A Daily Devotional

[Soldier4Christ]

Should a Christian Get Angry?
 
"But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment" (Matthew 5:22)
 
There are a number of Scriptures which, taken alone, would indicate that a Christian should never get angry about anything. For example, note Ephesians 4:31: "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger . . . be put away from you."
 
Yet Jesus indicated only that anger "without a cause" was wrong and invited judgment. Many modern translations omit the phrase "without a cause" in this verse (NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.), but the phrase does occur in over 99.5 percent of all the Greek manuscripts, and thus clearly should be retained.
 
If anger were never permitted for a believer, it would contradict even the occasional example of Jesus Himself. "And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts" (Mark 3:5). He was angered here by certain hypocrites among the Pharisees who were ready to condemn Him for healing a disabled man on the Sabbath.
 
We are never justified in getting angry over some personal injury or insult to ourselves. This is implied in context in such verses as cited above (Colossians 3:8, etc.). "Recompense to no man evil for evil . . . avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath" (Romans 12:17, 19). But if we do get angry in spite of ourselves, we are commanded, "Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath" (Ephesians 4:26).
 
There may be some situations involving injury or insult to the name or work of Christ where anger is indeed "with cause." Even then, however, God would warn us to be "swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath" (James 1:19), remembering that "vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord" (Romans 12:19). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

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" (1 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 5:8). "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). HMM

[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 1 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! HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Heaven's Commonwealth
 
"For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ." (Philippians 3:20)
 
The translators of the King James Bible used the English word "conversation" in 18 passages, among which are fivedifferent Greek terms. Most of the words would be understood by our modern idea "manner of life" or behavior. However, in today's verse, the word is politeuoma, derived from another Greek word, polites. Our English word "politics" comes from that, especially in the sense of citizenship as it relates to governmental oversight.
 
The apostle Paul is the only New Testament writer to use the "politics" word, and he does so only two other times. On one occasion, "all Jerusalem was in an uproar" (Acts 21:31) over Paul's supposed violation of the Temple. After giving testimony of his conversion and subsequent ministry to the unruly crowd, Paul said, "Men and brethren, I have lived [politeuomai] in all good conscience before God until this day" (Acts 23:1), simply and boldy declaring that he now lived as a citizen of heaven.
 
Earlier in his epistle to the Philippian church, Paul had challenged them, "Let your conversation [politeuoma] be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel" (Philippians 1:27). Paul's challenge is just as clear to us: Live and think like our citizenship is in heaven.
 
Heaven's rule may be best understood by our English word "commonwealth," a political community founded for the common good. We are "joint-heirs" with Christ (Romans 8:17), and we should look "for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God" (Hebrews 11:10). HMM III

[Soldier4Christ]

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). JDM

[Soldier4Christ]

Keeping the Law
 
"For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." (James 2:10)
 
The law of God, centered in the Ten Commandments, is "holy, and just, and good" (Romans 7:12) and expresses perfectly the will of God for holy living. "The man that doeth them shall live in them" (Galatians 3:12).
 
The problem is that no man can possibly do them all. A man may keep most of the commandments most of the time, but he will inevitably fail in some of them some of the time. Since the law is a divine unit, breaking any commandment--as our text reminds us--breaks the whole law, bringing the guilty one under God's curse of death. "Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them" (Galatians 3:10). "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight" (Romans 3:20).
 
All men, having sinned against God's law, are therefore lost and in urgent need of salvation. This is where God's wonderful grace comes in. "But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, . . . Even the righteousness . . . which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe" (Romans 3:21-22), "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us" (Galatians 3:13). He kept the law for us, and bore its curse for us: Thus we are saved through trusting Him.
 
"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid" (Romans 6:1-2). We now desire to keep His commandments, because we love Him. "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous" (1 John 5:3). We are now able to keep them, because His Spirit now lives in us, and we are "strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man" (Ephesians 3:16). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

The Marvel of Design
 
"And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marvelled one at another." (Genesis 43:33)
 
When creationists calculate the extremely low probability of the chance origin of life, many evolutionists scoff at the calculation, alleging that any one arrangement of the components of a simple, living molecule is just as likely as any other arrangement, so it is no great marvel that the components fell into this particular arrangement.
 
This is a puerile argument, of course, quite unworthy of the intelligent scientists who use it. There are at best only a few arrangements that will contain the organized information necessary for reproduction, compared to "zillions" of arrangements with no information at all.
 
This fact is beautifully illustrated in our text. Why should Joseph's brothers "marvel" when they were seated in chronological order of birth by a host who (presumably) was entirely unaware of that order?
 
The reason why they marveled was because there are almost 40 million different ways (calculated by multiplying all the numbers, one through eleven, together) in which the eleven brothers could have been seated! It seemingly couldn't happen by chance.
 
Maybe an evolutionist would not "marvel" that this unique seating arrangement happened by chance, since he somehow believes that far more intricately organized arrangements than this happened by chance to produce our universe and its array of complex systems. Anyone else, however, would immediately have realized this, and so the brothers of Joseph "marvelled one at another." So also, when we behold the wonders of design in the creation, we should "lift up |our| eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things" (Isaiah 40:26). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Captives of the Devil
 
"And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before." (Job 42:10)
 
Strange as it may seem, the experience of Job indicates that godly believers can be captured by the devil. God Himself allowed Job to fall into such captivity, for He told Satan: "Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life" (Job 2:6). All the sufferings which Job endured were inflicted by his captor, who hoped thereby to get him to renounce the Lord. Similarly, Peter was briefly bound in Satanic captivity. "Simon, Simon," said Jesus, "behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat" (Luke 22:31).
 
Such bondage, however, is temporary. Job was delivered "when he prayed for his friends" and Peter when he was "converted" and went forth to "strengthen |his| brethren" as Christ had told him (Luke 22:32). In both cases, they continued strong in faith during their captivity, and deliverance came when they turned their concerns to others.
 
More serious is the case of those who are in bondage because of sin. Nevertheless, Christ died to set them free, "that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Hebrews 2:14-15).
 
Christ died to set the captives free, but they must first be told and then gently led to freedom by those who care for their souls. "The servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will" (2 Timothy 2:24-26). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Our Umpire in Heaven
 
"For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment. Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both." (Job 9:32-33)
 
Job, in his sufferings, was mystified by the complete silence of God, whom he had loved and tried to serve faithfully all his life. He longed somehow to be able to come before the great Judge to plead his case, but this was not possible, for God was not a man like himself. He did not even have a "daysman" to mediate between himself and God.
 
Oh, yes, he did! And so do we. A "daysman" is an arbitrator or umpire, or mediator (as this word is usually rendered in modern versions). But how could there be an umpire to mediate disputes between God and man, unless such an umpire could somehow be both God and man, able to "lay his hand upon us both"?
 
There is one perfect umpire, of course. "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" (1 Timothy 2:5-6). The ransom He paid was His own blood, with which "he entered in once |for all| into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us" (Hebrews 9:12).
 
Thus the God/man Christ Jesus is perfectly able to bridge the chasm between God and man. Perhaps an even better connotation of "daysman" is that of "advocate." Now, when Satan, "the accuser of our brethren" (Revelation 12:10), accuses us of sin before God, as he did against Job, our great Intercessor defends us. "If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (1 John 2:1), and "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). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Signs of the Everlasting Covenants
 
"And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth." (Genesis 9:16)
 
The first mention of the key word "covenant" is in Genesis 6:18, where God promised to establish a covenant with Noah after the Flood. This everlasting covenant was made with all the earth's future populations and is still in effect, symbolized continually by the beautiful rainbow arching through the sky after a rain.
 
God also made an everlasting covenant with Abraham and Isaac. "And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God" (Genesis 17:7-8). This time, the symbol of God's everlasting covenant between them and their descendents, the people of Israel, was that of circumcision, "a token of the covenant betwixt me and you" (Genesis 17:11).
 
There is still another everlasting covenant--this one with all the redeemed of all the ages. "I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me" (Jeremiah 32:40). God has made this "new covenant" applicable to all the saved, and this time, the sign of the covenant is nothing less than the precious blood of Christ, shed on our behalf. "Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will" (Hebrews 13:20-21). HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Our Glorious Bodies
 
"We look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself." (Philippians 3:20-21)
 
Two vivid contrasts are highlighted in this text: We now have a vile body that will be changed into a glorious body. Our Lord Jesus will fashion us after the pattern of His own body.
 
There is ample evidence, both in Scripture and in our own experience, that our present physical bodies are "vile." The English word seems more intense than the Greek, which simply means "lowly" or "humble." Christ humbled himself when he took on our flesh (Philippians 2:8). The Virgin Mary saw herself in a "low estate" as she compared herself to the wonder of what was happening to her (Luke 1:48).
 
But one glorious day, the Lord Jesus will change our humble bodies into that which is reflective of His own. "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; for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2). What a marvelous thought! Even "after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God" (Job 19:26).
 
The exciting description of those absolute changes are encapsulated in 1 Corinthians 15:42-58. We have a mortal body now, but then it will be imperishable. There is no honor to our bodies now, but then they will be glorious. Weakness is our burden now, but in eternity we will be endued with power. Thank You, Heavenly Father, for this majestic promise. HMM III

[Soldier4Christ]

The Captain of Our Salvation
 
"But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings." (Hebrews 2:9-10)
 
Christ is referred to in this passage as the captain of our salvation. The word translated captain implies one who is first in line, the beginning, or the originator. So Christ is discovered to be the first in line of an endless procession of the saints of all ages resurrected from the grave and marching to the ultimate realization of their salvation. He is truly "the first born among many brethren" (Romans 8:29). "But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept" (1 Corinthians 15:20).
 

The word finds usage only three other times in the New Testament, each within a resurrection and glorification context. Peter, addressing the people of Israel, said that they had "killed the Prince |originator| of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses" (Acts 3:15).

And later, "the God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince |leader| and a Saviour" (Acts 5:30-31). As a result of what our "Captain" has done, we should be "looking unto Jesus the author |same word| 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" (Hebrews 12:2).
 
The only way we could ever share in His glory is for Him to suffer and die. "Both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren" (Hebrews 2:11). JDM

[Soldier4Christ]

Let God Be True
 
"For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written. That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged." (Romans 3:3-4)
 
Many Christians are so intimidated by the arrogant unbelief of the supposed intellectuals of the world that they either reject or compromise or ignore the difficult teachings of Scripture. This is a grievous mistake, for all of God's "sayings" are "justified" and He will surely "overcome" all those who presume to "judge" Him and His Word.
 
The only reason to believe in evolution, for example, is the fact that most such intellectuals believe it. There is no real evidence, either in the Bible or in science, for evolution or any other form of unbelief, yet many professed believers in Christ seem to have "loved the praise of men more than the praise of God" (John 12:43). Therefore they assume that God does not really mean what He says in His Word, thereby making faith in His Word "without effect."
 
God's truth is not determined, however, by taking a vote, or by the opinions of skeptics, or by metaphysical speculation. It is determined by God Himself, and none other, "for the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth" (Psalm 33:4).
 
Therefore, as our text commands: "Let God be true, but every man a liar." The very criterion of truth is the Word of God. It is good to explain God's Word to those open to its truth, but never to explain it away, by some compromising accommodation to current scientism. "Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever" (Psalm 119:160). The Lord Jesus confessed, unreservedly, "Thy word is truth" (John 17:17), and so should we. HMM

[Soldier4Christ]

Stand Fast

"Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved." (Philippians 4:1)

Several adjectives precede the command contained in this text. Not only does Paul twice use "dearly beloved" to describe his relationship with the Philippians, but he also insists that he longs for them and anticipates joy at the recognition of the "crown" he will receive in heaven.

These are intense words. Agapetos is the descriptive Greek term translated "dearly beloved." The Heavenly Father uses agapetos to express His love for His "beloved Son" (Matthew 3:17). Most of the New Testament letters freely use agapetos to describe various personal relationships with their brothers and sisters in Christ. That unique and deeply spiritual love is what demonstrates our difference to the unsaved (John 13:34-35).

Since Paul is separated from the Philippian church (probably writing the letter from Rome), his love for them caused him to "long after [them] all in the bowels of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:8). That passionate ache is mitigated by the joy coming from the certain knowledge that his work will result in a "victor's crown" (Greek stephanos, today's verse) when God rewards our service. "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?" (1 Thessalonians 2:19).

So, "stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel" (Philippians 1:27). "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong" (1 Corinthians 16:13). Stand fast in the liberty that salvation provides. Don't become tangled up in the bondage of legalistic burdens (Galatians 5:1). "For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 3:8). HMM III

[Soldier4Christ]

The Danger of Wilful Sin
 
"Because he hath despised the word of the Lord, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him." (Numbers 15:31)
 
Under the Mosaic law, there was ample provision for forgiveness of sins committed unintentionally. "If any soul sin through ignorance, then he shall bring a she goat of the first year for a sin offering. And the priest shall make an atonement for the soul that sinneth ignorantly, . . . and it shall be forgiven him" (Numbers 15:27-28). However, as in our text, it was altogether different for one who deliberately disobeyed God's law. One who would so despise God's commandment was to be put to death.
 
In this Christian dispensation, many would say that this harshness of God's law has been replaced by His love. There is abundant pardon for all, since Jesus died for all our sins. Now, all we need is to confess our sins, and He will forgive us (1 John 1:9). But, "if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, . . . He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God?" (Hebrews 10:26, 28-29).
 
Even assuming this warning applies specifically only to those who have wilfully renounced faith in Christ, the question still remains whether one with true saving faith will wilfully sin against the known will of God, as revealed in His Word. "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him" (1 John 2:4). Only God knows the heart, but those "Christians" who deliberately reject and disobey His Word should at least "examine |them|selves, whether |they| be in the faith" (2 Corinthians 13:5). HMM