"THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW" Our Duty To God And Country (22:15-22)

"THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW"

Our Duty To God And Country (22:15-22) 

 INTRODUCTION

1. Teaching in the temple, Jesus was approached by the Pharisees and the Herodians...
   a. They came with the intention of entangling Him in His teaching - Mt 22:15-16
   b. They questioned Him whether one should pay taxes to Caesar - Mt 22:17

2. Ever the Master Teacher, Jesus easily dealt with their question...
   a. Seeing through their hypocrisy, He called for a coin - Mt 22:18-19
   b. He asked whose inscription was on it, and they answered "Caesar's" - Mt 22:20-21
   c. His reply cause them to marvel, and to go away - Mt 22:21-22

3. The reply of Jesus:
   a. "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's"
   b. "And to God the things that are God's"
   ...not only silenced His critics, but provided important teaching for His disciples

4. His reply reveals that we have responsibilities to both God and country
   a. There are things that we must render to Caesar (country)
   b. There are things that we must render to God

[What is our duty to God and country?  In this study we shall review
what the Scriptures tell us about our responsibilities as citizens and
as disciples.  We start with...]

I. OUR DUTY TO COUNTRY

   A. PAY TAXES...
      1. This was the point of Jesus in our text - Mt 22:17-21
      2. Paul also taught us to pay taxes - Ro 13:6-7a

   B. OBEY LAWS...
      1. We are to submit to the ordinances (laws) of the land - Ro 13: 1-5; Tit 3:1
      2. This we do for the Lord's sake, that we might silence foolish men - 1Pe 2:13-16

   C. FEAR AND HONOR...
      1. We are to respect and honor those in positions of authority- Ro 13:7b
         a. We are to fear the king - cf. Pr 24:21
         b. We are not to speak evil of our rulers 

              - cf. Exo 22:28; Ac 23:5; Tit 3:2; 2Pe 2:10; Jude 8-9
      2. Even as we are to honor all and love the brethren - 1Pe 2:17
      -- Do you notice that Paul or Peter never had unkind words about Nero?
   
   D. DO GOOD...
      1. We are to be ready for every good work - Tit 3:1
      2. We are to have conduct that is honorable before all - 1Pe 2: 11-12,15-16

   E. PRAY...
      1. To make supplications, offer prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks - 1Ti 2:1
      2. To pray for kings and all who are in authority - 1Ti 2:1-3

[Christians are but sojourners and pilgrims in this world (1Pe 2:11).
While our true citizenship is in heaven (Php 3:20), we are to be a
blessing to those earthly countries in which we sojourn.  Fulfill our
God-given obligations, and we will be an asset to any country in which
we live!  Now let's review...]

II. OUR DUTY TO GOD

   A. LOVE GOD WITH ALL OUR BEING...
      1. Jesus considered this the greatest commandment of the Law  - Mt 22:34-38
      2. Being the greatest command, I would suggest this is our greatest duty!

   B. OBEY GOD FROM THE HEART...
      1. If we love God, we will keep His commandments - 1Jn 5:3
      2. Even as Jesus taught that keeping His commandments is evidence
         of true love - Jn 14:15,21,23

   C. MAKE GOD OUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY...
      1. His will, His rule, His righteousness, should be our first priority - Mt 6:33
      2. Not only over our personal concerns, but even over our duty to country
         a. Whenever there is a conflict between duty to God and duty
            to country, God must come first
         b. As stated by Peter:  "We ought to obey God rather than men"  Ac 5:27-29
      3. This helps to answer questions that often arise concerning the
         Christian's duty to government
         a. Can a Christian vote?
         b. Can one serve in political office?
      4. If such duties and privileges come at too high a price (i.e.,
         placing country before God), then a Christian must obey God rather than men
         a. In some countries, the price may be too high, and a
            Christian could not serve in political office or exercise certain rights as a citizen
         b. Other countries may allow for God to take precedence in
            one's conduct, permitting the Christian to participate in such things

CONCLUSION

1. Christians ought to be a blessing for any country in which they reside...
   a. A source of revenue, with respect for laws, and reverence for those in authority
   b. Contributing to the general welfare, through good deeds and fervent prayers

2. Christians can be such a blessing when...
   a. They render first to God what is His due, and then what is due the country
   b. The country respects the priority that must be given God by its citizens

While those in authority might not always understand their proper
place, and expect more of their citizens than what is right, may we who
are disciples of Christ never fail to "Render therefore to Caesar the
things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." 

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2016

 

The sign does not change by Gary Rose

I liked this sign because of the simplicity of its message; namely, The GOD who made us has given us the opportunity to be cleansed from the sin that deforms us, and be transformed into a new creature.

GOD FORMED US

Genesis 1 ( World English Bible )

26 God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

27 God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them.

28 God blessed them. God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

29 God said, “Behold, * I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food.

30 To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food;” and it was so.

31 God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. There was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.

The world says that we came from monkeys, but, the Bible says that we are a creation of GOD. One of the reasons that I believe GOD is that I once asked myself the question: where are the newly advanced apes? I never have seen one and am absolutely convinced I never will.

Many people say that humans are born evil, but I ask you, take a look at a newborn baby and ask yourself: Has this child ever done anything wrong? Why it doesn’t even know its left from its right hand!

I say: God doesn’t make junk! Human beings are a marvelous creation. In verse 26f. HE says that we are made in his image and according to HIS likeness. We are born to be like GOD, but it is sin that deforms us!

SIN DEFORMED US

Romans 7 ( WEB )

7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? May it never be! However, I wouldn’t have known sin, except through the law. For I wouldn’t have known coveting, unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.”

8 But sin, finding occasion through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of coveting. For apart from the law, sin is dead.

9 I was alive apart from the law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.

10 The commandment, which was for life, this I found to be for death;

11 for sin, finding occasion through the commandment, deceived me, and through it killed me.

12 Therefore the law indeed is holy, and the commandment holy, and righteous, and good.

13 Did then that which is good become death to me? May it never be! But sin, that it might be shown to be sin, by working death to me through that which is good; that through the commandment sin might become exceedingly sinful.

14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, sold under sin.

15 For I don’t know what I am doing. For I don’t practice what I desire to do; but what I hate, that I do.

16 But if what I don’t desire, that I do, I consent to the law that it is good.

17 So now it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwells in me.

18 For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing. For desire is present with me, but I don’t find it doing that which is good.

19 For the good which I desire, I don’t do; but the evil which I don’t desire, that I practice.

20 But if what I don’t desire, that I do, it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwells in me.

21 I find then the law, that, to me, while I desire to do good, evil is present.

22 For I delight in God’s law after the inward man,

23 but I see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity under the law of sin which is in my members.

Only the most depraved among us wake up each day with a heart determined to do evil. In fact, most people think they are “good” even though they do what they know to be wrong. What happens is that THEY HAVE SET THEIR OWN STANDARD and ignored GOD’s STANDARD for their life. However, with some reflection most people will see that it is not THEIR STANDARD that will result in eternal life, but GOD’S STANDARDS. Since even the best of us realize that we sin from time to time – What do we do? God has given us the answer in the life and sacrifice of God’s only son – Jesus Christ.

CHRIST TRANSFORMED US

2 Corinthians 5 ( WEB )

1 For we know that if the earthly house of our tent is dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens.

2 For most certainly in this we groan, longing to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven;

3 if so be that being clothed we will not be found naked.

4 For indeed we who are in this tent do groan, being burdened; not that we desire to be unclothed, but that we desire to be clothed, that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

5 Now he who made us for this very thing is God, who also gave to us the down payment of the Spirit.

6 Therefore we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord;

7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.

8 We are courageous, I say, and are willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be at home with the Lord.

9 Therefore also we make it our aim, whether at home or absent, to be well pleasing to him.

10 For we must all be revealed before the judgment seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

11 Knowing therefore the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are revealed to God; and I hope that we are revealed also in your consciences.

12 For we are not commending ourselves to you again, but speak as giving you occasion of boasting on our behalf, that you may have something to answer those who boast in appearance, and not in heart.

13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God. Or if we are of sober mind, it is for you.

14 For the love of Christ constrains us; because we judge thus, that one died for all, therefore all died.

15 He died for all, that those who live should no longer live to themselves, but to him who for their sakes died and rose again.

16 Therefore we know no one after the flesh from now on. Even though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now we know him so no more.

17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, * all things have become new.

18 But all things are of God, who reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ, and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation;

19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not reckoning to them their trespasses, and having committed to us the word of reconciliation.

20 We are therefore ambassadors on behalf of Christ, as though God were entreating by us: we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

21 For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Christians are transformed human beings; people who have set their heart and mind on obeying God. HIS will becomes our will, HIS heart our heart, HIS life in this world is the one we wish to imitate. The next time you attend church, look around you and realize that true Christians go there to become BETTER. Yes, sometimes we fail in our efforts to be like JESUS, but God gives GRACE to us and F-O-R-G-I-V-E-N-E-S-S!

That sign does not change, be WE CAN– FOR THE BETTER!

ONE QUESTION REMAINS-

WILL YOU CHANGE AND OBEY GOD’S GOSPEL MESSAGE OR NOT?

Bible Reading for September 7 and 8 by Gary Rose

 

Bible Reading for September 7 and 8

World  English  Bible

Sept. 7

Psalms 46-48

Psa 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Psa 46:2 Therefore we won't be afraid, though the earth changes, though the mountains are shaken into the heart of the seas;

Psa 46:3 though its waters roar and are troubled, though the mountains tremble with their swelling. Selah.

Psa 46:4 There is a river, the streams of which make the city of God glad, the holy place of the tents of the Most High.

Psa 46:5 God is in her midst. She shall not be moved. God will help her at dawn.

Psa 46:6 The nations raged. The kingdoms were moved. He lifted his voice, and the earth melted.

Psa 46:7 Yahweh of Armies is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

Psa 46:8 Come, see Yahweh's works, what desolations he has made in the earth.

Psa 46:9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow, and shatters the spear. He burns the chariots in the fire.

Psa 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth."

Psa 46:11 Yahweh of Armies is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

Psa 47:1 Oh clap your hands, all you nations. Shout to God with the voice of triumph!

Psa 47:2 For Yahweh Most High is awesome. He is a great King over all the earth.

Psa 47:3 He subdues nations under us, and peoples under our feet.

Psa 47:4 He chooses our inheritance for us, the glory of Jacob whom he loved. Selah.

Psa 47:5 God has gone up with a shout, Yahweh with the sound of a trumpet.

Psa 47:6 Sing praise to God, sing praises. Sing praises to our King, sing praises.

Psa 47:7 For God is the King of all the earth. Sing praises with understanding.

Psa 47:8 God reigns over the nations. God sits on his holy throne.

Psa 47:9 The princes of the peoples are gathered together, the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God. He is greatly exalted!

Psa 48:1 Great is Yahweh, and greatly to be praised, in the city of our God, in his holy mountain.

Psa 48:2 Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion, on the north sides, the city of the great King.

Psa 48:3 God has shown himself in her citadels as a refuge.

Psa 48:4 For, behold, the kings assembled themselves, they passed by together.

Psa 48:5 They saw it, then they were amazed. They were dismayed. They hurried away.

Psa 48:6 Trembling took hold of them there, pain, as of a woman in travail.

Psa 48:7 With the east wind, you break the ships of Tarshish.

Psa 48:8 As we have heard, so we have seen, in the city of Yahweh of Armies, in the city of our God. God will establish it forever. Selah.

Psa 48:9 We have thought about your loving kindness, God, in the midst of your temple.

Psa 48:10 As is your name, God, so is your praise to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is full of righteousness.

Psa 48:11 Let Mount Zion be glad! Let the daughters of Judah rejoice, Because of your judgments.

Psa 48:12 Walk about Zion, and go around her. Number its towers.

Psa 48:13 Mark well her bulwarks. Consider her palaces, that you may tell it to the next generation.

Psa 48:14 For this God is our God forever and ever. He will be our guide even to death.

Sept. 8

Psalms 49-51

Psa 49:1 Hear this, all you peoples. Listen, all you inhabitants of the world,

Psa 49:2 both low and high, rich and poor together.

Psa 49:3 My mouth will speak words of wisdom. My heart shall utter understanding.

Psa 49:4 I will incline my ear to a proverb. I will open my riddle on the harp.

Psa 49:5 Why should I fear in the days of evil, when iniquity at my heels surrounds me?

Psa 49:6 Those who trust in their wealth, and boast in the multitude of their riches--

Psa 49:7 none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give God a ransom for him.

Psa 49:8 For the redemption of their life is costly, no payment is ever enough,

Psa 49:9 That he should live on forever, that he should not see corruption.

Psa 49:10 For he sees that wise men die; likewise the fool and the senseless perish, and leave their wealth to others.

Psa 49:11 Their inward thought is that their houses will endure forever, and their dwelling places to all generations. They name their lands after themselves.

Psa 49:12 But man, despite his riches, doesn't endure. He is like the animals that perish.

Psa 49:13 This is the destiny of those who are foolish, and of those who approve their sayings. Selah.

Psa 49:14 They are appointed as a flock for Sheol. Death shall be their shepherd. The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning. Their beauty shall decay in Sheol, far from their mansion.

Psa 49:15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. Selah.

Psa 49:16 Don't be afraid when a man is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased.

Psa 49:17 For when he dies he shall carry nothing away. His glory shall not descend after him.

Psa 49:18 Though while he lived he blessed his soul-- and men praise you when you do well for yourself--

Psa 49:19 he shall go to the generation of his fathers. They shall never see the light.

Psa 49:20 A man who has riches without understanding, is like the animals that perish.

Psa 50:1 The Mighty One, God, Yahweh, speaks, and calls the earth from sunrise to sunset.

Psa 50:2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.

Psa 50:3 Our God comes, and does not keep silent. A fire devours before him. It is very stormy around him.

Psa 50:4 He calls to the heavens above, to the earth, that he may judge his people:

Psa 50:5 "Gather my saints together to me, those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice."

Psa 50:6 The heavens shall declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge. Selah.

Psa 50:7 "Hear, my people, and I will speak; Israel, and I will testify against you. I am God, your God.

Psa 50:8 I don't rebuke you for your sacrifices. Your burnt offerings are continually before me.

Psa 50:9 I have no need for a bull from your stall, nor male goats from your pens.

Psa 50:10 For every animal of the forest is mine, and the livestock on a thousand hills.

Psa 50:11 I know all the birds of the mountains. The wild animals of the field are mine.

Psa 50:12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.

Psa 50:13 Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?

Psa 50:14 Offer to God the sacrifice of thanksgiving. Pay your vows to the Most High.

Psa 50:15 Call on me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you, and you will honor me."

Psa 50:16 But to the wicked God says, "What right do you have to declare my statutes, that you have taken my covenant on your lips,

Psa 50:17 seeing you hate instruction, and throw my words behind you?

Psa 50:18 When you saw a thief, you consented with him, and have participated with adulterers.

Psa 50:19 "You give your mouth to evil. Your tongue frames deceit.

Psa 50:20 You sit and speak against your brother. You slander your own mother's son.

Psa 50:21 You have done these things, and I kept silent. You thought that the I was just like you. I will rebuke you, and accuse you in front of your eyes.

Psa 50:22 "Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you into pieces, and there be none to deliver.

Psa 50:23 Whoever offers the sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifies me, and prepares his way so that I will show God's salvation to him."

Psa 51:1 Have mercy on me, God, according to your loving kindness. According to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.

Psa 51:2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity. Cleanse me from my sin.

Psa 51:3 For I know my transgressions. My sin is constantly before me.

Psa 51:4 Against you, and you only, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight; that you may be proved right when you speak, and justified when you judge.

Psa 51:5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity. In sin my mother conceived me.

Psa 51:6 Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts. You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

Psa 51:7 Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean. Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Psa 51:8 Let me hear joy and gladness, That the bones which you have broken may rejoice.

Psa 51:9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all of my iniquities.

Psa 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me.

Psa 51:11 Don't throw me from your presence, and don't take your holy Spirit from me.

Psa 51:12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation. Uphold me with a willing spirit.

Psa 51:13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways. Sinners shall be converted to you.

Psa 51:14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation. My tongue shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

Psa 51:15 Lord, open my lips. My mouth shall declare your praise.

Psa 51:16 For you don't delight in sacrifice, or else I would give it. You have no pleasure in burnt offering.

Psa 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Psa 51:18 Do well in your good pleasure to Zion. Build the walls of Jerusalem.

Psa 51:19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of righteousness, in burnt offerings and in whole burnt offerings. Then they will offer bulls on your altar. 

 

Sept. 7

1 Corinthians 3

1Co 3:1 Brothers, I couldn't speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly, as to babies in Christ.

1Co 3:2 I fed you with milk, not with meat; for you weren't yet ready. Indeed, not even now are you ready,

1Co 3:3 for you are still fleshly. For insofar as there is jealousy, strife, and factions among you, aren't you fleshly, and don't you walk in the ways of men?

1Co 3:4 For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," aren't you fleshly?

1Co 3:5 Who then is Apollos, and who is Paul, but servants through whom you believed; and each as the Lord gave to him?

1Co 3:6 I planted. Apollos watered. But God gave the increase.

1Co 3:7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.

1Co 3:8 Now he who plants and he who waters are the same, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

1Co 3:9 For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's farming, God's building.

1Co 3:10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another builds on it. But let each man be careful how he builds on it.

1Co 3:11 For no one can lay any other foundation than that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ.

1Co 3:12 But if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or stubble;

1Co 3:13 each man's work will be revealed. For the Day will declare it, because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself will test what sort of work each man's work is.

1Co 3:14 If any man's work remains which he built on it, he will receive a reward.

1Co 3:15 If any man's work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, but as through fire.

1Co 3:16 Don't you know that you are a temple of God, and that God's Spirit lives in you?

1Co 3:17 If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him; for God's temple is holy, which you are.

1Co 3:18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone thinks that he is wise among you in this world, let him become a fool, that he may become wise.

1Co 3:19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, "He has taken the wise in their craftiness."

1Co 3:20 And again, "The Lord knows the reasoning of the wise, that it is worthless."

1Co 3:21 Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours,

1Co 3:22 whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come. All are yours,

1Co 3:23 and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's.

Sept. 8

1 Corinthians 4

1Co 4:1 So let a man think of us as Christ's servants, and stewards of God's mysteries.

1Co 4:2 Here, moreover, it is required of stewards, that they be found faithful.

1Co 4:3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you, or by man's judgment. Yes, I don't judge my own self.

1Co 4:4 For I know nothing against myself. Yet I am not justified by this, but he who judges me is the Lord.

1Co 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each man will get his praise from God.

1Co 4:6 Now these things, brothers, I have in a figure transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that in us you might learn not to think beyond the things which are written, that none of you be puffed up against one another.

1Co 4:7 For who makes you different? And what do you have that you didn't receive? But if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?

1Co 4:8 You are already filled. You have already become rich. You have come to reign without us. Yes, and I wish that you did reign, that we also might reign with you.

1Co 4:9 For, I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last of all, like men sentenced to death. For we are made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and men.

1Co 4:10 We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You have honor, but we have dishonor.

1Co 4:11 Even to this present hour we hunger, thirst, are naked, are beaten, and have no certain dwelling place.

1Co 4:12 We toil, working with our own hands. When people curse us, we bless. Being persecuted, we endure.

1Co 4:13 Being defamed, we entreat. We are made as the filth of the world, the dirt wiped off by all, even until now.

1Co 4:14 I don't write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children.

1Co 4:15 For though you have ten thousand tutors in Christ, yet not many fathers. For in Christ Jesus, I became your father through the Good News.

1Co 4:16 I beg you therefore, be imitators of me.

1Co 4:17 Because of this I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, even as I teach everywhere in every assembly.

1Co 4:18 Now some are puffed up, as though I were not coming to you.

1Co 4:19 But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord is willing. And I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power.

1Co 4:20 For the Kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.

1Co 4:21 What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?

Is My Natural Force Abated? by J.C. Bailey

http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Bailey/John/Carlos/1903/Articles/ismynatu.html

Is My Natural Force Abated?

I was 88 on my last birthday. It was said of Moses at 120 that his natural force was not abated. On the other hand, Paul was probably not 70 years of age when he referred to himself as Paul the aged (Philemon 9).

No one knows what it was, but Paul said there was given him a thorn in the flesh to buffet him. Although we do not know what it was, we do know that he asked the Lord three times to take it away. The Lord said, "No!" The Lord laid down here a very important thing for us to remember: "My grace is sufficient for thee, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Paul had very important work to do. He was confident that he would have help to do that work. The Lord had called Paul to His work. Paul says, "For which cause I suffer these things; yet I am not ashamed, for I know him whom I have believed and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day" (2 Timothy 1:12).

For years I have had a thorn in the flesh. One of the arteries that feeds blood to the brain is partially closed. I do not know why, but it gets more closed. It causes me deep trouble. It has put me in the hospital many times. I have besought the Lord, many others have besought the Lord, but apparently, with Paul, I can say His strength is made perfect in my weakness.

One of the worst spells I have had was the last week in August. They took me to the hospital in an ambulance. I was still in the hospital on my birthday, September 13.

About this time, my brother developed pains in his head. The x-ray showed a brain tumour. It was cancerous. On November 22, he passed to his eternal reward. I was able to attend his funeral.

I eat well, I sleep well, but my head bothers me all the time. There is no pain, but I get up with difficulty and I have a sensation of falling at all times.

For quite a number of years, people have said that I should not try to make the trips to India. Some years ago I asked the local church for money for my travel, but they refused and said they did not think I was able to make the trip. Some years ago, brother Trotter was so sure that I should not make the trip that he said to me, "That ticket can still be cancelled."

Last August, when I was lying on the floor waiting for them to come and load me in the ambulance, I concluded that the Lord has said "no" enough times to the request to take this trouble away from my head.

So, my dear brethren, you must look to the Lord for help. Others will come and are coming, but the important thing is that they can say, "I can do all things in Him that strengtheneth me!" We are told of that great cloud of witnesses that by faith triumphed (Hebrews 12:1). Will you be one of that triumphant band?

J. C. Bailey, 1992, Bengough, Saskatchewan

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

THE RAPTURE by David Vaughn Elliott

 http://steve-finnell.blogspot.com/2017/02/the-rapture-by-david-vaughn-elliott.html

 

THE RAPTURE

 

by David Vaughn Elliott

 

 

   They tell us planes will fall out of the sky. Automobiles will careen and crash. Surgeries will be halted mid-way. Communications systems will be in shambles. Husbands will frantically search for their wives. Why? Because all believers instantly and mysteriously vanished. In spite of such chaos, they tell us life on earth will continue for years. They call it the rapture.  

    Some people emphasize that the word "rapture" is not found in the Bible. This is true; but it is not the real problem. First Thessalonians 4:17 says that believers "shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord." "Caught up." The dictionary gives one meaning of rapture as "the carrying of a person to another place or sphere of existence." If by "rapture" one simply means that Christians will be carried up to be with Christ, then there is little objection to the word "rapture." 

THE REAL PROBLEM

    However, "rapture," as used by religious teachers today, means far more than the simple definition given above. Indeed, there is a whole body of doctrine wrapped up in today's word "rapture."  

    One obvious problem with the modern rapture theory is the portraying of dramatic scenes of plane crashes, missing babies and all such. There is not one verse in the Bible that hints at such a scenario. No verse teaches that after the "rapture," regular life will continue in this world. One of the most cited texts, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, is totally silent about conditions on earth when the saints are lifted up.  

    Another frequently cited text is Matthew 24:37-42. But did Jesus have the modern rapture scenario in mind? Let the context decide. Starting just 5 verses earlier, Jesus said, "Heaven and earth will pass away... but as the days of Noah [were]... the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two [men] will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left." Jesus' return will be like Noah's time. The flood was the end of that old world. Either you were safe in the ark or you perished under the wrath of God. That is how it will be when Jesus returns.  

    The context of "one will be taken and the other left" is "as the days of Noah [were], so also will the coming of the Son of Man be." The rapture will be like Noah's time. Did Noah mysteriously disappear? When Noah entered the ark, did the world continue with normal daily life? We all know better. "The world [that] then existed perished" (2 Peter 3:6).  

    Jesus did not have the modern rapture doctrine in mind. Rather, He said that when He returns, the earth will pass away.  

WHAT JESUS "SHOULD" HAVE SAID

    If the popular rapture theory were correct, Jesus would have used totally different examples. Jesus would have said, "As the days of Enoch were," "as the days of Elijah were." Righteous Enoch disappeared out of this world and the world continued on. Elijah's case is even more striking. After the whirlwind took him up into heaven, 50 men went searching for him for three days. Now there is the flavor of today's rapture doctrine! There is only one problem. Jesus never said, "as the days of Elijah were"! Jesus said, "as the days of Noah [were]."  

    Jesus never said, "As the days of Enoch were." However, He did say, "Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot... it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed [them] all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed" (Luke 17:28-30).

    The comparisons that Jesus made are with Lot and Noah. Both involved the immediate destruction of the wicked, while the righteous were saved. Both canceled out any possibility of second chances. Both were the end. The case of Sodom, of course, was not the end of the world; but it certainly was the end of Sodom and Gomorrah. Those cities have never been found. Those people never lived long enough to wonder what happened to Lot. There were no chariot wrecks or search parties. God simply blotted them off the face of the earth with fire and brimstone. Jesus said His coming would be like that. 

"COME AS A THIEF"

    The "secret rapture" theory uses as a proof the statement that Jesus will come as a thief. Yes, but what does this mean? Figures of speech can be tricky. Both Jesus and Satan are likened to lions. A red flag goes up: "Interpret with caution." Jesus is called both a lion and a lamb. Another red flag. We dare not wring every possible meaning out of any figure of speech. To do so is to make the Bible a plaything for our every imagination.  

    How do thieves come? Consider two ideas. A thief may come and go secretly, without being detected at the moment. On the other hand, a thief may come openly, but suddenly, without warning. Which of these two ideas does the Bible teach regarding Jesus' coming? If the figure were never explained in the Bible, your guess would be as good as mine.  

    Out of six New Testament texts that use this figure, only one does not state which meaning is intended. In the other five, the idea is always lack of warning. Secrecy is never an issue. Example: "If the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect" (Luke 12:39,40). The message is clear: Jesus will come as a thief, when you least expect Him. Be ready at all times. 

    Notice 2 Peter 3:10: "The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up." "Thief... great noise... earth... burned up." Hardly secret. It is the end of the world!  

    No Bible text hints that "coming as a thief" contains the idea of secrecy. No Bible text hints that Jesus' coming will be hidden from the eyes and understanding of the masses. When Jesus comes, there will be no secrecy and no second chances. Eternity will have arrived. Everyone will know it. 

"SHOUT... VOICE... TRUMPET"

    The well-known text that speaks specifically of being "caught up" (raptured) makes it clear that it is anything but a covert operation. "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive [and] remain shall be caught up" (1 Thessalonians 4:16,17). Shout! Voice of an archangel! Trumpet of God! Jesus coming certainly will not be secret.  

    In fact, Jesus specifically warned us not to believe those people who claim His return is a private, secret, hidden affair. "Therefore if they say to you, 'Look, He is in the desert!' do not go out; [or] 'Look, [He] [is] in the inner rooms!' do not believe [it]. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be" (Matthew 24:26,27).  

    If someone tries to explain to you that Jesus has come again, don't believe it. If he tries to convince you that Jesus came in 1914, don't believe him. If he tries to convince you that Jesus will secretly rapture away the believers and the world will not know what happened, don't believe him. No TV newsperson will have to tell anybody of the return of Jesus. Neither will any self-appointed prophet have to explain it to anybody when Jesus returns. It will be like the lightning from the east to the west. All will see for themselves. Everyone will know.  

TWO "SECOND" COMINGS?

    Today's rapture theory says that Jesus is going to return to earth two more times: once before and once after "the tribulation." Some refer to the supposed two future events as "the rapture," followed by "the second coming." Others prefer to teach "two phases" to the "second" coming. None seem willing to openly admit that they really believe in: a "second" and "third" coming. 

    Various arguments are used to sustain the concept of two future comings. For example, it is said that two comings are required because the Word says that Jesus will come "for the saints" and also that He will come "with the saints." They say "for the saints" refers to the next time He comes, to take Christians to heaven. They say that "with the saints" refers to seven years later when He returns with those same saints. 

    Although no text uses the exact expression "for the saints," there is no problem here. All believers have as their hope that Jesus will return to receive us unto Himself.  

    But 1 Thessalonians 3:13 talks about "the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ WITH all His saints." Jude 14 also says, "Behold, the Lord comes WITH ten thousands of His saints" (upper case emphasis supplied). The problem is to understand what coming "WITH His saints" means. Does it mean that Jesus will first come to get His saints and then bring them back with him seven years later? Or, is there some other explanation?  

    With the Souls of the Dead Saints. Some believers find in 1 Thessalonians 4:14 the explanation of Jesus coming "with" the saints. "Even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus." They believe Jesus will come to earth bringing with him the souls of the departed saints in order to unite those souls with their bodies in the resurrection. 

    Some, however, object to this view of "bring." The Thessalonians text does not say that "Jesus will bring with Him to earth." It says, "God will bring with Him." "Bring" depends on the viewpoint involved. Jesus, not the Father, returns to earth. The Father will bring the resurrected saints with Jesus to heaven. Just like John 14:3: "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, [there] you may be also." Both expressions--"bring" and "receive"--are from the viewpoint of heaven. 

    With the Holy Angels. This may be a better explanation of "with the saints." In 2 Thessalonians 1:7, Paul speaks of "when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels." Mark 8:38 says, "when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels." Clearly Jesus will come with the angels and the angels are "holy." 

    For the benefit of "the common man," I seldom appeal to the original Greek. In this case, however, it is especially helpful for English readers. Spanish, by the way, requires no Greek explanation here, because the Spanish closely follows the Greek. The Greek word "hagios" is always translated into Spanish "santo(s)." But in English, it is sometimes translated "saint(s)" and sometimes "holy." In other words, the two English words, "saint" and "holy" come from just one Greek word. 

    Angels are "holy." Thus, they are saints (same word in the Greek). Therefore, when Scripture says that Jesus will come WITH the saints--the holy ones--we have a book-chapter-and-verse clarification that this may well refer to His holy angels. 

    It is debatable whether Jesus will come "with the souls of the dead saints." It is not debatable whether Jesus will come "with the holy angels." Whichever view seems the best, Jesus' coming "for" and "with" the saints in no way necessitates two more comings. "For" and "with" easily harmonize with just one future second coming of Christ.  

    No verse of Scripture says that Jesus will come a third time, bringing "with" Him human saints whom he came "for" some seven years earlier. The Bible clearly says of Jesus, in Hebrews 9:28, that "He will appear a second time." No verse says he will appear a third time.  

TWO RESURRECTIONS?

    According to the rapture theory, there will be several future resurrections of the body from the grave. They claim 1 Thessalonians 4:16 teaches that Christians will be raised long before the wicked are. Paul indeed wrote that "the dead in Christ will rise first." But, "first" what?  

    If I tell you, out of the clear blue sky, "I am going to the mall first," you have no clue about where I will go next. But put some context to it. Such as, "Are you going to the post office?" "Yes, but I am going to the mall first." Now "first" has meaning.  

    So with Paul's text. Do not try to guess what is second unless you look at the context. "The dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds." "First. Then... " Paul is not talking about dead saints and dead sinners. He is talking about dead saints and live saints. He is saying that before the live saints are caught up in the clouds, the dead saints will first be raised. Nothing whatsoever is said about two resurrections. 

    Jesus did speak of two resurrections, but not in reference to time. He spoke of the condition of two groups. Some participate in "the resurrection of life," while others experience "the resurrection of condemnation." However, these two resurrections will take place at the same time. "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" (John 5:28,29; upper case emphasis supplied). 

    Revelation 20, on the other hand, does speak of "the first resurrection." However, since no text speaks of a "second resurrection," care must be exercised in determining the identity of the "first." (Space does not permit a full discussion of Revelation 20:1-7. Watch for future article(s) on the millennium.) Suffice it now to point out the following: 

    1) Revelation is highly figurative. Who takes literally the dragon, the key, the chain or the seal? 

    2) Futurists believe that the resurrection of Revelation 20 will occur after "the tribulation." According to them, that is seven years after the resurrection of "the rapture." Therefore, by their own doctrine, this "first" resurrection is actually the second. 

    3) A better explanation seems to be found in New Testament first principles. "Buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were RAISED with [Him] through faith in the working of God... If then you were RAISED with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is" (Colossians 2:12; 3:1; upper case emphasis supplied). "Raised"--past tense. See also Romans 6. Just as conversion is "a new birth," so is it also "a death, burial and resurrection." For the Christian, this is the first resurrection. 

"THE DAY OF THE LORD"

    The rapture theory holds that "the day of the Lord" (or "day of Christ") is neither the Second Coming nor the Third Coming. Rather, they say, it is something in between the Second and Third. As in many other matters, they lean heavily on Old Testament usage to uphold their claim. In the New Testament, however, how did the apostle Peter use the term? "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up" (2 Peter 3:10). Clearly, "the day of the Lord" to Peter was the end of the world. 

    Follow Peter's argument throughout chapter 3. He warns of "scoffers" who will mock Jesus' return by saying: "Where is the promise of His coming?" Peter replies by arguing that these men "willfully forget" all about the flood in Noah's day. Then Peter affirms that the earth will next be consumed by fire on "the day of judgment." Peter further says that "The Lord is not slack concerning [His] promise." What promise? In the context (verse 4), it's "the promise of His coming."  

    Peter continues (verse 10): "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise." Since this is so, we should be prepared for "the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat." You see, Peter builds his argument about the "coming" of the Lord by discussing "the day of the Lord," which is the end of the world. 

"THE LAST DAY"

    The expression "the last day" appears six times in Scripture, all in the Gospel of John. Four times in the sixth chapter, Jesus says of the believer, "I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6:40,44,54, and with slight variation in verse 39). In 11:24, Martha affirms her belief in this truth: "I know that he [Lazarus] will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." The resurrection of the righteous clearly will take place "at the last day." 

    According to the modern "rapture" doctrine, the resurrection of the righteous is followed by the tribulation and the millennium. Only after that, so the theory goes, will there be a resurrection and judgement of the wicked. 

    However, the remaining "last day" verse in John denies such a scenario. Again Jesus is speaking--this time, not of the righteous but of the wicked. He says, "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 12:48). Thus Jesus taught that both the resurrection of the righteous and the judgment of the wicked would take place in "the last day." 

    The parable of the tares in Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43, teaches the same truth. Notice in verse 38 that the field is the world. This parable is not a contradiction of Jesus' teaching on church discipline. It is a parable about the entire world. It is a parable about good people and bad people living together until the end: "the harvest is the end of the age" (verse 39). 

    "Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, 'First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn' " (verse 30). Saint and sinner are in this world together until the end. I do not understand it all; but did you notice who is taken out first? The popular rapture theory says, "First gather the wheat." However, Jesus said, "First gather together the tares."  

    We may not understand it all, nor may we be able to explain the exact sequence and timing of all the events. Nevertheless, if the parable of the tares teaches anything, it teaches that the righteous and the wicked live together until the end of the world. At that time, the wicked are cast into "the furnace of fire." Their judgement has come; they are finished forever. It is truly "the last day." 

THE BEGINNING OR THE END?

    According to the modern rapture theory, Jesus' next coming will just be the beginning. According to the theory, most of the book of Revelation and large amounts of both Old and New Testament prophecies cannot be fulfilled until after the rapture. They say the rapture is just the beginning of at least 1007 years of world history. 

    A careful look at Scripture, however, presents a totally different picture. Jesus' next coming (there is only one more coming) will be the end of this world, the end of history, the end of time, the end of "life as we know it," the end of the wicked living unpunished, the end of tears and death, the end of the battle between God and Satan, the end of the antichrist, the end of opportunity to get right with God. 

    On the other hand, His return will be the beginning--the beginning of eternity. "Prepare to meet your God!" "Watch and pray!" 

    (Scripture in the preceding article is taken from the New King James Version. Copyright (c) 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.)