road towards the great metropolis—Christ . . . or the sermon cannot do any good unless there be a savor of Christ in it.” In his ministry to the Corinthians, Paul resolved “to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2). Set the telescope on Jesus Christ.

3. Does it humble the pride of man and exalt the grace of God?

Do I leave any room for man to boast in either his salvation or sanctification? Locating Bryan Chapell’s “fallen condition focus” (Christ-Centered Preaching), is extremely valuable here. Scripture is clear: We have met the enemy and it is us. Man tends to overrate his goodness and underrate his sinfulness, but the Bible sets the record straight: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jer. 1:9)

This is precisely what Calvin was driving at in his famous dictum in the introduction to the Institutes: “Genuine wisdom consists entirely in knowledge of God and knowledge of self.” Contrary to the orthodoxy preached from the pulpits of a therapeutic Western culture, I want them to know their primary problem is inside them and the solution is entirely outside of them. That is to say, every sermon must be God-centered.

4. Does it promote holiness of heart and life?

Every text of Scripture is always relevant. I don’t want to merely to pass along information in the sermon, but want to confront the conscience with the truth in such as way the Spirit uses it to convict and transform. The Puritans sought to wound their consciences with God’s law and heal it with the gospel, a helpful, biblical paradigm.

One of the most sobering texts in all of Scripture is Hebrews 12:14, “Strive for . . . holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” Thus, every sermon needs to motivate believers to pursue grace-driven sanctification, while avoiding at all costs the twin perils of legalism and antinomianism, neither of which produces genuine godliness.

5. Does it seek to awaken the unconverted?

Martyn Lloyd-Jones correctly argued that every sermon ought to address both the converted and unconverted. In his classic work Preaching and Preachers, he warned preachers not to “assume that all who are members of the church, are . . . Christians.” As Lloyd-Jones further points out, many who sit in the pews every week have accepted the facts of the gospel intellectually, but have never been truly awakened by the Holy Spirit. They need the gospel.

And, the same gospel that saves the lost also sanctifies the found. One of the major benefits of gospel-centered preaching is that it, like Scripture itself, addresses both believer and unbeliever alike. I want each sermon in some way to touch on the sinfulness of man and the rescuing grace of God.

6. Does it communicate clearly?

In other words, have I made the words plain and concepts accessible to those in my congregation, explaining unfamiliar theological terms and using common patterns of speech? I want my hearers to taste the fruit from my study of the original languages, but I do not want them to see the tree. Rarely do I use Greek and Hebrew words in the pulpit. I want them to marvel at the Word of God, not my seminary training or rhetorical abilities.

I do not want the congregation to see God’s Word as beyond their grasp, that advanced degrees are necessary to engage the things of God deeply. I want to convince them that any Spirit-filled Christian can fully comprehend, apply, and delight in the truths of Scripture. A man in late-19th century England visited two churches on the Lord’s Day, one pastored by a famous minister of high culture, the other Metropolitan Tabernacle, pastored by Spurgeon. After visiting the first, the man responded, “What a preacher!” When he left Spurgeon’s tabernacle, his assessment was, “What a Savior!” I want them to see and savor Christ and if they are to do that, I must preach plainly and simply in the power and unction of God’s Spirit.