Will Death Ever Die?

 

The reason I ask the question is because I want to answer it from a Biblical perspective. Although it may sound like double talk to some, it is not. I will try my best to explain why. Death for most of the world is a horrifying reality. But not discussing it or trying to dismiss it out of one’s mind will not delay its wrath. Death for most is a journey into the unknown, a great void, an abyss, a black hole of sorts. In death we are dealing with the afterlife. Will things be better in this afterlife? Will you see your loved ones in heaven? Where or who does death take us to – God and Jesus or the devil and demons? Who determines where one goes when they die? Is it the Lord or man? Does it matter? Have we been lied to?

We all know what death is; it’s simply the termination of life. At the time I am writing this, life and death are concurrent. This is what is happening on 6/30/2024 at 1:16 pm PST:

 

Go to https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/ to get real time statistics.

For most, the Bible presents painful inconvenient truths to our hearts and minds. The natural reaction is for us to recoil from God’s word. Why? Because it tells us what we need to hear verses what we want to hear.

In Isaiah 30:10 we read these words, who say to the seers, see not, and to the prophets, prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits (or lies). These people are like those in Romans 1 who suppress the truth in unrighteousness (vs 18).

No one should be content with a comfortable lie to make them feel better. That is a trick of the enemy of our souls – Satan.  An inconvenient truth is better. Why? Because it sets off alarm bells to move us to action. It is knowing any truth that we can be made free. That doesn’t mean the truth is going to be pleasant, but it can point us in the right direction to a solution. With impending death, the only way we can triumph over it is to go to the one who has conquered it – our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. How did He do it? Let’s look at several verses of scripture.

John 10: 17-18 – Therefore my Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it up again. No one takes My from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it up again. This command I have received from My Father.

·         Because Jesus has the power over life and death, trusting in Him is the ONLY way one can obtain life everlasting.

John 11:25 – I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live whoever believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?

·         Jesus asked Martha this question after her brother Lazarus died

Acts 2:27 – For you will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will allow your Holy One to see corruption.

·         Peter borrowed this language from Psalm 16:10, making reference to Jesus Christ rising from the dead

Romans 4:24b-25 – In Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses and was raised up for our justification.

Matthew 16:21 - From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.

Matthew 17:22-23a - As they were gathering in Galilee Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered in the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.

Luke 18:31-33 - And taking the twelve, He said to them, see we are going to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For He will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging Him, they will kill Him, and on the third day He will rise.

1 Peter 1:3 -5 -  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (italics mine for emphasis) to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Revelation 1:17b-18 – Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hell of death.

 We live because Jesus lives. The preceding verses show us how to conquer death and receive everlasting life. Only then will one be able to echo the words of the apostle Paul, “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21).

Moses declared to the children of Israel that the Lord has set before them life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live (Deuteronomy 30:19).

The more one internalizes these truths, the more confidence one will gain in God and His word. We must meditate, feed on the scriptures so that it’s not just data in our minds, but realities we happily confess and share with all.  The scriptures HAVE to become part of our spiritual DNA.

So, to answer the title question, yes death has been conquered for the child of through Christ. The Devil has no more dominion over us. Hebrews 2:14-15 says, “Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by his death He might break the power of him who holds the power of death – that is the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”

When the rapture[1] takes place the Bible tells us those of who are alive will be changed – meaning that our bodies will be translated from mortal to immortality. We will no longer be subject to death anymore. We have reached eternity. Death is literally defeated. 1 Corinthians 15:55 says, “Oh death where is your victory? O death, where is your sting. Its as if the apostle Paul is personifying death and mockingly asking the question of death’s inept power.

Finally in Revelation 20:14 we read, “Death and Hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” So, yes. There is a time in history when death will die. But only those who are in Christ Jesus will have victory over it.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

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[1] The rapture is the catching away of the Church into heaven before the seven-year tribulation

Not all Christians are pre-tribulationists, but this writer is

The Religion of Atheism

 

                                                            Atheism

B

oth Psalm 14 and 53 declare the fool has said in his heart there is no God. The word fool here is the Hebrew word nabal. It means someone who lacks good sense, one who is unwise. Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament the works of His hands.”

Psalm 24:1 tells us the earth is the Lord’s and all its fulness. In John 1:3 it says, “All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being (Amplified). In Colossians 1:16-17 we read, “For it was in Him (Christ) that all things were created, in heaven and on earth, things seen and unseen, whether thrones, dominions, rulers, or authorities; all things were created and exist through Him and in and for Him. And He existed before all things, and in Him all things consist.” In Revelation 4:10 the apostle John is transported to heaven. He witnesses the twenty-four elders worshipping at the Lord’s throne and casting down their crowns saying, “You are worthy our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, because you have created all things (emphasis added), and because of your will they existed and were created.”  Romans 1 tells us that what God has created is a crystal clear revelation of His existence. Romans 1:18-20 tells us:

 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all impiety and unrighteousness of people, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what can be known about God is evident among them, for God has made it clear to them. For from the creation of the world, His invisible attributes, both His eternal power and deity, are discerned clearly, being understood in the things created, so that they are without excuse.”

A true atheist is an idolater, a hypocrite and a liar. They are an idolater because since they say God does not exist, they are going to worship an idol(s) – their own mind, perhaps science or some false ideology like Darwinian evolution or New Age mysticism. They are hypocrites because they always use language that belies their atheistic beliefs like good and evil. If one is claiming to be a bonafide atheist, the virtue of good and the reality of evil cannot exist. Why? Without a moral law giver, humans are no better than an animal that hunts prey and kills it to survive. The animal does not see killing to survive as evil, for it is instinctive for it to hunt so that it does not starve to death. Good nor evil is not an awareness in any animal, mammal or insect for God has not placed that in them, but it is for humans. It’s called the conscience.

Atheists have a conscience which clearly proves there is a moral lawgiver – God Almighty. But what all atheists do is use language created by God and use it as a weapon against God. Here are a few quotes I found from atheists:

gods are fragile things; they may be killed by a whiff of science or a dose of common sense.

Chapman Cohen 

Religions are all alike- founded upon fables and mythologies.

Thomas Jefferson

·         I agree with Thomas Jefferson in part. I would say, all false religions are all alike. They are founded  upon fables and mythologies. Thomas Jefferson was considered a Deist and not an Atheist. He supposedly believed in God, but Deist do not believe in the providence of God - that He interferes in the affairs of men.

I don't know if God exists, but it would be better for His reputation if He didn't.

Jules Renard

 The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.

Richard Dawkins

·         Have you looked in the mirror recently Richard?

If God were suddenly condemned to live the life which He has inflicted upon men, He would kill Himself.

Alexandre Dumas

We (atheists) act in good conscience because we believe in moral principles, not because we expect a reward in Heaven.

Margherita Hack

You can't convince a believer of anything; for their belief is not based on evidence, it's based on a deep-seated need to believe

Carl Sagan

Notice the quote by Margherita Hack. She says atheists act in “good conscience” and have moral principles. If God does not exist in her worldview, where does the good conscience and moral principles come from? Remember, if God does not exist, these virtues do not exist either. The very God they deny is the same God they need to bolster to give their atheism life. This is duplicitous and hypocritical behavior.

You cannot talk about morality and goodness without the God that gave us those virtues. If one is going to be a true atheist, you must be in a state of perpetual moral neutrality. There is neither good nor evil in their worldview. If someone invaded their home, raped their wife and children and then killed them, it would not be wrong. Why? Because evil and immorality cannot exist in an atheistic universe. As an atheist you cannot have an awareness of right and wrong because no one or nothing placed those faculties in your psyche.  Once again, we would all be animals living in a Darwinian world – natural selection, survival of the fittest.  In order for me to get mine, I have to kill you and take yours. That would the pathetic existence of human experience. The life of the atheist is bleak, foolish, senseless, pointless, darkness and hopeless.

The atheist is deceived and a liar. Why argue about a God who does not exist? Why put in all the energy and vitriol toward a phantom? It does not make sense to me.  They argue that faith in God is not based on evidence. Not true. We have a library of 66 books written over a period of 1500 plus years. Most is based on eyewitness testimony of the God they wrote about, the Holy Scriptures. Atheists also have to exercise “faith” and are convinced that God does not exist. I would love for an atheist to present empirical evidence to support their lie, but they cannot and never will. They are like most people; they believe the state of the world is their evidence – homelessness, starvation and poverty. Disease, rape of women and children and death are clear evidence that the God of the Bible does not exist. What does this boil down to? What we are dealing with is what evil man has been dealing with since the fall of mankind; we do not understand the holiness of God in juxtaposition to the wickedness of man. Why can’t the atheist see the problems and the evils we are suffering are not God’s fault. God has given man free will to choose good or evil. Man has chosen evil, and the world is a cesspool because of it. How is God to blame for that? It is just as ridiculous as saying guns kill people. No they don’t! A gun does not have a mind of its own and cannot make choices. People firing the gun kills people.

So atheists being evil in their minds have concluded that God is a celestial bully, and we are harmless victims of His wrath. We don’t need Him; just do good to everyone, and everything will work out fine.

My conclusion is this, it is nearly impossible to be an effective atheist. Why? 1) You not only have to deny the existence of God, but you also have to effectively prove He is not real. No one in history has done that. The creation even without a voice screams God’s presence power and glory across the cosmos. 2) Our awareness of right and wrong clearly prove to all men that there is a moral lawgiver. To deny this truth is to be dishonest which all atheists are. 3) Denying that God exists with supposed secular compelling and educational rhetoric does not prove His non-existence. People deny the existence of the God of the Bible because He does not act like us and do our bidding on demand hence the sinful and emotional reaction of the atheist to conclude that the Judeo-Christian God of the universe is a monster- a devil.

 

I have come in my Father’s name, and you receive Me not. If another comes in his own name, him you will receive.

-John 5:43

The Parable of the Unjust Steward

In Luke 16 Jesus gives a parable about a steward (Gk. oikonomos[1]) who is mismanaging his employer’s money / resources. Word gets out to the steward’s boss who says to him, “What is this I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.” And the manager says to himself, “What shall I do since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their homes.” So summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, “How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measure of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’” The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are shrewder in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into eternal dwellings (Luke 16:1-10).

It appears scholars and commentators believe Jesus is continuing an ongoing discussion from the previous chapter. At the end of Luke 15 Jesus gives the parable is what is commonly called The Prodigal Son. Others view it as the Forgiving Father. And others view it as the Tale of two Sons. Keep in the mind the titles in our Bibles are not inspired by God. Translators added those to tell us what the subject matter was in the following paragraphs.

When Jesus provided parables, it was a fictional story with real life elements contemporaneous to that time that often dealt with the kingdom of God. The issue here was the steward who was mishandling his master’s possessions. As a result he is going be fired for his poor performance. Since the soon to be unemployed manager is not strong to do manual labor (dig), and he is ashamed to beg, his only recourse for him is to go to his master’s debtors and offer them a discount on what they owe so that he can secure his future living arrangements with these debtors when he is no longer working. What this wicked manager did was barter for himself – a buddy system if you would.

Notice he is still transacting business on behalf of his master dishonestly; he is providing the debtors a discount he has no right to transact. The money is the master’s - not his. Surprisingly, his master commends him for his shrewdness. Why? Because the master knew that by lowering the amount the debtors owed, it would secure the fired steward from being thrown out in the street. The unjust steward saved the debtors a lot of money which he may have pocketed for himself since he was dishonest. So when the time was right, he could receive lodging because he became their friend.

 Jesus tells His disciples that the sons of this world (unbelievers) are shrewder in their generation than the sons of light (believers) – Luke 16:8. Why would He say that? Jesus is not applauding the wicked steward’s wickedness, rather He is making reference to his cleverness to provide for himself even in a dishonest way. When push came to shove, the steward did what he needed to do to secure his future at the expense of his former rich employer for his own benefit. Believers have to be wise when it comes not to just worldly riches, but true riches. Jesus says something shocking in verse nine, “Make friends for yourselves by unrighteous money, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home.”

Jesus is making a comparison between the temporal and the eternal here. Jesus is commanding His disciples and us by extension to make friends with earthly wealth that the Lord gives to us as believers and use those resources for the gospel so that when we get to heaven those lives that were saved here on earth as a result of our evangelism directly or by proxy will receive us as eternal friends. What we do now with the Lord’s wealth He gives us management over should never be wasted on selfish things, but strictly for the kingdom of God and for the benefit of those who we make contact with that are lost in their sins. It takes money to send Bibles to countries that do not have them in impoverished areas. It takes money to build churches and send missionaries around the world to preach the gospel and to provide food, fresh water, clothing and medical supplies to those who are poor and needy and sick in our communities. It takes money to pay the Pastor, his staff, keep the lights on and pay the mortgage. These types of activities are God honoring ways to use the resources God has given to us as a trust.

This parable is parallel to what Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-21, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but rather lay up for yourselves (italics mine for emphasis) treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves cannot break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Continuing, Jesus says, “He that is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he that is unjust in what is least will be unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon (or money), who will commit to your trust the true riches? If you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own? No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Luke 16:10-13).

The main issue Jesus is driving at is faithfulness in what God has given us to steward / manage. A simple illustration is if you are a loyal manager at a company (represents secular wealth), and you decide to start your own business, you will do what it takes to become a loyal business owner. You will also be able to train your employees to become loyal. Conversely if you are a lazy employee; never on time, and never complete your tasks or meet your deadlines, you will be like the wicked steward in this parable and lose your job due to your unfaithfulness. That type of person is definitely not ready to be in a position of Church leadership such as an Elder or a Pastor (i.e. true riches). No one wants a reckless, immature person in spiritual authority; that is a train wreck waiting to happen. Sadly, that is what we are currently dealing with in many Churches, large and small.

So, the questions are, “How many people will get to heaven because of our faithfulness to what God has given us here on earth?” How many eternal friends will we make due to our faithful stewardship in the here and now?

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[1] Means a household manager. A steward took care of daily operations of his master’s estate.

This would include meals, farming, children, servants, tilling of the fields and finances. The manager

Had authority to transact business in his master’s name.

 

We're All Sinners!

 You want to know why the world is in the mess it is in? Because of the above truth. It is in our fallen nature to sin. Guess what? We are ALL STARS – WORLD CHAMPIONS when it comes to sin. We would all need our own galaxy just to store all of our sinful rewards and trophies. That still would not be enough room. I realize I am writing in what some of you may regard as exaggerated language, but I think it is important we discuss this matter for a minute.

We sin so often that we have become desensitized to it. We laugh at it. We enjoy it (John 3:19). We’re no longer grieved by our evil. “After all, I’m just being me right? God knows my heart so stop trippin and don’t judge me!”

The prophet Isaiah said this in chapter five of his book, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever and shrewd in their own sight” (Isaiah 5:20-21).

When the world is celebrating Homosexuality, Lesbianism, Transgenderism, Gender Identity, Bi-Sexuality, Critical Race Theory/Neo-Marxism as virtues, this makes the current pandemic seem like the sniffles.

Do we have a vaccine for mankind’s sins? If there is one who’s going to take it to receive healing? More on that later in the article.

I understand why God destroyed the earth with a flood during the time of Noah. This is what it says in Genesis 6:5, “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thought of his heart were only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart. And the Lord said, ‘I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man and beast, and the creeping things, and the fowls of the air; for it repented Me that I have made them.”’

 Why would God create mankind knowing they would rebel? Some think that God is capricious; meaning God created man just to will his misery. Creating man was very good God said (Genesis 1:26). What grieves God is the wickedness of man.

One of the reasons I believe God permitted man to rebel was so that He could display His sorrow over mankind’s wickedness. I believe it was essential for man to see (or in our case read about) how much God is grieved and angered by our sins. God wants us to feel the same way He feels toward sin. It grieved Him so much that He destroyed the antediluvian world and saved only eight souls and animals in the ark.

[1]Another reason God allowed the rebellion of man is so that He could display the wonders of His grace toward him. There is no way we could understand or appreciate the grace of God without contrasting that against the backdrop God’s justice and wrath toward our sins and the forgiveness of our sins in Christ. [2]Understand that just because God allows sin does not mean He approves it. God permits sin for now, because it (sin) has to run its course. God allowing man to rebel is an ongoing act of mercy although God hates it. God allows sinners to live longer than they deserve because He desires that all repent (2 Peter 3:9). Those who continue to frustrate the patience of God are storing wrath against themselves for the day of wrath (Rom 2:5). God is loving in that He tells us in His Word why He hates our sins and why He must punish us for them. No false worldly ideology can ever explain that to us.

[3]At the end of the day, no one can say to God, “I don’t know why you punished me!” God’s Word clearly reveals to us the consequences of our sin, “For the wages of sin is death, but eternal life is in Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom 6:23).

As my wife would say, “This is a teachable moment.” What is? The reaction we should have toward sin. Just like God we should be grieved and angered by our sins and that of others. What should be the next step? We need go to God and confess our sins to be cleansed of our unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

God has commanded us to be a holy people (Leviticus 11:45; 1 Peter 1:16).

What does that mean? We must live right in a world that is wrong – wrong and as wicked as it can be.

In this postmodern and godless society, this is neither easy nor popular.

My purpose in this article is for us to re-focus on what we need to do as children of God. We have the only solution to all the world’s problems – The Lord Jesus Christ. The government can never create enough legislation to solve our problems. Nor can they create enough vaccines to get rid of SARS-COV-2.

Sin is an internal spiritual dis-ease. It is residential wickedness living on the inside of us. The only vaccine available is the blood of Christ which removes our sins from us forever (Hebrews 9:22).

How do you want your life to end? Once again, we are all sinners because we are infected with sin inwardly. Trusting in the completed work of Christ cures us from sin which is death eternal. Thank God He saw fit to cure me, so I do not have to suffer His just wrath.

So, one may be vaccinated against COVID-19, but there is a far worse disease all people suffer from – SIN! The disease of the soul. Have you been inoculated yet? If not, what are you waiting for? It amazes me how we’ll take man’s word over God’s! Doctors, celebrities, and government tell us, “Take the vaccine” and we do it – no questions asked. God commands everyone to repent for the forgiveness of sins; most refuse. Why? Because most of the deceived world loves their sin disease.

This is not a popular subject. I realize that. As a matter of fact, it is the least popular of all subjects. After all, who wants to hear about their sin? We’re tired of fire and brimstone messages. We would rather hear a message that makes us feel good. Sorry, I am not a Televangelist. As a servant of the Lord, I must give a clarion call to those who are lost, and/or those who have lost their way. It is hard matter to discuss, but love must tell the truth – especially God’s love which is able to save the soul.

 

Originally written August 4, 2021

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[1] Paragraph added to article 5/23/2024

[2] Paragraph added to article 5/23/2024

[3] Paragraph added to article 5/23/2024

How Are We To Treat Our Enemies?

 

The best person to imitate when dealing with our enemies is the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us that when He was reviled, He did not revile back, but committed Himself to Him (The Father) that judges righteously (1 Peter 2:23). Jesus said in Matthew 5:44, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.” That will never be easy to do due to the corruption of our minds and flesh. We want to quote the words of the “Godfather of Soul” James Brown. We want our BIG PAYBACK!

Waiting on the Lord to settle the score against our enemies takes much prayer, patience, faith, and endurance. Many will fail their fiery trial and take matters into their own hands and exact their own revenge. I want to explain Biblically why this is tragic.

Proverbs 24:17-18 tells us, “Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice, or the Lord will see and disapprove and turn his wrath from them.”

If we rejoice in our enemies’ destruction, we prove we are no better than they are. Secondly, the just punishment God would have executed against them, He may withdraw due to our sinful decision to exact our own revenge. Deuteronomy 32:35 says that vengeance is mine says the Lord; I will repay. To pay back our enemies’ evil with evil is sin (Rom 12:19). It also robs God of the glory of repaying our enemies Himself – a person who does so usurps the Lord’s authority and at that time of rage does not fear God.

God commands we repay our enemies’ evil with good, “If your enemy is hungry feed them; if they are thirsty give them something to drink. In doing this, you heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you (Pro 25:21-22). Now understand this, just because you show kindness to your enemies does not mean they will reciprocate it back to you. Your aim is to obey and please God above all else. Hopefully the kindness you have shown them will crush their pride and open the way for you to share the gospel to them so that they can repent of their sins and receive the gift of eternal life.

The unregenerate who are God’s enemies are on their way to hell. The best thing they can do for themselves is to encounter a true believer who is not afraid to share the gospel truth so that despite God’s wrath that abides on them, He at the same time loves them and desires they repent. God does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked. God does not rejoice in His enemies’ destruction; we are not to either (Ezekiel 18:32; 33:11). Why? A person who dies in sin is lost forever. They will live in a Christless eternity.

Let’s pray for one another that we love and forgive our enemies just like Christ love and forgave us (Eph 4:32).

 

Are We to obey any of the Old Testament Law?

 

Old Testament legislation was better known as the Law of Moses or the Mosaic Law. God started instituting the Law on the day the Hebrews exited Egypt during the inaugural Passover.

Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak to all the congregation of Israel saying, ‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for the household. And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You make take it from the sheep or from the goats. Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire – its head with its legs and its entrails. You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire.

And thus, you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover.

‘For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and will strike the firstborn in the land of Egypt on that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. I am the Lord. Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you when I strike the land of Egypt.

‘So, this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. On the first day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat – that only may be prepared by you. So, you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt.

Therefore, you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land’” (Ex 12;1-20).

The Passover along with the Feast of Unleavened Bread were the first feasts instituted in Israel. To read about the other Mosaic feasts go to Leviticus chapter twenty-three.

The first five books of the Bible are called the Torah which means instruction. In Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy is where Moses reveals all of God’s laws and customs to His people. This consisted of ceremonial laws, dietary laws, religious festivals, and civil and moral laws.

The ten commandments or decalogue where some of earliest laws given to Israel. There are some perhaps many people who wonder if the ten commandments are applicable to us today. Yes, they are apart from the fourth commandment which says, “Remember the Sabbath Day, keep it holy” (Ex 20:8). There may be some Christians who disagree with me regarding the Sabbath; they may believe that we should observe it like the Seventh Day Adventists. The Bible gives us latitude regarding days. Romans 14:5 tells us this, “One person esteems one day above another; another esteems everyday alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.” The Sabbath was the day of rest for the nation Israel. They were to do no work on that day because the Lord rested after He was done creating the world and everything in it. He blessed and sanctified the seventh day which on our calendar is Saturday (Gen 2:2-3; Ex 20:8).

The only part of the Mosaic Law we are to observe and obey today is the moral part of the law. We are not subject to their dietary restrictions or their religious ceremonies. We are not bound by their religious festivals; e.g. The Feast of Trumpets (Rosha Hashanah), The Feast of Tabernacles (Succoth), Passover, Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), et al. Neither are we subject to their sacrificial system. Their sacrificial system was made obsolete once Jesus sacrificed himself as the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world (John 1:29; Heb 9:12,26).

 

 

 

 

 

The Meaning of Mark 11:23-24

 “For assuredly whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and cast into the sea’, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore, I say to you whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you have received them, and you will have them” (Mark 11:23-24).

These verses have been used like a magic formula in the Charismatic-Neo-Pentecostal-Name-it-and-claim-it movement. They have been used to write a blank check type of prayer to get whatever you desire from God. Of course, these verses like so many others, have been aborted from their original context so that a pretext has been created around them – to make them mean other than what Jesus said it means.

So, let’s go back to verse twelve to get the context and flow of thought, Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He (Jesus) was hungry. And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. In response Jesus said it to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.” And His disciples heard it (Mark 11:12-14).

Skipping to verse twenty of Mark 11, Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which you cursed has withered away.”

So, Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God” (Mark 11:20-22). Word of Faith teachers misinterpret this verse to say Jesus said, “have the faith of God or the God kind of faith.” God does not need faith to do anything. Who would He trust in?

We arrive at Jesus talking about moving mountains because of the cursing of the fig tree back in verse fourteen. The point Jesus is driving home is have faith in God when you pray. The phrase regarding the mountain, being removed and cast into the sea is hyperbole. Hyperbolic language is intentionally exaggerated speech to prove a point. Obviously, Jesus is not talking about us literally moving mountains. But rather, with trust in God, we can overcome insurmountable odds in life. The mountain simply represents a colossal challenge in our lives.

Verse twenty-four Jesus said, “Therefore I say to you whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them” (vs. 24).

This verse has been a staple for the Word of Faith movement. This is where they use the power-of-positive-confession to say things like: I believe am healed. I believe I have that new home. I claim that new job. I bind the devil and demons over my finances, etc. If you confess things which are currently in the spiritual realm over and over again, they will by the force of faith, manifest in the natural realm. How do I know this? Because I was part of this environment for years. This is not what Jesus meant when He said when you pray believe you receive the things you prayed for, and you shall have them – that you keep confessing what you want over and over again. Jesus was simply teaching us to trust Him. In due season we will reap if we do not give up (Gal 6:9).

Now according to verse twenty-four of Mark 11, is Jesus saying we can have whatever we want? No. But that is what the verse clearly appears to imply right? Yes, it does.

That is why it is so important to be well versed in your Bible. What we desire is not always the will of God. Ultimately God’s will be done (not ours) on earth as it is in heaven (Matt 6:10). The Lord gives His children the privilege of praying to Him to fulfill His will in their lives here on earth. Prayer is not about us getting solely what we want. God is not a Cosmic Jeanie in a name-it-and-claim-it bottle.

In John 5:14 we read, “This is the confidence we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will (italics mine), He hears us. And if we know He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions we have asked of Him.”

Jesus also commanded us to seek first His kingdom and righteousness and everything that we need will be added to us (Matt 6:33). It is a matter of priority when we pray. If we are seeking our own desires over the Lord’s will, we will not receive what we desire from the Lord (James 4:3). Also, if we doubt, do not expect to receive from the Lord either (James 1:6). All prayer to God MUST be in faith realizing our God can do the impossible. God’s sovereignly through the prayer of His saints fulfills His master plan in the earth. When we understand that our wills have to be subordinate to His, only then can we have confidence that our desires can be met. Why? Because we are to trust in the Lord with all our heart and not lean to our own understanding. In all our ways we are to acknowledge Him so that He can direct our paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).