6/1/11 Matthew 13:40-43 Separation at the end

⁴⁰As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
⁴¹The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
⁴²And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
⁴³Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
⁴⁴Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.

(Parable of the Sower)

Thoughts: Jesus points out that the church is separated into the righteous and unrighteous not now- but in the end by Him.  For this reason, all should make every effort to stay together, to keep "the bond of peace" (Eph. 4:3). 
The second things we see is that angels separate out "them that do iniquity" literally "those who commit lawlessness" (poinontas ten anomian )."  Christ is concerned about keeping the Law.  Those who ignore the law do so to their own peril.  The lawless ones contrast with the righteous ones.  It doesn't matter what motivation, temptation, or excuse the lawless ones have for breaking and ignoring the Law.  It does not matter if the whole culture becomes lawless.  We are called by this parable to follow the righteous and not the lawless. 

Prayer: Help me, Lord, to follow you by follwing your prescription and laws.  Help me to do my part for the unity of your church.

6/1/11 Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus Against Lawlessness

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

(Sermon on the Mount- Annigoni Pietro 1953)

Thoughts: The word "evildoers" is literally- "lawless ones" (ἐργαζόμενοι τὴν ἀνομἰαν in the Greek).  It is obvious from these words of Jesus, that He has great concern for the keeping of His Law.  He was not so concerned about the washing and eating parts- the liturgical laws that seemed fulfilled in Him.  He was concerned about keeping the Moral Law (like the Ten Commandments).  Jesus was saying, people called Him their Lord, thinking they followed Him but they did not. This was because they did not do the will of His Father- they were lawless.  The Law is a gift from God that tells us what we are supposed to do- even if we do not do it perfectly. Just as a great citizen obeys the civil law, so a member of the kingdom of God is always listening for how they might please the King.  

Prayer: Help me to love your Law, O Lord.  Give me ears to hear and a heart to respond; but also give me strength to do what I know you wish me to do.

John Calvin Abridged:  He goes on to not only speak of false prophets but all hypocrites who deceive themselves.  He encrouages all believers not to estimate such masks beyond their proper value.  2 Timothy 2:19 says, "The Lord knows who are His and let everyone who calls on the Name of Christ depart from iniquity.

5/31/11 Matthew 5:17-18 Christ and the Law

<sup>FOR THIS SUMMER, I WILL BE WRITING A DEVOTION ON THE TEN COMMANDMENTS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT.
THIS WEEK, I WILL BE SPEAKING ABOUT THE LAW, WHICH WAS GIVEN ON PENTECOST

17</sup> “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸ For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

(Sermon on the Mount- Carl Henry Bloch d. 1890)

Thoughts: Christ did not come to eradicate, destroy the use and profitability of the Old Testament or the Law contained in it.  This is important.  I heard one political official lecture the crowd as he basically said we do not need to "Remember the Sabbath" anymore, by saying we live by grace and not by law.  I don't know that he would like to apply that same criteria to collecting taxes for his government.  I wonder if that criteria would work with speeding tickets?  The Law was given for our benefit- that we may know who God is, know God's will for us, and be able to keep the faith.  It is not that the Law is invalid for us anymore.  That is not what grace means.  It is not that holiness no longer has a place in our lives.  Rather, 1) we need grace to keep the law and ; 2) when we fail to keep the Law- and we all will fail- then we need God's mercy and grace to forgive us- so we may try again. 
     Jesus said this right after he had said the Beatitudes (Mt 5:1-11).  The Beatitudes are not a new Law, but a compliment to the Law. The Beatitudes tell us how to be blessed of God- which was in some ways the point of the Law (we are blessed when we do what God says- thus pleasing, glorifying, and uniting with Him). 
     Christ also says that the smallest part of it will not disappear.  Christ was prophecying its continual relevance, and His desire to fulfill it.  "Until everything is accomplished" was not a reference to His life, death and resurrection, but the fulfillment of all prophecy- meaning the end of the world. The Law and Prophets last until the end of all things- when all things will be fulfilled in God's purpose for us. 
     Today there are some who are legalists- missing God's grace; there are others who are anti-nomianals (against the law).  In American culture today the pendalum has swung hard to those who do not keep the Law and thus think the Law is not valid for them. Calvin said the Law was a guide for us- to show us how to please God and know Him better. 

Prayer: Give me ears to hear and a heart to respond to you, O Lord, and your will for me.

5/30/11 Luke 22:14-20 Remembrance

¹⁴ When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. ¹⁵ And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. ¹⁶ For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”
¹⁷ After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. ¹⁸ For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
¹⁹ And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
²⁰ In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

(Greek icon- Last Supper)

Thoughts: God is concerned that we remember Him and His mighty acts of deliverance on our behalf. The very nature of the Passover that Jesus was celebrating was to remember God's deliverance (Ex. 12; Lev. 23; Dt. 16:1-8).  Jesus was identified as the Passover Lamb (John 1:29; 1 Cor. 5:7). Jesus, the Passover Lamb, wanted his people to remember Him as well when they took part in the Lord's Supper.
On Memorial Day weekend, we stop to remember what is most important. We have many blessings.  We have freedom to worship God as we please. 

Prayer: Help me, Lord, to remember you- The Great Delverer- our Savior.  Help me not to take you for ganted, or to forget you.

John Calvin Abridged: Christ intended to place His death before them as in a mirror.  Since Christ was to die [and be remembered] and go to heaven, we are to direct our thoughts toward both the cross, the resurrection, and heaven. 

5/28/11 John 9:39-41 Christ the blinding light

³⁹ Jesus said,“For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”
⁴⁰ Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”
⁴¹ Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains

(Jesus Christ the blinding light)

Thoughts: Jesus came to change things for the better.  The status quo, the definition of what is normal and proper, was changing.  The proud would need to be humbled.  The humble would be lifted up (Mary's song Lk. 1).  Those who would save their lives would lose them.  Those who would lose them for the Gospel would save them.  Those who mourned would be comforted, while those who were comfortable would be mourning.  Those who were comfortable with this life would find discomfort in the face of Christ.  Those who thought they knew it all- had it all together, who thought they saw clearly (the Pharisees) would be told they did not know- they were blind.  To seek God, we must humble ourselves.

Prayer: Help me, O Lord, to humble myself before you. 



John Calvin Abridged: Those who see are made blind by the light of the world.  Thsi sounds unreasonable. The blindness does not proceed from Christ but from human fault. There is nothing the reprobate want more than to extinguish the light.  The eyes of their mind, which are diseased through malice and depravity, are dazzled by the light which is exhibited to them.  Unbelievers, though they are blind, think that their sight is uncommonly acute and powerful; and elated by this confidence,
they do not try listen to God.  We are all born blind, but some spark continues in the darkness that distinguishes us from brute beasts.  A person who is confident in their own opinion may seem wise, but when the light of the wisdom of Christ shines on them, their blindness is evident. 

5/27/11 John 9:35-38 Jesus visits the outcast

³⁵ Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
³⁶ “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”
³⁷ Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”
³⁸ Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.

(Untouchable Caste members who became Christians-literally outcasts; "Injesusname.org"; Untoucables are told they cannot have proper names, good jobs, or even a religion)

Thoughts;  Jesus healed him once, but now he seeks him out to help him again.  The man had been thrown out- a literal outcast.  He had been yelled at and called names because he had stood up for Jesus.  Jesus did not abandon the man.  When we feel that we have stood our ground for what is right, threatened, abandoned, we should remember that Jesus will find us.  Not only did he find him, but he became an evangelist to the man so that the man could see more clearly who God is and worship God properly.

Prayer: Lord, may I remember you will never leave me nor forsake me. 

John Calvin Abridged: They excommunicated him (rather than physically casting him out) which gave a semblance of law.  From this we learn how little the excommunication of the enemies of Christ is to be dreaded.  Christ meets him, raises him up, and offers him life.  Dr. Martin Luther began to purify the church best after he had been cast out by the Pope.  When we are at variance with the enemies of the Gospel, we are nearer to Christ.

5/26/11 John 9:29-34 Blaming Blindness

God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.”
³⁰ The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. ³¹ We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. ³² Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. ³³ If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
³⁴ To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.

(William Holman Hunt d. 1910

"Christ Light of the World")



Thoughts; When your argument is weak, become loud and attack the person.  That is what the debate coach said.  In our day the most common personal attack is the accusation of some kind of prejudice- religious, civil, sexual ("You're a heretic!"'  "You're a fundy!"; "You're a bigot!"; "You're narrow!" You're a homophobe!").  So here, this man was said to be "steeped in sin" and therefore not worth hearing.  They were blaming his blindness on his karma or sin.  Christ does not play a part in the blaming game.  He takes people as they are, pours grace and healing upon them, and gives them a second chance.  We can blame blindness on many things, but we need to make sure we get the plank out of our own eye before we take the speck out of another's eye.

Prayer: Help me Lord, to focus on you rather than the weakness of others.

John Calvin Abridged: When we see the wicked so energized to do evil, we should be convicted of our own slothfulness to do good. Though they were a hundred times convinced, because of their own prejudice, they would not be convinced.  These men wanted to separate the following of the Law (Moses) from the following of Christ.  But the law is dead without Christ.