Summer Olympics of 1992

By His Side

 

It was the summer Olympics of 1992.  It was the quarter finals of the 400 meter sprint.  British athlete Derek Redmond was one of the favorites for the gold medal.  A lifetime of training had brought him to this moment.  The starter’s gun fired and the athletes burst out of the blocks.

 

Halfway through the race Derek Redmond was leading.  Then disaster struck.  His hamstring muscle tore and he collapsed on the track.  The agony on his tear-streaked face was both physical and mental.  It was a crushing blow.

 

Medical attendants ran to assist him.  Derek waved them away.  He came to race and he was going to finish.  He got to his feet and started hobbling down the track.

 

The crowd was mesmerized.  Officials didn’t know what to do.  And then an older man ran onto the track.  He brushed off officials who tried to stop him.  He ran up beside Derek and placed his arms around him.

 

The man was Derek Redmond’s father, Jim.

 

“You don’t have to do this son,” Jim said.

 

“Yes I do!” Derek replied.

 

“Then we’ll finish this race together,” came the response from Derek’s father.

 

Arm in arm, with agony on Derek’s face, tears on his father’s, Derek and Jim continued down the track.  Derek buried his face in his father’s shoulder.  His father’s strong shoulders carried his son physically and emotionally.  Jim waved away officials who tried to stop them.

 

Finally, accompanied by a now roaring crowd, standing on their feet and applauding, Derek Redmond crossed the line.  It became the defining moment of the Barcelona Olympics.

 

Derek Redmond didn’t win an Olympic medal but he finished the race with his Dad by his side. *

 

Derek Redmond’s injury in that 400-meter race pictures our condition due to our sin: because of our wrong choices, we’ve failed and fallen on the track, unable to finish – unless we have help.

 

God saw our condition and came to our rescue.  By the merits of Jesus’ atoning death on the cross for our sins (1 John 2:2; 4:10), God “picks us up off the track” by forgiving us of our sins and will carry us across the finish line to victory, if we’ll continue to cling to Him through our trusting obedience.

 

We can share in Christ’s victory over sin and death if we will accept God’s offer of salvation and eternal life on His terms.  God will save and give eternal life to those who place their faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from their sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).  Then, as we seek to follow Him faithfully, the blood that Jesus shed for our redemption will continue to cleanse us from that disqualifying sin (1 John 1:7).

 

And one day, we’ll cross the “finish line” ONLY because of what Jesus has done for us, and we will receive the crown of life (Revelation 2:10).

 

Won’t YOU cling to the Savior through your trusting obedience?  He will carry you to the finish line, victoriously.

 

-- David A. Sargent

 

* Slightly adapted from “Derek Redmond Finishes at the Olympics” at www.storiesforpreaching.com

 

David A. Sargent

Best sermons about Abraham

Series: Abraham – A Journey of Faith                                   David Owens

Sermon 2: “The First Steps of Faith”                                              6.4.17

Text: Genesis 12:1-6

 

Introduction:

A.   Let’s imagine for a minute that you are lost in the desert.

       1.  Your throat is parched and your tongue is dry.

            a.         You tell yourself, “Just one sip of water, I’d give anything for just one sip!”

       2.  Then you see something up ahead – a water pump is sitting there in the middle of the desert.

            a.         As you stagger closer, you see something hanging on a strap from the pump handle.

b.    What is hanging there is a canteen and with the canteen is a message that says: “Beneath your feet is all the fresh, cool water you will ever need. But the pump will not work unless it is primed with water. The canteen contains enough water to prime the pump, but if you drink any of the water first, the pump will not work.”

            3.         You take the canteen in your hand, shake it, and feel the water sloshing inside.

                        a.         Now what do you do?

                        b.         Should you believe the promise written on the sign?

                        c.         What if it is a hoax?

d.       What if there is nothing but dry sand beneath the pump?

e.       What if the only water for miles is in that canteen?

f.       If you trust that sign, you could be pouring your life away.

            4.         A decision must be made.

a.    Will you drink from the canteen or will you take the only water you have seen for days and pour it down the throat of that pump?

b.    Will you put your trust in what you can touch and see, or will you have faith in a promise?

 

B.        Abraham was a man who believed the promise of God.

1.    Many times in his life, Abraham came to a point where all he had to go on was the equivalent of a canteen and a promise.

2.    Yet, as we will see in this series, he was repeatedly willing to believe God’s promise, so he poured out his canteen and primed the pump of God’s blessing in his own life and in the lives of his descendants.

3.    Abraham was an ordinary man with an extraordinary willingness to place his trust in the promises of God.

4.    Nevertheless, as we will see, as extraordinary as he may have been, he was not perfect in his journey of faith, and like him, we won’t be perfect in our journey of faith, either.

 

C.    Last week, we started this series by discussing the benefits of studying biographies, especially the biographies of biblical characters.

       1.  Today, I want us to look at the beginning of Abraham’s story and to see his first steps of faith.

2.    As I said last week, the life of Abraham teaches us much about the matter of walking with God by faith.

3.    And since that, after all, is the goal of the Lord for all His children, to walk by faith, Abraham can teach us how to do just that.

 

I.          The Story

A.   Abraham was originally called Abram, and it was not until years later that God changed his name to Abraham (his name change will prove to be deeply significant as we will see when we get to that part of the story).

       1.  Hopefully, we won’t be confused if I call him Abraham throughout our study.

2.    We meet Abraham for the first time in the closing verses of Genesis 11 and the opening verses of Genesis 12.

 

B.    The Bible says: This is the account of Terah.  Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. 28 While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth. 29 Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milcah and Iscah. 30 Now Sarai was barren; she had no children.

31 Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there.

32 Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Haran.

1 The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

4 So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.

6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring  I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the LORD , who had appeared to him (Genesis 11:27 – 12:7)

 

C.    It is important for us to understand that there was a time in the distant past, some 4000 years ago, when Abraham was a mere nobody.

1.  Abraham had humble beginnings and was just another nameless face in the crowd of humanity.

2.    Abraham was born in the Chaldean city of Ur in Mesopotamia and lived many years of his life in obscurity.

3.    Ur was located in what we call Iraq today.

a.       It was in the southeast corner of Iraq, some 75 miles north of the Kuwaiti border.

b.    It was, at Abraham’s time, located at the place where the Euphrates River emptied into the Persian Gulf.

c.    At that time, it was a bustling seaport.

d.    History also says that this city was a center of intellectual activity.

e.    A large public library has been unearthed that contained thousands of ancient texts written in clay.

f.     That region was also well suited for raising flocks and herds - which may account for the fact that Abraham was, for the whole of his life, involved with sheep and cattle.

4.    Another important thing we know from history about Ur is that it was a stronghold for idol worship.

a.    Although everyone in the world had at one time known that there is only one God who created everything, over time people had begun to come up with their own gods.

b.    People in ancient Mesopotamia worshiped a pantheon of mythical gods ruled by the moon god, Nanna, whom they regarded as “the lord of heaven” and “the divine creator.”

c.    Like his relatives and neighbors, and before God appeared to him, Abraham likely worshiped idols and accepted mythology as truth.

d.    Look at what Joshua, the man who succeeded Moses in leading Israel, said to the Israelites: “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your forefathers, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the River and worshiped other gods.  But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the River and led him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants.” (Josh. 24:2-3)

 

D.        How wonderful it is to realize that God chose Abraham by grace.

1.  It’s doubtful Abraham had even heard of the one true Creator God before that point.

a.    By an act of pure grace, God dipped His hand into that idolatrous hole and selected Abraham out of all people.

b.    The Lord chose Abraham for reasons known only in heaven.

c.    God called Abraham out of the most wretched of conditions, spiritually speaking!

2.    And when you get right down to it, you and I are no different than Abraham.

a.    We might not have served stone gods and worshiped the heavenly bodies, but we were all trapped in the same darkness that enveloped the life of Abraham!

b.    It thrills me to know that we serve a God Who can reach into the blackest heart and turn on the light of His glory and presence.

c.    I praise God that He can take a life that was so hopeless and barren and can turn it into one of the greatest examples of the power of faith and grace that can be found anywhere!

3.    And so the point I hope we realize is this: regardless of where we came from or of what baggage we carry with us now, God is able to come where we are and change us for His glory.

       a.       No one is beyond the touch of the Lord!  Not even a pagan idolater like Abraham!

 

E.         The Scriptures pass over Abraham’s early life in Ur with only a brief mention.

1.    It is as if God wants us to know that the real life of Abraham didn’t truly begin until his momentous encounter with God.

2.    In Acts 7, Stephen, the first Christian martyr, gave a speech in which he told us about that time when God appeared to Abraham and called him to walk by faith.

3.    Stephen said: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran. 3 ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’ 4 “So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living.” (Acts 7:2-4)

 

F.    We are not told how the call came to Abraham, but we are told that God spoke to this man in his darkness and called him into the light to follow a new path.

1.    Abraham was called to leave behind everything he loved and everything that had shaped his life up to that point.

2.    He was ordered to leave his region, his religion and his relatives behind.

a.       For this man, and for anyone, that would be a difficult task.

3.  He was to leave his home, not knowing where he was going, or when he would arrive.

a.       He was to leave all such matters in the hand of the Lord!

4.    When the call of God does come to a life, it is a call for that person to sever all ties with the past life.

a.       God’s call is a call to a new life with new priorities and a new Lord.

b.       God’s call requires total commitment.

c.    God calls us to leave the old life behind and to begin a new life of faith, where every moment is lived in utter dependence upon the Lord alone for our every need.

d.    God calls us to follow without being concerned about the destination, we must leave the details to Him.

e.    God calls us to follow Him regardless of what it costs, where it leads or how much it hurts.

f.     It is a daily, moment by moment, journey of faith!

 

G.   When we look at Abraham’s call and his response to that call, it appears that Abraham failed to fully submit to God’s call.

1.    Remember, God’s command was: “Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.” (Gen. 12:1)

2.  The Bible says that they came to Haran and dwelled there.

a.       If you look at a map, you will find that Haran is northeast of the Promised Land.

b.       This was not where God called Abram to be!  He had not gone all the way for the Lord.

3.  Also, we notice that he failed to separate from his family.

     a.         He took his father with him and his nephew lot as well.

b.    We notice that Abraham did not leave Haran and fully follow the Lord’s command until the death of his father Terah – in that sense, Terah was a roadblock between Abraham and his doing the will of God.

 

H.        I would encourage each of us to ask ourselves: What has the Lord told me to do that I haven’t done?

1.  Have we fallen short in the obedience department?

a.       I know first-hand that not all of God’s commands are easy to obey.

b.    Some are difficult, some are frightening and some are costly, but all are to be obeyed without question by the child of God who wishes to walk by faith and be found pleasing to the Lord.

2.    Let’s allow Terah to represent the flesh and other things that hinder our progress in the things of God.

a.    What is your Terah this today?

b.    If we aren’t exactly where the Lord wants us to be, or if we aren’t doing what the Lord wants us to do, then we have a Terah.

c.    We have a roadblock between us and our doing what the Lord has told us to do.

d.    What is the thing that is holding us back this morning?

3.    Additionally, we all need to be careful that we do not stand in the way of others doing the will of God.

a.    If we aren’t careful, we just might find ourselves being a Terah to someone in our lives.

b.    Don’t let your lack of faith prevent someone else from following God fully!

4.    In the end, I would encourage us to always remember that partial obedience is simple disobedience!

a.       Until we have done all God says to do, we haven’t done what God said to do!

b.    Thankfully, God was patient with Abraham and finally brought him along to complete obedience.

c.    And thankfully, God is patient with each of us as well as we move toward complete obedience.

d.    But, it is far better for us to hear God’s voice and respond in immediate obedience, then it is for us to delay and disobey!

 

I.     As we near the conclusion of our investigation of this part of Abraham’s story, I want us to notice the promises God gave Abraham.

1.    The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (Gen. 12:1-3)

a.       God promised that He would make Abraham into a great nation (many offspring).

b.       God promised that He would make Abraham’s name great – His name is great today.

c.       God promised to protect Abraham throughout the process.

d.       And God promised to make Abraham a blessing to all the people on earth.

2.    Consider the fact that Abraham didn’t know how God would work it all out, but Abraham trusted that God would do it.

3.    God wants us to have that same kind of faith so that we can trust in all God’s promises, even though we have no idea how God will fulfill them.

a.    God wants us to come to the place where we can simply take Him at His Word and be satisfied in our hearts that He will do what He has promised to do.

4.    So, regardless of what the devil, the flesh and the world tell us, we can trust God - Every one of His promises is true!

       a.       We can depend on God to take care of us as we live by faith.

 

II.        The Application

A.   I want to end today’s lesson with the two commands we find couched in God’s promises to Abraham.

       1.  God’s gave Abraham two and the first command was “Go.”

 

B.    God commanded Abraham to go, it meant for him to leave the known and familiar for the unknown and the unfamiliar.

       1.  When God commands us to go, it often means we have to let go and put our trust in God.

       2.  I like the story told of the man who was hiking one day and fell off a steep cliff.

            a.         As he fell downward he grabbed onto a branch which temporarily stopped his fall.

            b.         To his horror, he saw that the canyon fell straight down for hundreds of feet.

c.    He knew he couldn’t hang on the branch very long and there was no way to climb up the steep wall, so he began yelling for help.

d.    After yelling for some time for help and hearing no reply, the man finally heard someone say his name.

e.    The voice said, “Jack, can you hear me?”

f.     Jack replied, “Yes, I can hear you.  I need your help.  Who are you?”

g.    The voice replied, “Jack, this is God and I can help you.  Do you trust me, Jack?”

h.    Jack said, “Yes, I trust you, God, and if you get me down from here safely, I will do anything for you.”

i.     God said, “Easy on the promises, Jack.  Let’s just get you down from there.  Now here is what I want you to do.  Listen carefully.  I want you to let go of the branch.”

j.     Jack said, “You want me to do what?”

k.    God said, “I said, ‘let go of the branch.’  Just trust me and let go and I will catch you.”

l.     After a long silence, Jack yelled, “Help!  Help!  Is there anyone else up there who can help me?”

3.    That is a lot like what God asked Abraham to do when God said, “Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.”

a.    Abraham may have asked, “But exactly where are we going? And how long will it take to get there?  Etc.  Etc.”

b.    And God likely said, “Do you trust me?  Then just let go.”

4.    I also get a chuckle when I think about the conversation Abraham must have had with his wife, Sarah.

       a.       Abraham likely said something like: “Honey, time to pack up.  We’re moving.”

       b.       Sarah said, “Where we moving to?”

       c.       Abraham replied, “I have no idea where we are going?”

       d.       Then Sarah asked, “Have you lost your mind?”

5.    Sometimes God calls us out of our comfortable, convenient spots, so we can be more productive, and when the call comes, we must go and we must let go.

6.    When is the last time you tried something new in your Christian walk and service?

a.       Is God trying to get you to move out of your comfort zone and to try something new?

b.       Are you willing to trust God by going and by letting go?

 

C.        The second command God game Abraham was to “be a blessing.”

1.  As we answer God’s call and as we go, let’s be a blessing along the way.

2.    God promised to bless Abraham, but God did so in order that Abraham might be a blessing.

a.       God doesn’t bless us so that we can hoard God’s blessings for ourselves alone.

b.       Rather, God wants us to be a channel of blessing to others.

3.    When Robert Louis Stevenson, the great Scottish novelist, was 12 years old, he was looking out into the dark from his upstairs window one night watching a man light the streetlamps.

a.    Someone came into Stevenson’s room and asked him what he was doing looking out the window, and he replied, “I am watching a man cut holes in the darkness.”

            4.         That’s exactly what God calls us to do: to “cut holes” in the spiritual darkness of our world.

a.    God wants us to be a blessing to those around us and we can do it wherever we are or in whatever position we are in.

b.       We can be a blessing in our families, workplaces, school, neighborhood, or anywhere.

c.       We can be a blessing in both big ways and little ways.

5.  I like the story of the boy walking along the seashore throwing starfish back into the ocean.

a.    A man stopped him and said, “But there must be tens of thousands of starfish on this beach. I’m afraid you won’t really be able to make much of a difference.”

b.    The boy bent down, picked up yet another starfish and threw it as far as he could into the ocean. Then he turned, smiled and said, “I made a difference to that one!”

 

D.        There is an old saying that goes, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”

1.    It took Abraham a while, but he made that step, and when he did, God began to bless him and make him a blessing.

            2.         What steps of faith have you made so far in your faith journey?

3.    What steps of faith do you and I need to make today so that we can be blessed and be a blessing?

4.    Let’s be like Abraham and answer God’s call and obey God’s commands to go and to let go, and to be a blessing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Resources:

Abraham – One Nomad’s Amazing Journey of Faith, by Charles Swindoll, Tyndale, 2014.

Friend of God – The Legacy of Abraham, Man of Faith, by Ray Stedman, Discovery House, 2010.

Created to Be God’s Friend, by Henry Blackaby, Nelson, 1999.

The Call to A Life of Faith, Sermon by Carl Allen, SermonCentral.com

Go and Be A Blessing, Sermon by C. Philip Green, SermonCentral.com

 

HYMN STUDIES - ANNOTATED METHODIST HYMNAL by Charles S. Nutter

A Bit of Methodist History Concerning Instrumental Music

In a book called: HYMN STUDIES - ANNOTATED METHODIST HYMNAL by Charles S. Nutter, published in 1884, there was hymn no. 27, "Praise The Lord." We give the first and fourth stanzas:

  1. "Praise the Lord! his glories show, Saints within his courts below, Angels round his throne above, All that see and share his love.
  4. Strings and voices, hands and hearts in the concert bear your parts; all that breathe, your Lord adore, Praise him, praise him evermore!"

What interested us particularly was the comment which followed the above hymn. Mr. Nutter, author of this Methodist Hymnal, said: "The fourth stanza would not have been admitted into any hymn book by the early Methodist. Instruments of music in the church, and especially those with strings were an abomination to them.”

"Dr. Adam Clarke [noted Methodist commentator] said, 'Music as a science I admire; but instruments of music in the house of God I abominate and abhor.'

"John Wesley ["founder" of Methodism] said, 'I have no objection to instruments of music in our chapels, provided they are neither heard not seen.'"

Readers of church history are familiar with these "quotes" - but in a Methodist Hymnal??? Hummmmm!!

- by Robert F. Turner

 

Bible study on the judgment of God

What Do We Make of God’s Judgment in the Old Testament?

 

The whole of the Bible is one grand story line. Often, however, we find ourselves separating the Old from the New Testament, as if they were two entirely different stories. The separating of the two has subsequently caused two views of God to arise in our minds: “the God of judgment” (Old Testament) and “the God of love” (New Testament).

The Bible is indeed a unified grand story and, therefore, it knows no divisions. Alec Motyer explains this well in his book: The Christian’s Pocket Guide to Loving the Old Testament: Prophecies made in the Old Testament books point to prophecies fulfilled in the New Testament books; references to the Trinity in the Old are explained in the New; and certain biblical terms used before Christ were fulfilled in their meaning when the Son of God walked the earth.

         Similarly, the character and person of God as revealed in the Old Testament cannot be separated from the God of the New. This means that his judgment towards the nations in the Old Testament has something significant to say to us about the grand story line of the Bible, meaning that it cannot be divorced from the rest of the Word

of God.

                So what do we make of God’s judgment in the Old Testament?

 

God’s judgment can be difficult for us to understand, and that is okay.

 

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9)

 

The first important thing to note is that God’s own understanding is higher than ours, as are his ways and works. So, while we can study the Bible and search its depths in an effort to know its grand storyline, we will not always be privy to the minute details of God’s actions, nor his reasons behind those actions.

 

Despite our limited understanding, however, we can make some general observations about the judgment of God as seen in many Old Testament books:

 

God’s judgment is always inseparable from his love, mercy, and grace.

 

And I will bring to an end in Moab, declares the Lord, him who offers sacrifice in the high place and makes offerings to his god. Therefore my heart moans for Moab like a flute, and my heart moans like a flute for the men of Kir-hareseth. Therefore the riches they gained have perished. (Jeremiah 48:35-36)

 

God’s love and judgment go together. In other words, our God is not either full of wrath or full of love, but he is both simultaneously. We struggle to grasp this because of the limits of our human understanding, but that does not mean that he is not so. As D.A. Carson writes:

There is nothing intrinsically impossible about the wrath and love being directed towards the same people at the same time. God in his perfections must be wrathful against his rebel image-bearers, for they have offended him; God in his perfections must be loving toward his rebel image-bearers, for he is that kind of God. (The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God, 69)

 

We see God’s love and judgment wrapped up together perfectly at the cross. Jesus Christ, the beloved Son of God, absorbs the just wrath of God. The cross is proof that what seems like dead-end judgment actually is the loving purpose of God being magnified forever. Similarly, in the Old Testament, God’s judgment on the nations points to the eventual salvation of his chosen people, the climax of which is Jesus Christ.

 

God’s judgment instructs us about God’s character and person.

 

For on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, “Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death.” (Exodus 19:11-12)

 

This passage from Exodus reveals that God is holy. It is not the mountain that will put the people to death but the sight of God’s holiness. God’s judgment teaches us about his perfection; he is so holy that no sinner can stand in his presence. It also teaches us about his generosity and mercy. For only a merciful God would provide a way to forgive in order to redeem his chosen people.

 

God’s judgment instructs us about our own character and person.

 

You felt secure in your wickedness, you said, “No one sees me”; your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray, and you said in your heart, “I am, and there is no one besides me.” But evil shall come upon you, which you will not know how to charm away; disaster shall fall upon you, for which you will not be able to atone; and ruin shall come upon you suddenly, of which you know nothing. (Isaiah 47:10-11)

 

God is speaking to his enemies, the Babylonians, in the above passage. God is holy, wise, and perfect, but his enemies are wicked, rebellious, and proud. All of us were at one point enemies of God, and some reading this might still be (Romans 5:10). We said earlier that no sinner can stand before a holy God because his righteousness and perfection reveals our own iniquities and evil. So God’s judgment informs us about our own sinful nature apart from Christ.

 

God’s judgment illuminates our need for a Great High Priest.

 

Then bring near to you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve me as priests…So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment on his heart, when he goes into the Holy Place, to bring them to regular remembrance before the Lord…Thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the people of Israel on his heart before the Lord regularly. (Exodus 28:1,29-30)

 

Before Christ, priests in the tabernacle would bear the judgment of God’s people. But in Christ, by faith, a once-rebellious sinner is covered by the Lamb’s shed blood and robed in his righteousness. Christ is our Great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14). The Old Testament stories of judgment point to our desperate need for God to provide a substitute for sinners, someone to bear their judgment and atone for their sins, which he graciously did in the person and work of his very own Son, Jesus.

 

God’s judgment foreshadows that which will come on the Last Day.

 

In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace. The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him, but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming. (Psalm 37:10-13)

 

Many Old Testament accounts of God’s judgment involve historical events: the Babylonian exile, for instance. But they also point to a greater, future reality when God will judge every person through the Lion of Judah, Jesus Christ. Matthew 24:30 says:

 

Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

 

Jesus will come again to judge mankind, when every knee will bow and tongue confess that he, indeed, is Lord. So Scripture instructs us to be ready for that day (1 Peter 4:7), sober-minded, and watchful, placing our faith and hope in Jesus Christ, who took on God’s judgment so we would never have to.

 

Source:  Unlocking the Bible, unlockingthebible.org/what-do-we-make-of-gods-judgment-in-the-old-testament/

 

Comment:

 

Matthew 24:30, quoted in the study above, may refer to the final judgment when Jesus returns, but, in the context, it may be an apocalyptic or figurative way of referring to Jesus’ judgment on Jerusalem, or even on the Roman Empire that destroyed Jerusalem and persecuted Christians, in which judgments Jesus’ reign as Son of Man, Daniel 7:13-14; Mark 9:1, is convincingly proven, despite his death on the cross some 40 years earlier. Mark 9:31.          

 

 

The Historical Aspect of Judgment

 

The Bible is not a collection of abstract ideas about God and truth. It is a record of the great acts of God. The worship of Israel and the confession of her faith consisted essentially in recounting the great acts of God (Deut. 6:20-24; 26:5-9; Judges 5:11; Ps. 66:1-6; 78; 105; 106; 145). God reveals Himself, not by giving abstract propositions about Himself, but by His concrete acts in history. God reveals Himself by His mighty deeds.

 

The great works of the Lord which are constantly celebrated in the Bible are His deeds of judgment.

All His ways are judgment. Deut. 32:4.

... a God of judgment. Isa. 30:18.

 

Whether He destroys the world by a flood, rescues Israel from Egypt, sends His people to Babylon or brings them out, all of God's acts are represented as acts of judgment. Thus God says, "'I will lay My hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out My divisions, My people the Israelites"' (Ex. 7:4, NIV). In Exodus 6:5, 6 God also links covenant and His historical acts: "'I have remembered My covenant.... "I will … redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment""' (NIV).

 

In view of the fact that the relationship between Yahweh and Israel is conceived under the form of a covenant, judgment for Israel means salvation, victory, deliverance, due to the intervention of Yahweh in virtue of His duties as the God of the covenant, together with their corollary, the punishment of those who are outside the covenant, Israel's non-Jewish enemies. This is the meaning of the acts of justice or judgments of Yahweh which the Bible interprets as victories in Judg. 5:11 and Mic. 6:15. They are victories for Israel, defeats for their enemies. On every occasion when God acts on behalf of His people He judges them, that is to say, He helps them, leads them, and saves them. The history of Israel consists of a succession of these judgments: the judgment of the world by the flood (Gen. 6:5), the judgment upon Sodom (Gen. 18:20) and on Egypt (Exod. 7:4). It will be noticed that here judgment signifies punishment because Egypt was not Israel. The judgments of Yahweh on His people are always conceived as acquittals, since judgment is deliverance and victory (Deut. 32:36; Isa. 30:18; Jer. 30:11; Ps. 135:4), with its corollary of the punishments of non-Israelites (Ps. 7:7; 9:4; 110:6).

 

In the Psalms the allusions to God as judge and to His judgments are numerous. He is celebrated as the judge of all the earth, He who judges its ends, that is to say, its limits, He who judges the world with justice (1 Sam. 2:10; Ps. 9:9; 96:13; .82:8; cf. Gen. 18:25). It may be inferred that the celebration of God and His judgments occupied an important place in worship, as also did the expectation of the judgment of Yahweh. It is certain that at the great festivals of the Temple in Jerusalem Yahweh was celebrated as the judge par excellence.9

 

There is a very important link between the words judgment and righteousness. These words are often associated. In fact, they can sometimes be used interchangeably. Judgment is not just an exercise of might. "There is a strong flavour of 'right' about the word."10

 

Abraham asked, "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Gen. 18:25).

The judgments of the Lord are always "righteous judgments" (Ps. 119:160).

He [the Lord] loveth righteousness and judgment. Ps. 33:5.

Judge me... according to Thy righteousness. Ps. 35:24.

He shall judge the world with righteousness. Ps. 96:13.

Righteousness and judgment are the habitation of His throne. Ps. 97:2.

 

When God judges, therefore, He not only decides the right, but He carries out the right. This is not a detached, abstract judgment. As Leon Morris indicates, it is different from our Western concept of the cold neutrality of an impartial judge. It is dynamic action, involvement, passion for the right.

 

The dynamic character of the word must be stressed. It is not an intellectual activity carried out in academic detachment. It is not an exercise in balancing evidence. It is an activity of discrimination and vindication. He who does mishpat [justice, judgment] seeks out the wrongdoer to punish him, and the righteous to vindicate his cause.11

 

This is a very important point because it shows us that God's judgment is not a mere trial but includes action.

 

This leads us to a definition of the biblical word righteousness. Righteousness is God's acting in judgment to carry out His covenantal purposes. When God reveals His righteousness, He reveals His acts of judgment.                 

 

9. Von Alimen, Vocabulary of the Bible, p. 209.

10. Morris, Biblical Doctrine of Judgment, p. 10.

11. Ibid., p. 17.

 

Source: The Doctrine of Judgment in The Old and New Testaments, http://www.presenttruthmag.com                                

 

 

In Christ we can Face the Final Judgment with Confidence

 

Therefore Jesus is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. 16 For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. 17 For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. 18 Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood. 19 For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 20 saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you.” 21 And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship. 22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. 23 Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

 

24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, 26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Hebrews 9:15-28

 

God offered His own Son as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. In fact, Jesus “put away sin by the sacrifice of himself”!

 

God accepted the sacrifice, brought Jesus back to life, and accepted His entry into the heavenly Holy of Holies, where he appeared “in the presence of God on our behalf.”

 

“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”

 

Thus, Christians can face the final judgment with supreme confidence, because of Jesus their Saviour and High Priest.

 

The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead. Acts 17:30-31

 

Dear friend, if you will repent of your sins, and turn in faith and baptism to Christ as Lord and Saviour, you too can face the judgment with confidence. The sooner the better, for we don’t know how near that judgment is.

 

“Build your hopes on things eternal: hold to God’s unchanging hand.” (Hold To God’s Unchanging Hand, Jennie Wilson, 1904)                            

                              [David has a new tract available on judgment]

 

David Hunter

Refusing to See the Importance of Water in God's Cleansing

 

It’s amazing how the Scriptures have a way of showing the foolishness of those who prefer their church traditions to the word of God. Matthew 15:1-14. You often hear well-intentioned souls ask: “How can a physical act, like being baptized in water, possibly have anything to do with spiritual salvation from sin?” It’s a bit like asking: “How can dipping seven times in the Jordan possibly cure a Syrian army commander of leprosy?” 2 Kings 5:1-16

 

Though Naaman commanded respect,

Leprosy his hygiene had wrecked;

News from a slave girl

Put hope in his world,

So down south, to Israel he trekked.

The prescription seemed quite spurious!

Hearing it, Naaman grew furious!

In Jordan, to dip?!

How wasted, his trip!

Wishing now, he’d not been so curious!

But advice was given to the Syrian:

“Try the Jordan — go washing therein!”

And so, trusting in Heaven,

Self-immersed, times seven;

Cured he was — with the cleanest of skin!

 

https://rockdoveblog.wordpress.com/2016/11/02/commander-naaman-the-syrian-cured-of-leprosy/

 

There are a number of ways of showing that water baptism is essential to salvation, but none better than simply reading and accepting the word of God!

 

Let’s see the clear connection between grace, Jesus, faith, obedience, born again, baptism, purification and salvation. I’ll highlight key words or expressions:

 

1 Peter 1:3-25

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. 12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; 24 for

“All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass.

The grass withers, and the flower falls,

25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

 

Summarising the key elements of this 1 Peter 1 Scripture, we see that the precious blood of Christ purifies and saves us when:

1)    God causes us to be born again through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and

2)    We obey the truth of the gospel preached to us.

 

Then, when we look at chapter 3 of Peter’s same letter, we see the following:

 

1 Peter 3:18-21

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, 20 because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

Summarising the key elements in 1 Peter 3, we conclude that Christ saves us through his death and resurrection when we are baptized in water. “Because they formerly did not obey” so as to be brought safely through the water in the days of Noah, so today there are many who will not obey in water baptism to be saved! I believe you can see why obedience is mentioned in this 1 Peter 3 context, just as it is included in the 1 Peter 1 teaching.

 

If we then harmonize the 1 Peter 1 words of God with the 1 Peter 3 words of God, we have to conclude that God causes us to be born again and purifies our soul through the death, blood and resurrection of Christ, when we obey the gospel in being baptized in water.

 

This has to be the case. Neither the Holy Spirit nor Peter contradicts himself. Then notice in 1 Peter 5:12 where Peter said that what he had written in his letter was the “true grace of God,” which he then urges we are to “stand firm” in!! Everything in God’s word is an aspect of His true grace. Compare Acts 20:32; 18:8,27.

 

Let us see this by also harmonizing some more Scriptures:

 

Hebrews 5:8-9

Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,

 

Hebrews 9:11-14,26

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God … But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

 

Hebrews 10:19-22

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

 

Notice from these Scriptures in Hebrews that in our obedience in water baptism (which can only be what “bodies washed with pure water” in 10:22 refers to), our hearts are “sprinkled clean from an evil conscience” (another way of saying our souls are saved) and our bodies are “washed in pure water”. In other words, the blood sacrifice of Jesus brings about our eternal redemption when our hearts are purified in the waters of baptism. The ceremonial washings in water and sprinklings with blood of the Old Testament foreshadowed the saving blood of Christ and washing in baptism of the New Testament. Compare John 3:5,23-27; 1 Corinthians 6:11; Titus 3:5; Hebrews 6:2; 9:9-12; 1 Peter 3:21.

 

Note “pure water.” Why pure water? I’ll let you think on that before we come back to it later.

 

So we essentially have 1 Peter saying the same thing that Hebrews says.

 

Now let’s see a few more Scriptures that wrap up a conclusive argument:

 

Acts 15:3

describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles,

 

Acts 15:7-11

Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, 9 and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. 10 Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”

 

God bore witness by giving Cornelius the Holy Spirit to speak in tongues, just as God bore witness when He gave the Holy Spirit to the apostles to speak in tongues on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. God bearing witness is not God saving! The Spirit didn’t save them in the act of speaking in tongues; He enabled them to speak in tongues so the Jewish Christians would accept Gentiles as being eligible for baptism wherein was salvation! What Peter says here in Acts 15, after the conversion of Cornelius and his household, as recorded in Acts 10, has to agree with what Peter said in 1 Peter 1 and 3! Believing the gospel, having hearts cleansed by faith, and saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, as stated by Peter in Acts 15, has to be equivalent to being born again by obeying the truth in being baptized in water - as in 1 Peter!

 

Let’s confirm this by noting some verses from the actual conversion of Cornelius:

 

Acts 10:33,43,47-48; 11:18

Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the

Lord … To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins

through his name …

Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ …

11:18 … they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

 

Paul’s conversion:

 

Acts 22:16

And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’

 

When the sinner obeys the gospel by being baptized into Christ, he connects with the death and resurrection of Christ and is thus set free from sin to walk in newness of life in Christ:

 

Romans 6:16-18,3-4,6

Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness …

… Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life … We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

 

In other words: sins washed away,  born again, slaves of righteousness … just as Jesus taught:

 

Mark 16:15-16

And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

 

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. John 3:5

 

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Hebrews 10:19-22

 

1.    Because we have confidence to enter heaven because of Jesus’ blood,

2.    we can draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith,

3.    having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience

4.    and our bodies washed with pure water.

 

Why “pure” water? Because in the water of baptism, God “purifies” the heart and conscience of the sinner who has come to Him with a true heart in full assurance of faith!!

 

What God causes and grants in salvation is effective when we believe and obey in baptism.

 

In the same way, the Syrian commander was cleansed of his leprosy when he did as God commanded. The water may not have looked very effective, but God used it to cleanse his body.

 

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” 20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 1 Corinthians 1:18-20

 

Dear friend, trust God. Do it His way. Many things that may seem a little foolish to us, are, in truth, full of God’s wisdom and power … even water baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus. Note in Colossians 2:11-12 what God’s power can accomplish in baptism if we have faith: remove our sins and raise us up to live with Christ.

 

to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge … In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. Colossians 2:2-3,11-12.

 

Let the word of God speak! Receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. James 1:21

 

--David Hunter