GRACE AND THE TRUTH - DAILY INSPIRATION

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Friendship With the World
Part 3
By Gregg Bing



Lot's Conclusion

The only reason that Lot was saved was because "God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow" (Gen. 19:27-29). Being afraid to dwell in Zoar, Lot fled with his two unmarried daughters into the mountains to dwell there. What follows is the sad conclusion to the life of Lot, a man who knew the Lord but did not live for the Lord.

Though Lot's two unmarried daughters were the only ones to escape God's destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, they never did really escape "the world." These two young women reasoned with each other that it was up to them to "preserve the lineage" of their father. How did they propose to do so? They made Lot drink wine until he was so drunk he did not know what he was doing. The firstborn daughter went into him that night and lay with her father so that she could become pregnant with his child. The next night this shameful scene was repeated so that the younger daughter also became pregnant with his child (Gen. 19:30-36). How sad to view the depths to which Lot and his family had sunk both morally and spiritually.

What kind of lineage of Lot was preserved? His firstborn daughter bore Lot a son "and called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day" (Gen. 19:37). His youngest daughter also bore him a son "and called his name Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the people of Ammon to this day" (Gen. 19:38.). The Moabites and Ammonites both became enemies of Abraham's family and the nation of Israel. They also were idol worshippers of the most abominable and detestable nature. The Moabites worshipped Chemosh, while the Ammonites worshipped Molech. Both peoples honored their "god" by making their children pass through sacrificial fires (1 Kings 11:7, 2 Kings 16:3, 23:10). What a legacy Lot left behind!

In Lot, we find a stern warning of the dangers of living in "friendship with the world." Lot not only tormented his own soul, he sacrificed the lives of his own family members, and he destroyed any testimony he might have had for the Lord. The Apostle James wrote:

"Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." (James 4:4)

Friendship with the world puts us at enmity with God, preventing us from experiencing the love, joy and peace of a daily walk with Him. Friendship with the world affords only a life of disappointment and sorrow. May the lesson of Lot's life and the consequences he experienced remind us how important it is to keep ourselves separate from the world.

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BABES IN CHRIST
By MARVIN DUNCAN,



Scripture Reading: I Corinthians 3:1

There are a number of conditions that the Apostle Paul connects with our being "IN CHRIST." Our salvation is "IN CHRIST." Our standing is "IN CHRIST," and in I Corinthians 3:1, Paul speaks of a condition every believer experiences at his salvation, our being "BABES IN CHRIST."

To understand this condition we must recognize that salvation is spoken of as A NEW BIRTH. We are born physically into the family of Adam and upon receiving Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we experienced a SPIRITUAL BIRTH. Paul speaks of our being "A NEW CREATION" in II Corinthians 5:17. Just as in our physical life, so it is with our spiritual life. We all start at birth as babies and develop through stages, to maturity; first a babe, then a child and on to maturity through feeding on spiritual food and exercising the spiritual man.

One of the mistakes many Christians make is to expect the newly saved individual to be able to handle life's trials and the old habits as if he were a mature spiritual individual, without ever having been taught the Word of God or experiencing the faithfulness of God to strengthen and convict him in his daily walk. None of the men in Scripture automatically changed overnight from their worldly attitudes to spiritual attitudes.

Abraham is a good example of spiritual growth over a number of years. Early in his spiritual life he made many errors and failed to trust God completely, yet in his later life, after seeing God's faithfulness in doing what He promised, Abraham was able to trust God even to the point of being willing to sacrifice his only son.

It is this progressive growth toward maturity that Paul is speaking of in our text verse. These Corinthians had been born into God's family some five years earlier, but they had not grown They were still "BABES."

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The Fullness of Christ
By Gregg Bing

The Holy Spirit led Paul to write the letter to the Colossians to correct false teaching that was circulating at that time about Jesus Christ. Paul's response to these heresies is as timely today as it was in the first century. Paul didn't identify these heretical groups by name. Instead, he responded to their false doctrines with positive teaching about the fullness found in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul's letter primarily addresses two key truths about Jesus Christ which the false teachers denied: 1)The superiority of His person; they refused to acknowledge the deity of Jesus Christ. 2) The sufficiency of His finished work on Calvary to save men from their sins; they rejected the idea that salvation is "by grace through faith" in Christ alone.

In the center of this book, we find the theme of Colossians summed up in two short, but powerful verses of Scripture:

"For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the Head of all principality and power." (Colossians 2:9-10)

Do you truly know who you are "in Christ"? if not continue reading;

Now, whether you prayed for salvation just now or in the past, praying an  "identification prayer" may help you to experience Christ's life of victory and peace. Before this prayer can be effective, you must be truly sick of your self-life; you must be under conviction by the Holy Spirit of trying to live the Christian life in your own strength, and you must be ready to give up control of your life. If this is your condition, pray in this manner.

"Father, thank you for forgiving my sins and taking me out of the life of Adam and grafting me into the life of Christ. Now that I am "in Christ", I believe that I was crucified with Him, buried with Him, raised with Him and that I am seated with Him at your right hand. From this moment on, I choose to have your son, Jesus Christ, live His life in me and through me. I consider myself dead to sin and alive to you, and I am counting on the Holy Spirit to make me aware when I forget my death with Christ and try to live His life for Him in my own human wisdom and energy. I choose to yield my total being to you as an instrument of righteousness, allowing no part of me to be used for sin. Thank you for making Christ and his life real to me. Glorify yourself through me. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen."

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"Wherefore Then Serveth the Law?"
By Ike T. Sidebottom

The law was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made" (Gal. 3:19). Verses 17 and 18 of this same chapter explain that the law was added to the Abrahamic Covenant "four hundred and thirty years" after the confirmation of God's promise to Abraham, and it continued to the coming of the "Seed," which was promised to him. It is also clear that the law, which was added, "cannot disannul" the promises of God to Abraham.

The added law covenant was to be in force "till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made." "Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He saith not, and to seeds, as of many; but as of one, and to thy Seed, which is Christ" (vs. 16). This explains why "Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God to confirm the promises made unto the fathers" (Rom. 15:8.). "All the promises of God in Him are Yea, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God by us" (2 Cor. 1:20).

The "transgressions" which made the law necessary were taken away by the One who "was numbered with the transgressors" on the cross of Calvary. Thus He became "the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth" (Rom. 10:4).

The Limits of the Law

The law is limited to a specified period of time, which began exactly four hundred and thirty years after the covenant of promise with Abraham and which ended when Christ shed His "blood of the New Testament." Even though man has marked the Word of God indicating that the Old Testament closes with the last verse of Malachi and that the New Testament opens with the first verse of Matthew, God declares that such is not the case. "For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth" (Heb. 9:16-17). Therefore the New Testament could not come into force until the death of Christ, its Testator; and the Old Testament could not "vanish away" until the New came into force. We must conclude that the entire life and ministry of Christ, in His first advent, was under the law dispensation, and that His death ended the old covenant and opened the new.

The law is limited to a certain nation. That certain nation is "Israel" whom God bore "on eagle's wings" out of Egyptian bondage. He also delivered to her, through Moses, His proposition concerning the law and the conditions under which Israel could be made a "peculiar treasure," a "kingdom of priests" and "an holy nation." After the children of Israel had heard all the words of God concerning the giving of the law, they all "answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do" (Exo. 19:1-8.). The law is limited to a certain ministration, or service. Its ministration is one of condemnation and death. Paul says, "I was alive without the law once; but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me and by it slew me. Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, worketh death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might became exceeding sinful" (Rom. 7:9-13). The law slew Paul because it demanded more than he could deliver. For this same reason "as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse" (Gal. 3:10).

The Accomplishments of the Law

With the giving of the law "every mouth" was stopped and all the world became "guilty before God." The mouths of the Gentiles were not stopped by the law but by the threefold testimony of Romans 1:24-28:


"God also gave them up to uncleanness." (vs. 24)
"God gave them up unto vile affections." (vs. 26)
"God gave them over to a reprobate mind." (vs. 28.)The mouths of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah were stopped by the law (Rom. 3:19) because they were the only ones who were under the law. Therefore, after the law was given, both Jews and Gentiles were proved to be "under sin" and neither could open their mouths in their own defense before God.

The law also serves as "our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith" (Gal. 3:24). This means that the law demands so much that we are forced to turn to a substitute. We look into God's perfect standard, the law, and we see ourselves far short of the glory of God. We test our flesh under the demands of the law and we find that, even though the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak.

"What the Law Could Not Do

in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin the flesh; that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit" (Rom. 8:3-4).

Let it be clearly understood that the law which God added is absolutely necessary in the carrying out of His purpose and plan for the ages, yet it has no power, whatsoever, to save or to keep or to perfect the believer. Its usefulness ends when we meet the crucified and risen Christ.

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WHAT DEATH MEANS TO THE BELIEVER
By Evangelist S. Lee Homoki
Hebrews 9:27
Part 1 of 2

Death is a fact of life. Having lived, given time, we all must die! The Apostle Paul said that "death worketh in us" and that "our outward man perisheth " (2 Cor. 4: 10-18.). All men give a great deal of time and discussion to the subject of death and yet it remains veiled in mystery. We have all witnessed, or read about, some tragic death and pondered its mystery. For me, I have always questioned: "Did they know Christ as their Saviour?" "Why did this happen"?

In this life, God gives to every person good gifts. God is the world's greatest giver (Jas. 1:17). He is an especially generous giver to all those who believe Him, giving salvation to all that "call upon the name of the Lord" (Rom. 10:12-13; 6:23; 2 Cor. 8:9; 9:15). God says to us through the death of a loved one: "In this life you gain many things and you lose many things. In this life you have loved ones and you lose loved ones. I gave you the loved ones and I have taken them away, but I am still here!" This is one of the reasons why Paul said to the believers who remain "that we sorrow not as those who have no hope, " and that we are to "comfort one another with these words." God is still here and will bring those who are dead in Christ with Him (I Thess. 4:13-18.).

CONFIDENCE FOR THOSE WHO DIE

Paul must have solved some of this mystery that surrounds death because he was able to exhibit the same preparedness for dying as he did for living and serving (Rom. 1:15; I Cor. 9:16-18 cf. Acts 21:13; 2 Tim. 4:6-8.). This is surely the reason why Paul could say that to "depart and be with Christ" was "far better" than living (Phil. 1:20-23).

Paul was ready because he knew: (1) that life is fragile and fleeting (2 Tim. 1:14; Jas. 4:13-15; I Pet. 1:14). Like David, he could say, "there is but a step between me and death" (I Sam. 20:3). Our life hangs by a very thin thread (Eccl. 12:6). (2) That the issues of life and death are in God's hands. Job understood this when he lost seven sons and three daughters in one day. He said, "The Lord giveth and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job. 1:21 cf. Matt. 6:25-30). (3) That God's warnings must be heeded, or pay the consequences. The warning of the Prophet Amos to the sinful nation of Israel, "to prepare to meet thy God" (Amos 4:12), is a warning to all men of all dispensations that "God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption" (Gal. 6:7-8 cf. 2 Thess. 1:5-10). The message is clear that unless a man makes preparation to be properly adjusted to a holy God, this will surely be a fearful day of reckoning (Rom. 2:5-10; Heb. 10:27-31). (4) That he had made the only decision that could prepare him for death. That decision was to "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 16:31).

It only stands to reason that if a person is spiritually prepared to die, that when it comes time for death, they will face death differently than the person who has made no preparation. It is encouraging to note that when it was "time for his departure, " the Apostle Paul had no regrets, having "fought a good fight, finished his course and kept the faith," he exhibits great confidence that God will give him a "crown of righteousness" in the not-too-distant future (2 Tim. 4:6-8.). In Philippians 3:13-14, Paul describes himself as a runner consumed with only one ambition and that is to win the prize for which God had called him heavenward. And in 2 Corinthians 15:55-57, Paul thanks God for victory over the sting of death. Death is not a defeat for the believer: it is the final victory. Those who die and go to Heaven can laugh and shout: "I Won! I Won! I won through Jesus Christ my Lord!"

God sees something about the death of the believer that is hidden to us, at least we do not see it clearly (Rom. 8:18; I Cor. 13:12; 2 Cor. 5:7). Whatever that something is, God says that it is "precious in His sight" (Ps. 116:15). The Lord Jesus Christ is said to have "Abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel" (2 Tim. 1:10). Furthermore, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the mighty conqueror, encourages our hearts by declaring: "I am He that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore. Amen; and have the keys of Hell and death" (Rev. 1:18.).

The believer, through the Word of God, accumulates more and more confidence about the true nature of death. His worst fears are found to be foundation less as he grows in grace and draws closer and closer to what the Bible calls his "long home" (Eccl. 12:5). The believer even discovers that his death is redefined as nothing more than a harmless "sleep" (Jn. 11:11-14; I Thess. 4:13-14).

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WHAT DEATH MEANS TO THE BELIEVER
Part 2 of 2
By Evangelist S. Lee Homoki
Hebrews 9:27


COMFORT FOR THOSE WHO REMAIN


Death for the believer means (1) That there will never be any more condemnation for them (Rom. 8: 1). According to Hebrews 9:27, man is faced with two appointments: death and judgment. Romans 8:1 tells us that the appointment with judgment has been canceled.

It is true that believers will yet face a judgment for rewards (2 Cor. 5: 10), but never will our salvation again be in jeopardy because the Lord Jesus Christ was judged and condemned in our place (Rom. 4:23-25; Gal. 3:13; Col. 2:13-14). (2) That they will immediately be ushered into the presence of the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8; I Thess. 4:17). The key word to help us appreciate this is the word "home." Who is afraid to go home? Paul says he's at "home" in the body but would rather, willingly, be "at home with the Lord."  The believer is perfectly correct in referring to the death of a saint as a "home going." (3) That they will never again know any more pain, sorrow, tears or death because "the former things are passed away" (Rom. 8:18-23; Rev. 21:4).

How wonderfully comforting this promise must be for those who must daily suffer from emotional, mental and physical pain. (4) That we receive our eternal inheritance (Rom. 8:17; Col. 1:2; I Pet. 1:4). Death does not destroy our inheritance. Here on this earth all of our treasures are subject to corruption (Matt. 6:20). These things are "seen as temporal," but thank God, there are unseen treasures that are eternal (2 Cor. 4:18.).

The death of Christ and our identification with Him is assurance of an eternal inheritance (Heb. 9:15). The Holy Spirit is our down payment on this inheritance (Eph. 1:13-14). (5) That they will have a new home. We have already pointed out that wherever the Lord is, according to Paul, that is home. We are convinced that while Revelation 21 and 22 describes the eternal glories of the New Heaven and the New Earth, I believe that the new, eternal home for the Body of Christ in the heavenlies is beyond description - not even described in the Bible! When that "man" of 2 Cor. 12:1-5 was "caught up into paradise," he heard and saw things that could not be described. Paul said, "of such a one will I glory." Oh, how beautiful our heavenly home must be! Perfect! Prepared by God and can't be improved upon! (6) That they await a glorious resurrection.

Paul says that he will be glad to trade in his old earthly tabernacle "for a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens" (2 Cor. 5: 1-3). It will be a glorified,  resurrected body "fashioned like unto His glorious body according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself" (Phil. 3:21). (7) That they will be a part of a family reunion. The great, wonderful Body of Christ Family will be "caught up together," a reunion in the air (I Thess. 4: 17)! The songwriter has correctly written:



"There's going to be meeting in the air,
In the sweet, sweet bye and bye.
I will meet you, meet you, meet you there,
In that home beyond the sky.
Such singing you will hear never heard by mortal ear,
Twill be glorious I do declare!
For God's own Son will be the leading One
At that meeting in the air."

Praise God!

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God's Course in Your Life
Part One

The number one priority of God's course in your life is your spiritual development. People sometimes believe they have to get busy for God, straighten up their life, get their act together and all this type of thing because they think once you become a Christian these are the kind of things you do. But that's not the number one priority. The number one priority is your spiritual development.

There are so many ways to look at this, and it could be a study all in itself as to how God works in our life and how spirituality is developed. We could talk about what it means to walk after the spirit, what it means to be spirit filled, what it means to be adult sons of God rather than children, which is one of the terms Paul uses to explain our Christian walk today. And, there are different ways to talk about this. For example, we could talk about transformation, but the way I want to do this is to simply look at our spiritual development and begin to understand that our spiritual development begins by being taught, because our spiritual development matures as we learn who we are in Christ. And, lastly, this spiritual development is an inner transformation and not an external confirmation or compliance.

Romans Chapter 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Continuing down through Romans, Chapter 8, at least in this first introductory section here, the scriptures are talking  about walking after the spirit. There is a contrast made between walking after the spirit and what the law was doing in our life. I want you to understand that the law was the way that God was working on people, not in people.

The law was an external set of rules that were given to the nation of Israel. It was actually a covenant given to them; if they would do these certain laws, God was going to benefit them in special ways above all the other nations. And so, the law was an external means wherein God dealt with the nation of Israel requiring their obedience. But if you study the Bible, you find out that Israel never kept the law. They couldn't keep the law.

Look closely in verse two, “For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus …” Now you might not understand that phrase, but there is a spirit of life in Christ Jesus that we have today. And the verse continues “…has set me free from the law of sin and death .” There is a natural law, you might say, a spirit of life given to us by God which has freed us from another natural law called the law of sin and death.

As you read Romans Chapter 7, the law works on our members, our flesh, and tries to tell us how to live and what God expects out of us. But the problem is, our flesh is sinful and won't do what God wants it to do. So this natural law works in our members causing us to sin. However, there's a supernatural law wherein God has super ceded the natural law which he gives to us through his Holy Spirit through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is the spirit of life in Christ Jesus.

That's the difference between inside and outside. Verse three says this, “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.” Again, “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh...” What I'm trying empathize to you is that our first priority and the first means by which we develop spiritually, is that we simply need to be taught some things. When people get saved, or they come into a church, they start thinking, “O.K. what's my course in life?” They think they haven't been living right so they feel they need to get their act together. Mostly they say they need to stop sinning ~ not because they've been taught that of God (though God will teach you that), but because when they come around a group of people who are believers, or they come into a church, they're going hear that they must stop sinning. So they think they need to get their act together mostly because other believers and the preacher say so. Well, that's the wrong reason.

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God's Course in Your Life
Part Two


Then, another person says: I need to get busy working for God, I need to straighten out my life and start walking the straight and narrow and start acting like a Christian. Which to them would mean, I need to start joining, first by joining a church, paying the tithe, volunteering my time to do all the different things around the church. And somehow they think that's their course in life to start doing these things. That's not at all what God would have us to do, that is actually fulfilling the law because what you're doing is you're acting things out. You're acting like a Christian. It's not a transformation that's taking place from the Spirit of God within you, it's something you're doing to be shaped like a congregation. Now, every congregation has a personality and attitude and an influence in your life, but if you just mold to that influence you're going to think you're walking the way God would have you to walk, and you're not living the Christian life. All you are doing is conforming to the group of people who are surrounding you and you're going through an action, and it's not a transformation in your life. God wants to work in your life and he wants a spiritual development, one that's going to work on the inside of your life to work out.

If you just simply have the forces of other people around you shaping you and telling you what to do and that's why you are who you are, and why you do the things that you do, then you're actually just living under a performance system. You're living under a law. And when you read this Bible, you find out first of all, that you'll never succeed, because no one has ever fulfilled the law. You'll just act like you're succeeding. You'll hide your sins. You'll hide your failures and you'll just look like you're doing better when you're really not. The law is really a means of controlling the flesh and it will always fail. It's called the condemnation, (the law brings condemnation) and that's what you'll have working in your life because other people won't see it, but you'll know your failure. You'll be walking around in condemnation and allowing sin to reign in your life because when the law fails, sin is on the throne and sin is working death. So the whole point is this: You want a spiritual development going on in your life and the way that it happens is by you simply being taught. When I say being taught, I don't mean by me telling you how to be spiritual, I mean your being taught of God. The things God would have you to know and, as you listen to what God's word has to say, and as you learn about your position in Jesus Christ, it will have a transforming effect on your life and the results will be true godliness and holiness.

Now, some interesting things. Come to I Thessalonians 4:9, “But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: For ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.” In this verse the Apostle is to talking to the Thessalonians and if you back up in the chapter you'll read about the different instructions that he's given to them, but when he comes to that area of brotherly love, he says, “I need not to write unto you” because “ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another”. I think you would understand this when you understand 1 st John which tells us that God is love. Someone who knows God, knows what love is. But if you know not God, you don't know love and vice versa. Just the very fact that you would know God (in the way he has revealed himself to us), you don't have to be taught to love your brother. You already know to love one another. When you consider what Paul is saying in this verse, you can see that God does teach you.

Romans 5 says that his spirit is shed abroad in our hearts crying, Abba, Father. And because of that relationship of God in you, you're immediately taught of God to love one another. But this verse says something else you need to consider. It says, “as touching brotherly love, ye need not that I write unto you”. How about the others things in your life? Concerning brotherly love, does Paul have to tell you to love your brother? No, but this also implies that there are a lot of other things Paul had to write about to teach you what God wants you to know. So you see in the context God does teach you, but there are other things that are to be taught to you by the pen of the Apostle Paul which is very important.

Come to Ephesians 4:17, “This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind.” Now, we're Gentiles and Paul is writing to us, but when we get saved, we're no longer Gentiles. We become a member of the Body of Christ, so he's telling us now that we're saved, and belong to Christ, don't walk like other Gentiles; that is, Gentiles who aren't in Christ but are still in the flesh and living their lives the way they do without knowing the Lord. We're not to live our life like an unsaved person does. The way an unsaved person lives his life is told to us in verse 17; he lives in the vanity of his mind. He has a vain, empty understanding in his mind about the things of God so he lives without any association with God. He lives, as we would say, the best he knows how, which is vain and empty. He's going to live in the flesh ( and in the members of our flesh is sin), so he's going to live sinfully. He's going to live apart from the will of God and apart from the knowledge of God.

You and I don't have to live our lives that way. In verse 18, concerning those Gentiles who walk in the vanity of their mind, “ Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.” Do you realize their lives and the things that they do, their “course in life” so to speak, is one of being alienated from the life of God? The course of their life is not God's life in them. The course of their lives is separated from the life of God and it is through the ignorance that is in them. And the ignorance is there because of the blindness of their heart. They don't want to know the things of God. Therefore, the things of God are darkness to them. And so they live in the vanity of their minds and they live a life totally separated from the life of God. Their lives have nothing to do with God's purpose for them in life. It says in verse 19, when you're that way, there's no end to what degree of sin a person could go. “Who being past feeling have given themselves over to lasciviousness to work all uncleanness with greediness.” A person who has no mind of the things of God, is alienated from the life of God, and there is no end to the sins they will get into. They will work what kind of uncleanness? ALL uncleanliness.

Sometimes you hear about debauchery and sin (the Bible uses the word lasciviousness, unbridled lust) such that you can't imagine what people get involved in. But a person who's life is apart from God, and in the vanity of their mind, the greediness of their flesh, and the desiring of satisfaction and fulfillment in sinful ways, there's no end to what they will do. But verse 20 says something, and it's the key to everything we're saying here today, “But ye have not so learned Christ.” We who are saved don't live our lives like they live their lives, why? Because we've learned something, haven't we? Now that's a strange phrase. Let me read you a phrase that I've thought about, and I don't totally understand it, though I've always found it to be a blessing. It's in Matthew , Chapter, 11, where the nation of Israel rejected Jesus Christ. It says in verse 28, “Come unto me, all ye that labor, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” The nation of Israel in rejecting Jesus Christ is going to face a time of tribulation that's going to come on this world. In studying the book of Hebrews we learn all about Jesus Christ… His accomplishments upon the cross, what He has done in behalf of the nation of Israel. Since he's going to work for them, he's saying my yoke is easy; my burden is light. Therefore, learn of me. As you read the book of Hebrews (12:2) as they're facing the tribulation, it says, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” The way that the nation of Israel is going to go through a time of tribulation, according to these verses, is that they're going to come to Christ and they're just going to learn of him. And the more they learn of him, the more they're going to be equipped to face unparalleled times ~ a time of trouble like this world has never seen before. Why? Because they've learned something about Jesus Christ that changed their life.

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God's Course in Your Life
Part Three



Now we're not going through that time, but it's the exact same thing that we're learning from the Apostle Paul about what transforms our life. Where the Gentiles in Ephesians are living in the vanity of their mind, there's all uncleanness and greediness never being satisfied, living in vanity, in darkness, and it says, “but ye have not so learned Christ”. And it says in verse 21 of Ephesians 4, “ If so be that ye have heard him and had been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to deceitful lusts.” God doesn't want you living like you were before you were saved, you are to put that off. But that's not the end of the Christian life, you just naturally know that you're supposed to put that off, but then (verse 24 tells you) to put on the new man. Well, you don't just immediately put on the new man, there's a verse between verse 22 and verse 24. Verse 22, you put off, verse 24 you put on, and what happens in between causes it to happen. Verse 23 says, “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” You see, the way God begins to work spirituality in you is by your simply starting to learn about Jesus Christ; who he is, what he has done, what he is accomplishing. So you put off the old life as you're studying and learning about Christ, and as that verse says, you're “being taught by him”. When did Jesus Christ ever teach you anything? The answer is when he sent the Apostle Paul to tell you what he wants you to know. When you're reading those verses in Ephesians that is Jesus Christ teaching you what he wants you to know about him so you can be renewed in the spirit of your mind and then put on the new man, “which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”

The new man is putting on what God has made you in Christ and as you're transformed by the renewing of your mind, it's not a phony and hypocritical action, it's righteousness and true holiness. Because what you're seeing is what God has made you in Christ and that is changing your life to such a point that you're not just acting righteous, you are becoming righteous. And you're not just looking like you're holy, it is God's holiness being produced in your life. Romans 8:2 “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus had made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That …. ” Let's look.

The law of sin and death works in our flesh, but what He did was send his Son into the world to condemn sin in the flesh. That is, all our failures that the law tells us to do and we fail to do; all that condemnation of our sin which showed us our failures, God sent his son into the world to condemn sin in the flesh ~ all the sinful actions we've ever done. He came and he took care of all those sins. Therefore it says, “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” In other words, what he's telling us is once you see your failures, then look to see how God dealt with your failures through Jesus Christ, who came and took upon himself the sin and paid for the condemnation of sin, rose from the dead, that he might impart to us that Spirit of life so that the righteousness of the law might now be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit ~ that is, to have a spiritual walk. Something from the inside. And the way that is done is by first learning what Christ did. And that's how it's accomplished.

First Corinthians, Chapter 2:9, “As it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” A lot of people quote this verse saying, we don't know what God has in store for us. But that's not what Paul is writing here because verse ten says, “But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.” So what the eye hasn't seen, or the ear heard, the spirit of God has now revealed that we, through the eyes of faith, might know what God has given us in Christ. Now when it talks about the spirit giving us that information, remember that Paul is receiving revelation from Jesus Christ about what God has for us. So he says in verse 13, “Which things also we speak, not with the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” The Holy Spirit teaches us, doesn't he? God the father has taught us, Jesus Christ has taught us, and here Paul is saying the Holy Spirit teaches us.

Now I want to ask you a question to make sure you understand. How did God the Father teach us? Not in just how to love, but everything else? The answer is through Paul writing it down. How did Jesus Christ teach us Gentiles? He never walked around Gentile land. He sent Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, to tell us the things he wants us to know about Jesus Christ. And now how does the Spirit teach you and me? Do we just get a Bible and “God speaks to me in my heart and this is what I know about God” ? Well, if you look at that verse, it says that Paul teaches not with human words, but with the words the Holy Ghost teaches. You know what those are? Those are spiritual words. Those are the words that came from the Spirit of God and Paul says that the things that he is writing down are written so you might know the things God has given to us. Those are the words of the Holy Spirit teaching you the things that God wants you to know; comparing spiritual things, the truths that God has for us, with spiritual words. Words that came from the Holy Ghost. You know, this tells you that the Bible is the way God talks to you. And God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, is teaching you something. Your first spiritual development is not for you to get up and start going out and doing, but the first thing you want to do, if you want to know what your course is, is to learn what God has for you to learn. God wants to say something to you. And so, rather than you yakking with your mouth and running with your feet, and working with your hands, the first thing that needs to be done, is to be taught of God; the things that God wants you to know.

Now, because God used the Apostle Paul to go to the Gentiles, what he is saying to us is different than what he said to the nation of Israel. They're under the law, we're not under the law. Look at Titus 2:11, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men”. Now that means that the grace of God in Paul's course (and we've studied that) was to take the message of God's grace and share it with the world. And we studied and saw that he did it. Therefore, he can write this verse and say “the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared unto all men”. Now that tells me that before we can go on, we need to understand what the grace of God is, and what your salvation is. The grace of God is that you and I, as Gentiles, are dead two ways: 1) We're dead in trespasses and sins; and 2) we were dead another way, we were without God and without hope in the world ~ until God and his grace, because of the cross of Calvary, sent the Apostle Paul out to tell us Gentiles the good news of what Jesus Christ did on our behalf when we were afar off and dead in sins. When we were ungodly and we were sinners, the Bible says Christ died for us. He paid for our sins and became what the Bible says is the propitiation for our sins; the full satisfying payment. God the Father is fully satisfied that the payment Jesus Christ made on the cross, pays for ever last one of our sins; and that our faith in the blood of Jesus Christ receives for us God's gift of eternal life.

Now that's Paul's message of salvation that he took to all the world. And, it does more than that. Look at what it does when you learn that truth, it says, “for the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared unto all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and Godly, in this present world.”

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God's Course in Your Life
Part Four


Now some people have the idea that if you tell someone that Jesus Christ totally paid 100% of their sins, (past, present and even future sins), and that his payment on the cross was so complete that at the very moment they trusted Jesus Christ as their Savior, God gave to them eternal life, declared them righteous, and sealed them by the Holy Spirit (and thereby saving them forever), these people say that if you tell people that, those people will go out and live in sin. Now that's what people say. But, do you know what God says? He says that the message of the salvation of his grace that goes unto all men “…teaches us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and Godly in this present world ”, verse 12. Grace never tells you it's OK to live continuously in sin. Grace shows you how unworthy you were and how powerless you were to save yourself in order that you would understand his great love and his grace in such a way, that you would not continue in sin; that grace touching your life would transform you so you would start living holy, and acceptably for him. That you would live, as it says here, “denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, … live soberly, righteously and Godly in this present world.”

Now that first word, soberly. You're probably thinking of alcohol, aren't you? Forget that. There are people who live in a delusion of life, by the influence of the world on their mind. You know how Gentiles walked in past times? With the darkness that was in their heart, they had no knowledge of God, living in the vanity of their mind. If you're saved, and you understand God's grace, you've got something else working in your mind, don't you? You can live soberly. You'd have to be intoxicated with pride and sinful thoughts and vanity to think it's OK to live in sin. But when you're saved, and you realize God saved you, you can think soberly. Finally, the influence of the world is out of your mind, and you realize that's not what life is about. That's not why God saved me so I can live in sin. I was living in sin before he saved me. He saved me to make me something new in Christ. And for the first time you can think sensibly. And not only think sensibly, God can start beginning to work in you (the spirit of life in Christ Jesus) to make you that new man he created you to be in Christ. You can start thinking a new way and also living for a whole new hope (Titus 2:13) “… looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of our great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” That's what God saved you for. To make you a peculiar person. Different from the world. Zealous of good works in serving him. God's grace can make you think that way and transform your life.

So, grace doesn't teach you to live in sin, grace teaches you to transform your life. How does grace teach you that? I'll illustrate that two ways. Turn to 1 Corinthians, verse 6. Paul's dealing with the Corinthians. They weren't walking the way they ought to walk. And here's how grace can teach them how to walk the right way. Chapter 6:2, “Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world?” Now, he gives them some information, doesn't he? He's first of all declaring that the believers in Jesus Christ are saints, and says “don't you know that the saints will judge the world?” Well, based on that information, it says, “and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?” In other words, he tells you what God saved you for which begins to work in your mind, saying, wait a minute, if God saved me for that, then I ought to be judging some affairs right now. He says in verse 3, “Know ye not that we shall judge angels?” Whoa, I'm going to judge angels? God in his grace has given me , and is going to use me to judge angels? Now once you know that truth, look at what the rest of the verse says, “how much more things that pertain to this life?”

Well, that'll sober you up quite fast, won't it? When you understand how God's going to use us, then you realize if he's going to use me in eternity that way, then I better start dealing with the affairs of this life a little differently. Verse 9, “ Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived.” And he starts talking about the unrighteous people. But then you get down to verse 11, and it says, "And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by the Spirit of our God.” You know what he's doing there? He's saying, look! the unrighteous, the sins that they do, they will not inherit the kingdom of God. Then he says, and you were that, but you're no longer that. You're washed, you're justified, you're sanctified in the name of Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God, not by anything you did, is it? Well, you know what he's doing in those verses? He's implying to you that if you've been washed, justified and sanctified in the name of Jesus Christ and by the spirit of our God, then you shouldn't be doing those things that the sinners are doing who are going to go to hell. When you learn that, you go Whoa, wait a minute, I'm different than that. I'm no longer that. That was the old me that I put off. What am I now? I'm washed, justified, sanctified (holy), in the name of Jesus Christ. When you know that about you, you know what it does? It transforms your life. It sobers you up. And it teaches you to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, to live soberly, righteously and Godly.

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God's Course in Your Life
Part Four

He didn't say, live right and I'll save you. He says the sinners life is this way, they're going to hell, but I've saved you. The whole implication of this is, if I'm cleansed, then why would I live that way? Let me say to you, anytime you're in the wrong place, doing the wrong thing, saying the wrong thing, does it ring in your head the understanding that this is the old you and God saved you from this? And, that's not what he saved you to do? And when you're doing those things, are you totally aware that this is a total denial of who God has made you in Christ; to such a point, that you wonder why you're living such hypocrisy? I am sanctified. I am justified. Why aren't I doing the things God would have me to do? Why aren't I going to places God would have me to go? I should be saying the things God wants me to say.

And that's what grace does, it transforms your life. Because you realize the hypocrisy and how that is not you. Because God has changed you by his grace. And when you understand that, then it changes your life. That's why verse 15 says this, “Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ?” That'll make you think twice about what you're going to do in this body, won't it? He didn't say, if you do right, I'll make you part of the body of Christ; he says you are part of the body of Christ. That's grace, I gave you that position. That should effect your life, they way you live. Verse 16, “What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? For two, sayest he, shall be one flesh.” If I'm the body of Christ, to be joined with sin shouldn't happen because knowing what God has made me in Christ would repel me from these things. Verse 19 says, “What? Know ye not that you're body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God and ye are not your own.” But, God doesn't wait for you to clean up your life and then gives to you the Holy Spirit. God saved you by his grace and immediately gave you the Holy Spirit. And because the Holy Spirit of God lives in your body, your body is now the temple of the Holy Ghost. Just knowing that will transform your life. So you realize the whole purpose of the message today. You spiritual development is to just learn. To be taught first. And then, particularly, your maturity will come as you begin to understand more and more who you are in Christ.

Let's look at some verses. You'll notice that each one of these verses say you are something. These are written so you might know who you are and therefore should have an effect on your life. Ro 6:4 “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father…” What's the implication? “Even so we should also walk in newness of life.” By the way, Paul doesn't say, go get baptized. What he writes to his readers is that you've been baptized. When? By the spirit of God you are placed into the body of Jesus Christ. That's being baptized into his death, his burial, and his resurrection. And the point of this is, if you will know that you have been buried with Christ in baptism and you understand that, then you understand that you've been raised unto a newness of life. Should you live the old sin any more? Should the old habits still rule your life? How many people would love to be able to go through life and realize, if only I could do it all over again. Isn't that what everybody wants? Do you realize when you're a believer, that's exactly what you get? When you become a believer , you become a new creature in Christ. And as a new creature in Christ, you've been buried with Christ in the baptism into death. You put away that old life and you have a whole brand new start in Jesus Christ. But you say, what if I flub up in my new start? Paul says, the outward man perishes, but the inward man is renewed day by day (2 Cor. 4:16). Every day in Christ is a new day, an opportunity to live for him. You know what? You have to know God made you that in Christ in order to transform your mind for you to live in newness of life.

Romans 6:14-16 “For sin shall not have dominion over you; for you are not under the law, but under grace” What does this mean? That means you can now serve righteousness. We've already seen how you can be created in Christ, in righteousness.

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HEART OF ROMANS
By Miles Stanford


 "Yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead" (Rom. 6:13).

Deliverance from the reign of sin, and liberty in the life of Christ, are set forth as a doctrinal unit in Romans Six, Seven and Eight. This area of truth has but one key---the Cross. This is the great master key to spiritual life and liberty.

When we begin to comprehend Six, we know that our death in Christ unto sin was completed at Calvary. When we have been in Romans Seven for a time, we come to realize that we have been struggling to produce that which God has already accomplished for us in Christ. When we thereby come to Romans Eight, we know at last that the Holy Spirit will produce in our experience what God completed for us on the Cross and in Christ our Life.

"In Romans Six we see the foundation of our deliverance --- the fact that we died with Christ; and also the conditions of our deliverance --- that we reckon ourselves dead unto sin and yield to God as those that are alive from the dead. Romans Eight tells us the means and the method of our deliverance--- that it is through the blessed Holy Spirit alone that we are actually delivered in everyday life, from sin's reign; the moment we cease from all our own efforts and let Him do all the work, He will begin delivering us from the power of sin. How long it takes some of us to come to the end of our own efforts can be seen in Romans Seven!" . W.R.N.

"That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Rom. 8:4).

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"CEPHAS" AND PAUL'S GOSPEL"
by Russell S. Miller


The name "Simon," and this phrase, "whose surname is called Peter," is found some six times in the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. But "Cephas," this name, is found only in Paul's epistles, and John 1:42:

"...And when Jesus beheld him, He said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone."

Having established that Peter's name was to be changed to Cephas, we can now consider the subject before us, "Cephas" and Paul's Gospel. Thus it is essential that we realize that when Paul speaks of Cephas in his epistle to the Galatians, he is actually referring to the Apostle Peter:

"And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision" (Gal. 2:9).

This is most significant because, although our Lord had changed Peter's name to Cephas, he is referred to as "Simon Peter" some nineteen times in the Gospels. However, it is also interesting to note that the Apostle Paul refers to Peter as Cephas four times in First Corinthians (I Cor. 1:12; 3:22; 9:5; 15:5). And these are the only passages where this name Cephas is found. But what's more interesting about the  gospel that Paul preached is that in the context of I Corinthians 15:3,4, the Apostle of the Circumcision, "Cephas" (I Cor. 15:5), had come to understand that salvation today is "through faith" in Christ's shed blood -- Romans 3:25; I Peter 1:18,19. In early Acts, Peter had only preached the resurrection of Christ to sit upon the throne of David's prophesied kingdom (Acts 2:25-31). He did not know what the crucifixion of Jesus Christ had accomplished (Luke 18:34). There he only knew that "by wicked hands [Israel] had crucified and slain" the Son of God (Acts 2:23). Even as late as his visit to see Cornelius in Acts 10, the Apostle Peter had not understood the preaching of the cross. It is through Paul's Gospel that Peter came to see what the finished work of Christ actually accomplished, and through this knowledge he became a stalwart for the truth. And this is why he is called Cephas in Paul's epistles, a "PILLAR" for the truth of God's Word "rightly divided."

According to the Apostle Paul then, Peter and all believers, Jews or Gentiles, are instructed to leave the so-called Great Commission with its repentance and water baptism, and come on unto "perfection" through the Pauline revelation (Hebrews 6:1,2). And having seen this, Peter obeyed, and gave to Paul and Barnabas "the right hands of fellowship" (Gal. 2:9). Again Peter's own words later written in his first epistle:

"For as much as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (I Peter 1:18,19).

Again, in the context of I Corinthians 15:3,4, Paul goes on to say: "Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed" (I Cor. 15:11). In Acts 15:7-11 Peter had declared that Jews are saved exactly the same way Gentiles are saved today. No longer does the law, nor repentance and water baptism save.

Would to God that all our Baptist friends would come to see the truth of the Mystery as Peter had. These are not the words of Paul and Silas in Acts 16:31, but Peter's own inspired words, to his own countrymen at that Jerusalem Council:

"BUT WE BELIEVE THAT THROUGH THE GRACE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST WE SHALL BE SAVED, EVEN AS THEY" (Acts 15:11).

Paul not only "received" this Gospel from the Lord Jesus, but he also "delivered" that same Gospel, which he had "received" to the Corinthians.

"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you... For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES; And that He was buried, and that He ROSE AGAIN the third day ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES" (I Cor. 15:3,4).

And this, beloved, is consistent with the Apostle Paul's words in Romans 16:25,26, that Christ's death, burial, and resurrection (I Cor. 15:3,4) was "according to his gospel, AND THE PREACHING OF JESUS CHRIST, ACCORDING TO THE REVELATION OF THE MYSTERY, WHICH WAS KEPT SECRET SINCE THE WORLD BEGAN, But now is made manifest, AND BY THE SCRIPTURES OF THE PROPHETS, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to ALL NATIONS for the obedience of faith" (Rom. 16:25,26).

This also explains how John 3:14-16 is so greatly used of God today. Peter and John had both come to see "the grace that was given" to the Apostle Paul in all the types and shadows of Calvary's cross (Gal. 2:7-9; II Peter 3:15-18; I John 1:7).

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:14-16).

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FOR TO ME, TO LIVE IS CHRIST,  AND TO DIE IS GAIN
By Dale E. Price


I eased myself down on the couch in our living room to prepare for my upcoming Sunday school class. Matt, our seven year old, curled up next to me as Joshua, our ten year old practiced at the piano. The crackling fire, the cat perched atop his climbing tree, and the dog at my feet completed the picture of a perfect family evening. I opened my Bible to the first chapter of Philippians anticipating Paul's refreshing perspective on life.

Matt became increasingly interested in my study and began to peer over my arm at the passage. I asked him to read verses twelve through eighteen. We talked about Paul's imprisonment and how God was in control of every circumstance. It was exciting to share how Paul had used the opportunity to minister to the palace guards and how his example stirred up the courage of the brethren. Josh, jealous for equal attention, migrated from the piano to the couch to be with us. I asked him to read verses nineteen through twenty-seven. We talked about Paul's perspective on life and death; his desire to be with the Lord and yet his desire to be of service to the Philippians. We saw how Paul saw death and the avenue into the presence of the Lord, a gain of incalculable value.

Little eyes were heavy now. The boys were tucked in and kissed good night after we closed our day in prayer. I returned to the living room to complete my study. My wife, weary from her heavy load as a student, had gone to bed early. Our home was comfortable, warm, and quiet on this wintry evening. As I sat down, Paul's words in verse twenty-one kept ringing in my mind. "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." I meditated on the passage and evaluated my own mind and heart.

What is it for me to live? For Paul his life was inseparable from the life of Christ. His will was to do Christ's will. What Christ valued, Paul valued. The members of his body were the members of Christ's. I recalled Paul's second epistle to the Corinthians and his words that we who live should no longer live for ourselves but for Him who died and rose again on our behalf (2 Cor. 5:15). Then my mind turned to Romans 12:1-2 and I found that because of God's manifold grace and mercy I am to present my body, my mind, my life as a living and holy sacrifice to God. This is how I am to worship Him. I am not to be conformed to this world but I am to be transformed by the renewing of my mind in order that I might prove that perfect will of God (Rom. 12:1-2). Was I truly yielded to His will?

I prayed, "Lord, transform and renew my mind. Cause me to yield to your perfect will and to allow you to possess all that I have, all that I am."

I now considered the second half of that twenty-first verse, Philippians chapter one, "and to die is gain." Did I really desire heaven over this life? Did I see death as gain? I remembered a recent episode with Joshua. Josh suffers from allergy-induced asthma. As he struggled for breath late one evening, he gasped, "I wish I was dead." I was shocked and hurt. How could my son, surrounded by a loving family, experiencing a happy childhood, wish to be dead. Then I thought of what I teach week in and week out; heaven is a wonderful place; this life is full of trouble; when we are absent from this body we will be at home with the Lord and be physically seated with Him in the heavenlies. My son saw death as I taught it, as the door into the presence of the living God. What I thought was his death wish was really a wish for a release from the sufferings of this life and a longing for the inexpressable joy of life eternal. I should have rejoiced at the faith of this child.

I prayed, "Lord, transform and renew my mind. Give me the faith of a child to see beyond the temporary securities of this life. Let me seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Cause me to set my mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. Lord, give me your perspective on life that my hope might not rest on the things which are seen but on the things which are not seen.

The house was quiet as I moved off toward bed. I realized that God's Spirit must continually wage war with my flesh for control of my mind. Yet my spirit was at peace as I claimed His promise that He who had begun this good work in me would perfect it until the day of Christ (Phil. 1:6).

[nChrist]

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PHILIPPIANS 4:1-7
Part 1 of 3
By Pastor Paul Sadler


The story is told that during the American Civil War, when the rival armies were encamped on the opposite banks of the Potomac River, the Union's band played one of its patriotic tunes, and the Confederate musicians quickly struck up a melody dear to any Southerner's heart. Then one of the bands started to play "Home, Sweet Home." The musical competition ceased, and the musicians from the other army joined in. Soon voices from both sides of the river could be heard singing, "There is no place like home."

In similar fashion, the members of the Body of Christ have a home, a home in heaven. While divisions have always plagued the Church, we all have a common destiny. So when Paul opens Philippians 4 with the term "therefore," he is prefacing what he was about to say on the preceding passage where he established that we are citizens of heaven. He wanted the saints at Philippi to remember and remember well that they belonged to the Lord and were blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies. Against this backdrop, the apostle is going to share with us how to effectively deal with a problem between two believers when a conflict arises within the local assembly. We might call this particular portion that is under consideration-Problem Solving 101!

ISOLATING THE PROBLEM

"Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved. I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord."  Phil. 4:1,2

As we have seen, Paul hinted in the previous chapters that there was an underlying conflict at Philippi, but he now isolates the problem and names names. It involved two women in the assembly whose names were Euodias and Syntyche, often referred to by humorists as "Odious" and "Soon-touchy." These two women had worked closely with Paul in the furtherance of the gospel when the apostle first came to Philippi, but in the course of time they became archenemies. Of course, Paul's concern, and justifiably so, was that should this rift continue it could eventually divide the assembly and greatly hinder the cause of Christ, which is something God does not take lightly.

Having observed these types of conflicts over the years in the local church, they usually begin between two dominant personalities in the assembly who are both leaders in their own right, or could be. The very thing that made them so effective in the Lord's service oftentimes becomes the very thing that ends up dividing them. Since the fall, disputes among the Lord's people have been all too common. For example:

"And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman. And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? Hath He not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it" (Num. 12:1,2).

According to this passage, the conflict between Moses and Miriam arose over his marriage to an Ethiopian woman. We are not told what happened to Moses' first wife, Zipporah, but one thing is certain, Miriam and Aaron weren't happy with this new union, at least that's how it appeared on the surface. During times of conflict, it's important to remember there is usually the "problem," and then there's the "real issue" underlying it! That's exactly what we have here. The problem was Miriam's displeasure with Moses' decision to take another wife, but the real issue was his authority. She was jealous that Moses was the Deliverer through whom God spoke!

"And the LORD heard it," and was displeased. As you continue to read the narrative, it is interesting that God by passes the smokescreen and deals directly with Miriam's rebellion. Under the law, questioning God's ordained spokesman had serious consequences, as Miriam found out when she became white as snow with leprosy for seven days (Num. 12:5-15).

As we pass from the law to the present age of Grace, conflicts between believers persist to this very day, due to the fact that we still possess a sin nature after we are saved. Needless to say, Satan is a master at bringing out the worst in us. And, sadly, some believers play right into his hand. Paul had seen this firsthand when he received the report that Euodias and Syntyche weren't seeing eye-to-eye. This portion of Scripture is a clinic in how to effectively deal with problems in the local church.

"Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved. I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord" (Phil. 4:1,2).

Imagine these ladies sitting there listening to Epaphroditus read this letter publicly and hearing their name read aloud. It would have undoubtedly gotten their undivided attention. It is noteworthy that the apostle didn't take sides. If he were to do so he would lose his objectivity. Of course, by not taking sides he ran the risk of getting shot at by both sides. But he was more than willing to take this friendly fire if it meant resolving the problem.

As Paul ministered the gospel he did so with impartiality, a lesson every spiritual leader is well served to remember. Notice how the apostle includes Euodias and Syntyche in his greeting to the assembly at Philippi. They, too. were "dearly beloved and longed for" and were also his "joy and crown." Those Paul had won to Christ were his joy and his crow of rejoicing, as he says in Thessalonians. At the Judgment Seat of Christ, the Lord will acknowledge Paul's labor of love in evangelizing the lost; they will be his, "crown of rejoicing." The same is, true of all those who have a love for lost souls.

"For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? For ye are our glory and joy" (I Thes. 2:19,20).

Like many of those at Thessalonica, Paul had personally brought Euodias (flagrant) and Syntyche (fortunate) to Christ when he first visited Philippi (Acts 16:12,13). These two women had faithfully served the Lord together for many years, but something came between them. Before we consider how Paul handled this problem, we first need to consider what the problem may have been. While we are not told the nature of the conflict, we can conclude it did not involve a dispute over a major doctrinal issue, simply because the apostle doesn't instruct the assembly to separate from one or both of these women, as he did with the church at Rome.

"Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them" (Rom. 16:17).

Nor was the problem of an immoral nature such as we witness at Corinth. In that case Paul instructed the Corinthians to put the offender out of the assembly until a time of repentance (l Cor. 5:1-7). Thankfully, this cannot be said of Euodias and Syntyche. The issue was probably over a secondary doctrine of the faith or jealousy. Perhaps one was preferred above the other or one of the two ladies received what the other one felt was unwarranted praise. Whatever the case, the quarrel was causing disunity within the assembly. Some were apparently already taking sides. The battle lines were drawn and reinforcements were being recruited to shore up the frontlines on each side. In all likelihood it was one of those cases where you could cut the atmosphere with a knife.