I resonate with verses 1 and 2 of Romans chapter 3. Verse 1 asks the question is there any benefit to being a Jew and being circumcised. Here the question related to circumcision is not speaking of the physical benefits, but rather the act of knowing and doing the law. Verse 2 answers the question, “the benefits are great!” Why? Because the Jews whether they followed it or not or believed it or not they had been given the “truth.”
I said I resonate with this because when I accepted Jesus due to my upbringing I did not have a lot of mental hurdles to overcome about what is and isn’t truth. I had already been exposed, so even the things I had once not believed in, they were not new concepts to me and thus it was easier for me to embrace those ideas through faith as I saw them revealed through scripture.
All of us that have been raised in Bible believing homes should rejoice at the advantages we had over so many others. All of us that were able to attend Bible believing schools should rejoice at the privileges we had/have.
I’m going to go on a tangent here…this is why I believe that every Adventist parent should do everything in their power and through the resources offered to them through local churches to send their kids to Adventist schools. I know our schools aren’t perfect, neither was the Jewish nation, but Paul here under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit tells us that even with all the imperfection…oh and what was that imperfection? Staunch legalism, at times idol worship, different factions some who believed in resurrection of the dead, some who didn’t, i.e. there were heretics in the camp, even the camp of leaders…even with all that imperfection Paul tells us that in “EVERY RESPECT” the benefit was great. Something for us to think about when we complain about our schools, not perfect, but still beneficial in the long run. Okay off my tangent.
Let me jump down to verse 20…the next text that resonated with today’s reading.
Let us get it straight once and for all, the purpose of the law is to show us that we NEED justification from Jesus, not to justify us!
And we do ALL need justification, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (3:23)
But we must maintain with Paul and all the teachings of scripture, “that a man (humankind) is justified by faith APART from works of the law.” (3:28)
Some people resist this, they just can’t accept that they are saved without any of their own works.
Others embrace this and go to the opposite extreme so Paul has a word for them too,
“Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! (or ABSOLUTELY NOT!) On the contrary, we establish the Law.” (3:31)
Paul then goes back to reaffirming the truth that justification PRECEDES works, he does so by pointing out that Abraham was credited righteous by faith PRIOR to being circumcised, “not while circumcised but while uncircumcised.” (4:10)
This is important because Abraham is then not just the father of the Jews, but also of all humanity! And when I say father I mean yes our ancestral heritage, but more importantly our example. (4:11-13)
Circumcision was a sign of righteousness. It was not righteousness it was a sign of faith in Jesus and commitment to Him. I believe in the garden of Eden that sign was the tree of knowledge of good and evil. If you had faith in the promises of God you would stay away from it. Then the sign as Paul tells us in Romans, but as we also see in the Old Testament was circumcision, again it did not save but it showed that you trusted the promises of Jesus. Then I believe that baptism by immersion was the sign in the New Testament and continuing throughout history, a public declaration not that you are saved through baptism, but that you have faith in the promises of Jesus. And I believe at the very end of time, that the sign will be the seventh day Sabbath. I do not believe it is the sign yet, but that it will be (Revelation 13 & 14), again the Sabbath won’t save anyone or make anyone righteous, it will simply be an outward sign in the midst of opposition and standing against the world of one’s faith in the promises of Jesus. But this will come just like circumcision did after righteousness is received by faith, it will not precede and create righteousness!
Let me throw in maybe a disconnected comment about one of my favorite promises in all the Bible (4:17) and I like the way the New King James renders it,
“(as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;”
This text is speaking of when God called Abraham, and He called Him not as He was but as God knew He could/would become.
I am grateful that God calls me/sees me not as I am but at what I can become through faith in Him!
Then I want to close with something I believe is very beautiful and shows the love and care God has for us,
“Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, (that righteousness was credited to Abraham through faith) but for the sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him (God) who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.” (4:23, 24)
Why is that beautiful to me? Because God didn’t just say to Abraham your salvation has nothing to do with your works, God inspired it to be written down so that we would not be buried under the burden of thinking that we’d only have access to God through our own merits our own works. Too many of us still live like this, but it is not because God has taught it, it is because we believe the lies of the devil who says “you’re never good enough.” He’s right, praise to Jesus I don’t have to be, “He (Jesus) who was delivered over because of our transgression, and was raised because of our justification.” (4:25).
Thank you Jesus!
Tomorrow’s Reading: Genesis 4-7
It is good to be in the Gospels for this day. I went to bed a little spent, but I was refreshed today as I was in the first 2 chapters of the book of Matthew.
Some little insights that are interesting: Matthew’s primary audience were the Jews. This is revealed right in the first verse,
“The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:”
This verse is revealing Jesus as King, “the son of David,” which was very important to the Jewish people.
Affirming this or connecting this kingship is verse 17,
“Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.”
If you dig deep on this I’ll just give you a heads-up there are more than 14 generations. Matthew skips some names. Why does he do this? Is the Bible inaccurate? Not at all! Many commentators believe that the divisions of 14 generations is simply a literary structure by Matthew not intended to set forth a strict biological lineage. The purpose of a genealogy is to document the proof of ancestry from the origin of the line to the person under discussion. Every individual need not be included, but only those necessary to establish descending relationship. Why then 14? Because 14 is the number of King David. The letters of the ancient alphabet had numeric value, D = 4 V = 6 D = 4 which all together equals 14. Thus again setting Jesus up as the King of the Jews.
Another evidence of Matthews desire to convince the Jews of Jesus’ Messianic fulfillment is seen throughout the book, but we see this phrase 4 times just in chapter 2, “took place to fulfill” or something very near that. And if we count the prophecy the Magi shared with Herod there are 5 prophetic references in chapter 2. Again all of this would be important to convince Jews of Jesus’ Messianic fulfillment.
All of this is more than just cool information it is a fine example to us of how to witness.
Three Questions this story teaches us to ask in our witnessing:
After we have the answer to those three questions start there (where they are at) and share that first! Don’t start with what you like or feel is important. Scratch where they’re itching.
Each of the Gospels is to a specific group and each tells the story in a way that would appeal to that group. Great witnessing technique!
If there were nothing else in this chapter that were interesting there would be still three things about Jesus that I praise Him for.
I am so grateful for Jesus!
Tomorrow’s Reading: Romans 3 & 4
Prior to this reading I want to remind people. These blogs are not intended to be sermonic quality. They are also not going to be in depth exegetical works generally. I say that because I would tell you that understanding Isaiah 1-6 would best be understood with a solid commentary to assist in the study of this reading but really all of Isaiah, maybe a Biblical encyclopedia as well. What I will be sharing this evening…and I apologize for this coming out so late tonight…but what I will be sharing are the things that touched my heart, remember this is my personal devotions that I am doing daily so I’m not studying first for knowledge or first to teach, those things happen out of this, but when I read Isaiah 1-6 I must admit my heart was what engaged more.
So here goes…
I was struck by the strong, strong rhetoric of Isaiah 1:1-17 and then suddenly this is this heart cry appeal,
“Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord, “Though your sins are as scarlet they will be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool. If you consent and obey…
I pause…Consent to what? I think consent to God’s appeal to be washed clean by The Lord,
“If you consent and obey, you will eat the best of the land…”
A lot of people know these verses? I wonder how many realize they come bookended by strong rebuke.
At the end of 1:23 the Bible states, “They do not defend the orphan, nor does the widow’s plea come before them.”
This is the second time widow’s and orphans are mentioned. They are also mentioned in verse 17, “Learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.”
True religion, religion that is honorable to God is not just obedience to personal rules, for the Jewish people he mentions offerings and burnt sacrifices or going to the temple (church) vv. 11 & 12.
True religion must involve caring for people.
Isaiah 2:5, 6 is a clear reminder that consorting with those of the world DOES have a negative influence. No matter what we may try to rationalize.
Isaiah 5:18-23 is a description of our world and even to many degrees modern Christianity. Verse 19 is particularly biting in light of verse 18, people who are really embracing sin and then being deceitful about it, yet are pretending (v. 19) to care about the works of the Lord and His return. Scary! Let all who express a desire for Jesus to return to pause and ask to search our hearts that vv. 18 & 19 are not true of us.
Now I want to go back to the part of the reading that struck my heart most: Chapter 5 verses 1-4 are my favorite portion of this reading. It reminds me of the night I accepted Jesus, I heard Him say to me, “You’ve tried everything else, why don’t you give me a chance.”
I tried Him and I’ve never been disappointed. If I ever make a decision to walk away from God I will not be able to give any suggestion if asked, “What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it.”
God asked me to try Him, I did, and blessing after blessing I’ve received.
God there is nothing more You could do for me.
Tomorrow’s Reading: Matthew 1 & 2
Before I write anything about today’s reading let me share a couple caveats (and this is true for future posts on the book of Job as well). First, I believe the book of Job to be an absolutely true story, a historical account and not an allegory. Second, I don’t fully understand why it seems God “recommends” Job to be harassed by Satan. I understand it from the viewpoint of the great controversy, but not emotionally. As I’ve matured as a Christian I’ve learned to be okay with not always understanding everything, and I’ve learned that often times if I wait on the Lord in due time He does give me understanding. In my life I have discovered the immense goodness of God and so in Job 1 where I see something that does not seem so “good” I don’t accuse God, rather I recognize my own limitations and I choose to be as the just and live by faith and not by sight. That said I do have points of views on these texts that have helped ease my concern over the years, but since I cannot support them 100% Biblically I refrain from putting them out there. If you have similar concerns about the book of Job I encourage you to “taste and see that the Lord is good!” and then to live by faith when understanding is limited, remembering, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.”
Job 1 & 2:
Job was the greatest of all men of the east (1:3b) How? Job “was blameless, upright, fearing God, and turning away from evil.” (1:1). Don’t be fooled the greatness comes from verse 1 not verse 3a. How do we know this? Because in chapter 1 verses 13 through 19 he lost all of what was listed in 3a and then we read in chapter 2 verse 3b, “There is no one like him on the earth…”
Greatness comes from character not possessions or accomplishments.
How could Job stay this great, and not sin in light of these challenges?
1:20, “Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and WORSHIPED.”
The scriptures do not say Job was okay with what happened. Or he said, “such is life,” no, he is broken, distraught, in such grief the strength in his legs has gone out…have you been there? I have!
Yet when he was lying on that ground in pain deeper than words can express, he worshiped, “Blessed be the name of the Lord” (1:21)
Incredible. I won’t give away the end of the book of Job…but knowing the end of the book makes all of this even more amazing to me…okay I’ll give it away, from what we read at the end of Job God never explains, God doesn’t give Job the insight He gives us into seeing that this was all a live action drama of the great controversy, in which Job is one of the greatest character witnesses on God’s behalf. Job doesn’t know any of that yet he remains faithful. Wow!
To close this post today I want to share the insights I read from the Facebook page of my good friend Kim Taylor after she read today’s reading:
Tomorrow’s Reading: Isaiah 1-6
The progression of the first verse of Psalm 1 is insightful. It is almost as if the psalmist is telling us that getting near (walking) wickedness will eventually lead us to pause and examine (stand) longer than we should in the ideas of sin, which then will lead us to fully invest (sit) in sinful ways.
What is the anecdote to avoid getting near, examining, and ultimately investing in this sinful world?
It is found in verse 2—We delight in the Word of God…not just occasionally, we see just like yesterday’s reading showed us the way to be strong and courageous in Joshua 1:8 is by meditating on scripture day and night, this is also the way to delight in the Word of God. I know me and I’m pretty sure I know a thing or two about most of humanity. If we are not reading the Bible every day then we are not thinking about the Bible every day, especially not day and night—which is basically a way of saying, “all the time.”
If we do meditate (think on) the scriptures day and night this will help us to be firmly planted in Jesus (v. 3). You may say I don’t see that in verse 3…I see it indirectly in this verse through the eyes of Paul, Colossians 2:6, 7:
“Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.”
When the Bible speaks of being rooted it is speaking of being grounded in Jesus.
Speaking of Jesus, He is all over Psalm 2. It is a Psalm of David and we can see David addressing the things He is going through as King of Israel, but woven throughout are subtle or maybe not so subtle references to Jesus and prophecies regarding His time on this earth.
Did you see them? Verses 2, 7, 12 these all have reference to Jesus.
In closing though I want to look at verse 3 of Psalm 2,
“Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us!”
This is the cry of the wicked they believe the bondage they feel is due to God and His ways. When really the bondage they are under is because they don’t really know His Son.
Psalm 2:1, 2 are a people plotting against Jesus. Why? Verse 3 because they feel like His ways are slavery.
If we are not rooted in Jesus, Psalm 1:3 we will feel like Jesus is slavery; the devil will convince us of this, just as he convinced 1/3 of the angels in heaven. Just as he convinced Eve. The devil is a liar though!
Can I testify that the freest I ever felt was the day I said “yes” to Jesus and His ways.
If you tear away the fetters of God and the cords of His Son and the Holy Spirit, you’ll find what it truly means to be in bondage, because sin is a terrible master!
Tomorrow’s Reading: (Poetry) Job 1 & 2
As I have done most years since I’ve been blogging I would like to share with y’all some of the “Top Lists” (this year it will be 15) of 2015.
I want to thank by the way the 17,879 people that read this blog in 2015. In 2013 there were 9300 readers, in 2 years we’ve almost doubled, so thank you, thank you!
Here are the Top 15 countries represented in my readership:
Here are the Top 15 States represented in my readership:
Here are the Top 15 cities represented in my readership:
And now for the Top 15 most read posts in 2015:
Thank you for reading in 2015. I hope you’ll join me and invite your friends to read along as well in 2016. There will be at least one post every day in 2016 because I am blogging through the Bible daily in 2016. So check-in every day.