From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] daily devotional
Evening ...
Joel 1:3
Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and
their children another generation.
In this simple way, by God's grace, a living testimony for truth is always to
be kept alive in the land-the beloved of the Lord are to hand down their
witness for the gospel, and the covenant to their heirs, and these again to
their next descendants. This is our first duty, we are to begin at the family
hearth: he is a bad preacher who does not commence his ministry at home. The
heathen are to be sought by all means, and the highways and hedges are to be
searched, but home has a prior claim, and woe unto those who reverse the order
of the Lord's arrangements. To teach our children is a personal duty; we cannot
delegate it to Sunday School Teachers, or other friendly aids, these can assist
us, but cannot deliver us from the sacred obligation; proxies and sponsors are
wicked devices in this case: mothers and fathers must, like Abraham, command
their households in the fear of God, and talk with their offspring concerning
the wondrous works of the Most High. Parental teaching is a natural duty-who so
fit to look to the child's well-being as those who are the authors of his
actual being? To neglect the instruction of our offspring is worse than
brutish. Family religion is necessary for the nation, for the family itself,
and for the church of God. By a thousand plots Popery is covertly advancing in
our land, and one of the most effectual means for resisting its inroads is left
almost neglected, namely, the instruction of children in the faith. Would that
parents would awaken to a sense of the importance of this matter. It is a
pleasant duty to talk of Jesus to our sons and daughters, and the more so
because it has often proved to be an accepted work, for God has saved the
children through the parents' prayers and admonitions. May every house into
which this volume shall come honour the Lord and receive His smile.
Matthew 24:14
(14) And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for
a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Matthew 28:19-20
(19) Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: (20) Teaching them to
observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you
alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Matthew 24:14 is not a commission to anybody in particular-not to the
first-century apostles nor to anyone else. It is simply a statement of fact by
Jesus Christ, prophesying that the gospel will be preached in all the world as
a witness and then will the end come.
Matthew 24:14 and Matthew 28:19-20 are not synonymous. In the latter
verses, though preaching as a witness is included within the scope of the
commission, it actually places more emphasis upon the entire process of
conversion, feeding, growing, and overcoming than merely witnessing, as in
Matthew 24:14. The key word here is "process."
The word "teach" in Matthew 28:19 is the key to this understanding. Many
Bibles have a marginal reference beside it: " make disciples." "Go you
therefore into all the world and make disciples."
"Teach" is not wrong as long as we understand that it implies a process.
All the teaching required to make a disciple cannot occur merely in making a
witness. There are major differences between the two. At best, preaching the
gospel to the world begins the process of teaching. Disciples are created
through steady feeding, a believing response in those who hear combined with
overcoming.
The second factor appears in verse 20: "Observe all things whatsoever I
have commanded you." The key here is "all things." That cannot be done merely
through a witness. As we are learning, observing all things is a lifelong
project requiring the structure of a church. This is the reason why the church
exists.
What is being emphasized in verses 19-20, though witnessing is included
in it, is the feeding of the flock because it is the called, the elect-God's
children-who are His greatest concern. These are the ones who are being
prepared for the Kingdom of God. It takes a great deal of feeding and
experiences with God for Christ to be formed in us.
John W. Ritenbaugh
From What Is the Work of God Now? (Part 1)
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From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
daily devotional
Evening ...
Genesis 1:5
And the evening and the morning were the first day.
The evening was "darkness" and the morning was "light," and yet the two
together are called by the name that is given to the light alone! This is
somewhat remarkable, but it has an exact analogy in spiritual experience. In
every believer there is darkness and light, and yet he is not to be named a
sinner because there is sin in him, but he is to be named a saint because he
possesses some degree of holiness. This will be a most comforting thought to
those who are mourning their infirmities, and who ask, "Can I be a child of God
while there is so much darkness in me?" Yes; for you, like the day, take not
your name from the evening, but from the morning; and you are spoken of in the
word of God as if you were even now perfectly holy as you will be soon. You are
called the child of light, though there is darkness in you still. You are named
after what is the predominating quality in the sight of God, which will one day
be the only principle remaining. Observe that the evening comes first.
Naturally we are darkness first in order of time, and the gloom is often first
in our mournful apprehension, driving us to cry out in deep humiliation, "God
be merciful to me, a sinner." The place of the morning is second, it dawns when
grace overcomes nature. It is a blessed aphorism of John Bunyan, "That which is
last, lasts for ever." That which is first, yields in due season to the last;
but nothing comes after the last. So that though you are naturally darkness,
when once you become light in the Lord, there is no evening to follow; "thy sun
shall no more go down." The first day in this life is an evening and a morning;
but the second day, when we shall be with God, for ever, shall be a day with no
evening, but one, sacred, high, eternal noon.
Hebrews 10:4
(4) For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should
take away sins.
Do we grasp a serious ramification of this statement? It was never
possible for animal blood to remove sins! If it was not possible in Paul's day,
it was not possible in Old Testament times either. No one, including the Old
Testament heroes, was ever forgiven through an animal sacrifice, nor was anyone
saved by works of the law. Forgiveness and salvation by grace were not new to
the New Testament.
The offerings were continuously repeated and detailed portrayals of what
sin does-it kills-and what Christ's sacrifice would accomplish-reconciliation
with God. Hebrews 10:3 says they served as reminders of sin. They were and
remain as teaching vehicles since their spiritual purposes are shown elsewhere
in God's Word. Hebrews 10:5-10 adds:
Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: "Sacrifice and
offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt
offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. Then I said, 'Behold, I
have come-to do Your will, O God.'" Previously saying, "Sacrifice and offering,
burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in
them" (which are offered according to the law), then He said, "Behold, I have
come to do Your will, O God." He takes away the first that He may establish the
second. By that will we have been sanctified through the body of Jesus Christ
once for all.
How can a person truly live by every word of God if he casts these things
aside as useless to daily life? How do they apply to us today? They apply in
the spirit, which is their true intent. Jesus Christ is the object of each of
the offerings, that is, they portray His activities as a man. However, three of
them, the burnt, grain (or meal), and peace offerings, do not deal with sin.
Only the trespass and sin offerings depict Christ's death for our sins.
Very briefly, the whole burnt offering pictures Jesus Christ's total
devotion to God. His life was completely consumed as an offering to God every
minute He lived. It pictures His fulfilling the first of the two great
commandments of the law ( Matthew 22:37): Jesus loved God with all His heart,
soul, and mind.
Along with the burnt offering, the meal offering represents Christ's
dedicated service, but this time to man, ful-filling the second of the two
great commandments (verse 39): He loved His neighbor as Himself. Sharing His
consuming love for God showed His consummate love for man.
The peace offering represents the fruit of all of Jesus' sacrificial
labors on behalf of God and mankind, including those symbolized by the sin and
trespass offerings. The peace offering shows God, the High Priest, and man
fellowshipping together, sharing a common meal in peace and thanksgiving.
Before leaving Jesus' example, we need to consider whether we are ever
tempted to think that Jesus dream-walked through life like an actor on a stage.
Do we ever feel that He must have had it easy because He was also God, and so
could easily overcome any temptation that crossed His path? While it is true
that, even as a man, He never stopped being God, He was also a man and thus
encumbered with human feelings, and that nature within Him opened the door to
sore temptations. Hebrews 2:16-18 reflects this, as does Hebrews 4:15-16.
It is important on several fronts to allow this reality's impact to
affect us. Why? Because Jesus is our example, and we are to follow in His
footsteps. Even though He was the Son of God, His Father did not lay out an
easy course for Him. For instance, He rarely escaped almost continuous
confrontations by angry people. By itself, this was a great burden. The
pressure from this trial culminated in His crucifixion and all it entailed.
Jesus had to work at succeeding in His responsibilities. Each day was a
sacrificial offering for Him on behalf of God and men. Thus, He is our example
in this too. He gave of Himself, laying down His life for His friends, not only
as an offering for sin, but also in daily service as a servant.
It will become clear that He did not engage in this labor so we could
escape the responsibilities of our assignments. If we are to walk the same path
behind our Example, does it not follow that we will face the same basic
difficulties He did? God promises that our responsibilities will be in measure
to our gifts ( I Corinthians 10:13; Romans 12:6-8), but He did not do it all
for us.
Do we not have work to do to follow Him? Once a person is converted, can
anybody keep the commandments for him? Can a person be a proxy for another
before God? Can anyone live any part of life for another? People can do things
on another's behalf, but they cannot live life for anybody else.
John W. Ritenbaugh
From Is the Christian Required to Do Works? (Part One)
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