The Bible presents a different view – it shows the church fulfilling several vital purposes in the life of a disciple. For example, I found five purposes for the church in the book of Ephesians.

Ephesians 3:21, “to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

To glorify means:

• To honor and praise.
• To speak words of excellence. 
• To assign the highest status to God.

The church glorifies God through the example we set by the lives we live. In the sermon on the Mount, Jesus urges, 

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

When we do well, we create an opportunity for the world to honor God. Therefore, as we endeavor to do well, let us seek to glorify God.

Ephesians 5:18-20 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, [19] speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, [20] giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Paul contrasts the drunkenness typical of pagan worship with “being filled with the Spirit.” When filled with the Spirit, we should “speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” Or, to put it another way, God expects Christians to sing when we get together.

When the church sings “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,” we “make melody in our hearts to the Lord.” Singing from our hearts implies that our singing is an act of spiritual worship. In the Bible, the heart often represents our spiritual person. So when the church meets, God expects us to worship Him spiritually.

Peter says more about this in 1 Peter 2:5, 

“you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

Jesus is a living stone. In verse 6, Peter quotes Isaiah 28:6, which describes Jesus as a “stone, a chosen and priceless cornerstone.” Likewise, in Ephesians 2:20, Paul describes Jesus as the “chief cornerstone” upon which God builds His church.

Jesus is a living stone, and like Jesus, God makes us living stones by which He “(builds) up a spiritual house.” Contrary to what some might think, churches are not material buildings of brick and mortar, concrete, and drywall. The house of God is the people of God, the living stones. And it’s made up of people because God dwells in His people – He does not live in houses made with men’s hands.

And within this spiritual house, God calls upon His people to offer up spiritual sacrifices: the writer of Hebrews says our words of praise are a sacrifice, 

“Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name” (13:15).

In a spiritual house, God expects His people to worship Him spiritually.

Paul talks of this in Ephesians 4:16, 

“…from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”

In Ephesians 1:22-23, He describes Jesus as the head and the church as the body: 

“And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, [23] which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”

Building upon this imagery, Paul shows the church depends on each member doing their part to unite the body and make it stronger. When every part works together and operates properly, the church can grow and build itself in love.

But the church can only accomplish this objective if it meets regularly: the writer of Hebrews exhorts in 10:24-25, 

“And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, [25] not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Verse 25 emphasizes the importance of the church meeting regularly. We must get together, especially when times are increasingly demanding for Christians. 

And when we get together, we need to “consider one another to stir up love and good works.” When I attend church, I must pull my mind away from “what will I get out of this” and drag it toward “what can I give my fellow Christians?” If I give careful thought, I can think of ways to inspire love and good deeds in the lives of my fellow Christians.

• Maybe it’s just an encouraging word.
• Or I can motivate them by setting a loving example.

Whatever the case, the writer of Hebrews, tells me to think about how I can inspire my fellow Christians. And if every church member attends to how they can inspire others to serve, it would inevitably increase my motivation. 

God builds the church on a three-fold foundation of the “apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone” (2:20).

The apostles and prophets form part of the foundation because, to them, God revealed the mystery, 

“which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets:” (Ephesians 3:5).

God spoke through the agency of His Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit spoke through the agency of the apostles and prophets. Therefore, we build on the church’s foundation by heeding the truth revealed by the Holy Spirit through the apostles and prophets.

As Paul tells Timothy, the church is “the house of God…the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). “The ground” is another word for a foundation, and together with a pillar, the foundation of a building holds up the structure.

The church is called by God to hold up the truth, elevate the truth, to make the truth visible to all of creation. When the church “speaks the truth in love,” we build on the foundation of truth laid by Jesus Christ, His apostles, and prophets; we become the mechanism by which God declares the truth to the world.

When equipping ourselves with the armor of God, Paul tells us to “shod (our) feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace” (Ephesians 6:15). 

The gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ: 

• The Word became flesh.
• He resisted all forms of temptation and remained sinless.
• He delivered a message from God.
• He died for our sins.
• God raised Him on the third day following His death. 

Paul describes it as “the gospel of peace” because the sacrifice of Jesus secures our peace with God – through the forgiveness of sins, we are no longer God’s enemies. 

God calls His church to spread the good news of Jesus to the world. Paul asks in Romans 10:14-15, 

“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? [15] And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO PREACH THE GOSPEL OF PEACE, WHO BRING GLAD TIDINGS OF GOOD THINGS!’”

Paul says: 

• To believe, we must hear.
• For one to hear, another must preach.
• And for there to be a preacher, one must be sent.

Our purpose as the church is to preach to those who have not heard and believed. And as Paul quotes from the book of Isaiah, God calls His people to perform a beautiful work.

1. The church glorifies God through the examples we set and the good works we do.
2. The church worships God in spirit and truth by offering spiritual sacrifices.
3. The church inspires and motivates itself when brethren work together and use their gifts to serve one another.
4. The church upholds the truth by speaking the truth in love, building upon the foundation laid by Jesus Christ and His apostles and prophets.
5. The church preaches the gospel to the lost, sharing the good news of Jesus with those who have not heard.

Someone with moderate to strong narcissistic tendencies struggles with several deficiencies such as:

• A grandiose sense of self-importance
• A lack of empathy for others
• A need for excessive admiration 
• And the belief that one is unique and deserving of special treatment

The word “narcissist” originated with a character from the narrative poem Metamorphoses by the Roman poet, Ovid. The poem tells of an exceedingly handsome young man named Narcissus who spurned romantic advances out of his vanity.

“When Narcissus rejects the nymph Echo, who was cursed to only echo the sounds that others made, the gods punish Narcissus by making him fall in love with his own reflection in a pool of water.”

Narcissus lives the remainder of his days unable to pull himself away from his reflection, learning that the object of his love cannot love him back. A cautionary tale, the myth warns us against the dangers of fixating on oneself and of excessive selfishness.

Because it was a term coined in the 1800’s, you will not find the word narcissism in the Bible; but you will find warnings against:

• Pride and vanity
• Selfishness
• A lack of empathy for others 

The Bible has quite a lot to say about pride. The sin of pride elevates oneself above others. The definition of pride includes arrogance and conceit. 

Proud people think of themselves as better than others; they look down on others. Proud people regard themselves as more intelligent, more beautiful or handsome, more skillful, or more talented than others. 

A proud person tends to overlook God. A proud person does not see their admirable qualities as a gift from God. Proud people do not see their achievements or accomplishments as a part of God’s grace. Rather, proud people take credit for themselves and give no credit to God. In the Old Testament book of Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar took credit for building the magnificent city of Babylon and did not credit God for His providence. 

Because proud people forget God, God hates pride.

• “A proud look,” is among the seven things God hates (Proverbs 6:17).
• “The LORD will destroy the house of the proud…” (Proverbs 15:25)
• “Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD…” (Proverbs 16:5)
• “For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.” (1 John 2:16).

Pride appears to be Satan’s first sin: in 1 Timothy 3:6, a bishop (or what the Bible also calls pastors or elders) should not be “​​a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil.” Ordaining an elder who is young in the faith could lead to pride. And pride, Paul says, condemned the devil.

Like pride, the Bible condemns selfishness. In the New Testament, selfishness is roughly equivalent to “self-seeking.” It comes from a Greek word that has political implications. A self-seeking person serves the interest of a party, they show a party spirit. Such a person might procure office by illegal manipulation or influence others in one’s own interests.

Other connotations include feud, faction, or a contentious disposition. The one who is “self-seeking” seeks their own gain or advantage; they are busy in pursuing their own interests at the cost of what is best for others.

Paul identifies self-seeking or selfish ambition as a sin in Galatians 5:20. He lists it alongside, “idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath…dissensions, heresies.” Selfishness is a work of the flesh.

Someone who practices selfishness will not go to heaven: Paul told the Galatians, “in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:21).

At the heart of many problems in interpersonal relationships lies selfishness. James asks in 4:1, “Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?” Why do people fight with one another? Because of their desire for pleasure. When I disagree with someone, it may very well be that what pleases me conflicts with what pleases them. Or to put it another way, selfishness causes interpersonal conflicts.

James confirms this five verses earlier: 3:14-16, 

“But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. [15] This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. [16] For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.”

Selfishness is not from God: it is of the world, it is demonic.  Selfishness creates chaos – messy relationships usually have selfishness as a root cause.And remember: those who practice selfishness will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Empathy is another word that does not appear in the Bible. Among the Greeks, empathy meant “meanness” or “malevolence.” We use it in quite the opposite way: “the ability to identify with or understand another’s situation or feelings.” So for good reason, the New Testament not only does not use the word, it was not used among the Greeks in the way we use it.

There are, however, some close equivalents to empathy. In 1 Corinthians 12:26, Paul exhorts, “And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it…” When a brother or sister in Christ goes through a difficult time, I should do my best to identify with their experiences. “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep,” from Romans 12:15 points to an empathetic spirit. Suffering alongside those who suffer is a close New Testament equivalent to empathy.

Romans 8:17 is another example:

“and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”

The Roman Christians were facing the very real prospect of persecution. When that time arrived, they would be “suffer[ing] with (Jesus)”: they would be able to relate to or identify with what Jesus endured for our sake on the cross.

Compassion is another rough equivalent to empathy. 

• Peter commands us to, “ be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous,” (1 Peter 3:8). 
• Jesus was, “moved with compassion,” when He saw the multitudes, “because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). 
• Paul urges “the elect of God, holy and beloved, [to] put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering” (Colossians 3:12).

All of these passages, while not mentioning the word empathy, describe a spirit of empathy.

And a couple of New Testament passages imply a lack of empathy. John asks in 1 John 3:17, 

“But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?”

James talks of a similar scenario in James 2:15-16, 

“If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, [16] and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?”

Both James and John highlight a lack of compassion and concern for the plight of someone who could be helped, but help is refused out of a lack of love and faith. Refusing to help calls into question the authenticity of one’s Christianity. What we call empathy may well be lacking in both of these scenarios.

While the word narcissism is not found in the Bible, the Bible does condemn elements of narcissism.

• God hates pride and vanity and condemns them in strong terms.
• The sin of selfishness excludes people from heaven.
• And those Christians who lack empathy may not be Christians at all.

Philippians 2:1-4 addresses the core issues of narcissism: 

“Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”

To conquer narcissism, we must first consider those around us more significant than ourselves – we must empty ourselves of pride and learn humility. And if we consider others more significant than ourselves, we will naturally endeavor to place their interests first – humility leads us away from selfishness and towards selflessness. Emptied of pride and selfishness, we develop empathy – the love and affection and mercy and connection.

If you struggle with narcissistic tendencies, Jesus shows you the way out: 

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, [6] who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, [7] but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. [8] And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:5-8). 

See also Lessons from the Recorded Temptations of Christ

YouTube: https://youtu.be/-3NUYKKwu5A

In response, some people of faith argued, “Christians should just preach the gospel.” This response strikes some as a mischaracterization of Christ and His message. Jesus commands us to relieve those who suffer.  To overlook this component of His message is to miss a grand purpose of the Christian faith.

But the other side points out that the Christian should have an eternal perspective. Therefore, sharing the gospel outweighs the need to tend to the poor, vulnerable, and oppressed.

To answer, let’s look at the example of the apostles.

Jesus commissioned these twelve men to 

“make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you…” (Matthew 28:19-20)

As Jesus’s chief ambassadors to the world, the apostles’ primary responsibilities were to preach, convert, and teach. And as soon as they received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, that’s exactly what they did. Peter and his fellow apostles declared Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, by virtue of His resurrection from the dead.

But as the account unfolds, the apostles did many, many good works alongside their preaching of the gospel. In Acts 3, Peter and John healed a lame man. Later in chapter 5, Luke reports, 

“through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people…they brought the sick out into the streets and laid then on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them.”

The sick and demon-possessed were healed by the grace of God at work through the hands of the apostles. 

While we might not be able to work miracles today, there is much we can do to help our fellow travelers. Like the apostles, our primary responsibility is to share the good news of Jesus Christ. But secondary to that, we should take advantage of opportunities to clothe the naked, feed the poor, visit the sick and afflicted, or provide a cold drink to the thirsty.

So, no, Christians are not to “just preach the gospel.” However, we should bear in mind several warnings of Scripture when it comes to doing good deeds.

Virtue signaling is the public expression of opinions or sentiments intended to demonstrate one’s good character or social conscience or the moral correctness of one’s position on a particular issue. Taking a picture of you handing a water bottle to a homeless person would be an example of virtue signaling. Or writing a post on social media to express how you agree with the culture’s accepted views of a current social issue would be an example of virtue signaling. Virtue signaling makes good deeds and crusades for social causes into performances – look at my good deeds, look at how righteous I am.

Jesus warned against the dangers of performative righteousness in Matthew 6. In His day, the Pharisees would put on public displays in their charity, their prayers, and their fasting. They did this to draw attention to themselves and to demonstrate their righteousness. Jesus rebukes them for hypocrisy and commands His disciples to go about their business in a quiet way.

There is a real temptation for Christians to fall into the trap of turning what should be behind-the-scenes acts of mercy and kindness into performances. If we feel we have to prove our virtue to others by publicly sharing our good deeds, then we are doing well for the wrong reasons.

Jesus says, 

“when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly” (Matthew 6:3-4).

Don’t virtue signal!  Do what you know is right in a quiet way and avoid drawing attention to yourself.

One of the qualities I really dislike about our current cultural climate is the wide-scale attempt by some to guilt others into doing what they want them to do. I am, admittedly, not a fan of coercing others to take responsibility for sins that are not their own.

However, on an individual level, regret or guilt is sometimes a place to start. In Matthew 21:28-32, Jesus shares a parable involving a father with two sons. The father tells both sons to work in his vineyard. The first one says no, regrets his decision, changes his mind and works in the vineyard. The second son agrees to work in the vineyard but never follows through. Jesus says the first son, even though he initially refused to do what was right, ultimately carried out his father’s will.

The lesson for us is sometimes we don’t want to do what is right.

Perhaps you have found yourself in a situation where you knew you should help out another person, but you didn’t want to, and yet did it because you knew it was the right thing to do. If we just proceed ahead, we have carried out our Father’s will.

However, as Christians we should work toward doing what is right out of love. If guilt is our only motivation for doing good deeds or advocating for righteousness, we will never reach our full potential. Paul observed in 1 Corinthians 13:3, 

“And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.”

The love upheld by Paul is doing what is best for another person even at the expense of what is best for oneself. While we may begin like the son who initially refused to do his father’s will but relented in the end, we should mature into doing what’s right out of love. We need to grow out of guilt and grow into love.

Doing what is right and standing for what is right out of love for others should be our goal.

Jesus famously fed at least 5,000 people in one day with two fish and five loaves of bread. That night, He went across the Sea of Galilee with His disciples by boat. The multitudes he fed one day, followed Him across the sea the next. When they found Him, Jesus questioned their motivations, 

“Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled” (John 6:26).

He went on to teach them, but did NOT feed them.

Before we act, we should do our best to discover what is really needed. When Jesus chose to feed the multitudes one day and teach them the next, He, as the Son of God, was able to see the full picture and respond accordingly.

Sometimes, what is needed is simple and clear: the good Samaritan saw his Jewish neighbor beaten and left for dead and knew what needed to be done. But when it comes to spiritual matters, many people really don’t know WHAT they need. The multitudes thought they needed bread; they thought their most pressing need was to satisfy their hunger. Jesus told them they were looking for the wrong bread; they needed the BREAD OF LIFE!

I may be helping someone in one way while neglecting something of far greater importance. So before I get involved, I need to do my due diligence: do I really know what this person or these people need?

• Am I looking for a quick fix that eases my guilty conscience, or am I willing to commit to solutions that will work in the long-term?
• Does what I’m advocating truly help my neighbor?
• Have I talked to people in the community who are affected by the problems I am speaking against?
• Am I supporting an organization or participating in a movement with righteous aims?

One of the challenges of our current time is sorting out what is true from what is propaganda or political spin.

As Christians, we should have an eternal outlook. Remember the lesson of John 6:27. The multitudes found Jesus and he tells them the only reason they sought him out was because they were hungry. He goes on to say, 

“Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”

Yes, Christ wants us to relieve suffering and help the vulnerable to the degree that we are able.

However, we should always balance our desire to make this world a better place with the realization that this world will pass away. 

• If I seek greater justice for the marginalized here below but never help them avoid the eternal justice that awaits should they remain in their sins, how have I helped them?
• If I clothe the naked but never help them put on clothes of righteousness, how have I helped them?

As a Christian, I have a responsibility to look beyond the present moment to the eternity that awaits.

Always remember that you are helping an eternal soul. Someday, that person will have to stand before the judgment seat of Christ. You may be one of the few or, perhaps, the only person who shares with them the truth about Jesus Christ.

When you do good works, find a way to sow a gospel seed.

Try as we might, this world is fatally flawed and it is beyond all of us to repair it. As human beings created in the image of God, we have tremendous potential to do good. But with that potential comes a harsh reminder: human nature is such that we have squandered God’s blessings and, through sin, done irreparable harm to ourselves and one another. Try as we might, we can neither right all wrongs nor cure the true systemic problem of this world: sin and death.

So lift another’s load, make a fellow traveler’s day easier, stand for causes that are just and right and holy. But in all this remember eternity awaits and the best thing we can do for our neighbor is share the hope we have in Jesus Christ our Lord.

See also:

Do I HAVE to forgive?

Overcoming Addiction Through Christ

But if you think that’s all the Bible is – a rulebook that only tells us what we can’t do – then you’re mistaken.

Accompanying the many “thou shall not” commands is a large number of “thou shall” commands, instructions that tell us how we should live. Paul tells Timothy, 

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, [17] that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Yes, Scripture does correct us and reprove us for wrong conduct by pointing out sin. But it also instructs us in righteousness and equips us for every good work. For all of the occasions God tells us “not do,” there are many occasions when God tells us TO DO.

For the purposes of this study, I have chosen five “thou shall commands.”

Matthew 5:43-44 “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ [44] But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you…”

In this section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus challenges us to raise our level of love. Loving those who love us is something anyone can do. What separates the followers of Christ from others is our commitment to loving those who hate us.

Loving our enemies means seeking what is best for them regardless of how we feel about them. Our enemies may persecute us, treat us harshly, or abuse us, and such treatment may create a lot of emotions and feelings inside of us.Regardless of how we feel, Jesus tells us to bless, to do good, and pray for them.

He points to the example of God the Father, “who makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends His rain on the just and the unjust.” God does good even toward those who do not believe in Him, who hate Him, who rebel against Him. If we want to be His children, we must do likewise, pursuing the perfection exemplified by God the Father.

Paul reminded the Corinthians of what Jesus instituted after He shared His last Passover meal with His disciples, 

“and when He had given thanks, He broke (the bread) and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ [25] In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ [26] For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:24-26).

The Lord’s Supper – or sometimes called communion – is a ceremonial meal eaten by the church. The bread represents the body of Jesus which He sacrificed on the cross for our sins. The fruit of the vine – or grape juice or wine – represents the blood Jesus shed for the remission of our sins.

Although it requires a little bit of digging, it does appear the first century church got together every Sunday to eat this meal together. The church in Troas assembled on the first day of the week to break bread (Acts 20:7). And in 1 Corinthians 11, Paul seems to imply that keeping the Lord’s Supper was the reason why the Corinthian church got together regularly. Thus, the church eats it as a community meal.

Jesus says we eat and drink in order to remember Him. We remember the terrible sacrifice He gave as He willingly subjected Himself to torture, public humiliation, and death by crucifixion. And we remember the reasons why this sacrifice was necessary. We accept personal responsibility for His death by remembering the sins we committed. It is a sobering ceremony that serves as an important touchstone for the church from week to week.

And it’s a ceremony we should keep until Jesus returns: as Paul says, “ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.”

https://youtu.be/tVJw3zIhNrI

Romans 12:1, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”

Earlier, I mentioned the mistaken impression held by many that the Bible is just a book that tells us what we can’t do. It’s true that the Bible does define sin and warns us about the consequences for sin. But it also gives us a sense of why we should keep ourselves from sin. And the reason why we should pursue purity goes beyond “sin is wrong.”

In the book of Romans, Paul depicts the body as a weakness exploited by sin.

Romans 6:12, “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.”

Romans 7:23-24, “But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. [24] O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”

The body is not inherently evil, the body is inherently weak, as Jesus said to His disciples, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Thus we sacrifice our body, with its desires, to a higher purpose.

“And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” (Romans 6:13)

Resisting temptation and avoiding sin by using our bodies as an instrument of righteousness is a higher calling that serves an eternal purpose.

Ephesians 6:1-3, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. [2] ‘HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER,’ which is the first commandment with promise: [3] ‘THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH YOU AND YOU MAY LIVE LONG ON THE EARTH.’”

American culture tilts toward youth. We celebrate youth and vitality in everything from health and beauty to social justice causes. And, certainly, we should celebrate and admire aspects of youthfulness. Jesus said to His disciples, 

“Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” (Mark 10:14-15)

However, even though we should admire and imitate some virtues of youthfulness, children are also called to obey and to honor their parents. 

To be frank, the wickedness and cruelty and foolishness of some parents makes this a difficult command for too many children to keep. Regardless, God does issue the command and offers a reason why. A culture that values the honoring of parents stands a greater chance of securing long-term social stability. In contrast, Paul says “perilous times” will be characterized by children who are “disobedient to parents” (2 Timothy 3:1-2).

Again, I don’t think Scripture is being naive about the harms and hurts done to children by negligent and abusive parents. I’m reminded of the warnings of Jesus about causing little ones who believe in Him to stumble. It would be better for the offenders to drown themselves in the sea. God is well aware of this world’s cruelty and vows to avenge the victims of abuse.

However, this does not alter the warning of Scripture: a general spirit of rebellion among the young carries with it significant downstream consequences for society. Thus it is God’s will for all of us to honor our fathers and mothers.

Colossians 3:12-13 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; [13] bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.

Anyone who believes Christians are perfect is sadly mistaken. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. John warns Christians, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). Christians are not perfect; we have been perfected by the blood of Jesus Christ that covers our sins so long as we walk in the light. Because Christians are not immune from error, we must learn how to bear with the weaknesses of one another.

In Colossians 3:12, Paul highlights several virtues we will need to bear with one another. To bear with one another requires certain virtues:

• Tender mercies: compassion, feeling sympathy and empathy and pity for one another.
• Kindness: “the ancient writers defined (this word) as the virtue of the man whose neighbor’s good is as dear to him as his own.”
• Humility: if I consider myself to be superior to others, then I will grow impatient with their mistakes and foibles.
• Meekness: a gentle and lowly and sweet spirit.
• Longsuffering: we must have a level of patience that is willing to suffer the slights and insults and thoughtlessness that is a part of human interactions.
• Remember God’s mercy:  God forgave me, His enemy, out of His grace and mercy; He expects me to do likewise.

The Bible does define things we should not do. But of equal importance are the things it tells us TO do.

• God wants us to love our enemies as He loves His enemies.
• Christ tells the church to regularly eat bread and drink the fruit of the vine as a memorial of His death.
• Just as Jesus denied Himself and took up His cross. He commands us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice.
• For the good of our society, we should honor our fathers and mothers.
• Because God bears with us, we should bear with one another.

But there is a type of fear – the fear of the Lord or godly fear – that the Bible teaches is both virtuous and healthy.

This is one of the chief lessons Solomon drives home in Proverbs: 

“By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil” (Proverbs 16:6)

Solomon, in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, tells us why godly fear urges us away from sin: 

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all. [14] For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil.”

After putting everything “under the sun” to the test in his search for meaning and purpose, Solomon arrives at a simple conclusion. A life led by obedience motivated by a fear of God gives us purpose. AND, God will hold us accountable for our actions one day.

It’s this second element – we will all be judged by God one day – that compels us to depart from evil. We depart from evil because we fear failing to meet God’s expectations.

When I was in college, one of my professors became a full, tenured professor. For 10-15 years, he had worked very hard to achieve this distinction – he was an excellent teacher, highly respected by his colleagues and students. Upon obtaining tenure, he remarked, “I will no longer have to live in fear.” It was a passing, but insightful comment. What he feared was failure and all of the consequences that accompanied it.

A fear of missing the mark, of falling short of God’s expectations, a fear of failure is both natural AND helpful. Without question, none of us, no matter how hard we try, no matter how much energy we expend, no matter how many good things we do, none of us can be righteous in God’s eyes without the blood of Jesus Christ.

However, even though we only obtain perfection through Jesus Christ, God still expects us to, “work out (our) own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12). Remembering that “every knee will bow” before the Lord Jesus Christ should motivate us to live better.

Fearing God helps us to turn away from sin and evil. We know we will be held accountable one day and we fear falling short of the mark.

Solomon teaches in the book of Proverbs that the “fear of the Lord,” is where knowledge and wisdom begins.

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7)

But the fear of the Lord requires humility.

“The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate” (Proverbs 8:13).

Pride and arrogance are singled out as two things God hates. Therefore, if we fear him, we too should hate pride.

Pride is the biggest impediment to learning. Those who think they know all things cannot be taught. Those who are full of themselves have no room for God. The proud tend to be close-minded and self-satisfied and, therefore, unwilling to learn. Only the humble can be taught by God because the humble fear Him.

“The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident” (Psalms 27:1-3).

Though all the hosts of evil men surround us, those who fear God can be confident that HE is their light and salvation and strength. When we fear God, we have no reason to fear man.

Remember the warning of Jesus to His apostles:  

“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).

When Paul reminds Timothy, “God has not given us a spirit of fear,” he couches the reminder in the context of suffering for the Lord Jesus. In the next verse he says, 

“Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God,” (2 Timothy 1:8).

Later in the book, he assures Timothy, “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12). Fearing what man can do to us is a worldly fear; fearing God means we have no reason to fear what man can do.

“Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. [12] Who is the man who desires life, And loves many days, that he may see good? [13] Keep your tongue from evil, And your lips from speaking deceit. [14] Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it. [15] The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry” (Psalms 34:11-15).

The fear of the Lord, David teaches, leads us to “depart from evil and do good.” When we fear God and embrace righteousness, God opens His ears to our prayers.

“The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth. [19] He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them” (Psalms 145:18-19).

“(Jesus), in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear” (Hebrews 5:7).

God inclines His ear to hear the prayers of those who fear Him.

Remember from Psalm 34, David teaches us the fear of the Lord. He  asks in verse 12, “Who is the man who desires life, And loves many days, that he may see good?” Fearing God compels us to live better and living better leads to life.

In Proverbs, Solomon observes how a righteousness rooted in the fear of the Lord extends one’s life.

“The fear of the LORD prolongs days,” he says in 10:27, “But the years of the wicked will be shortened.”

“The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, To turn one away from the snares of death” (Proverbs 14:27).

In the case of Noah, godly fear literally saved his life and the lives of those in his household: 

“By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith” (Hebrews 11:7).

And God gives US life if we fear Him: Hebrews 12 concludes with these words, 

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire” (verses 28-29).

God blesses us when we fear Him.  He:

• Teaches us.
• Emboldens us in the face of our enemies.
• Opens His ears to our prayers.
• And He pledges to give us life.

How can God promise to bless those who fear Him AND tell them NOT to fear? Certainly, Scripture does command and encourage us to set aside fear. Over 300 times, God commands His people, “Do not be afraid,” and, “do not fear.” Here are a couple of examples:

Romans 8:15, “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

1 John 4:18, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”

Each of these passages presents fear as something to be cast aside, outgrown, put away. I believe this type of fear is worldly fear, the fear we examined in a previous study. Living with worldly fear is a relic of our lives before we came to Christ.

It suggests that as we grow in our love for God and one another, our fear of punishment will grow less. We should not lose our respect, awe, or reverence for God.

Jesus does tell his apostles to “fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28). Paul reminds the Corinthian Christians, “we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:9-10). Bearing in mind that “we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ” to account for our lives is both prudent and necessary.

However, I also would contend that as we mature in Christ, our fear of God’s condemnation should diminish. Sin, and the consequences that await unforgiven sin, is what causes us to fear God’s condemnation. But part of perfecting our love for God means we should sin less and less as we mature:  

1 John 2:5, “But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.”

So as we grow in keeping the word of God – and thereby grow in our love for God – the cause for our fear, sin, diminishes. While I should never lose godly fear, John tells me that I can gradually grow out of my fear of eternal punishment by growing in my love for God.

• Fearing God helps us to turn away from sin and evil; we know we will be held accountable one day and we fear falling short of the mark.
• God blesses us when we fear Him:  He teaches us, He emboldens us in the face of our enemies, He opens His ears to our prayers, and He pledges to give us life.
• God tells us to not be afraid AND to fear Him.He wants us to cast out worldly fear while continuing to fear Him in healthy ways.And, as we grow in our love for Him, we will gradually lose our fear of eternal punishment.

https://youtu.be/4Za-KDrvtbU

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

One of Timothy’s primary responsibilities was to teach the church the word of God. In this verse, Paul urges him to work hard and to “rightly (divide) the word of truth.”

The New English Translation says, “(teach) the message of truth accurately.” In their notes, the translators say, 

“Accurately is a figure of speech that literally means something like ‘cutting a straight road.’ In regard to the message of truth, it means ‘correctly handling’ or ‘imparting it without deviation.’”

So as one charged with teaching the word of God, Timothy was to be very careful that he taught it accurately.

But in order to teach the word of God accurately, one must first understand what the word of God says. This means, one must know how to properly interpret the word of God.

Jesus used three tools when interpreting Scripture. I believe these tools remain relevant for us.

In Luke 10:25, a lawyer tests Jesus with the question, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus asks, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it,” to which the lawyer responds by identifying two essential commands:  love God and love our neighbor. Jesus responds in verse 28, 

“You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”

Obeying these two commands will lead one to inherit eternal life.

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).

Obedience to the will of God separates pretenders from true believers. If we want to go to heaven, we must obey the will of God.

“If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15).

Saying, “I love you Jesus,” but not obeying His commands is like saying, “Lord, Lord.” Like faith and works, love needs obedience in order to be alive.

“Now by this we know that we know Him if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this, we know that we are in Him” (1 John 2:3-5)

If you want to know whether or not you abide in Jesus, then determine whether or not you keep His commands. And like John 14:15, notice that one’s love for God is expressed by keeping the word of Christ.

So when we attempt to discern the will of God by properly interpreting Scripture, our chief guides are the commands of God.  I cannot:

• Please God without keeping His commands.
• Love God without keeping His commands.
• Have a relationship with God unless I keep His commands.

Therefore, if Scripture commands, I must obey.

In Matthew 12:1-8, Jesus legitimized the use of example in interpretation. The hungry disciples pluck heads of grain and are accused by the Pharisees of violating the prohibition of work on the Sabbath day Jesus defends His disciples by citing two examples from the Old Testament.

• He cites David and his men eating the showbread in 1 Samuel 21:3-6.
• He highlights the priests who offer sacrifices on the Sabbath — Numbers 28:9-10.

In His response to the Pharisees and scribes, Jesus demonstrates that the use of example is a perfectly acceptable form of interpretation. Pairing commands with examples seem to be a reasonable hermeneutic for properly understanding the word of God.

Examples from the Old Testament are used extensively throughout the New Testament in order to illustrate and guide.

• 1 Corinthians 10:1-12: Paul says the children of Israel were “baptized into Moses,” partook of spiritual food from the same source of us, and yet rebelled against God by their idolatry, sexual immorality, and lack of faith.
• The writer of Hebrews in chapters 3 and 4 brings up the same example and concludes in 4:11, “Let us, therefore, be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.”
• To argue in favor of supporting those who preach the gospel, Paul quotes Deuteronomy 25:4, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain,” extracting from the example a transcendent principle.
• Jude warns us against being led astray by using the examples of the children of Israel, the fallen angels, and Sodom and Gomorrah; a few verses later, he says false teachers “have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah” (1:5-7, 11).

Although many of the commands from the Old Law no longer apply to us, we are urged to take to heart the examples of the Old Testament.

The New Testament urges us to take to heart the examples of Jesus and His apostles.

After washing the disciples’ feet, Jesus says in John 13:15, “For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.”

Peter urges us to bear with poor treatment, “because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps” (1 Peter 2:21).

Paul and his companions earned their own living while among the Thessalonians and did not accept help from the church “not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us” (2 Thessalonians 3:9).

Using examples from Scripture as our guide means we are using Scripture in the way it was designed to be used.

Jesus used inference when answering the hypothetical question of the Sadducees in Matthew 22:23-33. 

As you may recall, the Sadducees floated a hypothetical scenario involving a man, his wife, and his seven brothers. If the man dies, his seven brothers marry his wife in succession upon the death of each one, and finally, the wife dies. So which man will her husband be in the resurrection?

To answer, Jesus quotes Exodus 3:6, and chides the Sadducees for missing the meaning of “I am”: “God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” What’s fascinating about Jesus’s interpretation is that it requires inference.  

He does not say, “I was the God of Abraham,” implying that Abraham is dead and not alive; He says, “I am the God of Abraham.” The Sadducees should have inferred Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob though they were dead, were in fact alive because God uses the present tense. In failing to draw out God’s meaning, Jesus says these men “are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.”

To be clear:  He rebukes them for not drawing the right conclusion based on inference.

When Paul reflects on the promises to Abraham in Galatians 3, he observed, “(God did) not say (to Abraham), ‘And to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, ‘And to your Seed,’ who is Christ.” Here is another example of an easily overlooked inference. The difference between the plural and singular, though subtle, affects the conclusion drawn from the passage.

This illustrates how easy it is to draw a faulty conclusion from inference. The Jews inferred the promise was to all of Abraham’s descendants while Paul says it was to Christ alone.

In some cases, there is one conclusion that can be drawn from an inference. For example, Galatians 5:4, 

“You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.”

In the Galatian churches, there were some Gentiles who decided to be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses. From the verse, we infer these folks had been believers in Jesus prior to their embrace of the Old Law.

• Paul says they “have become estranged from Christ” — “alienated from Christ,” or “severed from Christ.”
• And he says they “have fallen from grace.”

One cannot fall from grace unless they were in grace and one cannot be severed from Christ unless they were once united with Christ.

This inference leads us to one conclusion: these folks had been, at one time, Christians.

When there is only one reasonable conclusion that can be reached by inference, we call this necessary inference.

Sometimes there are a variety of possibilities, a number of possible inferences we can draw. In such cases, we have to weigh out which inference is most likely based on the broader context of the chapter and book. And, sometimes we must also take into account other passages from other books in the Bible to help us narrow down which inference is most likely.  

So in some cases, only one conclusion can be drawn from inference, while in other cases, we may need to consider multiple possibilities when using inference.

Inference is indispensable when interpreting sophisticated communication, but we must use it carefully and guard against drawing a single conclusion when more than one interpretation may be possible.

Following God’s commands, imitating the examples we find in Scripture, and inferring the meaning of a passage are tools we utilize when staking out the borders of the kingdom of God. 

There are some fears that are legitimate and necessary.  We might categorize these fears as “godly fear.”

While there are healthy fears, there is a fear that is one of the greatest impediments to improving the human condition. God commands His people over three hundred times to “fear not.” The frequency of the command indicates the far-reaching consequences of a life led by improper fear.

Consider, for example, the children of Israel. The children of Israel were poised to invade the land of Canaan one year after their exodus from Egypt. But they received an unfavorable report from ten of their twelve spies. 

• Formidable armies protected this abundant and rich land. 
• The inhabitants fortified their major cities. 
• The prospect of victory seemed slim; total annihilation seemed much more likely.  

Israel chose to accept the narrative of the ten spies and their resolve withered in the face of worldly fear.  

If we allow it, worldly fear tells us wild stories about what might be happening now or what might happen in the future.

• Will I die from a debilitating disease or from cancer or Alzheimer’s?  
• What will I lose in the future:  my figure, my spouse, my hair, my youth, my mind, my money or job or hobbies or purpose or faith?
• Will I die alone, penniless, without friends or family to console me?
• Will I always be unloved and alone?
• Can I love someone without getting hurt?

Facts are the only way to confront and defeat these debilitating stories we tell ourselves. Think back to the children of Israel for a moment. Israel forgot what had taken place within the last year.

• The plagues
• The crossing of the Red Sea
• The manna in the wilderness
• The terrifying glory of God on Mount Sinai.

Fears about what MIGHT happen lead us to forget how God has been with us in the past. We may have NO reason to wonder about any of these things; and yet, if we allow it, our fears over what MIGHT happen to us can rule our lives to the point of ruin.

Joshua and Caleb, the two spies who did not agree with the other ten, attempted to offer a counter-narrative that hinged on two facts. The land is good. If we are faithful, God will be with us and we will prevail. The children of Israel did not listen to Joshua and Caleb, but their attempt to persuade shows us a way forward:  fears must be met with facts.

When Adam and Eve sinned, how did they respond? They hid from God. Why did they hide from God?  Genesis 3:10,

“So Adam said, ‘I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.’”

Adam’s sin led him to fear, and fear compelled him to hide.

Worldly fear cowers in secrecy. We conceal because we fear what God, or others, might think about our transgressions or our faults or our flaws.  We hide our sins because we fear the sacrifices that may be required to right our wrongs. It hurts to change, so we bury the sin and practice it in secret.  

Fear leads to secrecy and secrecy keeps us from confronting our sin. But secrecy corrupts our souls. Secrecy also strengthens sin. The longer a sin stays secret, the stronger it grows because consequences are not immediate. The greater sin’s hold, the deeper the corruption goes.

In Psalm 32, David describes in poetic language the burden and consequences of hidden sin. 

“When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer” (verses 3-4).

Harboring our sin out of worldly fear does not avoid pain, it increases our guilt and shame and thereby increases our suffering. The secrecy rooted in fear only hurts us.

David gives us the solution in Psalm 32:5. 

“I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,’ And You forgave the iniquity of my sin.”

Confession, not suppression, is how we heal the pain, hurt, and guilt; and confession is how we defeat worldly fear.

Adam and Eve did not seek out God to throw themselves on His mercy. When they heard him in the Garden, they attempted to avoid Him. They did not seek out God on their own initiative. It was God who called to Adam, “Where are you?” Adam and Eve delayed confronting their sin until they could avoid it no longer.

In Acts 24, Paul preached Christ to the Roman governor, Felix. Luke tells us in Acts 24:25, 

“Now as (Paul) reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, ‘Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you.’”

Paul’s message reached Felix; he was convicted and afraid. But rather than confronting those fears, Felix delayed. Worldly fear urges us to wait for a more convenient day: “I will do this one more time and then tomorrow I will fix it.”  

Since it dwells in the realm of imagination, worldly fear always believes there is more time. We tell ourselves things like: “I’ll binge on porn just one more time; and that will be the last.” “I’ll quit smoking next week when I don’t work as many days.”  We know what we do is either wrong or is harming us or both, and yet we convince ourselves we will have time to fix it later.

A delay might briefly release the grip of fear, but the relief is temporary. With the next sin, fear awakens like a hibernating beast, waiting to be fed.

When the message of Peter convicted his fellow Jews on the day of Pentecost, Luke tells us in Acts 2:41 that three thousand souls were baptized on that DAY. When the Ethiopian eunuch saw water, he wanted to be baptized immediately. Ananias asked Paul, “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16). Paul tells the Corinthians “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Fear tells us we have more time; the Bible urges us to act and to act quickly.

Worldly fear tells us that we have wandered beyond hope. The possibility for change seems unattainable. Death looms like a specter and our fear of it ensnares, imprisons and enslaves. As sins multiply, life grows ever more complicated.It becomes so complex that we cannot see a way of unraveling all of the twists and knots we have created.

Convinced there is no escape, we become spiritually incapacitated, overwhelmed by a sense of apathy and isolation. “Oh, wretched man that I am!  Who will deliver me from this body of death?”

No matter how bad or worthless or irredeemable we think we are, no one is beyond the grace of God. 

Nineveh was a wicked city on the verge of receiving God’s wrath. But the entire city was given a reprieve when it repented at the preaching of Jonah. 

Manasseh was widely held to be the most wicked king in Judah’s history. And yet when he was punished, he humbled himself and was restored to the throne. 

Before he became a Christian, Paul persecuted the church and, by his own admission, attempted to destroy it. But God had mercy and called him to salvation in Jesus Christ.

No matter how far you think you have fallen, no matter what you have done, you are not beyond the grace of God. God is not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. If you genuinely believe in Jesus and repent – like all of these people I just mentioned – God will receive you.

The future can be brighter and better for you. So don’t listen to the voice of fear. Turn away from the dark path of sin and death and turn toward the narrow way that leads to life. 

All of these facets of worldly fear share this common trait.

Like the children of Israel, worldly fear leads us to fixate on what MIGHT happen rather than remember what God HAS done for us. Fear tells us to keep our sin secret and thereby keep ourselves safe. Worldly fear tells us we will always have time to confront our sins tomorrow.

But all of these are lies in one way or another and the solutions are found in doing the exact opposite. Focus on facts, on what you know, on what you have experienced, rather than on what you imagine MIGHT happen. Confession, not suppression, brings healing. We don’t have all the time in the world; our sins need to be confronted with urgency, not delay. All hope for you is NOT lost; God’s grace is greater than our sins!

Don’t buy into the lies of worldly fear!

https://youtu.be/fqe5dowqqb8

I also assume that though there are other books and collections of books that claim to be God’s word, these sixty-six books have been preserved by divine providence for our learning and no other books can be considered Scripture.

If you don’t believe my assumptions are correct, then it’s quite possible you will disagree with my answer.

God is a spiritual being. We are composed of three parts: spirit, soul, and body. God is also a triune being composed of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. However, He is spiritual in His nature. “God is spirit,” Jesus says to the Samaritan woman in John 4:24. And following His resurrection, Jesus tells His disciples, 

“a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have” (Luke 24:39). 

So as we attempt to understand God, it’s important to remember that God is of a different nature than us – He is spirit.

Because God differs from us in His nature, the realm where He dwells is fundamentally different from ours. For example, the Bible says God dwells in eternity. The realm we live in has a beginning and it will have an end. We are subject to the law of cause and effect. But God exists outside of time, beyond cause and effect, in eternity.

Psalms 90:2, “Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.”

God also does not see things from a human perspective.

Isaiah 55:8-9, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.”

Romans 11:33-35, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! ‘For who has known the mind of the LORD? Or who has become His counselor?’ ‘Or who has first given to Him and it shall be repaid to him?’”

So as we seek an answer to the question, “Is God a Woman,” we must first acknowledge that God is someone with a different nature, who dwells in a different realm, who does not see things the same way that we do.

Oftentimes, our misunderstandings about God stem from our expectations that He will be like us or see things like we do or that He is subject to the same rules as we are. Though I am created in His image and, for that reason, I reflect some of His divine attributes, I should always bear in mind that God is fundamentally different from human beings. Because God differs from us in significant ways, He chose to reveal Himself in ways that we can more easily comprehend.

Isaiah “saw the Lord, sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple” (6:1).

Ezekiel saw 

“on the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man high above it. Also from the appearance of His waist and upward I saw, as it were, the color of amber with the appearance of fire all around within it; and from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw, as it were, the appearance of fire with brightness all around. Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD” (1:26-28).

Daniel saw someone he described as “the Ancient of Days,” seated on a throne with a “garment…white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool” (7:9-10).

In these visions, Isaiah, Ezekiel, all saw elements they could understand – an ancient king, seated on a high throne, shrouded in light.

Paul says God “alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see,” (1 Timothy 6:16). John says with certainty, “No one has seen God at any time” (1:18).

For that reason, it is more likely these prophets saw representations of God that symbolized His eternity, His glory, His sovereignty, and His holiness. 

But these representations help us to better understand what is unknown and unseen through what we can know and see. It’s why Jesus chose to describe His kingdom with parables. He helped us understand the unseen, spiritual kingdom of God – the most abstract of abstract concepts – in concrete, relatable stories. 

If, as both John and Paul say, no man has seen God, or can see God, and God

• Consists of a nature different than us,
• And exists in a realm different from our own, 
• Then it would stand to reason that the only way for us to comprehend God to some degree is by connecting Himself to what we can see and experience. 

It’s one reason why the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. One of the missions of Jesus was to show us a perfect representation of the character of God so that we might better understand the unseen through what can be seen.

Because God differs from us in significant ways, He chose to reveal Himself in ways that we can more easily comprehend.

Male and female – or masculine and feminine – appear to be distinctions created by God for the benefit of human beings alone. 

Genesis 1:27, “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”

As I have said in other lessons, the Bible draws no distinction between biological sex and gender identity – it treats them as one in the same. Regardless, male and female are distinctions created by God when humanity was created.

And male and female seem to be distinctions intended for this realm alone: Jesus was asked by the Sadducees if marriage continued after the resurrection. He responds in Matthew 22:30, 

“For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.”

Angels are also referred to with masculine pronouns in the Bible, but I don’t think Jesus suggests the angelic host is composed of eternal bachelors. He seems to imply that the roles of husband and wife, of man and woman, are no longer relevant in the world to come.

However, you will also notice in Genesis 1:27 that God chose to reveal Himself in the masculine. As you have no doubt noticed, I accept the Bible’s use of masculine nouns and pronouns to describe God – the Father, the Son, He, Him, Himself, etc.

If male and female are entirely human distinctions as the creation account suggests, then the answer is “no.” 

But I will say this: “Is God male, or  is God female,” are the wrong questions to ask. To me, those are superficial questions designed to sow discord and strife in a world that likes to argue about things that don’t really matter. 

Here is what we should be asking:  if the Bible is inspired by God and through the Bible God reveals Himself to the world, why would God choose to reveal Himself in the masculine? What is He teaching us about Himself by adopting a masculine identity? What are the attributes of human masculinity that we see and experience that can help us better understand the unseen God? In my estimation, the far more interesting question to explore is what can the masculine teach us about God?

Throughout the Old Testament, God conceptualized His relationship with His chosen people as a marriage covenant.

One example is Isaiah 54:5-6. The prophet draws the comparison between marriage and God’s relationship with His people:   

“For your Maker is your husband, The LORD of hosts is His name, And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth.  [6]  For the LORD has called you Like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, Like a youthful wife when you were refused,” Says your God.”

God compares the nation of Israel to a woman spurned by other suitors — indeed, God took Israel under His wing when Egypt was poised to destroy her.

Therefore, God urges Israel to think of Him as the “knight in shining armor,” the one who loved her when she was in a low moment. 

Hosea 2:14-15 is another example:  but God, the jilted lover, seeks reconciliation with unfaithful Israel by drawing her back with cords of love, 

“Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will respond as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt.”

And, of course, the husband-wife relationship symbolizes the relationship between Christ and His church as Paul observes in Ephesians 5:32, “This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”

From an even broader perspective, the feminine represents the kingdom of God, the heavenly Jerusalem. Paul says in Galatians 4:26, 

“but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.” 

John, 

“saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” (Revelation 21:2)

So there is a very prominent role reserved for the feminine in Scripture: the feminine represents the chosen people of God, the elect, the kingdom of God, the faithful Jews under the Old Law, and the church Jesus redeemed with His own blood.

• God is fundamentally different than human beings: He consists of a different nature, He exists in a realm unlike ours, and He sees things from a different perspective.
• Because God differs from us in significant ways, He chose to reveal Himself in ways that we can more easily comprehend.
• Without question, God reveals Himself in the masculine and reserves the feminine for His people, the church, the kingdom of God.

But in the process of time, the meaning of tolerance has subtly shifted. Tolerance used to mean I try to get along with people even though I don’t agree with their views. It now means I must accept and embrace the views of others even if I disagree. If I voice a contrary opinion, I am called intolerant. 

To take it a step further, critics of Christianity are quick to quote Jesus’s words in Matthew 7:1, “Judge not that you be not judged.” If I hold an unpopular view that contradicts the beliefs of  the prevailing culture, I am guilty of intolerance. AND, if I am a Christian who holds such a view, I am guilty of judging others, a sin condemned by Jesus. In reality, the love of tolerance isn’t really about tolerance at all; it’s a tool to manufacture consensus by silencing those who do not agree.

Upon closer examination, however, Jesus does not forbid judgment in Matthew 7:1; rather, Jesus urges caution when forming judgments: “for with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

When it comes to deciding who gets into heaven and who goes to hell, Jesus Christ is the only one qualified to judge.

Later in Matthew chapter 7, Jesus warns, 

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (verses 21-23).

Those who believe in Jesus should pay close attention to their lives. Simply believing in Jesus is not enough. Jesus expects us to obey God’s commands by forsaking sin and embracing righteousness. He tells us He will decide who is welcomed into heaven and who will be cast into hell. 

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:9-10, 

“Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well-pleasing to Him. [10] For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”

As Paul says, we will one day have to stand before the judgment seat of Christ to give an account of our lives. And, once again, what we do — how we live — will fall under the scrutiny of the Lord. If we have believed in Jesus and chosen to live well, a reward awaits. If not, then we will be punished. However, Jesus — and Jesus alone — is the only one qualified to make such determinations.

Jesus is our judge because He is both God and man.

Scripture teaches that Jesus was obedient to God to the point of death, He was tempted in all ways and yet was without sin. Because He was without sin, death could not hold Him. Therefore, God raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand, placing Him in a position to judge the world:  Paul said to the Athenians, 

“(God) has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:31).

The combination of His humanity and His divine nature makes Jesus uniquely qualified to judge the world. He understands weakness, temptation, and frailty while also perfectly understanding divine righteousness, holiness, and justice.

So when it comes to matters of heaven and hell, of deciding who will be saved and who will be condemned, Jesus Christ — and Jesus Christ alone — is the only one capable of making those determinations.

However, the Bible does distinguish between condemnation and discernment.

Discernment means the capacity to separate good from evil, to determine what is right and what is wrong. Discernment is implied a few verses later in Matthew 7 when Jesus exhorts us to, 

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

There is a right way AND a wrong way to live our lives, two paths that are very different in character and outcome. Jesus urges us to find the way which leads to life.

But part of finding that path means we have to discern — or to judge — the broad path that leads to destruction. And, unfortunately, part of separating the two paths involves evaluating how many people are traveling each path. The way to destruction is broad and its gate is broad because “many…go in by it.” 

If I choose to not follow the crowd by searching for the way that leads to life, I will, by virtue of my choice, make a judgment. But it is judgment in the form of discernment and not condemnation. So to say Jesus outlaws judgment in every form ignores the need for discernment implied by Matthew 7:13-14.

The need for discernment is also implied in Matthew 7:15-20. Jesus warns us about false teachers: 

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”

Although the word judgment never appears, it is implied. How else am I to determine what is true and what is false — separating the good fruit from the bad fruit — without using some form of judgment? Jesus expects us to discern right from wrong and to embrace what is true and reject what is false. So those who say, “Jesus tells us not to judge other people,” are ignoring warnings like this one. Jesus makes it clear we are to judge — evaluate, assess, analyze — what others teach.

He also teaches the need for discernment in Matthew 18:17. 

When a brother or sister sins against us, Jesus tells us to confront our offender in private. If the brother or sister refuses to accept responsibility for their actions, we should make a second attempt at reconciliation with witnesses present. If they still refuse to resolve the issue, Jesus says, 

“…tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.”

How can the church keep the commands of Jesus by treating a hard-hearted brother or sister “like a heathen and a tax collector,” without a measure of judgment?

To be clear, I do not believe Jesus tells us to condemn such a one to hell. Such a judgment falls under the purview of Jesus alone. However, He is once again implying discernment. We should determine what is right and not go along with those who refuse to do what’s right.

If we choose to follow Jesus, we will have to use judgment in the form of discernment.

But if that’s true, then what does Jesus mean by, “Judge not that you be not judged?”

Notice what He says in verse 2, “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you” (verse 2). Earlier in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus extols the virtues of mercy.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (5:7)

And, “if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (6:14-15).

If I want God to be merciful to me, I must be merciful to others.

That principle is echoed in this teaching. As we look at the lives of others, we must always bear in mind our own debts to God. If I seek God’s mercy and not His justice, then I must take great care to show the same to others. If I am harsh, unreasonable, or hypocritical in my judgment of others, then I can expect the same from God one day. “For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”

Sometimes we see the faults of others and we want to help them. Jesus urges us to get our own lives in order first.

“And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (verses 3-5).

We cannot fix another person’s life if we have not fixed our own. And if our own sins are too big, we could do real damage in attempting to help someone else.  

But let’s not overlook the last sentence. That sin we see in others does need to be removed. And Jesus says once our own lives are in order, we are in a position to help. As someone else has said, “Clean up YOUR room before you try to fix the world.” Paul says something similar in Galatians 6:1, 

“Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.”

Sometimes other people are caught in sin. If we are discerning, we will see that sin. But before we help, we should confront our own failings. “For with what judgment we judge, we will be judged.”

So in saying, “Judge not that you be not judged,” Jesus does not prohibit judgment in all forms. We must avoid condemning people to hell – only Jesus has the authority to make such judgments. However, to follow the teachings of Jesus, we must use discernment, judging the difference between right and wrong. When we use discernment with others, Jesus urges us to be cautious and self-aware.

If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—’and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him.

From this example, we can glean several important lessons about how to spot false teaching.

We should always compare what we are taught with what has previously been revealed.

The first two commandments issued at Mt. Sinai make it clear that Jehovah expected absolute faithfulness from His people: “You shall have no other gods before me,” and “You shall not make any graven images.” In the example of Moses, the prediction came true, but what the prophet taught clearly contradicted what was previously revealed. Thus, Moses trained the Israelites to return to Scripture in order to verify the truthfulness of the prophet’s message.

This reminds me of those in the synagogue in Berea. When Paul preached Jesus to them, “they received the word with all readiness and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11). The Bereans’ faithfully carried out the command of Moses:  they did not accept Paul’s teaching at face value, but rather drilled down into the content of his message.

We should all take their example to heart. It’s easy to be distracted by eloquence or charisma or emotion or intelligence. While the Bereans were open-minded to a new interpretation, they were also skeptical enough to evaluate Paul’s teaching in light of what was previously revealed. No matter what is said, no matter who says it, no matter how truthful it may appear, always compare what you are taught with what the Scripture says.

False teaching — even when it directly contradicts Scripture — can be very persuasive.

Is there any sign that establishes a prophet’s credibility more than accurately predicting a future event? Moses tells the Israelites that God allowed this prophet’s prediction to come true in order to test them: will they allow a sign that appears to be from God to mislead them into idolatry? And so he warns the Israelites to be cautious and discerning, to not allow good judgment to be overruled by an impressive sign.

Not all signs are from God. 2 Thessalonians 2:9 teaches that Satan is capable of deceiving the world “with all power, signs, and lying wonders..” When warning the Corinthians about false apostles, Paul reminds the brethren in 2 Corinthians 11:14 that “Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.” What appears to be from God may, in fact, be a “lying wonder.”

False teaching can be very persuasive, it can appear to be from the very lips of God.

The reason why false teaching deceives through appearances is it contains an element of truth.

Rarely, if ever, does false teaching present itself as blatantly false. The “sign that came to pass” in the example of Moses contains the hallmarks of a “message from God,” a revealed truth.  To give an appearance of legitimacy, all false teaching must have at least a kernel of truth.

Jesus describes false teachers as “wolves in sheep’s clothing,” and it seems reasonable to conclude that false teaching is the same. On the outside, it looks like a sheep. It appears to be Christian, Biblical, or spiritual. And it appears this way because it contains elements of truth. As a dear brother in Christ often says, 98% of rat poison is unharmful, but it’s the 2% that kills the rat.

False teaching is not the absence of truth, it’s the distortion of truth, and, in some cases, the truth is corrupted by just a small kernel of falsehood.

Our best protection against false teaching is to get as familiar as we can with the Bible.

Sometimes I receive a message on social media from a person I know in real life. The message is so out of character that I quickly suspect that their account was either hacked or cloned. I know the message is not from them because I know them.

The best way to spot a counterfeit dollar is to know what an authentic dollar looks like down to its finest detail. In like manner, the best way to identify false teaching is to know the Bible as well as we possibly can — if we know the original, we can spot a fake more easily.

If you want to hear more, please check out the full video on my YouTube channel, and while you’re there, please subscribe to the channel and click the bell icon to receive updates about new content on the channel.

In Romans 6:1-4, Paul asks,

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? [2] Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? [3] Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? [4] Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Paul’s teaching on baptism in Romans 6 is, in part, a response to one of the criticisms of his teaching. From Paul’s teaching, some people seem to conclude: if God gives more grace in response to sin, then we should sin more to increase God’s grace. Or, to put it another way, “Sin is bad, but if I sin, God just gives more grace, so it’s okay.”

Paul vehemently denies this insinuation based on what we have experienced in Jesus Christ:  “How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” In Jesus Christ, we experience a spiritual death: we die to sin. Our motivation to resist temptation and avoid sin lies in the reality that we are now spiritually dead to sin.

This death to sin occurs when we are baptized into Christ Jesus:

Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? (Romans 6:3).

Paul asserts we are baptized INTO His death: prior to baptism, we are not “in” the death of Jesus; when we are baptized, we are baptized “into His death.” So when do we die to sin?  When we are baptized INTO Jesus which includes His death (I’ll talk more about this in verses 5-7).

The baptism taught by Paul contains all three of the core gospel elements.  We are “buried with (Jesus) through baptism,” we are “baptized into His death,” and we are “raised…to walk in newness of life.” Just like the central element of the gospel, baptism is a death, burial, and resurrection.

And remember, this entire line of reasoning stems from the question, “How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?”. Paul says I should no longer live in sin because I was baptized INTO His death. So I ask: Is Paul treating baptism as “just a symbol?” Now some people might be thinking, “Well, he does call it a symbol in verse 5.” Yes, he does, so let’s take a look at verses 5-7.

For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. (Romans 6:5-7)

Notice the word “likeness” in verse 7. The Greek word means “figure, image, likeness, representation.” Paul says baptism is a figure, a likeness, a representation of the crucifixion and resurrection. Is baptism a symbol?  Yes. But is it JUST a symbol?

Although baptism symbolizes the core of the gospel, we should not conclude it is only symbolic: notice the use of the word “with.”

• Verse 4: in baptism, we are “buried…with (Jesus).”

• Verse 6: in baptism, our old man is “crucified with (Jesus).”

• Verse 8: in baptism, we have “died with Christ.”

• Verse 8: because we have died with him in baptism, we expect to “live with Him” upon our resurrection from the dead.

The use of the word “with” implies a participatory event, not an abstract, symbolic ritual. Paul depicts baptism as more than a symbol of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection; he depicts baptism as our participation in those consequential events.

Taking this a step further, notice where Paul situates baptism: he places baptism between our “old man” and “walk(ing) in newness of life.” He equates our “old man” with “the body of sin” in verse 6. Our “old man” is who we were before baptism. Our “old man” enters the waters of baptism in order to be crucified with Jesus and thereby freed from sin. What emerges from the water is a “new man” who “walk(s) in the newness of life.” So baptism is placed between the “old man” and the “new man.”

In addition, Paul describes the “old man” as a slave to sin. Our crucifixion with Jesus in baptism does away with “the body of sin…that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin.” Once again Paul situates baptism in a crucial spot: he places it between slavery to sin and freedom from sin.

As I consider what is taught by Romans 6:1-7, here are a few key conclusions I draw from the text.

• Before baptism, I am outside of Christ — I am baptized INTO His death, burial, and resurrection.

• In baptism, I am united WITH the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus — I participate WITH Him and because Jesus died to sin, I die to sin in baptism.

• God situates baptism between death and life, between our old person and our new person, between slavery and freedom.

I enter baptism as a sinner, I emerge from baptism a saint, sanctified by the blood of Jesus Christ, raised to walk in newness of life.

If God is willing, as the calendar changes to 2022, approximately 45% of Americans will resolve to make a change in the upcoming year.  If you are contemplating goals for the upcoming year, have you given thought to improve your spiritual well-being?

In Psalms 90, Moses meditates on the brevity of our existence. The Lawgiver contemplates the difficulties of human existence — time passes swiftly and its days are filled with evil. “So teach us to number our days,” Moses asks God, “That we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

In the context of the passage, it seems that Moses is urging us to be aware of the passage of time.  These thoughts have been with me of late as I turned 45 back in September. If the average life expectancy of an American man is 76.1 years, I am well over halfway to that mark. Moses says that’s about what I can expect and, if I am fortunate, I may live a little longer. Thirty years sounds like a long time when you’re 18; but when you’re 45, it’s really not much time at all. And that sense, I am told, only grows as we age. Returning to Moses, here is the lesson we should draw from his prayer: the clock is ticking, life is short, it’s full of twists and turns and not all of them are pleasant; we need to be aware of the passage of time and make the most of it.

Paul counsels us in Ephesians 5:15-16,

See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Paul tells us to “redeem the time.” The Greek word translated “redeem” means “to rescue from loss,” or “to buy up.” Our days can be used for evil purposes, which is another way of saying a lost time or lost days. Other translations say, “make the most of your time,” or “take advantage of your time.”

As we “number our days,” we should seriously consider how we can “rescue” our time from meaningless and purposeless activities. It’s easy to find ways to fill our time, but we should not interpret busyness as a virtue — we can busy ourselves with any number of activities without worth or value. WHAT we do with the time given to us is of greater importance.

As you endeavor to “redeem the time, because the days are evil,” I encourage you to consider that you may have more time than you can see and that time can be filled with meaningful activities.

As you think about the year ahead, let me suggest a few things you can do to improve your life in the short and long term.

Carve out a little time for the Bible every day. Remember, when you read or listen to the Bible, you are listening to God — He is speaking to you through the pages of this wonderful book. And the only way to really know Jesus is to read about Him in the pages of the Bible.

But don’t just listen to God through Scripture, talk to Him in prayer. Faithful people like Daniel and Jesus made prayer a part of their daily routine. And just like making time for the Bible, you can make time for prayer out of the dead zones in your day — pray in your car while you’re driving to work, or in your cab while you’re plowing your field, or early in the morning when the house is quiet with sleeping kids, or late at night when the cares of the day are weighing on you.

And if you’ve gotten out of the habit of going to church or you’ve never been to church, I encourage you to make a little time each week to worship God. There are a lot of churches to choose from and, unfortunately, not all churches follow the Bible as closely as they should, so you should be very choosy. At the church of Christ, we try to follow the Bible as closely as we can; we’re by no means perfect, but we endeavor to be the church we see in the Bible in all of its simplicity and authenticity. Make some time in your week to worship God and find a church that teaches the Bible and follows it as closely as they can.

If you draw near to God, He will draw near to you, so find time in your days and weeks to strengthen your soul and connect with Your Creator while you still have the time to do so.