In A Courtroom

In  a Courtroom.                                                              10-5-21

Have you ever noticed the legal language used in the Gospel of John? It is used throughout the Gospel in differing circumstances. The noun judge or the verb to judge is used 14 times in the Gospel. The verb “to prosecute,to condemn”are used.”Penal servitude,” a Greek word that Paul uses in Romans is in the Gospel of John. Words such as eyewitness,testimony, testify,witness appear multiple times in the Gospel. There is a reason for all of this legal imagery. This Gospel is written for the purpose of bringing people to faith in Jesus.

John 20:31

“but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

That is the purpose statement of the Gospel of John. To bring people who are unbelieving and condemned,to a saving knowledge of Jesus the Messiah. In order to accomplish this purpose,John employs courtroom language to make unbelievers aware that they indeed are in a legal proceeding when salvation from hell is the subject. Now,John does not elaborate on this courtroom setting,but the Apostle Paul certainly does in Romans. Paul portrays God as a judge before whom the whole world stands accused. Not only accused but condemned with no remedy save one. There is much to be said about the futility of offering anything to God as payment for sin in His courtroom. The perfect nature and character of a Holy God render any attempt (see repentance,turning from sin,prayer,praise,worship and all other human attempts at satisfying Him) laughable. In this courtroom,where the standard is total perfection and holiness,we as human beings stand as Paul somewhere says “without God and without hope.”

Yet in the midst of our pitiable state,the Gospel of John,as do other Books of the Bible,hold out hope, But,especially the Gospel of John. Using courtroom language to draw our eyes to the hopeless state we exist in,John points us to the Messiah, the Son of God,who has the gift of eternal life. And what must we do to obtain this gift and be declared not guilty and righteous before a perfect God? Ninety nine times John tells us what to do in his Gospel. Ninety nine times. Believe. Believe.Ninety nine times.That is the totality of our responsibility toward a perfect God to escape eternal condemnation. 

Think about this.Just what is it that you,me,or anyone else can offer God for our justification? Anything? NOTHING. God makes the rules in His courtroom and He says the ONLY thing I can do is BELIEVE. Nothing else will or can satisfy. Not only that. For believing in Jesus the Messiah we receive eternal life,never to be lost. That is a far cry from what we as humans try to add to His requirement because of our pride. But,He will not allow it. No boasting about ANYTHING in His presence.

That dear brothers and sisters is why they call the Gospel ,Good News. Good news to the drug addict,the alcoholic,the prostitute…….but also good news to the doctor,lawyer,bus driver and the self righteous. Good news to all of humanity.

All we must do is believe.

God Bless

rewards

The Doctrine of Rewards 11-16-24

Have you ever been confused about something you read in the Bible? Even worse, have you ever read a verse or verses that seemed to contradict what another verse or passage said? Well,welcome to my world.(smile)I have read and still read passages that seem to contradict.Indeed that don't fit my human understanding.But,that can't be. How do you know that Ronnie?What makes you so self assured? Well,it has nothing to do with me.It is because Jesus said so.Yep.Jesus the Lord Himself said Scripture could not be broken.Where did He say that Ronnie? Look here.

John 10:34-35 34 "Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? 35 If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken"

Without trying to get into the meaning of this verse(Psalms 82:6). When Jesus used that word "broken" He was saying that Scripture could not be set aside.He was stating the doctrine of inerrancy.He was saying that there were no mistakes in Scripture.He was saying that Scripture was not contradictory.Indeed,Scripture actually interprets itself.There are no contradictions.Well,Ronnie you sure fooled me cause it seems to me that there are all kinds of confusing verses.Yeah I know it is confusing.Here is a clue to the solution.Read the Bible in context and read it literally.I hope to show you how that works in practical usage.Now,that being said, shortly into this study I am going to give you a list of verses that seem to contradict. Just bear with me and you will see. I once spoke with a homeless person and told him that all he had to do to go to heaven was believe in Jesus.As he sat there thinking about what I had said, he replied to me that no one had ever told him that.He said that all he had ever heard was how he needed to stop sinning and start going to church.He needed to do this and that, stop this and that,on and on.I told him that what he had heard was NOT the Gospel of salvation, and shared with him again the message of simple faith.Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.The conversation ended and he went on his way and I,mine. I don't know if he came to a saving faith or not.That chance encounter long ago is a prime directive for sharing this study.Look at this verse.

1 Corinthians 9:27 24 "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified."

In this verse Paul entertains the possibility that he might fail as a Christian. Many today teach this verse as if Paul were saying that it was possible for him to lose his salvation.This is encouraged by the KJV use of the word"castaway." In Romans however, he states that God will justify all that He called, using the past tense.Look.

Romans 8:29-30 29 "For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified."

Do you see the use of the past tense?If He called you,He justified you,He glorified you.If He justified you,He glorified you.All past tense.The only action that is missing is sanctification.The gradual process of being conformed into the image of His Son.More on that later.Much more!

This is not a study on salvation.However,in this introduction it is imperative that we answer two questions.Maybe you can't answer these questions due to what you have been taught.I have seen people in church videos, during a question and answer session, literally break down.Standing in a sanctuary, in tears because they didn't know the answer to those questions for their personal lives.Beenin church for years and did not know whether they were saved at that particular moment.Why? Because of contradictory teaching from the pulpit due to doctrinal error.If you are one of those,I hope this study will clear your thinking and provide for you the assurance of your salvation.Here they are.

1( Is salvation from hell(justification) a gift.Is it free of charge?

2)Is the gift of salvation from hell eternal.Is it neverending?To put it another way.Is it possible to lose your salvation due to lifestyle,apostasy?

The author believes the answer to the above two questions is in the affirmative.Yes,God's gift of salvation from the lake of fire is free of merit.We as human beings can't do anything to earn it.NOTHING.All we must do is believe in Jesus. The author also believes that at the precise moment of believing,the person believing is granted eternal life.Eternal life in the present tense at the very moment of belief.The author also believes that this life which is eternal can never be lost for ANY reason.Neither can it be taken away or given back. If any of those conditions were true, the life given would cease to be eternal.

Dwell on these questions.Think and pray about them.If you are unsure,I believe this study will provide the answers to both of those questions.In addition, the study will look at the issue of accountability we as Christians face at the Bema Judgment.We will do this by focusing on several different threads or concepts found in Scripture.Judgment,Kingdom,Distinctions,Inheritance,The Sermon on the Mount,Characteristics of what the Bible calls "overcomes"and, of course the title of the study,REWARDS.It isn't as lengthy as it seems but it will take several parts to do it justice.Hope you enjoy it.More than that,I hope it will clear up any confusion you may have about the harmony of Scripture;and I hope it will lay to rest any fears you have about your eternal destiny.

God Bless.

Look Away From Yourself.         06-23-23

My thoughts of late have focused on a note to myself that I wrote in my Bible.lThe note was written in the 6 th chapter of Matthew and stated simply that I should  “look away from myself.” I do not remember the time or the occasion that sparked that note. That said,that note has much relevance to the Christian walk.

In my early Christian upbringing, I heard many sermons that spoke to this concept, especially from the Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew 6:31-33

“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

However, over time these words about seeking the Kingdom of God took on a different perspective,that with the luxury of hindsight, we’re not the intent of the original. The message devolved into seek the kingdom of Ronnie. Not that the descent was that obvious or blunt. It never is. Sin has a pervasiveness that is supremely subtle. You hardly notice until one day you are in it’s clutches. Feelin’ me here?

Was this slide a blatant appeal to unbridled materialism? I don’t think so.I followed the precepts of God. But, the message became less and less about God. The message became about establishing the Kingdom of God and enjoying the blessings of that Kingdom. Serve God not because He IS God. No, serve Him for the blessings He bestows. This subtlety  

planted the seed for the message of a great majority of the church today, especially the mega church movement.

The command of Jesus was not to establish the Kingdom was it? Rather, it was about preaching the Gospel. I remember the early days of my Christian walk.Preaching the Gospel,telling someone about Jesus was the ONLY message. To preach the Gospel, to evangelize the lost world, “ to preach the Gospel to every creature,” was the focus. Jesus said that when He returned, then He would establish His kingdom.  Somehow, the church now believes that it has been tasked with establishing that kingdom.”Kingdom Now” as it is teaches. I was taught a form of that message coming up. It was a message that in my opinion focused more,though not exclusively, on the blessings rather than the righteousness of God.

Over time the focus on blessing led to a self centeredness,resulting in materialism and a pursuit of a “ victorious life.” If I serve God, my life will be victorious. I will have a wholeness with God meeting all my needs. That is the message of Kingdom Now.

Almost always that leads to a self centered, man centered view of what it means to serve God. The concepts of sacrifice and service to others get lost in the shuffle. Don’t get me wrong. No one twisted my arm. I willingly followed that line.

It no longer in my life was “ Give us this day our daily bread.” It was about meeting the mortgage and the car payments.Without even recognizing the change, well to be honest I was not concerned about the change. Smile. When the focus is always on self, whether in blessing or problems, the slide is almost imperceptible. Hence, the call to “ look away from me” becomes offensive, even noxious. It is the first step to debauchery. Pride in one’s self and life is the mother of all sin. It leads to self centeredness,and if not checked, to self exaltation. At which time, God will put a stop to it. In His own time and way. The clarion call to me and indeed all people is to look away from ourselves and seek God and His righteousness. That plays out differently in all of our lives doesn’t it? Well anyway that’s my take today.

All we must do is believe.

God Bless.

Lost Your Faith? 09-29-23

I was reading in John the other day and I came across this. verse.

John 2:24-25

“Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

Now,I have read a couple of accounts about this passage. Some people think that this is the initial conversion of Thomas. This is when Thomas initially got saved. Others believe that Thomas actually lost his faith here. The second explanation seems right to me. The Scriptures only call out one who never believed,and that was Judas. He was never in the camp from the beginning. At any rate,what caught my eye was the fact that Thomas said,”I will never believe.” I personally think that he lost his faith. He was not a doubting Thomas,no,he was an apostate Thomas. Because Jesus had been crucified,Thomas was blown out of the water. He was devastated.He had followed Jesus for three or so years,had witnessed miracle after miracle. Had heard the words of life coming directly from Jesus Himself. I don’t know how many miracles Thomas actually saw,but one would have been enough!If I had seen a man feed multiple thousands of people with five loaves of bread and two fish,that would have been enough for me. Ya feelin me here? Much less the man at the pool,or walking on the water,or what about Lazarus? I’m just sayin’ 

So this man Thomas,who has seen Jesus do all these miracles,has heard the words of life issuing forth from His lips,all of a sudden is no longer a believer.Look again at Thomas’ last words. “I will never believe.” Everything was going along fine in Thomas’s world and all of a sudden,in a flash….He was gone. Who was gone Ronnie? Jesus was gone. Not only was He gone,but the circumstances of His going were horrible.He,Thomas,(you and me)had finally found what he had been looking for,the Messiah.And now,in a flash,his Messiah had been crucified,was dead and buried.The shock and awe were devastating. Thomas had had enough,he was NEVER going to believe. 

I imagine that during those three years,Thomas had told many people about Jesus. I imagine that he had spoken many times to family and friends. I would suppose that he had told them that Jesus was the Messiah,he had more than likely told them that Jesus would heal them of their sickness,or that He would protect them from the storms of life. Isn’t that what we do brothers and sisters? Thomas was no different from us. Thomas wasn’t having to walk by faith,he was an eyewitness to what was happening.Yet,when it all came crashing down,he had lapsed into unbelief. Why? Well,I can’t say,but I imagine one reason was pain. Whaddya mean Ronnie?Well,everything that he had told people now appeared to be a lie.Messiah? Protector? Healer? I can hear the people asking those questions of Thomas right now. Maybe even Thomas was questioning himself at this point. “I will never believe.”

The pain of loss was more than he wanted to or even could endure.His faith had been destroyed.

You ever feel like that? You have told someone that Jesus will do this or that and it didn’t work out the way you said it would.You have believed God for something and it didn’t come to pass. You have been hurt. You have thought it is all a lie. You just don’t want to expose yourself like that again,not even to God.You have made yourself vulnerable and have gotten the proverbial 2x4 upside your head.You have told yourself “never again.” Perhaps you gave someone hope and they got the 2x4. Whatever,the circumstance,you have been crushed and have lost your faith. Oh maybe you still believe in God. You know enough about Him to know he is real; but you just don’t want to trust Him like you once did.And you don’t. Well,let me tell you something.I have been right where you are. And as Ringo Starr once said,”you know it ain’t easy.” 

In times like those you just have to keep on holding on.Brother Mushegan used to say,” you have to tie a knot in the rope and hold on!” Sometimes it can take a while. I imagine those eight days that Thomas endured were the longest of his life. What eight days Ronnie?Take note that Thomas was not with the disciples when they saw the resurrected Jesus for the first time.I don’t know why he wasn’t there. I can imagine why. But,the fact is he wasn’t there.He didn’t believe when they told him they had seen the Lord.Eight very long days.But…….

John 20:26-29

“Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” 

Eight days later,Jesus appeared to Thomas and restored his lost faith.But,here is what we,you and I need to notice. Thomas was back with the group. He had been devastated when Jesus was dead and buried. He may have even left the group. He certainly lost his faith. But,eight days later he was there with the disciples when Jesus showed up. What made Thomas go back and rejoin the disciples. I don’know the circumstances. All I know is that through the disappointment and destruction of Cavalry,Thomas somehow found the strength and courage to press on,even when he had lost his faith. Those were eight very long days,I assure you.

Have you been disappointed in God? Even devastated? Maybe to the point of a loss of trust or even unbelief. Well,brother or sister,you are not alone. Why don’t you go to God one more time. You got nothing to lose do you? He’s there waiting for you.

John 10:17-30

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.”

All we must do is believe.

God Bless.

Amos 8:4-6.              8-4-23

Came across this verse today in Amos.

Amos 8:4-6

“Hear this, you who trample on the needy

and bring the poor of the land to an end,

saying, “When will the new moon be over,

that we may sell grain?

And the Sabbath,

that we may offer wheat for sale,

that we may make the ephah small and the shekel great

and deal deceitfully with false balances,

that we may buy the poor for silver

and the needy for a pair of sandals

and sell the chaff of the wheat?”

Walking around the grocery store(Kroger of course)in shock and awe about the falling food prices that are not falling,I noticed,once again,a ploy by the food powers that be. What is that Ronnie? Have you noticed the trend over the past few years of manufacturers reducing the size of the product you buy? What was once a box of 32 oz.cereal is now 28 oz. What was a pound of something or other is now 14 oz. Price is same or maybe a few cents higher,but you don’t get as much.Then,over time the price begins a slow,almost imperceptible rise. Soon, with barely a whisper,the price is now considerably higher,AND for LESS product!The blame,according to the powers that be is always assigned to this or that reason.Lately,in our day,it is called supply chain disruption or inflation,you know….whatever! Lol. Well,if you have noticed that happening you are perceptive.But,if you think this is a new scam being perpetrated on the people,think again. The same thing went on in Biblical times.

Amos was a contemporary of Isaiah in 8th century Israel. Amos was a prophet to the Northern Kingdom,Israel,along with Hosea. Isaiah was a prophet to the Southern Kingdom,Judah.A common motif that led to the downfall of both Israel and Judah was oppression. Usually economic. This was not the root cause of the downfall,just one of many results of the sin of the people. You will be astonished if you study these prophets,of the parallelism of Israel with our own country,America.It truly is fascinating if not scary at times.I’m getting off point.

Look at the verse again.

…” that we may make the ephah small and the shekel great..”

Substitute bushel for ephah. Making the ephah, or bushel “small” was a way of reducing by dishonest scales the amount of product.Hmmmm…

Back in that day money was measured by weight not quantity. The shekel if I remember was about 2/5 of an ounce. By requiring more weight for less product,you were making the bushel smaller while making the shekel greater. See any similarities? Why you ask? Read further.

By dealing deceitfully with false balances,they could “ buy the poor for silver…” Oppression pure and simple.

I wrote this with a purpose. Remember the study on rewards that I promised. Well,I am almost ready and this is a common motif in the doctrine of rewards. First,and most important,this doctrine is going to harmonize the message of the Gospel.The benefit to us is to keep us from inadvertently preaching a wrong or false Gospel,due to poor teaching that we may have received. The second is a motivation for holy living. Kingdom Now theology is the primary message being preached today in the church. It focuses on having it now. Be whole.Seek God to meet your needs.All about us in the present. The Bible I believe puts off a great many of these rewards into the future. The coming kingdom if you will. Some call it “ pie in the sky religion.” Well,I have been persuaded that that may be an apt description. We will leave that discussion for rewards. Anyway,saw this verse today and thought I would write about it.

All and I mean ALL we must do is believe.

God Bless.

Not The Way It’s Supposed To Be

 Not The Way It’s Supposed To Be.           06-30-22

My title is taken from the title of a book by Cornelius Plantinga.Plantinga says that in our world there is a sense of the way things should be,and the reality of the way things are. The sense and the reality don’t line up.Our world and by rote,we as human occupiers,are “not the way it’s supposed to be.” 

In a commentary on the 23rd Psalm, Joseph Sittler remarked that though we walk through the valley of death but one time,we spend our whole lives in the valley of the shadow of death.As we grow older that shadow becomes longer and more pronounced doesn’t it? There is a reason that things are not the way they are supposed to be. It is the same reason that our lifelong journey through the valley of death ends in death itself. Sin. Plain and simple. This isn’t the way it is supposed to be. God Almighty did not create the world or us to be like it is and we are. The reason? Sin. Let’s look more closely at the enigma of sin.

Exodus 34:6-7

“The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

Moses is on the mountain with the Lord in this passage,receiving the Ten Commandments for the second time.He broke the “originals” in anger over Israel’s sin. Now,he is before the Lord,and has made a request of God.Moses has asked God to show him His glory. You know the story,God hides Moses in the cleft of a rock and passes by,showing Moses His “hinder parts.” In verse 19 of chapter 33,God tells Moses that He will “proclaim His name before him. That proclamation is in the above verse.In that proclamation God tells of some of His attributes,but then He describes in three words what plagues humanity. These three words are a thread than runs through the whole story of the Bible. 

“…..forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin….” These are three descriptions of the enigmatic problem that faces humanity.From a single act of rebellion,”…but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat,for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” From this one seemingly insignificant action,death entered the picture and spread over all of humanity. Not only humanity,but over all the earth,polluting all of creation. The pervasiveness of sin is a doctrine that we all must come to grips with. You,me,and everyone in between has been tainted,no that is too calm a word,all humanity has been corrupted. Some of the theologians call it total depravity. We have been made “unsound.” The earth itself has been corrupted.Look at this.

Romans 8:19-21

“For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it,in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”

There is a concept that I want to share with you before we move on. In their break with the Catholic Church way back in the 1500’s(?) the Protestant Reformers developed a doctrine called Forensic Justification. Now there are libraries built around this doctrine,way above my pay grade. But,for our purposes it is rather simple,and enormously profound.We must grasp this concept if we are to understand the nature of our relationship with a Holy God. This is important for a couple of reasons. Only one of those reasons matter here. If we don’t understand this concept, our Gospel message to a lost sinner might become skewed and imprecise. It might even discourage a lost sinner to give up on God.More on that later.

This forensic justification is a legal concept. We,you and I,before we were “saved” stood in a courtroom with a Holy God. There was no jury like we have today. Just a Holy God determining our guilt or innocence. Understand this. In this courtroom there is no forgiveness. Forgiveness is not a legal issue. Even today,in American jurisprudence there is no concept of forgiveness. The closest thing we have is a pardon. But,a pardon does not remove guilt.Judges in their legal capacity do NOT forgive. Judges determine guilt or innocence,that is all they do.With that being said,during this study keep this always in the back of your mind as we talk about sin.You,we are in a courtroom before a righteous and holy God,not an imperfect human judge.Our innocence or guilt will be determined according to one and only one standard.What will that be Ronnie?

Plain and simple. Have you,me,we ever committed a single act of iniquity,transgression,or sin? Keep this courtroom setting in mind. A single act of either of those three concepts,seals our fate eternally.It is the contention of this study,that once we see the Mount Everest of evidence stacked against us,it will be impossible to believe that repentance from sin or ANY human work can save us from a guilty declaration.What is it that you,me,or anyone else can offer God,that would cause us to be declared innocent?What is it that we could offer God that would make the slightest contribution to our innocence? I contend the answer to that question is a resounding NOTHING! If,then,we can offer nothing for our justification,how could we demand from anyone that they offer something?As has been aptly stated”when we put other people on a tight moral budget while making allowances for ourselves-when we as human beings do these things,we exhibit a corruption of

thought,emotion,intention,speech,and disposition.”

Now,one more concept must be explained here. We are talking about justification here. What we are not talking about here is sanctification or living the Christian life. This isn’t in any way describing how we “walk the walk” once we have been saved. It is very important we don’t mix the two concepts together. (which by the way is done all the time)

I am getting way ahead of myself. Take a breath Ronnie.

This study will hopefully show how pervasive sin actually is and how helpless we are in combatting it as an unbeliever,then as a believer,without a DELIVERER.A deliverer that requires only one condition from lost humanity. That we believe. Folks,after we review the evidence,(sin)that stands against us,I believe we will be convinced that believing the Gospel message is all that we CAN do.Once we see this,we can offer a lost sinner the truly Good News,the Gospel. “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved,you and your household.”

We will begin to look at the nature of iniquity,transgression,and sin in the next post.

All we must do is believe.

God Bless

 i love u