Category: salvation

Our Perfect and Eternal Life

Revelation 20-22

Devotion by Isaac Cain (NE)

As I write these words to you now, I am sitting in the kitchen of my house on a pleasant morning. My wife is playing music in the background, and I am hearing all kinds of crazy sounds from my two cats who are chasing each other around the house. This is a great day, and God has blessed me so richly.

For me to get to this blessed moment in my life there was a cost – I had to leave a series of previous modes of life. I once lived with my parents and I had to leave their loving care to gain my education at the Atlanta Bible College. Eventually I had to leave college and close contact with some of my closest friends to marry my lovely wife.

In the same, but much grander way, humanity is promised a wonderful mode of life in God’s care, but to get there, the old way of life has to come to an end. We can’t enter into an age of life where there is no more sickness, death, or sin until those things are gone. 

These chapters of Revelation teach us that before God can bring about His perfect salvation, He first needs to do away with this current age. This is why God is just, this is why God is devoting so much effort and energy into enacting His wrath against wickedness – so that the New Jerusalem can truly be ushered in for eternity:

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” (Revelation 21:1-2 ESV)

We humans like to live in the known and are uncomfortable with giving up what we know for what we don’t. This is so true that we humans are even willing to remain in an unfavorable situation if it means not having to leave it behind and wander into uncertainty. But for us as Christians, we need to overcome this and completely forsake this age and any sin that we are holding onto and embrace what God has to offer us instead. Besides, God has even blessed us with letting us know ahead of time where we are going and what we are getting ourselves into, and it is perfect.

In this life we only have a taste of the goodness to come in God’s kingdom. Imagine every single moment of your life you are literally perfect, everyone you come across is also perfect in their own unique way. You have no need for medicines, hospitals, cemeteries, or even locks to your house. You can walk right up to the tree of life, which is everywhere you go. But most importantly, you can have communion with God Himself and His Son Jesus! This reality is what we are enduring and waiting for, and thank God He is one day going to cast away the trials, burdens, and hardships we suffer in this life and is walking us towards a future that is partially known, but is waiting to be better understood. 

Reflection Questions

What are ways you can maintain God’s future hope in the forefront of your mind and heart?

In what ways should reading these chapters of Revelation motivate us to share the gospel with those around us?

SGL.2025.DecemberFullPageDownload

Stay Awake and Ready

Revelation 14-16

Devotion by Isaac Cain (NE)

Growing up in the midwest it was common for part of the “goodbye” routine to someone who’s about to drive away is to say “and watch for the deer”. Deer suddenly running out in front of a car is a common enough occurrence where it has become a regional culture to always remind one another of the potential threat. I personally have had many nights driving slowly with corn fields on either side vigilantly watching to make a response.

This readiness is exactly what God or Jesus (it’s not exactly clear) calls for us to do as his followers.

“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!” (Revelation 16:15) 

This reading section has all kinds of significant moments of judgment from God against all who have rebelled against Him – and you do not want to be on the receiving end of any of them.  We read of painful sores, rivers of blood, the world’s largest earthquake (literally chapter 16 states it is the world’s largest earthquake!), and hail weighing up to 100 pounds falling onto God’s enemies! Therefore, we are given a loving warning to keep true to the faith and allegiance to Jesus. 


Our watching, vigilance, daily process of dying to ourselves and living for Christ daily is not in vain. We not only evade the intense wrath of God, but we also receive the intense salvation and life from God. These peeks into the future are not serving as a trivial knowledge that does not serve much utility to our daily lives now. Instead, they serve as a tangible vision for what direction each of our daily steps needs to be headed. 

We currently are like the midwest driver at night surrounded by cornfields. At any point, the deer that we know is coming, is going to jump out in front of us, we will miss it, but the non-attentive driver will not be as fortunate. Not only that, but being a vigilant driver serves to our benefit throughout the drive anyway. There are far more things to consider when driving than simply not hitting the deer like staying in your lane, not running into other cars, going out into the ditch, or the countless other bad scenarios my mom concerned herself with when I first went behind the wheel! Staying awake and ready not only avoids the dreaded end and receives the blessed end, but it also helps us avoid the avoidable pains of this life.

So let us heed the warning from Revelation today as we navigate through this life to always remember to “watch for the deer” to worship God, receive salvation, and experience God’s goodness in this life.

Reflection Questions

What is the difference between being a vigilant Christian and a paranoid one?

How does God seem to balance His love and His justice against wickedness in these chapters?

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True Fellowship

Romans 8-10

The book of Romans has been called the Magna Carta of the Word by many writers when they describe the freedoms that God shows us in its pages.  Romans 8 is the start of a transition from the doctrine of salvation that is presented in Chapters 1-7.  Chapter 8 is about walking in the spirit and what true fellowship with God is based on.  Chapter 9 moves to a section that is concerned with Israel and their relationship to the church and salvation in Christ.

Chapter 7 ends with these verses where Paul tells us of his frustration with his walk of believing
Romans 7:21-25. I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22 I love God’s law with all my heart. 23 But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So, you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.

Paul has trouble with his Christian Walk???

But then Romans 8 begins with this contrast of truth about who we really are in Christ:

Romans 8:1-4(NLT) So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. 3 The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 4 He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.

The transition that we are being taught by Paul is that when we walk in fellowship with God, then we are able to overcome our sin nature.  We will be without condemnation when we are guided by the spirit of God that He has given us.  Our spiritual nature of Christ in us gives us the power and ability to do the will of God and do good in this world.  

We have Christ in us when we are born again by God’s spirit but our daily walk with God is one of obedience to fellowship with Him, or disobedience to living without God’s fellowship.  Christ walked in perfect fellowship with God and because he always did the Father’s will, he was not condemned by the law.  

What are the ways we can grow in our ability to be in fellowship with God and His Son?

Romans 8:5-6(NLT) Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.

The Old Testament law really is a law of life, but the Pharisees and scribes had turned it into a law to control people politically and physically.  Look sometime at the undoable complexity of the rulemaking in the Talmud and Mishnah.  Those regulations are only to control people from a human standpoint.  Jesus Christ does all of God’s intentions for the true interpretation of the law of Moses.  He is judged righteous by God because of his obedience.  God gives to us the righteousness of Christ when we confess him as lord and savior.  

Romans 10:9-13(NLT) If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. 11 As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” 12 Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. 13 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.”

Our salvation is received by grace from God and is not dependent on our works or actions before that point.  We cannot earn our salvation, but we receive it by trust that Christ is what we need in our lives.  To confess him as lord is to say fully in our hearts that we cannot do this ourselves but will follow and obey him.  Many denominations have reduced this as a simple confession of “Jesus is Lord”, but to truly say this declaration it means that I understand the complete futility and incompetence of my own efforts.  I need the righteousness that comes only from God in Christ to overcome the sinful person who is me.

What righteous thing have you done that will impress God with your goodness?

Before or after the point of your salvation?

Grace from God is the only way to fellowship with Him.  We can approach the throne of grace because the righteous son of God is there to advocate for us.  God sees us with the righteousness of the Christ in us and then we are able to have fellowship with a righteous God.  By our own efforts we fall completely short of this.  That is why we are able to walk with no condemnation from the law of Moses or the law of slavery to sin that we are delivered from. 

Why do we need Christ’s intercession with God on our behalf?

Have a victorious day today walking in fellowship with God with Christ beside you.

Romans 8:38-39(NLT) And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Only God’s love can change us and this fallen world.  Thanks be to our God that He truly loves us so much to save us and take care of us each and every day.

Love in Christ – Tom Siderius

See Reflection Questions Above

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The Big Picture

Matthew 16, Mark 8, Luke 9:18-27

Devotion by JJ Fletcher (Minnesota)

It can be easy to get into the weeds when discussing and debating theology. There are many years behind us of writing and interpretation of the scriptures, and we can easily lose focus on the big picture when we’re bogged down in the minutiae. One could simply read scripture and take away that Jesus died for the sins of the world and that whoever believes in him will be saved. On the flip side, books have been written digging into how Jesus’ death and resurrection functionally deal with sin. Atonement theories such as Penal Substitution, Christus Victor, and Scapegoat Theory (among others) are ways to try to understand exactly the process through which God forgives through Jesus. The main thing we should remember is that the blood of Jesus brings forgiveness, regardless of the thoughts that we might have about how exactly God reconciles everything through Jesus.

The Pharisees were very much concerned with the letter of the law. Now I believe we should strive to understand scripture, but sometimes I can allow my views on specific doctrines or practices to overshadow others. We need to be striving to see the big picture and get to the spirit behind the words of scripture.

In today’s text, we see Jesus’ warning against the leaven of the Pharisees. This calls out things like false doctrine and hypocrisy that were present in the lives of the Pharisees that clashed with Jesus. This bad leaven will corrupt the “bread” that comes from it.

Jesus recognizes that there are key things that the disciples need to know and understand, specifically relating to his death and resurrection. But also, the big picture needs to be in view. Jesus asks Peter, who do people think that Jesus is, and he spits off a few theories, but then Jesus asks Peter who he thinks Jesus is, and he answers: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Big Picture. None of the things that Jesus shows and teaches Peter and the disciples will be impactful without this pig picture. Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus is the Messiah. This confession is the foundation of the Church. We’re not always going to agree on everything, but we must agree on this primary fact: Jesus is the Savior, and in Him we must put our faith and hope. 

Reflection Questions:

1.        What distracts you from the big picture?

2.        Does your need to know how sometimes distract you from simply accepting what you read in scripture?

3.        Have ingrained habits or false things that you have been taught stood in your way of implementing your faith in every aspect of your life? Take a step back and look at the big picture in scripture and weigh your thoughts against what you see in the Bible.

SGL.2025.OctoberFullPageDownload

Made to be a Light

Isaiah 49-50; Psalm 135

Isaiah 49:6b (NIV84) – “I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”

Some readers love poetry; they love the figurative language, the allusions, the complex ideas that are simmered down into short phrases. Poetry forces the reader to slow down and use critical thinking to comprehend what’s being communicated. Sometimes it also requires the reader to know a little bit about the author and his or her life at the time the piece was composed. 

I am not one of those readers. I prefer the author to be straightforward with me. Just tell me what you want me to know without all of the fancy language and references that I may or may not have prior knowledge of. 

Reading the book of Isaiah is similar to reading poetry for me. I have to really study it. I have to use additional resources and commentaries to get a clue what is being said. And while I don’t prefer to have to spend an hour just to understand one chapter, the mental exercise is good for me. So here is what I’ve learned about Isaiah 49, specifically verses one through six.

It is the second out of four Servant Songs in the book of Isaiah. A Servant Song is a passage of verses that refer to the Messiah, Jesus. Not only does this chapter reference Jesus well before he was born, but it also mentions Gentiles (those not of the Israelite community). It’s not the first and only time that Gentiles are mentioned, but because Jesus is also alluded to it’s interesting to have two New Testament concepts written about together in the Old Testament.

As we know, in his ministry, Jesus often suffered opposition and what looked like failure in his mission to restore all people to God in order to have an eternal relationship with Him in the coming Kingdom. Isaiah 49:4 talks about this. But as we also know, Jesus’s death was not the end of the story.  

While this knowledge is important to understand, what’s the application to our modern day lives? My answer to this question took me a while to formulate, but here’s what I’ve come up with. I’m sure that there are other applications, but we’ll not delve into those right now. 

While Jesus is the Servant, we are servants of Jesus. John 12:26 says, “Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.” This means that we have the same ministry and mission that Jesus did: “to bring my salvation to the ends of the earth” (Is. 49:6b).

Second Corinthians 5:18-20 says it this way: “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”

We are the hands and feet of Jesus, continuing to share the Gospel message with those who do not know it yet. 

A missionary friend of mine works in a local community. Her mission field is the youth of this neighboring community. She recently shared in an update that during a midweek youth gathering she shared the Gospel message, something she does quite regularly, but this time the response from the teens was more than usual. Praise God! But after that, one teen girl approached her and told my friend that this was the first time that she had ever heard about Jesus. My immediate thought was, “How is this possible? In our modern society where access to anything a person could ever want to know about is first a few finger clicks away, that a young person has never heard the name of Jesus?” But it’s true, there are people in our neighborhoods that don’t know about Jesus and the gift of salvation that comes through him. 

My friends, the work is not yet done. As servants and followers of the Servant, Jesus, we have the task to continue to reconcile our friends and neighbors to God by sharing the Gospel message. We will have opposition and think that we are failing at our mission, but take heart, you have been chosen to bring the message of salvation to the end of the earth (or to your neighbor).

Reflection Questions

What does it mean to you that God knows you, calls you, and has a purpose for you even before you were born? How does that shape your identity?

When have you felt like your efforts for God were in vain? How can you learn to rest in God’s timing, even when results aren’t visible?

What might “the ends of the earth” look like in your own life right now? Who is God calling you to reach or encourage with His message of hope?

-Bethany Ligon

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Carrot and Stick

Deuteronomy 28-29

“And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth… But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. Deuteronomy 28:1;15 (ESV)

Motivating my four children, ages 4 to 12, requires different strategies. My 12-year-old is motivated by rewards, i.e., if you do all your chores and then some extra work, you can have an extra 30 minutes playing the Switch. Consequences, however, don’t seem to faze her quite as much. The other 3 children are less cut and dry and require a more measured approach with rewards and consequences; however, one great challenge is follow-through. As busy parents with hundreds of things to do each day and limited energy reserves, it can be difficult to be consistent and follow through on our threats and promises.

God is not inconsistent. God is merciful, but he follows through on his promises. In Deuteronomy 28:1, he promises a blessing in return for obedience, but in Deuteronomy 28:15, he promises punishment for disobedience. It’s the same as a carrot and stick. Something tasty to motivate or something that brings pain to correct course. We see through Israel’s history that even though God followed through on his promises of blessing, he still had to break out the stick to use on a hard-headed people.

Over the past couple of weeks, I have been preaching from Romans 7-8. In Romans 7, Paul writes about not understanding his actions. Paul knows what is right, he knows what God desires of him, and he wants to be obedient, but there’s a problem. Despite the faith in and knowledge of God’s ways, Paul succumbs to human desire and does the things he does not want to do, i.e., the things of the flesh. Can you believe it? Paul, the apostle, was a “slave” to sin in the flesh! Is that hard to believe? Paul is human like us, and despite what we know is right, we often don’t do the right thing. Why, why, why? Because sin is ingrained in the flesh.

There are debates on something called original sin, which is not something we’ll get into here, but it is clear we learn how to sin from an early age. We are naturally selfish as children; we need to be self-focused to survive, but as we mature, we should become less self-focused and more focused on the big picture. In the Christian view, we should be imitating Jesus, who humbled himself (Philippians 2). Jesus was a model of selflessness and submission to God’s will. Jesus did not want to die, yet he was obedient to the point of death so that many could be ransomed from the death that comes from sin; he saw the big picture. Though we can see the big picture, we often fall short of the kind of selflessness that Jesus modeled.

Unlike the Israelites under the old covenant, we have Jesus in clear view. We are not holding out hope for a future savior but rather holding onto the promise that the blood of Jesus has covered our sins past, present, and future. While we are called to obedience, God does not hold our salvation in limbo every time we mess up. We are faced with the present consequences of our mishaps with sin, but we have constant forgiveness through the blood of Christ Jesus. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” 1 John 1:9 (NIV). We don’t have to go through the carrot and stick metaphor as partakers of the New Covenant in Christ’s blood. We must strive to be obedient, but fess up when we miss the mark, and move forward in each new day as we are redeemed by the blood of the lamb.

-J.J. Fletcher

Reflection Questions:

  1. Why do you think it is so hard to balance the desires of the flesh with the knowledge of the living God and some pretty clear instructions on his will for us?
  2. Is it easy to become discouraged when we fall short? What are some obstacles to confidence in our faith walk?
  3. Does a tendency toward legalism sometimes impede our ability to deal with flaws in ourselves and others?
  4. Is there a place for carrot-and-stick dynamics in church life and discipline?
  5. What would Paul think about the way that some modern churches deal with reconciling the desires of the flesh with faithfulness to the gospel?
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Choose God

Deuteronomy 8-10

We all know the Israelites had their share of ups and downs, more often than not due to their own iffy decision making. This is where God makes it indisputably clear that He’s not cool with that. He never has been, and though they made a narrow escape from His righteous wrath once, they have to make a change. Moses reminds them of the abundance of evidence they have of God’s provision. They have no reason to doubt His guidance, or His love. They need only obey the very simple, very clear instructions laid out before them, and they will thrive in the Promised Land. Moses is really leaving no room for misunderstanding; if they remember what the LORD has done for them and follow His commandments, blessings will flow. If not, destruction awaits them. (Deut 8:6-20)

It is also made abundantly clear that any blessings they have previously received were by no means owed to them, that the great nations God delivered into their hands were not because of their own righteousness, but rather because of the rival nations’ wickedness. God had a covenant to keep with the Israelites, and He chose to blot out some evil along the way. 

 It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you are going in to take possession of their land, but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord your God is driving them out from before you, and in order to confirm the oath which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. – Deut 9:5

Chapter 10 expresses that God desperately wants the wholehearted devotion of His people. No other being is worthy of our praise. We cannot divide our allegiance between God and the things of this world that compete for our loyalty; Yahweh’s unmatchable greatness demands our reverence.

You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him, and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name. He is your glory and He is your God, who has done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen. – Deut 10:20

Just as the Israelites had to be repeatedly reminded of God’s provision and grace, it is of such importance that we remind ourselves (and each other) on a regular basis that even though we haven’t (and can never) earn such a reward, we serve a God who has endlessly displayed His immense love for us and His perfect plan for us. It is not by our own righteousness that we are saved, but we are saved nonetheless. And furthermore, we are loved beyond all comprehension. Who else is worthy of our praise? Who else is worthy of our life-long commitment? Even in today’s world, there are so many things competing for our attention and fealty. We must make the same decision the Israelites were faced with in today’s reading, the daily decision to choose God over all else. Although we don’t deserve His love, He is the only thing that deserves ours. 

-Isabella Osborn

Reflection Questions:

  1. How has God provided for you in ways that you may have overlooked or taken for granted? Take a moment to reflect on His faithfulness in your life.
  2. In what areas of your life are you tempted to divide your loyalty between God and the things of this world? How can you realign your heart to give Him your full devotion?
  3. If our blessings are not earned, but given by God’s grace, how should that shape your perspective on gratitude, humility, and obedience in your daily walk with Him?
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On the Move

Numbers 7-9

Ok quizzers and especially National Quizzing Director, Jacob Ballard, hear me out! Numbers 7 should be part of the quizzing materials next year! I mean, while it is the longest chapter in Numbers, you really would only need to memorize 5 verses! 

Numbers 7 is very repetitive because all 12 tribes of Israel come to present their gifts to the Tabernacle, and they all give almost exactly the same thing (apparently there was no Tabernacle gift registry 😉). But that was actually on purpose as God wanted all of the people to praise and participate in the rights and responsibilities equally. He wanted every tribe to be fully devoted to Him no matter the size of the tribe. That is a reminder to us that even if we are all of different socio-economic statuses, we all bring the same thing to God, our hearts and our devotion. 

Numbers 8 describes how God set the descendants of Levi apart as royal priests. Whenever I have read about the jobs of the Levites, I’ve been glad that was not my calling. These guys were not standing around praying all day. They were working hard as they had to do a LOT of butchering. Like. All. Day. Long! My husband used to work in the meat department at our local grocery store. It is a lot of bloody, messy work. Ugh… and don’t get me started on cleaning all the tools! But these priests understood the importance of their jobs, helping God’s people atone for their sins through the sacrifice of the animals they raised. And it wasn’t a one-time thing for each person; it was continual for all of each person’s life.  This reminds me of how thankful I am that we don’t have to do that anymore because of what Christ did for us (Hebrews 10). Besides eternal salvation, we also don’t have to spend a great deal of our time butchering animals and barbequing them! 

Numbers 9 discusses God’s decrees on celebrating the Passover and then their “moving” protocol. Growing up in the Air Force, I think I can understand never knowing how long you would be in any given spot.  Sometimes God would have the Israelites stay for a few days, sometimes for a few years. I don’t know if this is the reason, but I suspect God did not want them to become too comfortable where they were and wanted them to remember their current position was not their home.  We too would be wise to remember that where we are now is not our permanent home and we should not become too comfortable within the world. 

-Maria Knowlton

Reflection Questions

  1. Have you ever moved at God’s command – or stayed put at His command?
  2. How do we tell today when and where He wants us to go – or stay?
  3. What are you learning about God in Numbers so far?
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God Makes the Rules

Leviticus 20-22

Chapter 20 of Leviticus is perhaps the most difficult passage in the entire Bible for modern readers in the United States. In this chapter, the practice of homosexuality is condemned as strongly as cheating on a spouse, beastiality, and incest: the practice is condemned so harshly that it is punishable by death within Israel. While we generally still disapprove of the other inappropriate sexual unions listed in this chapter, homosexuality has taken a major swing in the opposite direction, being viewed as completely okay for people to pursue, even within the Church: in fact, the majority of Christians in the United States now view this once-condemned practice as totally acceptable for anyone, even Christians. For example, as recently as 2024, the Methodist Church voted to reverse its anti-LGBTQ+ positions, creating a major division within the denominations: they now allow for even their religious leaders to be openly practicing these once-condemned practices from the Bible.

So what is a Christian to do today? We have clear and strong prohibitions in Leviticus to avoid homosexuality and other inappropriate sexual practices, and yet, Christians today are completely divided on whether to be accepting of these practices or not. As people who believe that God gave us the Bible, and who take its commands seriously, how are we supposed to understand such difficult texts in 2025?

We come back to the discussion on “holiness”: God desired that His people would live differently than those around them. He says of His people:

“I am the LORD your God, who has separated you from the peoples.” – Leviticus 20:24

“Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy; and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine.” – Leviticus 20:26

It is absolutely true that homosexuality has been a practice throughout the world for as long as humans existed: people were practicing it in the land of Canaan when this book was written (Leviticus 20:23), people were practicing it in the Roman world when Jesus and the apostle Paul were preaching, and people are practicing it around the world now. It has been and will likely continue to be a practice throughout the world until Jesus returns. However, does that mean Christians are allowed to participate in such things? Does the New Testament have anything to say about it, since we are under a new covenant than the Israelites?

The command for God’s people (Christians) is still to remain holy and not conform to the standards of the world: we are expected to live, speak, and act differently than those around us, just like the Israelites were commanded to do. Although some of the specifics are different, like the food laws, the standards on morals and sexuality still remain under the new covenant.

“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.” – 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 NASB1995

“… the law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching.” – 1 Timothy 1:9-10 NASB1995

As someone who has friends and family members who are actively involved in homosexual lifestyles, it is extremely difficult for myself to read these passages because I love all of them: I want them to be in Paradise with me when Jesus returns. However, our deep desire for our loved ones to be saved in God’s Kingdom doesn’t change the standards that He has set forth for being accepted into that Kingdom, and we cannot choose to disobey those standards because we don’t want to agree in our hearts. God makes the rules, not us, and we are called to simply listen and obey His instructions: as God’s people, we are expected to live “holy” and different lives than the world around us. We cannot compromise on what’s clearly been commanded, even if it’s difficult in our world today to go against the new standards being taught to us by the world.

“Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” – Romans 12:1-2 NASB1995

“Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” – 1 John 2:15-17 NASB1995

-Talon Paul

Reflection Questions

  1. What rules did you have growing up that you didn’t appreciate or always agree with? Did you only have to obey the rules that you would have written yourself?
  2. What characteristics of God make Him the best rule maker? What might He have been thinking when He created male and female and called them “very good”?
  3. What does God want His people to be separate from today? Why be holy? Who/what wins when Christians follow the ways of the world instead of God’s way? Who loses?
  4. How do you think God wants us to respond today to a world (and sometimes a church) that accepts and celebrates what God says is an abomination?
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30 Pieces of Silver

OLD TESTAMENT: Zechariah 11-12
POETRY: Psalm 146
NEW TESTAMENT: John 18:12-27

Zechariah 11:10-13(NLT) Then I took my staff called Favor and cut it in two, showing that I had revoked the covenant I had made with all the nations. 11 That was the end of my covenant with them. The suffering flock was watching me, and they knew that the LORD was speaking through my actions.
12 And I said to them, “If you like, give me my wages, whatever I am worth; but only if you want to.” So they counted out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.
13 And the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—this magnificent sum at which they valued me! So I took the thirty coins and threw them to the potter in the Temple of the LORD.

Zechariah 12:10(NLT) Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died.

Psalms 146:1-4 (NLT) Praise the LORD!
Let all that I am praise the LORD.
2 I will praise the LORD as long as I live.
I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath.
3 Don’t put your confidence in powerful people;
there is no help for you there.
4 When they breathe their last, they return to the earth,
and all their plans die with them.

John 18:19-23(NLT) Inside, the high priest began asking Jesus about his followers and what he had been teaching them. 20 Jesus replied, “Everyone knows what I teach. I have preached regularly in the synagogues and the Temple, where the people gather. I have not spoken in secret. 21 Why are you asking me this question? Ask those who heard me. They know what I said.”
22 Then one of the Temple guards standing nearby slapped Jesus across the face. “Is that the way to answer the high priest?” he demanded.
23 Jesus replied, “If I said anything wrong, you must prove it. But if I’m speaking the truth, why are you beating me?”

What an intense experience Jesus Christ has that we are reading this week.  The tears come to my eyes when I read what they do to him and what they say about him.  Jesus all through this ordeal keeps his eyes and heart steadfast on the truth of what God is planning to do.  God is the author of salvation, which is to make people whole or healed.  Jesus many times in his ministry corrects the Jews in their thinking about earthly kingdoms and power with what God really wants from people. 

Once again in this reading today we see two significant prophecies which are fulfilled in the passion of Christ.  Zechariah prophecies the payment of the thirty pieces of silver as the price for the life of Jesus.  Judas goes to the authorities and makes the arrangements to betray Jesus to them.  He demands that they pay him and they agree.  The price which is set is the thirty pieces of silver.  This price is the amount that would be paid for a slave.  The most precious Son of God who is without price has his life sold for the common price of a slave.  Judas then when things don’t go well comes back to the temple and throws the thirty pieces to floor.  The money is used to buy the potter’s field and used for a burial ground for poor people.

The other prophecy that we see in this section is that “we will look on him who is pierced” which foretells the spearing of Jesus at the end of the crucifixion.  

John 19:37(NKJV) And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.”

His bones are not broken, foretold in Psalms, but he is pierced with a spear and blood and water come out, which is an indicator of heart failure.  Jesus dies of a broken heart on the cross for you and for me.  What love God has to let Jesus who knew no sin be the sacrifice for us today. 

Christmas is coming soon and our thoughts in this season are on his birth.  But here we see greater evidence again of who he was, and what is accomplished on the cross.

-Tom Siderius

Reflection Questions:

What is the value of a man’s soul?

Who can we tell this good news gospel message to today?

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