Author: hillturnfs

I’m trying to group God’s commands into categories. This first set of grouping is all the things God doesn’t want us to do and things we are to stay away from for our own good. Commands with words like “do not”, “avoid”, “beware” and “abstain from”. It’s much easier for me to mentally absorb like commands than those that skip all over the place.

6. Avoid foolish questions.

Titus 3:9 – But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and useless.

The Bible is the last word and should be taken literally unless the context is obviously allegorical. If the Scripture makes plain sense seek no other sense. Scripture says God’s truth is foolishness to the unbeliever and if the Holy Spirit has not convicted them of their sin you’re wasting your time. Don’t argue. Move on to greener pastures.

7. Avoid arguments about the law. See Scripture and notes above.

8. Beware of false prophets.

Matthew 7:15 – Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

Philippians 3:2 – Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of mutilation!

There have always been false Christs and false prophets and they will proliferate in the end times. The only way to protect yourself is to study God’s Word so you can know them when they come to you with false information. When you see the word beware always remember you can’t know to beware of something you don’t know.

9. Beware of (evil) men.

Matthew 10:17 – But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues.

This command is similar to avoiding troublemakers and the appearance of evil. You can beware of evil men by knowing the fruit they produce and that comes with experience, knowledge of God’s Word and prayer. When I see the word beware I think “know”. If you don’t know how to identify evil men you won’t know who to beware of.

10. Beware of covetousness.

Luke 12:15 – And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”

Besides being one of the original ten commandments, we know in our hearts this is true because God made us to be moral beings. There is that word “know” again which simply means study God’s Word in this context. God reminds us often in Scripture not to covet and to be satisfied with what we have.

11. Beware of backsliding.

2 Peter 3:17 – You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away by the error of the wicked.

Peter wrote this epistle to warn believers to about false teachers and false doctrine and he urged the saints to grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ which I translate as studying God’s Word. In the two verses just before the one I reference above Peter is telling believers to keep reading the gospels and the writings of Paul so as not to fall victim to false teachings. You won’t backslide if you read God’s Word and pray daily.

My Willmington’s Guide to the Bible is indispensable to my study of God’s Word. It contains a list of all 127 commands from God contained in the Bible addressing the personal conduct of the believer. I love making lists and reviewing lists. I find lists to be a time-saving way for me to keep important things fresh in my mind. It’s the Christian’s duty to know what God commands us to do and then to try our best to comply. That’s all God asks of us.

GODS COMMANDS TO BELIEVERS:

1. Abstain from all appearances of evil.

1 Thessalonians 5:22 – Abstain from every form of evil.

God made us to be moral creatures with an inner sense of knowing what’s right or wrong and what’s good or evil. Fallen man is in a sin-filled world where most people don’t do what they should but deep down inside everyone knows what’s evil.

2. Abstain from all fleshly lusts.

1 Peter 2:11 – Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.

This is probably the number one sin we face and is impossible to overcome without the Holy Spirit’s help. Even with the indwelt Holy Spirit we may not eliminate lust from our life completely but we’re called upon to give it our best shot. The good news is you’re still saved and God still loves you. Ask God to forgive your sins every night and then persevere in doing good because over time you’ll get better at limiting sin in your life.

3. Avoid troublemakers.

Romans 16:17 – Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them.

All of us can recognize a troublemaker when we see one and as soon as we realize that give them a wide berth. One way to avoid sin is to stay away from those who may tempt us to sin. It’s okay to associate with unbelievers you’re trying to save but your really close friends should all be Christians who share your core values.

4. Avoid profane and vain babblings.

1 Timothy 6:20 – O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge.

Don’t pay any attention to anything the secular word tries to indoctrinate you with. That’s the problem with our schools. They indoctrinate our children with their leftist ideology, including the theory evolution, to turn out perfect little atheists upon graduation. If someone wants to tell you about the latest religious cult they’re into send them packing. The Bible is God’s wisdom and the source of all truth.

5. Avoid false science. See above verse and explanation.

Every Christian and every Gentile owes a debt of gratitude to the Jewish people in general and to the patriarch Abraham in particular. I love Israel and cherish the Jewish people as my brothers and sisters. If I’m around anyone who starts to disparage the Jews I try to remove myself from them as soon as possible without being rude. The love of God is not in them and I want nothing more to do with them. Scripture tells us as Gentiles we receive the blessings of Abraham through the covenant God made with Abraham. What are those blessings? The Incarnation of Jesus Christ who came to earth as a man to die on the cross so that our sins may be forgiven. So that we might receive mercy and grace unto eternal life from a loving Creator.

The blessing is Jesus, the seed of Abraham through David with the bloodline extending down to Mary, mother of Jesus. Joseph should have been the real king of Israel by blood since he was also of the Davidic line. Jesus was also the heir to the throne of Israel legally as the eldest son of Joseph by adoption. The gospel message of Christ blesses all nations. As Gentiles our lives are eternally blessed when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior by faith. God by his mercy and grace has shown us favor. At the moment of salvation we become the spiritual sons of Abraham as partakers of the Abrahamic covenant. Salvation was intended for the Jew first and then the Gentile.

God’s original plan was for Israel, his chosen people, to be a nation of priests to mediate the gospel of Christ to all nations. When the Jews rejected Jesus as their Messiah God turned to the Gentiles to build his church. The Jews did not stop being God’s people because they rejected their Messiah. Jesus, my Lord and Savior, is now and always will be a Jewish rabbi. All the Jewish Apostles, prophets and the other important Old Testament Jews are already in heaven to be joined by a Jewish remnant at the second coming of Jesus Christ. Jews will occupy many leadership positions in heaven including King David who will be second only to Jesus.

Everything we do on earth will be known to the residents of heaven. If you plan on being in heaven with me don’t you think it’s a good idea not to offend those who will be in charge of the place? Personally, not only do I love the Jewish people, I’m looking for every opportunity in this life to bless Jews. In Scripture Jesus says whatever you do for a fellow Jew consider it as doing it for Jesus himself. If you help a Jew you are helping Jesus. If you help Jesus you’re helping the Creator of the universe and your reward will be in heaven. If you disparage a Jew you disparage Jesus, with whatever ramifications result from that. Let that sink in a moment and adjust your actions accordingly. Satan has stirred up hatred of the Jews for thousands of years to hurt God because they are his beloved chosen people. Rebuke the devil’s attempt to stir up hatred in your heart for God’s chosen people and love them with all your heart as I do.

I believe everyone on earth knows the golden rule, or they have it written in their hearts. Whatever religion you are, or if you have no religion, everyone instinctively knows the truth of the golden rule. “Do unto others what you would have them do unto you”, has been written into the hearts of all men by a loving Creator so they would know right from wrong and good from evil. This golden rule comes from God’s Word, our Holy Bible, where it is paraphrased in several Scriptures including the spiritual law, “You reap what you sow”.

Matthew 7:12 – Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

In the Old Testament God gave us the ten commandments. In the New Testament Jesus taught us His greatest and first commandment, “You shall love the Lord your God all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind”. Jesus also taught a second great commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself”, which is a restatement of the golden rule. On these two great commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets (Old Testament). The Incarnation gave us a new covenant in Jesus Christ that in no invalidated the the Old Testament. Jesus came not to nullify the old Testament but to fulfill it. The spiritual truth of the Old Testament remains forever.

We cannot comply with these two great commands of Jesus based on our own strength. We are too weak. The only way any of us can acquire the requisite righteousness to honor Jesus’ commands is if we enter the “narrow gate” of the saving faith of Jesus Christ. We need the peace of God in order to treat people like we should and that comes through saving grace. We all have a choice to make: we can either decide to build a strong spiritual foundation on the Rock of Jesus Christ or we can go with the shifting sands of fake gods and false promises. Accept God’s mercy and grace unto salvation right now while there is still time.

Joshua 24:15 – As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Joshua 24:24 – The Lord our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey!

Joshua 24:23 – Incline your heart to the Lord God.

Joshua 24:14 – Fear the lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth.

Joshua 1:9 – Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

5. BLESSED are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Always keep the spiritual law of you reap what you sow at the forefront of your mind. In Scripture God says it’s our duty to love mercy. We all need God’s mercy to get to heaven and thankfully we have a merciful God who loves us. There is one catch, we must be merciful to others if we expect God to be merciful to us. To be forgiven we must forgive.

6. BLESSED are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Those who want to please God will pursue purity and righteousness in every area of their lives. Those with a single-minded commitment to obey the commands of God will experience God’s presence in their lives.

7. BLESSED are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.

As the Prince of Peace Jesus is the ultimate peacemaker through his message of eternal life through belief in him. By sharing the good news Jesus demonstrates how to have inner peace with God. As witnesses for Christ we are also peacemakers because we are instruments of peace in the world.

8. BLESSED are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

If you belong to God you will be persecuted. It’s as simple as that. Anyone seeking to enter the kingdom of God will seek to act in conformity to God’s will. This will cause an adverse reaction from a world that does not know God. We are in the world but we are not of the world.

9. BLESSED are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Jesus is promising a prophet’s reward in heaven when we are persecuted. Because we are sharing in the suffering of Christ our reward will be great. We must maintain our allegiance and obedience to Jesus in the face of this persecution. We must be mentally prepared for it with our eyes on our ultimate reward. We must endure until the end while giving praise to God.

In his Sermon on the Mount Jesus gave us a series of beatitudes. A beatitude is a pronouncement of blessing, a state of well-being for the faithful because of God’s divine favor. The beatitudes show us the spiritual path to true faith. A beatitude is basically a promised blessing from God for those who exude the character described. It’s up to each of us to work on obtaining the character necessary to cause God’s blessing to flow to us. God never breaks a promise but we must have goals and the willpower to reach them.

1. BLESSED are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,

A person who is poor in spirit is one who is humble. He realizes he is a sinner lost in his sin, admits it and has a repentant heart. The humble person understands life is meaningless apart from a right relationship with God. He knows he is weak and can do nothing himself but must rely on God’s mercy and grace unto eternal life. You cannot enter heaven without a humble, contrite heart.

2. BLESSED are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

By mournful Jesus is not talking about chronically unhappy people or those wallowing in self-pity. Jesus is talking about those people who are ashamed when they sin and genuinely grieve over their sinful state. Sin is no longer enjoyable and is now a source of misery in most cases. Ask God to forgive your sins daily and he will give you his peace.

3. BLESSED are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Meek as used here does not mean timid people. Jesus is referring to people who get along peaceably with everyone and who quietly live a life of devotion to God by following the commandments of God. While being poor in spirit involves being humble because of one’s self-assessment, being meek in this context means being humble because of our right relationship with God and other people. Being meek means having no personal agenda, seeking no personal gain, and living a life that emulates Jesus Christ. The meek simply place their total trust in the Lord. Those that live to please God will rule with Jesus when he sets up his millennial kingdom on the earth.

4. BLESSED are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

There is such a thing as an unquenchable thirst for God’s Word and the righteousness of God. There is such a thing as a hunger for the will of God in your life. Scripture says to seek God diligently and you will find him. If you hunger and thirst after God you will be satisfied.

I do what I call passive witnessing by Christian blogging plus I hand out Christian Chick tracts I buy from www.chick.com. The only one I pass out is the one titled “This was your life”. I love these little cartoon booklets because they have a salvation message. As you look at these booklets and read the accompanying Scripture the Holy Spirit is present to convict you of your sins if your heart is ready. The thing I like best about these tracts is at the end of each one is a step by step sinner’s prayer to guide the reader to salvation. The reader can follow the guidance and accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior on their own. They don’t really need a witness to guide them to eternal life. Of course afterward the person may want to go to a pastor and confirm again in their presence they have given their life to Jesus just for their peace of mind if nothing else.

Here is the last page of every Christian tract:

NOBODY ELSE CAN SAVE YOU. TRUST JESUS TODAY!

John 14:6 – I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father but by Me.

Romans 10:9 – That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.

1. Admit you are a sinner. See Romans 3:10
2. Be willing to turn from sin (repent). See Acts 17:30
3. Believe that Jesus Christ died for you, was buried and rose from the dead. See Romans 10:9-10
4. Through prayer, invite Jesus into your heart to become your personal savior. See Romans 10:13

WHAT TO PRAY:

Dear God, I am a sinner and need forgiveness. I believe that Jesus Christ shed His precious blood and died for my sin. I am willing to turn from sin. I now invite Christ to come into my heart as my personal Savior.

IF YOU TRUSTED JESUS AS YOUR SAVIOR, YOU HAVE JUST BEGUN A WONDERFUL NEW LIFE WITH HIM. NOW:

1. Read your Bible (KJV) every day to get to know Jesus Christ better.
2. Talk to God in prayer every day.
3. Be baptized, worship, fellowship, and serve with other Christians in a church where Christ is preached and the Bible is the final authority.
4. Tell other about Jesus Christ.

You see, God loves us all and He wants every single person to have eternal life in heaven with Him which is why God has made it so easy to be saved. We are saved by faith and not by works. We are in the end times and God is waiting until the last minute before He raptures the saints in order to save one more for Jesus. If you haven’t put your trust in Jesus yet don’t wait too long or you’ll be left behind.

God intentionally created the four gospels to show the four faces of God portrayed in the Old Testament. In Zechariah Jesus is called both king and man. In Isaiah Jesus is called both God and servant. In Matthew Jesus is a king. In Mark Jesus is a servant. In Luke Jesus is a man. In John Jesus is God. Notice in the following Old Testament Scriptures when God say “behold” he is letting us know something important is being said:

Zechariah 9:9 – Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Jesus fulfills this prophecy in His triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Matt. 21:7-11, Mark 11:7-10. Luke 19:35-40, John 12:12-19).

Isaiah 42:1 – Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my souls delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.

Zechariah 6:12 – Thus says the Lord of hosts, behold, the man whose name is the branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord.

This Scripture is telling us Jesus will establish the church and it will spread out to the entire world. Each indwelt member of the church will become a temple of the Lord.

Isaiah 40:9 – Go up on a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God”.

The four-faced cherubim described in Ezekiel 1:5-10 also portrays the four faces of God which correspond to the four natures of Jesus. One face of the cherubim is man. One face is a lion representing the king. One face is an ox representing a servant. Several places in Scripture the ox is clearly used to portray a servant so we assume the same here. The last face of the cherubim is an eagle representing God. Again, the symbol of an eagle is used in other Scriptures clearly identified with God. Each face of God is clearly presented to man as a separate gospel. God is prophetically showing us the four faces of Jesus to be revealed in two stages. Jesus came to the earth the first time in the incarnation as servant and man. When Jesus comes the second time it will be in all his glory as God and king. Jesus fulfilled the first half of the prophecy concerning his coming which confirms he will also appear at the second coming in all his glory. Praise the Lord!

The synoptic gospels were written years before the Apostle John wrote his gospel. John was illiterate so he had to dictate his writings. God kept John alive until his old age in order to allow John to write his gospel, his epistles and the book of Revelation which was completed around 95 AD. God allowed time for the first three gospels to circulate among the people and be accepted as truth. John’s gospel tied the other three gospels together and dispelled the false information being circulated about Jesus after the first three gospels were written. By giving his eyewitness testimony about the miracles and resurrection of Jesus John added his confirmation to support the church’s claim of the deity of Jesus as the eternal Son of God. Each of the four gospels looks at the life of Jesus from slightly different points of view and each had a specific audience they were addressing. Matthew presents Jesus as the King, Mark as the suffering servant, Luke as a human being and John as God. The gospels were not exactly the same but many of the stories were overlapping. The gospels when viewed together give a comprehensive description of the life of Jesus.

The book of Acts was written by Luke to record the history of the early history church. The next 21 books of the New Testament are epistles (letters) that were written by church leaders to provide further church doctrine and ethical instructions to the churches. Although usually addressed to individuals or churches the letters were intended to be read and shared with all Christians. Letter writing was a common and accepted method of sharing information in those days. The epistle writers were aware they were writing Scripture that would last for the ages to come.

The first 13 epistles were written by the Apostle Paul. The other eight epistles were written by the Apostles Peter (2) and John (3) plus the brothers of Jesus, James (1) and Jude (1). The writer of the epistle of Hebrews is unknown. Revelations is also an epistle written by John but is usually listed in a category on its own. When thinking about the New Testament think of it as broken up into four categories. We have the four gospels (life of Christ), we have the book of Acts (early church history), we have the 21 epistles (church doctrine and instruction), and finally we have Revelation (end time tribulation) which is the last book in the Bible.

Matthew was not the first gospel written but it comes first in the New Testament for obvious reasons. Matthew was the only disciple of Jesus who was literate so he was an obvious choice to write about the life of Jesus. Matthew is the most Jewish of the gospels because it was written by a Jew writing to a Jewish audience to convince them Jesus was the promised Messiah. Matthew did this by linking the Old Testament prophecies with fulfillment of those prophecies in the life of Jesus. This made the gospel of Matthew the perfect bridge between the Old and New Testaments and linking them together as one Word of God.

The gospel of Mark was written by a Jew named John Mark who was a disciple of the Apostle Peter. Peter preached in Rome and believers there, both Jew and Gentile, wanted a written record of the gospel message being preached by Peter. Peter was illiterate so it fell to Mark to write down all that Peter was preaching about the life of Jesus. Mark went with Peter everywhere he preached so he knew all that Peter was preaching by heart. Mark is recognized as the first of the gospels to be written. You may wonder why the gospel isn’t named for Peter. Peter didn’t dictate the gospel to Mark. Mark wrote the gospel himself based on his memory of what Peter preached. I’m sure Mark read the gospel to Peter for his approval before finalizing it. Let’s not forget Mark was a powerful preacher in his own right and preached the gospel to all nations alongside the Apostles and was himself martyred for preaching the gospel message.

Luke was a Gentile physician and disciple of The Apostle Paul who based his gospel primarily on the preaching of Paul. There were other eyewitness testimonies, facts and other evidence Luke uncovered by his own investigation. Who better to write a gospel to a Gentile audience than another Gentile? By using Luke in this manner God was showing his salvation was inclusive, that God’s mercy and grace was for all people who believe in Jesus, not just the Jews. Luke and Matthew were written about the same time. Nobody knows which came first but it doesn’t really matter. Both were written after Mark. The gospel of Luke stressed Jesus’ humanity.