ACCOUNTABILITY FOR SPEECH

Mat. 12:37 ... "By your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

      It has been said that the most sobering thought a person can have is that he must someday stand  before God in judgment for his life.  The idea of the judgment of mankind at the end of time is not the product of human imagination.  It is an announcement by God made through selected spokesmen long ago.  As early as the sixth century B.C. this proclamation was made:  "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt," (Dan. 12:2).  Jesus declared that "when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He shall sit on His glorious throne.  Before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats," (Mat. 25:31-32).  And Paul informed the Athenians that "the times of ignorance God overlooked, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent, because He has fixed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by a Man whom He has appointed; and of this He has given assurance to all by raising Him from the dead," (Acts 17:30-31).

      These are only three of a great many passages in the Bible where the judgment of all people at the end of earth's history is announced.  When the Athenians heard Paul's statement, it is reported that "some mocked."  It is the same today; if someone mentions the judgment as a literal event, there are many who will begin to mock.  But whether infidelity discards the announcement or not, it does not change the truth expressed.  Human opinions do not determine the future, but God's will does.  Indeed, "Let God be true though every one were a liar," (Rom. 3:4).  And everyone will be present in the judgment, including those who mock it as religious imagination.

      Jesus' statement in the essay text above was made in view of that judgment.  When we appear before God to give account for our lives, we shall either "be justified" or "be condemned" according to the words we have spoken during our time on earth.  This revelation puts our speech in the category of what is serious.  On that final day we each shall be held responsible for what we are now saying day by day.

      Most people pay little attention to what they say and then promptly forget most of it.  They sometimes pride themselves on being bold to say what they think on the spot.  I have heard people boast, "Well, I'm always frank.  I just say what I think and don't hold anything back."  This statement is often made with a glint in the eye and a noticeable set to the jaw.  But is this really the way the Lord wants us to be?  We are rather told "let your speech always be gracious," (Col. 4:6).  We are also instructed to "let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice," (Eph. 4:31).  The angry reply, the bitter quip, and the sharp retort will be remembered at the judgment, and they will not be in our favor.

      The speech that is current today contains a lot of filth and grows continually filthier.  It becomes so common that Christians get used to it and gradually adopt it into their own speech.  But if a hundred million people regularly use a smutty word or phrase, it does not make it acceptable for Christians to use.  Our standard requires us to "put them all away --- anger, wrath, malice, slander and obscene talk from your mouth," (Col. 3:8).  Furthermore, we are ordered to "let no corrupt talk come out of your mouths," (Eph. 4:29).  The dirty, filthy, smutty words that people use from day to day will be recalled in the judgment, and they will add up to cause those who use them to "be condemned."  The task of cleaning up one's speech begins with the cleansing of the heart, for Jesus said that "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks," (Mat. 12:34).  A dirty mind produces dirty speech, and the mind is soiled by what we allow to enter it and stay there.  To rid the heart of impure, vulgar thoughts will also clean up one's speech.  

REST FROM THE LOAD OF SIN

Mat. 11:28 ... "Come unto Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

      Jesus here pictures humanity as struggling hard beneath a heavy load as it makes its way along the road of life.  As He watches the long caravan and takes note of the growing fatigue, He is filled with compassion and calls out, "Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."  With the infinite power that is His as God, He offers to relieve people of their burden and give them the rest they need so much.

      As we read this vivid metaphor, we are soon led to wonder what is the nature of the load that mankind is carrying.  And what will Jesus do to lift that burden from human shoulders?  What type of rest will then follow?  It is natural to think of the load of responsibility we face in meeting the demands of daily living.  As we progress in age, this burden gradually gets more monotonous and tiresome, and many people give way beneath it.  Although the Lord promises elsewhere in Scripture to help us bear even this burden, no where does He say He will take it away from us and totally relieve us of it.  Concerning this burden we are rather told that "each will have to bear his own load," (Gal. 6:5).

      Without examining and eliminating all the other alternatives, the limitations of space here force us to come to the point.  There can be no doubt that the load under which Jesus sees mankind stoop and groan is the burden of sin.  The context of the verse indicates it, for Jesus had just spoken of the sins of the people of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, towns of Galilee.  He had favored their residents with His personal presence and the miraculous demonstrations of His power more than others, and yet they had failed to repent.  In their blindness they struggled on under their load of sin and refused to accept the relief offer by Jesus.

      It is said that "the way of the treacherous is their ruin," (Pro. 13:15).  In other words, the road of life is very difficult for those who choose to transgress the law of God.  They stumble along under the burden of their sins.  We are also urged to consider this:  "Do you not know that if you present yourself to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?" (Rom. 6:16).  Sin is here presented as a tyrannical master who subjects people to his oppressive burden that will eventually crush them to death.  This is the burden that Jesus will lift from those who accept His invitation and come to Him.

      How does He relieve this burden?  This question is answered by an apostle, "He (Jesus) Himself bore our sins in His body upon the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness," (I Pet. 2:24).  When Jesus went to His death on the cross, He took with Him the burden of sin of every person in every generation.  When anyone responds to His call to "come to Me" in faith and obedience, He removes the sin from that person's soul and gives him rest.  This "rest" is freedom from the tyranny of sin and the death to which it inevitably leads.  Returning to Romans 6 we read further, "But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set from sin, have become slaves of righteousness," (vs. 17-18).

      Only Jesus offers rest from the cruel burden of sin, because only Jesus died as the perfect sacrifice for all man's transgressions.  The world contains many in religion who call upon us to come and follow them in their doctrine, but only Jesus offers to take our sins upon Himself, pay their price, and give us rest.  

ENDURING TO THE END

Mat. 10:22b ... "The one who endures to the end will be saved."

      The object of Jesus' mission to the earth was to rescue man from enslavement to sin.  He once said of Himself, "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost," (Luk. 19:10).  This goal was not restricted to any one part of mankind, but was freely extended to the whole human race.  It is said of "God our Savior" that He "desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth," (I Tim. 2:4).  God went to awful length and paid a terrible price to offer man freedom and salvation from sin.  The apostle Paul states that "while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ... God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us," (Rom. 5:6,8).  Man's greatest discovery is that God acted to save him, and man's wisest decision is to take advantage of God's gift through faith and obedience.

      What God has done to save us is great and wonderful, for had He not taken this initiative we would have no way to escape the consequences of our sin.  This fact is emphasized in the declaration:  "For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast," (Eph. 2:8-9).  Grace is unmerited favor.  God's grace in saving us is a gift which He, out of His love, bestowed upon us when we were His enemies, living in sin and rebellion, and totally undeserving.

      This does not mean, however, that man is a passive recipient of God's goodness.  Far from it!  The New Testament is very clear and emphatic that man must respond to divine grace with faith and obedience.  Jesus stated definitely that "not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who DOES the will of My Father who is in heaven," (Mat. 7:21).  He was equally definite when He proclaimed, "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned," (Mrk. 16:16).  Paul extended the requirement of man's active response to God's grace when He counseled us to "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling," (Php. 2:12).  Indeed, we must respond to God's grace with faith and obedience to His requirements in the gospel.

      There seems to be a commonly held view among Christians that once you have put your faith in Jesus, repented of sin, publicly confessed Jesus as the Son of God, and submitted to baptism for the remission of sin, you are assured of salvation from then till death.  At baptism it is true that that all your sins to that point are "washed away," (Acts 22:16).  But that is not the end of the conflict with sin.  During the remainder of the Christian's life he must resist temptation, pray for the forgiveness of new sins (I Jno. 1:8,10), and struggle for the sake of righteousness as a soldier of Christ.  The New Testament constantly urges Christians to remain active in their service to the Lord as members of His church in order for their salvation to remain valid to the end.  Initial obedience to the gospel is not an unqualified guarantee of salvation to the grave.  It certainly redeems the lost soul, qualifies him to be added to God's family, and starts him on the road of righteousness toward heaven.  But it alone does not keep him there!  That is the work of a Christian at which he must toil every day of his life.

      Jesus' statement in the featured text above calls our attention to this fact.  He offers salvation in the judgment only to those who "endure to the end."  A person who has obeyed the gospel in baptism to become a Christian, but who will not attend church regularly to worship, who will not participate in any of the works of the church, who will not regulate his speech and behavior by the moral standard of the gospel, and who will not stand up for Christ in his daily walk of life, is not concerned about enduring to the end.  It is urgent that he wake up (Eph. 4:14), renew his commitment to Jesus, return to his first love, and begin his journey in the way of life again.  Salvation is only for those who "endure to the end."   

THE MINISTRY OF JESUS

Mat. 9:35 ... "And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction."

      This statement summarizes the activities of Jesus among the cities and villages of Galilee.  It provides the answer to the question, "What is meant by the phrase, 'the work of the Lord'?"  In classes and sermons in church we often use that expression with the assumption that everyone knows exactly what it means.  But do they?  Many have only a vague idea what working in God's service involves and engage in it poorly because they really do not know what to do.  As Jesus toured Galilee and did among the people what the Father had sent Him to do, His activities encompassed three types of work.  First, He preached the "gospel of the kingdom."  Second, He taught.  And third, He healed the sicknesses and diseases afflicting the people.  The targets of these acts were the soul, the mind, and the body of every person.

      The work of the Lord in our own Christian ministries is still the same three activities -- preaching to save lost souls with the gospel, teaching to perfect minds in the image of Christ, and doing benevolence to relieve physical distress in people.  In the Great Commission Jesus ordered us to "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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Mat. 28:19-20).  This statement assigns to Christians the dual responsibilities of preaching and teaching.  The purpose of preaching is to present to people what God revealed through Jesus so that they will believe it and be converted to Jesus as disciples.  The purpose of teaching is to perfect disciples in the image of Christ.  The vital work of benevolence is stressed in the statement, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this:  to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world" (Jas. 1:27).  To "visit" an orphan or widow in the sense used here means to go to them with goods and services that will significantly relieve their hardship and suffering.  James calls this kind of religion "pure and undefiled."

      From these Scriptures it is clear that "the work of the Lord" is for us today essentially what it was for Jesus in His ministry -- preaching to save lost souls, teaching to perfect saved souls in the image of Jesus, and doing benevolence to relieve physical distress in others.

      Although everyone may not be able to engage in formal pulpit preaching, every Christian can -- indeed must! -- preach informally to persuade the lost among his family, friends, and acquaintances to believe and obey the gospel.  Most Christians will not be teachers in the sense of having a class to teach in church, but every Christian can -- indeed must! -- teach fellow Christians to perfect themselves in Christ through encouragement, counsel, and kind exhortation.

FOLLOWING JESUS AT ANY COST

Mat. 8:22 ... "And Jesus said to him, 'Follow Me, and leave the dead to bury their dead.'"

      Jesus came into the world to rescue men from the ruin of sin.  When people follow their own will, or submit to the influence of the society in which they live, they are also yielding their lives to the control and motivation of sin.  Jesus calls people to forsake the urging of their will and turn their backs on the trends of society in order to follow the way in which He will lead them.  Jesus calls us to come and follow Him, for He grants salvation to all that will.  The dictates of self-will satisfy human pride, while the way of society offers gratification in the "fleeting pleasures of sin," but neither life course can reward its traveler with anything permanent.  But the way that Jesus offers will lead its follower unto the God of creation who will grant eternal life in the paradise of His heaven.

      Nevertheless, Jesus makes it very plain to those who would answer the call to follow Him that His way involves hardship and sacrifice.  Discipleship in Christ has a cost that must be paid.  He entices no one into His service with delusions of ease and effortless glory.  Jesus' apostles once began to reflect upon what they had chosen in Christ.  When they spoke of their thoughts, it gave Jesus an opportunity to put the thing in perspective for them.  It then says that "Peter began to say to Him, 'See, we have left everything and followed You.'  Jesus said, 'Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for My sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundred fold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.'"

      With the words "with persecutions" in the midst of the rewards offered to His disciples, Jesus tells them frankly and clearly that they must make a sacrifice to follow Him.  In the text above, a prospective disciple had come to Jesus and said, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go," (v.19).  Such a resolution is exactly what Jesus desires from us.  But He answered the man, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head," (v.20).  In effect, Jesus was saying, "I welcome you as My disciple.  But please be informed that it carries no promise of physical comfort, ease, or luxury.  Even I, your Lord and Master, do not have a house or bed of My own."  Those who think Christianity is an avenue to affluence and success in human terms have very poorly understood the teachings of the Son of God.

      Then another man who was already a disciple came to Jesus to ask for a leave of absence to take care of domestic business.  But Jesus answered, "Follow Me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead."  Jesus was not being heartless and cold in denying a man the time to attend his father's funeral, for that was not the intention of the request.  In a Jewish context he was asking for a suspension of his service to Christ so that he could serve his father until the man died.  That might take years and deny the Lord of the best of his time, talent, and energy.  It basically meant that he wanted to put the needs of his father at home before Christ, and that is not permitted.  Jesus once declared that "whoever loves father and mother more than Me is not worthy of Me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me," (Mat. 10:37).  There are disciples of Jesus at present who take leaves of absence from Him and from His church to please family or friends, or to promote their education or professional careers, or to establish themselves in economic security, or to indulge in the pleasures and amenities of carnal living.  But we must understand, from Jesus' own words, that such a choice will negate discipleship.  If we want to follow Jesus, we must be willing to pay the price.

THE GOLDEN RULE

Mat. 7:12 ... "So whatever you wish that others should do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."

(Fore note:  In this and all other articles I use the word "man" in the generic sense, certainly not to restrict the application to males.  "Man," with associated pronouns "his" and "him," are meant to refer to both genders.  I hope not to be seen as chauvinistic.)

      Who does not know that this statement of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount is called the Golden Rule?  It has been generally recognized as the high water mark in human achievement in the realm of inter-personal relationships.  It is the ideal in one's affairs with other people, a standard for society that is perfect.  Nothing to excel it, or even rival it, has ever been conceived by the human.  Other principles of personal interaction have been designed and advocated, but they all fall far short of what Jesus' Golden Rule can effect.  It alone can produce harmonious relations among men and establish true community to the benefit and pleasure of all.

      Critics of Christianity have eagerly pointed out antecedents to the Golden Rule in the wisdom literature of Jews, Greeks, and Chinese.  But examined closely, these statements are either contracted in their application or phrased in a negative form which lacks the social impact of what Jesus said.  Those who study religion comparatively have pointed out that Jesus was the first to express this principle in a positive and universally applicable form.  When this rule fails to achieve its goal, it is the lack of its application rather than any weakness in the rule itself.

      There are four rules which people enact in their lives.  The fourth is the Golden Rule, which is therefore the only one worthy to be adopted into the life of a Christian.  Stated in rising order of their value and beneficial effect, these rules may be phrased as follows:

      1.  Do unto others before they do unto you.
      2.  Do unto others the same as they do unto you.
      3.  Do not do to others what you do not want them to do unto you.
      4.  Do unto others the same as you want them to do unto you.

      The first of these rules is the way of the criminal.  He feels that life is an arena of competition where only the fittest and craftiest survive.  He sees the way to success over the wreckage of the welfare, feelings, and sometimes even the lives of others.  He is ready and quick to crush others to get what he wants.

      The second rule is the way of the natural man.  He feels that life is like a system of balance where all things must be kept in equilibrium.  When good comes to him, he thinks it ought to be balanced with a like measure of good in return.  And when evil is received, he feels compelled to recompense it with an equal amount of evil.  His motto is, "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth."

      The third rule is the way of the civilized man.  He is not motivated to hurt anyone to benefit himself, nor does he feel obligated to repay good or evil with a like measure of the same.  His goal is to leave other people alone, doing them neither good nor ill.  His way leads to a stable society marked by tranquility and peace, but because it is passive it does not promote the health and progress of society

      The fourth rule is the way of the Christian man.  He feels a sense of identity with all men as creatures of God; indeed, he sees the image of God in every man.  Therefore he is uniformly motivated to good toward all men, whether they do him good or not.  His good is active and altruistic, because its source is the love of God that fills his heart, envelops his life, and possesses him (Mat. 22:37-40).

BE NOT LIKE THEM

Mat. 6:8a ... "Do not be like them."

      Jesus calls us to live a kind of life that is different from what the typical person of the world exhibits.  It is a life from a different origin, based on a different foundation, activated by different motives, and having a different goal than the lives of people who have no interest in Jesus.  When someone accepts the Gospel and surrenders himself to Jesus' lordship, these differences must become so obvious that they distinguish him in any group.  In the sixth chapter of Matthew it is noteworthy that Jesus is stressing this essential feature of His impact on the lives of His disciples.

      First (v.2), He urges His disciples not to give alms "as the hypocrites do."  Whereas they distribute aid to the poor to win public recognition and plaudits, Jesus requires Christians to help others in God's name and unto God's glory because they love God and His unfortunate creatures.  Then (v.5) He teaches His followers not to pray "like the hypocrites."  Their corrupt attitudes shape their praying to have its impact upon people who will respond with praise.  In contrast, Christians are to direct their prayers unto God alone with no view toward what men will think of how or what they utter.

      Again in reference to prayer (v.7), Jesus instructs His disciples not to pray "as the Gentiles do" who "heap up empty phrases."  They engage in lengthy prayers filled with formulaic expressions designed to gain God's attention.  To the contrary, Jesus' disciples must be simple and direct in their appeals to the Father, since He already "knows what you need before you ask Him."  God is attracted to our humility, sincerity, and abiding trust in Him far more than to the length and eloquence of our prayers.

      In the matter of fasting (vs. 16-18), again Jesus urges His devotees to be not "like the hypocrites."  Rather than put on a show to attract admiring attention, the Christian who desires to fast must give no outward indication of it, except to God.

      In the balance of the chapter (vs. 19-34) Jesus draws an extended contrast between the common lust for material wealth and the Christian's higher esteem for the real wealth that is beyond the reach of thieves, the canker of rust, and the destruction of moths.  Or to express it somewhat otherwise, He distinguishes between the universal human trust in material things and the Christian's exceptional confidence in the personal care that his heavenly Father manifests in his daily experience.  That this contrast in the human response to the physical world is really what Jesus has in mind is evident in His parenthesis (v.32), "For the Gentiles seek after all these things."

      The case rests here in Matthew 6 that Jesus intends to build individuals who submit their lives to Him as people who are very different from the mass of unyielding humanity about them.  The object is not to produce the external oddity that misguided religionists have adopted to promote and perhaps maintain their distinction.  It is rather to attain a uniqueness based on internal, intrinsic traits that emanate from the deepest recesses of the soul and mold quality personalities.

      This acute distinction, however, must not breed arrogance, pride, or self-righteousness within Christians.  In fact, freedom from such base dispositions is an integral part of the unusual difference of the Christian life, for another major emphasis of Jesus in this chapter is unfeigned humility.  It is human to take pride in one's achievements, to elevate one's self by his successes above those who accomplish less.  But it is Christian (as opposed to just "human") to do good for God's sake, devoting all praise and glory with sincere humility to the Father.Those who have not seen the vision of the Christian character that Jesus projects in this chapter do not yet know what Christianity is all about.

LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE

Mat. 5:16 ... "In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

      The Christian life is distinctive, useful, and good.  It is this life which is being outlined by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount in this and the two following chapters.  The three adjectives just used to describe the Christian life were placed in the sentence with careful deliberation.  Each points toward an important area in the Christian life which each disciple of Jesus must develop to the maximum extent.  Let us examine each of them as much as we can in the brief space allotted to this article.

      First, the Christian life is distinctive.  It is different from the kinds of life exhibited by other people.  It must be so to gain God's recognition and approval, for Christians are instructed to "go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be Father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me, says the Lord Almighty," (II Cor. 6:17-18).  The lifestyle of a Christian must easily set him apart from the people about him in a way that is positive and attractive.  The traits of the mature disciple given by Jesus in the previous verses in the statements we have come to call "the beatitudes" are what work to make a Christian distinctive, since people who are living the natural, carnal life do not exhibit these traits to any noticeable degree.  The Christian is not governed by pride, laments the presence of sin both in his life and in that of others, is meek, hungers for righteousness, is merciful, is pure in heart, works for peace, and is ready to suffer to promote the cause of righteousness.  Anyone who responds to Jesus to incorporate and develop these traits in his character will truly be distinctive among his peers.

      Second, the Christian life is a useful life.  The preservation of meat in the ancient world was a serious problem, because refrigeration in the temperate and tropical zones was not possible.  But those people knew about the power of salt to save meat from spoiling and used it for that essential purpose.  Consequently, salt was considered an extremely valuable substance, even to the extent that it was frequently used for money.  The Romans sometimes paid their soldiers in salt.  This form of payment was called salarium (from the word for salt), the origin of our word "salary."  Jesus used this idea to point out that His disciples must serve the important purpose of preserving their world from the destruction of sin by their useful presence and beneficial influence.  He said, "You are the salt of the earth."  Christians serve a far more useful purpose in society than their irreligious neighbors ever recognize or fairly admit.

      Third, the Christian life is a good life.  The fundamental idea in the word "good" is fulfilling the purpose for which a thing was made.  If a workman fashions a tool to perform a certain function and the tool meets every requirement intended, the workman pronounces the tool "good."  In Genesis One the Lord God created the world and all its component animate and inanimate systems.  Four times it says that God looked upon His handiwork and pronounced it "good," because it was doing what He had made it to do.  God's purpose for man is to respond to His instructions in such a positive and comprehensive way that it reflects His divine glory.  Those who endeavor to follow the Christian life distinctively and usefully will fulfill God's expectations and manifest His glory in their lives.  Jesus said that when His disciples do the good works that He has taught, they will be seen by others who will be induced to "give glory to your Father who is in heaven."  Because the Christian is fulfilling the divine expectation with his life, it can be truly said that he is living the "good life."

THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS

Mat. 4:1 ... Then was Jesus led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil."

      The word "devil" comes from a root that means "slanderer."  The other word commonly used in the Bible to refer to the devil is "Satan."  The term is the Anglicization of the Hebrew that means "adversary."  Both of these meanings reveal the nature of the malign being to whom they refer.  Scripture records many instances where the devil slandered both God and man, especially those men who were trying to live righteously in God's service.  And the Holy Record shows this evil one absorbed in the effort to resist the Lord and His will.  Satan is the arch adversary of God and all that pertains to God.

      In the beginning God established man in a veritable paradise in the Garden of Eden.  He supplied man's every need, and man basked in perfect happiness and in the blissful peace of innocence.  But Satan soon appeared in the garden disguised as a serpent, enticed Eve with vain promises, and called God's instructions and motives into question.  She fell victim to the tempter's subtlety and sinned against God, inducing her husband to do likewise.  Through Satan's evil work man lost his innocence, his beautiful home in paradise, and his close relationship with God.

      As the centuries passed,  God set in motion a plan designed to redeem man from the slavery of sin into which he had sold himself.  Satan, however, was well aware of this plan and tried his best to defeat it.  The limits of this essay preclude even a brief outline of the course of this struggle, but anyone who reads the Old Testament with this conflict in mind will find its evidence throughout.  For example, when God chose a nation to prepare the way for the Redeemer, Satan devoted his vast energy to the attempt to divert that nation into idolatry.  Except for a small remnant, he succeeded.  But through that tiny fraction of people, God went on in time to accomplish His purpose.  

      A great climax occurred when Jesus appeared among men as the Redeemer whom God had promised millennia before.  Satan realized he had to subvert Jesus before He could fulfill His mission, or else his own eventual doom was insured.  That puts the history at the point of this text.  Jesus had just been baptized and was ready to begin His work.  God knew that Satan's time to act had come, and He was prepared for it.  He was quite willing to subject His Son to a head-on encounter with the devil, for He knew His Son would win the contest.  Therefore He sent the Spirit to lead Jesus "into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil."

      When they met, Satan tempted Jesus, who had not eaten in 40 days, to prove His divinity by changing stones into bread to satisfy His hunger.  Next, he tempted Jesus to prove God's sovereign care by casting Himself from the pinnacle of the temple.  Finally, he tempted Jesus to worship him in return for the world and all its glory.  But Jesus did not pause or waver before any of these temptations.  To the contrary, He brandished the "sword of the Spirit" in Satan's face by quoting the exact Scripture that annihilated the force of each temptation.  Thereupon the devil fled, knowing that he was defeated.

      Nevertheless, he continues to oppose God by trying to ruin as many people as he can to share the eternal misery of hell with him.  Our challenge is to prevent his success in our own personal lives.  We can do this just as Jesus did, by storing up in our minds the great power of the knowledge of God's word and then releasing it against every temptation that assaults us.

THE BAPTISM OF JESUS

Mat. 3:15 ... "But Jesus answered him, 'Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all right-eousness."

      According to God's plan to present His Messiah to the world, He first sent before Him a harbinger to prepare men to receive Him.  This select herald was John the Baptist, who began his ministry in the Jordan Valley about six months before Jesus made His appearance.  It can be said that John's impact upon the people was sensational, for it is reported that "all the country of Judea and all Jeru- salem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins," (Mrk. 1:5).  John's message was as clear as a clarion call:  "Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight," (Mat. 3:3).  Also, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," (v.2).  He was preaching to a people full of sin who needed urgently to confess, repent, and receive baptism unto repentance.  Droves of the people thus responded.

      Then one day a man from Nazareth in the hill country of Galilee appeared in the crowds that assembled before John.  To other people He was merely Jesus son of Joseph, an humble and unpre- tentious carpenter in a small village of no reputation.  But John looked upon the man quite differ- ently.  It says that "the next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (Jno. 1:29).  This was the people's first hint that the Messiah was already actually among them.  John declared unto them, "This is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who ranks before me, because He was before me'," (v.30).  In greater detail John had said, "I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire," (Mat. 3:11-12).

      It is difficult to suppose exactly what John expected Jesus to do when he had introduced Him to the people, but it is certain that John was not prepared for what Jesus wanted.  Jesus had come to be baptized by John.  John could not comprehend this, because his baptism was a response to sin unto repentance.  He knew that Jesus had no sin and therefore needed not repent.  So he remonstrated with Jesus:  "John would have prevented Him, saying, 'I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?'" (v.14)  But Jesus explained, "Let is be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteous- ness," (v.15).

      Simply put, Jesus told John, "It is not necessary for you to understand the whole thing that you are to baptize Me.  It is enough for you to know that it is God's will, and 'to fulfill all righteousness' we must obey God's will."  It is to John's great credit that he remonstrated no further, for he forthwith proceeded to baptize Jesus.

      There is a great lesson in this for people today.  In our sophistication and self-proclaimed enlight- enment we feel we are due a complete explanation of all things, especially when action is involved.  If that desire, which we project as an almost rude demand, is not met, we are most apt to refuse to comply with the action that is required.  But Jesus shows us here that it is sometimes sufficient and best to respond without question upon the faith that what is being required is the only issue at hand.  Sometimes God explains His commands, but there are times when He does not.  Jesus bids us by His own example to act in faith without equivocation.