Color by Gary Rose

 

Many, many years ago I was introduced to “Sharpening the Sword” Bible marking system. Using this method to better remember and understand the Bible, words or sentences or even whole paragraphs were highlighted to bring out the meaning. Today, as I looked at this multicolored presentation of the Beatitudes, I thought about color and its associated meaning as applied to the Scriptures. Consider the colors in the title ….

The Red colors as the blood of Christ.

Ephesians 2 (WEB)

11 Therefore remember that once you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “uncircumcision” by that which is called “circumcision”, (in the flesh, made by hands);

12 that you were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off are made near in the blood of Christ.

Black as the color of the darkness of sin.

Acts 26 (WEB)

12 “Whereupon as I traveled to Damascus with the authority and commission from the chief priests,

13 at noon, O king, I saw on the way a light from the sky, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who traveled with me.

14 When we had all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, "‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’"

15 “I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’

“He said, "‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. "

16 "But arise, and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose: to appoint you a servant and a witness both of the things which you have seen, and of the things which I will reveal to you; "

17 "delivering you from the people, and from the Gentiles, to whom I send you, "

18 "to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’"

Yellow as the sunlight from God as seen in Jesus.

2 Corinthians 4 (WEB)

1 Therefore seeing we have this ministry, even as we obtained mercy, we don’t faint.

2 But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by the manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.

3 Even if our Good News is veiled, it is veiled in those who perish;

4 in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the Good News of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn on them.

5 For we don’t preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake;

6 seeing it is God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Light blue as the color of the heavens, into which Christ will appear again.

Acts 1 (WEB)

1 The first book I wrote, Theophilus, concerned all that Jesus began both to do and to teach,

2 until the day in which he was received up, after he had given commandment through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.

3 To these he also showed himself alive after he suffered, by many proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days, and speaking about God’s Kingdom.

4 Being assembled together with them, he commanded them, "“Don’t depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which you heard from me. "

5 "For John indeed baptized in water, but you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”"

6 Therefore when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, are you now restoring the kingdom to Israel?”

7 He said to them, "“It isn’t for you to know times or seasons which the Father has set within his own authority. "

8 "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.”"

9 When he had said these things, as they were looking, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight.

10 While they were looking steadfastly into the sky as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white clothing,

11 who also said, “You men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who was received up from you into the sky will come back in the same way as you saw him going into the sky.”

Purple indicating royalty.

1 Peter 2 (WEB)

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:

10 who in time past were no people, but now are God’s people, who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

For those of you who read what I write, you will probably remember that I emphasize items of importance by emboldening or underlining or the use of color. Today’s picture does that as well, for notice that the word blessed is assigned different colors in order to convey emphasis.

Being blessed is the state of Christians because we are to be different from the world in our attitudes, thinking and actions. The Beatitudes of Jesus teach us how to live and be like Jesus.

One last thought… If your life was described in a color; what would that color be? Would it be the same color as Jesus’?

Bible Reading for September 11 - 13 by Gary Rose

Bible Reading for September 11 - 13

World  English  Bible

Sept. 11

Psalms 58-60

Psa 58:1 Do you indeed speak righteousness, silent ones? Do you judge blamelessly, you sons of men?

Psa 58:2 No, in your heart you plot injustice. You measure out the violence of your hands in the earth.

Psa 58:3 The wicked go astray from the womb. They are wayward as soon as they are born, speaking lies.

Psa 58:4 Their poison is like the poison of a snake; like a deaf cobra that stops its ear,

Psa 58:5 which doesn't listen to the voice of charmers, no matter how skillful the charmer may be.

Psa 58:6 Break their teeth, God, in their mouth. Break out the great teeth of the young lions, Yahweh.

Psa 58:7 Let them vanish as water that flows away. When they draw the bow, let their arrows be made blunt.

Psa 58:8 Let them be like a snail which melts and passes away, like the stillborn child, who has not seen the sun.

Psa 58:9 Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns, he will sweep away the green and the burning alike.

Psa 58:10 The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance. He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked;

Psa 58:11 so that men shall say, "Most certainly there is a reward for the righteous. Most certainly there is a God who judges the earth."

Psa 59:1 Deliver me from my enemies, my God. Set me on high from those who rise up against me.

Psa 59:2 Deliver me from the workers of iniquity. Save me from the bloodthirsty men.

Psa 59:3 For, behold, they lie in wait for my soul. The mighty gather themselves together against me, not for my disobedience, nor for my sin, Yahweh.

Psa 59:4 I have done no wrong, yet they are ready to attack me. Rise up, behold, and help me!

Psa 59:5 You, Yahweh God of Armies, the God of Israel, rouse yourself to punish the nations. Show no mercy to the wicked traitors. Selah.

Psa 59:6 They return at evening, howling like dogs, and prowl around the city.

Psa 59:7 Behold, they spew with their mouth. Swords are in their lips, "For," they say, "who hears us?"

Psa 59:8 But you, Yahweh, laugh at them. You scoff at all the nations.

Psa 59:9 Oh, my Strength, I watch for you, for God is my high tower.

Psa 59:10 My God will go before me with his loving kindness. God will let me look at my enemies in triumph.

Psa 59:11 Don't kill them, or my people may forget. Scatter them by your power, and bring them down, Lord our shield.

Psa 59:12 For the sin of their mouth, and the words of their lips, let them be caught in their pride, for the curses and lies which they utter.

Psa 59:13 Consume them in wrath. Consume them, and they will be no more. Let them know that God rules in Jacob, to the ends of the earth. Selah.

Psa 59:14 At evening let them return. Let them howl like a dog, and go around the city.

Psa 59:15 They shall wander up and down for food, and wait all night if they aren't satisfied.

Psa 59:16 But I will sing of your strength. Yes, I will sing aloud of your loving kindness in the morning. For you have been my high tower, a refuge in the day of my distress.

Psa 59:17 To you, my strength, I will sing praises. For God is my high tower, the God of my mercy.

Psa 60:1 God, you have rejected us. You have broken us down. You have been angry. Restore us, again.

Psa 60:2 You have made the land tremble. You have torn it. Mend its fractures, for it quakes.

Psa 60:3 You have shown your people hard things. You have made us drink the wine that makes us stagger.

Psa 60:4 You have given a banner to those who fear you, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah.

Psa 60:5 So that your beloved may be delivered, save with your right hand, and answer us.

Psa 60:6 God has spoken from his sanctuary: "I will triumph. I will divide Shechem, and measure out the valley of Succoth.

Psa 60:7 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine. Ephraim also is the defense of my head. Judah is my scepter.

Psa 60:8 Moab is my wash basin. I will throw my shoe on Edom. I shout in triumph over Philistia."

Psa 60:9 Who will bring me into the strong city? Who has led me to Edom?

Psa 60:10 Haven't you, God, rejected us? You don't go out with our armies, God.

Psa 60:11 Give us help against the adversary, for the help of man is vain.

Psa 60:12 Through God we shall do valiantly, for it is he who will tread down our adversaries.

Sept. 12

Psalms 61-63

Psa 61:1 Hear my cry, God. Listen to my prayer.

Psa 61:2 From the end of the earth, I will call to you, when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

Psa 61:3 For you have been a refuge for me, a strong tower from the enemy.

Psa 61:4 I will dwell in your tent forever. I will take refuge in the shelter of your wings. Selah.

Psa 61:5 For you, God, have heard my vows. You have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

Psa 61:6 You will prolong the king's life; his years shall be for generations.

Psa 61:7 He shall be enthroned in God's presence forever. Appoint your loving kindness and truth, that they may preserve him.

Psa 61:8 So I will sing praise to your name forever, that I may fulfill my vows daily.

Psa 62:1 My soul rests in God alone. My salvation is from him.

Psa 62:2 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress-- I will never be greatly shaken.

Psa 62:3 How long will you assault a man, would all of you throw him down, Like a leaning wall, like a tottering fence?

Psa 62:4 They fully intend to throw him down from his lofty place. They delight in lies. They bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. Selah.

Psa 62:5 My soul, wait in silence for God alone, for my expectation is from him.

Psa 62:6 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress. I will not be shaken.

Psa 62:7 With God is my salvation and my honor. The rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.

Psa 62:8 Trust in him at all times, you people. Pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us. Selah.

Psa 62:9 Surely men of low degree are just a breath, and men of high degree are a lie. In the balances they will go up. They are together lighter than a breath.

Psa 62:10 Don't trust in oppression. Don't become vain in robbery. If riches increase, don't set your heart on them.

Psa 62:11 God has spoken once; twice I have heard this, that power belongs to God.

Psa 62:12 Also to you, Lord, belongs loving kindness, for you reward every man according to his work.

Psa 63:1 God, you are my God. I will earnestly seek you. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh longs for you, in a dry and weary land, where there is no water.

Psa 63:2 So I have seen you in the sanctuary, watching your power and your glory.

Psa 63:3 Because your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise you.

Psa 63:4 So I will bless you while I live. I will lift up my hands in your name.

Psa 63:5 My soul shall be satisfied as with the richest food. My mouth shall praise you with joyful lips,

Psa 63:6 when I remember you on my bed, and think about you in the night watches.

Psa 63:7 For you have been my help. I will rejoice in the shadow of your wings.

Psa 63:8 My soul stays close to you. Your right hand holds me up.

Psa 63:9 But those who seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth.

Psa 63:10 They shall be given over to the power of the sword. They shall be jackal food.

Psa 63:11 But the king shall rejoice in God. Everyone who swears by him will praise him, for the mouth of those who speak lies shall be silenced.

Sept. 13

Psalms 64-67

Psa 64:1 Hear my voice, God, in my complaint. Preserve my life from fear of the enemy.

Psa 64:2 Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked, from the noisy crowd of the ones doing evil;

Psa 64:3 who sharpen their tongue like a sword, and aim their arrows, deadly words,

Psa 64:4 to shoot innocent men from ambushes. They shoot at him suddenly and fearlessly.

Psa 64:5 They encourage themselves in evil plans. They talk about laying snares secretly. They say, "Who will see them?"

Psa 64:6 They plot injustice, saying, "We have made a perfect plan!" Surely man's mind and heart are cunning.

Psa 64:7 But God will shoot at them. They will be suddenly struck down with an arrow.

Psa 64:8 Their own tongues shall ruin them. All who see them will shake their heads.

Psa 64:9 All mankind shall be afraid. They shall declare the work of God, and shall wisely ponder what he has done.

Psa 64:10 The righteous shall be glad in Yahweh, and shall take refuge in him. All the upright in heart shall praise him!

Psa 65:1 Praise waits for you, God, in Zion. To you shall vows be performed.

Psa 65:2 You who hear prayer, to you all men will come.

Psa 65:3 Sins overwhelmed me, but you atoned for our transgressions.

Psa 65:4 Blessed is one whom you choose, and cause to come near, that he may live in your courts. We will be filled with the goodness of your house, your holy temple.

Psa 65:5 By awesome deeds of righteousness, you answer us, God of our salvation. You who are the hope of all the ends of the earth, of those who are far away on the sea;

Psa 65:6 Who by his power forms the mountains, having armed yourself with strength;

Psa 65:7 who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations.

Psa 65:8 They also who dwell in faraway places are afraid at your wonders. You call the morning's dawn and the evening with songs of joy.

Psa 65:9 You visit the earth, and water it. You greatly enrich it. The river of God is full of water. You provide them grain, for so you have ordained it.

Psa 65:10 You drench its furrows. You level its ridges. You soften it with showers. You bless it with a crop.

Psa 65:11 You crown the year with your bounty. Your carts overflow with abundance.

Psa 65:12 The wilderness grasslands overflow. The hills are clothed with gladness.

Psa 65:13 The pastures are covered with flocks. The valleys also are clothed with grain. They shout for joy! They also sing.

Psa 66:1 Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth!

Psa 66:2 Sing to the glory of his name! Offer glory and praise!

Psa 66:3 Tell God, "How awesome are your deeds! Through the greatness of your power, your enemies submit themselves to you.

Psa 66:4 All the earth will worship you, and will sing to you; they will sing to your name." Selah.

Psa 66:5 Come, and see God's deeds-- awesome work on behalf of the children of men.

Psa 66:6 He turned the sea into dry land. They went through the river on foot. There, we rejoiced in him.

Psa 66:7 He rules by his might forever. His eyes watch the nations. Don't let the rebellious rise up against him. Selah.

Psa 66:8 Praise our God, you peoples! Make the sound of his praise heard,

Psa 66:9 who preserves our life among the living, and doesn't allow our feet to be moved.

Psa 66:10 For you, God, have tested us. You have refined us, as silver is refined.

Psa 66:11 You brought us into prison. You laid a burden on our backs.

Psa 66:12 You allowed men to ride over our heads. We went through fire and through water, but you brought us to the place of abundance.

Psa 66:13 I will come into your temple with burnt offerings. I will pay my vows to you,

Psa 66:14 which my lips promised, and my mouth spoke, when I was in distress.

Psa 66:15 I will offer to you burnt offerings of fat animals, with the offering of rams, I will offer bulls with goats. Selah.

Psa 66:16 Come, and hear, all you who fear God. I will declare what he has done for my soul.

Psa 66:17 I cried to him with my mouth. He was extolled with my tongue.

Psa 66:18 If I cherished sin in my heart, the Lord wouldn't have listened.

Psa 66:19 But most certainly, God has listened. He has heard the voice of my prayer.

Psa 66:20 Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer, nor his loving kindness from me.

Psa 67:1 May God be merciful to us, bless us, and cause his face to shine on us. Selah.

Psa 67:2 That your way may be known on earth, and your salvation among all nations,

Psa 67:3 let the peoples praise you, God. Let all the peoples praise you.

Psa 67:4 Oh let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you will judge the peoples with equity, and govern the nations on earth. Selah.

Psa 67:5 Let the peoples praise you, God. Let all the peoples praise you.

Psa 67:6 The earth has yielded its increase. God, even our own God, will bless us.

Psa 67:7 God will bless us. All the ends of the earth shall fear him. 

 

Sept. 11

1 Corinthians 7

1Co 7:1 Now concerning the things about which you wrote to me: it is good for a man not to touch a woman.

1Co 7:2 But, because of sexual immoralities, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband.

1Co 7:3 Let the husband render to his wife the affection owed her, and likewise also the wife to her husband.

1Co 7:4 The wife doesn't have authority over her own body, but the husband. Likewise also the husband doesn't have authority over his own body, but the wife.

1Co 7:5 Don't deprive one another, unless it is by consent for a season, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer, and may be together again, that Satan doesn't tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

1Co 7:6 But this I say by way of concession, not of commandment.

1Co 7:7 Yet I wish that all men were like me. However each man has his own gift from God, one of this kind, and another of that kind.

1Co 7:8 But I say to the unmarried and to widows, it is good for them if they remain even as I am.

1Co 7:9 But if they don't have self-control, let them marry. For it's better to marry than to burn.

1Co 7:10 But to the married I command--not I, but the Lord--that the wife not leave her husband

1Co 7:11 (but if she departs, let her remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband not leave his wife.

1Co 7:12 But to the rest I--not the Lord--say, if any brother has an unbelieving wife, and she is content to live with him, let him not leave her.

1Co 7:13 The woman who has an unbelieving husband, and he is content to live with her, let her not leave her husband.

1Co 7:14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified in the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified in the husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.

1Co 7:15 Yet if the unbeliever departs, let there be separation. The brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called us in peace.

1Co 7:16 For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

1Co 7:17 Only, as the Lord has distributed to each man, as God has called each, so let him walk. So I command in all the assemblies.

1Co 7:18 Was anyone called having been circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised. Has anyone been called in uncircumcision? Let him not be circumcised.

1Co 7:19 Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.

1Co 7:20 Let each man stay in that calling in which he was called.

1Co 7:21 Were you called being a bondservant? Don't let that bother you, but if you get an opportunity to become free, use it.

1Co 7:22 For he who was called in the Lord being a bondservant is the Lord's free man. Likewise he who was called being free is Christ's bondservant.

1Co 7:23 You were bought with a price. Don't become bondservants of men.

1Co 7:24 Brothers, let each man, in whatever condition he was called, stay in that condition with God.

1Co 7:25 Now concerning virgins, I have no commandment from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one who has obtained mercy from the Lord to be trustworthy.

1Co 7:26 I think that it is good therefore, because of the distress that is on us, that it is good for a man to be as he is.

1Co 7:27 Are you bound to a wife? Don't seek to be freed. Are you free from a wife? Don't seek a wife.

1Co 7:28 But if you marry, you have not sinned. If a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Yet such will have oppression in the flesh, and I want to spare you.

1Co 7:29 But I say this, brothers: the time is short, that from now on, both those who have wives may be as though they had none;

1Co 7:30 and those who weep, as though they didn't weep; and those who rejoice, as though they didn't rejoice; and those who buy, as though they didn't possess;

1Co 7:31 and those who use the world, as not using it to the fullest. For the mode of this world passes away.

1Co 7:32 But I desire to have you to be free from cares. He who is unmarried is concerned for the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord;

1Co 7:33 but he who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife.

1Co 7:34 There is also a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world--how she may please her husband.

1Co 7:35 This I say for your own profit; not that I may ensnare you, but for that which is appropriate, and that you may attend to the Lord without distraction.

1Co 7:36 But if any man thinks that he is behaving inappropriately toward his virgin, if she is past the flower of her age, and if need so requires, let him do what he desires. He doesn't sin. Let them marry.

1Co 7:37 But he who stands steadfast in his heart, having no necessity, but has power over his own heart, to keep his own virgin, does well.

1Co 7:38 So then both he who gives his own virgin in marriage does well, and he who doesn't give her in marriage does better.

1Co 7:39 A wife is bound by law for as long as her husband lives; but if the husband is dead, she is free to be married to whoever she desires, only in the Lord.

1Co 7:40 But she is happier if she stays as she is, in my judgment, and I think that I also have God's Spirit.

Sept. 12

1 Corinthians 8

1Co 8:1 Now concerning things sacrificed to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.

1Co 8:2 But if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he doesn't yet know as he ought to know.

1Co 8:3 But if anyone loves God, the same is known by him.

1Co 8:4 Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that no idol is anything in the world, and that there is no other God but one.

1Co 8:5 For though there are things that are called "gods," whether in the heavens or on earth; as there are many "gods" and many "lords;"

1Co 8:6 yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we live through him.

1Co 8:7 However, that knowledge isn't in all men. But some, with consciousness of the idol until now, eat as of a thing sacrificed to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled.

1Co 8:8 But food will not commend us to God. For neither, if we don't eat, are we the worse; nor, if we eat, are we the better.

1Co 8:9 But be careful that by no means does this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to the weak.

1Co 8:10 For if a man sees you who have knowledge sitting in an idol's temple, won't his conscience, if he is weak, be emboldened to eat things sacrificed to idols?

1Co 8:11 And through your knowledge, he who is weak perishes, the brother for whose sake Christ died.

1Co 8:12 Thus, sinning against the brothers, and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.

1Co 8:13 Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will eat no meat forevermore, that I don't cause my brother to stumble.

Sept. 13

1 Corinthians 9

1Co 9:1 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Haven't I seen Jesus Christ, our Lord? Aren't you my work in the Lord?

1Co 9:2 If to others I am not an apostle, yet at least I am to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

1Co 9:3 My defense to those who examine me is this.

1Co 9:4 Have we no right to eat and to drink?

1Co 9:5 Have we no right to take along a wife who is a believer, even as the rest of the apostles, and the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?

1Co 9:6 Or have only Barnabas and I no right to not work?

1Co 9:7 What soldier ever serves at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard, and doesn't eat of its fruit? Or who feeds a flock, and doesn't drink from the flock's milk?

1Co 9:8 Do I speak these things according to the ways of men? Or doesn't the law also say the same thing?

1Co 9:9 For it is written in the law of Moses, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain." Is it for the oxen that God cares,

1Co 9:10 or does he say it assuredly for our sake? Yes, it was written for our sake, because he who plows ought to plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should partake of his hope.

1Co 9:11 If we sowed to you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we reap your fleshly things?

1Co 9:12 If others partake of this right over you, don't we yet more? Nevertheless we did not use this right, but we bear all things, that we may cause no hindrance to the Good News of Christ.

1Co 9:13 Don't you know that those who serve around sacred things eat from the things of the temple, and those who wait on the altar have their portion with the altar?

1Co 9:14 Even so the Lord ordained that those who proclaim the Good News should live from the Good News.

1Co 9:15 But I have used none of these things, and I don't write these things that it may be done so in my case; for I would rather die, than that anyone should make my boasting void.

1Co 9:16 For if I preach the Good News, I have nothing to boast about; for necessity is laid on me; but woe is to me, if I don't preach the Good News.

1Co 9:17 For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward. But if not of my own will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me.

1Co 9:18 What then is my reward? That, when I preach the Good News, I may present the Good News of Christ without charge, so as not to abuse my authority in the Good News.

1Co 9:19 For though I was free from all, I brought myself under bondage to all, that I might gain the more.

1Co 9:20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain those who are under the law;

1Co 9:21 to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law.

1Co 9:22 To the weak I became as weak, that I might gain the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some.

1Co 9:23 Now I do this for the sake of the Good News, that I may be a joint partaker of it.

1Co 9:24 Don't you know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run like that, that you may win.

1Co 9:25 Every man who strives in the games exercises self-control in all things. Now they do it to receive a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible.

1Co 9:26 I therefore run like that, as not uncertainly. I fight like that, as not beating the air,

1Co 9:27 but I beat my body and bring it into submission, lest by any means, after I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected.

Are you ready for the judgment? by Roy Davison

 http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Davison/Roy/Allen/1940/ready.html
 

Are you ready for the judgment?

God is "the Judge of all the earth" (Genesis 18:25). "The LORD shall judge the peoples" (Psalm 7:8 // Hebrews 10:30). "God shall judge the righteous and the wicked" (Ecclesiastes 3:17). "He has prepared His throne for judgment. He shall judge the world in righteousness, and He shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness" (Psalm 9:7,8). "If one man sins against another, God will judge him" (1 Samuel 2:25).

"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether it is good or whether it is evil" (Ecclesiastes 12:13,14).

Judgment is coming. Life is short. All must die. Are we ready? "It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27).

We will be judged by Christ.

He said: "For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father" (John 5:22,23).

Because Jesus is both the Son of God and the Son of Man, He has been appointed to judge mankind. Jesus said: "For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth -- those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me" (John 5:26-30).

As Paul said to the men of Athens: "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead" (Acts 17:30,31). "It is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead" (Acts 10:42 -- See also 2 Timothy 4:1).

The word of Christ will judge us.

Jesus said: "If anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him -- the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day" (John 12:47,48).

Paul speaks of "the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel" (Romans 2:16); he speaks of "the righteous judgment of God, who 'will render to each one according to his deeds': eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness -- indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God" (Romans 2:5-11).

"So then each of us shall give account of himself to God" (Romans 14:12). "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad" (2 Corinthians 5:10).

"And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your sojourning here in fear" (1 Peter 1:17).

How can we get ready for the judgment?

We must know the will of God. We must do the will of God. Our sins must be forgiven through the blood of Christ.

Unfortunately, there are many who do not know the will of God, and yet think they are wise. This mistake was made by Israel many times. The Lord rebuked them:

"Even the stork in the heavens
Knows her appointed times;
And the turtledove, the swift, and the swallow
Observe the time of their coming.
But My people do not know the judgment of the Lord.
How can you say, 'We are wise,
And the law of the Lord is with us'?
Look, the false pen of the scribe certainly works falsehood.
The wise men are ashamed,
They are dismayed and taken.
Behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord;
So what wisdom do they have?"
(Jeremiah 8:7-9).

People who reject the word of God do not know 'the judgment of the LORD'. The scribes, the religious leaders, were leading the people astray. They had a 'false pen' that worked falsehood! Many people will be lost on the day of judgment because they reject the word of God and listen to religious leaders.

It is only through God's word that we can know His will.

Yet, to know the will of God is not sufficient. We must also do the will of God.

Jesus said: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall" (Matthew 7:21-27).

We must both know and do the will of God. But what about our sins?

Our sins must be forgiven by the blood of Christ.

Jesus said: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life" (John 5:24).

Repentance is required. Jesus said: "Unless you repent you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3). This means that we must be sorry for our sins and must determine to live according to God's will. We must be baptized. Jesus said: "He who believes and is baptized will be saved" (Mark 16:16).

Get ready for the judgment.

"For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?" (1 Peter 4:17).

Judgment begins with the house of God. We Christians can be thankful that we have escaped from condemnation through forgiveness by the blood of Christ. Yet we may not be complacent. We must seriously study the Scriptures so we can know and do the will of God.

What will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? All who have not yet obeyed the gospel are not ready for the judgment. Their sins still separate them from God. They can be saved from the judgment by believing and obeying the word of Christ.

Are we ready for the judgment?

We must know the will of God. We must do the will of God. Our sins must be forgiven through the blood of Christ. Let's get ready! Let's be ready. Then we can "come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16).

Roy Davison

The Scripture quotations in this article are from
The New King James Version. ©1979,1980,1982, Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers.
Permission for reference use has been granted.

Published in The Old Paths Archive
(http://www.oldpaths.com)