The Great Physician

“But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.” (Matthew 9:12)

It almost goes without saying that a person who is seriously ill would do anything to regain health. But the sad fact is few people really pay attention to their health until they are threatened with its loss.

On the other hand, testimonies without number have been chronicled that relate an individual’s refusal to acknowledge the claims of Christ until he or she had been stricken with personal problems or physical illness. “You’ve got to be on your back before you will look up,” so the saying goes. But what does the Great Physician have to offer the one whose health seems to be strong from an outward perspective?

Instead of being well, however, the Bible says that everyone is born into this world with a dreadful disease in our souls called sin. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), “and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James 1:15). The sin disease is most tragic when we do not feel it and do not know we have it. “Because thou sayest, I...have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17). Jesus Christ is the only One who can heal us: “Neither is there salvation in any other” (Acts 4:12). And just as He never sent anyone away who came to Him on Earth for physical healing (Matthew 12:15), so “him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37) when he comes seeking salvation.

Certainly one of the most important steps in this process of being healed of our sin sickness is recognizing our desperate need for healing. When we say, “Be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee” (Psalm 41:4), He will respond with forgiveness, grace, and healing. JDM

Delivered, Translated, Forgiven

“...who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13-14)

The central message of the gospel lies in Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection. There is much more, of course, to our salvation. The immediate result is described in the two short verses of our text.

We have been delivered “from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God” (Acts 26:18). We have been delivered “from unreasonable and wicked men” (2 Thessalonians 3:2) and “from every evil work” and are preserved “unto his heavenly kingdom” (2 Timothy 4:18). Ultimately, we have been delivered “from the wrath to come” (1 Thessalonians 1:10).

We have also been “translated” into the eternal kingdom of the Lord Jesus. We will “not come into condemnation” but have been turned “from death unto life” (John 5:24). Our life prior to salvation was darkness, but we have been made “light in the Lord” (Ephesians 5:8). No longer are we aliens outside of God’s family, but we have been “accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:6).

Furthermore, all of our sins have been forgiven, and we are “justified freely by his grace” (Romans 3:24). That forgiveness and justification seal us “unto the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30). And since this is an eternal transaction brought about by the transcendent Creator, we have been raised “up together, and made [to] sit together in heavenly places” (Ephesians 2:6). Already we have the “earnest of our inheritance” (Ephesians 1:14) and the assurance that we will “obtain a better resurrection” (Hebrews 11:35).

In this life we may struggle with human rejection, but we can remember David’s comment: “I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my strong refuge” (Psalm 71:7). HMM III

Qualified to Inherit

“Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.” (Colossians 1:11-12)

Having been “made strong with all strength” through “his glorious power,” we are then enabled to complete the assignment that God has granted to us on Earth.

The power of God “is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20). The same power displayed when God raised Jesus “from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:20) is more often needed on Earth for “patience and longsuffering with joyfulness.” The word for “patience” in this text describes a quality of temper that does not easily succumb under suffering. That emphasis is not merely a contextual byproduct. Much of the godly life demands a temperament that opposes cowardice or despondence. We should “glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope” (Romans 5:3-4).

Many of our brothers and sisters in history suffered beyond human endurance, ultimately giving their lives for the kingdom of God. “But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it” (Romans 8:25). Therein lies the longsuffering that does not hastily retaliate after a wrong. This temperament opposes wrath and revenge.

These godly traits, earned and experienced only while on Earth, reveal us to be “partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.” Now, we are “kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5). Later, He will present us “faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy” (Jude 1:24). HMM III

Fruitful in Every Good Work

“That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.” (Colossians 1:10)

There are many admonitions in Scripture insisting that the child of God maintain a lifestyle that reflects the holy character of the Savior.

The unique phrase “walk worthy” appears only three times in the New Testament: once in our text today; once in Ephesians 4:1, where we are asked to “walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called”; and once in 1 Thessalonians 2:12, where we are admonished to “walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.”

Paul’s admonition to the church at Colossae was to live in such a way that everything would be “all pleasing” to our Lord. The Galatian church was struggling with members who were trying to keep the “old” Jewish law. Paul argued, “Do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10). Paul insisted to the Thessalonians, “As we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts” (1 Thessalonians 2:4).

Since we are to “walk worthy,” we are to be “fruitful in every good work.” Indeed, “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

None of this should be a surprise. When God drew us to Himself (John 6:44) and brought the necessary conviction of our sin, Christ’s righteousness, and the judgment to come (John 16:7-8), what was “dead in trespasses and sin” (Ephesians 2:1) had to become a “new creature” (2 Corinthians 5:17) “created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:24). That “new man” is then empowered to “walk worthy.” HMM III

Filled with the Knowledge of His Will

“For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” (Colossians 1:9)

Paul has chosen a particular word, pleroo, to describe an action that “fills to the top” so that the knowledge about which he prays has no more space to fill. While speaking to his friends in Rome, Paul said that he was “persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another” (Romans15:14).

This includes the kind of knowledge (Greek epignosis) of God’s will that stresses precise and complete understanding of that will for our lives. “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness...that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature.” These “things” (the knowledge, the precious promises) enable us to escape “the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:3-4).

This magnificent and complete knowledge of His will includes the wisdom (Greek sophia) to use the knowledge acquired by experience. It even includes the grace God made to abound “toward us in all wisdom and prudence” (Ephesians 1:8), which, since it comes from God, is “first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy” (James 3:17).

The wonderful knowledge and wisdom that God has provided for us includes a spiritual understanding (Greek pneumatikos sunesis), an ability to put complicated matters together with the “mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). Indeed, “he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man” (1 Corinthians 2:15). “Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things” (2 Timothy 2:7). HMM III

Lessons from Colossians

“To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Colossians 1:2)

Paul’s letter to the church in Colossae is especially instructive to those who would seek a close relationship with the Lord Jesus.

Chapter 1 provides a breathtaking summary of the purpose for which we are saved and the eternal changes that take place at salvation: “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight” (Colossians 1:21-22).

Chapter 2 provides clear warnings about the spiritual battle that is taking place and precise insights on gaining victory over the world: “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving” (Colossians 2:6-7).

Chapter 3 insists that our responsibility is to take advantage of what has been provided by Christ and to live as Christ-ians: “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:1-2).

Chapter 4 gives practical instructions for our day-to-day relationships through the lives of the godly people who worked with Paul: “Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man” (Colossians 4:5-6). HMM III

The Bible Stands!

“Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.” (Psalm 119:160)

Very few books survive very long. Only a few survive past the first printing, and science books especially get out of date in just a few years.

But one book is eternal! The Bible stands! Even its most ancient chapters are still accurate and up to date. Furthermore, despite all the vicious attacks of both ancient pagans and modern humanists, it will continue to endure. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:35; Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33). Even after everything else dies and all the bombastic tirades of skeptics and secularists are long forgotten, the Word endures. “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever” (Isaiah 40:8).

Note the oft-repeated testimony to this same effect in Psalm 119. In addition to the comprehensive promise of today’s text, this great “psalm of the word” also contains these affirmations: “For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven....Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart....The righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting....Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever” (Psalm 119:89, 111, 144, 152). Founded forever, inherited forever, settled forever, lasting forever! God is eternal, and His Word was true from the beginning.

People may, in these last days, arrogantly think they can “take away from the words of the book of this prophecy” (Revelation 22:19), but such presumption will only “take away [their] part out of the book of life,” and the Bible will still stand. “The word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you” (1 Peter 1:25). HMM

Certain Hope

“Who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.” (Hebrews 6:18-19)

The noun “hope,” when used in the New Testament, does not imply a wishful attitude but rather a joyous and confident expectation in something promised that will certainly come to pass—in most cases, something good. Note especially the few times it is used with a descriptive adjective.

First, in a stirring benediction, Paul tells us that our good hope comes from both “our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father” (2 Thessalonians 2:16). Furthermore, such hope is given to us along with “everlasting consolation,” or comfort, that shall last forever. The Father and Son have done this “through grace” that brings eternal salvation.

Next, we are taught to be “looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). This blessed hope can be none other than “our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope” (1 Timothy 1:1). He will certainly return, and this return will be glorious.

Furthermore, we have a hope that is actively alive. “The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3). We have been (past tense) born again from the dead just as surely as Christ has been raised from the dead, for His resurrection accomplished it.

Our hope, under grace, is guaranteed by Jesus Christ: “A better hope...by the which we draw nigh unto God” (Hebrews 7:19) than that which was possible under law. In fact, it is a glorious hope (2 Corinthians 3:11-12) by comparison. This kind of hope can be “an anchor of the soul” (our text). JDM

Longing for the Word

“My soul fainteth for thy salvation: but I hope in thy word. Mine eyes fail for thy word, saying, When wilt thou comfort me?” (Psalm 119:81-82)

Those who “love the LORD” with all their heart, soul, and might (Deuteronomy 6:5) and those who seek the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33) deeply long to “understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God” (Proverbs 2:5).

Yet in spite of such longing, the saints of God are often perplexed by the apparent success of the wicked. This psalmist is no exception.

    “When wilt thou comfort me?” (Psalm 119:82).
    “I am become like a bottle in the smoke” (v. 83).
    “When wilt thou execute judgment on them that persecute me?” (v. 84).
    “The proud have digged pits for me” (v. 85).
    “They persecute me wrongfully” (v. 86).
    “They had almost consumed me upon the earth” (v. 87).

Among the heartfelt complaints, however, is the continual reliance on the promises and principles of God’s Word. The psalmist promised not to forget the statutes, though he felt invisible to God (v. 83). And though he knew that his days were not guaranteed, he expected God to judge the wicked (v. 84). He knew the “commandments are faithful,” and he promised the Lord that he would not forsake the precepts (vv. 86-87).

The final request should be ours as well: “Quicken me [enliven, revive] after thy lovingkindness” (v. 88). Even though God “hast shewed me great and sore troubles,” the confidence is that God “shalt quicken me again” (Psalm 71:20). On the basis of that assurance, our response should be like this godly man’s: “So shall I keep the testimony of thy mouth” (Psalm 119:88). HMM III

Sufferings

“For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps.” (1 Peter 2:21)

Peter’s first epistle, written during a time of bitter persecution, deals with the matter of suffering. Peter reminds us that Christ suffered for us and that it is a privilege to suffer for Him. We are “called” to suffering and should “think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try” us (4:12).

Christ’s suffering was foretold (1:11), as is ours. We see that He had patience, humility, and submission in His sufferings (2:23) in order to bear “our sins in his own body on the tree” (2:24). He suffered unjustly, “the just for the unjust” (3:18), not only in His spirit, but “Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh” (4:1), being witnessed personally by Peter (5:1).

Since we are likewise “called” to suffer, Peter explains that we also will be “suffering wrongfully” (2:19) even “when ye do well” (v. 20). We will “suffer for righteousness’ sake” (3:14) and “for well doing” (v. 17). To avoid being taken by surprise, we are to prepare ourselves to suffer “in the flesh” (4:1), if need be. We will “be reproached for the name of Christ” (4:14) and should “not be ashamed” if we “suffer as a Christian” (4:16). It is much better to suffer in such a way than to have done something evil to deserve it (v. 15).

Suffering while following Christ’s example is “acceptable with God” (2:20), and even makes us “happy” (3:14; 4:14). Through it we can “glorify God on this behalf” (4:16) because it is “according to the will of God” (4:19). There is even a magnificent reward awaiting the sufferer (5:10).

In view of all of this, there is little wonder that Peter says, “Rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy” (4:13). JDM

Understanding Through the Word

“Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments.” (Psalm 119:73)

Understanding the Word of God begins with seeing God as the Creator of all things (Colossians 1:16-17). The beginning of faith rests solidly on belief in the creation (Hebrews 11:3), and even the “everlasting gospel” embraces the conscious worship of the Creator (Revelation 14:6-7). “I am the LORD, and there is none else….Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker!” (Isaiah 45:5, 9).

Scholars who distort Scripture to compromise with the atheistic naturalism of evolutionary science wind up “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7). May God rebuke them.

The theme of this stanza (Psalm 119:73-80) weaves a series of requests around various examples of need centered around the psalmist’s leadership position. “They that fear thee will be glad when they see me; because I have hoped in thy word” (v. 74). “Let those that fear thee turn unto me, and those that have known thy testimonies” (v. 79).

Though he recognized that the Lord “afflicted” him in the past (v. 75), the psalmist also expected the Lord to bring him mercies and comfort, for the law of God was his delight (v. 77). We may view this godly leader as “set for the defence of the gospel” (Philippians 1:17) and “ready always to give an answer” (1 Peter 3:15).

In summary, the last verse of this stanza reads, “Let my heart be sound in thy statutes; that I be not ashamed” (Psalm 119:80). May our hearts be driven to this level of boldness in our witness while resting in the absolute authority, integrity, and accuracy of the infallible writings of the Creator God for our salvation (2 Timothy 3:16). HMM III

Lovers of Self

“For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy.” (2 Timothy 3:2)

One of the dangerous teachings of the New Age movement that has spilled over into modern evangelicalism is the notion of self-love. Many psychologists—even Christian professional counselors—are attributing society’s ills, especially among young people, to the supposed lack of a positive self-image or self-esteem on the part of those exhibiting antisocial behavior. What they need, we are told, is to learn to love themselves more, to appreciate their own self-worth. The problem with this idea is that it is both unscriptural and unrealistic. People do not hate themselves. The Bible says that “no man ever yet hated his own flesh” (Ephesians 5:29).

Instead of learning to esteem ourselves, the Scripture commands us each to “esteem other better than themselves” (Philippians 2:3). Even the apostle Paul, near the end of his life, considered himself so unworthy that he called himself the chief of sinners (see 1 Timothy 1:15).

We are told by some Christian leaders that the measure of our great value in the sight of God is the fact that Christ paid such a high price—His own death—to redeem us. But His death is also the measure of our terrible sinfulness. “Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6).

In fact, as in our text, the rise of this self-love idea is itself a sign of the last days, when people shall be “lovers of their own selves.” It is the main characteristic of New Age humanism.

Christ died for our sins because He loves us, not because He needs us. We should live for Him in thanksgiving for the “amazing grace, that saved a wretch like me!” HMM

From Forgetting to Shedding

“These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood.” (Proverbs 6:16-17)

In both the Old and New Testaments the Lord directs people to “be holy, for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44; 1 Peter 1:16). Scripture provides both His commands and the example of His Son Jesus that we can follow to grow in holiness. But to obey God’s commands we must first know and remember them—to recall in order to act.

In our text, “innocent blood” means the lifeblood of a guiltless person. The first biblical record of a man shedding innocent blood is, of course, Cain killing Abel. God condemned Cain for this violent act against his righteous brother (Genesis 4:10-11; Matthew 23:35). Man’s rebellion continued up to the days of Noah, when “the earth [was] filled with violence” (Genesis 6:13). After the Flood judgment, God underscored the gravity of murder by declaring, “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man” (Genesis 9:6).

In Exodus 20:13 and again in Deuteronomy 19:9-10 God explicitly commanded, “Thou shalt not kill.” However, the Israelites “forgat God their savior” and ignored His commands, serving idols and “shed[ding] innocent blood” (Psalm 106:21, 35-38). They rebelled against the prophets calling them to remember and obey God’s instruction (e.g., Isaiah 59:7; Jeremiah 7:6-7). Ultimately, Judas betrayed Jesus into the hands of His enemies, the most egregious example of sin leading to the shedding of innocent blood (Matthew 27:4-5).

May we not be like these people who forgot the Lord and His commands and continued deeper into sin. Instead, may we obey and remember God’s Word: “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:11). DWR

The Discerner

“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

The Word of God (both the written Word and the living Word, Jesus Christ) is “living and energizing” and is the double-edged sword of the Spirit, piercing into the deepest recesses of body, soul, and spirit. There it “discerns” even the very thoughts and intents of our hearts.

This discernment, however, is more than just understanding or insight. The Greek word for “discerner” is kritikos and is used only this one time in the Bible. Our word “critic” is derived from it, and this is an important dimension of its meaning. Its discernment is a critical, judging discernment—one that convicts and corrects as well as understands.

It is paradoxical that people today presume to become critics of the Bible when it should really be the other way around. There are textual critics who sort through the various ancient manuscripts of the Bible, trying to arrive at the original text; there are the “higher critics” who critique vocabularies and concepts, trying to show that the traditional authors did not actually write the books attributed to them; and then there are many other purely destructive critics who criticize the Bible’s miracles, morals, and everything else, hoping thereby to justify their rebellion against the Word.

But the Bible still stands! It stands in judgment on our lives and our subconscious motives. It will have the final word when “the books [are] opened...and the dead [are] judged out of those things which were written in the books” (Revelation 20:12). It is far better to heed the constructive criticism of the Word now than to hear its condemnation later. HMM

Guarding the Word

“Thou art my portion, O LORD: I have said that I would keep thy words.” (Psalm 119:57)

Three of the 22 stanzas of Psalm 119 have all eight Hebrew terms used to describe the Word of God. How appropriate it is that the central theme in these verses (vv. 57-64) provides us succinct ways to keep (guard) His Word.

Principally, our “whole heart” must be involved in seeking the “favour” of God (v. 58). The “great commandment” (Matthew 22:38) rests on loving God with “all” of our hearts. If we seek God’s blessing, both during our earthly life and in the eternity to come, we can “trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Such a heart thinks (considers, reckons) about the ways of God and turns (turns back, corrects) its “feet unto [His] testimonies” (Psalm 119:59). The godly life is not an unplanned life. The godly life seeks to understand and obey the words of God’s Word. And the godly life makes “haste” and will not delay in keeping His commandments (Psalm 119:60).

Circumstances may cause temporary difficulties in the life of a godly person (Psalm 119:61), but he will not forget the laws of God. Rather, he will rise at “midnight” (the deepest time of trouble) to give thanks to our Lord “because of thy righteous judgments” (Psalm 119:62).

The one who wants to guard the Word of God is a companion of those who fear God and keep the precepts of the Word (Psalm 119:63). The godly heart sees the mercy of the Lord everywhere and longs for the “Creator of the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 40:28) to teach it the eternal statutes of His Word (Psalm 119:64). May “such an heart” (Deuteronomy 5:29) be ours as we seek to serve Him. HMM III