USING THE WORD OF GOD

Mrk. 4:25 ... "To the one who has, more will be given; and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away."

      When read superficially or without discernment, this statement of Jesus sounds unjust.  Giving to one person because he already has and taking from another because he has but little seems grossly unfair.  Why should the Lord say such a thing?  It is unlike Him who exhibited remarkable sympathy with human suffering and taught justice in His sermons to lay down such a principle as this.  We must, therefore, investigate deeper to reconcile this statement with the character of Jesus and His gospel.

      To begin, we should realize that He is speaking in a spiritual context.  He had just presented the Parable of the Sower to show the different ways in which people receive the Word of God.  It likewise shows what follows from their response to it.  The same point is made in the reference to the lit candle.  No one lights a candle to conceal its radiance beneath a basket or under a bed.  To the contrary, it is put on a candlestick to illuminate as much space as possible.  In the verse before the above text Jesus cautions us to be careful how we hear the word of God when it is taught, for "with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you."

      We conclude, therefore, that Jesus is talking about one's capacity to receive and use the treasure of God's word.  That capacity is not inherent; it is rather developed.  One is born neither with nor without an inclination to receive the word of God and use it to build up his soul after the model of the Total Man, even the Lord Jesus in human form.  As a person matures, he has the option of paying attention to the word of God, yielding to its power to generate faith in his heart (Rom. 10:17), being led by that faith to obey the divine instruction (Jas. 2:22), and therefore being transformed into "a full-grown man, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ," (Eph. 4:13).  If the person chooses, however, to shut his mind against the word of God, he cannot develop faith that leads to obedience and the construction of a Christlike life.  The longer he resists the overtures of God's word, the less willing he becomes to its further reception.  Even the neutrality of his mind in the beginning is lost in the cast iron frame imposed by repeated rejection.

      The saying, "If you don't use it, you will lose it," certainly applies in this connection.  When a person uses the opportunity to benefit from God's word, God will bless him therein and even increase his opportunity for further benefit.  It is something like lifting weights.  One begins with whatever small weight he can lift, but by persistent training he develops his body so that he can gradually press several times the initial amount.  If he quits training, however, the amount he can lift soon begins to decrease.  When someone first receives the word of God, he can understand and apply but a fraction of it.  But as he continues steadfastly in the effort, his understanding broadens and deepens, and the ability to use the divine word in his life is multiplied.  If he should stop the study of the word and cease to use it, spiritual deterioration will soon set in, and he will lose the treasure he had managed to accumulate in his heart.  It is therefore critical that each of us devote himself to the task of learning the word of God so that it will generate faith, induce obedience, and build a Christian life within him.  As one's capacity grows, God will enhance the process.  After all, it is unto this goal that God has put us here in the world.

THE FAMILY OF JESUS

Mk. 3:35 ... "Whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother."

      There were probably many arrangements God could have chosen to introduce His Son to the world, but the one He favored was the context of the nuclear family.  He selected in the town of Nazareth of Galilee a lowly couple who were just beginning their marriage.  Joseph was a carpenter, and his betrothed was a maid named Mary.  They were ordinary folk without social distinction, yet they were endowed with pure and pious spirits that attracted God's attention as just the best pair suited to have charge of the Messiah's upbringing from infancy to adulthood.  The Holy Record indicates that God's choice was perfect, for this man and woman never faltered in the enormous responsibility given to them.  After the birth of Jesus they had other children according to the course of nature.  There came to them four sons and at least two daughters, (Mrk. 6:3).  So Jesus grew up in a family that numbered no less than eight members, and it is evident that He loved them dearly and honored each with deep respect.

      God's choice of the family as the vehicle for bringing His Son as a mature adult able to deliver the gospel unto mankind is perhaps God's strongest sanction of the value and integrity of the family.  Jesus' perfect adaption to family structure as a child, youth, and young adult is further evidence of God's will that families should be united, cohesive, and mutually devoted to the best of everything for each member.  One of Jesus' last considerations on the cross was for the welfare of His mother, (Jno. 19:25-27).  God Himself made the family and assigned it the purpose of stabilizing society and giving everyone a strong foundation of identity, fellowship, and paramount support in life, especially during the formative stages of youth.  The present destruction of the family is a major source of the grievous ills that are weakening civilization and bringing it toward the brink of collapse.  

      Notwithstanding God's creation, sanction, and solid support for the family as the foundation of a healthy society and enduring civilization, He has greater blessings and higher aims for another institution.  And that is the Kingdom of Heaven over which He presides as the Father figure.  Here on the human plane it translates as the church, a spiritual family with Christ as head.  We may enter this great family by a spiritual rebirth, as Jesus explained to Nicodemus, (Jno. 3:3-7).  We then become subjects to Jesus as Lord, and brothers and sisters to other members.  This is the kind of kinship to which Jesus refers in the text prefacing this article, and it is obvious that He esteems it far above the kinship that bonds us together in our common human families.  There is no family like the Family of God, and there is no kinship comparable to the spiritual bond that unites Christ to His subjects, and His subjects to each other as spiritual brothers and sisters.

      One must not assume, however, that this spiritual fraternity is meant to negate the value, importance, and critical function of our human families.  Christian doctrine emphasizes the integral place of the family in God's continuing plan for humanity, (Eph. 5:22-33).  The ideal is for the human family to exist entirely within the larger scope of the Family of God.  When each person in a family is a child of God, then it is a Christian family.  It exists in harmony with the Family of God, and each family can then yield its total strength and support to the other.  Its member are not only "brothers and sisters" in the flesh, but far more significantly, brothers and sisters "in the Lord."  It is terribly sad and pitiful when brothers and sisters in human families are not also brothers and sisters in the spiritual family where these bonds will not be severed forever by death.

CALL TO REPENTANCE

Mrk. 2:17b ... "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."

      Jesus in these few words states the purpose of His mission to earth.  He came to call sinners to repent of their sin so that He can save them.*  This purpose was later restated by an apostle who heard Jesus on this occasion:  "The Lord ... is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance," (II Pet. 3:9).  God, having created man in His own image, does not want anyone to be the object of the wrath He will pour out upon those who ignore His kind appeals and sober warnings.  Because He so loves His creatures, He sent His Son to live in a human body, suffer in the way we do, subject Himself to the range of temptation we face, and then be killed in total innocence to atone for our sins.  It is on the basis of this supreme sacrifice that Jesus made the appeal to sinners to repent.  It is a benevolent call, exhibiting infinite love; yet, it is a very serious call, since Jesus attaches to it this warning, "I tell you, unless you repent, you will all ... perish," (Luk. 13:3).  So, it ultimately comes down to this:  Repent and be saved; refuse to repent and perish when God pours out His wrath upon the earth.  

      When Jesus said He was not calling the "righteous," but "sinners" to repent, He was not saying that mankind is divided into two groups, the righteous whom He does not call and the sinners whom He does call.  In fact, the New Testament assures us that all people fit into the category of sinners.  We are frankly told that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," (Rom. 3:23).  Shortly thereafter it is added that "none is righteous, no, not one," (v.10).  In view of these declarations we must conclude that every one of us is the object of Jesus' call to repentance.  No one should be offended that Jesus identifies him as a sinner any more than when a physician tells him he is sick.  With few exceptions we appreciate the doctor's diagnosis, for we accept it as the first step toward being healed.  To accept Jesus' indictment that you are a sinner should also be the first step toward spiritual healing.  In fact, just previous to His statement in Mrk. 2:17 Jesus had said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick."  The sincere confession that you are a sinner points your conscience toward the need to have your sins removed.

      The remedy for sin is repentance and what repentance brings.  Repentance is a change of heart that produces a change in one's way of life.  It is not merely the miserable feeling of self-incrimination that awareness of sin stirs up in your heart.  Until continuance in sin finally sears the conscience to the point where it is insensitive to the presence of evil, a person usually experiences an awful psychological reaction after he has sinned.  But this inner experience alone is not repentance.  Paul calls it "worldly grief" and warns that it only "produces death," (II Cor. 7:10).  Because it does not effect a change in one's manner of life, it is nothing other than the humiliation and degradation concomitant with the downward spiral of sin into spiritual death.  Repentance likewise induces a bitter spirit in response to the fact that you have sinned and contaminated your soul with evil.  But it goes further and motivates you to abandon sinful behavior and seek the removal of its contamination.  When John the Baptist called upon the Jews to repent, he specified that they must "bear fruit in keeping with repentance," (Mat. 3:8).  That is, they had to show by changes in their external lives that in their hearts they were now loathing and repudiating sin.  In order to repent, a liar must quit lying and speak only the truth.  In order to repent, a thief must quit stealing and restore (if possible) what he has stolen.  In order to repent, a fornicator must quit the immoral activity and practice chastity.  It is only when we stop sinning that God will forgive the sin for which we are asking forgiveness.  That is the essence of repentance, and it is what Jesus came to call us to do.  He sacrificed Himself to atone for the sins of which we will repent, (Acts 2:38).

* In the oldest manuscripts of the New Testament the words "to repentance" are missing.  The KJV used later manuscripts, which contained them, and thus they appear in that well-known version.  In the parallel passage in Luk. 5:32 the words are used, and there none of the ancient manuscripts omit them.  There is therefore no doubt that Jesus did truly say that He was sent to call sinners "to repentance."

YOU ARE MY BELOVED SON

Mrk. 1:11 ... "And a Voice came from heaven, 'You are My beloved Son; with You I am well pleased'."

      For several months John the Baptist had been preaching, and baptizing in the Jordan River, when Jesus appeared in the crowds one day and came forward to be baptized Himself.  John's entire ministry had the coming of Christ as its object, so that Jesus' appearance was the climax of John's work.  He had been proclaiming to the multitudes, "After me comes He who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.  I have baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit," (vs. 7-8).  When Jesus presented Himself for baptism, John immediately protested his unworthiness to perform such an honored task.  Matthew then reports that "John would have prevented Him, saying, 'I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?'  But Jesus answered him, 'Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness'," (Mat. 3:14-15).  When it was accomplished, there came the Voice from heaven, "You are My beloved Son; with You I am well pleased."

      The phrase, "to fulfill all righteousness,' means to do entirely what God has decreed that one should do.  It was God's will that Jesus should submit to John's baptism.  Jesus complied with His Father's will and even insisted that John baptize Him when John protested.  The only reason that Jesus was baptized was to do His Father's will.  It is otherwise with us today.  It is still God's will that people should be baptized.  Those who deny this are perverting a number of very clear statements in the New Testament.  Jesus Himself, to cite just one passage, commanded His disciples, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," (Mat. 28:19).  Our purpose in baptism, however, goes beyond the singular objective "to fulfill all righteousness."  That purpose is "for the forgiveness of your sins," (Acts 2:38).  Saul of Tarsus was ordered to "rise and be baptized and wash away your sins," (Acts 22:16).  One wonders why so many people today object to baptism "to fulfill all righteousness" and to receive "the forgiveness of sins," since these are clearly stated Biblical reasons for it.  Moreover, there is the moving example of Jesus that calls for emulation by every prospective disciple.

      God the Father put His stamp of approval upon Jesus' compliance with the proclamation from heaven, "You are My beloved Son; with You I am well pleased."  Jesus is THE SON OF GOD in a way that is unique and unparalleled.  By virtue of His exclusive relation to God as THE SON and His supreme sacrifice for sin, Jesus enables all who obey Him to become sons of God in a way that is essentially important.  It is written that "it was fitting that He, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the Founder of their salvation perfect through suffering," (Heb. 2:10).  It is also written, "See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called 'children of God'; and so we are.  The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.  Beloved, we are God's children now," (I Jno. 3:1-2).

      When a person today is led by faith, planted in his heart by the word of God (see I Pet. 1:22-23), to obey Jesus' commandment to receive baptism "for the forgiveness of sin," that person is indeed born again.  It is only by this birth that one enters the family of God as a son of God.  It is therefore conceivable that on His throne in heaven God then proclaims, "you are My beloved son; with you I am well pleased."  (Notice the small case, highlighted, underlined letter!)  This day of that person's birth into God's family immediately becomes the greatest day of his life.

THE OMNIPOTENCE OF JESUS

Mat. 28:18 ... "And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.'"

      Jesus made a claim in this statement that could be made by no one less than the Son of God.  Many people obtain power and exercise it in various spheres of life.  Some wield great power in politics, or in finance, or in professional skill, or in wisdom, or perhaps in combinations of these.  A few people become so powerful that their decisions and actions greatly affect the lives of millions of people and many nations.  But there is a difference between any power that men might possess and the power of Jesus.  His power is total, but human power is always limited.  Jesus declared that "all authority (or power) is given to Me."  No one among men has held that kind of power; in fact, no aggregation of men, such as a government or economic cartel, has ever been able to seize and hold all power.

      There is a second significant difference between Jesus' power and that of men.  The power which comes into human hands is acquired through skill, sagacity, or perhaps sheer fate.  But Jesus' power was given to Him by His Father, who created everything.  It is power, therefore, to which He is entitled and which cannot be taken from Him by any earthly force.  It is power that He shall hold and exercise until the end of time, when He shall hand it over back into the hands of His Father.  As he was inspired to look into the future, Paul wrote that "then comes the end, when He (Jesus) delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. ... When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subjected to Him who put all things in subjection under Him, that God may be all in all," (I Cor. 15:24,28).  

      The New Testament contain numerous references to Jesus' total power and demonstrations thereof.  For example, when Jesus was on trial before Pilate and did not reply to the governor's question, Pilate said to Him, "Will You not speak to me?  Do You not know that I have authority to release You and authority to crucify You?"  Pilates's claim, "I have authority (power)," provoked Jesus to break silence and speak.  He was not about to let these words from a representative of Rome pass.  He quickly exclaimed, "You would have no authority over Me at all unless it had been given you from above," (Jno. 19:10-11).  Pilate's power was derived from the Roman government and its military machine that had been gradually developed for several centuries.  Little did Pilate, or the Emperor, know that God had given them license to have such power to accomplish His own objectives.  Neither did they realize that when they had served their purpose in God's plan, He would remove that power and permit the Roman Empire to fall.  Pilate had no idea that the seemingly impotent prisoner before him actually had the power of the universe in His hands but was restraining Himself from using it in compliance with God's will.

      Because Jesus our Lord has all power, as His disciples we should have complete confidence that we stand on unshakeable ground in our allegiance to Him.  He Himself assures us, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand," (Jno. 11:27-28).  Jesus' power extends from heaven, and with it He cordons off an area of security for His disciples.  As long as we are wise and faithful enough to keep ourselves within that perimeter, nothing can harm us.  It is only when a disciple strays outside the sanctuary of Jesus' power to face life on his own that he exposes himself to the power of evil.  Nevertheless, Jesus' power can penetrate even there.  When a wandering disciple becomes mired in the morass of sin, Jesus will rescue him if he will repent and appeal to Jesus for help.

THE VALUE OF LOYALTY TO JESUS

Mat. 27:21 ... "The governor again said to them, 'Which of the two do you want me to release for you?'  And they said, 'Barabbas.'"

      How much is Jesus Christ worth to you?  For what price or for what advantage would you be willing to exchange your discipleship to Him?  This is a very realistic question, for people are often confronted with it.  The depth and sincerity of their relationship with Jesus are tested severely as they weigh the alternatives and come to their decision.  Blessed is the one who rejects wealth and privilege for the sake of his commitment to Jesus.  But everyone is not so blessed.  There are those who find that Jesus is not worth as much as material gain, or the favor of peers, or the higher rung on the ladder of professional or social success.

      Would anyone deny that the twelve men Jesus called to be His apostles occupied the highest positions attainable to men in the kingdom of God?  And yet, one of them (Judas Iscariot) reached the conclusion that thirty pieces of silver was a fair price for which to sell his discipleship to Jesus.  For well nigh twenty centuries people have condemned Judas for such meanness of spirit.  Nevertheless, there are a great many individuals among us who once answered Jesus' call to be His disciples who have done virtually what Judas did.  They ignore the service of their Savior to make a few dollars more with which to indulge themselves in the possessions and pleasures of the world.  They will easily sacrifice the time they should give to Jesus in worship, evangelizing, and doing benevolent deeds to devote it rather to the effort to claim a larger slice of "the good life."

      The crowds of Jerusalem valued the leadership and will of their clergy more than they did Jesus.  Matthew reports that "the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus, (27:20).  These spiritual "guides" of Israel moved in an aura of public esteem, if not awe; and their decisions were highly respected, even feared, by the common people.  John states that they "feared the Jews"*, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue," (Jno. 9:22).  To have the support, approval, and favor of these powerful men was of more value to the crowds than the Son of God.  And so it is today!  There are many of Jesus' disciples who will sell their loyalty to Him to gain the favor of those who are influential but hold views inimical to Jesus, His doctrine, and His church.

      Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, valued his political career more than he did Jesus.  He had concluded that Jesus was a "righteous man" (Mat. 27:24) since he could "find no guilt in Him," (Jno. 19:6).  He wanted to let Jesus go, but the crowds retorted, "If you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend!" (Jno. 19:12).  Though morally corrupt, Pilate was politically very astute.  He knew that provincial governors had been recalled by Caesar because of the outcry of the native population over some emotional issue.  Therefore the reply of the populace was for Pilate the near miss of a deadly projectile, the successor to which might find its mark.  He immediately sold whatever value he had found in Jesus for the good will of the multitude in order to secure his political position.  In like fashion many of Jesus' disciples today will readily surrender their commitment to His high and holy standard in order to secure their place in some position in life desirable to them.  If maintaining their bond to Jesus threatens to bring them into opprobrium in their community, they will sever that bond to eliminate the threat.  Their career and what it takes to develop it is of more value than allegiance to Jesus.

*In the Fourth Gospel, the term, "the Jews," often (as here) refers to the theocratic hierarchy of Judaism rather than the mass of Jewish commoners.

NOT AS I WILL, BUT AS YOU WILL

Mat. 26:39 ... "And going a little further He fell on His face and prayed, saying, 'My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.'"

      When Jesus reached the end of His earthly mission, He had fully delivered the message God had sent Him to preach.  He had also confirmed its veracity by the miraculous deeds that had caused people to marvel.  There remained, however, one colossal task without which all His teaching would have been meaningless.  He was left with the duty to suffer death in the place of all men to pay the penalty for their sins.  Now that horrible ordeal awaited Him on the morrow.

      It was well into Thursday night, and He had finished the Passover meal with His apostles in the upper room of someone's house in Jerusalem.  Leaving the city and heading east, they descended into a valley, crossed the Kedron Brook, and began to ascend the Mount of Olives.  Somewhere up its slopes they went into a garden called Gethsemane.  At the entrance Jesus left eight of the men to watch while He went further with Peter, James, and John.  Then He left them behind and found Himself a private place to pray.

      His prayer actually defies human analysis and explanation.  We know the words He spoke, which are simple and easy to understand.  But their poignancy and extreme depth of meaning transcend comprehension and expression.  And yet, what His prayer does convey that we are able to grasp is so utterly important to us that it is essential we make the effort to investigate it and meditate upon it.

      Why Jesus recoiled at the prospect of suffering and death, we do not know.  Yet, it is certain that He knew He had been appointed to experience it.  An eyewitness reports that a few months before, 'Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed," (Mat. 16:21).  Neither do we know why Jesus prayed, "If it be possible, let this cup pass from Me," when it is certain that He knew He must drink it.  He had once asked a couple of His disciples, James and John, "Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?" (Mat. 20:22).  We are left to speculate on these two unknowns.

      Jesus' resolution to submit to the terrible prospect of suffering and death is, however, very clear.  It presents to us the greatest lesson we can ever learn.  In fact, it is the lesson we must learn for eternal survival.  After Jesus asked God to spare Him the cup of suffering and deliver Him from the torture of crucifixion, He concluded, "Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will."  Being now resigned to the will of His Father, His inner conflict was totally resolved.  Rising from the ground with absolute composure, and holding His emotions in check with a spiritual grip like steel, He went forth to meet His foes, suffer the worst they could give Him, and then rise in utter triumph from the grave into which their cruelty had put Him.  Complete surrender to God's will was the key to mastering every conflict and winning total victory.

      This is the lesson that Jesus teaches us from the Garden of Gethsemane.  As long as we cling to our own will and try to shape our future, we will always be torn by inner strife and find life an endless confusion of trouble and misery.  But when we conquer our spirit and yield to God's will in the real way that Jesus did, we will discover new strength and peace that cannot be overwhelmed by the vicissitudes of life.  The afflictions will still come, as they did upon our Lord on that frightful Friday, but we will have the power to endure them, even unto death if need be, (Rev. 2:10), and then emerge beyond it as a victor in eternity.

WATCHING FOR JESUS' RETURN

Mat. 25:13 ... "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour."

      The more a person hears something, the less attention he pays to it.  The more familiar a thing becomes, the less consideration it receives.  This is quite unfortunate in some cases, because there are things that need attention no matter how often they are heard or how familiar they become.  One of the most important things in this category is the second coming of Jesus.  Attention is constantly called to this event in church and occasionally in society.  The idea is entirely familiar, for practically no one is unaware of the Biblical prophecies that Jesus will come again.  Consequently, few people are easily moved by the announcement that before tomorrow's light Jesus might appear in the zenith of the sky and terminate all earthly affairs.  People routinely file this subject in the back of their minds under the heading of IRRELEVANT and go on their way as though it does not matter.  God foresaw this attitude and inspired Peter to write, "Scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires.  They will say, 'Where is the promise of His coming?  For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation,'" (II Pet. 3:3-4).  

      Christians must train themselves to respond more appropriately  than this.  No matter how often the subject of Jesus' return is announced, we must pay the more earnest attention to it.  The more familiar the idea becomes, the greater should we give it our strictest attention.  It is toward this goal of avid attention and grave consideration that the Lord commanded us to "watch therefore."  The prospect of Christians should always be forward and upward, forward to Jesus' return and upward to the place from which He shall come.  This vigilance in earnest expectation will influence us to keep our lives in order by the rules of righteousness given in the New Testament.  Responsive Christians want to be found prepared to meet their Lord and Savior.  In the twelves verses of Matthew 25 previous to the text of this article, Jesus told the Parable of the Virgins to draw a contrast between those who prepare for His return and those who do not.  The five wise virgins took enough oil for their lamps, so that when the bridegroom came they were admitted to the marriage supper.  But the five foolish virgins did not take enough oil and were excluded while they went away to buy more.  Frequently in the Bible, oil is a symbol of preparation, just as it is here.  The wise virgins prepared to meet the bridegroom and were admitted into his company upon his arrival.  The five foolish virgins did not prepare and were shut out from his company.  The bridegroom here is a figure for Jesus, and the supper a figure for the fellowship of heaven.

      The time to prepare for Jesus' return is ... NOW!  When He is descending from the sky with myriads of angels, it is already too late.  The foolish virgins were not allowed to replenish their oil (i.e., complete their preparation) when the bridegroom appeared.  With each new day the wise Christian will remind himself that the second advent of Jesus is one day nearer than yesterday and will then feel a greater urgency to prepare for Him.  Of course, he will carry on with the usual business of daily life --- eating, working, relaxing, building his career, etc.  But he will be careful to give priority to his relation with God.  He will be diligent to keep his behavior clean and his mind and speech pure.  He will be kind to people about him and give assistance in Jesus' name to those in need. He will devote some time each day to Bible study and prayer.  When the church meets for worship and fellowship, he will faithfully be found there in their midst.  He will interpret life by the teaching of Jesus and the inspired apostolic writings.  He will establish the meaning of his life in relation to God's will for his place in the scheme of things.  And when Jesus does come, he will definitely be found watching.

SAVED AT THE END

Mat. 24:12-13 ... "Because lawlessness shall be increased, the love of many will grow cold.  But the one who endures to the end will be saved."

      In Matthew 24 Jesus looked forward through the long scope of human history toward the time when He would come again and end all things.  His special emphasis was upon His own disciples and their state of affairs in the world.  He foretold that the way would often be very difficult for them, since they would be hindered by war, famine, pestilence, persecution, false messiahs, and false prophets.  He  expressed the hope, however, that they would endure all these opposing forces unto the end, for then He would reward them with the incomparable gift of salvation.  The hardships that await Christians are too formidable for many, who turn back into infidelity to escape them.  When one compares the suffering of loyal disciples with the rewards God will return for it, he must conclude that the suffering is more than worth it.  This conclusion has already been drawn for us in the declaration, "The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us," (Rom. 8:18).  

      As Jesus previewed the future with respect to Christians, He stated that "because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold."  We wonder what aspect of love He meant -- love of God?  love of brethren?  love of truth and righteousness?  Probably all of these are included in Jesus' meaning.  Christians are to be devoted in their love for God, for His children, for lost mankind, for truth and righteousness, and for all things good and virtuous.  God is love, and God's people should be filled with that same divine quality as it flows from the Father through them out into the world.  But the tragic thing Jesus foresaw is that "the love of many will grow cold."  Many of His disciples will gradually cease to be a channel through which His love will enter the world with all its positive benefits.  Something will occupy the lives of Christians that will constrict their spiritual output and make them ineffective in God's vital ministry.

      The agent that will cause this disastrous constriction is identified by Jesus as lawlessness.  The word in the original is anomos, which contains the word for "law" (nomos) and the negating prefix a-.  It expresses the idea of having contempt for law, so that one sets it aside and proceeds in life with no further consideration for it.  People commit themselves to lives of lawlessness when they decide to do as they wish without caring what the law of God says to them.

      With this observation we must conclude that Jesus' forecast has already come to pass.  Our society has now reached the point where there is obvious public contempt for the law of God with its high standard of purity, justice, and personal accountability.  Immediate ridicule is directed toward the individual who counsels his community to desist from some activity or enterprise that violates the law of God.  Great pressure is exerted upon Christians either to remain silent or join the public in the thing that is beyond the limits of God's law.  Many Christians are intimidated by this pressure so that they refrain from speaking out and fail to act as the conscience of society as they should.  Some Christians respond to the appeal to accept the forbidden thing and abandon their subjection to God as they indulge in the pleasure.  If these people could only see (or care) that they are trading their soul's salvation for something which is restricted to this earth and shall perish with it when Christ returns.

THE HOUSE LEFT DESOLATE

Mat. 23:38 ... "See, your house is left to you desolate."

      In a conversation with a Canaanite woman somewhere near Tyre and Sidon, Jesus said, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel," (Mat. 15:24).  His mission was to go to the nation of Israel, preach the gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven, and perform miracles to confirm His message.  This was in accordance with God's covenant with Israel to be their God and them to be His people.  It was also a colossal and monumental honor to that nation.  It therefore became a tragedy of the greatest order when Israel, for the most part, turned its back on Jesus as the Messiah and rejected Him as the Son of David who would sit upon the royal throne forever.  This rejection is summarized in the report that "He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him," (Jno. 1:11).  He came to Israel with favors and blessings incomparable, but by belief and stubbornness the Jewish people rejected them all.  Their blindness of heart denied them gifts that would have been to their eternal glory.  In the statement preceding the text above Jesus had explained, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!  How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!" 

      Because Israel was persistent in her rejection of Jesus, He at last turned His face away from her.  This is what He meant when He said, "See, your house is left to you desolate."  It should be no surprise that within forty years the country of Israel had been destroyed, the temple lay in ruins, and the people disenfranchised of their homeland.  

      There is a profound lesson here for all people today.  Through the gospel and the church the Lord calls men to come unto Him for salvation, for membership in His family, and for a life of useful service in His cause.  Some people wisely take note of this call  and respond to it.  As a result they reap the glorious rewards of salvation, sonship, and identity in Christian activity.  But most people go through life with a deaf ear to the divine invitation.  They pursue their own interests, satisfy their own desires, and follow their own will.  Many of them think, "Well, God is always there.  When I get ready, His invitation will be extended to me and I can accept it then."  But the flaw in this attitude is that sin hardens the heart and makes it increasingly more difficult for the individual to want to answer the Lord.  At last the time comes in one's life when "[his] house is left to [him] desolate."  He is then a reprobate who is unlikely to turn to God, who will then turn away from him.

      In describing the degenerate downslide of the Gentiles in the centuries before the advent of Christ, Paul in the first chapter of Romans stated three times that they turned away from God, (vs. 21-23, 25, 28).  And likewise, three times the apostle stated that God in response turned away from them, (vs. 24, 26, 28).  The withdrawal of God's influence from them for good left them without a conscience sensitive to discern moral difference.  Consequently, they plunged headlong into the practice of every evil imaginable, (vs. 29-31).  When one excludes God from his life, he abandons himself to the same downward course into moral blindness and gross unrighteousness.  A large segment of contemporary society takes pride that it has slipped the harness of Christian discipline to live as "liberated" people.  They look with pity or contempt at those who are still bound as "fundamentalists" and "conservatives" in their submission to religion.  But the warning stands in the Scripture from the lips of Jesus and the pen of the inspired Paul that those who reject God will be rejected by God.  We appeal to everyone, therefore, to turn to the Lord in faith and serve Him zealously while His call can still be heard.

THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE OF CHRISTIANITY

Mat. 22:37-39 ... "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and great commandment.  And a second is like it:  You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

      When any religion, philosophy, or course of action is studied, the question is soon asked about its fundamental principle or guiding concept.  If there is any order, cohesion, and discernible progress involved, then there will be some motivating force at the center to develop that order, weld all the parts into a cohesive action, and produce the forward movement.  People who study religions, philosophies, and movements in the human sphere look very closely for the fundamental principles, for unless one can identify and understand them, he cannot rationally explain the whole system. 

      The religion which God has given us certainly has basic principles that give order, cohesion, and vital energy to it.  Fortunately, God has not left it to men in their own perception to discover and explain them.  Were this the case, there is little doubt that there would be considerable disagreement about the identity of the principles.  In fact, some even refute the ones that are divinely revealed and postulate others in contempt of God's declaration.  But what is written is written, and men of faith will accept it as truth.  In the text above, Jesus reveals the fundamental principle of the religion handed down to us from God.  It can be expressed in a single four-letter word:  LOVE.

      Not any kind of love, but love in its purest and holiest form.  It is the love that flows from the heart of God through His Son Jesus unto people who are redeemed by the blood of His atonement.  From these Christians it is supposed to flow outward unto all other people throughout the world.  It is not the love based in carnal senses which are easily inflamed by lust and then quickly extinguished by sensual gratification.  Nor is it the love based in human emotions that ebbs and flows with one's moods.  It is the essential love grounded in the soul and stabilized by direct linkage to the immutable God who is its Source.

      Jesus said the entire Mosaic Law depends on the basic principle of love.  So does the new law of the Gospel, (I Cor. 13).  The person who submits himself to the Christian religion must adopt love as the controlling force in his life.  This love must be directed first and most powerfully toward God in response to His superior love toward us.  We are taught that "we love [God] because He first loved us," (I Jno. 4:19).  Our loving God will be manifested in obedience to His will, (Jno. 14:15), in genuine expressions of gratitude for His goodness, in worship to Him in spirit and in truth on a regular basis, and in imitation of His character.

      Whoever submits himself to the Christian religion must also follow the rule of loving other people as much he loves himself.  This includes loving those who are not lovable, who do not deserve your love, and who may even be your enemies.  This love will demonstrate itself in doing what is in the best interest of the other person.  This may even include discipline, which may not at the time be recognized as the operation of love, (Heb. 12:5-11).  To monitor our love for others to assure its equality to love for self, we have been given by Jesus a rule that may be considered a corollary to the fundamental principle of love:  "Whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them," (Mat. 7:12).  How can you know the way to love others as you love yourself?  Just consider how you wish to be treated, as well as the spirit in which that treatment is given.  Then render that very treatment in that kind of spirit to others.  By such love we will identify ourselves to the world as the children of God far more convincingly than by anything else we might say or do, (I Jno. 4:7-8).

THE PRAYER OF FAITH

Mat. 21:22 ... "Whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith."

      One of the greatest privileges of being a Christian is access to God in prayer.  Being a child of God is a unique relationship in which He as Father turns His attention toward you and opens His ears to what you are saying.  This is truly a great blessing, and the more you consider it, the greater it appears.  On the human level it is difficult to bridge the barriers that separate the common person from a dignitary, so that conversation with such an individual is usually next to impossible.  All who read this article have access to a telephone.  Just try calling the President of the United States, or the Queen of England, or the Secretary General of the United Nations, or the Pope in the Vatican.  The chance is next to nothing that you would be connected with any of them.  But if you are a Christian, a child of God, I assure you that the line to God is open right now via prayer.  You will not be put on hold, or told to call back, or offered an apology that His high station excludes commoners from an audience with Him.  God will hear you, even though He is exalted infinitely above every president, prime minister, king, queen, or human potentate.

      All people have needs that must be met.  Some of them are general and ordinary, while others are specific and very personal.  We do not worry about the needs we can meet ourselves, but we all experience anxiety about those which we are unable to meet.  If you lose your job and have no way to provide for your family, do not expect the President to help you if you make a personal appeal to him. If you find that you have life threatening cancer, it will do no good to call upon some king or prime minister for help.  Aside from the fact that they would take little, if any, note of your call, they could not relieve their own condition if they themselves become gravely ill.  When death takes a loved one, do not bother to look toward any human dignitary for comfort and consolation.

      The Christian, however, has an all powerful Father in heaven whose ears are tuned to the calls of His children on earth in their varied conditions of life.  The text of this article are the very words of Jesus, who assures His disciples that God will hear and answer our cries for help when we utter them in faith.  God will answer the appeal of the one who has lost his job and cannot provide for his dependents.  God will listen to the call of the one whose life is threatened with illness and will send comfort and consolation in full measure.  Whatever the need, whatever the request, He will consider it and respond in the way best suited to fit the situation.

      The one qualification that Jesus attaches is faith.  He says, "Whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith."  Many prayers receive no reply because they are offered with an element of doubt.  People often approach prayer with the attitude, "Well, I've tried a lot of things, so I guess I ought to try prayer also to see if it will work."  This kind of thinking dooms the prayer to impotence even as it is being spoken.  People ought to think, "Now I will carry this matter to God in prayer.  He will surely hear and respond in the way that is best, whether I think it is or not."  There must be no doubt in the heart as you pray, or your petition will be dismissed.

      It must be recognized that there is a hidden assumption in Jesus' statement about prayer.  It is revealed later in the New Testament as follows, "You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions," (Jas. 4:3).  If the object of one's request involves the gratification of carnal desire and the lust for pleasure, God will reject it, even if it is asked in faith.  Our requests must have merit that transcends the vulgar "desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions," (I Jno. 2:15) that dominate so much in our appetites, affections, plans and ambitions.

FIRST IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

Mat. 20:27 ... "Whoever would be first among you must be your slave."

      There was a man from Maury County, Tennessee, who served during the entirety of the Civil War in Co. H of the 1st Tennessee Infantry in Confederate service.  As he looked back over his experience many years later, Sam Watkins made this revealing comment, "I always shot at privates.  It was they that did the shooting and killing, and if I could kill or wound a private, why, my chances were so much the better.  I always looked upon officers as harmless personages."

      However one may feel about the grisly business of war with its burden upon the front line soldier to shoot at the enemy in close combat, one must still admit that Pvt. Watkins recognized something of basic importance.  Ultimately in an army it is the common soldier, the ordinary rifleman, who gets the job done and wins the victory.  Although honor and glory are heaped upon the general who plans and directs the battle, it is the united effort of thousands of basic soldiers who bring success.  If those men fail, the general also fails, no matter how ingenious his plan.

      There seems to be a primal urge in certain people to be first in an organization so that their voice will carry weight and their position command respect.  To be the object of praise, admiration, and even fear, is often considered to be the pinnacle of achievement.  People thus covet the role of leader, commander, president, governor, or king.  The desire to have people serve them in their high position is one of the greatest attractions in holding it.  At the top one feels relieved of the mundane tasks that are ugly, fatiguing, and sometimes humiliating.

      It was in this attitude that the apostles James and John came before Jesus with their mother as advocate to make the audacious request that He grant the two highest positions in His kingdom to them.  Not only was this request presumptuous, but it also disregarded the place of Jesus' other apostles.  It is therefore not surprising that "when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers," (v.24).  The scramble to be first in something nearly always provokes jealousy and competition in others who hold the same ambition and think they are better fit to achieve it.  To prevent this from happening among his disciples and fracturing their unity, Jesus called them aside and taught them the lesson of true greatness.

      He told them, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  It shall not be so among you.  But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave," (vs. 25-27).  Then He pointed to Himself as their example:  "Even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many," (v.28).  The pathway to true greatness and honor in the Lord's kingdom lies in the way of rendering basic service in the Lord's name.  Jesus could have come among the rich, but He came among the poor.  He could have lounged in regal splendor while others did the menial tasks, but He chose instead to walk the dusty roads, sail the stormy sea, touch the unclean leper, weep with those who wept, and incur the hatred of those who opposed the establishment of His kingdom.  As Jesus' disciples today, we should be concerned about truly serving as many people as we can in Jesus' name.  We must resist the temptation to get in front to lead, leaving the "dirty work" to those behind who must be content to follow.  In truth, only Jesus is first in the church.  All the rest of us must follow behind Him, and it is we who must humbly serve.

WHAT DO I STILL LACK?

Mat. 19:20-21 ... "The young man said to Him, 'All these I have kept.  What do I still lack?'  Jesus said to him, 'If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and, come, follow Me.'"

      One day there came unto Jesus a man who was young and rich (Luke adds that he was also a ruler) with a question for Jesus:  "What good deed must I do to have eternal life?"  He was to be commended for being interested in how to obtain eternal life, for that ought to be the greatest ambition of everyone.  Jesus directed him to keep the law from God that prevailed during that period of time, the Law of Moses.  He specifically quoted five of the Ten Commandments, as well as this decree, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," (Lev. 19:18).  God had provided this law for the guidance of the people of Israel and intended to grant eternal life to those who were faithful and obedient to keep it.

      The young man made a good impression on Jesus, for we are told that "Jesus, looking at him, loved him," (Mk. 10:21).  He evidently found integrity, sincerity, and spiritual potential in him as He looked into the depths of the young man's soul.  So when he answered, "All these I have kept from my youth," Jesus did not refute him.  Doubtlessly, he had been reared by orthodox Jewish parents who had been careful to instruct him to observe the Law.  They had trained their son in the way that he should go, and in the early stage of his adult life he had not departed from it, (Pro. 22:6).  In spite of all this, however, he felt unsure in his heart.  There was a gnawing feeling that there was a deficiency, something of which he was falling short.  He was again to be commended, since he differed so much from the self-righteous Jews who were most confident in how well they kept the Law and convinced that God's favor rested fully upon them.

      Jesus very readily saw the thing that the young man lacked, and surprisingly it was something that most people cannot understand to be a deficiency.  What he lacked was paradoxically having too much!  (Or, very simply, he lacked the spirit of generosity.)  So Jesus told him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor."  Matthew then notes that "he had great possessions."  It is evident that his wealth interposed between himself and God.  The only way to clear the channel to God, who alone can grant eternal life (v.26), was to rid himself of his wealth through philanthropic donations.  His affections, trust, and ambitions were centered upon that wealth, not upon God who awards eternal life only to those who love Him first, trust Him above all, and burn with the ambition to accomplish His will.

      This event is tragic, because it is reported that "when the young man heard this he went away sorrowful," (v.22).  In the final analysis he valued his possessions more than he did eternal life.  Here we may relate his case to our selves.  It is indeed possible that there is something between each of us and God that is more important to us than pleasing God and receiving His gift of eternal life.  For some it could be the love of material things, though they are not particularly wealthy.  For others it could be the desire to gratify sinful urges.  In the case of many it could be an overwhelming ambition to excel in a career or profession so that no time is left to serve God.  For not a few it could be a constitutional tendency toward arrogance, aggressiveness, intolerance, or pride.  For still others it could be a bad habit like gossiping, using bad language, dishonesty, or stealing.  This encounter in Jesus' ministry is designed to persuade us to ferret out anything in our lives that intervenes between us and God with His gift of eternal life.  It is the ultimate human tragedy to forfeit that supreme gift for something that pleases us only during our brief earthy existence.

THE CHALLENGE TO FORGIVE

Mat. 18:21-22 ... "Then Peter came up and said to Him, 'Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?  As many as seven times?'  Jesus said to him, 'I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.'"

      The Pharisaic interpretation of the Mosaic Law was ultra-conservative, and imposed a style of observance upon the people that was, in most cases, far more restrictive than God ever intended it to be.  Of the Pharisees Jesus said, "They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger," (Mat. 23:4).  Jesus often ran afoul of Pharisaic scrutiny, not because He ever transgressed the Law, but because He transgressed their over extensions of it.  In His teaching He instructed His disciples to look through some of those restrictions to see the liberty God had designed for them.

      The Pharisees taught that three was the limit to the times one was obligated to forgive an offender.  This was, however, their own interpretation and not the essence of the Law itself.  Peter's vision had been elevated by Jesus enough to perceive something of the liberty in God's will for man.  So he posed his question about one's duty to forgive in terms of that perception.  He probably thought that to double the Pharisaic limit and then add one for good measure would attain to God's will.

      Jesus may have surprised Peter when He took that "liberal" seven and multiplied it by seventy to show what God's will on forgiveness truly is.  The essential idea is the absence of any limit!  We are not to keep ledgers on each other with a column entitled OFFENSES paralleled by another entitled FORGIVEN.  Also, there is to be no similar page ruled for three entries, or seven, or even four hundred ninety.  Jesus laid down the guiding principle when He said, 'So also My heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart," (Mat. 18:35).  God's forgiveness of sinners is infinite, or else we would have used up our allotments long ago.  Which of us transgresses God's will so little that we feel slight need to beg His mercy when we ask His forgiveness?  To the contrary, each of us knows we sin many times every day and are always in need of God's mercy to pardon us again and again, often for the same offense.

      The person who finds it hard (or impossible!) to forgive another is to be pitied.  Jesus shows us just how pitiable in the parable of the servant who would not forgive, (Mat. 18:23-24).  His master forgave him an astronomical sum of money which he owed, but the servant in turn refused to forgive a fellow servant even a mere pittance.  When this was reported to the master, he called in this hardhearted servant and condemned him to the "tormentors."  The parable teaches that if God forgives us of sins against Him that are black and shameful, we must forgive each other of offenses that do not compare to our sins against God.  We show the extent to which the Spirit of Christ has penetrated our lives and transformed us when we find it within us to forgive an offender "from (our) heart."

      One further word:  True forgiveness requires the dismissal of the offense from the mind.  When missionaries first preached among the natives of Labrador, they were hindered by the lack of a word in their language for "forgive."  Finally, they constructed a word by compounding Labradorian terms that meant "not-able-to-think-about-it-any-more" as their word "forgive."  You have not forgiven someone of a trespass if you bring it back up in one conversation after another to show people "what an awful thing that person once did to me."  Although you may not be able literally to forget the offense, you can lock it away securely in the hidden recesses of your mind and treat its perpetrator as though he had never done it.  Is not this what we desire from God?

PAYING THE TEMPLE TAX

Mat. 17:27 ... "However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel.  Take that and give it to them for Me and for yourself."

      The operation of the temple in Jerusalem was exceedingly expensive, and the Law provided that it was the duty of every Jewish male to help pay for it.  Therefore it was stipulated that every male over the age of twenty had to pay an annual tax of half a shekel for this purpose, (Exo. 30:13).  This was in the Jewish monetary system.  In the Greek system prevailing in Jesus' day the coin equivalent to the half-shekel was the didrachma.  When Jesus reached Capernaum on this particular occasion, those who were collecting the tax asked Peter if Jesus would pay it.  They probably hoped that He would refuse so that they would have grounds for bringing charges against Him.  

      Peter really did not know whether Jesus would pay the tax or not, but in his characteristic impetuosity he blurted out on the spot that He would.  When he came into the house where Jesus was, Jesus asked him, "From whom do the kings of the earth take toll or tax?  From their sons or from others?"  When Peter correctly answered, "From others," Jesus said, "Then the sons are free."  Tribute was charged of people entering the country, not from those who were its own citizens living within.  The native people were free from the tax.

      Jesus' point was that, since the tax was for the support of the temple, which was the house of God, He Himself, as the Son of God, was free from its imposition.  Jesus did not contest the legitimacy of the tax, nor the duty of Jewish men to pay it.  He only pointed out (evidently to Peter privately) that it did not apply to Him.  Then He gave Peter directions about how to obtain the money necessary for the tax, not only for himself, but for Peter also.  His reason for paying when He did not owe was "not to give offense to them."

      In this case Jesus set an example for His disciples in all ages to observe and follow.  There are times when it happens that our "rights" are challenged.  We assess the situation and come to the conclusion that we should be permitted either to do something or (as in Jesus' case here) be exempted from doing it.  We are then faced with a very important decision:  either claim the right and tenaciously defend it, or forfeit the right and cope with the situation involved.  Your choice should depend on the temperament of the people involved.  If your exercise of the right will not offend them, then you may claim it.  But if doing so will offend them and cause a conflict, it is better to deny yourself of that right.

      It must be understood in this context that "right" means privilege rather than duty.  A privilege may either be used or denied, but a Christian cannot make a choice between doing his duty or not doing it.  To choose not to do one's Christian duty in order to avoid offending others would be sin.  It was not Jesus' duty to pay the tax, or He would have paid it without a word.  It was His right (i.e., His privilege) not to pay it, but He chose to forfeit that right rather than offend those whose understanding was too shallow to grasp the reality involved.  In this choice our Lord has set for His American disciples a splendid example for making decisions in similar situations to avoid giving offense and thus live among unregenerate associates as "wise as serpents and innocent as doves," (Mat. 10:16).   Going this "second mile" in human affairs may well result in making a better impression for the glory of our Lord.

DENYING SELF TO FOLLOW JESUS

Mat. 16:24 ... "Then Jesus told His disciples, 'If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow Me'."

      Jesus wants us to be His disciples, but we can gain that privilege only by the terms that He prescribes.  That is the point He is clearly making in this statement.  And yet, it is common for people to want to become Christians by setting the terms for discipleship themselves.  They tell Jesus, in attitude if not in words, "I will be Your follower, but You must let me ... ."  Then they state their reservation -- the practice, habit, trait, association, or whatever -- that they intend to carry from their worldly life into Christianity with them.  "I will be a Christian, Lord, but You must let me dress as I please."  Or, "I will be a Christian, Lord, but do not make me give up this specific kind of entertainment."  Or, "I will be a Christian, Lord, but I must be allowed to schedule the use of my time to meet my own needs." 

      It is commonly accepted in certain areas of life that we must yield ourselves to conform to specific required norms.  For example, when someone joins the army, he must dress and groom himself by military standards.  Likewise, he has to accept the regimentation of behavior, mandatory scheduling of his time, and orders about where he will be stationed and the job he must do.  One who joins the army does so with clear understanding about such conformity, and so he resigns himself to the mold into which he is cast.  Thus Paul reminded his younger assistant, "No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him," (II Tim. 2:4).  

      Although people understand what is required when one enters a worldly army, they find it difficult to believe similar conditions must be accepted when one enters the spiritual army of Jesus.  They think they can become Christian soldiers on their own terms, assume immediate command as an officer, and determine the nature of their conduct and service for themselves.  However, this self-determination is not permitted by Jesus, and those who dare exercise it anyway are deceived and proceeding into a zone of spiritual danger.  Jesus declares that "if anyone would come after Me," he must meet three essential criteria.

      First, he must deny himself.  He has to accept it that he will surrender his will to the will of his commander, who is Christ.  He must build the same attitude that Jesus Himself expressed to God when He said, "Not as I will, but as You will," (Mat. 26:39).  The person with the attitude, "Well, no matter if the Bible requires this, I am going to do something else!," is not yet ready to be Jesus' disciple.  In the army this is called insubordination and is punishable by court martial.  The Lord will similarly deal with such insubordinate attitudes among those who wear His name.

      Second, a disciple of Jesus must take up his cross.  The cross is a symbol of suffering.  Jesus suffered considerably -- from physical pain, from humiliation, and from being separated from His Father while He hung on the cross for our sins. He requires us, in turn, to endure some suffering for His sake.  We must suffer loss of time, personal ease and comfort, and worldly involvements, along with the abuse of an irreligious society, to help promote His kingdom in the world.  So Christians are ordered to "share in suffering as a good soldier of Jesus Christ," (II Tim. 2:3).  One who thinks he can be a Christian and enjoy the best of two worlds is one who is not taking up his cross.

      Third, a disciple of Jesus must follow His instructions to follow Me.  This means he must follow Jesus Himself rather than someone's construction, or interpretation, of Jesus.  Jesus' instructions to His disciples are not cryptic, but clear enough to be generally understood.  It only involves reading the New Testament regularly and carefully with an open mind.  The true message will come through to the reader well enough that he can follow his Master and please Him.  Orders from everyone else must be disregarded, (Jno. 10:4-5).

THE PERIL OF HUMAN TRADITION

Mat. 15:3 ... "Why do you break the commandments of God for the sake of your tradition?"

      The conflict between the commandment of God and the tradition of men is as old as human existence on earth.  In the earliest records of the relationship between God and men we find that people had already developed traditions which they regarded before and above the commandments given by God for the regulation of their lives.  To a large degree the entire Old Testament can be interpreted in terms of this struggle.  The New Testament then gives abundant testimony to the continuation of it as the commandments of God assumed the form of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

      The tradition of men begins when human preference is substituted for something that God has instructed men to do.  When the next generation reinforces the practice of the substitution by adopting and perpetuating it, it gains strength and begins to command respect.  When several generations have thus embraced the substitution, it becomes so honored by time that it is held sacred and is exalted above even the very word of God.

      In the Mosaic Law (Exo. 21:17) God commanded that children should honor their father and mother.  According to Jesus' application of this requirement (Mat. 15:5-6) it meant that children must provide for their parents' needs when old age made them unable to care for themselves.  Other aspects of this Divine instruction reveal that God wills children to speak to their parents in a way that is always respectful, polite, and kind, (Lev. 20:9, Dty. 27:16, Pro. 20:20 and 30:17).  But between the time these directions were given and Jesus' comments about them, the Jewish people found it expedient to make substitutions for them.  They decided that by dedicating their possessions to God, (a formal ritual that involved the actual offering of only a token part of them), it placed off-limits all the rest from use by anyone else, including their parents.  Thus they were excused from sharing their goods with needy parents.  In talking about this maneuver with their fathers and mothers, it seems they were using speech that was harsh and disrespectful.

      Their wily strategy was opposing one part of the Law to another, which really amounted to substituting human for Divine will.  And because it had been initiated many generations before and had gained the sanctity of longevity and general acceptance, it had become an entrenched tradition in Jewish life.  But when Jesus declared, "For the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God," (Mat. 15:6), He opposed it for what it was, a presumptuous departure from the way God had ordained them to go.  Their practice had nullified God's law among them.  Living apart from God's law in their own tradition, they were unwittingly living apart from His favor.  This reality is stated by Paul when he told the Jews in Rome, "Both Jews and Greeks are under sin," (Rom. 3:9).

      We must always examine and reexamine our practices, procedures, customs and methods lest it be that we are substituting our own preferences and nullifying the will of God.  Likewise,we must scrutinize everything to detect any instance where we might be perpetuating a tradition that makes God's will come to nothing.  A man who who had served more than forty years as a preacher told me frankly, "I know that infant baptism has no Scriptural basis, but it is such a beautiful custom that I continue to perform it."  This is the attitude we must avoid.  In the day we give account to God all human traditions will be discounted.  Only the word of God will stand to justify or condemn our souls before God.  Those who have conducted their lives by the traditions of men will suffer eternal exclusion from His grace.  No one can determine his own path to salvation; any way marked out by man leads only to the wrong destination.  Indeed, we must obey God rather than men, (Acts 5:29).

DO NOT FEAR

Mat. 14:27 ... "Immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'Take heart; it is I.  Do not be afraid."

      Jesus made the preceding statement in the context of the following event.  All day long he had been teaching a great multitude and concluded by miraculously feeding them all with a few loaves of bread and two fish.  After dismissing them to their homes, He then instructed His disciples to cross the Sea of Galilee in a boat while He went up on a mountain to pray alone.  After a while a contrary wind arose that stirred up waves and made it extremely difficult for the boat to make progress.  So Jesus descended the mountain and walked out across the water toward the boat.  When the men spotted Him, the text says "they were terrified, and said, 'It is a ghost!'  and they cried out in fear," (v.26).  It was then, to relieve their stress and fear, that Jesus called out to them, "Take heart; it is I.  Do not be afraid."

      Fear is an emotion common to mankind.  Everyone experiences fear at some time, for there is something that each person is afraid of.  There are even special, debilitating fears (phobias) that have classified names:  acrophobia (fear of height), agoraphobia (fear of open spaces), claustrophobia (fear of tight places), hemaphobia (fear of blood), arachniphobia (fear of spiders), xenophobia (fear of strangers), and a great many more.  Some fears afflict great numbers of people, such as the fear of failure, the fear of losing one's job or income, the fear of growing old and weak, the fear of being alone, the fear of being left out of something important, and the fear of contracting some terrible disease.  We live in a world where dangers of all kinds surround us continually, so that it is easy to let fear build up within us and rob us of happiness and peace of mind.

      Some fears are constructive, because they help to steer us along the right paths of life.  The student who fears failure may devote himself to diligent study.  The child who fears playing in the street will not be killed by a passing car or truck.  The worker who fears injury will carefully observe safety rules and wear protective devices in areas of danger. 

      Many other fears are destructive, because they hinder us from making the best use of our time and energy.  A young man who fears the inability to reach a goal may choose not to try for it and miss a successful career in medicine, business, or research.  A young woman who fears the role of being a good wife and mother may never marry.  A businessman who fears the risk in a venture may never establish a strong, flourishing company.  A person who fears an audience may never display his talents to their pleasure and appreciation.  Such fears as these, and they are legion, are like chains we wrap around us, lock securely, and throw away the key.  We cut ourselves off from a great deal of happiness, fulfillment, and worthy achievement because of fears which shackle us.

      The wonderful thing about having Jesus in your life as a real, abiding Presence is that He can relieve you of these fears and set you free from their captivity.  Having ready access to His unlimited power enables you to cope with the terrible fear until you can master it and eliminate it from your system.  What Paul said of himself can as well be said by any devoted disciple of Jesus, "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me," (Php. 4:13).  Jesus offers His disciples all the strength they need to overcome any fear.  And there is more!  Just to know that the Spirit of Jesus is always with you causes fear to seem less fearful.  Has He not promised each of His followers,"Behold, I am with you always," (Mat. 28:20).  A child is not afraid in the presence of his father, and as the children of God we need not be burdened by fear when we trust that He is near.      

TEACHING IN PARABLES

Mat. 13:13 ... "This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand."

      In this chapter Matthew records a series of seven parables of Jesus to demonstrate various features of the kingdom of God which was soon to be established.  The occasion was one when "great crowds gathered about Him, so that He got into a boat and sat down.  And the whole crowd stood on the beach, (v.2).  Although Jesus often resorted to parables as a form of instruction, it seems that on this particular day He used it exclusively, for we are told that "all these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, He said nothing to them without a parable," (v.34).  It was rather unusual for Him to limit His approach to one form of teaching, and His disciples were somewhat puzzled over it.  At one point they asked, "Why do You speak to them in parables?" (v.10).  Jesus answered them with the statement quoted above, (v.13).

      Jesus' objective was not to mystify people with cryptic expressions or enigmas to point them in conflicting directions.  His purpose was rather to make plain to them the truth that could save them.  There were, however, those who came to Him for other reasons than to hear truth.  They were men of evil heart who only wanted to debate, ridicule, and try to destroy Him.  It was with a view to them that Jesus couched the great principles from God in the form of parables.  His enemies would not bother to try to penetrate their simple surface and discover the meaning within.  But the sincere, truth seeking disciples would.  It was unto the latter that He exclaimed, "Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear," (v.16).  In other words, Jesus was following His own directive: "Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you," (Mat. 7:6).  He was presenting to those who were appreciative His great lessons in protective verbal coverings.

      It has always been true that there are people who see but do not see, and who hear but do not hear.  And neither seeing nor hearing, they never understand.  The "seeing" in this context does not refer to visual perception.  Neither does the "hearing" refer to audient ability.  Jesus' opponents saw and heard the same things His disciples did.  What Jesus was talking about was minds that are open to receive and believe the truth, that are sympathetic and will accept the truth with joy unto their salvation.  Those are the people whom the Lord will bless with the precious gift of understanding and the ability to apply it with wisdom.

      Our prayer to God should always be that He help us guard ourselves from hardening our hearts to the point where we can no longer see or hear the truth.  Our concern must be to find out what creates such an obdurate mind and resist its formation within us.  Jesus in this chapter points out three factors in the Parable of the Sower.  First is our exposure to God's enemies, who persistently work to pick the truth out of the minds of prospective disciples, (v.19).  Second is having a mind so shallow that truth cannot penetrate it far enough to take permanent hold, (vs. 20-21).  Third is being more interested in worldly treasures that bring temporary pleasure, but then vanish forever, than in spiritual treasures that bless the owner both now and forever, (Mat. 6:19-22).  Beyond these factors which hinder the assimilation of truth, others are revealed elsewhere in the New Testament so that we might be careful to avoid them.  Self-righteousness and pride, for example, were the two major mental barriers that blocked the truth from the Pharisees and scribes.  Foolishness and levity are sometimes denounced as things that prevent people from apprehending truth.  Prejudice, malice, and moral perversion are other forces that disable people from receiving truth and benefiting from it.