From Mark Copeland... Serving God With A Pure Conscience (2 Timothy 1:3)

                    "THE SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY"

                Serving God With A Pure Conscience (1:3)

INTRODUCTION

1. The apostle Paul often spoke of having a good conscience toward
   God...
   a. In his defense before the council - Ac 23:1
   b. In his defense before Felix - Ac 24:15-16
   -- He also makes mention of it in his epistle to Timothy - 2Ti 1:3

2. The role our conscience plays is often misunderstood...
   a. Some assume it is to be the final authority for what you do
   b. "Let your conscience be your guide" is the motto for many
   -- Yet your conscience can sometimes lead you astray!

3. The value of a good conscience is perhaps often overlooked...
   a. Some do not listen to their conscience when they should
   b. They think nothing of the consequences of violating their
      conscience
   -- Yet ignoring your conscience can lead to sin, unbelief, and
      apostasy!

[If we desire to serve God with a "pure conscience" like Paul did (2 Ti
1:3), then we do well to learn what we can about the conscience and its
bearing on Christian living.  A good place to begin is with...]

I. THE CONSCIENCE DEFINED

   A. UNDERSTANDING THE CONSCIENCE...
      1. "that process of thought which distinguishes what it considers
         morally good or bad, commending the good, condemning the bad,
         and so prompting to do the former, and to avoid the latter."
         - Vine
      2. Note carefully:
         a. The conscience is a process of thought that distinguishes,
            i.e., makes moral judgments
         b. But it distinguishes what one "considers" morally good or
            bad
      3. The conscience has the potential to be a great aid
         a. It can encourage us to do the good and avoid the bad
         b. But only if what one considers good and bad are actually
            good and bad!
      4. Thus the conscience is like a watch
         a. It can serve a useful purpose, but only if properly set
         b. If set incorrectly (i.e., if misinformed about what is good
            or bad), then the conscience will lead us astray!

   B. THE CONSCIENCE MAY NOT ALWAYS BE A RELIABLE GUIDE...
      1. Paul had served God with a good conscience throughout his life
         - Ac 23:1
         a. Even at a time when he was persecuting Christians! - cf. Ac 26:9-11
         b. He thought (his conscience guiding him) that he must oppose
            the name of Jesus
         c. His conscience worked properly, but it had been set
            incorrectly
      3. Thus it is imperative that we ask ourselves:
         a. "Is what we 'consider' morally good or bad 'actually' good
            or bad?"
         b. "Are our moral judgments based upon God's absolute truths,
            or our own 'think so'?"
         c. I.e., "Has our conscience been properly 'set'?"

[While the conscience may not always be a reliable guide, God desires
that we have a good conscience regarding our faith, i.e., a pure
conscience (cf. 1Ti 1:5; 3:9).  So consider a few thoughts related
to...]

II. THE CONSCIENCE DEVELOPED

   A. HOW A PURE CONSCIENCE IS MADE POSSIBLE...
      1. We are all sinners, so how can we possibly have a pure
         conscience? - cf. Ro 3:23
      2. A clean conscience is made possible through Jesus' blood
         a. Old Testament sacrifices and ordinances were insufficient
            - He 9:9; cf. 10:1-4
         b. The blood of Jesus can cleanse one's conscience - He 9:14;
            cf. 1Pe 3:21
      3. Thus in baptism we make an appeal for a good conscience,
         trusting that the blood of Jesus will wash away our sins - cf.
         Ac 2:38; 22:16

   B. HOW A PURE CONSCIENCE IS MAINTAINED...
      1. A good conscience is maintained by obedience to God's will
         a. Note that failure to do what we know is right is sinful - Ja
            4:17
         b. Failure to abstain from what we know is wrong is also sinful
      2. Conduct with godly sincerity makes for a good conscience - cf.
         2Co 1:12
         a. Doing what you know is right with all sincerity develops
            confidence
         b. Thus the more you do what is good and abstain from what is
            wrong, the better and purer your conscience will be!

[By God's grace, even the rankest of sinners can have their conscience
cleansed.  Through faithfulness to Christ, they can keep that conscience
pure.  But we should also note that it is possible to have...]

III. THE CONSCIENCE DESTROYED

   A. MUCH HARM CAN BE DONE TO THE CONSCIENCE...
      1. We can violate our conscience, which is sinful - Ro 14:22-23
      2. We can defile our conscience, leading to unbelief - e.g., Ti
         1:15
      3. We can sear our conscience, leading to apostasy - e.g., 1 Ti 4:1-2

   B. IGNORING OR VIOLATING THE CONSCIENCE IS DANGEROUS...
      1. A guilty conscience can soon lead to a hardened conscience
         a. E.g., once our conscience is hardened regarding attendance
            - cf. He 10:25
         b. ...it is more likely to become hardened against doing what
            is right in other areas
      2. A hardened conscience can lead to a heart of unbelief - cf. He 3:12
         a. The deceitfulness of sin hardens one's heart
         b. A hard heart can begin to question what one once believed

CONCLUSION

1. Brethren, can we say together with...
   a. The writer of Hebrews:  "...for we are confident that we have a
      good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably"? - He 13:18
   b. The apostle Paul:  "I thank God, whom I serve with a pure
      conscience..."? - 2Ti 1:3

2. If not, and our conscience has not yet become so hardened that we
   will not heed, then we need to...
   a. Come to God's Son for the cleansing of our conscience through His
      blood
   b. Come to God's Word for the proper understanding of what is
      actually right and wrong
   c. Come to God's Family through frequent assembling to exhort us to
      do what is good

Why not serve God with a pure conscience today...?

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

From Jim McGuiggan... Truth and artificial legs

Truth and artificial legs

I’m not addressing these remarks to those that nothing excites. I’m afraid I don’t understand such people though they make a welcome change from a steady diet of those on the opposite end of the spectrum. But I can’t help smiling now and then when I listen to two or more people debating a political point as if life for the world depended on who is right. You must understand that I’m far from believing that politics is a waste of time or that political questions aren’t worth debating. As it is in every facet of life there are profound questions and trivia. But you’ve seen them, veins bulging, blood pressure up to high doh and eyes popping—refusing to give an inch. Some of that makes perfect sense (to some of us).

But let two religious people behave that way and the eyes of the wise ones are rolling in despair. "Wouldn’t you think they could get along without all that argument? After all they all believe in the same God." And so religious, biblical or theological issues are all reduced to a needless beating of gums. (This is often done by those who wouldn’t know a biblical text from a ship in a bottle.) It’s perfectly acceptable to take political issues seriously but we mustn’t argue about what the Bible does or does not teach or about what that teaching does or does not mean to us. To be that dismissive about religious questions is (perhaps) to say more about oneself that about those who want to thrash questions out. Here again there are questions and questions. There are some not worth spending time on. We’d do better to save our breath for cooling our soup. You understand that those aren’t the kind of questions that I bother with...ahem. Now, where was I? Yes, on questions and issues worth fully pursuing.

In a real sense it’s only those who are up to their necks in football that can speak with authority about football. It’s only those who are passionate about the life of society that can speak with authority about politics or law or crime and its only those that are up to their hearts and minds in religion or Bible that can lead us to listen well if we’re going to listen at all.

It really doesn’t help when an "outsider" castigates as trivial what the "insiders" are very serious about. At the very least, the "outsider" should give the "insiders" a good hearing and maybe they’d come to understand what’s at stake. I don’t suggest that we should all be serious students of philosophy but a bit of modesty is appropriate if we’re to rabbit on about something we haven’t spent a lot of time working at. It’s too easy to dismiss as nonsense David Hume’s remark that we only say sugar is sweet and water is wet because we’re too lazy to work with the claims. Maybe if we knew as much as Hume did, or (more modestly) gave him a hearing, we’d be slow to scoff.

But speaking as an "insider" I feel there is too much time and energy spent on too much that’s trivial in biblical, religious and theological discussion. I know I’m speaking from where I am in life and thought so I’m trying to keep that in mind as I listen and watch and talk. Whether I'm making a good fist of it is another question. There are things I’m passionate about, things I believe are much more important than others grant them, things I cannot and therefore won’t back away from unless I’m shown otherwise. I must call them as I see them and it doesn’t really matter to me that others think I’m wrong (which I may discover I have been)—I can’t think or live with integrity beyond my perceptions.

But—and this is an important but—I don’t believe that because I disagree profoundly with someone that that means I cannot join hands with them in many fine endeavours. The singer celebrity Bob Geldof and I would disagree profoundly on jugular questions about God and life but I glory in what he does for the needy in the Third World.

Episcopalian Wilfred Grenfell, a doctor who did mission work for so many years in Labrador, amputated a leg of an elderly neighbour of his, a Roman Catholic lady. Artificial legs don’t grow on Labrador bushes so when he was in America at a Congregational church he appealed for an artificial limb. A widow lady (a Methodist) offered her dead husband’s artificial leg (the husband had been a Presbyterian). So a little while later a Roman Catholic lady was walking around on an artificial leg that had belonged to a Presbyterian man, fitted by an Episcopalian doctor, donated through a Congregational church by a Methodist woman. The leg worked!

I’m not about to sink my religious convictions in a lake of sugar but I’ll be hanged if I refuse to recognise, applaud and get involved with goodness and truth wherever I’m privileged to find it.

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.

From Ben Fronczek... Peace

Peace

Peace, Be Still Mark 4:35-41 “ That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” ³⁶ Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. ³⁷ A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. ³⁸ Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

³⁹ He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

⁴⁰ He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

⁴¹ They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

(Based on a sermon by Jeff Strite)

A mother and her young daughter were at home alone. The father was gone on a trip for his company and night was coming on. Outside, it became increasingly dark and very windy. The moon was out, but the wind howled menacingly in trees and the branches of some of those trees brushed ominously against the house. As old houses will in a fierce wind-storm, the wood creaked and moaned as the house was nudged by the wind.
 

It was kind of scary, and the mother and daughter were both uneasy.
As the mother was putting her daughter to bed, the young girl looked out the window at the bright moon and asked her mother “Is the moon God’s night-light?”
The mother smiled and replied “Well, yes, you could say that”.
Her daughter thought about that for moment – then asked: “Does God turn out his light when he goes to sleep?”
“Oh, no honey, God never sleeps.”
“Oh,” said the child quietly. “Well then, if God’s going to stay up all night, there’s no sense both of us staying awake.” And with that, the little girl turned over in bed, pulled her blanket up to her neck and fell asleep.

Now, why was that little girl able to go to sleep? The night was still dark. The wind was still blowing. The house was still creaking.  And she and her mother were still all alone in that house. Everything was still the same…

Only one thing had changed. Only one thing was different?
 

The little girl knowing that God was there made all the difference.
 

Once she brought God into her bedroom, her fear faded and her faith grew. When she thought about WHO God was, and WHERE He was, and what He was capable of, she reasoned: If God was going to be up all night anyway… she knew she’d be safe, and so she could sleep peacefully.

In our text this morning, we find this simple verse: “Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”Mark 4:38  Jesus was sleeping???

To understand how bizarre this must have seemed to the disciples, you need to visualize what was going on. Their boat is half way across the lake and a fierce storm begins to beat against their boat. The waves are so high they begin to spray them and even wash over the sides of the boat. So their little ship began to take on water.

In other words – they’re beginning to sink. Maybe they were bailing water out as fast as they could, but more was coming in than going out, and it’s obvious that if the storm didn’t die down… they’d be the ones who would die.

Some of these disciples are seasoned fishermen. They know about boats and what they can handle and they probably known of boats that have gone down in this kind of weather. They knew of sailors who never came home. And so they are frightened, and they’ve got good reason to be frightened.

And here is Jesus… asleep.    How can He do that???
 

Well, two reasons:  Jesus knows WHO He is, and He knows WHERE He is going. And even more obvious, He was tired

So, Who was Jesus?   He was the Son of God.  And where was He going?  He was going to the Cross. Jesus was not going to die until He’d fulfilled His destiny, and He knew that.

I believe because of those two facts – Jesus knew that the ship wasn’t going down as long as He was on board, and so He had no problem sleeping.

But the disciples were frightened and frustrated because they weren’t thinking that way. They weren’t thinking of Him as the Son of God. They weren’t thinking about Him going to a cross to die for our sin.  As far as they were concerned…They knew they were in a dangerous storm and there was a chance that the boat was going to swamp and they were going to drown.

The disciples wake him up and cry, “Teacher, Don’t You Care…?” Mark 4:38   Don’t you care???

And at that Jesus got up and He rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Be quiet! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
 

He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”

Can you just imagine the look on those disciple faces? They had to be blown away. The text says that they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?”

Now what happened there?  Well, let’s start from the beginning.
Mark 4:35 says “On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.”

So whose idea was it to go to the other side of lake? It was Jesus’ idea.  Jesus was the one who said they should cross to the other side of the lake that night.

So, if it was Jesus’ idea, do you think Jesus knew this storm was coming?    Of course He did. He’s God. He knows this stuff.

So why would Jesus send His disciples into the teeth of scary storm… and then go to sleep?   Answer: To see what they’d do, and to teach them something.

This was a test. A multiple choice quiz. And in this test, the disciples had at least 3 choices:
 

1) They could try to take thing into their own hands bail until they sank.
 

2) They could remember who Jesus was and the things He had done up to that point in time and ask Him for help.   

3) OR they could do what they did.

And what did they do? They went to Jesus and they complained.
 

They didn’t go to Jesus for help. They didn’t look for Him to fix their problem.
 

They were frightened and anxious and they wanted Him to wake up… so that He could be worried along with them.

You could say – they flunked the test.  Jesus calms the wind and the sea then turns to them and asks: “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”

A lesson was learned in that storm that day. That’s the way Jesus taught.  In elementary school, high school, or college teacher gives the lesson first, and then the test.  Jesus gave the test FIRST… then the lesson.

I believe the storm was the classroom.  And what lesson was Jesus teaching?
 

1st - If they were going to follow Him, they were going to need more faith in Him than  they had.
 

And 2nd – when He was finished with them –when they graduated from HIS school – they would be able to face even worst storms with a peace the world would not understand.

Later in His ministry before He leaves them, Jesus told them: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27

Paul wrote to the Christians at Philippi and taught them, and us, that if we do what Jesus wanted, he wrote we would have “…the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, (and that peace would) guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7  (even during the storms)

ON the lake that night, Jesus was giving them an object lesson showing them the kind of peace they could have. When the storm was at its worst, Jesus was in control and simply stood up and He spoke to the winds and the waves.
 

“BE QUIET, BE STILL”    And there was peace.

Essentially, Jesus was teaching His disciples that when they reached the level of faith that He wanted them to have – they would trust Him even in the most difficult of times. They would have this kind of peace that could endure even in the worst of storms, whether they be threats, trials, persecution, imprisonment, or even death itself. Later we do find them sleeping peacefully after being arrested, or even singing in jail. Like the little girl that windy night, they knew that God was close at hand and was watching over them.

What about you? Have you learn to trust God that much? Do you realize that when you are in the midst of a storm that Jesus is in control. He is in the room with you and will be up all night he will lead you through that storm so you can sleep peacefully. We can try to bail ourselves out on our own (like the disciples in the boat), or we can complain to everyone including God, or we can simply turn to Him and ask for His help and then trust Him. When we turn it over to Him to handle our problems in His own time. That relieves the burden and the stress.

Just like with those disciples on the boat, sometimes Jesus teaches us this same lesson by leading us through a storm.

ILLUSTRATION: Someone once said: “Jesus does not lead His children AROUND hardship, but leads them straight THROUGH hardship. But He leads! And amidst the hardship, He is nearer to us than ever before.” Otto Dibelius

Now, that (of course) is the point. Our circumstances may not change, the storm may still rage, but when we see ourselves being led by Jesus, our attitudes change.  When we come to the realization that Jesus is in control  that will change our heart and attitude from fear and anxiety to that of peace when in that storm.

Just imagine how different their attitudes and response would have been if they only realized Who Jesus really was and What He was capable of.     Mark 4:41 tells us that when Jesus calmed the seas:“They were terrified and asked each other, “WHO is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
 

Did you get that? It’s like they didn’t have a clue as to WHO He was!!

But weren’t they there when He healed the sick, caused the lame to walk, the blind to see, the deaf to hear? So what were they thinking while on that boat? I guess that’s the point; they weren’t thinking.

If they’d only remembered Who Jesus was, and what He could do, just think how different this story would have been. Instead of becoming like little children who were terrified by the storm, I can see them going over to Jesus – shaking Him awake just like they did in this story. But this time it’s not in fear, but in anticipation. “Wake up Jesus. Wake up. There’s a storm swamping our boat… and we just want to know – what kind of miracle will you perform this time?”

But they didn’t do that!  They didn’t have that kind of faith.
 

Did Jesus expect these disciples to pass this test. Probably not! Rather He probably expected them to fail! Not only because of the lesson that they were to learn that day… but because of the lesson we could learn through them.

The Bible records this story about the disciples’ fears and failures in this storm so we can learn the fact that God knows we struggle in our storms, and He is more than capable of helping us as well thru those storms.

The Bible is very clear about the fact that we’re gonna have storms in our lives. Jesus Himself told His disciples: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble”Jn 16:33

No matter who you are or how good a live you live…There will be storms.
 

There are going to be times of trouble/heartache/loss and disappointment.

But in the midst of those storms, Jesus says, we can have peace.
 

Why? Because He will be there with us to help us thru those hard times.  In scripture He said “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrew 13:5

When we realize Who is in the boat with us, and What He’s capable of doing, then the storms will not overwhelm you. And you will experience His PEACE.

From Gary... Thought and Speech

Confession time: Controlling what comes out of my mouth has always been a problem for me.  After decades of effort, sometimes I still speak before I think and if that is true of me, then it probably is of others as well.  With that in mind, here are a couple of passages from the book of James for me to ponder this rainy day in Florida....

James, Chapter 1

  19  So, then, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man doesn’t produce the righteousness of God.  21 Therefore, putting away all filthiness and overflowing of wickedness, receive with humility the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.  22 But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his natural face in a mirror;  24 for he sees himself, and goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of freedom, and continues, not being a hearer who forgets, but a doer of the work, this man will be blessed in what he does.

James, Chapter 3

  1 Let not many of you be teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive heavier judgment. 2 For in many things we all stumble. If anyone doesn’t stumble in word, the same is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body also.  3 Indeed, we put bits into the horses’ mouths so that they may obey us, and we guide their whole body.  4 Behold, the ships also, though they are so big and are driven by fierce winds, are yet guided by a very small rudder, wherever the pilot desires.  5 So the tongue is also a little member, and boasts great things. See how a small fire can spread to a large forest!  6 And the tongue is a fire. The world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature, and is set on fire by Gehenna.  7 For every kind of animal, bird, creeping thing, and thing in the sea, is tamed, and has been tamed by mankind.  8 But nobody can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.  9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in the image of God.  10 Out of the same mouth comes blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.  11 Does a spring send out from the same opening fresh and bitter water?  12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, yield olives, or a vine figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh water.

Like I said above, this post is for ME, but probably has application to many others as well!!!  Just think about it, OK?  Gary, this means YOU!!!

From Gary... Bible Reading January 14

Bible Reading   

January 14

The World English Bible

Jan. 14

Genesis 14

Gen 14:1 It happened in the days of Amraphel, king of Shinar, Arioch, king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, and Tidal, king of Goiim,

Gen 14:2 that they made war with Bera, king of Sodom, and with Birsha, king of Gomorrah, Shinab, king of Admah, and Shemeber, king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar).

Gen 14:3 All these joined together in the valley of Siddim (the same is the Salt Sea).

Gen 14:4 Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year, they rebelled.

Gen 14:5 In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer came, and the kings who were with him, and struck the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim,

Gen 14:6 and the Horites in their Mount Seir, to Elparan, which is by the wilderness.

Gen 14:7 They returned, and came to En Mishpat (the same is Kadesh), and struck all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that lived in Hazazon Tamar.

Gen 14:8 The king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar) went out; and they set the battle in array against them in the valley of Siddim;

Gen 14:9 against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings against the five.

Gen 14:10 Now the valley of Siddim was full of tar pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell there, and those who remained fled to the hills.

Gen 14:11 They took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their food, and went their way.

Gen 14:12 They took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who lived in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

Gen 14:13 One who had escaped came and told Abram, the Hebrew. Now he lived by the oaks of Mamre, the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner; and these were allies of Abram.

Gen 14:14 When Abram heard that his relative was taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued as far as Dan.

Gen 14:15 He divided himself against them by night, he and his servants, and struck them, and pursued them to Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.

Gen 14:16 He brought back all the goods, and also brought back his relative, Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.

Gen 14:17 The king of Sodom went out to meet him, after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, at the valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley).

Gen 14:18 Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine: and he was priest of God Most High.

Gen 14:19 He blessed him, and said, "Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth:

Gen 14:20 and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand." Abram gave him a tenth of all.

Gen 14:21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the people, and take the goods to yourself."

Gen 14:22 Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have lifted up my hand to Yahweh, God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth,

Gen 14:23 that I will not take a thread nor a sandal strap nor anything that is yours, lest you should say, 'I have made Abram rich.'

Gen 14:24 I will accept nothing from you except that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. Let them take their portion."

From Mark Copeland... The Christian's Jihad (1 Timothy 6:12)

                     "THE FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY"

                      The Christian's Jihad (6:12)

INTRODUCTION

1. A well-known term in the religion of Islam is jihad; sometimes
   translated "holy war", it literally means "struggle"...
   a. On a personal level - inner struggle against evil within oneself
   b. On a social level - struggle for decency and goodness
   c. On a military level - struggle on the battlefield, if and when
      necessary

2. Christians are followers of the Prince of Peace...
   a. The kingdom is spiritual, and not expanded through carnal means
      - cf. Jn 18:36
   b. Our Savior taught us:  "...for all who take the sword will perish
      by the sword." - Mt 26:52

3. This is not to say we do not have a true struggle, our own jihad...
   a. We are to "fight (lit., struggle) the good fight of faith" - 1 Ti 6:12
   b. We are to "lay hold (lit., seize) on eternal life" - 1Ti 6:12

[Thus we are to battle and conquer.  What is involved in "The
Christian's Jihad"...?]

I. WE MUST FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH

   A. FIGHTING FOR THE FAITH...
      1. We must contend for the faith
         a. That is, the doctrine in which we believe - Jude 3-4 cf. Ph
            1:27
         b. A doctrine that has been delivered once for all - cf. Ga 1:
            8-9; 2Pe 1:3
         c. For false teachers have come - cf. 2Pe 2:1-3
      2. We must fight with the proper weapons
         a. Not carnal weapons, but mighty in God nonetheless - 2Co 10:
            3-4
         b. With gentleness, patience, humility, correcting those in the
            wrong - 2Ti 2:24-26
      -- With the meekness and gentleness of Christ, we are to "cast
         down arguments" and bring "every thought into captivity to the
         obedience of Christ" - 2Co 10:1-5

   B. FIGHTING FOR OUR FAITH...
      1. We must contend for our faith
         a. That is, our personal trust and conviction - e.g., 1Ti 4:12
         b. That which we must pursue in our spiritual development
            - 1Ti 6:11; cf. 1Pe 2:11
         c. For it is possible to develop an evil heart of unbelief - He  3:12
      2. Weapons to use in this struggle
         a. Frequent exhortation - He 3:13; cf. He 10:24-25
         b. The Word of God - Ro 10:17; Jn 20:30-31
      -- We must put on the whole armor of God in our struggle - Ep 6:
         10-17

[What is the ultimate goal of "The Christian's Jihad"?  In the words of
our text...]

II. WE MUST LAY HOLD OF ETERNAL LIFE

   A. LAYING HOLD OF THE FUTURE HOPE...
      1. Paul likely has reference to that which is yet to be realized
         a. That which is promised by God - Tit 1:2
         b. That which is our inheritance - Tit 3:7
         c. That which will be received at the Judgment - Mt 25:46
      2. To lay hold (seize) this hope, there are things we must do
         a. Be set free from sin, become slaves to God, produce holiness
            - Ro 6:22-23
         b. Do good, be willing to share - 1Ti 6:17-19
      -- Are we patiently doing good, seeking glory, honor and
         immortality? - cf. Ro 2:7  

   B. LAYING HOLD OF THE PRESENT POSSESSION... 
      1. John uses the phrase "eternal life" as a blessing enjoyed in
         this life
         a. God has given us eternal life, it is life in His Son - 1Jn 5:11-12
         b. John writes that we might know we have this life - 1Jn 5:13
         c. This life involves a knowledge of the Father and the Son
            - Jn 17:2-3; 1Jn 5:20
      2. To lay hold (seize) this abundant life (Jn 10:10), there are
         things we must do
         a. Walk in the light - 1Jn 1:5-7
         b. Keep the commandments of the Lord - 1Jn 2:3-6
         c. Love the brethren - 1Jn 3:14-15
         d. Abide in the doctrine of Christ, that you might enjoy
            fellowship with both the Father and the Son- 2Jn 9
      -- Are we sacrificing self for Christ's sake, that we might enjoy
         blessings in this life and the one to come? - cf. Mk 10:28-30

CONCLUSION

1. Note what Paul wrote about his "struggle" as he came to the end of
   his life... - 2Ti 4:7
   a. "I have fought the good fight"
   b. "I have kept the faith"

2. Note also what he looked forward to receiving on the Judgment Day
   - 2Ti 4:8
   a. The crown of righteousness
   b. Given to him by the Lord, the righteous Judge

If we desire to receive the same, then let us heed his admonition given
to Timothy:

   "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which
   you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the
   presence of many witnesses." - 1Ti 6:12

Have you made the good confession (Ro 10:9-10)?  Have you been clothed
with Christ in baptism (Ga 3:27)?

Are you engaged in "The Christian's Jihad"...?

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

From Jim McGuiggan... The ethics of reconciliation

The ethics of reconciliation

Many evangelicals (and especially if they hold Reformed views) when they hear talk about the ethics of reconciliation get nervous because it seems to them that salvation by free grace should be completely severed from ethics. They would tell us that salvation is one thing and "sanctification" is another. The words are certainly distinct and we need to maintain the distinction but they are not to be severed one from another as if they can or do exist one without the other.

We're supposed to keep ethics and salvation completely severed because anyone who thinks his ethical/moral accomplishments contribute to the ransom price is wrong at a fundamentally important level. This is true--self-salvation in any shape or form or degree is contrary to the plain teaching of the scriptures. But maybe instead of severing ethics and salvation completely we ought to sever a particular way of viewing ethics from salvation. That's what the scriptures would do.

The Bible is unafraid to link obedience with salvation and life in Christ. It will say Christ became the author of salvation to those that obey (Hebrews 5:8) or it will say God gave the Holy Spirit to those who obeyed (Acts 5:32) or that obedience is unto righteousness (Romans 6:16). In a blunt pronouncement Paul says God will destroy those who will not obey the gospel (1Thessalonians 1:8-9). The apostle of grace threatens with eschatalogical wrath and indignation those who do not obey God's truth (Romans 2:8) and Christ makes it a condition of friendship with him that his disciples be willing to obey his commands (John 15:14). In another place he flatly declares that there's little point in people professing him to be their "Lord, Lord" when they won't do what his Father commands (Matthew 7:21). We could go on with this but there should be no need. Obedience is firmly linked to life with God and life with God is only found in relationship with him through Jesus Christ.

There are those who talk too much about obedience and not nearly enough about God's free and abundant grace but down-playing the place of holy obedience is not the cure for such an error. In fact, in some ways, it's the ceaseless harping on the freeness of salvation that provokes unwise people to talk too much about obedience. It's unbridled speech like, "Obedience has nothing to do with being saved," that encourages some to speak as if obedience had everything to do with being saved. After all, there are lots of scriptures that look suspiciously like they connect being obedient with being saved.

My own reading of the situation is that as sinners we underestimate our desperate state before God because of our sins. So many of us, "decent sort of people," are sure that Christ is the Saviour but we so tend to think that our decency contributes to the ransom price. Or at least it shows that God is a shrewd judge of character when he saved us rather than some other degenerate. I suppose this Pelagian tendency will be with us until the end. There's the other end of the spectrum where people are so anxious for God's grace to be magnified that they can't bear to hear someone say, "What must I do to be saved?" without going into a tirade against legalism and self-salvation. Such a question never seemed to bother Christ or Peter or Paul (see Acts 2:37-38; 16:30-31; 22:10,16). And since we hear so much about Jewish legalism you would have thought that it would have been appropriate to preach a sermon that could have begun with, "Ah, well, that's your first mistake because there's nothing you can do to be saved." In fact it was a Jewish law-teacher that asked Jesus what he had to "do" to gain eternal life and instead of rebuking him for legalism Jesus urged him to do what the torah said (Luke 10:25-28, 37).

For sinners, reconciliation with God is reconciliation with a holy Father. Reconciliation involves a relationship and that relationship requires a realignment of the heart and life with the holy Father. It's all accomplished in and through Jesus Christ and received by faith but it is a relationship with an ethical structure and demand. Reconciliation is not just a gift or a status--it's a restored relationship, a holy relationship that has holy fruit and consequences. Where the nature of the relationship is defied and denied there is no relationship and no reconciliation with God.

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.

From Ben Fronczek... Freedom has a Price

Freedom has a Price

On November 19, 1863 President Abraham Lincoln made his way to a battlefield in Pennsylvania. He feared that he might be the last president of the United States. The country teetered on the brink of self-destruction. The ceremony that afternoon would dedicate the site of the cemetery for the over forty thousand soldiers who died at Gettysburg in the three-day battle the previous July. Lincoln’s remarks provided the seedbed for what would become Memorial Day.

He began his speech by saying, “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”   Less than two minutes later, he concluded his speech by saying, “The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here (referring to the sacrifice of the soldiers).

Memorial Day grew out of the human need to remember where we have been. It has been said that only then can we figure out where we are going. The cherished memories of a nation, a town, a church, people, or a family provide the values and dream that one generation passes on to the next. Forgetting means dropping the torch.

These memorials are not for those who have died, but rather for us, the living, less we forget those that gave their lives for and what they died for.  Most of those who gave their lives were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice because they wanted to ensure that their children and their children’s children would have the freedoms that they were willing to die for. They were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice so that we would be free to uphold the freedoms a value that they themselves hoped for.

I would like to read a portion of a letter, written by a soldier to his wife during World War II so that you can see what was going on in the mind of some of those who gave their lives for the freedoms that we now have. 

He writes;

New Guinea
July 21, 1943
 

My dearest sweet Cleo,
 

When you read this letter I will either be missing in action, killed or captured, and the last possibility is very remote because if I have any fight left in me, I will give my life to defend not only my country but the principles on which it was founded.

I want you and our child to be able to live in freedom, as you want, wherever you want, and to do what you want. I want the opportunity for our child to be able to grow up and be kind, gentle and Christian, not barbarian like those we are fighting.

I want our child to be able to go to school and to college to learn whatever profession he or she wants to learn. If a boy, I want him to grow up and be a better man than his Dad. I want him to marry if he chooses, a wife as kind and sweet as his mother. If a girl, I know she will be as fine a wife to some man as you have been to me.

You will wonder why I have written this. I wonder myself, but last night I lay thinking, what if I should be killed? Would Cleo know what my mind was thinking as to our future? I have no premonition of being killed and am trusting in the Lord to watch over me and keep me safe, but when He calls, I will be ready.

It is a nice feeling, darling, to know that whatever happens to me, I will meet you again someday, but in a home that will be far nicer than any we could ever have had here on earth. So don’t grieve, just think that I have gone away for a little while and I’ll see you again…..

…One other thing comes to mind. You are young and beautiful and no doubt will meet several nice fellows that will want to marry you. The way I look at it, we said we were married until death do us part. Well, when you get this, we will have temporarily parted, but that won’t prevent you from marrying again. In Heaven there is no marriage and no death, so we’ll all be together anyway. Therefore, if you meet a nice young man who is willing to take you and provide a home for you and our child and probably some of his own, then you have my blessing and God be with you. All I ask that you make sure he is a Christian, because if he is, he will be kind and gentle and loving to you.

I have tried to be a Christian. I have sinned, but praise God, I know that He will forgive me my sins because I believe in Christ Jesus as my own personal Savoir and He watches over me always, until He is ready to take me home to Glory.

Farewell, my darling, until we meet again,
 

George

Tens of thousands, probably hundreds of thousands have willing made the ultimate sacrifice as this soldier did through the ages.

We should not forget about the sacrifices that were made for you and me, and why those men and women were willing to make such as sacrifice; and that was to give us a chance have a good life and be free from oppression.

What I particularity like about this letter is the fact that this soldier was not a man without a future hope. Because of his faith in Christ he clearly recognized that we have a far better home awaiting us in Heaven because of the sacrifice Jesus made on that cross,

Each week we come here to honor and worship God, and remember the great sacrifice Jesus made for us. Jesus instituted what we now call the ‘Lords Supper’ as a memorial. I believe Christians were not only told by Jesus to partake of the emblems on the first day of the week to remember His personal sacrifice and what it cost for our freedom from sin,  in 1 Corinthians 11:26 Paul also wrote, “For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are representing and signifying and proclaiming the fact of the Lord’s death until He comes again.” (Amplified Bible)

Partaking of the Lord’s Supper memorial each week is not only for us to remember what He did for us, but also based on this verse partaking of these emblems in communion is a proclamation to the world that we believe that Jesus died for sin and that He is coming back!  Even though He died on that cross for us and was buried we know that He rose again giving us hope for a new life after we die.

Like the letter from soldier, Jesus also left us with a letter to let us know how much He loves us, and how He was willing to pay the ultimate price for our freedom from sin so that we experience life to the full, not only in the here and now, but also the eternal kingdom of God.

Someday He will return. That’s what the verse in 1 Cor. 11 and well as other verses in scripture say. But until that time He now reigns on high in the Kingdom of heaven, as the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. HE IS WORTHY of worship and praise as seen Revelation, chapter 5.  I would like to read to you what the Apostle John wrote concerning what he saw in Heaven concerning the awesome glory Jesus now receives. 

READ

“Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. ² And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” ³ But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. ⁴ I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. ⁵ Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

⁶ Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits^[a] of God sent out into all the earth. ⁷ He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. ⁸ And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. ⁹ And they sang a new song, saying:

“You are worthy to take the scroll     and to open its seals, because you were slain,     and with your blood you purchased for God     persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.¹⁰ You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,     and they will reign on the earth.”

¹¹ Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. ¹² In a loud voice they were saying:

“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,     to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength     and honor and glory and praise!”

¹³ Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb     be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!”

¹⁴ The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.”

The Lord’s Supper which we are about to celebrate is a memorial, it is meant to Honor Jesus, to proclaim our loyalty and faith, and it is meant to give us hope because He is coming back what is to come, to bring us to a home in glory.

So my encouragement this day is simply this: Remember those who have died for us, and remember why they died. And honor them by living and enjoying the life and principles they died for. And put your hope in what is to come.