A Daily Devotional

[Soldier4Christ]

God’s Judgment On Nations (#19950923)
by Norman P. Spotts, D.D.

“Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these” (Jeremiah 7:4).

The people of Israel believed they could commit any sin and still have God’s protection upon them, because “The temple of the L SIZE="-1">ORD” was in their midst. False prophets preached that as long as the temple was there, judgment could never come. They were free to sin!

Jeremiah, preaching God’s message, soundly rebuked them by saying: “Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered [free] to do all these abominations?” (Jeremiah 7:9,10).

Here God reminded Israel that He had not spared Shiloh, where the original tabernacle had been set up in Joshua’s day. “But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel” (Jeremiah 7:12). Shiloh was destroyed; its people were not free to sin.

The tabernacle did not save Israel when it was at Shiloh. Solomon’s temple did not save Israel in Jeremiah’s day. Herod’s temple did not save Israel in the Lord’s day. Jesus said, “they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another” (Luke 19:44). This prophecy was fulfilled in 70 A.D. when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem.

And what about America? Can it plunge deeper into sin and still survive? If God did not spare judgment on His own people due to their sin, can America expect any less? “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34). National repentance is a must! (II Chronicles 7:14). NPS

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Seven Days (#19950924)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad” (John 8:56).

Jesus spoke to the Pharisees about “my day”—a day which Abraham had “seen” 2000 years before. This evidently referred to the time when Christ would be on earth, which God had enabled Abraham to see in prophecy.

But of all the days when He was on the earth, the most glorious was the great day when He rose from the dead. “He hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee” (Acts 13:33).

As a result of His death and resurrection, “behold, now is the day of salvation” (II Corinthians 6:2). The day of salvation is any day in this age of grace when a person believes on Christ for salvation. He then receives “the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30). This great future day of redemption evidently is the same as “the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians I:6), when He comes again.

Following this is the fearful day of the Lord, when Christ will punish and judge and reign. “The day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night . . . and they shall not escape” (I Thessalonians 5:2,3). It is also called “the great day of His wrath” (Revelation 6:17).

This day of the Lord will culminate at God’s great white throne. This will be “the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God” (Romans 2:5).

Finally will come the eternal “day of God” when this present earth will be purified with fire and “we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness” (II Peter 3:13). That day will never end, “for there shall be no night there” (Revelation 21:25). HMM

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Three R’s And The Christian Hope (#19950925)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“Who by Him do believe in God, that raised Him up from the dead, and gave Him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God” (I Peter 1:21).

In the first chapter of Peter’s first epistle are three beautiful references to our blessed hope in Christ. Our hope finds its birth in the resurrection of Christ, its fulfillment in the revelation of Christ, and its eternal assurance in the redemption of Christ.

First of all, we note that He has “begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (I Peter 1:3). We “were dead in trespasses and sins . . . having no hope, and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:1,12), but then the Lord Jesus Christ “was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification,” so that now we can “rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 4:25; 5:2).

In this present life, secondly, we must seek to live in the light of His grace, and then “hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (I Peter 1:13). We already know His grace in salvation, but then we shall know the exceeding riches of His grace, and “every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure” (I John 3:3).

Finally, we know that we “were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold. . . . But with the precious blood of Christ . . . foreordained before the foundation of the world . . . that your faith and hope might be in God” (I Peter 1:18–21). “By His own blood” He has “obtained eternal redemption for us,” and this glorious “hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast” (Hebrews 9:12; 6:19). Redeemed, revealed, and resurrected—by Him we believe in God, with faith and hope. HMM

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Eternal Things (#19950926)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” (II Corinthians 4:18).

One of the most difficult handicaps for a Christian to overcome is spiritual nearsightedness. It is easy to see temporal things, but hard to think on eternal things.

Paul, however, in the midst of an extremely busy and difficult temporal life, somehow did manage to keep his sights on that eternal life to which he was called. The wonderful redemption which Christ purchased for us with His blood is nothing less than “eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:12); and therefore “He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him” (Hebrews 5:9). Consequently, as joint-heirs with Him, “they which are called . . . receive the promise of eternal inheritance” (Hebrews 9:15). He is, surely, the “God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus” (I Peter 5:10) and has there provided for us “everlasting habitations” (Luke 16:9).

All of these eternal things—eternal redemption, eternal salvation, eternal inheritance, eternal habitations, and eternal glory—are of infinitely greater value than the temporal things which crowd our minds and limit our goals. They are all a part of the wonderful eternal life we have already received through faith in Christ. It is significant that the phrase “eternal life” (or “everlasting life,” which is the same Greek phrase) occurs no less than 44 times in the New Testament. God speaks of it often, and so should we!

The very first eternal thing mentioned in the Bible is the “everlasting covenant” God has made with all men (Genesis 9:16). The last is the “everlasting gospel” to be preached to all men (Revelation 14:6). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Visit (#19950927)
by John Morris, Ph.D.

“Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for His name” (Acts 15:14).

Our English word visit has come to mean a social call, but not so in the Greek, where it can mean to inspect, to look upon in order to help, or benefit.

For example, when Christ said “sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not” (Matthew 25:43), He had in mind more than a social call. The prisons of the day were miserable places, with no amenities whatever. Prisoners desperately needed help from the outside. Paul wrote to Timothy from his Roman prison: “The cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou camest, bring with thee” (II Timothy 4:13). By better understanding the word “visit,” Christ’s teaching takes on a richer meaning, involving more the idea of a personal commitment.

The events surrounding the birth of the Messiah were considered a “visitation” by Zacharias when he prophesied over the baby Jesus: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He hath visited and redeemed His people . . . the dayspring from on high hath visited us” (Luke 1:68,78). After Christ raised to life a dead boy, the people exclaimed, “a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited His people” (Luke 7:16).

In that light consider our text as James explained to the church leaders Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles. With our expanded understanding of the word visit, we could now expand the verse to read, “how God for the first time did look upon the Gentiles, in order to help them. In doing so He took out of them a people for His name.” God, in His grace, has done all that was necessary to help us, to bring us out of bondage to sin, and to stamp on us His holy name. JDM

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Christian Submission (#19950928)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“And He went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but His mother kept all these sayings in her heart” (Luke 2:51).

It is noteworthy how frequently Christians are exhorted to submit themselves to others. Wives, for example, are told, “submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord” (Ephesians 5:22). Similarly, Paul told Titus to urge Christian slaves “to be obedient [same Greek word] unto their own masters” (Titus 2:9).

Christians in a local church are told to “obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account” (Hebrews 13:17). Peter says: “Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder” (I Peter 5:5).

That is not all, for we are also commanded to be in submission to government officials whether they are Christian or not. “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake” (I Peter 2:13), says the Apostle Peter. Similarly Paul said: “Let every soul be subject [same Greek word again] unto the higher powers” (Romans 13:1).

Our willingness to yield our own ways to others must go even further than this. “Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility” (I Peter 5:5), “submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God” (Ephesians 5:21).

Now if all this goes against the grain, so to speak, perhaps it will make it easier if we know that this word was first used in the New Testament in the words of our text in connection with the subjection of Jesus Christ—the very Creator of the universe—to His own human parents!

Finally, we need to remember that “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God” (James 4:6,7). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

An Answer In Sufering (#19950929)
by John Morris, Ph.D.

“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” (I Peter 3:15).

The words of this text have much to say concerning a ministry such as ICR’s and have been oft-discussed in these pages. In short, they consist of a mandate to be always prepared to give a systematic, logical (scientific, if necessary) defense of one’s faith, with the proper motives and attitudes, of course. Let us today place the verse in its immediate context, verses 13 through 17.

Normally one would not expect opposition for doing good, but such a situation must be expected, particularly if a person is a zealous follower of good (a better translation in v.13). Such a person is enthusiastic about his cause, not in an irrational way, but a wholehearted way. This intimidates and infuriates those who “loved darkness . . . because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19).

“But, and if ye suffer for righteousness sake, happy are ye” (I Peter 3:14). Our natural response of fear need not overtake us, for Peter warns us to be prepared, and he gives several commands. First, “sanctify the Lord God in your hearts” (v.15), He must occupy the supreme position in our hearts. Next, we must “be ready always” with our defense. This implies forethought, study, and preparation. Lastly, he insists we must maintain “a good conscience” (v.16), a lifestyle so pure and blameless that any accusations will be to the shame of the accusers.

It may be, however, that in spite of our walk with the Lord, our preparation and lifestyle, unjust persecution may come. It may be in “the will of God” (v.17) for us. If so, so be it, “For it is better . . . that ye suffer for well doing than for evil doing.” JDM

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How Can a Man Be Just before God?


"Then Job answered and said, I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God?" (Job 9:1-2).

The patriarch Job was the most "just" (i.e., "righteous") man of his age, according to the testimony of God Himself (Job 1:8; 2:3), yet his friends were insisting that his terrible suffering had been sent by God because of his sins. He knew he was innocent of the sins of which they were accusing him, and he knew he had earnestly tried to be obedient and faithful to God. Yet he also knew that he, like all men, had come far short of God's holiness (Romans 3:23). "I have sinned," he had confessed, "what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men?" (Job 7:20). "Cause me to understand wherein I have erred" (Job 6:24). And then comes the plaintive plea in our text. "How should a man be just with God?"

There is, indeed, no way by which a man can make himself righteous before God, for he is even born with a sin nature, inherited from father Adam. "If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse" (Job 9:20). Yet God created man for His own glory (Isaiah 43:7) and wants "all men to be saved" (I Timothy 2:4). The great enigma is, how can God justify unrighteousness in men and still be righteous Himself.

The answer, of course, is that God, in Christ, has paid the price to make us righteous by dying for all our sins. "God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:. "In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace" (Ephesians 1:7).

Even Job finally realized that God must somehow become his redeemer. "For I know that my redeemer liveth, and . . . in my flesh shall I see God" (Job 19:25-26). It is indeed wonderfully true that God can both "be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus" (Romans 3:26).

[Soldier4Christ]

The Oracles of God


"What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God" (Romans 3:1-2).

Although God loves all the world (John 3:16), it became necessary for Him to choose one nation through which He could convey His Word to all nations. The Jews therefore were given the high honor of bringing both the written Word and the living Word into the world. With such privileges, they also must bear great responsibility; yet most modern-day Jews deny both the inspiration of the Bible and the incarnate deity of Christ. Nevertheless, as the next verses point out: "Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid" (Romans 3:3-4).

This phrase, "oracles of God," occurs just three times in the New Testament. The word "oracles" (Greek, logion) was understood by the Greeks of that day to refer to actual supernatural utterances given by a spirit through a human medium. Thus, as used in our text, it indicates that the Old Testament should be regarded as nothing less than verbally inspired by God.

Then, in Hebrews 5:12, there is emphasis on the importance of "the first principles of the oracles of God," rebuking those believers who have neglected to learn even the foundational truths of the inerrant Scriptures.

Lastly, the phrase is used in I Peter 4:11: "If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God." In context, the apostle is urging anyone with the spiritual gift of teaching to see that his teaching conforms fully to the words of God as revealed in Scripture.

One other time the word "oracles" is used when Moses "received the lively oracles to give unto us" (Acts 7:38). Thus the first five books of the Bible are especially singled out as the "living words" of God!

[Soldier4Christ]

Sanctification


"And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made" (Genesis 2:3).

The Biblical doctrine of sanctification has long been controversial and often seems difficult to comprehend. But it is not a condition of super-spirituality which only very special saints can achieve, although many think of it that way.

It may be surprising that the term applied not only to certain people, but also to special things or events. The very first use of the term (and thus an important defining usage) is in our text, and refers to setting apart a regular day of the week. That is God sanctified the day on which He rested from His great work of creation.

It is also translated in various other ways, especially dedicated or consecrated. The basic meaning seems to be set apart for use in God's service.

Thus, with particular reference to Christians, we are exhorted by Paul to "depart from iniquity" and thus to be "a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work" (II Timothy 2:19,21). We cannot do this without divine guidance and help, of course. Jesus prayed: "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth" (John 17:17). In fact, we have been "chosen . . . to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth" (II Thessalonians 2:13).

In a vital sense, every sincere believer has really been set apart to God because Christ Himself is "made unto us

. . . sanctification, and redemption" (I Corinthians 1:30). Thus all genuine Christians are actually "saints" (which comes from a closely related Greek word). We do need to recognize that we have indeed been "set apart" for God and thus should always think and behave "as becometh saints" (Ephesians 5:3).

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The New Covenant


"Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you" (Luke 22:20).

The Greek word diatheke, translated as both "testament" and "covenant," occurs thirty-three times in the New Testament, seventeen of which are in the book of Hebrews. The Hebrew word for "covenant" (berith) comes from a word meaning to "cut, or divide," referring to the fact that blood had to be shed to bind the parties involved to the covenant. (See Genesis 15:10; Jeremiah 34:18-19.) God had made covenants with Abraham and Moses on the part of the people of Israel. He had kept His part of the agreement; but in each case the others involved "continued not in my covenant" (Hebrews 8:9). But God, in His grace, has issued a new covenant.

This covenant or testament is not unlike a human "last will and testament," but there are some differences. He did not merely die, thereby enabling His children to inherit His fortune, but He is now "the mediator of a better covenant" (Hebrews 8:6). He is the sacrifice whose death was necessary to make the covenant binding, and yet He is the "surety of a better testament" (Hebrews 7:22).

He cannot fail, and hence the new covenant cannot be done away with. Through His death, He not only has removed the penalty for our previous failures, but qualified us to receive the inheritance. "For this cause He is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator" (Hebrews 9:15-16). "Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25).

[Soldier4Christ]

Conformity (#19951001)
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29).

One of the greatest dangers facing Christians is the temptation to become conformed to the things of the world around them, thus destroying their testimony for the Lord. We are specifically commanded, in fact: “Be not conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2). One cannot serve two masters, and the great privilege of the believer is the privilege of becoming conformed, not to a dying world, but to the living Christ.

But first we must be conformed to His death, dying to the world and its standards. The greatest desire of the Apostle Paul was to “win Christ. . . . That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death” (Philippians 3:8,10).

Death is far from the end, however. When Christ returns, He “shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body” (Philippians 3:21). In this verse, the Greek for “fashioned like” is the same as “conformed to.” These corruptible, dying bodies we now live in will one day be changed. As Christ rose from the dead, we also shall rise; and our bodies, like His, will be alive for evermore.

Even that wonderful prospect is not the best of it, however. Not only will our bodies be incorruptible like His, but we shall be like Him in every way—like Him in holiness, like Him in love, like Him in wisdom. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him” (I John 3:2). In the words of our text, we are actually predestined to be conformed to the very image of the Son of God! HMM

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Hallelujah! Jesus Ransomed Me (#19951002)
by John Morris, Ph.D.

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time” (I Timothy 2:5,6).

The concept of being ransomed, or redeemed, or delivered comprises a major Bible theme and finds full development in the New Testament, where “the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).

A favorite song, written early in this century, expounds this theme, and we can use its lines to focus our thoughts on the blessed truth, “He Ransomed Me.” First let us look at the chorus:

Hallelujah, What a Savior! Who can take a poor lost sinner, Lift him from the miry clay and set him free; I will ever tell the story, shouting Glory, glory, glory, Hallelujah! Jesus ransomed me.

The chorus is broken into three thoughts: the miserable state of the sinner, Christ’s ransoming work, and the ransomed sinner’s response.

To be sure, the poor sinner is lost, but “the Son of man is come to save that which was lost” (Matthew 18:11), lost in sin and under sin’s penalty of death. “But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:.

“He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock” (Psalm 40:2). Sin is not just a horrible pit, Jesus said, “Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin” and needs to be ransomed. But “if the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:34,36). Jesus said to one such freed servant of sin, “Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee” (Mark 5:19). “To Him be glory both now and for ever” (II Peter 3:18). Hallelujah! Jesus ransomed me. JDM

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A Sweet And Blessed Story (#19951003)
by John Morris, Ph.D.

“That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. . . . and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” (I John 1:3,7).

Those of us who have been ransomed are compelled to tell others. Our fellowship with the Father and with the Son must be shared. The prerequisite for such fellowship, and our main message, is that “the blood of Jesus Christ . . . cleanseth us from all sin.” The first verse of the wonderful old hymn, “He Ransomed Me,” rehearses this truth.

There’s a sweet and blessed story Of the Christ who came from glory Just to rescue me from sin and misery; He in loving kindness sought me, And from sin and shame hath bro’t me, Hallelujah! Jesus ransomed me.

The blind man, who could now see, testified: “One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see. . . . If this man were not of God, He could do nothing” (John 9:25,33). Indeed, He was “of God,” for “when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, . . . To redeem [or rescue] them that were under the law” (Galatians 4:4,5).

Some who need rescuing don’t realize it. They may think they “have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17). Others recognize that they have been brought “into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Romans 7:23,24).

God sought us out in loving kindness, “hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began” (II Timothy 1:9). Hallelujah! Jesus ransomed me. JDM

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From The Depths To The Heights (#19951004)
by John Morris, Ph.D.

“Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, . . . If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand ? But there is forgiveness with thee” (Psalm 130:1,3,4).

The fact that we have been forgiven of our grievous sin is remembered in verse two of the well-loved hymn, “He Ransomed Me.”

From the depth of sin and sadness To the heights of joy and gladness Jesus lifted me, in mercy full and free; With His precious blood He hath bo’t me, When I knew him not, He sought me, And in love divine He ransomed me.

“There is none that doeth good, no, not one. . . . Their throat is an open sepulcher; . . . Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood” (Romans 3:12-15). “Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James 1:14,15). A sad state indeed.

Yet we are promised that we may “rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls” (I Peter 1:8,9). Such heights of joy and gladness are available only to those who have been lifted out of their sinful state and made alive or “quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). It was “according to His mercy He saved us . . . shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior” (Titus 3:5,6).

We “were not redeemed [or ransomed] with corruptible things. . . . But with the precious blood of Christ” (I Peter 1:18,19). What makes this transaction even more remarkable, is that we didn’t deserve it, didn’t want it, and were even “enemies of the cross of Christ” (Philippians 3:18). Yet He paid the ransom price anyway. “When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son” (Romans 5:10). Hallelujah! Jesus ransomed me. JDM