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Blessings From Obeying the Gospel

April 2, 2021 by admin Leave a Comment

Acts 26:18, “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.”

The Lord gives Paul his mission statement in Acts 26:18. In regard to Jews and Gentiles he was to…

Open their eyes…Paul preached both among Jews and Gentiles, but his specific work was to be an apostle to the Gentiles. His preaching was always to the Jews first, and then to the Gentiles. (Romans 1:16) He would preach to the Jews and when they rejected the Gospel, then he turned to the Gentiles. By preaching to the people Paul would instruct/enlighten the people so they could see their lost condition. Cf. Ephesians 1:18. He was able to accomplish opening their eyes only by preaching the gospel of Christ.

…turn them from darkness to light…They were walking in the darkness of ignorance and sin, but Paul’s preaching would bring them to knowledge and salvation. “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:3-6.

…and from the power of Satan unto God…Only two spiritual realms exist. There is no neutral position in reference to Satan or God. One is either serving the Devil or God. Romans 6:16 teaches, “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” When one heeds the Gospel, he turns from Satan to God. Colossians 1:13 described those who had obeyed the Gospel, God had “delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son…”.

…that they may receive forgiveness of sins…When those to whom Paul preached and had their eyes opened, when they gave heed to his preaching, i.e., obeyed the Gospel, they would receive 2 blessings. They would also be forgiven of all sin. Colossians 1:14, points out that when a person has been translated into Christ’s Kingdom (previous point), “In whom (i.e. in Christ – JDS) we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.” Romans 6:3 and Galatians 3:27 teaches us that to get “in Christ” we are baptized into Christ. That is the reason that the message preached on the day of Pentecost was to “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.” Acts 2:38.

…and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. The inheritance those who obey the Gospel can look forward to is eternal life in the hereafter. “”And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.” To be sanctified is to be set apart for God’s service. These blessings are shared by all who are sanctified by faith which is in Christ. One is sanctified, not by faith only, but by the faith of Christ.

Paul preached the Gospel by inspiration in the 1st century, and these were the blessings those who obeyed that Gospel would enjoy. Today, we preach and teach the Gospel, not by inspiration, but according to the Inspired Book, The Bible. When people obey that same Gospel Paul preached, they enjoy the same blessings as those in the 1st century. – Jerry D. Sturgill

“Faith” in Romans 14:23

March 26, 2021 by admin Leave a Comment

Romans 14:23 ends with the phrase, “for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” Sometimes well-meaning brethren may use this phrase to prove that there must be scriptural authority for what one says and does. They use the word “faith” here to refer to the Gospel, the body of truth that God has delivered in His word, as it is used in Jude 3. The Bible certainly teaches that we need to live by what God says (Matthew 4:4); the faithful will not dare take liberties where the scripture is silent (Colossians 3:16-17; Hebrews 7:14). Though the principle is true, Romans 14:23 is not a verse that teaches this.

The context of Romans 14 demands a different meaning for the word “faith” than Gospel truth. Romans 14 is a discussion on matters of conscience and how the strong ought to give up certain liberties in order to avoid causing the weak to sin. This discussion does not terminate at the end of the chapter either. The first seven verses of Romans 15 continue the discussion of the strong bearing the infirmities of the weak. Some of these matters were in regard to eating certain meat (Romans 14:2) or setting aside special days (Romans 14:5). No doubt these matters arose because of the Jewish and Gentile backgrounds from which the members of the church came. One of the major themes of the book of Romans is Jew-Gentile relations in Christ.

Thus, when one comes to the question in Romans 14:22, “Hast thou faith?”, it is evident that “faith” here refers to personal conviction, not the system of truth to which Christians adhere. This is the same meaning of “faith” in verse 23. Reading verses 22 and 23 together makes it abundantly clear, “Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” The lesson is that a man should not engage in anything that goes against his conscience even if it is not wrong in itself. Additionally, the conscience of weaker brethren ought to be respected by the stronger.

Let us resolve to live by what the Bible says instead of taking the silence of the scriptures as God’s consent. Let us be aware of the personal convictions of others, respecting the conscience while patiently instructing. Moreover, let us resolve to use the proper verses for teaching Biblical truths. If we are not careful it is very easy for us to use a verse in a way it was not meant to be used. The point that we may be making is true, but truth is not helped when the scriptures are misused. As we all grow in our knowledge of the scriptures we recognize more fully the meaning of verses and ways we might have misused them in the past. We must continually go back to the Bible to avoid misusing scripture in the future and, when we have the opportunity, kindly show others where they have misused scripture. If we are Christians, we ought to be able to help each other along this line without any hard feelings.

-Mark Day

Genuine Readiness of the Gentiles to Obey the Gospel of Christ

March 19, 2021 by admin Leave a Comment

As we have been studying the life of Paul in the book of Acts, I hope you have noticed one of the reoccurring themes; the Gentiles were receptive of the Gospel message. After Cornelius and his household were baptized into Christ (Acts 10:34-48), Gentile people became a focus of Paul’s missionary journeys. Paul traveled to idolatrous cities; such as Athens, Corinth, and Ephesus who were Gentile dominant locations (Acts 17:16-23; 18:1-17; 19:1-10). At Athens Paul delivered a powerful message to a Greek audience. Two individuals, whose names were clearly Greek, believed and obeyed Christ (Acts 17:34). At Corinth, the Jews refused the message, but the Gentiles were eager to put on Christ (Acts 18:4-8). In the city of Ephesus, everyone heard about Paul’s miracles and both Jews and Greeks believed (Acts 19:11-18). The Gentiles showed their complete repentance of paganism and magic by bringing these books and burning them (Acts 19:19-20). Why were the Gentiles more receptive to the Gospel compared to the Jews, who knew God and His word?

The Gentiles worshiped their idols because they feared the repercussions if they did not. In Greek mythology, the gods were portrayed as cruel towards mankind; the slightest mistake or offense could result in harsh punishments. This is precisely why the Athenians made an altar to the unknown deity; just in case they overlooked one (Acts 17:22-23). The Canaanite people believed their idols would not answer their prayers unless extreme measures like blood-letting or children being sacrificed were taken (1 Kgs. 18:28; (Deut. 12:29-32). When Gentiles heard that God came in the flesh and died for their sins, they must have been perplexed because in their minds gods did not die for man; that was just foolishness to them (1 Cor. 1:22-24)! To learn that the Son of God willingly died for sinners and the unjust would have been incomprehensible (Rom. 5:6-11). In Isaiah, God prophesied that kings and nations would be startled, or amazed, when they heard the report of Christ bearing their sins (Is. 52:13-53:12). The salvation God provides, the righteous living He demands, and the self-sacrificial love that Christ extended to all people was something they could never obtain outside of Jesus (Titus 2:11-14).

Another factor for the Gentiles eagerly obeying the Gospel was the special relationship available to them through God’s Son (Eph. 3:1-7). Throughout the Roman empire, a person’s ethnicity and citizenship status had a lot of weight on how they were treated by others (Acts 16:35-38). Non-Romans were viewed as beneath the privileged few and not important. Though God had a special relationship with Israel in the Old Testament, that does not mean He abandoned the Gentiles. Melchizedek was a Gentile king and priest to God, Ruth was a Moabite who followed the Lord, and Jonah preached to Gentiles in Nineveh. All of these examples show that God cared for the Gentiles, but there were differences (Ex. 19:5-6). The coming of Christ and His death extended the special relationship with God to all mankind (Gal. 3:26-29). Whether a person was the lowliest slave or the wealthiest master, all were God’s children (Eph. 6:5-9).

God provided the sacrifice that was necessary to forgive the entire world’s sins, (1 Jn. 2:1-2), but each induvial must decide if they will accept God’s salvation (Rev. 3:20-22). God’s sacrificial love and desire to have a special relationship with all has not changed, nor will it ever. The blood was shed and the price paid in full when Jesus died on the cross; the only thing missing is your humility and obedience to God’s plan of salvation.

-Brandon Foresha

God’s Wisdom

March 12, 2021 by admin Leave a Comment

God’s wisdom is infinite. Romans 11:33 exclaims, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” His wisdom is so far above all others that He is called, “the only wise God” (1 Tim. 1:17; Jude 25; cf. Rom. 16:27). As humans, we may acquire some of His wisdom in Christ, “In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3).

The Lord gives wisdom to those who heed the words that come from the mouth of God (Prov. 2:6). When Moses was giving God’s commands to Israel, he encouraged them to keep the commandments and do them, “for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people” (Deut. 4:6). One does not need to be a thoroughly trained scholar to receive wisdom from God’s word. Even the “simple” can receive wisdom from the Bible. “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple” (Psa. 19:7).

God’s wisdom stands in stark contrast to the wisdom of the world. The inspired apostle Paul wrote, “Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory” (1 Cor. 2:6-7). Instead of teaching man’s wisdom, we should teach spiritual wisdom: the words of the Holy Spirit recorded for us in the Bible (1 Cor. 2:13). As Christians, we are commanded: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Col. 3:16, 17). Notice that the word of Christ is to dwell in us richly in all wisdom. Truly wisdom is submitting to the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ in all that we say and do.

To his fellow Christians at Philippi, Paul wrote, “And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ” (Phil. 1:9, 10). The word translated “judgment” here carries the idea of discernment, insight, or the capacity to understand.^[1] This is the same word translated “discern” in Hebrews 5:14 to describe those who —by repeatedly going to God’s word and using what is learned—have matured spiritually to be able to distinguish between what is right and wrong. I echo Paul’s prayer for us today: that we abound in true wisdom by regularly going to the word of God. May we all learn to approve what is excellent, embracing good choices. May we all be sincere and endeavor to a life without blame before God as we look for Christ’s return.

-Mark Day

^[1] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 29.

Bible Study Tools

March 5, 2021 by admin Leave a Comment

Some time ago I wrote a series of articles in which I discussed various resources to aid in studying our Bible’s. I figured it was time to revisit, just briefly, some suggestions of useful Bible study tools which I utilize in my study of the Bible. I will say at the outset these are not “must haves” but they certainly can be useful aids in our study.

RELIABLE TRANSLATION. This should be apparent. Since the Bible was originally written in Hebrew (OT) and Greek (NT) our reading the Bible typically require the use of a translation. While there are no flawless translations, a reliable, sound translation is a must when studying the Bible. The accuracy of the translation and the method of translation used are especially important. There are many translations on the market today that reflect the bias of the translator(s) and this makes them as a whole not suitable for regular study use. Research Bible translations very carefully before choosing.

CONCORDANCES. Many have heard me mention these in Bible classes I have taught. One of the most useful tools the Bible student can have at their disposal is a concordance. A concordance lists words in the Bible alphabetically and gives passages where each word is used. Some concordances are brief; others are more inclusive. Take note that the concordance one uses needs to be based upon the translation of the Bible you have chosen (see above). Some uses of a concordance include: (1) finding many passages about a subject; (2) finding a particular verse if you know one or two words in it; (3) determining the meaning of a word by studying verses where it is used. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (In Strong’s each original-language word is given an entry number in the dictionary of those original language words listed in the back of the concordance. These have become known as the “Strong’s numbers,” Cruden’s Complete Concordance, and Young’s Analytical Concordance are a few.

DICTIONARIES AND LEXICONS. I think most of us at one time or another have been engaged in reading a book or document and come across a word we have no idea what it means. So, we run and grab our trusty Webster’s dictionary or its equivalent and look up the word to find the definition. When studying the Bible this is often not the best way to find the definition of a word. Modern dictionaries give the current meaning of the English word but do not necessarily reflect the meaning of the original Hebrew or Greek word. When seeking to define Bible words, helps would include “expository dictionaries” and lexicons. Vine’s Expository Dictionary, Vincent’s Word Studies, Wuest Word Studies, & Robertson Word Pictures are particularly good. For looking up words in the New Testament – Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, and looking up Old Testament words – Brown, Driver, Briggs Hebrew Lexicon have editions that are coded to Strong’s numbering. No knowledge of the Greek or Hebrew alphabet is needed to use these.

COMMENTARIES. The use of commentaries is a wonderful way to learn more about the Bible. There are sets of commentaries that I would recommend such as: Gospel Advocate (NT only), Coffman (Burton) Commentaries, Dehoff (George) Commentaries, Living Word Commentaries, Truth Commentaries, just to name a few. There are many individual commentaries and studies written by brethren such as: The FourFold Gospel (J.W. McGarvey), Acts (J.W. McGarvey), Romans (R.L. Whiteside), Isaiah, Daniel, & Revelation (Homer Hailey). Remember, to judge what the writer of a commentary says in the same way you would judge what a preacher says from the pulpit, weigh everything said in light of Bible teaching. Beware of commentaries written by members of denominations because at times their denominational bias will come through.

Whether one chooses to utilize Bible study resources I have listed or the many others available is a matter of personal judgment. The important point is that we study our Bible and grow in knowledge of the Word.

-Jerry D. Sturgill