The Most Important Decision You Will Ever Make - John 1:1-18

THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISION YOU WILL EVER MAKE IS TO
“ACCEPT GOD’S PROMISED SAVIOR”

Every day of the week, including Sunday, a publisher in every major city in this country publishes a newspaper. Millions of American citizens read their favorite part of the paper, and some read all or most of it. Daily papers can not be absolutely correct in everything that is written, but for some reason, a majority of the readers believe the predominance of what they read to be truth. Carnal man or woman is always the author of articles written, and none are inspired by a higher power that enables them to be truthful. I believe, as you do, that most write what they think to be truth, but we all know that the author’s personal opinion often overrides in news casting, and it is subject to scrutiny. Never-the-less, readers believe what they read in the paper, and accept it with greater confidence than they have in the inspired word of God. I just can not understand how this is possible.

The reason [or excuse] given by many for not believing the Bible is that they do not believe that biblical writers were inspired by a higher power that prevented error. If any unbeliever will honestly analyze and answer one question they surely will change their mind. That question is: “How were the prophets of old able to predict [thousands of years before it happened] the exact circumstances regarding the birth of Christ? They knew the linage of his family tree; they predicted the exact time, place and circumstances surrounding his birth; they knew his life would be threatened and that his parents would escape into Egypt; they knew and wrote about his ministry, his rejection [by his own people] and all about his death, burial and resurrection. They knew—and predicted with almost unbelievable precision—yes, the question is: “how is this possible for mere man to do without being ‘inspired’ by a higher power…God almighty?

It is Christmas, 2007 and we are taking time out of our busy schedules to recognize and praise our wonderful Savior. The title of our lesson today is a profound offer and suggestion that every one should: “ACCEPT GOD’S PROMISED SAVIOR.” Matthew, Mark and Luke all approach the Christmas story as it starts in Bethlehem with the Babe in the manger and wise men traveling from afar to adore him. But John had something different in mind that would stretch our imaginations all the way back to the Genesis story that tells us that “in the beginning was God; Christ; Holly Spirit; and THE WORD. Dear readers, this is no accident, because this class has been in a new study beginning with Genesis, which is the beginning, and this is another example of the way God works his way into the lives of believers in order to help them understand his will and way for their lives. {Oh, yes, I believe that God had a hand in planning this very lesson we are studying today. He knew that we would be studying the beginning in Genesis, and he knew that John’s explanation of the Birth of Christ would be the best lesson for today, because it fits in with the study of Genesis.} Radical? Extreme? Say what you will, but I believe that my God is involved in every moment of my life. If one hair falls from my head, he knows the exact count of those that are left. If this is true, then why would he not make sure that I am teaching the lesson he has for his people on this twenty-third day of December, 2007? Oh dear ones, nothing else is as important as the fact that you must ACCEPT GOD’S PROMISED SAVIOR.

The striking difference in the Christmas story as recorded by the first three apostles and the story by John is nor meant to cause confusion, but it is presented to strengthen our understanding of the beginning of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As you read [and diligently study] the first five verses of John, you are made to understand the true identity of our Savior. The next four verses in John deals with the witness of our Savior. Make very sure that you do not miss-understand verses 10 to 13, for it is herein that you are to be encouraged to receive the gift he has for each of us. Finally, as you come to a full understanding of what the Savior’s GRACE really means…be sure you are open minded and willing to place your faith in the only power on earth that can save you from your sins.

Both of the books, Genesis and the gospel of John, start with the same words—“In the beginning.” This phrase, ‘in the beginning’ refers to the very first mini-second of time. In the beginning time was! In the beginning God was! In the beginning Christ was! In the beginning the Holy Spirit was! We worship a triune Master, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Moses asked God, “Who shall I say is the one who sent me?” The answer from God was—“Tell them that “I AM” sent you”

In the first verse, John called Christ the WORD. Then he said, the word [Christ] was with God, and the Word was God. He [Christ] was with God in the beginning. Remember that God spoke [he used a word] things into existence. Then when he got to man, God said: “Let us make man. Who were “us”? It was God and God the son, for they were both present in the beginning. Why did John call Christ the word? I will tell you why. John is writing to the Greek population and explaining a Jewish concept. The Greek had no idea who the Jews were referring to when they spoke of the Messiah. The Gentile world did not know about Jewish history and had never heard that there would be a coming savior—Messiah. John found a term which was “word” that had the same meaning to both Greek and Jew alike.

The Greek author, Plato and other Greek philosophers used the term [logos] which means [word] to refer to the spoken word, but they also used it to refer to the unspoken word—that is the word that is still in the mind which they referred to as reason. When they applied it [the term logos, or word] to the universe, they meant the rational principle that governs all things. Jews said that God governs all things. Listen to me now! The Jews said God Governs. The Greek said that a logos [the word] governs. Therefore, John found a term that both nationalities would understand because it had the same meaning to both Jew and Greek—the terms were WORD AND CHRIST or GOD, the one that governs. And so John wrote that in the beginning was the WORD OR CHRIST, OR GOD.

Open your Bible to John, first verse. Compare to the following: “In the beginning was the Word” [with a capitol W] and could have been Christ. “And the Word [Christ] was with God, and the Word [Christ] was with God in the beginning.”

Verse 3: “Through Him [Christ] all things were made.” Therefore Christ and God, both in one, created all things. They were both there. Just remember that God could have told Moses that God, Christ, and The Holly Spirit were three in one, and you can tell the Egyptians that we are I AM.

Verse 4-5: “In him [Christ] was life, and life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” Christ is the life, the light, the way, and there is no other way. One of the laws of nature is that everything has its opposite. Electricity has a positive and negative force; cold is the absence of heat; and there is male and female; regarding this lesson there is light which is Christ and perfection and darkness which refers to the world without Christ and imperfect. The word darkness refers to the sinful world that can not see without light…and when Christ came in flesh the world did not understand and therefore they rejected him.

The first three gospels started their books dating it from Christ’s birth in a manger, and this is the moment in time when he became a man, flesh and blood as we are. It was good news and the first holy Christmas. John started when God, Christ and the Holly Spirit WAS…IN THE BEGINNING. They just WERE and no man knows for sure when that moment in time really was.

I do not read the original language, Greek, in this instance, and therefore I have to accept the word of my commentaries regarding the meanings of words. I have at least three sources that tell us that “the Greek verb tense found in the verbs used by John in the first verse denotes continuous existence. If this is true [and I believe it is true] then in that very first instant of time the Word [God, Christ] already existed continuously.

I personally believe that they were and are total SPIRIT, and I doubt that there was ever a moment anywhere in the past eons of time [as we know time] that they were ‘born’ or ‘created’…They WERE, they ARE, and they WILL ALLWAYS BE. If I am wrong, and they did have a beginning, then will someone tell me WHO CREATED THEM? It is by my faith that I accept, love, and worship GOD. Remember that ‘faith’ is the evidence of things unseen, and impossible to fully understand with mortal mind.

John agreed with and wrote in full agreement with Genesis. Then later on even in the very next verse of our lesson today, he agreed with Matthew and the others. There is no contradiction here, only a new perspective that helps us understand the total lordship of the one we know as the Christmas child.

Verse 6; announces the coming of John the Baptist, who was sent from God. John came as a witness to tell the people around Jerusalem that the Messiah was on his way. John says that John the Baptist came to his people to tell them about the LIGHT that would soon appear. The Baptist came to call men to repentance [Mark 1; 4], and to prepare the way for the coming Messiah [1:24]. The OT has many occasions where God sent a prophet to warn people of coming disaster and issue a call to repentance. The Baptist is the last of these great prophets. He was the advance courier making the way clear for the new coming King. His message was very simple…he called on the people to get ready for the coming Christ.

Verse 10; told his listeners that actually Christ was already in the world—he said Christ made the world—but had not been recognized. He will come here to you [his own people] but you will not believe and receive him. John condemned the Jews for their unbelief, and then told them that if they would believe in Him that Christ would adopt them into his family, and they would be his children, not by natural birth, but by being born again spiritually.

Verse 14: tells the Christmas story as told by John in today’s lesson, and as the other gospels told it when they said Christ was born in a manger. John said: “The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only who came from the Father…no one has seen God, but you will see his One and Only and through him you can know what God is like.”

Aspire to Walk with God - Genesis 5 - 8:14

Any time the Holy Bible makes the affirmation that a man walks with God it is expressing the closest relationship that mortal man can have with a spiritual being. In the beginning God made man and woman and blessed them and called them man. Then throughout the Bible you will find that when any subject is regarding the human race, the writer refers to the individual being discussed as a “man.” This was the Jewish custom and was never meant to be degrading to the woman. It actually never became a problem in America before the rebellious movements that sprang up in the mid 1950s when the feminist movement got involved in the campaign for human rights. In the examples used in the scriptures today the references are regarding men who have walked with God; however it should be understood that what ever refers to man is also equally true where women are concerned.

Before breaking this line of thought, be reminded that during the time of writing of the first books of the Bible there were no women mentioned in the genealogies. This was simply a custom and not an attempt to degrade women. Later in biblical history, when it became necessary to make sure that everyone understood the exact linage from Adam through David to the birth of the Messiah [Jesus] it became necessary to include the names of certain women that were in that direct linage, I am not positive about this but this may be the first time genealogies included women.

This lesson starts with chapter five which lists Adam’s descendents through Noah. Every entry is a man. All of these men lived to be several hundred years old, with Methuselah being the oldest man ever on earth and he died at the age of 969 years. All of these people lived and died before the flood. You may wonder why they lived so long; and the answer is that God’s original intention was that man would live forever, in heaven on earth, and enjoy a daily WALK with their maker.

Adam’s sin started the problem—and then the increase of sin down through the next few hundred years caused God to repent that he had made man. The constant increase in sin caused God to change his mind on how long a man should live on this sinful earth. 1000 years in the Garden of Eden would have been great, but can you imagine what it would be like if men lived to be more than 900 years old in today’s world. At least 90% of the people in America would be on welfare…and welfare would have gone broke years ago. However, there is another factor to think about; with the rate of murder as it is today, 80 to 90% would probably be murdered before their 900 years was up. Or they might have to live the last five hundred years with cancer, diabetes, or crippling arthritis. Here again, because of sin, the quality of life would be so low that no one would enjoy living. God really did man a favor when he moved us 800 years closer to heaven.

During these imperfect days of 2007 there is quite enough sin and sorrow all about us and the overpowering presence of sin would make it imperative that we “Aspire to Walk With God” on a daily basis. Enoch was 65 when his son, Methuselah, was born and for some reason his life was changed because he then, at age 65, WALKED WITH GOD for the next 300 years. Enoch lived to be 365 years old on this earth “And then he was no more, because God took him away.” Wow! What a reward he got—in that he did not have to travel through the deep valley of death. Dear readers—“walking with God” has a special meaning in the life of a Christian and we all should aspire to please Him. At the age of 182, Lamech’s son Noah was born and then Lamech died at the age of 777 years. After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth. He is the next man mentioned in the Bible that FOUND FAVOR WITH GOD, which means the same thing as WALKING WITH GOD.

No one knows the exact amount of time that elapsed during the period between the creation of Adam and the birth of Noah. Based on the ages of men who lived during this time there were several hundred at least and probably several thousand years. We do know that the earth was surely not the paradise that God had planned it to be when he created the Garden. When we compare the world today and the wavering path we have taken… with what it was in the days when America was discovered—it is frightening to think about how quickly even a so-called-Christian nation can forget about God. Over what could have been a relative short period of time—only one man and his family still were walking with God. That one man was Noah. Only because of his faithfulness and obedience, God saved him and his family from the flood that destroyed every other human on earth.

Chapter six tells us that God hates sin and judges those who place their love of sin and the world above their worship of Him. God condemned all of mankind except one man [and his family]—“But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” He was walking with God. In this chapter God laid out his entire plan for Noah to build the ark. V. 22, “Noah did everything just as God commanded him.”

Chapter 7 begins with God’s instructions for Noah to take aboard his family and male and female [2] of all unclean animals, and seven [7] of all clean animals and seven [7] birds and flying creatures, always including both male and female. V. 5 “Noah did all that the Lord commanded him.” He was still walking with God. Noah was six hundred, two months and seventeen days old on the day that the water from the depths of the earth sprang up and the gates of heaven opened and the rain came down. The water continued to cover the earth for forty days and forty nights—until the tops of the tallest mountains were twenty feet below the surface. The rain stopped but the water level remained constant for one hundred and fifty days and then receded. Anxious to know when it was safe to open the door of the ark, Noah opened a window and sent a raven out and it continued to fly back and forth. He then sent a dove and it returned. He waited and sent the second dove and it returned with a green olive leaf which was good news. The third dove was then dispatched and it did not return, leading Noah to believe that it had found dry land on which to live.

Now, going back to chapter 6, verse 4, and the Bible says: “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward,” The Nephilim was the off-spring of fallen angels. They were the friends of the wealthy and renowned through which man’s wickedness had grown. I am assuming that the “and also afterward” means that they were still around after the flood. Go to Google research and you will find that they were off-spring of fallen angels that were before and after the flood; and it says that Goliath ‘the giant’ of Gath was one of this tribe. David killed him with the sling shot and a stone. The source of this information comes from Matthew Henry’s commentary. [I believe this to be a reliable source.]

Agnostics and a host of unbelievers have raised many questions regarding the story of Noah and his ark that seemingly are unanswerable, but they should never dull the faith of a believer in Christ Jesus. There are just some questions that are not meant to be answered this side of heaven. Just for fun, here is a couple that you can answer for me…that is if you know the answer.

1. What would happen if an irresistible force should hit an immoveable object?
2. How can a black cow—eat green hay and yellow corn, and give white milk?

1. How can a true virgin bear a child?
2. How did Noah walk with God?
3. Why did God destroy all creatures and not just man who had sinned?
4. What made some animals clean and some unclean?
5. How did Noah know which were clean and which unclean?
6. Why did he take two of the unclean and seven of the clean?
7. What did Noah and his family eat while on the ark?
8. What caused water to burst up out of the earth?
9. Were fish and water creatures saved by being on the ark?

Admit Your Sin Problem - Genesis 3 - 4:26

In our first lesson regarding the Genesis of the total universe and all things contained therein… taught last Sunday, we failed to mention one of the most interesting concepts hidden away in this early scripture. We talked about the concept of creation of things where God simply said “let there be” and then the simple directions he gave when he said “let us make man” but we barely mentioned the first orthopedic surgeon, and the first operation ever performed on man. It was somewhat different from today, I will admit. There was nothing mentioned about an operating room, sterilizing of surgical instruments, or even nurses to help. It appears that God acted alone, put old Adam to sleep and cut out a rib; and from the rib he made Eve. It worked well and was not nearly as [dusty] as when he made Adam—since He made Adam from dust.

There is no place anywhere connected to the creation of man that God approved or did anything pertaining to any kind of ‘same-sex’ unions except condemn them. Later in his Word he did specifically say that homosexuality was an abomination in his sight, and it is listed as the cause that prompted God to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. It is also listed among the many sins that took place in the orgies that were condemned by God—especially those held in religious temples. It is hard for Christian people to believe that some of the early worship was directed toward a “Sex Goddess” that was displayed at the scene of worship.

Our lesson today starts with the story about the temptation and fall in the Garden of Eden AND THE AFTERMATH. Those of you who have been in my Sunday School Class for some time will remember that I have two things that are emphasized in my teaching. First, you must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be born again; that is, be a child of God. Second, you must live a life of obedience. Salvation is for man’s benefit; while obedience is for God and demanded by him, and absolutely necessary in order to please Him. Without faith in God and obedience to his commands there is no way for any man/woman to escape the everlasting punishment in hell.

There is no doubt in my mind that Eve believed in God…she did not at that time have to be born again because she had not sinned—she was created a perfect human…but she was required to obey her master and SHE WAS NOT OBEDIENT! That means she did sin! The AFTERMATH or consequence of her sin has probably had the greatest destructive effect on man kind…more than any other sin that has ever been committed. The serpent in the Garden was crafty, which means that he was sly, or given to, or practicing secrecy…in fact he may have been so camouflaged that Eve never saw him. He did approach her representing the devil…the enemy of almighty God and His people. Since Satan is a master chameleon, he may have appeared to her in what ever form he knew would win her confidence. He is still stealing the hearts of good people by using the same means today, only enhanced by radio, movies, T.V. and all other new devices available. The harmful effects of advertised products are always camouflaged. Everyone involved is happy, feeling good and enjoying each other; and you never see the carnage on the highway with the broken and severed parts of the body and the blood of life running out on the highway.

Satan, at one time in the past, had been one of the most powerful, influential angels in heaven. Listen, it is important that you realize that Satan aspired to be like God [equal with God] and that is why he was thrown out of heaven. Here we find that he used almost the exact same argument in order to entice Eve to be disobedient. He told her that if she would eat the forbidden fruit, she would be like God and for that reason God had prevented her from eating of the forbidden fruit. He also assured her that she would not die as a result of the eating of the fruit. Satan is a liar; in fact, he is the father of lies. Since this is a proven fact—why, oh why do people still believe him?

As you read the early verses in chapter three, stop for a moment and think about the BIG mistake that is being made by Eve. She has allowed Satan to get involved in her thinking…she is listening to him…she is being disobedient to God. We must learn to turn Satan off, and say to him “get the behind me Satan.” That is what Christ did during his temptation. Even though Satan has caused Eve and all posterity to suffer greatly and often, we know that in the end we will win because God has promised that the Son of woman, Jesus Christ will crush the head of the serpent, the Devil.

Think about this: Eve looked at the beautiful fruit and took some for her self. She ate some of the forbidden fruit, it was so good, and she gave some to Adam. Both of these people had heard their father say no! But for some reason there was a greater desire stimulated simply because God had said that they should not partake of the fruit. I don’t think that I have ever known any young person that didn’t fit this mold. When parents warn children of dangers, this same Adam and Eve instinct overpowers their common sense and they just have to find out for themselves—every-time the consequence is devastating.

During the days when we heated our homes with wood stoves, the iron bellies of the stove would sometimes become red-hot—many children have been warned but they didn’t learn their lesson until they had touched it one time just to see if mother was telling the truth. I believe this same human instinct or inward drive is the reason we have the drug problem among the young—and just like the red-hot stove, once they have tried the addictive ones they have already gone one step too far and they have been burned with a devastating habit that leads to destruction of human enjoyment.

Lucifer was the chief angel with a host of helpers who were created by God before the foundation of the world. He developed a desire to be like God and maybe to be God, and so he became so powerful that he was cast out of heaven. He is known by many names such as Devil, Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub, and many others. He invented his chief weapons, temptation and lies which he has used ever since the Garden of Eden. His use of temptation and a lying nature has worked to some degree against every foe except Jesus Christ, who was tempted as we are but did not sin. [This temptation is recorded in Matthew following Christ’s forty-day fast and prayer in the mountains.]

His lie to Eve was “you will not die” and his temptation was “You can have the knowledge of good and evil which will make you equal with God.” It is sad that Adam and Eve got what they wanted; they did obtain the knowledge of good and evil—but they got it by doing evil…through disobedience…and the results were disastrous. Our generation is disillusioned because they seem to think that “freedom” is doing anything we want any time we want to do it. Our Bible teaches us that we obtain true freedom through our obedience to God and by knowing what not to do. The restrictions placed on us by God are for our own good and help us to avoid evil. We could say that they can keep us from touching a red hot stove if we obey.

Satan used a sincere motive to tempt Eve when he told her she could be like God. Her desire to be like God was not wrong—all true Christians strive each day to be more like Him. It should be our greatest desire—it should be our highest goal in life and it is what we are supposed to do. But Satan miss-led her in how she was to reach this goal. He told her to defy God and his authority by taking his place in the decision making process and that she should decide for herself what was best for her. He told her to be her own God. Note: This is exactly what the “New Life Movement” is teaching their followers to do today—and they are strong and growing especially out West. To become like God is not the same as trying to be God. Self exaltation will always lead to rebellion against the higher power. Sins effect always spreads and involves others. Eve sinned and then she involved Adam. Our sins always affects others. Listen. Causing a little one to sin is much worse than sinning yourself. Sin brings guilt. Adam and Eve were naked and at ease, but their sin caused them to feel guilty and they started trying to cover the sin by covering their bodies with leaves. This is what we call a guilty conscience; it is like a burglar alarm that goes off when sin is trespassing on our property. It is dangerous business when you reach the place that your guilt no longer bothers you. We should be glad when pangs of guilt are present—the warning lets us know that it is time to repent and seek forgiveness.

It would have been sad, but amusing if we could have watched Adam and Eve trying to hide their sin with fig leaves. Do you think they really thought that God would not know what happened if they would just cover themselves with leaves? Funny? Yes, but how many times have we tried to hide our sin life. We hide our sin from other people and rationalize that this solves our problem. We have inherited another foolish practice. Students can’t read and the university blames colleges who blame high schools, who blame middle schools, who blame elementary teachers who blame the parents. Adam blamed Eve; she blamed the serpent who blamed God. Oh why is it so hard for us to admit that we have done wrong, then repent and seek forgiveness? God drove them out of the heavenly garden where everything was free and perfect into a rugged world where they would earn their lively-hood by the sweat of their brow tilling the land they were made from.

No longer was everything free and provided as it was in the Garden. Now they had to struggle against the elements in order to provide their food, clothing and shelter for them and Cain and Abel, their first two sons born the hard way following their departure from the Garden—with suffering. Cain became a farmer and Abel was a shepherd. In the mid east, these ancient occupations are still in practice much as they were then. They are both honorable professions but very demanding and associated with hard work, self-sacrifice, and their success always depends on God.

Cain and Abel brought their sacrifices and offered them up to God. Cain brought fruits of the soil while Abel brought portions of the first born of his flock. I cannot find any where in the Bible why God accepted Abel’s offering and rejected the offering of Cain. Some say it was because there was no blood in the fruit offering; but I had rather think it had something to do with their attitude or willingness to give. I do not know. God did give him a second chance, and surely he let Able know what he was neglecting to do. I believe that Cain was at fault and had the opportunity to correct the wrong. How do you react when you are accused of doing wrong? Do you admit and correct your mistake? Or do you seek revenge against your accuser?

We cannot master the sin that is guarding the doors of our desires. Just like Cain we either master our anger or suffer the consequences. Cain did not repent and make things right with his brother but chose to murder him instead. This is the first record in the Bible of the shedding of innocent blood. God gave us life sustaining blood and only He has a right to take it from us. Notice how quickly the act of disobedience in the parents develops into murder of one son by his brother. They only ate a small bit of forbidden fruit—why was that so important? Sin was not in the fruit, it was their DISOBEDIENCE. Their sin was against God. Cain’s sin was against both God and man—and so has every sin committed since that day involved both God and another person.

Cain was severely punished for murder. God judges our sins and will punish appropriately. He will not punish out of anger or vengeance, but in order to correct our behavior—we should never resent anything that comes into our lives that appears as punishment; but we should use the incident as a point of correction and a renewal of our fellowship with God.

We come now to the comments regarding our lesson today which states that each one of us MUST ADMIT OUR SIN PROBLEM. God made Adam from the elements found in the soil of the earth which God had already created; he then made Eve from a rib removed from Adam. These two created beings were without sin—but God gave each of them a free will—a free will that could have chosen to obey God and remained forever free from any sin. They chose to disobey God, and thus, sin entered the human race. They were cast out of the Garden into a sinful world where both of their children were born. Cain and Able were conceived in sin; and every child born since that day was conceived in sin and born in iniquity and that includes you and me. We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God.

At some opportune time [after the age of accountability] each individual must repent of their sin; realize that Jesus Christ’s death on the cross paid for our sin—and we must accept him as our savior—take up our personal cross and follow Him. We still have the same free will which Adam misused, and if we misuse it by rejecting Christ’s death on the Cross as payment for our sin—then we will pay for it. The price [wages] of sin is always death. An ‘unsaved’ person is ‘spiritually’ dead in their trespasses and sin. They were physically born into the world—that is their first birth. Christ told Nicodemus that he must be born again—and that would come when he accepted Christ as Savior. Only those who are spiritually alive will ever see the gates of heaven!

Affirm God's Good Plan: Introduction to Genesis Chapters 1-3

I have reproduced a copy of the chronology of dates and events in order of the early world events using my Life Application Study Bible as the source. I believe that this will help you as we start our study in Genesis. I will finish the dates and events through Old Testament times. Hopefully before we get back into NT study, I will be able to complete the dates through the NT writers. Please copy and keep the CHRONOLOGY.

The Bible teaches us that a day with the Lord is as a thousand days with man. This tells me that man should not get hung up, discouraged, or become disbelieving simply because he can not understand the exact time and place that all events took place. We should use the dating that we know about through the Bible and through the history books of all times to help us understand. When we do not fully understand; we must accept God’s word through our faith.

This will be our first lesson based on Genesis, which is best known for its explanation of creation. The first fact that we should realize is that no one knows when creation took place; neither do we know how much time elapsed during that period that is said to be from the first day to the sixth, and that God rested on the seventh day. The first question that can arise is: was these seven days, God’s days—or could one or more of them been a thousand days as man would count. I do not know, and I do not believe that it was meant for me to know; further-more I do not believe it matters.

As we study on through Genesis we will find that the world was populated with people born in sin because of Adam’s sin, who continued to wax worse until God used all of his patience toward them. He decided that the time had come for a new start. Though all had sinned, there has always been a remnant of his people that loved him and worshipped him—Noah and his family was one such family on the earth that God could depend upon. He made Noah responsible as the one who would build an ark and save the seed necessary to start a new and more ‘God fearing’ world on earth. We do not know how long these first generations lived, nor when Noah started and finished the Ark, and we are really not sure of the exact time the flood subsided; nor how long the earth was submerged in water.

Everything we know about what may have been eons of time is that “I AM” was and has always been and that He accomplished all of the things recorded in the Bible that happened before the time when God’s chosen authors began to place dates on thing that happened. It seems trite for me to tell you but there were no radios, television, phones, and of course no news papers or any way to keep a written report prior to the 25th century. It was at that time that the Egyptians invented writing on papyrus with ink and established libraries to store the new information.

Moses was born in 1626 and is believed to be the one that wrote the first book in the Bible. Moses got the authentic information about happenings that took place in the times undated from men that lived much longer in that day and had excellent memories and could tell about their experiences. But even more important than these witnesses, Moses and all other inspired writers had a direct line of spiritual communication with God. They learned through dreams, visions, and spiritual experiences such as through the burning bush—about the past—and about the future so that they could predict with absolute accuracy things that would happen thousands of years in the future—and these things did happen as prophesied.

I have been a born again Christian every since I was saved in 1947; and that is when I became a member of the Church that Christ established and commissioned just prior to his ascension into heaven as it is describe in the four Gospels. Since that date I have attended and worshipped with Southern Baptist believers. Having said that, I think you may be surprised when I tell you that I do now and have always believed in the “Big Bang” theory of creation. My guess is that you will soon agree with me. Please note that I did not say just the big bang theory! But, I added of creation.

At a time in the past, while attending the University, I remember that the professor posed this question. “If lightening strikes causing a tree to crash and fall somewhere in the middle of a huge desert where no one lives within hundreds of miles—does it make a sound? Can a sound exist in a place where there are no human or animal ears to hear? Would a flash light shine in darkness where there is no human or animal eyes to see? There was always an argument with some saying yes and others answering no. Based on what I believe about the omnipresent God which I serve, my answer has always been yes. God was there and he heard the sound and saw the light if they existed because He hears and sees things even before they exist. He knew you by name before you were conceived in your mother’s womb. In fact, he made you on that sixth day before he rested and established the month, day and year that you would be born.

Based on my kind of reasoning [based on Bible teaching] the “Big Bang” sound was the voice of the Trinity. God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit, [three in one] were all present when God SPOKE the entire universe into existence and they heard his voice. And then God ‘made’ man and the Trinity observed and pronounced that all was good. God’s voice is the big bang that the unbelieving searching scientist thought was TNT. I wish they would explain the origin of their explosive material and tell us who, where, and how it was placed correctly and detonated timely, in order to make all of the things that were made. My dear people—it requires a lot more faith to believe what scientists say than it does to believe what God says about creation. With God, all things are possible—which is surely not true with man.

Genesis is first therefore the oldest of all books that speak specifically regarding the origin of all things [every-thing that exists] and the orderly development of every thing that has happened since the day of creation. Chapter one verse one gives the origin of the universe that contains our little world, the sun, moon, stars and unnumbered other galaxies as to this date even now undiscovered.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” God was, therefore time was of his own making and it indicates that the word ‘beginning’ here means the commencement of time, and it shows that the ‘matter’ of the universe had a definite origin. Only God is eternal. Matter is not eternal because it did not start itself but was created by God. God created matter and more matter cannot be created—neither can the matter that God created be destroyed. Man can change matter, but cannot destroy it.
The word created means that matter was brought into existence without the use of any pre-existing material. It is distinguished in the Bible from other verbs such as to make, shape or form anything from pre-existing material.

There was no human witness when the foundation of the universe was laid, therefore we must accept it by faith. Human science, history and tradition are based upon the observations made about things that already exist. Paul. Heb.11: 13 says, “By faith we understand that the worlds have been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen hath not been made out of things which appear.” The term “Heaven and earth” means the whole universe.

Matter is inert of itself. It is the stuff from which all things are made. Therefore there is indication that there were two steps to the final creation. God made the stuff. Then the Holy Spirit moved upon the stuff and became the second creative activity. This book says that matter alone is chaos. However when given the power, intelligence, and omnipotent work of the Spirit it was formed into a well-ordered and unbelievable world.

God spoke and there was light. “God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.”
Jesus Christ is “The true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” And his people, reflecting his image, are “the true light of the world.” This story of the creation of light illustrates another creation—the conversion of the soul is made by the same spirit. 2nd Cor. 4: 6 says,” God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness [in Genesis] hath shined into our hearts, giving the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” Scientists call it cosmical light which means that they name it but do not explain it. There is only one explanation and that is that light was because of the quickening made by the Holy Spirit. When we accept Christ we become a new man because of the quickening made by the Spirit.

Each one of the other specific steps in creation can be explained much like those explained above. Time does not permit us to take each one individually at this time. We will step forward to verse 24, where we find a distinct difference from the creation of everything but man. And God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over the earth, and over the creatures that move along the ground.”

In all creation before man God allowed the earth, sea and etc. to bring forth plants and animals. Now he says “Let us” make man.” Who are us? Some say that kings referred to us as they speak of themselves. Some say that the Hebrew word for God is “Elohim” which is plural and he may be taking counsel with himself. These could be true and nothing would be lost, but I believe that the Trinity was there taking part in the creation of man and I believe he said “Come on Jesus, you and The Holy Spirit, this man will soon be your responsibility, so you need to be involved as he is being made.

What is meant by man being made in the image of God? John says God is spirit. Paul says he is the father of spirits. Zech. 12:1 says, “The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord.” Proverbs 20: 27 says, “And Jehovah God breathed into man’ nostrils, the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” The Bible says that the spirit returns unto God who gave it. So, we see that it refers to man as a spirit as God is spirit. Being in his image reflects to other things such as the fact that we should have knowledge and reasoning; we should live upright and holy; we are a free moral agent; we are to worship and commune with God; and we have the capacity to become an immortal soul that will live along with God.

He made male and female and gave them their commission to multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. There is no place in Genesis where a family is spoken of in any other way except just ‘male and female’ who could multiply…have children.

Chronology: Dates in Order of Early World Events

It has always helped me to remember events when and if I could know their chronology especially when one event led to another. In the study of the bible some events precede a war, or special happening, that does lead you to understand how and why the next event took place. I hope you will keep this list of events and maybe they will help you in your study. Jv.

DATE EVENTS

Unknown Creation of all things, matter, space, time, all that exists

Unknown When Noah started to build and finished building the Ark.

2500 BC. Egyptians invented writing on papyrus with ink. They built the first library; invented the first iron objects; and manufactured iron in the Near East.

2400 BC. Egyptians imported gold from Africa. The original discovery of gold in Africa is unknown.

2331 BC. The first world conquerer, Sargon, a Semitic tribal chieftain, conquered Sumer.

2300 BC. Egypt domesticated the first horses. Babylon domesticated the first chickens, and were first to use bows and arrows in war.

2166 BC. Abraham was born.

2100 BC. The Mesopotamians built the tower of Babel; discovered first drug, ethyl alcohol, used to relieve pain.

2091 BC. Abraham entered Canaan.

2066 BC. Isaac was born.

2006 BC. Jacob and Esau were born.

2000 BC. The Native Americans immigrated to North America from northern Asia. Stock-breeding and irrigation first used in China. England became the center for religious worship. Bellows used in India allowing for higher furnace temperatures.

1929 BC. Jacob escapes to Haran.

1915 BC. Joseph was born.

1900 BC. Egyptians used irrigation system to control Nile River flooding. Ancient near East invented wheels with spokes and started using horses to pull vehicles.

1898 BC. *Joseph was sold by his brothers into Egyptian slavery.

1885 BC. Just thirteen years in Egypt and Joseph is elevated to the ruler.

1805 BC. Joseph died.

1750 BC. Mathematicians in Babylonia understand and use cube root and square root, and Hammurapi of Babylon established the first of all legal codes.

1700 BC. Egyptians papyrus documents describe medical and surgical use.

1626 BC. *MOSES WAS BORN.*

1500 BC. A sundial used in Egypt and the Mexican Sun-Pyramid was built.

1446 BC. * THE EXODUS FROM EGYPT.

1445 BC. **THE ORIGINAL TEN COMMANDMENTS IN STONE.

1406 BC. * Hebrews entered Canaan

1400 BC. Chinese literature first written. Egypt used firs intricate clock.

1380 BC First recorded earthquake destroyed Palace on island of Crete.

1375 BC. The beginning of rule under Israelite JUDGES.

1358. BC. Tutankamen, Egyptian King, buried among immense treasuries.

1250 BC. First silk fabric manufactured in China.

1209 BC. DEBORAH became Judge in Israel.

1200 BC. First labor strike in Thebes. First Chinese dictionary.

1183 BC. Trojan war—destruction of Troy.

1162 BC. GIDEON became judge in Israel.

1105 BC. SAMUEL born.

1075 BC/ SAMSON, strong man, became judge in Israel.

1050 BC. SAUL becomes first king of Israel.

1010 BC. DAVID becomes king of Israel.

1000 BC. City of Peking China built; Greek theology developed; Indians in Californi built first wood-reed houses in America; Chinese developed math concepts that utilized root, multiplication, geometry, proportions, and the theory of motion; Glazing of bricks and tile invented in near east.

970 BC. SOLOMAN became king.

959 BC. KING SOLOMONS TEMPLE Wonder of the World completed.

930 BC. Israel divided into NORTH ERN AND SOUTHERN KINGDOM

900 BC. Celts invade Britain. Assyrians invent first life jackets from skins.

875 BC. Elijah first prophet in Israel.

874 BC. Ahab became king of Israel.

850 BC. Evidence of highly developed metal & stone sculptures in Africa.

848 BC. Elisha prophesied in Israel.

835 Joash became Judah’s first king. Judah was the Southern Kingdom.

793 JONAH became a prophet.

776 * FIRST KNOWN DATE OF THE OLYMPIC GAMES...Egypt.

753 HOSEA became a prophet. ROME was founded.

750 Notation in music used first in Greece; Britain got plow from Celts.

740 ISAIAH BECAME A PROPHET.

722 The Northern Kingdom of divided Israel is defeated…falls.

715 HESEKIAH BECOMES KING of Judah…the southern kingdom.

701 Sennacherib of Asia besieged JERUSALEM.

700 FALSE TEETH INVENTED IN ITALY

650 JAPAN established as a nation. Process of welding iron invented

648 First horse racing at 33rd Olympic Games

640 JOSIAH became king of Judah…southern part of Israel.

627 JEREMIAH BECAME A PROPHET.

612 Assyrian capital of Nineveh destroyed.

605 DANIEL TAKEN CAPTIVE TO BABYLON

600 Temple of Artemis built in Ephesus; one of the seven wonders.

586 JUDAH Southern kingdom falls to BABYLON.

562 BUCHADNEZZAR king of Babylon died. [This to be continued]

On Mission - Matthew 26 - 28

There are thirty-nine books in the Old Testament, all written by Priest, Prophets, Kings and others who were chosen by God to look into the future to the day in the life of a virgin girl who would birth the only ‘God-man’ baby ever born. None of these writers ever knew this ‘Messiah’ personally; and therefore they had to rely on the Holy Spirit, signs and wonders, angels and the actual voice of God to direct them in their writing about the creation, and history of the early generations of which there were forty-two in all. In one way or another every word of the OT was written to direct the attention of all nations to that historic day—when The Lord Jesus Christ was born in a manger, in Bethlehem of Judea; who would be the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and Savior of the world which was lost in sin. For about six-thousand years, people looked forward in faith to that blessed and historic day.

There are twenty-seven books in the New Testament, and every word was written by an eye witness who lived during the time of the birth and life of Jesus which took place in and around the religious capitol of the world, Jerusalem. Every word in the NT conveys the historical truth of the birth, life, death, resurrection and second coming of Jesus as eye witnesses through the resurrection; and then on through the ‘last days,’ the judgment, and eternity by God chosen Christian men who were privilege to listen to and record the message of Jesus Christ regarding our future during time and eternity. We can be assured of the absolute truth as we study this eye witnessed message that points us back to that blessed and historic day when Christ was born.

Jesus had and still has only one mission. He said, “I came to seek and save the lost.” Christ had only about three years to personally seek and save the lost, and for many reasons, including the vast opposition of his own people, he was able to reach only a few people when compared to the multitude that lived during his earthly ministry. Therefore, he had to establish his church to fulfill or complete his mission. We will study today how he dedicated his trial, death, burial, resurrection and the last forty days of his life on earth to the establishment of his church—and how he gave the church the responsibility to carry out his one and only mission.

The ‘gospel’—His ‘good news’ is recorded in the first four books of the NT, as recorded by the eye witness of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Think how fortunate we Christians are today as compared to those who could only look forward to an event that had not happened before or during their life time, and could only ‘through their faith’ accept it as truth, established and proven. These four writers [and many more including a throng of witnesses] have recorded for us what actually happened just as it had been prophesied. Without contradiction, they all tell us how all Christians are ON MISSION as our feet, hands and heart united with all of his people everywhere are his only instruments that will bring success. We must sacrifice our life for the very thing that he gave up is life to accomplish. I personally feel so fortunate and give Him all the glory for the fact that my church is ON MISSION—is a mission minded people.

Let us be very specific in determining who is to be responsible for carrying out the Great Commission. Some church members who take no part in Missions must think that they are not responsible—and that only the church staff and appointed leaders are to bear the responsibility. Some may not know how to do mission work and need only study to show themselves approved. For sure, the unsaved need to place their faith in Jesus in order to serve Him as their Savior. In Matthew, our lesson today, the time has arrived for him to ascend back to his father and leave his mission unaccomplished at that time; therefore he designed a way to make sure every person has the opportunity to be saved. He told us—all who are saved—to be involved in everything their churches do to carry out the Great Commission.

Jesus knew that his greatest opposition was concentrated in Jerusalem during this pass-over week. He knew that the Jewish leaders were working around the clock in search of a way to trap him into a final and fatal conflict with the Roman Government. Why do you think he forged ahead and entered the city in a bold last effort to proclaim his Lord-ship—knowing all the while that it would be his last days on earth? Please do not just guess why—you should know for sure that He was there ‘on purpose’ making Himself available to be offered as the Passover sacrifice for the sin of all humanity through his death on the cross. Your faith in Christ’s horrible death, the Old Rugged Cross, with his blood streaming down it to the ground stands now, and will always be your only passport to heaven.

These last three chapters in Matthew contain several major topics; His betrayal and arrest, the trial, the treatment, the last supper, prayer, tears, the cross, His death, burial and resurrection—and finally his appearance and commission just before his ascension. Oh, how I wish we could cover the waterfront, but time prevents... Be sure you read these chapters prayerfully expecting God to reveal in depth even the hidden messages contained. I will add a few thoughts that are relevant, but require extra study.

[Josephus, in Wars of the Jews, 6. 9. 3] says that the governor Cestius was afraid that Nero did not realize the vast numbers of Jews that would be in the City and the problems that this mass of people could cause, so he arranged for a census to be taken. Time would not permit a count of people so he directed the High Priest to take a census of the lambs being slain for the sacrifice. “A company of not less than ten must belong to every sacrifice [for it is not lawful for them to feast singly by themselves] and many of us are twenty in a company.” It was found that on this occasion the number of lambs slain was 256,500. It is Josephus’s estimate that there were in the city for that Passover some two and three-quarter million people. So it is little wonder that Caiaphas sought some stratagem to take Jesus secretly and quietly, for many of the pilgrims were Galileans who considered Jesus to be a prophet and would surely rebel. Plans were made to wait until the masses left the city…but Judas provided them a solution to the problem.

[John 12:6] says Judas was a thief that had stolen money from the money box. Matthew and Mark say that Judas’ betrayal came immediately after the anointing of Jesus at Bethany where Judas complained about the waste of the expensive anointing. Therefore he must have acted because of his greed, and struck one of the most dreadful bargains in history selling out, both Jesus and his own soul, for thirty pieces of silver. He realized his fate, threw the money on the floor at the feet of those who had paid him and went out and hanged himself. It is a strange thing with a sinner, but he usually comes to hate the very thing that causes him to be caught in sin.

We are all aware of Peter’s three denials and the crowing of the rooster, and some may have had harsh thoughts about what he did. There is one thing that I want to point out in behalf of Peter, and that is that he is the only one of the eleven disciples that even had enough courage to go to the temple that night where the trial was in progress. All of the other disciples had already sneaked off into the night…and left Jesus to fight his own battle from here on. They ran away but at least you must give Peter credit for not running. He has one more credit coming. As huge, hard and strong as he was, just at the moment that he realized what Christ had told him he would do, and he realized that it had come true…he went out and cried for forgiveness.

The most of us at one time or another have had some hard things to say about Pilate for his decision to allow the crucifixion to take place; but in-depth study shows that his heart was never really hardened against Jesus. Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent; and the Jews never really convinced him otherwise, but the Jews caught him in crossfire and compelled him to do their will against his wishes and what he knew to be justice. Actually Pilate was clearly impressed with Jesus and did not feel that the charges brought of Him being the King of the Jews was a serious threat to him. He knew a revolutionary when he saw one, had dealt with many in his day, and he knew that Jesus was not a revolutionary. He sought an escape and tried to get them to let Christ go free.
This it is the most compelling story about the most important four days in all of human history. This story contains the most gruesome combination of hatred, mistreatment, carnage, and death, and then finally, it describes the unprecedented resurrection. It is very likely that absolutely no one has ever fully grasped all that is contained in this short scripture—from the trial to Easter morning. Please obtain a good study bible and a commentary [I recommend * bottom of page] and study these four days in depth. Just a few important questions to answer are: Why did another man carry his cross? Who drove the nails? Who recognized him as Savior of the World? Why did he die quickly? Why was there complete darkness? Why earth wake? Why was the vale rent? Where did his soul go? Why was He buried in a borrowed tomb? Why was he for only three days? Why is it imperative that we know and believe this story? “And now the rest of the story.”

Two special women were recognized and rewarded during the four days. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were at the cross, at the burial in the tomb and now the first to visit the opened tomb. They were the first to get the Good News of the Risen Lord. There are at least three imperatives that resulted because of their faithfulness. First, they were taught the necessity of faith. It is only when we truly believe in the risen Lord that he can enter into our life and work through us. Secondly, they were taught to share. Their first thought was that they should share their good news with others. And last, they were instructed to rejoice. The first word that Christ said to them was “Chairete” which in his language was a greeting which literally means “Rejoice.”

Now we come to the end of our lesson—and to the end of Matthew’s gospel—and hear his last words. [Read verses 16-20] The first thing he did was assure his disciples of his unlimited power proven by his life, death and resurrection. They were now the servants of the Heavenly Master whose authority was beyond question on earth and in heaven.

Then he told them what his mission had been and what their mission was from this day on—“Therefore go into all the world and make all nations my disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—And teach them to keep all the commandments that I have given you.” So: We must be saved. We must obey. And we do not have to do it alone because he made us a promise—“And surely I will be with you always [every day, hour and second] to the very end of the age.”

[* Commentaries: Tyndale Commentary by R.V. Tasker; Moffatt Commentary by T. H. Robinson: Black New Testament Commentary by F. V. Filson; if you have a computer, there are several commentaries available for your study.]
MAY GOD BLESS ALL OF YOU AND
PLEASE, LET US ALL EXPRESS OUR THANKSGIVING PRAISE!

Involved in Ministry - Matthew 23 - 25:46

The First Baptist Church of Heber Springs has a new ‘funny book’ just published that lists the names of the active membership and provides the addresses, phone number and a ‘picture’ of each member. If there was 100% attendance on any given Sunday Morning, how many ministers [both active and retired] do you think would be present? If our pastor would ask for a show of hands of all ministers present, how many do you think would raise their hands? Would you be one of those indicating a positive response? Do you consider yourself to be a minister in the church that Christ established while he was here on earth?

By experience as a father of two children and a public school teacher and administrator of thousands of children of other parents I can, and do, here by attest that one of, and may be the first and easiest lessons that children learn, is how to find excuses for their mistakes. They learn how to make excuses before they learn how to read and they improve in this skill faster than any subject they enroll in throughout school life. By the time they reach the age of accountability, they are able to convince their parents some other person is responsible for all of their problems. At any age, unbelievers are even able to convince themselves that they have a good excuse for the commission of both the sin of omission and commission.

Here is your challenge regarding your responsibility as a minister of Christ for Christ. You must read the entire scripture that forms the foundation and structure of today’s lesson—Matthew chapters 23, 24 and 25. They are all in red letters that surely will remind you of his blood that Jesus shed for the sin of all people who will believe in him.

Regarding those above who did not raise their hand—some may not know that they should be involved in Christ’s ministry. Others may know—but just do not want to be involved and they think they have a good reason; however, what they really have is a poor excuse. The sad truth lies in the fact that some do not know—or do not believe—that the results of their final judgment regarding the truth…sincerity…and genuineness of their Christianity will be determined by the extent they are involved in his ministry.

I think that we need to take a moment to look at the overall picture of where we are today. Because of the timing, everything that Christ says grows more important—for these are some of the last teachings that were meant primarily for his disciples first and then all of his followers. His entry into Jerusalem was last Sunday, one week before his crucifixion. This must have been the longest week of His life. What he said, and did in this last week has got to be the most important message in word and action that he gave us to ponder. When he entered the city he went directly to the temple where he found disgrace and dishonor being shown because the Jews had turned the holy temple into a market-place. His anger reached the highest point of his entire ministry—and he used a whip and drove them out of the temple. We must never forget that our ‘church building’ is a proto-type of the Jewish temple and it is never to be used as a commercial building.

The time is near the end of His earthly ministry. The city of Jerusalem is crowded with Jewish worshipers, who have come to observe the Passover, and He and His disciples were in the temple complex [21:23], that was crowded with observers. Jesus knew that the Pharisees and Sadducees were there listening to his every word—looking for something that they could use to bring charges against him [22:15]. This seems like an appropriate time for me to remind you that the Roman Government was in power and they were not interested in getting involved with the religious differences between the established Jewish leadership and the teachings of the Messiah. The Jewish leadership realized this and shifted their charges toward the fact that Jesus claimed to be God on earth, who was interested in the overthrow of the Roman Government. Jesus realized that these false acquisitions would ultimately lead to his destruction and this made it imperative that he convince his followers that they had to be ready to take responsibility for the continuation of his ministry on earth.

Jesus uses the entire twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew to teach us that the future of his church depends upon Christian people and therefore they must be involved in Jesus’ ministry in order for his total plan to work successfully. You will find his examples in the parables he gave us in this chapter.

The first example comes in the story of the ten bridesmaids. All were invited to take part in his total plan of salvation exemplified in a wedding. Five of them took the invitation seriously and prepared their lamps with the necessary oil to keep them lit and working as long as they were needed. The second five did not take seriously their need to prepare to be a part of the wedding and when their lamps burned out there was no provision for them to refuel and still be a part of the celebration. Herein lies a very simple example of a very small and simple ministry. Before the wedding they should have given a few minutes of their time to pour the oil in their lamps. We observe the Lord’s Supper frequently as a solemn celebration of the death of our Savior, in our remembrance of his sacrifice for us. Someone has to obtain the wine [juice] and pour it into glasses before the observance can take place—and that is a necessary ministry. Likewise, the preparation of the unleavened bread is ministry—and for sure the serving process is a ministry. Failure to adequately prepare or properly serve at the Lord’s Supper is similar to the failure of the bridesmaids who neglected to prepare for the wedding.

It is well to note here that the Bridegroom’s wedding was delayed…some extra time went by and this required more oil than was expected. The Bridegroom represented Christ and The Church will be His bride. Christ has already delayed his return to the earth longer than many think he should…but for sure he will come when least expected, and our preparation should be such as is necessary for one day or a thousand years.

The next example of ministry was explained in the parable of the man that was going on a journey and entrusted his wealth to his three servants. To the first he gave five talents of money, to the next he gave two talents and to the third man he entrusted one talent. Note: The man going on a journey represents Christ who was going to ascend back into heaven—and the three men represented three church members. The first has many talents…he can preach, sing, pray, play instruments, and witness, and while his master was gone—he used his time and talents and won five sinners to Christ. The second could only pray and witness—he used his time and talents and successfully won two new converts. The third member of the church was limited in talents and decided to use this as an excuse to just attend the services and Sunday school when it was convenient for him. He was not rewarded, because he could have done more—and he probably wound up praying that God would return unto him the joy of his salvation. Which one of these men represents you?—or which do you represent?

The heart of this lesson today comes without any doubts or need for interpretation in the 31st verse of chapter 25. In order for you to be fully convinced that you are expected to minister, it is imperative that you read this passage. When and where is this setting and what happens? One day soon, and very soon, Christ [The Son of Man] will return to earth in all his glory; He will be seated on his throne and all of his angels will be with him. All nations from Siberia to South Africa…from the north to the South Pole, regardless of whom they say is their god’ will be assembled before Him. Just as a shepherd separates the goats from his sheep—Christ will divide the people, putting the goats on his left and the sheep on his right side. There is no question about it…the sheep represent all who have accepted Jesus as their savior…and the goats will be made up of all people who have served the other gods.

Then the King [Son of Man, Jesus] will speak specifically to the sheep on his right hand, and he will invite them to come unto him because they are the blessed by his father [Jehovah God]. He will invite them to take [receive, occupy, enter in] their inheritance—which is the Kingdom prepared for them since the creation of the world. Then He explains why or how they have inherited the Kingdom. NOTE SPECIFICS.

Christ is speaking…it is in red letters. “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me. I was sick and you looked after me. I was in prison and you came to visit me.” The righteous [sheep, Christians] will then ask when and how did they do these things. “The king will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” I now ask you: is there any thing listed here that you could not do as your ministry responsibility? Maybe there are some, but I dare say that every one of us could find at least one of these that we could have, can do, or should do. For example; the stranger represents a non-church going person with no church body interested to minister to him. All of us could invite him to come in to our church; there is no doubt that some one out there is spiritually hungry, and if invited to our church he will be fed on the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The sad side of this explanation of the differences between the sheep and the goats culminates in the last two verses of this chapter. We are still at the same gathering of all nations. Jesus Christ, the Messiah, turns now to his left hand and speaks to the goats. He gives them the same list of needs that he had during their lifetime and then told them that they did not minister to any of his needs. They also wanted to know when this happened and how or why. He will reply, “I tell you the truth, what ever you DID NOT DO FOR ONE OF THE LEAST OF THESE, YOU DID NOT DO FOR ME.”

“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

At age 83, after much study of God’s Holy Bible, especially the teachings of the New Testament, I truly believe in the ‘Security of the Believer’. And after many years of teaching the Word, and many examples of the necessity to live in loving obedience—I also truly believe that we will be rewarded according to the degree of our obedience. He said, “You must be born again,” Then he told Peter, “If you love me, feed my sheep.” Salvation is an absolute necessity in order to inherit eternal life. And our INVOLVEMENT IN MINISTRY is an absolute necessity in order to please God. Many will be saved ‘as by fire’ because of their lack of obedience. You can know a tree by the fruit it bears!

A Place for All - Matthew 19:1 - 23:46

During those days while our church was under the leadership of two interim pastors, Brothers Swihart and Jerome, they led the church to think in a new direction and suggested that we develop a new constitution and by-laws and a mission statement that would picture where the membership would like to go; and that would help all prospects and new members to visualize us as a growing, caring church where no one is left behind. A committee was elected by the church to work with our new pastor, Dr. DeBusk to assure that the new pastor and the church were of one mind and in accord. This was not an easy task and it took many hours of prayerful study to establish the goal. It is very difficult for a Christ-centered church to explain its mission in a few words that will reveal the enormity of its task.

The moment I opened the LifeWay commentary and saw the title for our lesson for today it made me think that the author had explained our mission in four simple words—A PLACE FOR ALL. Our church is a place that includes but is not limited to a people that really care for others; we are a Christ-like church [people] that are furnishing a beautiful and comfortable place for all who will participate to learn about God and then to be able to teach others. The church has a membership of Christ-centered people who are there FOR ALL. Members are there to praise and worship God and to fellowship with each other—so that we can grow spiritually. However, a vast majority of our budget is spent in the total effort to reach others—especially the lost of our community. Every dedicated member of our church understands that we are striving to use every possible means that we have to meet the needs of the people that will enter in through our doors. Matthew tells us in the 19th chapter that Jesus insisted that his church must be a Godly caring PLACE FOR ALL PEOPLE.

Matthew tells us that the church [a place for all] must embrace at least four major teachings. A] The first fifteen verses deals with marriage and the family. B] Verses 16-28 explain the concept of eternal life. C] Jesus discuses the portrayals of authority in 20: 29 through 21: 27. D] In 21: 28 through 22: 14, He gives parables that emphasize inclusion and exclusion. E] The last part of chapter 22 deals with the answer to four major questions. We will attempt to briefly cover as many of these topics as time will permit.

Back in the 16th chapter we learned that Christ took his disciples away from the crowd and moved them into the area of many gods…Caesarea Philippi where the major emphasis of Christ’s teaching shifted from the general public and became centered on the task of preparing his disciples to take the church he will establish in just a few days and spread it into all nations. Now in the 19th chapter [and in the next two chapters] all events occur while he is on his final trip from Galilee to Jerusalem and the cross where He will die for you and me and who-so-ever will accept him as Lord.

Immediately after he left his hiding place in Caesarea Philippi and started on the last lag of his journey to the cross He left Galilee and went into the region of Judea on the other side of Jordan a multitude of people soon had gathered around him and he continued his public ministry, healing those in need. Just as had happened earlier, he encountered conflict with the religious leaders. Some of the Pharisees reminded him that Moses had ruled that a man could give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away…and then they wanted to know if he thought it was lawful for a man to divorce his wife. This was ‘lawyer prepared question’ for the sole purpose of causing a conflict between what He was teaching and what Moses had said. Jesus assured them that The Creator made them man and woman and declared that marriage made them no longer two people—but one in marriage. Then he emphasized the truth by saying; “I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

To our sorrow, we are destined to live our lives during a period of history, especially in our US of A, and specifically from 1960 to the present, when the decline of the family unit has hastened toward destruction. No nation will ever be stronger than the families that make up the population. God created the concept of the family unit as the first bastion against evil and tyranny. It was supposed to be successful in this position because of the dedicated love that family members have for each other. In this study of Matthew we are looking at the second bastion against evil and that is Christ’s Church which was to be made up of people who love and care and it is to be that PLACE FOR ALL in which we find Christ, gain eternal life, and reach out to others so that they too may be saved.

The second major topic in this study today is covered, beginning with the 16th verse. Probably the hardest person on earth to be converted, saved, born again would be a rich young man that is living a clean moral life and who shares and cares for his friends and relatives. This rich young man seems to fit this picture because he told Christ that he had kept the commandments regarding his relationship with other people. If you will notice, Christ did not mention the commandment that demands that we have not other gods before Him. It is easy for us to read between the lines and see that this young man loved his family and friends and was doing a lot of good things for others—so much so that he wanted to know what good thing would earn his eternal life. Jesus did not expect this man to give all his wealth away in order to earn life. He does not expect us to give everything we own to others and die a broken hermit. Jesus knew that this man loved his money more than he loved God or man…his money was his god, so he suggested that he sell everything he owned and give it to the poor. He suggested that he give up his false-god and look to the true, one and only God. More important than anything else…he was to come and follow Jesus.

In my mind’s eye I can look back to the Jordon banks and see the expression on Peter’s face when Christ told him to leave everything and come follow him. It is the same concept. Now Peter did not have much wealth to leave behind, but he left all he had and followed Christ. True the rich man had more to give up…but it was only just all he had…like Peter. So then the difference was in his “want-to”…he wanted to live the life of the rich and famous and did not love Christ enough to make the sacrifice.

I have studied the bible teachings regarding wealth and have never found anywhere that everyone must sell all that they own and give it all to God. I think the exception here with this young rich man was to emphasize the fact that everyone must practice the minimum goal that God set for each person so the Lord’s work could progress. There is no doubt in my mind that the minimum requirement is not 100%... BUT IT IS 10% OR MORE…and it includes our time and talents as well as our money. Christ could have told these people that it is as hard for a rich man to be humble as it is for the camel to go through the eye of a needle. Herein is the problem, because the rich have no need to be humble, they do not have to depend on friends, employers, or even God. They have it made!

Peter inquired about the status of those who have left all and followed Christ. He was told that the disciples will sit on twelve thrones and act as judges over the twelve tribes of Israel. And then Jesus included you and me [all Christians] saying that when we have proven faithful we will be rewarded one hundred times more than we have given and also will inherit eternal life. This sounds like the best investment that I have ever made. More important than anything else, our stock is not listed on the Dow, and there will be no failures recorded. We are safe and secure in Jesus Christ!

One more thought on riches is that—Jesus did not say that it was impossible for a rich man to enter heaven. We should remember that Zacchaeus was one of the richest men in Jericho. Jesus called him down from the tree and went home with him and because of his receptive heart and generous attitude he and his house were saved. By-the-way, Zacchaeus only promised to give one half of his riches to the poor…he did not have to sell everything. Joseph of Armathaea was also a rich man…he claimed the body of Christ, and placed it in his new-unused tomb. Nicodemus must have been well off because the spices he furnished to anoint the body of Christ was said to have been worth a king’s ransom. Riches are not sinful but wealth causes many to sin. Man cannot have two gods—both God and money –for he will love one more than the other.

At first glance it may not seem right for the first man to work a ten hour day and receive one dollar. While the second man works five hours and receives one dollar; and the third man only works three hours and receives one dollar; and finally the fourth man works just one hour and receives one dollar. If all agreed before they worked that this was acceptable, how can the latter ones feel slighted? Some of you may not agree with me. Well let me ask you a question. Let us suppose that the farmer that hired them now becomes the Lord Jesus Christ in my parable. Look at it.
The first worker in his kingdom became a Christian at twenty years of age and worked faithfully for 60 years and died. The second one became a Christian at thirty and worked for 30 years and died. The third repented at forty and worked 20 years. The fourth was saved at fifty years of age and worked only one year and died. Will not their pay be the same? Will heaven be 60 times better for the first than for the last? Both young and old will be paid with God’s unmerited grace and I predict that all will be happy with the settlement.

Jesus predicted his coming cruel death for the third time, and must have been very disappointed when the disciples still failed to understand fully that he was correct. They still continued to argue with him and seek another solution.

In chapter 22: 15-41 Jesus answers four questions. 1. Is it right to pay taxes to the government? The answer. Whose picture is on the bill? They said Caesar, Washington, and Lincoln. Then render to Caesar and the United States what they are due but give God what is due him. 2. There were seven brothers. The oldest one married and died. Each of his six brothers married the same woman and each died. At the resurrection, whose wife will she be? None of these, because at the resurrection there will be no marriages. They will be like angels in heaven. 3. Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law? Love the Lord your God with all your soul and with all our mind is the first—and the second is Love your neighbor as yourself. 4. Then Jesus ask—“What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he? “The son of David.” They replied. “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says “The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.” “If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” Don’t miss a blessing, read all four of these chapters—AND GET IN—OR STAY IN CHRIST’S CHURCH.

A Caring Community - Matthew 18

Each one of us is a member of a community of friends and relatives that may often have higher expectations of us than we are really capable of fulfilling. Regardless of our size, talents, or capabilities, Jesus created each person with a specific purpose in his mind for us to fulfill in this life. As I read the closing verses of chapter seventeen I noted that the tax collectors in Capernaum were concerned about whether or not Jesus and the disciples were paying their temple tax—they confronted Peter and ask him if they were paying taxes like others had to do.

Peter assured them that they did pay taxes—but reading between lines—I believe he may have thought that they were delinquent because he went directly to Jesus, who sensed the need to pay the tax. He told Peter to go fishing, and that he should look in the mouth of the first fish he caught where he would find a four-drachma coin; then he told Peter to take the coin and pay their tax. In my distant past I remember reading about this miracle and have always thought it to be one of the most peculiar of the miracles performed by Christ. Imagine the thrill of catching a fish with a very valuable gold coin in his mouth.

As I look back and think about what others may have expected of me—I realize that I was too short to play basket-ball; to light to play foot-ball; lacked the coordination and talent to succeed in golf and although I enjoyed participating in these sports it seemed that I was more successful in a good boat with a rod and reel and a hand full of plastic worms anchored somewhere on Toledo Bend Lake, in Louisiana. This may not have been the purpose that God had in mind for me—because I have looked many times into the mouth of a large-mouth bass and have never found anything that would pay my taxes.

Some of you, my critics, may wonder what this has to do with the lesson for today; and if this crosses your mind, you should read the entire chapter of Matthew 18. You will find that verses 1-14 deals with the humility of the community in which you live—verses 15-20 deals with the ability of your community to practice reconciliation—and the last four-teen verses proclaims the need for a community to be able to forgive even those who prove to be a disappointment.

Beginning back in chapter 16 and concluding in 18, Jesus focuses on the origin of his church and especially on how he expected the members of Christ’s church to act and react with each other and toward the other members of their community. As Christ moved from one community to another, there was a steady increase of the opposition to Him. Therefore, he turned from the general public to his disciples and increased the emphasis on his coming rejection, suffering, death and resurrection that would take place during the final days of his life in Jerusalem—which was about six months. It was imperative that they understand who he was and what he came to earth to accomplish—to seek and save the lost through his death on the cross. He also wanted them to understand that he came to establish a Christian Community that would be known as His Church. This Church community would be a mass of people who confessed him as the Christ, or Messiah, the Son of the Living God. Our lesson today explains some of his instructions given to the church [community of faith] regarding how they are expected to conduct themselves. In a nut-shell—they are to be A CARING COMMUNITY.

Using my humble example; we are not to expect more out of a short, light-weight, with few talents, to defend Larry Bird; to play with the Dallas Cowboys; or defeat Arnold Palmer. I will go one step further—we are not to judge those who may not see eye-to-eye with us in all of our beliefs—and the first 14 verses deals with characteristic of children—which is humility. No man is an island unto him-self and must realize that those around him help to build him up or tear him down—therefore we must choose our friends carefully. General Dwight D. Eisenhower profoundly expressed what I am trying to say in this quote—“Humility must always be the portion of any man who receives acclaim earned in the blood of his followers and the sacrifices of his friends.” If time permits, we will cover three themes found in his lesson—Humility, purity, and mercy.

It is clearly evidenced in the first verse that the disciples did not understand what it meant for a man to be humble. Their question was “Who will be the greatest in your Kingdom?” Again, reading between the lines, we can see that they had no idea that a child would be considered greater than they would be. They had given up everything and followed Christ. They had walked many miles of dusty roads beside Him… hungry, fished all night with no catch, and witnessed hatred and danger of harm from those who opposed them and to date, not one of them had forsaken Christ, but instead had exerted every effort to help him become the accepted Messiah. I believe that they were really honestly concerned about which one of them Christ would pick to be his successor on earth…which of them would Christ trust with the future of his church. To find that a young child was ahead of them in his choosing must have been a shocker. Matthew spends the rest of this chapter explaining to them and us that they had asked the wrong question. It would not be the strongest or most brilliant; it would be the most humble and forgiving.

The question they ask proves that they were striving to be the greatest in His Kingdom. As a member of the Church, what is your aim? Is it your goal to receive fulfillment of your personal ambitions? Are you interested in obtaining greater power and prestige in order to exalt self? These are the exact opposites of what the goals of a CARRING COMMUNITY should be—it should be the church community that cares. It is not easy; in fact, it is very difficult to forget self in your life that should aim at service to others and not power and control over others. Simply said—“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Lou Holtz calls it his “Do right rule.”

Jesus told his disciples that they would have to become as a child or they would never see the kingdom of Heaven. So let us look as some of the attributes of a child which we must emulate in order to be a part of His caring community. First, a child has the power of wonderment—lives in a fantasy world, dreaming, learning and don’t claim to know it all. Even though they may be mistreated, they still can forgive and forget. They are continually interested in learning and too their advantage they do not have to unlearn which is a difficult task.

The central theme is humility, and true and complete humility is found only in the very young, before they become self-centered. I believe that children in that day were humble for more years than they are today. The reason being that, today’s parents force their children into the competitive world at an earlier age. There is more pressure to be number one [#1] at an earlier age and at any cost. It is natural for children to be dependent and they do not resent having those that care for them [parents] to be their safety zone. If Christians would learn to depend completely on Jesus for our strength and success we would find greater peace and success in our lives. How often does a young child in our country worry about being hungry, cold, and without care? I realize that some do. It is sad, but even those that finds them-selves cold and hungry still trust in parents to provide. Parents may fail; but God will not fail [us]…His children.

For some reason Jesus changed his emphasis from the idea of a caring community to the punishment of anyone that would mistreat or mislead a child. I sometimes tremble when I think back to my years in the teens and twenties when I found pleasure in ‘teasing’ and sometimes ‘tormenting’ the kids that were younger—just for the fun of it. [My fun, not theirs.] I also remember being teased to the point of tears. Wish I could remember every case…I would call them and apologize and seek forgiveness. This kind of treatment of a child can lead one to a point where they would be better off if they had a mill stone about their neck and were cast in the sea; folks, that is pretty severe punishment. The point is…don’t mess around with Jesus’ little ones. I believe the danger is greater while misleading children up to about eight to ten years—and ‘babes in Christ for their first four or five years, or anyone that has not studied the Word and established their faith.

There are two warnings against temptation that must be noted. The greatest sin is found in the man that tempts others to sin, as with the one who would tempt the child, tempting a ‘babe in Christ’ to do wrong is even greater than sinning personally against God. The second thought regarding temptation is pertaining to an individual who is giving in to their own desires of lust or greed. The Bible says that by seeing you are tempted to lie, cheat, steal, or otherwise sin against you own body and God—it would be better for you to be blind. I do not advocate actually punching your eyes out—but it is necessary for you to control the thought process that produces the sin and remove it from your thinking. Pluck it out. Cut it off. Anything that causes you to sin should be eliminated.

Looking down on others and living a self-centered life is two nuts in the same shell. Christ emphatically states that children have special angels that look over them and are able to approach God in their behalf at any time. I see this as the Lord’s way of keeping children safe and unaccountable for any sin committed prior to the age of accountability. The next lesson taught by Christ is that if one of these little ones becomes lost, or goes astray, we should be concerned to the extent that we would leave the 99 who are safe and go look for the one that is lost. I am persuaded that this could also refer to a young Christian that has drifted away from the Christian path-way. I am afraid that the members of our Christian Community would be more likely to condemn the stray and let him find his own way back to the flock. Christ indicated that the shepherd—pastor, deacon, or strong Christian brother/sister should be more concerned about the one that is astray. It is dangerous when you judge any person as unworthy simply because they have beliefs and practices in their life that you do not agree with. Just keep in mind that Jesus stated that he came into this world to seek and save the lost. Should we not do likewise?

Things really get serious when one of these undesirables sin against us personally. We have no right to condemn and forget them even when their sin is against us. Always remember that there are two sides to every disagreement, and you need to resolve the difference in a Christian manner. Jesus gave us the method we should follow. Read again verses 15-19. The modern day Christian is usually not willing to negotiate a dispute in order to allow right to win, and bring abut reconciliation between two who have a problem. The Christian Community of yesteryear was more willing to follow the instructions. First, go to your brother and personally try to be reconciled; if successful you have won a brother. If he does not listen, then take two or three witnesses and let them hear the evidence and act as a jury. This will usually settle the matter, but if it is a more difficult one, it is time to take it to the Church Community for a final decision that is binding on both parties. How long has it been since you have seen this kind of effort put forth in order to save one or both lives? Who said for us to do it this way? Christ!

We have looked at the need for humility in the Church Community—not the strong but the child-like humble people will inherit the Kingdom. We have discussed the need for Reconciliation of differences and we are told that if one is guilty and refuses to listen to even the church—he is to be treated as the Jews treated the pagans and tax-collectors. Now we turn to the third and final attribute discussed in this lesson—and this has to do with forgiveness in our Church Community. Some of my readers will use a different name for their Church Community, but I am specifically referring to the Christian members of the First Baptist Church of Heber Springs, Arkansas.

Again we find old Peter at the head of the line, looking for answers to some of his questions. Remember that ‘seven’ [7] is considered the complete number—and Peter must have felt that he would complete his responsibility toward anyone who sinned against him if he was willing to forgive him seven times. He asked Jesus if that was enough. The answer was NO; you must forgive him seventy times seven. [70x7=490]. And it is clear that Jesus simply meant that there is never a time when you should refuse to forgive one who earnestly seeks forgiveness. Think for a moment, how many of us have sinned against Christ more that 490 times, confessed our sins and asked for forgiveness and received it immediately? I dare say that some of us have exceeded that number in just a few months…maybe even weeks.

Please don’t skip over the characteristic of forgiveness discussed in the last thirty-four verses of chapter 18. Read it, because time will not permit a complete recount in this written lesson. Jesus related that the servant of one king owed his master ten thousand talents—and that is so great that no order-nary servant could ever pay the debt. The servant could not pay and was condemned …however he repented, and pled for mercy and received it. His life was saved. He was a sinner saved by the grace [undeserved favor] of the king. The king forgave him. The king cancelled his debt.

The redeemed servant sought another that owed him only a hundred denarii and demanded that the debt be paid. This servant could not pay, and pleaded for forgiveness of his debt. The wicked servant would not relent and had the second servant thrown into prison. Other servants were concerned and reported his evil treatment to the king [master] who called him in and rebuked him; the king changed his mind, and had the unforgiving servant thrown into jail until he could pay.

The final lesson for each of us is to learn from today’s lesson is that God will treat each unforgiving person just as this master treated his servant. If you are a member of a CARING CHURCH COMMUNITY and you personally are an unforgiving soul…you should always remember the day that Jesus Christ through his mercy, forgave you. Do unto others as Christ has done for you!

Centered on Christ - Matthew 16 & 17

The introduction to this lesson will automatically become the conclusion of the lesson. This is true because God created each and every one of us with a purpose in his mind for our being. Babies born to unwed parents are not accidents. The adult parents may have made a mistake, but the child that resulted from their mistake is not responsible for their error. No living person is a mistake because we were all created by God…He knew us before we were conceived and he had a purpose in mind for each of us and a major part of that purpose was for us to live a Christ centered life. First and foremost, we were created to love and fellowship with our Maker and to worship him only, having no other Gods before him; therefore, it is not enough to know about him—but we must know him personally. We learn about him through our study of his word; we know him by our faith.

In the opening verses of Matthew chapter 16, and following some of the most convincing miracles that Christ performed, the Pharisees and Sadducees showed their refusal to believe by requesting that Jesus give them a sign from heaven so they too could believe. Knowing that they had no intention of accepting him, he told them that they already had the story of Jonah and no other sign would be given. Jesus then left them and went on his way. The time had come when Christ would shift his emphasis to discipleship training.

He crossed the lake where his disciples became concerned in that they had not taken bread for food. Jesus warned them against the false teaching of the Jewish leaders by telling them that he was not concerned about the bread, but his concern was about the yeast that causes bread to rise. In this case specifically he was concerned about the bad yeast [false teaching] of the Pharisees and Sadducees that spoiled the [bread] message he was bringing. His disciples finally understood the parable of the bad yeast. The thing that bothers me most as an elderly man is that it appears to me that people today are even more willing to accept, believe, follow and even financially support the false witnesses of our day. I pray that God will help me rightly divide the word and never lead one soul astray from the true teachings of Jesus Christ. Study his word—it is truth.

The central theme of our lesson for today begins with Matthew 16:13 where Jesus turns his attention away from the crowds that were following him to his need to make final preparation for his disciples to be ready to take his place at his death. To begin this task he and the disciples left Capernaum and traveled approximately twenty five miles north east into the mountainous region of Caesarea Philippi and away from the crowd that had been following him. Caesarea Philippi was a more secluded area located at the upper end of the Jordan River. It had been known for its many religious associations with the other gods of that day and even had many temples that had been erected for the worship of Baal. It was said to be the birthplace of the nature god, who was called Pan; because they believed that the Jordan originated out of a cave located in the area. Herod the Great had built a huge marble temple at Caesarea Philippi and dedicated it to Caesar as his god.

He went to the area because it was away from the crowds, and because of its religious history of ‘many gods’ it was a perfect setting for him to tell his disciples a final time who he was and why he came to the world—what he came to do—and for sure he wanted them to know how he would accomplish His mission and what his plans were for them and all other followers of Jesus. He wanted to focus specifically on His identity as the True Son of the one and only True God; this was not for him, but for the twelve disciples.

Whether or not you have already read the entire chapter—you must now read verses 13 through 28. The very first question posed to his disciples was; * “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They named several like John the Baptist, Elijah and other prophets. His next question was “Who do you think I am?” Christ already knew what the people thought…he did not ask the question for his benefit…but he wanted to point out to the disciples that some of them had at times wondered and may have even agreed with the people in their thoughts. The cross and his death were only about six months away, and the time had come when the disciples had to be convinced that he was the Christ…The Son of God—why? They would be his spokesmen from this time forward, and would be responsible for carrying forth His Great Commission of the Church to the rest if the world. *He is referring to himself as the Son of Man.

No wonder that Jesus was worried, do you remember when John was in prison, back in the 11th chapter, he sent messengers back to ask Christ who he really was. His home town had refused to accept his deity since he was the carpenter’s son. He had been accused of being a glutton and drunkard and a servant of the devil, and the disciples had never put forth a strong defense for him—so he had reason to know that to date, they were not 100 percent convinced that he was the true Messiah. Allow me to step aside for a moment and ask each of you how many different languages you can speak. Most will answer, “Only one, English.” A few speak two, and I suppose that the most common second language is Spanish. Don’t be surprised when I tell you that all of the readers of this lesson can speak at least three different languages.

Just a few chapters back Jesus scolded Peter and actually alluded to his dullness when Peter asked Christ to explain one of the simple parables he had used. Actually it is a little surprising to me that now… when they are confronted with The Lord’s most important question to date—“Who do you say that I am?”…Peter seems to be the first of the disciples to fully understand and give the correct answer. It is interesting to me that three of the NT writers agreed that it was Peter, but gave a different version of his answer; with all versions having the same meaning. The word “Messiah” and the word “Christ” are the same word in two languages…Messiah is Hebrew…Christ is Greek and both refer to the Living Son of God. So now—if you have read this paragraph and understood it, you can speak and translate at least three languages, Hebrew, Greek and English.

It is important for each of us to realize that we must personally become acquainted with, knowledgeable about, and willing to accept Christ. The day will come [and it may be soon] when Christ will look you straight in the eyes, call you by name, and ask you—“Who do you say that I am?” and “Who did you tell people that I was?” He already knows the answer…so it is for your benefit that he will ask. If you have never accepted him as Savior, how will you answer? If you have been saved [as by fire] and never told anyone who Christ is, how will you answer the second question?

It does you NO GOOD to know about Jesus Christ; in fact it could become your downfall. The proof of your standing with him is when you can answer his question by saying “I know that you are Jesus Christ, God’s Son, and my personal Savior.” Peter was the first apostle that came to this conclusion. Personally, I wish that the comment made by Christ at this time could have been perfectly clear to everyone in his audience and above all to the disciples that wrote about this incident. This passage [verses 17-19] is one of the most controversial in the NT. Much of the controversy hinges on the word ROCK.

This rock that Jesus would build his church on has been identified by some as; 1. Jesus Christ himself—not his physical body but—the salvation that he provided through his sinless life, his willingness to die for our sins, his horrible death on the cross, his burial that conquered death and resurrection—all of which provides us salvation and a home in heaven. 2. Peter, the first to recognize Christ as deity and the first great leader in the church at Jerusalem. 3. The confession of faith that Peter gave and all the confessions of faith that would ever be given by people who accept Christ as their master.

There is a play on words used in this passage that is not unusual but makes it difficult for us to know exactly what was said and who the pronouns actually were as well as who the rock was. First, let us look at Peter. In the Greek language the word “Peter” is “Petros” spelled with a capitol P indicating a personal name. The word “rock” is “petra” and there is no capitol indicating something or a thing and not a person or city. Add to this confusion Peter’s Aramaic name which is spelled “Kephas” which is also the Aramaic for “rock.” Applying the name “Rock” to a person is not unusual. Abraham was called a rock [petra] by God. God is said to be a rock many times in the bible. One thing for sure is that when it is used it is in a complementary way.

If there is a person out there anywhere that has access to the original manuscript or a copy of it, and you are able to read and translate, I wish you would go to this scripture and see what Christ actually said. Here is what I believe he said. He said, “Wonderful, my dear fisherman, you have finally comprehended just who I am…and you are right. When you were named they called you Petros [a rock] and now, Peter, I agree that you are a rock [petra] among the disciples. The time has come, I must build my church and I will build it upon the foundation of the trinity…the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and I Jesus Christ will be the chief corner petra [stone or rock ]. I love old Peter and appreciate him so much, but he made too many mistakes to be the foundation of my Church.

Every thing I believe about salvation, every thing that I trust to be flawless, and good for me is CENTERED IN CHRIST. Christ is the foundation of the church where my membership is. The totality of Christ from the day he was born in Bethlehem until this very moment—who he is, what he did, and what he continues to do, makes him the foundation of my church and my belief.

Each individual may not fully understand all of the ramifications of each phase of the Gospel and should not be disturbed in that they do not know and understand everything in the bible. But I believe that each and every person that is saved must first believe the general story that the bible relays to us, so if you do not believe the bible…you have a problem. The story relayed is too long to cover here, but I must give you the major guide-post along your journey to Saving Grace and Eternal Life. Through your faith……

You must believe in God the Father and Creator of everything there is; that sin entered the world and that everyone is a sinner until saved. You must believe that God sent his Son to save lost people; that he was born a virgin; lived and worked to establish his church, died on the cross and shed his blood to save the lost; that he was buried and arose from the grave where he proved himself to be deity and gave the church its commission, and promised to send the Holy Spirit to take his place and then he arose back into heaven.

So, now that you believe these truths, it is a simple matter for any sinner, lost and away from Jesus, to be saved and assured of a life with Christ forever. In fact it is so simple that I often say that is part of the reason why so many remain lost…they simply think that anything that easy can not be valued so highly. But it is! Admit you are a sinner, repent, and ask Jesus to come into your life and live his life through you…You must mean it, believe it, do it and then prove it by obeying him. You must be centered on Jesus Christ and the Cross, because he loved you so much that he died for you! He paid your sin debt!