EBible Fellowship
Thought for the Week

How Can I Get To Heaven? Part 2

Who could Jesus be?

Well, of course, there is no question, although all kinds of people for some reason (and they have their own particular reasons) want to deny that Jesus is the God of the Bible, so they try to find their way around this.  But the Jews knew exactly what Christ was saying, because look at what happens next in John 8:59: 

Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. 

Because if you are saying, “I am,” and they are very much aware of Exodus 3 where God speaks from the bush, “I AM THAT I AM” and “Before Abraham was,” Jesus says, “I am,” well, how blasphemous!  How blasphemous, if it is not true, if it is not fact.  Yet, it is not blasphemous, because it is true.  Jesus is the God that the Bible talks about who would be the Saviour of His people. 

So here in John 14:6, we read: 

…I am the way…

God is saying that He is the only way to salvation. 

If we go back to Isaiah 43, we will see a statement that really is basically saying the same thing.  We read in Isaiah 43:11: 

I, even I, am the LORD… 

And that is the word “Jehovah.” 

I, even I, JEHOVAH; and beside me there is no saviour. 

“There is no Saviour.”  This is what the Bible says.  There is The Way, not “many ways.”  There are not two thousand ways to Heaven.  There are not one hundred ways to Heaven.  There are not fifty ways to Heaven.  There are not fifteen ways to Heaven.  There are not even two ways to Heaven.  There is exclusively and only one way to Heaven. 

This is why the Bible is a Book that so many people in the world do not like.  They do not like the Bible, because the Bible is really excluding so many people.  Look at all of the religions that are out there.  Am I saying that it is only through the Word of God—the Gospel of the Bible, what we read in the Scriptures—that this is the only way to get to Heaven? 

What about the Muslims?  How many Muslims are out there?  There are maybe hundreds of millions?  I do not know the exact number—one billion? 

How about the Hindu?  I do not know the numbers.  I will not even try to guess, but we know that there are large populations that are Hindu in their religion. 

What about Buddhists?  There are all kinds of people that are Buddhists in the world.

There are many, many, many other religions, some natural religions in Africa and in other parts of the world, tribal religions maybe in South America.  There are all kinds of teachings that man has developed and that people have come up with in order to get right with God, in order to make it into Heaven. 

So here is what you have to do if you live in India.  Here is what you have to do if you live in China.  Here is what you have to do if you live in Africa, as many of these religions have been geared to certain portions of the world and this is where you will find great numbers of them.  Of course, there are followers of these religions in every country of the world. 

“Here is how you can get saved.”  “Here is how you can be alright with God.”  “Here is how you can enter into Heaven itself.” 

Yet the Bible says, no.  Again, Isaiah 43:11:    

I, even I, JEHOVAH; and beside me there is no saviour. 

He is the only Saviour.  “There is none other name.”  

Let us turn to Acts 4:10-12: 

Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.  This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.  Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. 

You can see how the Bible just states this matter-of-factly.  This is “the way.”  This is the road.  This is the path that leads to salvation—none other.  None other.  Of course this is also saying that Jesus is Jehovah, which we know because He is the “I AM.”  He is that Name that Isaiah 43:11 was referring to.  Again, Acts 4:12: 

…there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. 

First of all, the Bible really helps a person.  It really helps a person, of course, who is out there and they want to know, “How can I be saved?”  “How can I get right with God?” 

The first thing: forget any other religion.  Do not worry about it.  Do not consider it.  It is not even a possibility.  Narrow it down to the Gospel, the religion of the Bible. 

If the Bible would just agree that all you have to do is to say that you are a Christian, then, of course, there are hundreds of millions of Christians, are there not?  I do not know how many.  Again, I do not want to get into numbers.  There might be a billion or two.  I do not know how many, but I know that there are hundreds of millions of professing Christians in the world. 

The world might even begin to accept the Bible if it would just allow for all those Christians who say that they are following “the way.”  They say that they are following the true Gospel Way.  They say that they are Christians, so they think that they are following “the way,” and they believe that they are all going to go to Heaven.   

No, no, because first God narrows it down from all of the other religions in the world to Christianity—to the Gospel of the Bible.  But then, He gets more precise and He describes what that Gospel is.  It is a Gospel that has to be followed.  You can not say, “I am a Christian.  I go to church and my church follows something that adds to the Word of God.”  Or, “My church follows something that takes away from the Word of God.” 

There are all kinds of Christians who are in these kinds of churches and in these types of gospels where they have added or subtracted from the message of the Bible.  Right away, they are out of “the way.”  They are out of “the way.”  They are going another “way.”  They might as well be a Buddhist.  They might as well be a Hindu.  They might as well be someone with a tribal religion, because it is going to produce the same effect on the Last Day, which is that there will be no salvation for them. 

There is only salvation in “the way” that the Bible prescribes and in “the way” that God sets forth in His Word.  This is why we read in Matthew 7:13-14: 

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. 

This is talking about all of the religions in the world.  There are many.  All kinds of people are going to remain in serious trouble with God on that Last Day and have to stand for judgment, because their religion will have provided no protection from the wrath of God. 

Now look at Matthew 7:21.  Jesus is going on and saying: 

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord…

…and it continues.  So there are going to be many professing Christians—many professing Christians who have not been following “the way.”  They just simply have not been following “the way.”  They had been following “the way” of their church, “the way” of their denomination, “the way” of their pastor, “the way” of other gospels, but not the Way of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

There is One Way and that is the Gospel of the Bible.  We do not add or subtract.  We do not interpret the Bible with our own minds.  We allow Scripture to interpret Scripture.  Whatever God declares in His Word, that is the Word of God and that is the Way that we are to follow.  It is “the way” to wonderful salvation.  There is wonderful grace of God and wonderful mercy, as long as we are following the right Way. 

Of course, the only ones who will follow The Way or “find” The Way are God’s elect.  This is why it says in Matthew 7:14: 

…few there be that find it.

God tells us, “For many are called, but few are chosen.”  It is those “few” that He has elected to salvation that will “find” the “narrow way,” that “narrow way” that man just simply can not follow on his own; he needs the supernatural help of God to do things God’s way. 

Let us go back to John 14.  It continues in John 14:6: 

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth… 

“The truth”—this is a wonderful word.  “Truth” is a wonderful word that is so misused in the world, and it is so hard to find in the world.  Remember, Pilate said, “What is truth?”  He was really speaking for a great number of people, “What is truth in this world?” 

If you close up the Bible and put it on a shelf and have nothing more to do with it and decide to just go with what the world says and the philosophies of men and what the world tries to figure out in their own understanding, what a mess.  What a terrible mess it is in this world as man stumbles around in the darkness of his own mind, trying to figure out, “What is truth?” and “Who is God?”  All the real important questions, he just can not even get close to answering. 

So truth becomes something that the world really does not want to talk about.  They try to avoid the issue, actually.  Everything becomes relative, and they just go about their lives not thinking about the real important things, such as truth or absolute truth.  But Jesus said, “I AM the Truth.” 

Let us turn back to Psalm 119:142, where we read: 

Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth. 

The Law is a synonym for the Word of God, the Bible.  

Also, look at Psalm 119:151: 

Thou art near, O LORD; and all thy commandments are truth. 

The Word of God, again and again, testifies of itself and says, “I am Truth.”  The Word of God is Truth. 

Turn to Psalm 19:7-9: 

The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.  The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.  The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. 

So God’s Word is all of these things that Psalm 19 is describing.  Above all, it is True.  It is True, and that is unlike anything that you will find in this world. 

Or turn to Titus 1:1-2, where it says: 

Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; in hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; 

God “cannot lie.”  It is really an impossibility for God to lie.  That should amaze us because we are so used to lies.  What does the Bible say?  How does man enter into the world since the fall?  Psalm 58 says, they are “born, speaking lies.” 

This is how every human being comes into the world.  We are “born, speaking lies.”  We are very familiar with falsehood, and we are comfortable with deceit.  We have no problem with half-truths.  We are just born and brought up and live in a world that is full of lies—and it is all around!  It is in books.  It is books that claim to be fact.  It is in nonfiction books.  It is in our history.  It is in our government, and it is not that I am saying something negative about our government because it is in every government.  There are deceitful things that happen in every nation of the world.  In every country of the world, man speaks lies.  Of course, it is every person and every human being, as you talk to anyone—your family members, your friends.  From time-to-time, you are going to notice that they are passing lies, that what they are saying is not true.  They are not speaking the truth. 

But that is never the case, never, never the case with the Bible.  God can not lie!  That is super important, because this means that everything that we read in the Bible is true.  So when God speaks about how He created the world, it is true.  When God speaks about the devil tempting Eve, that is how it happened—it is true—and man falling into sin, absolutely true!  Also, the consequences of sin, “the wages of sin is death,” totally true, and because of your sin, you are going to one day soon and stand before God and give account for your sin and then be thrown into Hell forevermore—completely true.  This is no lie, no lie, no fudging, no half-truth, not a little bit off, but perfectly, purely, wholy, true.  This is what the Bible says, and God says it again and again. 

Turn to Hebrews 6:17-18, where we read: 

Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel… 

Do you know what “immutability” means?  It means that if you are mutable, you can change.  If you are immutable, you can not change.  So He is “the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”  God does not change.  What He said was true in the Old Testament and what He says is true in the New Testament; it does not change. 

So here in Hebrews 6:17-18, it says: 

…the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation… 

We were talking about consolation and comfort last week.  This is the best!  We have a “strong consolation” from God that everything that we read in His Word is true.  So this also means that if we are a child of God, we have eternal life.  It also means that Heaven is right there at the door, along with the Judge, and that the entrance into eternity is close at hand.  It also means that we will live in the very presence of God in that “mansion” that He speaks of forever and ever.  It is not going to change.  We can rely on it; we can trust it; we can lean back upon it, and we can just let all of the cares and the troubles of this world come upon us, “So what!” because we have eternal life.  By God’s grace, He has given me the gift of faith and the gift of salvation.  Now I have everything because I believe the Bible and the Bible is believable.  It is something that I can have faith in, because God is absolutely faithfulness Himself. 

Again, Hebrews 6:18: 

That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: 

The first thing is God can not lie.  The second thing is the very nature of God, His very being, He is completely trustworthy in His very essence in who He is.  We could go on and on. 

Revelation 21:5, after laying out the beautiful vision that the Apostle John received of “a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away,” it says: 

And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.  And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 

We could find many verses like this.  “These words,” the Bible, “are true and faithful.”  “I AM the way, the Truth.”  “Let God be true, but every man a liar.”  “I AM the Truth.”  It is a “narrow way,” but it is “the way” that God is going to bring His people through, like Moses led the children of Israel through the Red Sea. 

Let us turn back to John 14 and look at the final statement that the Lord Jesus Christ made there.  We continue in John 14:6: 

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 

“I am the life.”  He is life.  We might have physical life.  We might have our heart beating right now and our minds might be active physically, our eyes are operating and we are living in this world.  We have the things of this world that we want and desire; we are getting some of them.  We have feelings, and so forth; we feel really alive.  But if we do not have Christ, we are dead.  If we do not have Christ, we are dead because the Bible tells us, “For in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”  This is what God said to Adam, and we have died in our souls.  We have become spiritually dead because of sin.  The only way that there can be “life” now is in and through the Lord Jesus Christ, so Christ must be in us.  He is “the life.”  If He saves us, His Spirit enters in and then we can live, then we can say that we have spiritual life. 

Let us look at Colossians 3:3-4: 

For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. 

And look at 1 John 5:11-12: 

And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 

It is all wrapped up in Christ, in Jesus Himself.  If you or I have Jesus, there was no way that we could have taken Jesus to ourselves.  We could not bring salvation to ourselves.  We could do everything that the Bible would allow, which is reading the Bible and praying and turning from our sins as much as possible.  Even in this we are going to suffer all kinds of setbacks because we do not have that life or the strength of God to help us in turning from sin.  Yet, it all is in Jesus. 

Jesus is eternal life.  He is the very essence of life, so if we do not have Him, then we will not enter into the Kingdom of God.  We just simply will not become a child of God, and we will not experience the great blessings that come with salvation.  It must be through the Lord Jesus Christ. 

It is interesting, because we know how Jesus is “the life,” but Scripture is also called “life,” because Christ is also “the Word.”  In John 6:63, it says: 

It is the spirit that quickeneth… 

“Quickeneth” is an Old English word that means “to be brought to life.”    

…the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. 

You see, the Bible is a living Book.  The Bible tells us, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword.”  It is alive; it is spiritually alive.  I do not know how this could be, but God says that His Word is alive. 

This is why when the Word goes forth, when the Gospel seed is sprinkled upon the hearts of the hearers, God is able to quicken through the Word to bring to life those who are spiritually dead.  He can create a new heart and a new spirit and give someone life in their soul through the living Word of God.  This is another reason that the Bible says, “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” 

This is why we are so eager, those of us who are God’s people, to share this Word—this Word that will lead someone “the way” that they need to go, this Word that is nothing but “the Truth” that they need to follow, and this Word that can, in itself because it does not take any action of ours, but the Word will accomplish the job of bringing to life anyone who is one of God’s elect. 

The Word will do all of these things, so we are greatly blessed that God has given us His Word and that we can read it this day and also share it with others. 

How Can I Get To Heaven? Part 1

We will be looking at John 14:1-6:

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.  In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.  And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.  Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Probably, the most important question that there is in the world is, “How can I get to Heaven?”  “How can I go to Heaven?”  “How can I live forever?”  This is the most important question.  Of course, we get bogged down with every other kind of question that there is and every other type of problem and worry and concern.  But really, in comparison to the question of eternity and where we are going to spend it, these other concerns do not even compare.  Everything else is really temporal, if we look at these things properly and with the correct mindset.

Here in John 14:1, Jesus actually tries to calm people down, in a sense, “Let not your heart be troubled.”  Do not worry; do not be anxious; let not your heart be troubled regarding eternal life and regarding salvation.  “Ye believe in God, believe also in Me.”

In this passage, especially in John 14:6 that we are going to take a look at, God lays out the way of eternal life, the way of eternal bliss and happiness and joy and peace.  Anything good that you can think of, it is all wrapped up in the Kingdom of God and in the salvation of God.  So we are going to go quickly through the first few verses, and then we will spend a little time on John 14:6.

Let us start here in John 14:2, where it says: 

In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.

This is a comforting verse, “In My Father’s house are many mansions.”  Yet people get the wrong idea about this verse.  They picture something like huge houses, because that is our idea of  “mansions” in this world.  If someone lives in a mansion, they have something like thirty bedrooms with have all kinds of bathrooms and all kinds of space.

I actually remember talking to a Christian at my workplace years ago.  He literally thought that Jesus had gone to begin preparing or building a mansion, this type of huge place, for every one of His elect.  I tried to explain to him that this was not really what this verse meant, that this was not what it was saying.  He said, “Well, it says it right there,” and this is how a lot of people respond.  “The Bible says it; I believe it.”

Yes, the Bible says this and the Bible is using a word that we commonly use today, but we have to disregard our own understanding of this word and go to the Bible and try to find out what the Bible means when it uses this word.

God actually does use this word in the same chapter a second time, and it is the only other place in the Bible that this word is used.  We find this word again in John 14:23, where it says:

Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

The word “abode” is the same word that was translated “mansions” in John 14:2.  It simply means “a dwelling place.”  It means exactly how it sounds, as Christ is saying in John 14:2, “In my Father’s house are many abodes, many rooms, many places for all of His elect, for the great multitude that He intends to save, to come and live with God.”

Of course, it is all a figure anyway, because we are not going to Heaven to live in some huge house where we are all going to have a room among all the different floors of this house.  This is not what God has in mind.

He is building a house, but remember, He is using “living stones.”  He is creating the New Jerusalem, that heavenly City, and we are all a part of that City.  We are all a part of that House and we are just going to simply dwell with God.  We will have our “abode” with God forevermore.

We do not know what this really entails.  We can not even begin to understand this.  We know that this is where we would want to be.  We would not want to be in the only other alternative place, which is in Hell.  We will want to be in God’s House, dwelling in His “abode,” in the “mansions” that Christ has prepared.

When Jesus said, “And if I go and prepare a place for you,” He was not talking about a time when He would leave earth and then go to Heaven and begin a construction project.  He was talking about when He was going to go to the Cross and when He was going to take the sins of His people upon Himself and die for those sins, and in that way, prepare an eternal habitation for all of the children of God.  This is what Christ had in mind.

Then in John 14:3-5, we read:

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.  And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.  Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?

How can we know “the way” to Heaven?  How can we know how to get to Heaven?  Thomas is asking an excellent question, is he not?  How can I know the way, from where I am in my life, to get to Heaven itself?

Of course, if it was left up to me or left up to any person, no matter who that person was, if it was left up to man, we would not know “the way.”  We would be in darkness.  We would be blind, wandering about, feeling for a door.  Where is the entrance?  Where is that portal into eternity?  We would not be able to find it.  It would be an impossibility for any and every person—for any man, any woman, any child—to get to Heaven.  We just would not know how to do it, and it is our sin that would be holding us back and keeping us back.  Our sin is damning us.  It is condemning us.  It is bringing us down into Hell and we would not know how to get right with God and how to enter into the Kingdom of God because of all of our sins.

So Jesus is going to answer Thomas.  Jesus and Thomas had some of the greatest exchanges that we find in the Bible.  Thomas is that doubting Thomas that we find later in the Gospel of John.  Thomas was not with all of the other disciples when they had seen Jesus in the flesh as He appeared to them.  Thomas said, “Except I shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe.”  Yet God used this to get one of the greatest statements of who Christ is out of Thomas as Jesus did appear to him later.

Let us go to John 20:27-28, where it says:

Then saith he to Thomas…

This is Jesus speaking.

…Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.  And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.

This is a wonderful statement of who Jesus is: “My Lord and my God.”  Notice that Jesus does not say, “No Thomas.  You can not call me Lord and God.”  Of course, if He was anything less than Lord and God, He would have had to say that to Thomas, but He accepts the praise.  He accepts what Thomas says of Him, because it is true!  It is a fact that Jesus is Lord and God.

Back in John 14:5, it is Thomas who is wondering how we can know “the way.”  Then we read in John 14:6:

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way…

“I am the way.”  It is no accident that we read the words “I am.”  It sounds like it is just part of the answer to the question, but it is actually much more than that.  It is the two Greek words, “ ego eimi,” which is really a name and a title of God Himself.  God is the Great I AM.  Right?  Is He not?

If we go back to Exodus 3, where Moses saw the burning bush and God spoke to Moses “out of the midst” of the bush “that burned with fire” and yet “was not consumed.”  We read in Exodus 3:13-14:

And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?  And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

This is the Name of God.  It describes His being, because He has always been.  He is God from eternity past and He will always be.  He extends into eternity future.  There has never been a point when God has not been, so He is “I AM.”

In order to answer Thomas’ question, “How can we know the way?,” Jesus says, “I am,” indicating that He is Jehovah God.  He is the God of the Bible.  He is the only Saviour that the Bible talks about.

We see this also if we turn to John 8, where Christ is having a discussion with some of the Jews, and He says to the Jews in John 8:56-58: 

Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.  Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old…

This is interesting.  We really expect as we study the Bible that Jesus was born in 7 B.C., which would have been a Jubilee year and a Jubilee year comes every 50 years.  So there could be a little bit of evidence here that the Jews were aware that Christ was born in a Jubilee year and that the next Jubilee year had not yet come.  Jesus is actually in His thirties, but they picked the number 50:

Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?  Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

Christ is making a very definite statement.  He is saying this of Himself, “Before Abraham was born, I lived, I am, I existed.”  Who could He be?  Who could Jesus be?

Two Edges Part 3

Let us turn to Ecclesiastes 3.  Another reason why God describes His Word as having two edges is because it always presents us with two edges; it always presents us with two sides.  There is good and evil, light and darkness, sweet and bitter, wisdom and folly, mercy and judgment.  You can just go on and on about these opposites, and this is the way that the Bible is presented to us.  He always describes life and death, blessing and cursing. 

In our lives, there are always going to be these two edges.  Many of us would love to have it with only one edge.  We would love to have it where it is always good and it is always sweet, where it is always life and it is always blessing, but this is not the way that life is.  Our lives are not this way.  Sometimes it is like this: there is blessing and love and good.  But then the next day will come and it will be a bad day.  It will be a cursing and darkness and trouble. 

In Ecclesiastes 3, we see here how there is a time for one and there is a time for another.  We read in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8: 

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. 

You see, this is what life is.  There is a time for the one and there is a time for the other.  A lot of this, of course, is spiritual language about God’s mercy and God’s judgment.  This is the way life is.  God has mercy on people and He brings judgment on people.  This is who He is.  This is His plan for this world and we can see this in our lives. 

Turn to Ecclesiastes 7.  Why are there these two edges in life?  Why is it not always blessing and love?  Of course, it is a result of the sin.  When Adam and Eve sinned and this whole world was plunged into sin and the whole world was cursed, this is what brought all of this evil into the world.  It is all as a result of our sin. 

It is this way even in the children of God.  Even in God’s people, in their lives, they also see these two edges and these two sides.  I tell you, it is to keep us very humble because we do not know what will happen next.  One day can be so great and we are just flying high, “Praise the Lord!  Everything is going so great!”  Then the phone rings and we answer it and all of a sudden your life is changed.  Something can happen drastically and your whole life can be changed, just like that.  I tell you, it just keeps you so humble and you just have to trust in the Lord—day-by-day.  Jesus said, “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof”—one day at a time, just continually trusting in Him and crying out to Him for help and for guidance. 

In Ecclesiastes 7:13-14, it says: 

Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked?  In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him. 

You see, He has set the one over against the other, to the end that we can find nothing after us.  We do not know what is going to happen next.  We do not know if it is going to be a good day or a bad day.  We do not know, so it keeps us humble and just trusting in the Lord.  The only way we can go through this life is to be trusting in the Lord and praying to Him for guidance. 

These words “prosperity” and “adversity” are the same words as “good” and “evil.”  In the day of good, be joyful.  That word “joyful” is also the word “good.”  In the day of good, be good, but in the day of evil, consider.  This is the way life is.  There is good and evil.  God always sets these both before us. 

Turn to Deuteronomy 30 where He sets the good and the evil before us.  We see that there are two ways in life.  In all things in our lives, there are things that come up and we have to make a decision, “Do I go one way or do I go the other?  Do I do this or do I do that?” 

Sadly, we always choose the wrong way by nature.  We always go down the wrong path, if God is not guiding us and if God is not helping us out, because we have this sin nature that we lust after by nature. 

In Deuteronomy 30, we will see how God puts these both before us.  In Deuteronomy 30:15-20, it says: 

See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; in that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.  But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.  I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: that thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them. 

So here we have it.  We have life and good and death and evil, so choose life and live!  But we do not do this.  We do not choose life.  By nature, our sin has blinded us.  We are spiritually dead in our sins. 

God can tell us this, “Choose life!”  He says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”  “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”  And we say, “No thanks.  I have my own life.  I have my own things that I want to do.” 

We love our sins.  We do not want that light to shine on us.  We love the darkness, so we always choose the wrong way—and how sad this is.  How sad that this is the way that we are.  May we cry out to God to change our hearts so that we can truly love life, truly love Him and walk in His ways. 

Turn to 1 Kings 3.  We will see that this is what Solomon did.  He cried out to God to help him so that he could discern between the good and the bad.  We do not know sometimes which is the good way and which is the bad way, so we can pray to God that He will give us wisdom. 

In 1 Kings 3:5-9, it says: 

In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.  And Solomon said, Thou hast showed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.  And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.  And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.  Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? 

So we see this cry from Solomon for God to help him to discern between good and bad.  We can pray to God for this.  We can pray to God for wisdom and He will guide His people.  Not only do we pray, but we want to study the Bible to learn what is good and bad. 

Turn to Hebrews 5 where we will see a similar thing about how if we study the Bible, as God opens our spiritual understanding, He will show us.  As we grow in grace, we will be able to discern between good and evil.  We will be able to see what is the right way in life and what is the wrong way.  In Hebrews 5:13-14, it says: 

For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. 

You see, this is how the discernment comes: as we pray to God and as we study the Bible, “by reason of use,” by habit, by continually doing it, by continually going into the Bible and studying the Bible. 

If you are not reading the Bible, if you are not letting God talk to you, how are you going to know what is good and evil?  You are only going to have your own mind to guide you, and I will tell you right now that you are going to go down the wrong path because our minds are not trustworthy.  Our minds are tainted by sin. 

The Bible tells us what is good and what is evil—not our minds.  We do not come up with, “Oh, I think this is right and I think that is wrong.”  This is not the way it is.  God tells us what is good.  God tells us what is evil, and so it is “by reason of use.” 

If you are not in the Bible daily and studying God’s Word and praying to Him, all you have is your own mind.  Do not trust your mind.  I know that I do not want to trust my mind; it is so deceitful and untrustworthy.  But God is trustworthy.  God knows what is truth and God can show you through the Bible. 

Turn to Isaiah 5, if you want to use your own minds, and that is what the world does.  They love their minds.  We love ourselves before we are saved.  Of course, we all have a certain love for our self.  We do not want to get hurt.  We want to take care of our self and nurture ourselves.  But before we are saved, we think that whatever we think is the way it is: we know what is going on; we know what life is all about.  In fact, we have the two sides backwards.  We have things upside down. 

In Isaiah 5:20-24, God says: 

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!  Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!  Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink: which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!  Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. 

God says, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil.”  We have these two sides backwards before we are saved.  You may share with someone something from the Bible that is good and righteous and holy.  They will say, “No, that is not right.  You are being too strict.  You are narrow minded.  You need to open your mind and see that this is just a different lifestyle.  This is just a different way of doing things.”  But what they are doing is calling good “evil” and evil “good.” 

I know that this is the way that I used to be.  This is because we have turned things upside down from the way that God originally created everything.  When God created the world, He looked at everything and what did He say?  The Bible says, “God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good.”  It is good, but yet, when Adam and Eve fell into sin, now the evil entered in.  This is what God says in Ecclesiastes 7:29: 

…God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions. 

In the beginning, God made everything good, but we have turned things upside down. 

Turn to Isaiah 29 where God uses that language of how we have turned things upside down and that we have everything backwards.  In Isaiah 29:15-16, it says: 

Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?  Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding? 

You can see just the utter foolishness of this, and this is the way that I used to be.  I used to agree with evolution and believe in that.  But here it is, “Shall the work say of Him that made it, ‘He made me not?’”  This is what you are doing.  You are saying, “No, God did not make me.  I came from monkeys.  I came from something else.”  

Once your eyes are opened, you see the foolishness.  Before, you could not see it at all.  It is just amazing just how blind we are.  We have these blinders on.  We can not see anything because we are spiritually dead and we have turned things upside down.  We can actually say to the One who made us, “No, You did not make me.”  This is the way that our wicked hearts are.  Praise God, though, that He can change our hearts. 

Turn to Acts 17 and we will see that when God does save you and He does change your heart and He turns you right-side up—because remember, by nature, we are upside down; we are against God—when He saves you, He makes you upright again. 

Now when the world looks at you, remember that they are upside down and you are upright, what do we look like to them, so to speak?  They think that we are upside down.  They think that the believers are upside down, when in fact it is actually the exact opposite. 

Here in Acts 17:5-7, it says: 

But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.  And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also; whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus. 

If you are a believer, this is the way that you look to the world.  They think that you are turning things upside down when you bring the Gospel and you talk about another King, the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings.  As you bring His message and the truths from His Kingdom, they think that you have gone haywire.  They think that you have things backwards. 

Let us just close with one more verse.  Turn to Psalm 146 and we will see how, in the end, God is going to restore everything to its proper place.  God is going to bring His people up into Heaven forevermore into the glorious Kingdom of God, and the unsaved will go down to Hell forevermore.  Praise God that there is great hope in God’s salvation.  In Psalm 146:8-10, it says: 

The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind: the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down: the LORD loveth the righteous: the LORD preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.  The LORD shall reign for ever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations.  Praise ye the LORD. 

You see, on that Last Day, God is going to turn the way of the wicked upside down.  He is going to bring Judgment on those who are not His. 

May we cry out to God that He might turn us upright, because all of us by nature have all things backwards.  This is how our lives are, especially before we are saved.  We have all our priorities mixed up.  What we think is so important in life actually means almost absolutely nothing.  Until we become saved, then we realize what life is all about.  It is all about the Lord Jesus and His Kingdom and His ways and His Gospel. 

May that be our lives today.  May we start to serve the Lord and give our lives wholly to Him and not go after vanity, because, in the end, the way of the wicked, He is going to just turn it upside down—and down to Hell you go if you are not saved.  This is just the way life is. 

Two Edges Part 2

Let us turn to Psalm 149.  As we bring the Gospel, as I said, we are bringing this sharp Word of God—not in the hopes that it will judge anyone and that they will have a similar reaction to the Jews in Acts 7, but in the hopes that they will see their sins and that God might apply His Word to their hearts and save them. 

But on the Last Day, then things change.  On the Last Day, God says that there will be no more mercy because that is Judgment Day.  Then as it says in 1 Corinthians 6, the believers will be judging with Him in some way.  I do not know how all of this will be, but this is what the Bible tells us—that the believers will actually be judging with Christ.  Then it is a different time. 

In Psalm 149, we will see how the believers will execute judgment.  In Psalm 149:5-9, we read: 

Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.  Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand; to execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people; to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; to execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints.  Praise ye the LORD. 

These are some strong verses here where we see that the saints have the “twoedged sword in their hand; to execute vengeance,” and “this honour have all His saints.”  This is what will take place on that Last Day as the believers judge with God. 

Let us turn to Luke 12.  Another reason why God likens His Word to a “twoedged sword” and having two edges is because it brings division.  The Bible brings division.  It divides the sheep from the goats—the wheat from the tares.  This is the language of the Bible. 

When you get into the Bible and you start to share the Bible with others, you are not going to have everyone loving you and giving you hugs and kisses and saying, “Oh, what a wonderful person you are!  We love to hear these things.”  You are not going to be gathering to yourself a whole lot of friends.  The Bible divides people.  This is what Jesus said.  These are the words of Jesus.  He says in Luke 12:51-53: 

Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth?  I tell you, Nay; but rather division: for from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.  The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. 

This is sad.  Within our own families, God’s Word divides—“three against two, and two against three.”  Mother and daughter, father and son—divided—over the Scriptures, over the Bible, over the Lord Jesus Christ. 

We see this with Jacob and Esau.  Turn to Genesis 25 where we have two brothers—twins.  You can not get much closer than twins.  In Genesis 25, God will tell us, although they are twins, they are going to be divided.  They are going to become “two nations,” two separate people.  In Genesis 25:21-23, it says: 

And Isaac entreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was entreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.  And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus?  And she went to inquire of the LORD.  And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger. 

So we see that “two nations” were in her womb, “two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels.” 

Turn to Romans 9 and we will see that Jacob and Esau typify groups of people.  Jacob typifies the elect of God—those whom God will save.  Esau typifies the ones whom God will not save—the unsaved.  In Romans 9:10-13, we read: 

And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; (for the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) it was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.  As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. 

We see here that as God looks at mankind, He sees two different people, two separate people—the Jacobs who typify God’s elect whom He loves, and then there are the Esaus who typify the unsaved whom He is not going to save and whom He hates because of their sin. 

This is righteous with God.  He is righteous in all of this.  This is not the way that we would maybe have it in our own minds, but this is the way that God has it.  He has separated people into these two nations, “two manner of people.” 

All of us are actually in the kingdom of Satan.  We are under God’s wrath—all of us by nature.  This is not like, “Oh well, I am one of God’s children.  You know, I am one of God’s elect.  He loves me—too bad that He does not love you.” 

Not at all—this is not the way it is at all.  We do not deserve anything.  All that we deserve is God’s wrath in Hell.  All of us, by nature, are in the kingdom of Satan and under His wrath. 

Turn to Acts 26.  This is the great love of God—that He would save any one of us.  It is just, “Why me?  Why would God save me?  Why in the world do I read the Bible?  Why am I interested in the Scriptures?” 

There so many people that you walk by and see every day at work or at school—none of them really want to talk about the Bible.  They could care less about God.  So why are we interested in the Bible? 

It is God’s mercy that is working in your life.  It is not anything of you.  If God left you to yourself, you would be just along with everyone else, going down the path to Hell and in your sins.  This is the great love of God, what He does to people as He intervenes in their lives. 

Look at Acts 26:18.  This is where God is speaking to Paul.  Paul is recounting how he became saved.  This is where the Lord was talking to him and telling him what he was going to be doing—that he was going to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles.  In Acts 26:18, it says: 

To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. 

You see, this is the great love of God that He can do this to you.  He can take you from the “power of Satan unto God.” 

You can not get farther apart than this: these two kingdoms that are in the world—the kingdom of Satan and Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus.  They are a complete opposite, and God can take us out of that pit and bring us over into His Kingdom.  This is the way it is.  We are either in one or the other.  There is no middle ground. 

Sometimes when you bring the Word of God, you do not always get that angry reaction.  Not everyone is so angry with you, but yet they do not respond, “Oh, this is great!  I want to read the Bible more.  Tell me more!”  They do not respond at all.  They could care less. 

There you are, telling them about what the Bible says about our sins and that we are under God’s wrath and that we need the Lord Jesus to save us, and it is like you did not say anything at all.  It just goes over their heads or they just completely ignore it and say, “You are just crazy.  Get out of here!”  They just do not care, yet they are not on the Lord Jesus’ side.  They are still in Satan’s kingdom. 

This is the way I used to be when I first heard the Gospel.  It did not faze me at all.  Yet just because we do not have that negative reaction, this does not mean that we are with God.  In Matthew 12:30, Jesus said: 

He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. 

You can not say, “Well, I am on the fence.  I am undecided.  I do not know what is true.  I do not know what is right, so I will just walk that fine line.” 

No, there is no middle ground.  If you are not gathering with Christ, you are scattering.  If you are not trying to share the Gospel with people to bring them into the Kingdom, well then you are actually scattering people.  You are keeping people away from Christ because you are not telling them about Him.  You are just telling them, “No, let us just live our lives.  Let us just forget about the Bible.  Let us just live life and enjoy it.”  Well, you are actually scattering people even though you think that you are not against Christ.  

Most people, they do not think that they hate God.  I did not think that I hated God, but you really do if you do not love Him, if you are not serving Him.  If your whole life is not about the Lord Jesus Christ and His Kingdom, then you are scattering people.  You are showing hatred to God.  Jesus said, “He that is not with Me is against Me.” 

Turn to 1 John 3 where God will tell us about how we are either a child of God or a child of the devil.  In 1 John 3:10-12, it says: 

In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.  For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.  Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother.  And wherefore slew he him?  Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous. 

You see, here God tells us about the children of God and the children of the devil, and He gives us this example of Cain and Abel—“not as Cain, who was of that wicked one.”  Cain was a child of the devil. 

What strong language—a child of the devil.  This is what we are if we are not saved—we are a child of the devil.  This is the language of the Bible.  These are not my words or anybody else’s words—these are God’s words.  This is His assessment.  If we are not in His Kingdom, if we have not been born again, we are a child of the devil.  We do not realize this before we are saved. 

People do not think that they are a child of the devil.  Go talk to someone at work and ask them, “Are you a child of the devil or a child of God?  Are you saved?”  Their response will be, “I am not a child of the devil.  What are you talking about?” 

This is just such strong language, but this is God’s language.  This is the serious nature of life that we all like to put the blinders on and forget about, but this is what life is.  This is the way it is. 

Turn to Exodus 11.  In Exodus 11, God tells us how He puts a difference between these two people.  He puts a difference between His people and the people of Satan.  Although, of course, again, we always have to remember that we once were children of the devil.  Again, this is the great love of God.  He is stronger than Satan and He can take people out of his kingdom. 

Exodus 11 is where God was bringing that plague of the firstborn, where He was killing the firstborn of Egypt.  Exodus 11:4-7 says: 

And Moses said, Thus saith the LORD, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts.  And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more.  But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the LORD doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. 

You can see how God puts “a difference between the Egyptians and Israel”—the unsaved and the saved, God’s people and the people in Satan’s kingdom.  God makes the difference.  He saves one and not the other, and this is God’s business.  If He passes over someone and does not save them, that is His business.  He is God.  We are not God.  It is His salvation plan. 

Two Edges Part 1

Today we are going to look in the Bible to see a few reasons why God describes His Word as a “sharp twoedged sword.”  God likens His Word to having two edges.  We read a verse like this in Hebrews 4 that we are all familiar with.  In Hebrews 4:12, God says: 

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 

There is no other book in the world that compares to this.  What a description for the Word of God, for the Bible!  It actually can discern the “thoughts and intents of the heart.”  Nothing else can even come close to this.  The Lord Jesus is the Word that was made flesh, we read in John 1.  If you read through the Gospel accounts, I think on a couple of occasions, you will read about how the Jews would be murmuring amongst themselves and it will talk about how “Jesus knew their thoughts.”  He would say, “Why reason ye these things in your hearts?”  He knew their thoughts.  He knew the intents of their hearts. 

Jesus is the Word made flesh and He has given us this written Word whereby we can learn so much about ourselves.  It truly is like looking in a mirror when you read the Bible.  It really shows you where you are.  As you read this Bible and you read God’s commands, I know for myself, when you read it and see a lot of things, you say, “Wow, I do not measure up here.  What about this?  Why am I not doing this?  Here God is commanding me to do this and I am not doing it—on many different subjects.” 

There is nothing in the world like this Book, and God likens it to having “two edges.”  It is “sharper than any twoedged sword.”  There is a picture of Jesus in Revelation in a couple of places where it talks about “out of His mouth went a sharp twoedged sword,” and it is a reference to the Word of God. 

One of the reasons that God describes His Word with two edges is because it can cut both ways.  It can cut you to salvation, or God can use it to cut you to damnation.  This is the power that is in the Word of God. 

First, let us look at salvation as God talks about it in His Word in Acts 2.  On that day of Pentecost when Peter preached to the people, he was preaching the very Word of God as we have it recorded here for us.  What an impact it made on those people who were listening to him there—on “about three thousand” of them in fact.  We read in Acts 2:37-41, and this is after Peter brought the Gospel to them: 

Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?  Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.  For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.  And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.  Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. 

As you can see, there was an impact that the Word of God had “when they heard this.”  Notice that language, “Now when they heard this.”  They were hearing the Word of God.  “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” 

Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart…

It really made a big impact on them.  “What shall we do?”  They started to worry about their sins and about salvation and God’s judgment and the whole thing that the Bible talks about.  No other book does this. 

You can see this in your own lives as you share the Word of God with people.  What an impact the Bible has!  When you start to bring up God, when you start to bring up the Bible, how sad it is that when you start talking about the Bible, people start getting nervous.  “Uh oh, he’s talking about God.  He’s talking about the Bible.”  Many times people have this kind of reaction. 

Why?  Why does the Bible bring such a reaction to people?  It really does.  Here, what a great reaction!  They started getting troubled over their sins, and hopefully that is the way it is for each one of us.  When you hear the Bible, do you really take it to heart?  Are you really realizing that this is God talking to you?  Has it made an impact in your life?  Or has it made a negative impact where you do not want to hear it and you just cover your ears?  Many people do that as well. 

Let us turn to Luke 2 where we see how God talks about how the Word of God was to pierce Mary’s soul.  Mary here is a picture of the believers, as God does this to all of His children.  We read in Luke 2:34-35: 

And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. 

This is what happens as God is going to save one of His people.  He brings the Word of God to them.  They come under the hearing of the Word of God and it is like a sword piercing through their soul.  Another aspect of why God likens it to a sword that cuts our hearts is because God uses the figure of circumcision, circumcision of the heart.  He talks about this in Romans 2:29: 

But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart…

Turn to Joshua 5 where we will see how Joshua had the Israelites physically circumcised and it was to be a picture of how we need our sins cut off.  This is why God has to circumcise our hearts—because we have all of this spiritual foreskin, so to speak.  God says, “Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart.”  It is all of these sins.  It is that stony rebellious heart that we have by nature, and God takes His Word, like a sword, and cuts off all of those sins and gives you a new heart.  This is spiritual language and it is a great picture of just the power of God’s Word. 

We read in Joshua 5:2-3, this is after they had passed over into the land of Canaan and had crossed the Jordan River: 

At that time the LORD said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives…

This word “knives” is the same word as the word “sword.” 

…and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time.  And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins. 

So we see this picture of circumcision.  God talks about “circumcision of the heart,” which is done by the sharp sword of the Word of God, and may this happen to each one of us.  May God have circumcised our hearts and cut away all of our sins. 

Turn to Deuteronomy 6 where God will talk to us about how we want to bring the Word of God to our children.  As parents, our constant prayer to God and hope is, “Could it be that God might save our children?”  These are precious children that God has given us.  As we think about them, they are sinners, too, just like their old man.  They are under the wrath of God, if they are not saved, and they are heading for Hell for all eternity—your own children, your own flesh and blood.  So here is the command of God to us, to bring the Word of God in the hope that it might cut their heart that they might be cut unto salvation.  Here in Deuteronomy 6, God tells us very clearly to bring the Word of God to them.  We read in Deuteronomy 6:6-7: 

And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 

The word in this verse that is translated “teach diligently” is actually the Hebrew word for “sharpen.”  So it is really saying, “sharpen them unto thy children.” 

As you bring the Word of God to your children, you want to bring the sharp Word of God in the hopes that it will prick their hearts.  It is actually also translated “prick” in Psalm 73.  If you remember, the psalmist was “envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.”  Then when he “went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.”  Then we read that his “heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins.”  He realized, “What am I thinking?  They are going to end up in Hell.  Why am I envying them?” 

This is the same word here for “teach diligently.”  You sharpen or whet your sword.  This is what we want to do for our children.  We want to bring them the sharp Word of God.  We do not want to sugar-coat the Bible.  We do not want to bring smooth words, the flattering words of the false gospels. 

If we turn to Proverbs 5, we will see this contrast between the smooth words of the false gospels and the sharp word of the true Gospel.  In Proverbs 5:3-5, we read: 

For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: but her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.  Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.

In the Proverbs, this “strange woman” is a picture of the false gospels of the world—the gospels that are so prevalent today.  Many of the churches are telling the children in the churches, “Jesus loves you.  Do not worry about your sins.  You have a wonderful life with Jesus.  As you come to our church and come to Sunday School, this is wonderful for you.  God is a God of love.  He is not angry at you.  If you do wrong, it is okay.  Do not worry about it.” 

This is a big, fat lie.  They are lying to children!  How terrible this is!  God wants us to bring the sharp Word of God, the true Gospel, and tell them honestly, “Hey, look, you are in this world.  You are a human being.  You are a sinner just like me and you need salvation.  So you had better take the Bible very seriously and pray to God for His mercy.  Maybe He will save you.” 

Notice the contrast in these two verses.  We read in Proverbs 5:3: 

For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb…

Do you remember the riddle in the book of Judges that had been given by Sampson?  The riddle was, “Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness.”  Their answer was, “What is sweeter than honey?”  We know that honey is very, very sweet. 

Notice Proverbs 5:4, though: 

But her end is bitter as wormwood…

It is the complete opposite.  Their words are so sweet, but in the end, since it is false, it is not true.  They are not really saved, so the “end is bitter.”  The end is judgment. 

Then the second part of Proverbs 5:3: 

…and her mouth is smoother than oil: 

Her mouth is very smooth, but what is her end?  In Proverbs 5:4, her end is: 

…sharp as a twoedged sword. 

Again, we see the contrast.  Her mouth is “smooth.”  It is so flattering.  The false gospels sound so lovely, but in the end, it is “sharp as a twoedged sword.”  This is what we read in John 12: 

…the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. 

Again, that “twoedged sword” is the Word of God that is going to cut unto damnation on that Last Day. 

May we not do this with anyone, not just with our children but with anyone.  We do not want to bring just the smooth words.  No, we want to bring the sharp Word of God.  Not in the hopes that it will cut them unto damnation.  No, but praying that God will cut them unto salvation.  But if you bring them just smooth words, that is not going to cut their hearts, that is not going to prick their hearts, that is doing them no good.  You are actually hurting them.  You are actually lying to them and bringing them down a wrong path—one that leads straight to Hell.  So may we bring the true Word of God. 

Let us turn to Acts 7 and take a look at how the Bible can cut people unto damnation.  We saw in Acts 2:37: 

Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart…

Then they wanted to repent, as God was working in them, and they said: 

…what shall we do? 

And “about three thousand” had become saved. 

In Acts 7, this is where Stephen is giving his message to the Jews.  He brings the Word of God to them, so let us see their reaction—the reaction of the Jews when they heard the Word of God.  We read in Acts 7:54-60, it says: 

When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.  But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.  Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, and cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.  And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.  And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.  And when he had said this, he fell asleep. 

What a reaction this caused!  That Word of God really cut them.  “They were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.”  Then they ran at him and covered their ears; they “stopped their ears” and then they stoned him.  They did not want to hear this at all.  They really did not like what they heard. 

Sometimes this is what happens.  I am sure that you have had those experiences where you gently try to share the true Word of God.  You know that it is sharp.  You know that it is going to cause a reaction and sometimes you see this when people get violent—they get angry with you and they tell you, “Do not talk to me about this.  I do not want to hear this.”  Okay.  Fine.  God says to move on.  As the Bible says, “Neither cast ye your pearls before swine.” 

So here in Acts 7, we see the exact opposite reaction, but notice that it is the same language: 

When they heard these things…

Just like in Acts 2: 

Now when they heard this…

But this time, it cut their hearts and they were just so angry.  It just shows that they were not saved at that time. 

This is the way the Gospel is.  Turn to 2 Corinthians 2 where God tells us that it is the “savour of life unto life” to some.  To others, it is the “savour of death unto death.”  We read in 2 Corinthians 2:14-17: 

Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.  For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: to the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life.  And who is sufficient for these things?  For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ. 

So we see here that it is “in them that are saved, and in them that perish.”  To the one, it is the “savour of death unto death;” to the other, it is “the savour of life unto life.”  This is just the nature of the Bible and the nature of this world.  This is the way it is. 

Why Me?

That You Might Believe

Prayer Changes Someone

How Do You Hear?

Hearing God’s word is of paramount importance for man. God works only in the environment of His word to bring salvation to sinners. Apart from hearing the word of God there is no forgiveness of sin. God alone can give us spiritual hearing. In Luke 8 Jesus tells us that we must be very careful how we hear the word of God.

No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light. For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad. Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.

Luke 8:16-18

Verse 18 speaks about two types of people who hear God’s word. The first person hears the word of God and has something. The second person hears the word of God and appears to have something, but in the end what he or she has is taken away. The first person who hears and has something is the one who has been given eternal life and has spiritual ears to hear the word of God.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

John 10:27-28

The second person hears the word of God and appears to be saved. Judgment Day will reveal that person was not saved and the knowledge of God this person appeared to have was false. They will be under the eternal judgment of God and what he or she knew about God’s word will be gone.

Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.

1 Corinthians 15:34

Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.

John 8:43

For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?

Psalm 6:5

These verses are another warning that people should make sure they are saved. What is the evidence of hearing God’s word? Obedience. When God saves someone and gives them spiritual life they have a new spiritual nature, the nature of God. That life is the life of Christ, who is the light of the world. It is impossible for a true Christian not to show forth the light of Christ in his or her life. Verses 16 and 17 of Luke 8 point out this fact. The light of Christ in a Christian will be more and more evident over time as the Holy Spirit witnesses to the heart of the believer that he or she is saved. But, the person who is not saved, yet appears to hear the word of God and responds in some manner, will be found to be one who is not obedient to God’s word. This person may live in religious morality, but the true light of Christ will not shine. This person's religious experience will focus on finally giving glory to himself or herself. He or she may appear to be a Christian for a while, but as verse 17 states, the secret truth that the person is not saved will be revealed at Judgment Day. Jesus revealed the shocking fact that the scribes and Pharasees ruling during His ministry could not "hear" the word of God. Those who were the spiritual leaders of that day had no spiritual life and were the servants of Satan. Their inability to hear the word of God was evidence that they were still in the kingdom of Satan, even though they were outwardly religious.

Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.

John 8:42-45

Luke 8 verses 19-20 are closely related to their preceding text. Jesus continues teaching about "hearing" God's word.

Then came to him his mother and his brethren, and could not come at him for the press. And it was told him by certain which said, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee. And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.

Luke 8:19-20

Who qualify as the “mother and brethren” of Christ? They are those who “hear” the word of God and “do it”, those who more and more obey the word of God from the heart. Unsaved man cannot obey God's word. A saved man will, from the heart, understand and obey God's word. God, in His mercy has revealed to man the evidence of salvation.

And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

1 John 2:3-5

How do you and I hear? Do we hear with spiritual life as evidenced by obedience to God, or do we seem to hear but “bring no fruit to perfection"?

And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

Luke 8:14-15

No Fear

It is very common to see bumper stickers and signs that say “No Fear”. The sign communicates a picture of someone who is not intimidated by anyone or anything. This person will fear no one or no circumstance. The sign sometimes has jagged edges which communicates the thought of superior, untouchable power. This is the posture communicated by many movies in which the good guy has almost super human power to overcome events and circumstances that are truly impossible to endure. The hero narrowly escapes destruction and death with only a bruise or scratch. Technology provides the capability to enhance these scenes to extremes that are truly unreal. Mankind likes heroes with no fear. We can live vicariously through movies or images generated in our minds by signs and advertisements. We like to take on the nature of superhuman heroes and forget our weaknesses. It is a great mind game. We love “no fear” to the point where we can laugh in the face of death and walk out the hero. But it is a lie. We have no power to keep ourselves alive for a moment. Every person is just one breath away from eternity. We have no knowledge of the day of our death and we have no control over what happens to us when we die.

There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.

Ecclesiastes 8:8

If a man dies unsaved, the next thing he consciously knows is that he is standing before God as his Judge.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

2 Corinthians 5:10

At that point, unsaved man will be filled with fear and terror. It will be too late to escape God’s judgment.

Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.

2 Corinthians 5:11

The unsaved will not escape the second death.

But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Revelation 21:8

Then all of the thoughts of “No Fear” and invincible superheroes will be gone. Everything of this world will be gone from the unsaved except their accountability before God. They will experience the ultimate fear that will never end. Man fears death. Man will hide that fear through the pursuit of work, pleasure, philosophy, or other means, but it is there buried deep in his heart. Man works to deceive himself and does so quite satisfactorily.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Jeremiah 17:9

The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.

Psalm 9:17

Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.

Ecclesiastes 8:11

But no unsaved person will escape.

Shall they escape by iniquity? in thine anger cast down the people, O God.

Psalms 56:7

God tells us whom we should fear.

And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Matthew 10:28

Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.

Isaiah 8:13

Only God can move someone from the unsaved arrogance of “No Fear” to fearing and trembling before God.

Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Philippians 2:12

For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Titus 3:3-7

The superheroes and the signs of “No Fear” are some of great deceptions in this world to help unsaved man forget God and strengthen himself in his wickedness. They communicate a great lie and bring deceptive comfort to the heart of unsaved man.

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

Galatians 6:7

For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

Ecclesiastes 12:14

Barabbas

Pontius Pilate recognized the innocence of Christ during His trial. Jesus spoke to Pilate and confessed He is the King of the Jews. Though Jesus did not answer any accusation brought against him by the Jews, Pilate knew they brought Jesus to trial because they were envious of Him. The Jews had a custom to ask the governor to release a prisoner at the Passover. Pilate knew it would be wrong to condemn Jesus and therefore asked the Jews if he should release Him to fulfill their custom. The chief priests motivated the crowd to request that Pilate release the criminal Barabbas and crucify Christ.

And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate. And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering said unto him, Thou sayest it. And the chief priests accused him of many things: but he answered nothing. And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing? behold how many things they witness against thee. But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate marvelled. Now at that feast he released unto them one prisoner, whomsoever they desired. And there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection. And the multitude crying aloud began to desire him to do as he had ever done unto them. But Pilate answered them, saying, Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews? For he knew that the chief priests had delivered him for envy.

Mark 15:1-10

By all worldly reason, Jesus was innocent and Pilate’s sentence of crucifixion was a horrible distortion of justice. But we know Christ was being judged by the Father for the sins of the elect and He indeed was guilty. Therefore He had no answer to the charges brought against Him.

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

2 Corinthians 5:21

2 Corinthians 5:10 states a principle that applies to each person.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

2 Corinthians 5:10

Every person must appear before God on the last day where God will judge each thought, word, and deed committed in this life. The punishment for each sin is eternal damnation. This it true for each person and no one will escape. The unspeakable marvel is that Christ stood at that judgment seat for His people at the time of the cross. He completely fulfilled the judgment and legal requirements of punishment in hell for the elect. The Greek word for “judgment seat” in 2 Corinthians 5:10 is “bema”. In Matthew and John, God discloses that Jesus stood before the “judgment seat”, as the word “bema” is used in the following verses.

When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.

Matthew 27:19

When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha.

John 19:13

Jesus took the place of Barabbas. Barabbas was a murderer, a robber, and had committed insurrection.

And there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection.

Mark 15:7

Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber.

John 18:40

Barabbas is a picture of all of the elect, for whom Christ died. Insurrection, murder, and robbery are the essence of sin. Adam and Eve committed insurrection in the Garden of Eden. God was their lawgiver but they rebelled against Him, desiring to overthrow His rule. The heart of man is bent on murder, desiring ultimately to murder their Creator and exalt himself as supreme. Unregenerate man robs God of the worship He rightly deserves and seeks to glory in self-righteousness and sin. Romans 3 speaks clearly about the heart of unsaved man.

As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes.

Romans 3:10-19

We are filthy with sin and must suffer the consequences for our insurrection, murder, and robbery. We have offended our holy Creator and the price is eternal. The sinner will never come to the end of the punishment of his or her sin. God, in perfect love, paid the price the sinner could never complete to give His people eternal life.

And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight.

Colossians 1:21-22

All glory for the salvation of the elect belongs to God.

Running In Life

We sometimes talk about life as a race. We are busy, want to do many things, and have little time. So, we run here, and run there, and are in a hurry to fulfill our responsibilities and reach our goals. Everyone knows he or she has limited time and tries to pack as much in the day as possible based on priorities. People may waste time, but wasting time is a priority for some. God speaks about running in this life. In 1 Corinthians 9 God speaks of the Christian life as running a race. The Christian is disciplined unto righteousness and obedience to God as they traverse through life with the goal of pleasing God.

Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

God will strengthen the believer to obedience through His word. He gives his children resurrected souls and energizes them to obedience unto righteousness and preservance.

I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart.

Psalm 119:32

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31

God speaks about Christ the Bridegroom as One who runs a race. His work is to do the will of His Father and to save the elect, His bride.

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.

Psalm 19:1-5

As God saves His elect and brings them to spiritual life they respond by “running” unto Him. Once alive in Christ the believer desires fellowship with God.

Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.

Isaiah 55:5

The child of God lives a different life than he or she did in the past and which affects his or her lifestyle and, often, friendships.

Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:

1 Peter 4:4

God speaks about His eyes that see all things done in the creation. Nothing escapes His sight.

Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, the hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.

Zech