A Daily Devotional

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Degrees Of Punishment

“But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you” (Matthew 11:22).

The subject of eternal hell is so repugnant to the modern ungodly world that people desperately search for some scientific rationale to justify their rejection of God’s Word. Charles Darwin was an example. He became an apostate from Christianity, not because of his scientific “discovery” of natural selection, but because of Christ’s teachings that unbelievers (including his own father) would end up in hell.

Nevertheless “the fearful, and unbelieving, . . . and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death” (Revelation 21:. These are words from God Himself!

But is there no difference in the punishment of, say, blaspheming and wicked unbelievers and the mere careless unbeliever? Yes, there is. As Christ said, the idolatrous inhabitants of Tyre would have repented if they had seen His mighty works, but the Galileans of Chorazin and Bethsaida, who had seen His miracles and heard Him preach had not. Consequently, they would suffer more at the judgment than those of Tyre and Sidon.

Similarly, He said concerning those who would reject the gospel preaching of His disciples that “it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city” (Matthew 10:15). The wicked populace of Sodom, “giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh” will suffer “the vengeance of eternal fire” (Jude 7), but even greater punishment awaits those who willfully reject God’s love in Christ.

There will, indeed, be degrees of punishment in hell, but they will be determined largely in proportion to degrees of “light” rejected. This is an unwanted—but urgently needed—message in these last days!

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The Lord Christ

“And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ” (Colossians 3:23,24).

This is the only verse in the Bible where our Savior is called “the Lord Christ.” Actually, His three primary names (“Lord,” “Jesus,” and “Christ”) are combined in eight different ways in the New Testament.

“Jesus” was His human name, speaking especially of His mission as suffering Savior. “Christ,” equivalent to the Hebrew “Messiah,” meaning “anointed,” speaks of His office as God’s chosen King. As “Lord,” He is sovereign Creator and ruler of the universe; victorious over all enemies, even death itself.

“Lord Christ” is the only one of the combination forms of His name which omits the human name. Apparently the reason is that, in this passage, the emphasis is altogether on His exalted position as sovereign Creator and eternal King.

Our service is to be rendered not to men—not even to the man Jesus, in His perfect humanity—but to the Lord and the Christ—the Lord Christ, Creator of all things and King of kings. “Your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (I Corinthians 15:58), for He is “heir of all things” (Hebrews 1:2), and thus can dispense “the reward of the inheritance” to His faithful servants, who are “joint-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17). The inheritance is ours because of our position in Christ; the reward is given for service or the Lord.

Because of whom we serve, whatever we do should be done heartily! This is the Greek word psuches, usually translated “soul,” or “life,” as well as “heart.” If there is anything we cannot in good conscience do with full heart to the Lord, then it should not be done at all.

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Points Of Decision

“Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God, to whom we send thee; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of the L SIZE="-1">ORD our God” (Jeremiah 42:6).

What a grand pronouncement to make in affirming the guidance God can give to man! The people making this statement beseeched the prophet Jeremiah to ask God for direction in their plans—whether to stay where they were or move to Egypt. Jeremiah listened to their plea and prayed according to their words. He promised them that he would not hold anything back which God might tell him, whether favorable or not.

God did speak to Jeremiah after ten days, as follows: “If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up: for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you” (v.10). So far, so good! But, Jeremiah also had some bad news, which the people really didn’t want to hear: “If ye wholly set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there; Then it shall come to pass, that the sword, which ye feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt . . .” (vs.15,16).

Would they stay or would they go? From our vantage point the decision seems obvious, but the course of history is predicated on just this sort of decision. Situations like these seem to be placed in our paths to mature us in Christ.

The two spokesmen for the people, Azariah and Johanan, as well as all the proud men, replied to Jeremiah, “Thou speakest falsely: the L SIZE="-1">ORD our God hath not sent thee to say, Go not into Egypt to sojourn there: . . . So they came into the land of Egypt: for they obeyed not the voice of the LORD” (43:2,7). As a result, “Thus sayeth the LORD . . . I will send . . . Nebuchadnezzar . . . (to) smite the land of Egypt, and deliver such as are for death to death” (vs.10,11).

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Inspired Words

“Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away” (Luke 21:33).

The doctrine of plenary verbal inspiration, wrongly considered antiquated by many modern neo-evangelicals, is actually essential to the Christian faith. “All Scripture (that is, every word written down or inscribed) is given by inspiration (literally ‘breathed in’) of God not man!” (II Timothy 3:16).

We acknowledge, of course, that problems of transmission and translation exist, but these are relatively trivial in the entire context. We also acknowledge that the process of inspiration may have varied, but the end result is as if the entire Bible had been dictated and transcribed word by word.

This is the way Jesus Christ—the Creator, the Living Word, the Author of Scripture—viewed the Scriptures. “The Scripture cannot be broken,” He said (John 10:35). “Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matthew 5:18). “Then He said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: . . . And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself” (Luke 24:25,27). The Bible, therefore, every word of it, is divinely inspired, verbally without error, infallibly true, and of absolute authority in every area of our lives. The words of Christ, who taught these truths, are forever “settled in heaven” (Psalm 119:89) and “shall not pass away.”

It is mortally dangerous, therefore, “unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this Book” to “add unto these things (as the cultists do),” or to “take away from the words of the Book of this prophecy (as the liberals do)” (Revelation 22:18,19). Would it not be much better to say with the psalmist, “Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors” (Psalm 119:24)?

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The Lord Is Thy Keeper

“The LORD is thy Keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. . . . The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore” (Psalm 121:5,8).

One of the most precious doctrines in all of Scripture is that of the secure position of the believer in Christ Jesus. Nothing in creation “shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39).

The apostle Peter tells us that we who are born again are “kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation” (I Peter 1:5). Nothing we can do can merit salvation; similarly, nothing we do can keep it. This is God’s work, not ours, and extends to all realms of our lives. “I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved (usually translated ‘kept’) blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Thessalonians 5:23).

This keeping aspect of God’s work for us should not be a surprise, for Christ prayed for just this. With His betrayal, trial, crucifixion, and death imminent, He prayed for all who would eventually believe on Him (John 17:20). “Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me. . . . While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest Me I have kept, and none of them is lost. . . . I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil (one)” (John 17:11,12,15). We can be certain the prayer is answered, for God, the Father, would surely hear the intercessory prayer of His own beloved Son.

“Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen” (Jude 24,25).

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Coming Or Given?

“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37).

This promise of the Lord Jesus illustrates the beautiful, yet paradoxical, complementary of the Gospel. The Lord Jesus gladly receives all who voluntarily come to Him. “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” He says (Matthew 11:28). Yet those who come to Him do so because they have been given to Him by the Father.

Is this a contradiction? No, because both statements come from Christ. There are many Scriptures which teach that believers have been chosen by God, then drawn to Christ. On the other hand, there are many Scriptures which teach that one may freely accept or reject Christ, and is responsible for his own decision. Yet the Scriptures themselves seem unaware that they pose a problem. For example, Peter preached on Pentecost, saying, “Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.” And again: “The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord . . . to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before (i.e., ‘predestinated’) to be done” (Acts 2:23; 4:26–28). In these passages, divine predestination is joined with human decisions, without a hint that these concepts conflict with each other.

Like the two sides of a coin, only one of which can be seen at a time, they are complementary truths, harmonious in the mind of God, but incapable of full comprehension by human minds. We can praise the Lord both for free salvation available to all who desire it and also for the comforting assurance that those who come have been “chosen in Him” (Ephesians 1:4) before the world began.

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Lack Of Knowledge

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children” (Hosea 4:6).

This grave judgment spoken almost three thousand years ago reflects a timeless principle that is just as applicable today. When people die without being saved, it is not that God did not want them to be saved, for He would “have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (I Timothy 2:4). He is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (II Peter 3:9).

The problem is that, when men lack the knowledge that would bring them to Christ for salvation, it is because they have already rejected knowledge that would have led them to the knowledge they need. Paul writes that, “in the last days,” men would be “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (II Timothy 3:1,7). And the next verse tells why. It is because they “resist the truth” (II Timothy 3:. “They shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (II Timothy 4:4).

Peter says that those who question God’s Word in favor of an assumed naturalistic view of history “willingly are ignorant” (II Peter 3:5), and Paul says that if they refuse to see the evidence of the Creator in His creation, they are “without excuse” (Romans 1:20). Whether or not they have read God’s Word, they have an intuitive knowledge of God and His law in their consciences (Romans 2:15), with their thoughts “accusing or else excusing one another.”

The Lord Jesus promised that “unto you that hear shall more be given”(Mark 4:24). But then He also warned: “He that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath” (Mark 4:25).

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Biblical Sarcasm

“And Job answered and said, No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you” (Job 12:1,2).

It is remarkable that the Bible, with its great variety of literary forms and numerous personal conversations and discourses, contains very few examples of sarcasm or satire.

Nevertheless, the few examples of Biblical irony are well worth noting, with one of the most notable being Job’s response, as above, to the self-righteous platitudes of his three philosophizing “friends.” In their intellectual and moral arrogance, and with no real understanding of God’s purposes, these critics were far out of line and well deserved Job’s cutting sarcasm. Examples of such combined spiritual ignorance and intellectual arrogance are not hard to find today and, occasionally perhaps, a satirical commentary may be effective in changing them or preventing their effect.

One other well-known case of Biblical sarcasm is Elijah’s taunting monologue to the prophets of Baal: “Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked” (I Kings 18:27). Jeremiah also had a word to say about the ineptitude of false gods and the foolishness of those who put their faith in them, and who were “saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: . . . But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble” (Jeremiah 2:27,28).

Much more foolish than those who believe that sticks and stones can generate living beings, however, are those modern-day idolaters who worship “Mother Nature,” believing that her “natural processes” can evolve hydrogen atoms, over billions of years, into human beings. The examples of Elijah and Jeremiah, as well as Job, may warrant an occasional touch of sarcasm when discussing such notions!

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Eight Revivals

“Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?” (Psalm 85:6).

The number “eight” seems commonly to be associated in the Bible with a new beginning, new life, resurrection, or renewal, “seven” being the number of fullness and rest, with the seven-day week used ever since the week of creation. The Lord Jesus Himself was resurrected, never to die again, on the eighth day—that is, the first day—of the week.

It is significant, therefore, that eight great spiritual revivals are described in the Old Testament—one each under Moses, Samuel, Elijah, Asa, Hezekiah, Josiah, Ezra, and Nehemiah. It is even more significant, however, that each revival was centered around the Word of God. The first, for example, was based on the giving of the law at Sinai. “And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient” (Exodus 24:7). Then, much later, when “Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD, . . . and the word of Samuel came to all Israel,” eventually, “all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD” (I Samuel 3:20; 4:1; 7:2).

Analysis of all of the other revivals will reveal that they also were based on reception and acceptance of God’s Word. The last was under Nehemiah. “And they stood up in their place, and read in the Book of the Law of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped the L SIZE="-1">ORD their God” (Nehemiah 9:3).

There were other ingredients in these revivals, but the Word of God was always the foundation, and there can be no true and lasting revival without it. This is why it is so important in our day, when the need for revival is so desperate, that we first get back to a serious study of the Holy Scriptures, believing and obeying, as best we can, all that is written therein.

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He Rides Upon The Heaven

“There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in His excellency on the sky” (Deuteronomy 33:26).

Chapter 33 of Deuteronomy contains the last recorded words of a truly great man, Moses, “whom the LORD knew face to face” (34:10). Many times Moses had addressed the people of Israel with mixed blessing and warning, listing conditions for blessing and the inevitable results of rejecting God’s plan. But here, as he prepared for his impending death (32:48–52), Moses spoke only of God’s majestic character and the privileges of those who serve Him.

The God of Jeshurun (literally “upright,” here a symbolic name for Israel) is an active God, Moses tells us, for He rides in His excellency across the heaven to help us, as we see in our text. He strongly acts on our behalf. “The eternal God is (our) refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (v.27). We are well supported in the trials of life. He is not like the gods of the heathen, who do nothing.

Next, He is a God of grandeur. Here He rides across the sky and the heaven; elsewhere we are told that He “rideth upon the heaven of heavens” (Psalm 68:33). He walks (Psalm 104:3) and flies (Psalm 18:10) “upon the wings of the wind.” “The LORD hath His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet” (Nahum 1:3). The idea is grandeur. “There is none like unto” Him.

Finally, God is eternal. The “eternal God,” with “everlasting arms” (v.27) assures us of eternal victory. “I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death” (Revelation 1:18).

Such was Moses’ God, and the God whom we serve today—the One who showers us with incomparable blessings. Indeed, “Who is like unto thee, O people saved by the L SIZE="-1">ORD” (v.29), to have such a One as God?

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Faithful Stewards

“Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful” (I Corinthians 4:2).

God’s Word reminds us that “every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12), “for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (II Corinthians 5:10).

These and similar verses apply specifically to Christians, and relate to rewards for faithful service, not to salvation. At this judgment, “the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is” (I Corinthians 3:13). The test of our works is not one of quantity, but quality.

As stewards of Christ, we have been entrusted not only with various material possessions, but also with time, talents, and opportunities, as well as all the blessings of His glorious gospel. We are, in fact, “the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God”(I Corinthians 4:1).

“Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?” asked the Lord. “Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord when He cometh shall find so doing” (Luke 12:42,43). But He also warned: “If ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?” (Luke 16:12).

The Greek word for “faithful” means essentially “believable.” Can our Christian profession be trusted? Are we true to our word? This is what will really count, when the Lord comes “to give every man according as his work shall be” (Revelation 22:12). The greatest reward, of course, will be simply to hear Him say: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord” (Matthew 25:21).

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Judas Had The Bag

“For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor” (John 13:29).

The way a man handles money, more than any word he utters, reveals the true attitude of his heart, “for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Luke 12:34).

A spiritual man prizes spiritual things more than the riches of earth, for “more to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold” (Psalm 19:10). He recognizes that money will never satisfy spiritual needs.

Judas valued earthly things more than the riches of Heaven. When Mary broke open her alabaster box to anoint the Lord, it was accounted a “waste” (Matthew 26:. Judas claimed to want the income from the ointment for the poor, but “this he said, not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein” (John 12:6). After Jesus rebuked his wrong attitude, Judas contracted with the chief priests to betray the Lord for thirty pieces of silver.

Too late, Judas realized what he had done. Returning to the chief priests, he tried to return the silver, saying, “I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood” (Matthew 27:4). Rebuffed by the priests, Judas “cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself” (v.5). Thirty pieces of silver could not quiet a guilty conscience, “for what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26).

Instead, we should do as Christ taught: “Sell that ye have and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth” (Luke 12:33).

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At Ease In Zion

“Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!” (Amos 6:1).

Zion, or Jerusalem, was the capital of Judah, the southern kingdom, and Samaria was the capital of the northern kingdom, Israel. Despite the ungodliness rampant in both nations, as well as suffering due to drought and other judgments sent by God, the leaders in Zion and Samaria were still living in decadent luxury, and most of the people were following their example. The rustic prophet, Amos, was thus called by God to pronounce coming judgment on both nations, and especially on their leaders.

God’s nature and God’s principles do not change. “For I am the LORD, I change not” (Malachi 3:6). If God was angry with those of His ancient people who were living in affluent ease while indifferent to the sin in the nation and in their own lives, must this not be true also in modern “Christian” America? Have evangelical Christians today become “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God” (II Timothy 3:4)? One should at least raise the question when their churches become cathedrals and their homes become show places, when their music stirs their feelings but not their souls, when they spend more time in “rest and recreation” than with the Lord and His Word, and when they begin to allow “the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches (to) choke the word” so that they become “unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22).

God was longsuffering with Israel, but judgment finally came to them. Perhaps He has been calling to us in the earthquake and the hurricane, the drought and the flood, the famine and the pestilence, telling us that judgment is coming. Are we at ease in Zion, saying, “Soul, . . . take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry” (Luke 12:19)? If so, may God stir us to repentance and rededication!

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Direct Access

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (I Timothy 2:5).

This is one of the key verses of Scripture for several reasons. In the first place, in the midst of a pantheistic and polytheistic society, governed by the kings and rulers for whom Paul had just exhorted believers to pray, it was important to reemphasize that there was only one Creator God—the One to whom even kings must give account and the only One to whom we can rightfully pray.

Secondly, Christ Jesus, who was Himself “God . . . manifest in the flesh,” and then “received up into glory” (I Timothy 3:16), was nevertheless still “the man Christ Jesus.” He is still a man, even though His human body has been resurrected and glorified. Therefore, He can, indeed, “be touched with the feeling of our infirmities” and we can “come boldly” to His “throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:15,16).

Then, because He is both omnipotent God and perfect Man, “in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (v.15), He is uniquely able to serve as the one and only “mediator between God and man.” Furthermore, as the only God-Man, fully and eternally both God and man, He is the only one through whom we can reach God’s throne in prayer. “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” He said, “no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).

No one else—man or woman, saint or priest, angel or demon—has direct access to God, for the Son is the one Mediator between God and man. We can come to God, however, for “We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (I John 2:1). “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).

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The Urgency Of Salvation

“For He saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (II Corinthians 6:2).

Perhaps the most deadly sin of the unbeliever is that of procrastination. Satisfied with his current life, he neglects his spiritual need. Even if he understands the gospel and realizes his need of salvation, he still puts off a decision.

But it is always dangerous to count too strongly on tomorrow. “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” (James 4:14). The sin of procrastination may easily become the sin of negligence, then of indifference, and finally, the unforgivable sin of irrevocable rejection and unbelief. “My Spirit shall not always strive with man” (Genesis 6:3). This warning was true in the antediluvian world and it is certainly as true today, when we have far more knowledge and evidence of God’s truth and His will than people did in the days of Noah.

“To day if ye will hear His voice, harden not your heart” (Psalm 95:7,8). This warning of the psalmist was considered so important that the writer of Hebrews quoted it three times (Hebrews 3:7,8; 3:15; 4:7). Such an emphasis suggests there is, indeed, great danger in resisting God’s call to salvation. There may be another opportunity, but it is presumptuous and dangerous to impose too long on God’s patient mercy.

Today is the day of salvation. The accepted time is now! “Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of Grace? . . . It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:29,31).