Biddeford Church of Christ

I want to begin this article with a question that I recently heard, “If you knew that in 30 days’ time Jesus was returning, what would you do to get things ready for inspection?”  What a great question to ask on so many levels. The question did cause me concern and I will get into the why in a minute.  Last Sunday, as I read Romans 14:12, a number of faces in the auditorium appeared troubled.  Here is the verse again, “So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.”  Biblically speaking, there will be no warning, for Christ’s coming will be “as a thief in the night” (1^st Thessalonians 5:2).  Jesus reveals it with these words, “And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness.  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:30).  Judgment is coming and that reality is unnerving!  Or is it?

But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate

of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.

                1^st Thessalonians 5:8

For the Christian, our journey homeward involves numerous choices along the way, some of which Paul mentions in the verse above.  In the above verse, the word sober means to be calm and collected in spirit.  As we anticipate that day, when we see our Savior face to face, we need to be calm.  As we observe in v6, what accompanies this mindset is watchfulness, for we do live in a dark world.  The Spirit guided Paul to emphasize this sober mind with an imagery of armor; that is, the breastplate and helmet (take a moment and read Ephesians 6:10-20) which one commentator says are “the two most important defensive items.”  It is here where I wish us to focus on for a moment.  The helmet is “the hope of salvation”!  As one person expressed, this speaks of “a sure and certain expectation.”  Let me put it this way, the Christian should be able to say, “I am saved; thus, I will anticipate the salvation that I have received when Jesus comes.”  We have every reason to HOPE and live each day in that HOPE which is Christ!

For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

                                                                                                       1^st Thessalonians 5:9-10

It is true, we are works in progress and we should be doing our best to progress…right?  But my hope is not in my progress!  Right?  Or is it?  You see, when I gasp at the idea of Christ’s return, I do so because I am looking at myself separate from His redemptive work in my life.  The fear or doubt is there because I see me and not Him.  True, there may be some who need to be honest about the genuineness of their walks, but I am not talking to them.  If you have come to know Jesus as Savior, been washed in the watery grave of baptism, then know that “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have REDEMPTION through HIS BLOOD, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14).  Christ has done the heavy lifting, so walk soberly (calmly) in the hope of His salvation.

Dennis

As we all know, and should proclaim from the rooftops, our confidence is in the sufficient work of Christ.  Paul writes, “For He made Himself who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2^nd Corinthians 5:21).  That confidence should enable us to walk in this world knowing we have “eternal life” (1^st John 5:13).  Okay, with that said, we are not to walk is this world ignorant of other truths.  Paul exhorted the church in Ephesus saying, “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15-16).  Such an attitude is necessary because “each of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12).  Maybe that is what happened to God’s people of old, which resulted in judgment and eventually their captivity.  They failed to pay attention to the details.

But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak,

they will give account of it in the day of judgment.

                                                                                                                        Matthew 12:36

The amazing thing about God’s mercy (which never ends), is that it presents daily opportunities for God’s people to be transformed.  I believe one of the areas in my life that needs special attention is my words.  Jesus cautions us about “idle words.”  The word idle here means unprofitable or pernicious; that is, having a harmful effect, especially in a gradual or subtle way.  Listen to how the ETRV translates these words, “And I tell you that people will have to explain about every careless thing they have said” (Matthew 12:36).  Words are powerful and because they are, they need our attention…daily.

When we want to learn about the power of words, we need only to spend a little time in the letter from James.  He provides us with imagery of the power of our words: they are like “bits in horses mounts” (James 3:3), a “very small rudder” that can turn a large ship (James 3:4), and “a little fire kindles” a forest (James 3:5).  I can understand why he would pen these words, “Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things” (James 3:5).  So treacherous are the words of mankind that James would pen these sobering words, “But no man can tame the tongue.  It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:8).  Sadly, we need not look very far at times to grasp this truth.   I truly need to pay attention to my words.

That being said, I want you to notice that “no man can tame the tongue.”  Alone, we are feeble at best, but when we allow Jesus to be Lord over our words, amazing things can happen.  James Coffman writes, “Speech is one of the greatest endowments of humanity…”  Let us use our words in such a way, that we bring glory to God each time we speak.  It’s true that we will never be perfect in speech in this world, but if we walk with the Lord, and pay attention to the details of our speech, we can become more effective with it.  Thus, we can walk confidently knowing that one day we will hear, “Well done good and faithful servant.”

Dennis

Let’s face it, as the KJV says, we are a “peculiar people” (1^st Peter 2:9).  This reality seems to become more evident as time passes.  The world around us is becoming bolder, voicing with confidence their claim to a truth that evolves with time.  What was once unheard of and startling to our moral fabric, is now being heralded as right and just.  You know, times have not changed much, for Isaiah wrote these words long ago, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil: Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness” (Isaiah 5:20).  My point is simple, we live in a world where sin is prevalent.  The question is, what are we going to say while it is happening?

Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants

that with all boldness they may speak Your word.

                                                            Acts 4:29

Right out of the gate, as the early church was starting to grow, believers were confronted with apprehension. They were in need of boldness.  The word boldness here simply means freedom in speaking, unreservedness in speech.  It’s not “speaking your mind” nor is it “giving someone a piece of it.”  Instead, it is the willingness to speak up for God…to talk of Him and His ways.  Yet, the world around us seems to suppress that willingness to speak, leaving many of us seemingly powerless to say a word.  I battle this myself.  Fears lurk in my mind, that at times speak louder than the word I hold so dear.  This week, while preparing for mid-week class, I came across a verse that will be familiar to many of us that speaks to this very problem.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power

and of love and of a sound mind.

                                                                                                                        2^nd Timothy 1:7

Paul was seeking to encourage the young evangelist Timothy who faced many challenges: Things that would seek to intimidate him from talking about God and His truths.  But he was reminded that the gift of the spirit, which all believers have, is not one of fear, or as your translation might say, timidity. Timid simply means showing a lack of courage or confidence.  Does that describe you?  It does me…yes me!  Ever wonder where fear comes from?  Often times, it reflects a lack of faith (Matthew 8:26).  Notice, I didn’t say absence of.  Sometimes, our faith needs to be nurtured or increased for that matter (Luke 17:5), so we can be bold for Christ.  As God reminds Timothy through the apostle Paul, I am also reminded as well; that the gift of the spirit is empowering!    God can and wants to do so much through us, we simply need to trust Him to do so.  That same spirit can help us grow in love and a sound mind, as we battle for the hearts and minds of the lost around us.

May God grant us…me…boldness to be Christ to a lost and dying world.  So, as I close this article today, I leave you with these words, “Be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant.”  May God be glorified through His church.

Dennis

The world around us is filled with so much brokenness.  For some of us, that brokenness may even be in our own personal worlds as followers of Christ. Still, as believers, we come together and sing, “As the deer pants for the water so my soul longs after you” (Song 71 from Psalm 42, TLB).  Has brokenness ever caused you to long for God?  I suspect it has.  That longing, spoken of in the song, is because of this brokenness, as seen in Psalm 42:5, “Why are you cast down, O my soul?  And why are you disquieted within me?”  Jeremiah, as he pens Lamentations, knows what these words mean as he is confronted with the distress of God’s people, as judgment comes upon them.

I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath.                                                                             Lamentations 3:1

God’s righteous judgment is very real in the life of Jeremiah.  He expresses his distress with these words, “He has led me and made me walk in darkness and not in light.  Surely He has turned His hand against me, time and time throughout the day.” (Lamentations 3:2-3).  The anguish that Jeremiah felt was due to the Lord…His God.  He goes on with the same thought process for several more verses.  Okay, can we be honest about something?  Can you relate to this?  I know I can.  Experiencing hardship, whether it is due to others around me or even my own selfish actions, often times results in me thinking (feeling) that God has deserted me.  David said it this way, “My tears have been my food day and night, while they continuously say to me, where is your God?” (Psalm 42:3) The question the enemy asks in that verse, is the same question that I ask myself at times.  Adversity can do that.  Do what?  Blur reality and cause us to see God, life, church, grace, mercy, and hope (among other things) in an unhealthy ways which only further blurs things.  There must be HOPE!

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases:

his mercies never come to an end…

                                                                                                     Lamentations 3:22, ESV

The ETRV says, “The Lord’s love and kindness never ends, His compassion never ends.”  My NKJV says, “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.”  Jeremiah, in the midst of his anguish, was seeking to reorient his mind, the way he was thinking.  Listen to what is said in Lamentations 3:21, “This I recall to my mind; therefore, I have hope.”  Jeremiah needed to remind himself and through the direction of the Holy Spirit, reminds us as well, that there is always hope!  As the song we sing proclaims, as written in the word of God, “The Lord is my portion says my soul, therefore I will hope in Him!” (Lamentations 3:24).  May He be your portion this day, and every day forward.

Dennis

I thought we would consider mercy one more time, only from a different angle this time.  As Christians, knowing we can “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy” (Hebrews 4:16) because God is “rich in mercy” (Ephesians 2:4) is nothing short of amazing. As we considered in our last lesson, the attitude we bring when we approach the throne, speaks volumes to our understanding of our need for mercy.  I think all of us, if we were honest with ourselves, could speak the words of David found in Psalm 51:1-2, “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.  Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.”  God’s mercy, so abundantly flowing in our lives, is not intended to stop with me, for if I have received it, God desires that I offer it as well.

For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown

no mercy.  Mercy triumphs over judgment.

                                                                      James 2:13

The letter of James, sometimes called the “proverbs” of the New Testament, provides for us some insight regarding God’s abundant gift of mercy.  To understand what James is saying, we need to back up and see what was taking place.  James writes, “My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality” (James 2:1).  What does partiality mean?  Consider the ETRV’s translation of the latter part of this verse, “So don’t think that some people are more important than other people.”  During times of assembly, when the church would gather, they were distinguishing between “a man with gold rings, in fine apparel” from “a poor man with filthy clothes” (James 2:1).  To the rich man they would say, “You sit here in a good place” while telling the poor man “You stand there or sit here at my footstool” (James 2:3).  So hideous is this behavior that we read, “…have you not…become judges with evil thoughts” (James 2:4)?  Such partiality was shown, even though the rich were causing trouble for the church (James 2:5-7).

Although in Christ, James speaks of the old law as the “royal law,” and that even under it, such partiality is forbidden.  If you break one commandment, it is as though you’ve broken them all.  He exhorts them, “So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty” (James 2:12).  The overwhelming joy of the gospel, which saved sinful man from judgment by bestowing upon him mercy, is exactly what God yearns for us to do when we are faced with opportunities to love those still in the world.  Mercy triumphs over judgment every time!

One final thought.  Jesus, in the sermon on the mount, the beatitudes, shares this very powerful thought about mercy, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7).  May the mercy we so graciously receive through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ flow through us to those around us.

Dennis

I would like the chance to build on last week’s lesson regarding mercy.  If you remember, mercy is compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm.  The point of last week’s lesson was simple; that is, one cannot fully understand the mercy of God outside the reality of judgment.  Although not often discussed, the judgment of God is going to come one day, “as a thief in the night” Paul would write (1^st Thessalonians 5:2).  Christians are exhorted to “not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober” (1^st Thessalonians 5:6).  I believe, part of that “soberness” we are to have, is linked to how we view ourselves in light of the gospel.  Part of that deals with our understanding of our own worthiness vs worth.  Let me explain by looking at the parable of the Pharisee and tax collector in Luke 18:9-14.

Two men went to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

                                                                                                                                    Luke 18:10

I mentioned this story last Sunday and found myself drawn to it once again during the week.  Interesting to note something here; that is, both Jewish men were religious as seen by their commitment to go and pray.  Let’s first consider what I mean by the idea of worthy.  Consider its definition first: having or showing the qualities or abilities that MERIT recognition in a specific way.  How worthy did each man see himself and what role did it play in them receiving God’s mercy?   The Pharisee prays, “God, I thank You that I am not like other men-extortionists, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all I possess” (Luke 18:11-12).  He had no real need for God’s mercy because, as he saw things, he was “worthy” of God’s attention and saw no need for His mercy.  The tax collector, on the other hand, “standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven” (Luke 18:13).  Why?  I suggest to you that he saw himself as unworthy; that is, nothing he could list in his life would merit or demand God’s attention, let alone mercy.  This idea of unworthiness is seen in his actions and words, for he “beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’” (Luke 18:13).

What interests me about this parable by Jesus is these simple facts:  Both men were Jews and in covenant relationship with God through the law.  One though, viewed himself through his work, and thus, merited that relationship with God.  The other, even though in covenant relationship with God, did not see himself as worthy of that relationship; thus, was in need for God to secure it through His mercy.  The words of Jesus speak loud and clear, “I tell you, this man (the tax collector) went down to his home justified rather than the other (the Pharisee); for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:14).

There is no person who is worthy of God’s mercy; that is, no one can look at their lives and expect or demand God to grant them mercy.  If we were to be honest, viewing oneself in such a way seems to suggest that one does not need God’s mercy as much, if at all, as someone else.  What strikes me here, is the idea of worth in this parable.  God was ready to show both mercy because they are worth it!  Paul would write to Timothy explaining that God “desires all men to be saved” (1^st Timothy 2:4).  Why?  Because we are worth it!

As Christians, we should walk with confidence in our relationship with God.  That confidence should not be a mere list of obedient steps which proclaims our worthiness.  Rather, it should be based on the fact that God is merciful towards His children when they are humble.  He is, because we are worth it!

Dennis

What is interesting about so many things in life is that the depth of our understanding of specific things is directly related to our insight about others.  Let’s use a relatively simple example, light.  Light can only be truly measured and understood through our knowledge of darkness.  Let’s try another example; that is, the word hot.  Try to describe it without any reference to cold…you can’t.  At best, you would only be able to develop a shadow of its true nature.  The same applies to our understanding of many biblical words.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end,

they are new every morning, great is your faithfulness.

                                                                                                      Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV

Today marks the first lesson of the new year and with it a new theme.  As was noted in last week’s article, the text chosen is familiar with most of us simply because we sing it often.  What strikes me as interesting are the words uttered in this text and sung with great enthusiasm.  Words like faithfulness, steadfast and even love.  Each of these words carry meaning but are often described outside the context of the verse.  Doing so, although not intentional, limits the depth of our understanding.  It is my hope in the weeks and months to come, that we can increase our understanding (in some cases, simply rekindle it) of these, and other words that have such powerful biblical significance.

I thought that today, we would begin with a word that is profoundly powerful; that is, mercy.  How would you define it?  Listen closely to this definition: compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm.  You may remember how Terry Schmidt defined mercy, “God NOT giving us what we deserve.”  There it is!  Mercy cannot be truly understood outside of understanding what one deserves.  So, for us to grasp what Jeremiah was writing, to get an idea of what God’s mercy is truly like, we need to place it in the context of real life; that is, the events that moved him to pen these words.

I am convinced that if we allow ourselves to journey down these roads, the depth of our understanding of God will grow, along with, our awareness of how much we desperately need Him.  May God be glorified and each of us enriched in 2019 so that His church can be strengthened, and the gospel can be proclaimed.

Dennis