Death is central to the Christian life. Sounds like a contradiction, doesn’t it? But death is absolutely essential to the life of the believer in Jesus Christ. First, it is because of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ that gives everyone the good news of eternal life with Jesus Christ – if people would repent and believe in Him. Second, it is His sacrificial death on the cross that paid the wages of my sin debt. Third, death is an ongoing process for the believer as he or she seeks to mortify their members and die to self in order to better love and serve God and to better love and serve their neighbor. Turn to Luke 9:

Luke 9:22-26 Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day. (23) And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. (24) For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. (25) For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? (26) For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.

Look at verse 26: Jesus Christ is putting in practical terms what the believer is going to go through every day of his or her earth-bound life. Every day believers are going to be in situations – whether purposely or by accident – that their actions and words will demonstrate whether or not they are ashamed of Jesus Christ and His Words. Believers live in a world that encourages them to “Just Do It” and “Do whatever feels goods,” but those they are probably not the right things for believers to be doing or saying. It is natural for the believer to want to follow their fleshly desires and to say “YES” to themselves, however, God tells believers to deny themselves in order to love and serve and others better. People want to be accepted by others, that is a natural characteristic of people: we want others to like us. But to be a believer in Jesus Christ, there will be times that we have to choose whether we want others to like us or if we want to follow God. In Acts 5:29, Peter and the apostles, after being imprisoned and scolded by the high priest and the chief of the temple, declared: We ought to obey God rather than men.

For the believer to grow and mature in their walk with Jesus Christ, they must be willing to slay their desires and wants when they conflict with God and His Holy Word. Believers must be willing to reject themselves and things in order to better follow Jesus Christ. The question becomes, what are you going to do or say, when a situation arises: are you going to be ashamed of Jesus Christ and His Word or are you going to be willing to say, “Thus saith the Lord!” Look at Luke 9:26 again, if we are going to be ashamed of Jesus Christ and His Word, then Jesus Christ is going to be ashamed of us! That alone should be enough to motivate us to serve and love God. And to serve and love Him in the fashion that He desires, not the way that pleases me. Believers need to be willing to let go of their fears and doubts and trust that Jesus Christ will work things out to His glory.

A drunken man entered his row boat one night to cross the river. He picked up the oars and pulled away-so he thought. He rowed all night but did not reach the destination. When daylight came, he was surprised to find that he was just where he started the night before. He had forgotten to untie his boat. So it is with many of the Lord’s followers. They are tied to their habits, desires, wills, or some cherished idol or idols of the heart. Consequently, their lives are fruitless. Shore-bound Christians never flourish and are of little or no help to others.

Luke 9:22 Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.

That is the order for the believer today as well: rejected, slain, raised. There will be times when people of this world will reject the believer because they are willing to take a stand on God’s Word. Believers will be called unloving and hateful. As believers, do we want to be seen as being ashamed of Jesus Christ and His Word? That may be the easy route, but it will cause Jesus Christ to be ashamed of us and it will be harder to take a stand later on God’s Word, because people will not believe the strength of your convictions. Believers will be rejected by the people around them and that is not easy to bear, but Jesus Christ tells us to take up our cross daily – not weekly or monthly – but daily.

Romans 6:2-3 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? (3) Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

Believers in Jesus Christ are dead to sin from the standpoint that Jesus Christ died for our sins. That does not mean that the believer no longer sins, but fortunately, when the believer is properly walking with the Lord, then they will not sin. If believers just continuously walk with God, then they would not sin, because God is not going to lead anyone to sin! Furthermore, God is willing to help the believer to walk the way they are suppose to walk. Isaiah 42:6 I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee… Someone once said: “It is a great deal easier to do that which God gives us to do, no matter how hard it is, than to face the responsibilities of not doing it.” The cost of obedience is nothing compared with the cost of disobedience. Turn to Galatians 2:20:

Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

What does this verse mean for the believer? When Jesus Christ gave up His life on the cross of Calvary not quite two thousand years ago, believers also died with Him. The people that have trusted Jesus Christ for salvation and repented of their sin died with Him on the cross and were resurrected with Him three days later and believers are still connected to Him today. He indwells every believer. What a wonderful blessing that is and something that no other religion claims. Believers have died to sin, but believers still have a sin nature and will have that sin nature for the rest of their lives. But believers are never alone. Unashamed believers will be abandoned by the world, but they are never alone because Jesus Christ lives in every believer as it says in Galatians 2:20. Believers have no power over sin on their own, only through Jesus Christ can anyone have victory over sin. Believers cannot crucify themselves. They cannot be alone and be crucified. A person can die many ways alone – they may take poison or hang themselves or shoot themselves, but they cannot crucify themselves. The believer may be able to nail one hand to the cross, but how will they nail the other? Believers were crucified with Jesus Christ when He died on the cross. Back to Romans 6.

Romans 6:2-3 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? (3) Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

Please realize that as we read through Romans chapter 6, that when the word “baptized” is used, it is not referring strictly to water baptism. Water baptism is important for the believer and it is commanded by God, but this passage is not solely about water. The word “baptize” is a Greek word that the King James Bible translators made into an English word. The word “baptize” essentially means “immersed” – in other words fully covered. So what the apostle Paul is stating in verse 3 is that the believer is immersed with Jesus Christ or identified with Jesus Christ. Believers are identified or baptized into Jesus Christ and His death. Think of it this way: Jesus Christ was sacrificed on the cross of Calvary and every believer was there too. But I was the guilty one – not Jesus Christ. You were the guilty one. My sin and your sin put Jesus Christ on the cross and believers are identified with Him.

In the eyes of God, believers have been identified with Jesus Christ, but what about to the rest of the world. If the believer is unashamed of Jesus Christ and His Word, then people will identify the believer as being a Christian. So do your words match your actions? The renowned artist Paul Gustave Dore (1821-1883) lost his passport while traveling in Europe. When he came to a border crossing, he explained his predicament to one of the guards. Giving his name to the official, Dore hoped he would be recognized and allowed to pass. The guard, however, said that  many people attempted to cross the border by claiming to be  persons they were not. Dore insisted that he was the man he claimed to be. “All right,” said the official, “we’ll give you a test, and if you pass it we’ll allow you to go through.” Handing him a pencil and a sheet of paper, he told the artist to sketch several peasants standing nearby. Dore did it so quickly and skillfully that the guard was convinced he was indeed who he claimed to be. His work confirmed his word! People follow what we do on the stage of life. They look to see if our conduct squares with our profession. Are we drawing the picture of Christ, as it were, or of a different person? What the world wants to see is reality in our actions. It has been said that God has great and wonderful things to display if He finds suitable showcases. Are you a good showcase for Jesus Christ?

If the believer is properly walking with God, then he or she will be identified with Jesus Christ by the world. Two little children, a boy and a girl, who played together a great deal, received Christ and were converted. One day the boy came to his mother and said, “Mother, I know that Emma is a Christian.” “What makes you think so, dear?” “Because she plays like a Christian. If you take everything she’s got, she doesn’t get mad. Before, she was selfish, and if she didn’t have everything her own way she would say, ‘I won’t play with you; you are a mean little boy.’ ” That’s what the world sees, the result of our possessing part of the fullness of God. If we have God, then we must act like Him.

Death is central to the life of the believer in Jesus Christ. To the world, death is a negative idea – why? Because they have no hope in the future. This world has seen amazing technological advancements in the last 100 years – how many kids to day know what an eight track player was? For the believer, death is necessary for their everyday life with God AND because of the death of Jesus Christ, the believer has hope for the future. Just as Jesus Christ was rejected and slain, the believer must go through the same process – there is no skipping ahead to risen. Jesus Christ did not skip over the first two steps: He was rejected and He was slain by the very people He created. The believer must also be rejected and slain. Everyday, the world intrudes into our lives through our interactions with others and the forms of entertainment we have and the things we read and watch and listen to. The believer’s viewpoint should not mirror the world, it should mirror the kingdom of God. The believer should be willing to deny themselves the things that hinder their walk with God.

Romans 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

To mortify means to bring into subjection or slay. It is a negative statement – to the world, to the lost. The world declares that we should grab all the gusto we can! But the Bible tells us to mortify the deeds of the body. The declares we should do and try everything! But God’s Word tells us to mortify the deeds of the body. The world declares that we should do whatever we want and not worry about the consequences! But the Bible tells us to mortify the deeds of the body – why? So the believer may live. If the believer lives after the flesh, they will die. If the believer lives through the Holy Spirit, they shall live. That means that the believer must deny himself or herself and seek first the kingdom of God, not their own pleasure. That means the believer must humble himself or herself and seek to love and serve God first, then seek to love and serve their neighbor second, then love themselves third. Jesus Christ was rejected and slain, two things every believer must go through as well before the third step: risen. Where is your spiritual walk today? I will close with five questions that each of us need to ask ourselves daily:

1. Whom are you trying to please? 2. What insecurities are you pampering? 3. With whom or what are you competing? 4. What rewards are you seeking? 5. What shame are you covering?

Romans 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

Joshua 8:30-35 Then Joshua built an altar unto the LORD God of Israel in mount Ebal, (31) As Moses the servant of the Lord commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which no man hath lifted up any iron: and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings. (32) And he wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote in the presence of the children of Israel. (33) And all Israel, and their elders, and officers, and their judges, stood on this side the ark and on that side before the priests the Levites, which bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, as well the stranger, as he that was born among them; half of them over against mount Gerizim, and half of them over against mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel. (34) And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and cursings, according to all that is written in the book of the law. (35) There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before all the congregation of Israel, with the women, and the little ones, and the strangers that were conversant among them.

At this point in history, the Israelites have conquered Jericho and marched on to Ai. Sadly, at Ai, they fell in battle because of the sin of Achan. Furthermore, they had not talked to God first before deciding to go to battle. When we plan to do something, the first thing we should do is pray to God for guidance before attempting the task. Too often we get ahead of God or do not do what God wanted in the first place. After the Israelites separated out the sin that was in their camp, they went to God and He guided them to victory over the people of Ai. Now they have come to Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal and will do what Moses had directed the Israelites to do.

Where are Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim? About twenty miles north of Ai, which is just a few miles north of Jericho. These two mounts form a valley and in the center of the valley is the city of Shechem. It was in Shechem that 600 years earlier, Abraham stopped as he traveled from Ur and built his first altar to God. Jacob had gone to Shechem during his escape from his father-in-law, Laban. Joseph looked for his brothers in Shechem before they had sold him to the Midianites and into slavery. Jacob also dug a Shechem – the same well that Jesus Christ sat at as He talked to the Samaritan woman in John chapter 4.

Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim are about a mile and a half apart at the top, but are only 500 yards apart at the bottom. Mount Ebal is taller than Mount Gerizim. Francis Schaeffer wrote: There are two interesting things about there mountains. First from the top of Ebal or Gerizim we can see a great deal of the promised land. Second, at one place a natural ampitheater exists, and as we stand on the top or on the sides of these mountains, we can see and hear everything occurring on both of the mountains and in the valley below. Through the years many people have tested this. They have stood on one of the mountains and had other people stand on other parts of the two mountains or in the valley. As they read something in a loud voice but without amplification, the other persons were able to hear all that was spoken. This is God’s own ampitheater.

Deuteronomy 11:29 And it shall come to pass, when the LORD thy God hath brought thee in unto the land whither thou goest to possess it, that thou shalt put the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal.

Every one of the Israelites was to be at one of the two mountain sites – not just the men. Mount Gerizim was to be the place of blessing and Mount Ebal – the taller mountain – was to be the place of curses. This was to be a very real lesson to the Israelites as they were in the land that God promised to them: were they going to choose to live in the blessings announced on Mount Gerizim by keeping God’s Law or were they going to be in the curses announced on Mount Ebal because of their rejection of God. They had a choice to make and God wanted to be sure that they understood the consequences of their decision. When the Israelites arrived at Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, they had to build an altar. What is very interesting is on which mountain the altar was built.

Deuteronomy 27:1-8 And Moses with the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, Keep all the commandments which I command you this day. (2) And it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over Jordan unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaster them with plaster: (3) And thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law, when thou art passed over, that thou mayest go in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey; as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee. (4) Therefore it shall be when ye be gone over Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in mount Ebal, and thou shalt plaster them with plaster. (5) And there shalt thou build an altar unto the LORD thy God, an altar of stones: thou shalt not lift up any iron tool upon them. (6) Thou shalt build the altar of the LORD thy God of whole stones: and thou shalt offer burnt offerings thereon unto the LORD thy God: (7) And thou shalt offer peace offerings, and shalt eat there, and rejoice before the LORD thy God. (8) And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly.

The altar was built on Mount Ebal – the mountain where the curses were going to be proclaimed. Note that God’s Word was going to be prominently displayed on the altar, just as God’s Word was to be placed on the doorposts of each home as taught earlier in Deuteronomy. The Word of God had been written down so it could be read and re-read – this was not oral tradition as some will try to teach. Oral tradition always changes something along the way through time, but the written word does not change.

Paul is telling the Thessalonians that the Holy Spirit is restraining the devil and his plans, but a day is coming when the Holy Spirit will be removed and the devil will be let loose on earth. Verse 7 shows us that because the “he” refers to the Holy Spirit and when the Holy Spirit is taken out of the way, then the devil’s plans can go forward unimpeded. When will this happen? We simply do not know other than it could happen at any moment. Right now believers should be focused on spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The harvest is ready, but the workers are few.

James 5:7-8 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. (8) Be ye also patient; establish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.

God is patient and wants everyone to come to Him, but not everyone will. Right now He is trying to draw everyone to Him, but not everyone will come. 2Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. God is long-suffering and patient with us, but that patience will end at His discretion. He wants everyone to repent of their sin and place their faith in Jesus Christ, but not everyone will. Sadly, I believe that there will be less people that will be raptured out than people expect. When the rapture happens there will be people left behind because they only had a head knowledge of Jesus Christ and had not truly placed their faith in Him.

2Thessalonians 2:8-12 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: (9) Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, (10) And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. (11) And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: (12) That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Believers do not know when Jesus Christ is coming, nor should we. It will be a surprise and you know why? Because if we knew when Jesus Christ is coming, we would wait until the last minute before trying to let people know. Remember as children, if your parents left the house and they left you chores to do, did you do them right away or did you wait? Most people tend to wait and then at the last minute hurry to wash the dishes or mow the lawn or whatever the chore was. “Why do today what you can put off till tomorrow?” Believers in Jesus Christ will not see the revealing of the antichrist. We simply will not know the time of His coming. It will be a surprise. We will not see the Antichrist make his covenant with Israel. We will not see the Antichrist stand in the temple and announce himself as God. We will not see the mark of the Beast forced upon the world. We will not see the great judgments poured out. We will not see the northern power of Ezekiel 38-39 descend upon Israel and be destroyed by God. We will not see the armies of the world congregate in the middle east to stand against Christ at Armageddon.

The Apostle Paul warned us that there will be many false teachers and false prophets in the world. These false teachers will lead people astray. What is even sadder yet, is the many that are lead astray actually willing to be led astray. They will pursue their own desires rather than God’s desires. They will decide upon their own version of holiness rather than follow God’s holiness.

2Timothy 3:1-7 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. (2) For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, (3) Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, (4) Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; (5) Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. (6) For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, (7) Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

The false teachers may even deceive themselves into believing they are following God but they actually going further away from God. As it says in verse 5: Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. These false teachers may appear to be holy and godly in some fashion, but ultimately they are known by their fruits. Listen carefully to what they say. Pay attention to what they do. That is what Jesus Christ warned:

Matthew 7:15-23 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. (16) Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? (17) Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. (18) A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. (19) Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. (20) Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. (21) Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. (22) Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? (23) And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

A man predicted that the end of the world was coming this weekend. It did not happen, not yet, but it will happen soon. Are you ready?

A few months back I was reading Reader’s Digest and there was an advertisement that declared that the end of the world was coming. The ad even gave the date: May 21, 2011. They provided a website and I checked it out and as everyone knows now: the man Harold Camping and his “ministry” Family Radio is behind the prediction. And as you can see, we are still here. I had not realized that Harold Camping had predicted that at 6PM in New Zealand there would be an earthquake and the judgment would begin. Judgment would then roll around the world as each area hit 6PM. New Zealand is about fifteen hours ahead of us, so judgment would have started at 3AM Saturday morning EST. So what happened?

Harold Camping has made end of the world predictions before and this was his latest one. In 1992, he wrote a book titled: 1994? and he predicted the world would end on September 6, 1994. When the world did not end, he determined that he had the right date but had interpreted the Bible wrong. Harold Camping then had a 2005 book titled Time Has an End: A Biblical History of the World,11,013 BC – 2011 AD. Sadly, many people have bought into his failed prophecies and spent outrageous amounts of money to warn people about the end of the world. It has been reported that one man in New York City spent $140,000 of his own money advertising on billboards and signs in the subway in New York City trying to get the word out. What are these people going to do now? Harold Camping teaches his followers to not go to church and listen to him on the radio instead. People have been making end of the world predictions for many centuries now and when the predictions have not come true people have killed themselves, fallen into deep depression, and attacked the false prophets. It was reported that back in 1843, all over the Northeast, half a million Adventists — disciples of New York evangelist William Miller — awaited the end of the world on April 3, 1843. Journalists had a field day. Reportedly some disciples were on mountaintops, hoping for a head start to heaven. Others were in graveyards, planning to ascend in union with their departed loved ones. Some high society ladies clustered together outside town to avoid entering God’s  holy kingdom amid the common herd. When April 4 dawned as usual, the Millerites were disillusioned, but they took heart. Their leader had predicted a range of dates for the end — dates that have also come and gone.

The fact is that nobody does know the time when judgment will come. Jesus Christ told His disciples: Matthew 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. Make no mistake, Judgment Day is coming, but we do not know when it will be. The Apostle Paul wrote his epistles fully expecting the Rapture to happen during his lifetime. That should be our attitude as well: Jesus Christ is coming soon. I only wish those people that advertised May 21, 2011, had spent their money focusing more on the Gospel and less on the specific date.

The Rapture is the first event that will happen before the Tribulation period will begin. Paul wrote: 1Corinthians 15:51-53 Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, (52) In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (53) For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. Paul also wrote:

1Thessalonians 4:14-18 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. (15) For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. (16) For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: (17) Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (18) Wherefore comfort one another with these words.1Th 5:1-6 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. (2) For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. (3) For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. (4) But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. (5) Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. (6) Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.

Jesus Christ will come like a thief in the night to rapture the church out before the Tribulation begins. Just as a thief does not call a homeowner ahead of time to tell him that the thief will be robbing his house that night, Jesus Christ will not tell us when He is coming. There is no point in setting a date, people across the world have been warned for the last two thousand years that Jesus Christ is coming. Now the most warning we will have will be a shout from the Lord and a trumpet call. Believers do not know the day or month or year or decade or century! That is why we must always be prepared. While on a South Pole expedition, British explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton left a few men on Elephant Island, promising that he would return. Later, when he tried to go back, huge icebergs blocked the way. But suddenly, as if by a miracle, an avenue opened in the ice and Shackleton was able to get through. His men, ready and waiting, quickly scrambled aboard. No sooner had the ship cleared the island than the ice crashed together behind them. Contemplating their narrow escape, the explorer said to his men, “It was fortunate you were all packed and ready to go!” They replied, “We never gave up hope. Whenever the sea was clear of ice, we rolled up our sleeping bags and reminded each other, ‘The boss may come today.’”

Jesus Christ told His disciples: Act 1:6-8 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? (7) And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. (8) But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. The disciples expected Jesus Christ to usher in the kingdom at that time, but Jesus Christ knew that the Gospel had to get out across the world first. The disciples focus was to be on evangelism – preaching the Word of God to the world.

The Israelites are now ready to enter the Promised Land. Joshua is now the leader of the Israelites and he sends two spies across the Jordan river to look over the city of Jericho. Jericho was the first large city that the Israelites would encounter after they cross the Jordan river. It was a heavily defended city built on a hill and with large thick walls. This would be a potentially difficult battle with the people of Jericho, however, the Israelites had God fighting for them.

Joshua 2:1 And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into a harlot’s house, named Rahab, and lodged there.

Why did the two spies go to Rahab’s? Rahab was a harlot, the Bible tells us and it is not unusual for strange men to come and go at odd times of the day from a harlot’s house. There is absolutely no indication that the men went to Rahab’s for any other reason than to be able to hide. Rahab provided the spies with shelter when the king of Jericho found about about the spies and where they were staying.

Joshua 2:2, 3 And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither tonight of the children of Israel to search out the country. (3) And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house: for they be come to search out all the country.

The king of Jericho sent men to search the house but Rahab had hidden the two Israelites in the roof of her house. And then she told the men of Jericho that the spies had left Jericho.

Joshua 2:4-7 And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I know not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them. (6) But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof. (7) And the men pursued after them the way to Jordan unto the fords: and as soon as they which pursued after them were gone out, they shut the gate.

When the men of Jericho left Jericho to search for the Israelites, they shut the city’s gate behind them. The gate was the only way in or out of the city. Obviously, Rahab lied to protect the spies – was she correct in doing this? Is it ever right to lie, even when it could save someone’s life? Let me rephrase the question: is it ever right to sin? The Bible makes it very clear that it is never right to sin and lying is a sin. Proverb 12:22 Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.

Proverb 14:5 A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies.

Would the Israelites spies died if Rahab had not lied? Would they still have escaped if Rahab had not lied? We do not know. For all we know, if she had let the men of Jericho inside to look for the spies, perhaps God would have blinded those men to the presence of the spies. The point is that Rahab was not asked to lie by God or the two spies: she chose to lie. Yes, the circumstances worked out very well, the spies were able to leave Jericho and Rahab and her family were protected when the Israelites attacked the city of Jericho. However, the Bible does not record that Rahab was blessed or honored for her lie. Note what was written about her in the Book of Hebrews: Hebrews 11:31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace. Rahab was blessed and honored for her faith in God, not for her lie. It is never right to do wrong to do right. Charles Spurgeon wrote: Rahab had effectually misdirected the pursuers, and lulled to sleep all suspicion against herself. Her success does not, however, justify her deceit. Whether it succeed or fail, falsehood is always wrong.

Austin O’Malley said: A lie has no legs. It requires other lies to support it. Tell one lie and you are forced to tell others to back it up. Stretching the truth won’t make it last any longer. Those that think it permissible to tell white lies soon grow colorblind. John Wesley declared: I would not tell one lie to save the souls of all the world.

Proverbs 6:16-19 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: (17) A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, (18) A heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, (19) A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

God would have still provided for the Israelites even if Rahab had not lied. God’s will would have still been accomplished despite the actions of Rahab.

Psa 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. When I am not reading the Bible, how will I know where to go? His Word is a light unto my feet directing me and my direction, but if I do not have His Word, then I will drift off course.

Psa 119:133 Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me. Again, without God’s Word in my heart and on my mind, I cannot know for sure what is sin and what is not sin. If I rely on my feelings and emotions only, then I will end up off the path that God has set before me.

2 Cor. 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

Let us break this verse down phrase by phrase: Every man according as he purposeth in his heart – the word “purposeth” does not allude to the quantity the man should give, but points to the willingness to give. Every man means everyone and each man and woman should decide in their heart how they are going to give. In other words, what is the motivation in the giving. Is it to bring attention to yourself? Or do you give less to God because you are hurt or angry? Do you give because others are giving? Are you giving because you expect something back?

so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity – means that we should give willingly and we should not be forced into giving.

A blind Indian beggar sat beside a road, fingering the rice in his little bowl. Wearing only a loin cloth, he sat in poverty beside a road that stretched into nowhere both ways. The scarce travelers occasionally gave him a little rice. One day he heard the thunder of a chariot in the distance. It was the grand entourage of the maharajah. This was a moment that had never come before. Surely the great one would stop and give him baskets of rice.

Indeed, the golden chariot of the maharajah stopped before the poor beggar. The great one stepped down and the beggar fell before him. Then the sky seemed to fall in. “Give me your rice,” said the great one. A fearful, hateful, scowl masked the face of the beggar. He reached into his bowl and thrust one grain of rice toward the maharajah. “Is that all?” said the great one. The beggar spat on the ground, cursed, and threw him one more grain of rice. The great one turned, entered his chariot, and was gone.

The beggar-angry, empty, and crushed-fingered the remaining rice he had hoarded in his bowl. He felt something hard, different from the rice. He pulled it out. It was one grain of gold. He poured out his rice, caring nothing for it now. He found one other grain of gold. Had he trusted the great one, he could have had a grain of gold for every grain of rice.

2 Cor. 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. God wants us to willingly and cheerfully give to Him. Again, let me repeat that Paul is not talking about just financial giving, but the giving of ourselves to others and to God. Giving can be difficult and painful, but only if we have purposed it in our heart that it will be difficult and painful. Giving can be uncomfortable and sometimes embarrassing, but only if we have purposed it in our heart that it will be uncomfortable and embarrassing. The giving can be telling someone the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The giving can be volunteering somewhere that needs volunteers. The giving can be teaching someone what needs to be taught. We have to decide in our hearts that what we are giving is what God wants us to give and then give it fully, willingly, and cheerfully.

2 Cor. 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

God is able. When we have the proper motivation in our hearts and we cheerfully give, then God is able to make all grace abound toward us. That means He is going to give to us abundantly. So does that mean if I give $100, then God will give me $200? Not necessarily, because God’s blessings are not always material. There have been times when we have given financially and God has resupplied that back to us, but that does not always happen. There is no prosperity Gospel which teaches that if you give a ton of money, God will automatically double it. God’s spiritual blessings can be greater than material blessings. Note what Jesus Christ declared in Luke 6:

Luke 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

He did not say that He will double our money as some will teach. Instead Jesus Christ is teaching that what we give and how we give will determine the bounty we receive back. So much of the Christian life depends upon our motivation in doing what we do.

Two wealthy Christians, a lawyer and a merchant, joined a party that was going around the world. Before they started, their minister earnestly asked them to observe and remember any unusual and interesting things that they might see in the missionary countries through which the party was to travel. The men promised – carelessly, perhaps – to do so.

One day in Korea, they saw in a field by the side of the road a boy pulling a crude plow, while an old man held the handles and directed it. The lawyer was amused, and took a snapshot of the scene.

“That’s a curious picture! I suppose they are very poor,” he said to the missionary who was interpreter and guide to the party.

“Yes,” was the quiet reply. “That is the family of Chi Noui. When the church was being built they were eager to give something to it, but they had no money so they sold their only ox and gave the money to the church. This spring they are pulling the plow themselves.”

The lawyer and the businessman by his side were silent for some moments. Then the businessman said, “That must have been a real sacrifice.”

“They did not call it that,” said the missionary. “They thought it was fortunate they had an ox to sell.”

2 Cor. 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

The Corinthians did not lack anything materially or spiritually, but they were not using the bounty from God properly. Paul encouraged them to give willingly and cheerfully. When we are obedient to God, He will bless us in ways we do not expect. Why? Because He loves us. Why does He love us? Because He loves us. That is all the reason we need to know. Drop down to verse 15:

2 Cor 9:15 Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.

What is God’s unspeakable gift? The better way to phrase that question is to say: Who is God’s unspeakable gift? No matter how much we give of our time, energy, strength, and money, we can never ever outgive God. Because He gave us His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Go to 2 Corinthians 8:9

2Co 8:9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

J. Vernon McGee wrote: Though He was rich, He left Heaven, left all the glory, came down as a missionary to this world. He came not only to live but to give His life in death for you. He came to die on the cross. He came to be brutally killed in order that you and I might have eternal life. He paid the penalty for our sins. There is no better gift than that.

In 2 Corinthians chapter 9, Paul is teaching the Corinthians the importance of Christian giving. Let me start off by stating that Paul is not only teaching about financial giving – he is also teaching the importance of giving all of yourself to God and to others. I read the whole chapter to provide the context for what Paul is teaching, but we see in the first five verses that Paul was exhorting the Corinthians to make good on the pledge they had made in providing relief to the believers in Jerusalem. It was not easy to be a Christian in Jerusalem at this time. Just because Paul was no longer persecuting the Christians does not mean that others had not continued the persecution. The Corinthians had pledged to help and Paul reminding them the importance of keeping a pledge or promise. God takes vows very seriously and we need to very careful about promises we make to God.

Numbers 30:2 If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.

In the Book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon warns about making foolish vows.

Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. (5) Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.

How often do you hear about someone in troubles that prays to God, “God if you will do this for me, then I will do this ___.” But when the trial or trouble is over and passed, the person does not keep his end of the bargain. That is why we are warned that it is better to not make a promise rather than make a promise and not keep it.

The Corinthian church had been very blessed by God. They were in a fairly wealthy city and they had all the spiritual gifts given to them by God. They made a pledge and when we make a promise, it is between us and God and God keeps His promises and He expects us to keep ours. Note that is verse 5 of 2 Corinthians 9, Paul uses the word “bounty” twice. Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren, that they would go before unto you, and make up beforehand your bounty, whereof ye had notice before, that the same might be ready, as a matter of bounty, and not as of covetousness. Bounty is more than a paper towel, a bounty is a generous gift given from the overflow of blessings from God. J. Vernon McGee wrote: I know a wealthy man who was asked, “How in the world did you become so rich when you give so much of it away?” “Well,” he answered, “The Lord shovels it in and I shovel it out and God has the bigger shovel.” My friend, we can never outgive God.

Please see that Paul says at the end of verse 5: that the same might be ready, as a matter of bounty, and not as of covetousness,meaning that Paul wanted the Corinthians to give willingly and not greedily hold onto the bounty.

A woman took her two small boys and a daughter to see Peter Pan at the matinee one Saturday afternoon. The tickets were two dollars and fifty cents each. The young daughter watched as the mother pushed ten one dollar bills under the window and received four tickets.

The next day the same mother and daughter were at church. When the collection was taken the child saw her mother open her purse, take out a quarter, and put it in the plate as it passed them.

The little girl looked up at her mother and in a clear stage whisper which everyone around could hear said, “Mother, church is a lot cheaper than a movie, isn’t it?”

2 Corinthians 9:6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.

In the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, Paul is giving his final message to the church of Ephesus and he tells them a similar statement.

Act 20:35 I have showed you all things, how that so laboring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

Interestingly, the four gospels do not record Jesus Christ ever saying, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” However, the gospel writers do not claim to have recorded everything said by Jesus Christ during His time here on earth. What this does show is the thought that the apostle Paul was personally taught by Jesus Christ after his conversion on the road to Damascus. How often do we hear that phrase today, “It is better to give than to receive” but how little it is practiced. It truly is a blessing when we give and the word “blessed” means “happy.” We have been blessed with a bounty, even if we do not realize it and we should be willing to share it with others. Dr Dan reed wrote:

Serving others was what our Lord fed upon. Giving His life for us was His meat! The discontentment of our age shows a change in the way we view service. We want to be served. But happiness and contentment was in looking after the welfare of others and getting our focus off of ourselves and onto others. I find that when I am down, a visit to a hospital room helps me. I find that when I am down, visits to some bus children help me. I find that when I am depressed and feeling blue, some phone calls to sick and hurting people help me. I find that it is not the gift you give to me that helps me most, but it is the gift I give to you (Dr. Dan Reed).

On the other hand, Paul also warned the Galatians:

Gal 6:7-8 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. (8) For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

What is sowed, is what will be reaped. That can be applied to all areas of our lives, not in just financial matters. If a farmer plants corn in the ground, he will reap corn. If that farmer plants very few kernels of corn, then he will reap very few ears of corn. If he plants many kernels, then he will have a bounty. Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he reap. If that same farmer that has just gained a bountiful harvest, not only plants half as much corn the next season, then he will only receive half as much corn. It is the same concept in how we treat ourselves physically and spiritually. If I only eat Twinkies morning, noon, and night, then I will reap a large weight gain and poor health. If I seldom read my Bible, then I will not grow spiritually and will remain a babe in Christ. If I am not planting the seed of the word of God in my heart, then I will not be able to withstand the wiles of the devil.

Our main focus today is going to be verses 11 through 18, but I wanted to give the context of the passage by reading the first 18 verses of Galatians 5. After Paul had started the churches in Galatia, he left to start churches elsewhere. Sadly, Judaizers came in and began teachings the Galatians that aspects of the Law that was given to Moses had to be followed as well. Essentially, they were teaching another Gospel that required works as well as faith for salvation. Paul was saddened and distressed at how quickly the Galatians chose to listen to these false teachers and follow what they taught, rather than cling to the teachings that Paul had founded their churches upon. Go to Galatians 1:

Galatians 1:6-9 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: (7) Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. (8) But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. (9) As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

These are very strong words condemning the misuse of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul does not mince words here, the Gospel cannot be changed or added to or have things taken from it, because then it turns the Gospel into a lie. In Galatians chapter 5, Paul is showing that circumcision or no circumcision does not bring a person into a right standing with God.

Galatians 5:3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.

Once a person decides that they need to keep part of the Law, then they are required to keep all of the Law – there is no picking and choosing. We cannot state that we will keep the dietary portions of the Law and ignore the rest. We cannot state that we will keep the Sabbath, but ignore the Feasts of the Lord. James 2:8-12 If ye fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well: (9) But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. (10) For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. (11) For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. (12) So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.

People will say that The Book of James and the Books that Paul wrote are contradictory, but note what James wrote in verses 8, 9: If ye fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well: (9) But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. And what Paul wrote in Galatians: For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. (15) But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. Both verses discuss loving your neighbor and point out the proper way of treating them. The point is that believers need to choose to live in the liberty of God’s grace or live in the bondage of the Law.

Galatians 5:11 And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offense of the cross ceased.

Paul is pointing the position that he is being put into: if Paul preaches that circumcision and other works of the Law doing nothing for salvation, then he is persecuted; and if he were to preach for circumcision, then he is persecuted. The problem is this: the Gospel of Jesus Christ offends the natural man – the unbeliever, the lost person. Whether it is the idea of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross or His shed blood or His burial and resurrection, the truth of the Gospel upsets people. John the Baptist’s message from the wilderness was not, “Smile, God loves you.” It was “O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come.” Jeremiah was not put into a miry pit for preaching, “You can have your best life now.” It was for crying against the adultery, idolatry and other wickedness of his nation. Noah’s message from the steps of the ark was not, “Something good is going to happen to you.” He condemned the world and was a preacher of righteousness. Jesus Christ was not crucified for saying, “Consider the lilies, how they grow,” but for saying, “Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites…children of hell …fools and blind guides … whited sepulchers…generation of vipers.”

then is the offense of the cross ceased. What does that phrase mean? It means that the cross of Jesus Christ is offensive to those who do not truly believe in Him. It is offensive to man because the cross was something that only Jesus Christ could do, and man believes that he has to do something in order to be saved. Billy Sunday told of a man who came to him and said, “I will cut out the booze and get on the water wagon,” “Good; what else?” “Of course, I am a gambler; I will quit gambling and I will never touch a pack of cards.” “All right; what else?” “I am a bad man, and I will live a clean life.” “Good; what else?” He said, “If I quit these things, I think they cover about all. I will quit drinking, swearing, stop gambling, and I will quit being impure.” Billy said, “Good. Give me your hand and say you will accept Jesus Christ as your Savior,” He said, “No, I will not. If I stop those things, I won’t need to do that.” The cross is offensive to man’s pride because God accepts those that are meek and lowly and humble and mankind is not naturally any of those things. The cross is offensive to man because shows him his sinfulness and need for salvation.

Galatians 5:12 I would they were even cut off which trouble you. The Apostle Paul desires that the Judaizers would have nothing to do with the Galatians.

Galatians 5:13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.

There are three methods of trying to live the Christian life – two of them will not work. One is a life of legalism, which Paul has been discussing. The other is the life of license, which Paul discussed in Romans 6: After we are saved by grace, can we live in sin? Paul’s answer is:”God forbid.” You cannot live in sin and be a Christian. Now you may fall into sin, but you will get out of it. The Prodigal Son can get in the pig pen, but he won’t settle down there – the pig pen won’t be his forwarding address. He will leave it. The Christian life is neither the life of legalism nor the life of license. (J. Vernon McGee)

We are in a difficult time of history and we know from the Bible that the future is going to get rougher. The events in Egypt could be a forerunner of the future events that are predicted in the Bible. The Middle East is chaotic and anything could happen. The world is rushing closer to the end times and believers in Jesus Christ should be expecting to hear that trumpet call at any moment. Mankind is in a hurry to get away from God and follow man’s own ideas rather than what God has written down in the Bible. Man wants to remake Christianity in his own image rather than follow what God has said! Listen to this illustration:

“A small boy filled with all kinds of playful ideas anxiously awaited his father’s return from work. An extra-long day at the office, however, had taken its toll, and his father longed for a few minutes of relaxation. Over and over again the boy tugged at his dad’s leg with yet another suggestion of something they might do together. Well, finally in total frustration the father ripped from a magazine a picture of the world and tore it into a hundred pieces. “Here,” he said handing the child a roll of scotch tape, “go and put the world back together.” Ah, peace at last, or so he thought. But, in just a few minutes, he was interrupted again, there before him stood his son-and in hands was a crudely fashioned picture of the world. “Son, that’s incredible. How did you do it?” “It was easy,” said the boy, “you see on the other side of the picture of the world was the picture of a man, and as soon as I got man straightened out the world came together.” What a profound answer from a child! How true! Get man fixed and the world will be okay.” The illustration ends there, but it seems incomplete, but it does express the philosophy of today: get man fixed and the world will be okay.

In February, there is going to be a conference called “Big Tent Christianity” that describes itself as “the convergence of new and old ways of being and becoming the Church: Progressive and Emergent; Denominational and Non-denominational; Large and Small Faith Communities Describable and Undescribable. BTX brings people together from across the country to proclaim what unites us as followers of Jesus in this modern world. More than a dozen leading Christian voices will break through boundaries to share new and innovative forms of ministry and renewal. You will be inspired by their visions of how we can speak even more powerfully in and to the world of the 21st century.”

One of the speakers at this conference is Marcus Borg, who recently wrote: “To be Christian means to find the decisive revelation of God in Jesus. To be Muslim means to find the decisive revelation of God in the Koran. To be Jewish means to find the decisive revelation of God in the Torah, and so forth. I don’t think that one of these is better than the other. You could even say they are all divinely given paths to the sacred. To be Christian in this kind of context means to be deeply committed to one’s own tradition, even as one recognizes the validity of other traditions.”

These people are looking to get man straightened out and then the world will be okay. The problem is that they are leaving out the God of the Bible in the process. Only God can straighten man out, no matter how hard a man may try. They are also trying to remake God and Jesus Christ into something more palatable and agreeable: Marcus Borg also wrote: “Seminary also introduced me to the historical study of Jesus and Christian origins. I learned from my professors and the readings they assigned that Jesus almost certainly was not born of a virgin, did not think of himself as the Son of God, and did not see his purpose as dying for the sins of the world… I also found the claim that Jesus and Christianity were the only way of salvation to be troublesome.” Reverend Lowell Grisham, an Episcopalian minister wrote: “But I’ve never understood why people would want to worship a God who was meaner than they are. That’s not a God who deserves our worship. What kind of God would condemn Gandhi and the Dalai Lama to hell? Maybe an unjust, tribal deity. But that’s not the God we see reflected in the life of Jesus, and it is not the God of healthy Christianity. When Christians speak of God, we look first to the person of Jesus as the incarnation of God, the human face of God. Jesus did not run around trying to convert everyone to his religion. He reached out with compassion and understanding toward those who were outside his religion, and he treated them with love and respect.”

What was one of the first statements that Jesus Christ is recorded as declaring in Mark’s Gospel? Mark 1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. That is the Jesus Christ of the Bible and that is the Jesus Christ people need to follow! People need to get back to what God has said in His Word rather than looking for new ways and new ideas. Only Jesus Christ can straighten man out and the world will only be okay when Jesus Christ returns! People need to put away these “new” ideas and return to the old paths. Jeremiah wrote:

Jeremiah 6:16-20 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein. (17) Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken. (18) Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them. (19) Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it. (20) To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me.

God is telling the Israelites to return to the ways that He had taught them hundreds of years before during the Exodus. All they have to do is follow Him and they will find rest for their souls – they just have to walk on the good way. Jesus Christ Himself informed the disobedient Israelites where to find the good way: John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. The word “the” makes the meaning all to clear: Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father. But the world wants to think that there are many paths to God.

In the latest issue of Reader’s Digest, there is an article by a Muslim woman who is defending the mosque being built near Ground Zero in New York City. She believes that the world’s religions need to get along with each other and embrace the differences and realize that we all worship the same god. She ends the article with this: “The Sufi poet Rumi has a very beautiful poem. He says that God is like an ocean, and religions are like rivers that all flow into the same ocean. Our origins are the same, and our destinations are the same; it is our paths that sometimes differ.” Now if I read that statement to the average person out there – even the ones that profess to be Christian – they would applaud that statement. But it is completely contradictory to what the Bible says. There is not a shred of truth to that poem. Sadly, people do not want to believe the Word of God.

Jeremiah 6:10 To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it. Jeremiah spoke the Word of God to the Israelites and they could not listen to it. Their ears were filled with their sin and they could not bear to hear the Word of God. Just as Paul wrote to Timothy: 2 Timothy 4:3-4 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; (4) And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. Look at the last phrase of Jer. 6:10

behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it. The Israelites refused to hear the Word of God and then began to mock it and found no pleasure in it. The Word of God is not always going to be what people want to hear – BUT it is what people NEED to hear. Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Who ever wants to be corrected or chastised or rebuked? Nobody does, but each of us need to be corrected when we stray from the way of God. The Word of God is what every person needs to hear in order to follow God and His Son, Jesus Christ. Listen to what these men say about the Bible:

“Make it the first morning business of your life to understand some part of the Bible clearly, and make it your daily business to obey it in all that you do understand”-John Ruskin.

“I cannot too greatly emphasize the importance and value of Bible study-more important than ever before in these days of uncertainties, when men and women are apt to decide questions from the standpoint of expediency rather than on the eternal principles laid down by God Himself”-John Wanamaker.

“It is impossible to mentally or socially enslave a Bible reading people. The principles of the Bible are the groundwork of human freedom”-Horace Greeley.

Jeremiah 6:11-14 Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD; I am weary with holding in: I will pour it out upon the children abroad, and upon the assembly of young men together: for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days. (12) And their houses shall be turned unto others, with their fields and wives together: for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD. (13) For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. (14) They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

Look at verse 13: God is declaring through Jeremiah that everyone is covetous – everyone wants for themselves first. Everybody wants what is not theirs. Covetousness is the root of many sins: consider the Ten Commandments almost all of those involve someone being covetous. Commandments 1-4: “I want to have my own god or be god. I want to worship who or what ever I desire. I will talk as I like and I will do whatever I want on whatever day I want.” Commandments 7-10: “I want my neighbor’s spouse. I will take what my neighbor has. I will take my neighbor’s reputation away through lying. I will desire to have what my neighbor has.” Jeremiah goes on to state that the religious leaders – the prophets to the priests – are dealing falsely with the Israelites and with God. In verse 14 the false prophets and priests have claimed to heal the wounds of the Israelites, but all they have done is put a bandage on a wound that is infected. They did nothing to cure the problem and that is what is happening today: There are plenty of band-aids but they are only covering the wounds and not getting to the root of the problem:sin. People are refusing to see their sin and they refuse to answer to the conviction by the Holy Spirit when they do sin. They want to believe that they are at peace with God, while they are waddling in their sin!

A certain community was near a dangerous highway curve where several cars had driven too fast around the curve and fallen over a cliff. Great discussion took place in the town over what to do about the situation. Some in the discussion group thought it a good idea to station an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff to give immediate aid to the victims. Wiser heads suggested it might be better to erect a fence around the curve on top of the cliff. To us, such a discussion is ridiculous. We know it is much better to prevent accidents and deaths than to treat them after the fact. Let us not overlook the truth that this principle also has much spiritual merit. We need not debate whether Christians sin. The New Testament speaks plainly. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His Word has no place in our lives. The Apostle John immediately follows this truth with a powerful statement of assurance. 1John 2:1-2 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: (2) And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. Although forgiveness and grace are abundant, Jesus does not intend for us to just focus on these. He not only provides forgiveness, He also gives us the power to keep from sin. How much better that we focus on the “fence” at the top rather than on the “ambulance” at the bottom. How much better it is to warn rather than to try to pick up the pieces.

Jeremiah 6:15 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the LORD. When people are filled with covetousness, their only concern is themselves and they feel no shame about it. A young man applying for a job as usher in a theater was asked by the owner, “In case of fire, what would you do?” “Oh, don’t be concerned about me,” was the reply. “I’d be able to escape immediately.” He did not even think of his responsibility toward others. Of course, he didn’t get the job. Sin blinds us all and keeps our focus on what I want. Sin is an “I” problem and becomes all about me. Sin has us saying, “I can do it myself.” The believer in Jesus Christ realizes that he or she must bow down before Him and say, “Help me, Jesus, I cannot do this without you.”