The Lord will judge every man according to his works (Mt. 25:31-46; Jn. 12:48; Acts 17:30-31; Rom. 14:10; 2 Cor. 5:10; Rev. 20:12). Those that become unfaithful allow the Lord’s delay to convince them that they need not heed His word (Lk. 12:45, 46). The Lord’s vengeance is not a reality to them. In His mercy, the Lord delays exacting vengeance in order to give men time to repent instead of perishing (2 Pet. 3:8, 9). But evil men scoff at the idea that the Lord will return, being ignorant of the fact that the Lord has kept His promise of worldwide destruction before and He will be faithful to do it again (2 Pet. 3:3-12). While the Lord will certainly execute judgment in eternity, sometimes the Lord exacts vengeance in this life as well. Consider an example in the Old Testament.

In Deuteronomy 19:15-21, the Lord enacted laws to prevent false witnesses from condemning the innocent. Two witnesses were required. Additionally, if one was found to have borne false witness, then whatever penalty would have been executed on the accused would be exacted on the false witness. Sadly, these stringent regulations did not prevent evil men from perverting judgment throughout the history of Israel by means of false witnesses. Ahab and Jezebel orchestrated two debased men, sons of Belial, to bear false witness concerning Naboth so he would be stoned; then Ahab and Jezebel could take possession of his vineyard next to their house in Samaria (1 Kings 21).

The Lord’s prophet, Elijah, was sent to ask Ahab, “Have you murdered and also taken possession?”, and give this message: “Thus says the LORD: ‘In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs shall lick your blood, even yours’” (1 Kings 21:19). Jezebel, who invented the lie that caused the death of innocent Naboth (1 Kings 21:5-21), met a bloody demise just as the Lord determined (1 Kings 21:23; 2 Kings 9:30-37). Ahab, who abetted in lies for his own profit, was deceived by a lying spirit in the mouth of his false prophets into going to battle at Ramoth-gilead (1 Kings 22:20-23). The Lord’s prophet, Micaiah, said Israel would have no leader if they went to this battle (1 Kings 22:17). Did this mean Ahab would die?   Certainly, if he was out in battle at Ramoth-gilead, then there was no way he would meet a death where the dogs licked his blood in Samaria, right? How could God’s warnings from Elijah and Micaiah both come about? Ahab thought he could deceive others by disguising himself in battle, but a stray arrow pierced him between the joints in his armor and he perished (1 Kings 22:30-38). The blood from his wound collected in the bottom of his chariot (1 Kings 22:35). “Then someone washed the chariot at a pool in Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood while the harlots bathed, according to the word of the LORD which He had spoken” (1 Kings 22:38). Lord determined vengeance for the deceitful matter concerning Naboth, and it came to pass just as He said.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but the Lord’s word will not (Mt. 24:35). We will meet the Lord’s words in judgment (Jn. 12:48). The punishment determined for wickedness will take place (Rev. 21:8). Our only hope is to be washed in the blood of Jesus (Rev. 1:5), who delivers us from the wrath to come (1 Thess. 1:10). Will you choose to be baptized to have your sins washed away (Acts 22:16)? If you’ve done that, are you walking in the light so that you have fellowship with God’s people and continual cleansing by the blood of Christ (1 Jn. 1:5-9)? If not, do you think that you will escape the vengeance of God (Rom. 2:3)?

-Mark Day

An expert in the law of Moses who questioned Jesus about eternal life knew the command of Leviticus 19:18, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” However, he thought he had a way around the obligation to carry out this command in his dealings with all people for Luke 10:29 reads, “But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’” He was satisfied in not loving those different from him in terms of race, status, gender, education, etc. by redefining the word neighbor to mean only those predominantly like him. Jesus answered his question with the story of the Good Samaritan to show that even this mixed race—with the bitter hatred that often existed between them and Jewish people in the first century—were included in God’s command to love neighbors (Luke 10:30-37). We should be on guard against narrowing the application of God’s word by redefining the terms, lest we fail to do what God has commanded. We tend to evade our responsibility to follow God’s commands by limiting the scope of application so that it excludes our situation. In regard to the primacy of this command even for us today under the New Testament, the inspired apostle Paul wrote, “For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Rom. 13:9).

Consider the command, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Ex. 20:16). Does “bearing witness” imply only a judicial application—that I may lie if I am not in a courtroom setting? No. Consider passages like Ephesians 4:25 and Colossians 3:9-10 among many others. False charges and insinuations made in private conversations still harm others. Slander robs a man of his good name, which is more valuable than great riches of silver and gold (Prov. 22:1). The cowardly spread falsehoods in private about an individual they don’t like, but will never confront the individual nor make the same accusations in public under judicial oath. Yet, God clearly condemns such cowardly liars (Rev. 21:8).

Does the word neighbor imply that I may lie to enemies (since I don’t consider them neighbors)? Some propose it does. Frame wrote, “The requirement to tell the truth is conditioned on a relationship, that of ‘neighbor.’”[1] However, neighbor is not intended to give us license to lie to certain people, but rather to show the most hateful example—in harming the person next to you—in the whole category of the sin. God did this with the positive command, “Honor your father and your mother” (Ex. 20:12) in that it is a situation of respect that is easiest for us to accept. That command does not mean we don’t respect other rightful delegated authority in our lives (such as civil government). The tenth commandment is, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s” (Exodus 20:17). Would it be all right to covet your enemy’s house or wife since you don’t consider him a “neighbor”? Certainly not. Just as Jesus rightly extended the application of “neighbor” in Leviticus 19:18 to one whom the Jewish lawyer would consider his enemy, so we must do with these moral commands from God.

Let us be on guard against attempts to sidestep the application of God’s word to our own hearts and lives when it becomes difficult. Some commands of God may be qualified, but that is a discussion for another time. For now, let us resolve to do—rather than dodge—God’s commands.

-Mark Day

[1] John M. Frame, The Doctrine of the Christian Life: A Theology of Lordship (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2008), 839.

Many in the world would agree that life is a struggle. Usually, what people mean by that is suffering and difficult times are part of life. However, when the apostle Paul described the Christian life as a struggle, he meant something other than the fact that life can be hard. The inspired apostle wrote:

 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus, I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).

As Christians, we struggle against sin. We discipline ourselves in order to obtain the imperishable crown of glory. Athletes train, eat right, and get enough sleep in order to qualify for the Olympics and win the gold medal. Similarly, Christians exercise self-control in their road to heavenly glory. There is a natural desire a person has to eat a sugary dessert, but the disciplined athlete abstains in order to win the prize. When friends invite them to a late-night party, they may decline in order to get enough rest. Likewise, as Christians we must forgo sinful activities and deny certain desires. We cannot take the easy course and be self-centered if we wish to grow spiritually and go to heaven.

            Each time Christians take the easy way out by sin, they forfeit an opportunity to grow and instead become more self-centered. It is sad to see those who were baptized years ago, but instead of remaining true to their commitment to die to self and live as Christ, they have grown smaller of soul, less able to empathize with others, and unwilling to sacrifice their own comforts. You may have attended worship services of the church for years, but that does not necessarily mean you have grown to be more like Christ during that time.

The context of 1 Corinthians 9 is the instruction of giving up one’s rights in order to further the gospel. Paul goes on in 1 Corinthians 10:1-22 to speak of Israelites who were baptized into Moses at the Red Sea but through unfaithfulness died in the wilderness instead of inheriting the promised land. However, he resumes giving up lawful things that are not helpful in 1 Corinthians 10:23. Paul’s athlete comparison is sandwiched between these two subjects. The struggle of the Christian life not only involves abstaining from sin (1 Corinthians 10), but also sacrificing one’s own preferences for the good of others (1 Corinthians 9). We may make decisions that are not sinful per se, but they certainly are not helpful to other Christians.

            Let us resolve to go through some growing pains and be bigger people. Let us become mature Christians like the apostle Paul and be willing to “endure all things lest we hinder the gospel of Christ” (1 Corinthians 9:12). We should follow Paul as he followed Christ, the ultimate example of sacrificial love for the good of others (1 Corinthians 11:1).

-Mark Day