Category: Bible Study

Call to Action

Matthew 7

matt 7 24

I have been taught that a good speech should always end with a call to action.  What this is depends on the type of speech.  A speech given by an election candidate will usually end by telling people they need to vote.  A product placement speech or demonstration will end with a way to buy the product.  Often a sermon will end with a life application.

As we look at the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount, we see that Jesus ends with a call to action.  He has given us some other actions to take throughout this passage, but let’s look at this final section and see how we should respond to this sermon.

Let’s start by looking at Matthew 7:21-23:

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.  Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, an in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’  And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

So, making the assumption that the goal is to be in the kingdom, Jesus says our action is to do the will of God.  This is obviously more than actions that we do.  Many times in chapters 5-7, Jesus talks about our thoughts, attitudes, and reasons for doing things being as important as the actions we take.

Jesus continues in verse 24 by saying, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.”  Again, the key here is to act on the words that Jesus has spoken.

The call to action is to put all the things that Jesus taught into action, which includes our thoughts and attitudes.  I encourage you to spend some more time reading through Matthew 5-7, and reflect upon seeking God, his righteousness, and his kingdom.  As we seek these more, the actions will follow.

-Andrew Hamilton

Worry

Matthew 6

matt 6 27

I worry about things.  Big things or little things, or sometimes nothing at all.  As I mentioned in a previous devotion this week, I have a plan for things.  When things don’t go according to plan, I stress out, and at times let my worry and anxiety take over.  In the last week or so, I have had a series of issues with my house that have really caused me to worry.  First our freezer broke.  Then something caused our propane tank to go from 30% full to empty very quickly.  Then the heat for our house started having problems.  I have been extremely anxious over all of these problems.  So, when reading over Matthew 6 and trying to decide what to write about, I thought that the section I needed to learn from was the section on worrying.

So, what I am writing today is aimed at myself, and I hope you can also gain something from it.

In Matthew 6:25, Jesus tells us:

“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

He then compares us to the birds, to lilies, and to grass. God takes care of all of these items, and we are so much more valuable to God than these things.  Yet, we worry about these things, and try to handle them all on our own.

What good does worrying do us?  Worrying makes it hard to sleep.  It makes it hard to concentrate.  It makes us irritable and upset.  It can give us ulcers.  I can’t think of one thing that worrying actually accomplishes, but I can come up with a whole list of things it hinders.  Verse 27 sums this up nicely.  “And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?”  In fact, worrying can only decrease hours in our life.

I think we all know that worrying is bad, and that we should trust in God more and release our problems to him.  I know it, and yet I still struggle with this frequently.  So, what do we do?

Jesus sums this section up with two verses, 33 and 34:

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.  So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

I often hear each of these verses talked about individually.  I don’t remember ever looking at them together.  However, they are together.  If we seek the kingdom of God and God’s righteousness, all the things we worry about will be handled in God’s perfect method as well.  If we focus on God, we do not need to worry about all the other stuff.

So, I am not going to encourage you to stop worrying, because I don’t think that is the answer.  I encourage you to seek the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness.  Seek it fervently so that you do not have time or room in your life for worry.   This ties back to Matthew 5:6, earlier in the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”  Hunger and thirst for righteousness….I believe this is the cure for worry.

-Andrew Hamilton

Religion Turned Upside Down

Matthew 5

Matt 5 48

Matthew 5 is the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount.  There is so much wisdom packed into this chapter that it is difficult to pick out pieces to include.  So, I want to start at the end, in verse 48.

“Therefore, you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

This is Jesus’s concluding statement to this part of his sermon.  Reading this verse alone seems like Jesus is giving us an impossible task, and in this life, it really is.  However, we should still strive for it.  A lot of this chapter is telling us how to be perfect.

This is one of those times when Jesus is really flipping things upside down.  The Jewish people were under the law, and some of them at least followed the letter of the law without regards to the purpose of the law.  It was a specific set of rules, and consequences for not following them.

Starting in Matthew 5:21, Jesus takes some of these very specific laws, and really expands the meaning of them.  The law in the Old Testament was “You shall not commit murder”.  The consequence was that “whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.”  Jesus continues in verse 22 with the spirit of the law instead of just the letter of the law by saying, “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You fool’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.”  Calling someone a fool is much more difficult to guard against than killing someone.  For those that were following the letter of the law and felt they were perfect in the law, this would have completely destroyed their view of themselves.  How can we be perfect if something this easy to do makes us guilty before the court and makes us deserve the lake of fire?

Jesus then goes on to talk about adultery, and expounds on it by saying in verse 28, “but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”  This may be the most difficult sin for a male to conquer.  I believe that every man has committed this sin.  So, how can we be perfect?

Jesus does not stop there.  He talks about vows and promises, about not holding grudges or repaying offences, and about loving your enemies.  He takes a set of laws that were difficult to keep, and shows us the spirit of the law, and how our hearts and thoughts separate us from God just like the physical acts separate us from God.  So, how is it possible for anyone to be perfect, or to ever be with God?

Was Jesus really changing the Old Testament laws with this?  Verse 17 answers this by saying, “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law of the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.”  I think Jesus was telling them that this attitude and heart of the law was always there, but not understood by most.  So, he wasn’t really expanding the law, but explaining how it should be understood.  This still doesn’t make it any easier to be perfect.  How do we even have a chance of being perfect?

Obviously, we have to have the sacrifice of Jesus’s death, and his resurrection, to be made perfect.  We have to accept Jesus as our Savior and follow him throughout our lives.  This is the only way we will ever be considered perfect, and able to be in God’s presence in the kingdom.  However, that does not mean we should not strive to be more perfect each day, and with the help of God, and his Son Jesus, we can come closer to perfection each day (although never actually being perfect).

I think the beginning of Matthew 5 gives us a lot of traits to strive for, along with promises that go along with them.  Jesus starts in verse 3 with, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  He continues the list with those who mourn, the gentle, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peace makers, and those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness.  As we work to have the attributes described here, we draw closer to God.  It isn’t about what we do, but where our heart is and why we do the things we do.

-Andrew Hamilton

Knowing Scripture

Matthew 4

Matt 4 4

It always impresses me when someone can quote scripture that is appropriate to the situation at hand, especially when they can quote it word for word, and know the reference.  Being impressed isn’t really because of their knowledge, but because if they can quote exactly what is in scripture, and tell me where to look it up and get more information means that I can know the truth from the Bible.

In Matthew 4, Jesus has spent 40 days and 40 nights fasting.  I think that would make it very difficult to remember anything clearly.  However, when tempted, Jesus is able to quote the necessary scripture to answer the temptations brought to him by the tempter.  When tempted with food, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 8:3, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”  For each of the other temptations, Jesus again quotes Old Testament scripture that answers the temptation directly.  Because of these answers, the devil leaves Jesus.

How awesome is the power of scripture.  We can rebuff temptation with scripture in the same way Jesus did.  However, it requires us to know scripture, to memorize it.

I often find myself being able to paraphrase things, and maybe being able to get somewhere close to where it is found.  If given time, I can find it.  While this is helpful, it often falls short of what I need.  When I am having a difficult time, or trying to help someone, it is frustrating not being able to find the verses needed to help with the problem.

I encourage you to learn and memorize scripture.  Jesus is our example, and he knew the scriptures.  We should all follow that example.

-Andrew Hamilton

 

John the Baptist

Matthew 3

Matt 3 3

Matthew 3 revolves around John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus.  He was sent to prepare people for Jesus.  Jesus’s ministry was really radical when compared to what had been taught previously.  We will see more of that in future chapters.  John started that radical teaching here.

First though, we are introduced to John the Baptist and then in verse 3 we read a prophecy from Isaiah.

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
‘Make ready the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight!’”

Again, this would have probably been a prophecy taught about the coming Messiah, and so the Jewish people of the time would need to see how this is fulfilled to believe Jesus was their Messiah. Obviously, a lot of them still did not believe, but for the ones that did, they needed to see each of these prophecies fulfilled.

John was baptizing people as they confessed their sins.  There are some similarities between baptism and some of the ritual cleansing listed in the old testament.  However, even with that, this was a huge departure from what people had ever done before.   Never before had people come to an individual, and not even a priest, to confess sins and then be immersed in the water.

In verse 7 we see that even Pharisees and Sadducees were coming for baptism.  I have no idea why they would have wanted to be baptized, and in the little bit of searching I did, could not find an explanation.  No matter the reason, we see John call them a brood of vipers, and warn them of what Jesus is going to do.  This is the first confrontation we see with the Pharisees or Sadducees, and it sets up what we can expect between them and Jesus.

The end of the chapter, starting in verse 13 shows us the baptism of Jesus.  Jesus comes to John to be baptized.  John does not feel worthy to baptize Jesus, but I think does it out of obedience.  He recognized the authority of Jesus and that it is necessary to obey Jesus’s requests.

Verses 16 and 17 show a super natural acknowledgement of who Jesus is from God.

“6 After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and [i]he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and[j]lighting on Him, 17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is [k]My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”

If anyone present had any doubts before that, this should have erased them.  However, it seems like the Pharisees and Sadducees were probably still there, and as a whole, they did not believe.

What does it take for us to believe?  We have the whole Bible and know the beginning, middle, and end of the story.  This should be an easy answer for us with everything we know.  So, if we believe, are we being like John the Baptist?  Are we a forerunner for Jesus to people who don’t know him?  Are we preparing the way for people to come to know Jesus?

-Andrew Hamilton

Obeying Immediately and Without Questions

Matthew 2

Matt 2 14

How do you deal with situations where you have to completely change what you had planned?  I always think I have a long term plan for my life.  When it doesn’t work out, or I have to change something, I don’t always deal well with it.

I want to look at how Joseph reacts to some very difficult situations.  I am going to jump back to Matthew chapter 1 for the first example.  Joseph found out Mary was pregnant and planned to divorce her quietly.  Then, he is visited by an angel, and was told in Matthew 1:21-22, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.  She will bear a Son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”  So, first Joseph plans to marry Mary.  Then, when she is pregnant, he plans to divorce her quietly.  So, his plans have already been messed up once before being visited by the angel.  He is given a message from God.  How does he react?  By everything we see in scripture, it appears Joseph just listened to what God told him through the angel, and accepted it.  That is amazing faith and obedience.

The second example is after the visit from the magi.  This was probably one to two years later.  We don’t have any real information about the life of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus during this time, but most likely they had settled into a routine and things were fairly normal.  Then, after the Magi visit, Joseph receives another message from an angel. Matthew 2:13 record this message to Joseph, “Get up!  Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.”  Again, his reaction was swift and decisive.  Matthew 2:14 says, “So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt.”  He didn’t even wait till morning but left immediately.

Then, sometime later, an angel appeared to Joseph a third time.  This time he was told, “Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead” in Matt 2:20.  So, he went back to Israel, but because he was warned in a dream, they went to Nazareth.  Again, there are no signs of questioning, just doing what he was told.

I have never been spoken to by an angel, so I don’t know how I would react in that situation.  However, I have received direction from God in some pretty clear ways.  I questioned what I was being told because it did not fit into my plans.  So, I know that this immediate obedience is extremely difficult, but when we put all our trust in God, it is possible.

-Andrew Hamilton

Know Your Audience

Matt 1 22

Matthew Chapter 1

I remember in high school English classes the teachers talking about knowing your audience.  I really enjoyed math and science classes, but English and literature classes were a different story.  I really didn’t like figuring out the audience, the theme, symbolism, etc.  However, I now know that in at least some cases, the teachers were correct.  You gain a lot of extra understanding when you know the primary audience for a book.  I say primary audience in this case because I firmly believe that all of the Bible was written to everyone who will take the time to read it or listen to it.  However, the author had a primary audience they were writing to at the time.

Each gospel was written for a different primary audience.  Matthew was writing to the Jews who had a good knowledge of the Old Testament scriptures.  They would have learned the prophecies regarding the Messiah and were looking towards the fulfillment of those prophecies.

The first chapter of Matthew starts with the genealogy of Jesus.  This is the first step to showing that Jesus is the Messiah they are looking for.  Several prophecies are fulfilled in this.  The first is that the Messiah is a seed of Abraham (Gen 22:18).  The Messiah is a descendent of Isaac (Gen 21:12) and a descendent of Jacob (Num 24:17), and a descendent of Judah (Gen 49:10).  Then, skipping a few generations, the Messiah is from the line of Jesse (Isaiah 11:10) and David (Jeremiah 23:5).  All of these names are listed in the genealogy of Jesus recorded in the first seventeen verses of Matthew.

They may not have each known every one of these prophecies, but the people who first read or heard the gospel of Matthew probably knew at least some of them.

After we finish looking at the genealogy, Matthew moves on to the birth of Jesus.  Compared to the gospel of Luke (which was written primarily to the Greeks), the account of the birth of Jesus is very brief.  Why would this be?  It goes back to the primary audience, and what was necessary to show Jesus is their Messiah.

Matthew basically tells that Mary was going to have a baby, Joseph was told about it and listened to what an angel said to him, and Mary remained a virgin until Jesus was born.  Matthew then quotes an Old Testament prophecy from Isaiah 7:14 in Matthew 1:23: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel.”

We can read scripture and learn tons without understanding who the primary audience was at the time each book was written.  However, understanding the audience, culture, etc., can add a whole new dimension to our understanding.

-Andrew Hamilton

Have Confidence!

1 Corinthians 15 58

We have come to the end of I Corinthians 15, also known as the Resurrection Chapter. The last few days we’ve had chunkier denser passages but today we end with just one verse:

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”

Paul has explained a lot in the previous 57 verses, such as:

  1. The resurrection appearances of the Lord to many groups and individuals including Paul himself (3-8)
  2. The absurdity of denying the resurrection if you hold to the faith (12-19)
  3. Jesus being the prototype of those who have fallen asleep in him. Just as Jesus was raised, so too you and I will also at his return (20, 23)
  4. All those “in Christ” can and will share in the victories of Jesus and have life (22)
  5. Our bodies will be raised completely transformed and glorified and we will receive the gift of immortality. Because of this transformation through Jesus we are able to have access to God and entrance into his kingdom (42-50)
  6. At the resurrection event sin and death will finally and completely be defeated and those “in Christ” will experience victory made possible by God in and through Jesus (54-57)

Then Paul concludes, “therefore”. In light of the resurrection and its implications, this is how you you should live. Paul says four things: be steadfast, be immovable, abound in the work of the Lord, and know your work is not in vain in Jesus. I want to take a moment to look at each one briefly.

To be steadfast is to hold onto something tightly and to be without waiver. In light of Jesus’ resurrection, no adversity we face in this life should have the power to keep us from remaining in the faith and and stop us from being obedient. In the same vein, we should be immovable. Our hope and faith in Christ should be immovable with the reality of Jesus rising from the dead and God’s promise to those who are in Christ. The next phrase is a call for action. Because Jesus rose from the dead and is coming back we should strive to work for the Lord. One, because we want to share the good news with all people and disciple them, and two, he will hold us accountable for the works we have done in the body, “for we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (II Cor. 5.10). Lastly, Paul offers encouragement. Being in ministry can be a grind and sometimes you wonder if you’re making a difference at all. Sometimes you won’t see the fruit of your labor and someone else will. But you know who won’t forget or miss all the work you do and the fruit that comes from it? God and Jesus. Because God is faithful and Jesus is returning we can have confidence and assurance that our work is not in vain because even though no one may remember the work we did or see anything come from it, God and Jesus see it. And you will be rewarded as such when Jesus returns and you are given life.

Thank you for reading and live life in light of the resurrection reality.

-Jacob Rohrer

 

(Photo by Alice Railton of Lake Waubee at Camp Mack in Milford, IN)

 

 

Resurrection, Transformation & VICTORY!

1 corinthians 15 52

Today’s section is over I Corinthians 15.50-57. In these seven verses there are two themes; transformation (50-53) and victory (54-57). Paul begins by stating that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” and then the next phrase clarifies the previous. The perishable (flesh and blood) cannot inherit the imperishable (the kingdom of God). What this tells us is that we, in our current bodies and untransformed state cannot behold the nature to something such as the kingdom of God. In fact for us to be able to enter the kingdom, we need to undergo a transformation which happens at the resurrection and is only available “in Christ”. Paul says this in the next verse – that we will not all sleep (a euphemism for death in the Bible) but we will all be changed and then he specifies what change will occur in verse 52-53. He states that when the last trumpet sounds the dead will be raised “imperishable” and be changed. It it this act of being transformed that allows us to be in the presence of God and Jesus in the kingdom of God. Verse 53 restates and says that this mortal must put on immortality. In other words, at the resurrection the believer will receive the gift of immortality and will be granted entrance into the kingdom of God.

There are two things I would like to point out. First, you may be wondering, why would I have to change or go through a transformation to be with God? Well I think the answer is a practical one. For example, say I wanted to explore the sun. I want to get really close to it to explore and study it. The problem is I wouldn’t be able to get very close to it because of the intense heat and radiation. It would kill me if I got too close. However, if I somehow was made of the same elements of the sun I would be able to approach it because I would be like the sun. In a similar fashion, God is holy, bright, and other wordly. There is nothing in our experience to compare him to, he is incomprehensible. For you or I to be in the direct presence of God, we would have to be like him in some way or else we would die from his glory and majesty. The transformation we need in order to be in God’s presence happens and takes place at the resurrection. Philippians 3.21 says that we will be transformed into the image of Jesus’ glorious body. And where has Jesus been? He has been enthroned at God’s right hand.

A second point is notice what Paul says in verse 53 “…this mortal must put on immortality”. To be mortal means the capability to die. Immortality means the incapability of dying. Yet what does popular culture and church tradition tell us? When we die our souls or spirits go to heaven or hell. However this is only possible if there is a part of us that lives on after death, in other words, to go to heaven or hell would require us to be immortal. But Paul says that this “mortal” (this body that doesn’t have immortality), will put on, or be granted immortality. In short, we are not immortal now but those “in Christ” will receive it at the resurrection. Here are three verses to further this point:

I Timothy 6.16 – “who (God) alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.”

II Timothy 1.10 – “…but now has been revealed by the appearing of our savior Jesus Christ, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”

I Corinthians 15.52-53 – “…and the dead will be raised…and this mortal must put on immortality.”

In short, only God possesses immortality, it is available through Jesus and the gospel, and those “in Christ’ will receive it at the resurrection. Will we let this challenge our thinking about the traditional view of what happens after death? The hope that God has placed before Christians is the hope for the return of Jesus and the resurrection, not going to heaven. Paul finishes that once the resurrection event happens that death will finally be defeated and swallowed up. And the power of sin and death will be no more and God, Jesus, and those “in Christ” will be victorious! God has given us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ

-Jacob Rohrer

Resurrection Likeness

1 Corinthians 15_49 new

Today’s section (I Cor. 15.35-49) is a bit longer but it answers an important question. What will our resurrected bodies be like? The questions arises in verse 35 “…with what kind of body do they come?”. Paul answers this question in verse 42 but before he gets there he provides two analogies, we’ll go over just one though. In verse 36 and 37 he uses the example of a seed. A seed is sown or planted one way then sprouts a different and new way and when comparing the body to a seed he says “you do not sow the body which is to be…”, in other words, what comes out of the ground at the resurrection is not what goes into the ground at death. Paul is saying, the body undergoes a change just like a seed transforms when it is planted then sprouts.

In verse 42 he connects the analogies with the concept of resurrection, “so also is the resurrection of the dead..”. He then proceeds to distinguish two types of bodies, the one that is sown (the one that goes into the ground dead) and the one that is changed (the one that comes out of the grave transformed). To help see the contrast, I put verses 42-44 in a table:

It is sown It is raised
A perishable body An imperishable body
In dishonor In glory
In weakness In power
A natural body A spiritual body

 

Paul then picks up again the Adam-Christ parallel we saw in verses 21-22 in verses 45-49. The First Adam became a living soul but the last Adam (Christ) became a life-giving spirit. Whereas the first Adam was given life, the second Adam gives life. Paul continues this parallel into verse 47, the first man (Adam) is from earth, the second man (Christ) is from heaven. Now verse 47 is not talking about location but rather about identification. Adam is identified with the earth while sin runs rampant and the body is broken and damaged (see chart above); but Christ –  he is identified with heaven, where God is and where he is untouched by the brokenness of his creation. This is not saying that Jesus personally came from heaven to earth. Rather just as Adam is from earth in identification, Christ is from heaven in identification. Remember the context Paul is talking about is resurrection not Jesus’ origin. Then in verse 49 he concludes just as we have borne the image of the earthly (adam) so too will we bear the image of the heavenly (Christ). Here’s another chart to see the parallels:

The first Adam The second Adam
The first man is from earth The second man is from heaven
“Just as we have borne the image of the earthly..” “…we will also bear the image of the heavenly”
We are sown We are raised
A perishable body An imperishable body
In dishonor In glory
In weakness In power
A natural body A spiritual body

 

Now what does this all mean? When we are found “in Christ” our whole being including our bodies will be conformed to Jesus. Whereas our earthly natural bodies are powered by flesh and blood and will die, our resurrected bodies will be empowered by the spirit of God and will be glorified and will reflect the image of heaven. We will maintain our physical bodies, they will just be regenerated and powered by God’s spirit, this is the meaning of a spiritual body. Lastly, just as all of us have shared, in Adam, our earthly bodies, all those in Christ will share in his victory and his resurrected likeness. Thank you for your patience in reading this longer post today!

Have a blessed day and live boldly for the kingdom of God and Jesus!

-Jacob Rohrer