Politics, Prime Ministers, and Peter

As you may have noticed, I haven't been writing much on this blog. One of the reasons is that I have been busy writing Bible Study lessons and a few sermons. But the bear has come out of hibernation; at least for a short time. There has been something weighing on my mind, that I feel is important to address.

    If you love truth, justice and righteousness, it is likely you are not pleased with the current political situation in Canada, especially with the last federal election. And that displeasure is understandable. I understand it too. Our leaders often act foolish and unjust. Unfortunately this decline in the moral condition of our politicians will most likely continue. As this decline continues, we more and more need to be reminded of how we as Christians ought to conduct our actions and attitudes toward our government. So Peter's words in 1 Peter 2 are very needed.

    Peter is writing his letter to Christians who are scattered abroad and in the midst of persecution. In chapter 2:12, Peter tells them to "keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may on account of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the days of visitation."

Peter then goes from exhorting them to have excellent behavior, to explaining his readers how they were to have excellent behavior as they related to the authorities. 

13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, 14 or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. 

Why should they submit to the government?

15 For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. 16 Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.


 17 Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.

Consider this last verse. 
We know we need to submit to the authorities. We are to obey them so long as they don't tell us to do something that is in opposition to God's law. It is clear we can't lead rebellions to overthrow the government. At least I hope that is clear from the text. But Peter goes further than that. Peter commands us to honor the king. 

This word to honor is found at the first and last part of the verse. It has the meaning of treating someone with respect, to treat graciously, to give proper recognition. So, Peter tells us to show respect to all people. Then at the end of the verse, he tells us to show respect especially to the king or emperor. Think how hard this command was for those Christians. The emperor and those in government were persecuting them. Those in government were pagan to the core and morally corrupt. And yet Peter still tells them to show respect for those in authority. 

Why were they to show this honor? 
First, because like all men, they were made in the image of God and therefore were to be treated with respect. 
Second, those in government were put in that position by God, therefore they were to be respected.  

The question this text asks of you is this; 'do I show respect to those in government? It is not enough to submit to them, but do I honor them?' 

So much of what I see on Facebook as it relates to politics, falls far short of this command. People use insults and derogatory slurs toward the Prime Minister, President or some other member of government. Then, there are the political cartoons that demean politicians. It seems to me that for some people, because some politician is godless, it gives them the freedom to insult them as if that is their duty.

But for the Christian, these things should not be. You may say that is how things are in the world. But we are called to a higher standard. God calls us to live according to His standard not the low standard of unregenerate people. 

We can disagree with the government. We can point out when they are wrong. We can use lawful means to bring good change. But as we do this, our text "honor the king", should be in our mind. We need to do this with respect, kindness, civility and grace. 

Brad

Fire From Heaven?

   It was time. Jesus knew that the time had come for Him to make His way to Jerusalem, where He would be betrayed, tortured and die on the the cross. The cup of the wrath of God would soon be poured out on Him. Yet He resolutely set His face to go to Jerusalem because of His love to do the Father's will and His love for His people whom He came to die for.

    Luke 9:51-56 starts a new section in the book. Jesus' ministry is coming to an end. He starts His journey to Jerusalem. As He heads into Samaritan territory, Jesus sends messengers ahead of Him into the next town to make arrangements for Him. Maybe they were to find a place of lodgings and some food for the evening meal. However, Jesus' messengers don't receive a warm welcome in town. The Samaritans refused to allow them to enter the town since they were on their way to Jerusalem. The Samaritan and the Jews didn't exactly get along. They had a long history of conflicts and differences in theology. Both group detested each other. Simply because Jesus was going to Jerusalem, the center of Jewish worship, and not Mount Gerizim, the center of Samaritan worship, the Samaritan wanted nothing to do with Jesus and His disciples.

    This was a great insult against Jesus and His disciples. Now they would have to travel farther to find a welcoming town. Feelings of outrage were felt among the disciples. James and John were so indignant that they asked Jesus if they could command fire from heaven to fall down on these miserable Samaritans. Evidently, they remembered the story of Elijah who commanded fire to consume the fifty soldiers who came to bring him back to the king of Israel. See 2 Kings 1:9-16 for the full account.There, the king and his soldiers had not respected the authority of the Elijah as a prophet who was to call kings to obedience to God's word. Surely since Jesus was insulted, they should be allowed to wipe that village off the map. But they didn't have their Master's compassion and grace.

   Jesus forbids them to carry out their plans. In fact, He rebuked them for their suggestion. Wasn't He now walking toward the cross so sinners could be saved, even these Samaritans? Here again is another example of  how Jesus is so different than His disciples. We, along with them, are quick to condemn others. We quickly write off people as hopeless because they reject the gospel when they hear it. We see wicked men and women in the world living in rebellion toward God and often our first reaction is a prayer for God to smite them down. Instead of being quick to show and pray for mercy and grace, we are quick to pray for judgement. Often we see the ungodly of this world as the enemy to be opposed instead of seeing them as doomed sinners on the brink of hell. Jesus is, however, very patient. He bears with the insults of people for often a very long time. He extend grace to them in the gospel. Jesus gives them time to repent. He delights in showing mercy. Although judgement will come from God on those who live in rebellion against Him, He first extends grace in this life on earth.

 After Jesus had ascended to heaven and the Spirit had come, the gospel came to these very same people who had rejected Jesus. Philip came first preaching the gospel to the Samaritans after the death of Stephen. Acts 8:5-6. When the apostles heard how the Samaritans had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. Acts 8:14. Remember this is the very same John who had wanted to smite the Samaritans with fire in Luke 9:54. Instead, this time John and Peter came preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans. Acts 8:25. Maybe even in the same village that had rejected Jesus and His disciples earlier. They had learn the lesson well from their Master. And may we learn that lesson well too.

Brad

 

The Dread of Demons

    When it comes to demons, people often fall into two extremes. On one hand, some people overemphasize them by constantly seeing the work of demons behind every event and sin. For them, spiritual warfare is fighting demons in various ways. On the other hand, others ignore demons. They don't consider that they are real and active. Perhaps they think that demonic activity belongs to the past or to some far off country. The truth is that demons are active in our world, and likely more than we think even in our so-called civilized Western culture. Demons are incredibly powerful and wicked. But an awesome and comforting truth is that the Lord Jesus is infinitely greater than the demons. To show this, I will look at Luke 8:26-27, Mark 5:1-17, Mathew 8:28-34.


The incredible power of demons

   The Lord Jesus has just shown that He rules over wind and wave by calming the sea of Galilee during a violent storm. He and His disciples landed at the shore of the region of the Gadarenes. There they are met by two demon-possessed men. One of them seems to be the most prominent of the two and is the focus of Luke and Mark. We are told that these men were extremely violent, so much so that no one could pass in that area due to their violence. It seems that the people in that area had at times tried to capture these men and bind them with shackles and chains. But incredibly, the demons had given such strength to the men that the chains and shackles were broken. No one was able to subdue the demon-possessed man. Nor was this man indwelt by just one demon. The name of the demon-possessed man was Legion because he had many demons in him. A legion was a military unit of 6000 men. So this man had many demons, although maybe not 6000. Legion and his lesser companion must have been a great terror to the people in that area, causing fear and worry. This account shows us the great power of demons. On our own, we could do nothing against them. They could, if God allowed, utterly overwhelm us by their might. It is foolish to toy with the occult and is extremely dangerous.

The incredible wickedness of demons

   The demons are very powerful and they use that power for evil purposes. The demons in Legion tormented him. They caused him to live among the tombs, where he lived without clothes on. He was always screaming and cutting himself with rocks. At other times, the demons drove this man into the desert. All this had gone on for a long time. Poor man! Consider as well, the case of the demon-possessed boy whom Jesus healed, in which the demon cruelly tried to destroy this boy. These demons used their cruelty to bring pain and suffering on these people. There is no goodness in a demon. There is not one drop of kindness or goodwill. There is only a black evil heart that delights in doing wickedness.

   Such power! Such wickedness! The demons are a dangerous and terrifying enemy. If that is where it ends then we have no hope against such beings. But there is hope for those who love and know the Lord Jesus.

The Dread of Demons

   Perhaps as the demon-possessed man saw the boat approach, they ran out as usual to drive off these invaders. but as they got closer, they realized Who was in the boat. Even from a long distance away they knew it was Jesus. And when Jesus got on shore the demon-possessed man ran up and bowed down before Jesus. The demons begged Jesus not to torment them. Throughout the interaction between Jesus and the demons, Jesus shows He is in total control of these powerful beings. They are afraid of Him. They know He has the power to torment them and judge them. He asks the questions and they give the answers. They can't demand anything and can only beg before him like a dog before its master. He commands they leave, and leave they must. The demon must even ask permission just to enter some pigs, which they drown in the lake, showing again their wickedness. There is no good versus evil struggle. God doesn't need to struggle against His foes. The infinite power of the Almighty is not even close to a match for the demons. Jesus is Master over all, even over the demons.

  This is a great comfort for us. This is a world filled with demonic activity. They are much more powerful than us and very wicked. And yet for those who have been forgiven by Jesus and follow Him, they are no longer objects of dread. The power and presence of Jesus protects us from them.With Him at our right hand, we will never be shaken even with demons all around us for they must bow before The Dread of Demons, Our Lord and Savior Jesus.

Brad

The Compassion of A Tired Messiah

    As I study the scriptures and see glorious truths, I often want to write about it. However the problem I have in regard to this blog is that, when I start working on a blog post in my head about the text, I tend to develop a sermon rather than a blog post. The text deserves more than just a few paragraphs. I don't have the time or space to be writing sermons. But I decided to try to write a post about a text I had considered.

    The text I want to consider is Luke 9:10-11 and related verses in Mark 6:30-34 and Matt 14:13-14.

     Jesus needed a break. His disciples needed a break. Mark says that they hadn't even had time to eat because the crowds were swarming around them desperate for Jesus' help. The disciples had just returned from a tour of ministry as they preached, healed and cast out demons in the Jewish countryside and villages. Also around this time, Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist. All these events prompted  Jesus to wisely take a rest for Him and His disciples. They were worn out mentally, emotionally, and physically. So Jesus took His twelve disciples on a boat across the lake of Galilee to a deserted place. I am sure that they were all looking forward to some rest and relaxation.

   But look! As they reach the shore, there was a small crowd of people waiting for them, and perhaps as they looked in the distance they could see more people streaming to the spot. It is not hard to imagine what they were thinking as they saw these crowd which meant the end to all their plans to relax and refresh. Some perhaps groaned at this change in plans. Others may have complained and grumbled about the crowds. Still others may have shot an angry look at those miserable people that never seemed to leave them alone. I know if I was in their place, I would have had something of the same feelings. But what did Jesus think and feel when He saw the crowds?

  Luke tells us He welcomed them. Mark explains that He had compassion on the people. Why? Because they were like sheep without a shepherd. The leaders of Israel were to be the spiritual shepherds of God's people. They were to teach them faithfully and accurately God's word. But they failed to do that. In fact they used God's people for their own selfish purposes. They taught lies instead of truth. They led them into error instead of wisdom. They gave them a bad example. The leaders of Israel cared nothing for the people. So when Jesus saw the crowds, He saw a people who were spiritually hopeless and lost and it moved Him to compassion. His first response is not the expressions of a selfish heart, but of an unselfish heart that cared deeply about the welfare of others.

    The spiritual needs of the crowd moved Him to compassion which resulted in Him laboring to meet those needs even though He must have been tired and weary. Jesus met their needs by teaching them about the kingdom of God. He didn't only seek to meet their spiritual needs as the Good Shepherd, but He also sought to meet their physical needs. He healed their sick and later, created enough food to feed all of them with some left over. Notice that Jesus doesn't just say, 'well, I'll teach them for an hour and then shoo them away.' No, He spends all afternoon and some of the evening ministering to the crowds. Consider also that many in this crowd didn't care about Jesus at all. Many were there only to get healed or to see some excitement. Yet Jesus still feels compassion for them. How amazing is Jesus! How unlike us! What a Savior! What a God!

Brad

The Greatest Prophet Who Was Too Bad To Be A Slave

    Okay, Pop Quiz! Who was the greatest Old Testament saint? If you answered Abraham, Moses, or David, you would be wrong. Those would usually be our first choices for the greatest person, but these people are not the greatest. According to Jesus, who should know since He determines what greatness is, John the Baptist is the greatest person in the Old Testament. (Matt 11:11) As I was studying Luke 3, I was struck by the character and message of John the Baptist. I want to share that with you in this blog post.

    John the Baptist had a most unique and exalted position. The angel told his father Zacharias that his son would go as a forerunner before the Lord and would turn many people back to the Lord their God. (Luke 1:16-17) In fact, hundreds of years before, in the prophecies of Malachi and Isaiah, it was foretold about John and his ministry. (Luke 1:17, Luke 3:4-6) For hundreds of years people had waited and wondered about the coming of the Messiah. Now John was given the task of announcing His coming and preparing people to receive Him.

    How were people to prepare for the coming of the Messiah? John told the people to prepare by repenting. They needed to turn from their sins and turn towards God and righteousness. And when the people were convinced that they needed God's forgiveness, they were baptized by John in the Jordan to show to all that they were guilty sinners who needed to be cleansed by God.( Luke 3:3) John warned the crowds to stop trusting in their relationship to Abraham for salvation. Being part of God's covenant people didn't save anyone. (Luke 3:8)  It is repentance and the fruits that follow that saves a person. John emphasized that repentance is revealed by holy lives. He called people to show compassion to others, to not be greedy and steal, and to avoid oppressing others.(Luke 3:8-14) It was this message that John preached and exhorted to the people with urgency because judgment was near at hand. The Judge was coming and they needed to avoid His justice by repenting of their sins now. (Luke 3:9, 17)

    Few men have had the courage of John the Baptist. He called the hypocrites that came out to him a "brood of vipers". Not exactly a term of affection, but it was true.(Luke 3:7) He preached boldly a hard message to the Jews that cut at their national pride and put them in the same boat as Gentiles. (Luke 3:8) He talked of sin and judgment to these people who trusted their own righteousness. He confronted Herod the tetrarch about his sins.(Luke 3:19-20) The result of that confrontation was John's arrest and later death. John was a man of courage who feared no one.
   
     Even though John was a strange man, eating locusts and honey and wearing rough clothes, and even though his ministry was outside of Jerusalem in the desert; John was a popular preacher in his day. The people were so struck by him that they thought he might be the Messiah. This expectation had the potential to puff up John's pride. What they were thinking was quite remarkable. John the Messiah! The One promised so often through out Israel's history. The One who would come to save and redeem His people. The One who would reign over Israel and bring in a time of peace and greatness for Israel. But no, he was John the Baptist, not John the Messiah. John shot down their expectations very quickly.(Luke 3:16)

      In fact John, who was the greatest of the Old Testament saints, said he was not the Messiah and that he was not even worthy to untie the sandals of the Messiah who was coming. (Luke 3:16) This One was mightier than John. So much so that even John could not do the menial task of taking off His shoes. It was reserved for slaves to take off their master's shoes. John was saying that he was not even worthy of being a slave to the Messiah. Think about that for a moment. John was a great man and yet when he saw who the Messiah was, he saw what a low and unworthy creature he was. He may have never feared a man, but he sure feared God. John was very little in his own eyes. He understood what a guilty, vile sinner he was. He saw his weakness. He saw the greatness and glory of Jesus Christ. Here was God in human flesh. And so John wouldn't even dare to touch the Christ's sandals. John knew all to well how bad he was.

      In John the Baptist's character and message, we see an example for us to follow. We are heralds who are to prepare people for the Lord's second coming by preaching and teaching a message of repentance and righteousness, by confronting people with their sin and their need to be washed from their sins. Such a message requires us to be bold and courageous as we teach the truth and live it out in a corrupt world. The only way we can have such a boldness is to see by faith the glory, power, and greatness of the Lord Jesus Christ. When our eyes are filled with His glory, we will see who we really are; weak sinful, guilty people who desperately need a Savior. Armed with these truths, we can boldly go out into the world to fulfill the commission the Lord had given us.

Brad

When The Devil Goes Fishing

     The Devil likes to fish. Except, he doesn't fish for fish but for the souls of men. The devil likes to catch people with sin. He is a good fisher, maybe the best. Many souls have been ruined to hell by taking his bait. Many Christians have been rendered fruitless and ineffective by swallowing his hook. Certainly this is no laughing matter when one considers the devil's large catch. In order to help us not take the devil's bait and hook, I want to consider how the the devil goes fishing.

The Bait

     When the devil goes fishing, he uses some pretty desirous bait. He uses the pleasures of sin to bait us. He knows that our hearts are corrupt with sin.We have sinful desires that he plays on. "But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust." James 1:14. The devil knows this and baits his hook accordingly. He always portrays sin as good, beneficial and pleasurable. "Stolen water is sweet and bread eaten in secret is pleasant." Proverbs 9:17. Consider how the adulteress tempts men to sin with her. "For the lips of an adulteress drips honey and smoother than oil is her speech." Proverbs 5:3. Another proverb that shows the bait of the devil is Proverbs 20:17 "Bread obtained by falsehood is sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel." Remember when Satan first tempted Eve. He promised that by taking and eating the forbidden fruit she would "be like God, knowing good and evil." Gen 3:5. Eve believed Satan's lie, and took his bait because she thought that by sinning she could become wise. However they became fools. And ever since that day, people continue to take the devil's bait and choose to sin.

     Just as an aside, consider how sin is portrayed in the entertainment industry. There are lots of songs that glorify drunkenness, sexually immorality, and violence. Movies and video games  often do the same. Almost all of the time, sin is portrayed as good in movies. And it is not just "big" sins, but even sins like pride, lying, stealing, or laziness are made to look good. When we constantly expose ourselves to the world's entertainment, it will begin to affect how we look at sin. Sin will begin to not look like a hook but like something worth pursuing.

The Plate

     If a fish should take the bait on the hook, he will eventually end up on someone's plate. What started out as a delicious treat for the fish, turned into delicious meal for the fisherman. The same result is in store for those who take the devil's bait. God warns us in His word that the end result of taking the devil's bait is death. The Lord promised to Adam and Eve that if they would eat the forbidden fruit, "you will surely die." Gen 2:17. James writes that "Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death." James 1:15. Women Folly would invite you to eat stolen water and food because it is sweet, but those who accept such an invitation would find that "her guests are in the depths of Sheol." Proverbs 9:18. Proverbs often warns those tempted to commit adultery that while all manner of pleasure is promised, the end result is death and bitterness.

     When we chose to sin, we begin to walk down a path that leads to death. Along that path there is the chance of physical death due to sin and its consequences. But more serious is the spiritual death that happens. Giving into sin and taking Satan's bait, destroys us spiritually and will bring us into the second death; the fires of hell. Sin also kills relationships. Sin kills reputations. Sin kills one's purity and honor. Sin kills!! So be warned, when you see the bait of sin, remember the plate. Consider the consequences of taking that bait. Don't start down the path of sin for it leads to death.

    The only way off the path of sin and death is repentance; that is, to turn to God and righteousness and to forsake and confess your sin, begging for forgiveness because of the person and work of Jesus Christ. "The wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23.  

How blessed is the man who finds wisdom
And the man who gains understanding.
 For her profit is better than the profit of silver
And her gain better than fine gold.
 She is more precious than jewels;
And nothing you desire compares with her.

Long life is in her right hand;
In her left hand are riches and honor.
 Her ways are pleasant ways
And all her paths are peace.
 She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her,
And happy are all who hold her fast. 

Proverbs 3: 13-18

Brad

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary!

"And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her." Luke 1:38  

     This verse comes at the end of Mary's conversation with the angel Gabriel. Gabriel had just announced to Mary that she was going to conceive a son by the Holy Spirit. This son was to be named Jesus and would be great. He would be the Son of the Most High and would reign on the throne of David over the house of Jacob forever and ever. God had chosen Mary to have an unique and important part to play in His plan of salvation. After years of waiting, finally the Messiah was coming. And of all people, Mary was going to carry this Child who would be the Savior of all God's people and would be the long awaited king. This was an immense privilege given to her by God. But, with this privilege, there was also going to be trial and suffering. 

     The majority of people would think that Mary had gotten pregnant before her marriage to Joseph. How would she be able to explain how she had gotten pregnant, when no one before or since, has ever conceived in this manner? For the rest of her life she would have the stigma and reproach of being an unfaithful and immoral women. Few would ever understand in her lifetime. Who knows what shame and shunning she faced? And what about Joseph? He would think she was unfaithful to him. It was only through a dream from God that Joseph would be convinced that Mary wasn't unfaithful. (Matthew 1:19-21) In fact Mary could face death, for the law decreed death by stoning for those who committed adultery. (Deut 22:13-21) So while she would have an immense privilege in carrying the Savior, there was also a great trial for her to go through. But consider how she responds.

      Mary calls herself the bondslave of the Lord. In her eyes, she is God's slave, which is very contrary to how the Roman Catholic church views her. In their view, Mary is worthy of veneration and a mediator between God and man. But Mary understands that the Lord is her master and she is his slave. Whatever the Master says she will do. She submitted to God's purposes and will for her without murmuring or questioning. She trusted that her Master knew what was best and was willing to go where He called her, even if it would bring her pain and sorrow. Here is a worthy example for us.

     The Christian has the honor and privilege of being adopted into the family of God. He is an heir of the glory to come. His sins are completely forgiven. God is His friend and Lord. These honors and privileges are mostly unknown by those around him and many of these privileges will only be had in the life to come. This life is for the Christian the time for suffering. "Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." 2 Tim 3:12. This life is a life of war for the Christian as he must wage constant war against sin. Obedience is hard work. This Christian is the special object of Satan's temptations. The cross must come before the crown. 

And what should be our reaction when we are called to suffer and labor for God? It should be the same as Mary's reaction to the angel's announcement. We are God's slaves and will  do as He wills. 

"Let us be willing to go anywhere, and do anything, and be anything, whatever be the present and immediate inconvenience, so long as God's will is clear and the path of duty is plain." 
J.C. Ryle from his expository thoughts on Luke.(page 30)

Brad