Mark's Gospel
Mark 11.27-12.12 PDF Print E-mail
Written by Rev.Ian Thomas   
Sunday, 21 August 2011 21:19

Listen to the sermon on Mark 11.27-12.12 given on 21st August 2011 here: Download Embed Embed this video on your site

By what authority?

 

Mark 11:27-12:13

27 Then they came again to Jerusalem. And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him. 28 And they said to Him, "By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority to do these things?"

29 But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things: 30 The baptism of John — was it from heaven or from men? Answer Me."

31 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?' 32 But if we say, 'From men'" — they feared the people, for all counted John to have been a prophet indeed. 33 So they answered and said to Jesus, "We do not know."

And Jesus answered and said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."

CH12 Then He began to speak to them in parables: "A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. 2 Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers. 3 And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated. 5 And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some. 6 Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, 'They will respect my son.' 7 But those vinedressers said among themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.' 8 So they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard.

9 "Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not even read this Scripture:

'The stone which the builders rejected

Has become the chief cornerstone.

11 This was the Lord's doing,

And it is marvelous in our eyes'?"

12 And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them. So they left Him and went away.


By what authority? It is the case that there is an authority in our lives whether we think so or not. The chief priests, scribes and elders in the Temple had traditions as authoritative in their lives. And because Jesus did not fit the mould as a recognised Rabbi by them or their organisations then they wanted to know why he thought he had the right to teach, to heal, to overturn tables and generally be, in their eyes, a nuisance as he was a challenge to their authority. After all he came from Nazareth, they from Jerusalem, he had no time for their rules but rather ignored them, and he was not accredited through any Rabbi University like they were.

By what authority? Jesus answers by asking them a question because he saw their question for what it was: a trap. If He said He was sent by God they would ask who confirmed it and if he said that it was by his own authority it would be counted as blasphemous. And interestingly the question that Jesus asked them about where John the Baptist got his author confounded them so much that Jesus has to re-iterate the statement to respond: Answer me! Jesus put himself on at least the same level as John but they had no answer and would rather stay on the fence than to lend credence to the ministry of John the Baptist and to Jesus revealing their capacity to compromise and be diplomatic in order to keep the status quo. The status quo is not the way of God, nor should it be the way of his people or the Church. Very often Christians are afraid to stand up for the right things in doctrine and in action so that the status quo can be kept for the sake of peace so-called. It seems that cooperation with politics as was the case of these leaders leads to concessions, and cooperation with churches that do not hold doctrine with a high view leads to a negotiation on what is the lowest common denominator which would be fine if the lowest common denominator was Jesus and the uncompromising call to repentance and faith in Him but most churches today are apostate even if there are Christians within them that are not.

By what authority? What our authority is matters and so the question is legitimate even if their motive for asking was not right. What is our authority? Perhaps we think it is not uncompromising for us to join with others who call themselves Christians but venerate Saints and Mary and the Pope and the priests and the magisterium, or those who do not believe in the Trinity as God, or with those who have their faith in experience, or in tradition, or in reason, or in opinions.

By what authority? How we answer this question reveals what we really believe. Are John Piper or John MacArthur or Brian McLaren or Billy Graham or Charles Stanley or T.D. Jakes or any other number of Christian or so-called Christian leaders or Ian Thomas or Clive or Darren or anyone else here or elsewhere the ones who authoritative in our lives? This was the error of the Corinthian Church in saying I follow Paul or I follow Apollos. This leads, instead, to sectarianism within the Church.

By what authority? Is not the one who has authority Jesus? Jesus was the one who had authority not only because he was a prophet sent from God like John the Baptist but because he is God and so He has the right to speak into our lives because he gave us life to start with

Heb 1:10

"You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands.

And so we read in Col. 3. 16 Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. Jesus is called the Word of God.

Rev 19:13 speaking of Jesus says: He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.

Jesus spoke the world into existence. He is the Word of God. The Word of God is also synonymous with the Bible which is also called the Word of God.

By what authority? Everything that we understand about God, Jesus, the Trinity, the world, the plan of salvation and everything else pertaining to life and godliness is found within the Word of God. If there is anything at all that is contrary to the Word of God it is not of God.

By what authority? We measure doctrine, life and all other things against what the pages of the Bible says and so if we have any other authority including our own authority, our own thoughts and opinions – if they do not measure up to what the Bible says then we are wrong. There are those who claim to be Christian that do not have the Bible as their authority but tradition, experience, reason, and themselves and they founder upon the sinking sand. We have nothing against tradition, experience, reason and opinions as long as they are informed by the Bible and shaped accordingly. If we found our lives upon the Bible and make it our authority and that what it says we will do then we will be on solid ground.

By what authority? These men that came to Jesus and asked him thought that they had the authority because they were recognised by others as such and I, too, have been ordained…but I have no authority other than what the Bible says I have and I am to be in submission to it as any other Church leader and to be moulded as such and what I say and do should be tested accordingly. These men, according to the parable that was told about them, about the vineyard and the hirelings who rented it off the owner thought that they had sole rights to the property because of their greed but it was only lent to them. In over reaching their authority they committed atrocious crimes including murder culminating in the putting to death of Jesus on a cross. But in AD70 they lost their place and position in the land of Israel that they held so precious and most died at the hands of the Romans, something foretold by Jesus in this parable and elsewhere.

By what authority? Most of us here would claim that the Bible is our authority as revealed by Jesus but the fact is that most of us have a poor knowledge and understanding of what is contained in it but it is in our interaction with the Bible that we grow into mature Christians. There is no point in saying that we have read the Bible before as the Bible should be in constant use and God will breathe by his Spirit into the Words so that we see more of Him and what He has done and less of us.

By what authority? Jesus is the foundation upon whom everything else must be built.

Matt 28:18-20

18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

If we have built upon human understandings, upon traditions, upon our experiences, upon our reasoning, upon others then we are going to find that something in life is going to destroy that foundation.

Because Jesus and His Word have authority we have been authorised to go and make disciples and to teach because He lives in us by his Holy Spirit.

So, whilst Irena and I are in Macedonia, why don’t we all make that extra effort to read through the New Testament again over the next four weeks? I will do the same. Then we have a good foundation for the Lord to continue to build his church for

Matt 24:35

35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

Let us pray for people to come in and be part of this fellowship and that together we can be disciples not following anything or anyone else other than our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let us also pray that we recognise what authorities we rely upon and pray that Jesus becomes our sole authority and that together we can discover his will and do it accordingly.

By what authority are we going to live today?

 
Last Updated on Wednesday, 24 August 2011 20:36
 
Mark 11.1-26 PDF Print E-mail
Written by Rev.Ian Thomas   
Sunday, 07 August 2011 12:04

 

God has a plan!

Listen to the sermon on Mark 11.1-26 given on 7th August 2011 here: Download Embed Embed this video on your site

 

Mark 11.1 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; 2 and He said to them, “Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it. 3 And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it,’ and immediately he will send it here.” 4 So they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it. 5 But some of those who stood there said to them, “What are you doing, loosing the colt?” 6 And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded. So they let them go. 7 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it. 8 And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ 10 Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

11 And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.

12 Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. 13 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. 14 In response Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.” And His disciples heard it.


15 So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 16 And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. 17 Then He taught, saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’” 18 And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching. 19 When evening had come, He went out of the city.


20 Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 21 And Peter, remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.” 22 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. 23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be 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. 24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.


25 “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. 26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”


This passage is a fulfilment of prophecy made by Zechariah in chapter 9:

9“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.’

The people were expecting a Messiah, an anointed One, one that was to take back over the throne of David and so a series of coincidences start to happen – something that could not have been planned other than by God. Of course, we don’t believe in coincidences but God-incidences! Jesus knew as he approached Jerusalem that there was a donkey prepared for him on which no one else had ever ridden.

Did anything catch God out by surprise? There was a plan in place that was very specific: whether it is a donkey tied up in the place that Jesus said it would or in knowing that in less than a week he would be crucified. Nothing caught him out and no mistake was made. And nothing in your life is a surprise to God – he has a plan for you: Jer. 29.

11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the LORD, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.

Rom. 8. 28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

The people recognised this plan as Jesus rode the donkey into Jerusalem remembering that it had been prophesied. It is clear from the responses of the people that they thought that Jesus was the King coming to them (.9-10). Excitement was in the air. A crowd gathered…and then disappeared. What happened to all these people when Jesus entered the Temple? Did the excitement wear off? How fickle the people are! It seems they did rejoice and understand the prophecy to a point about a new King in town but as indicated by Luke in his account (Luke 19.28-44) they did not recognise the true significance because they did not know the time of their visitation, that is, they did not know who Jesus actually was.

I have met people who claimed to become Christians that claimed that they had come to faith and were very excited about this new thing but their friends did not share their enthusiasm and because of their friends did not continue in the way. Did they become Christians? Were they saved? In fact, in the parable of the sower, this is exactly what it says in Matthew 13. 20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.

And if to emphasise the point the following day Jesus finds a fig tree that as all the appearance of having fruit because of its leaves, which were unseasonally early, but it does not actually have any figs. This whole episode, whilst not taking away from Jesus as a man who was hungry, was symbolic of the state of Jerusalem. It had all the appearance that it was a fruitful city but actually all it had was the glamour and glitz and charade with no depth. Beauty that was only skin-deep. For God sees the heart.

Straight after this he went into the Temple and was livid that the Temple that was supposed to be a house of prayer was actually a marketplace where people were being conned and were victims of extortion by the money changers. And Jesus with righteous anger overturned the tables of the marketers and prevented the passage through the courtyard of merchandise. And because the Temple leaders were in on the act profiting from these transactions they wanted to destroy Jesus. Amazing! The leaders wanted to commit murder and this was only the second day that Jesus was in Jerusalem!

It does matter what we do and what we get caught up in – if we are interested in making money then this will consume us so that anyone who gets in the way, whether family, friends or enemies will be on the list of those you want out of the way. Greed swallows people up not realising that at the end of their lives that they cannot take it with them and have wasted their lives. It does not matter who we are, whether you are a Pastor, a shop keeper, a builder, a labourer, an office worker, in management and those who are not beware that greed for gain leads to a heap of trouble that just isn’t worth it.

The following day that fig tree Jesus cursed is all dried up from the roots and this is the result of not bearing fruit for God symbolic of the destruction coming to Jerusalem. They were so caught up in gaining riches and maintaining power that they missed the bigger picture having been so self-consumed.

Two little lines I heard one day, Travelling along life's busy way;
Bringing conviction to my heart, And from my mind would not depart;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one, Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in 'that day' my Lord to meet, And stand before His Judgement seat;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Only one life, the still small voice, Gently pleads for a better choice
Bidding me selfish aims to leave, And to God's holy will to cleave;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Only one life, a few brief years, Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;
Each with its clays I must fulfil, living for self or in His will;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

When this bright world would tempt me sore,

When Satan would a victory score;
When self would seek to have its way, Then help me Lord with joy to say;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Give me Father, a purpose deep, In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep;
Faithful and true what e'er the strife, Pleasing Thee in my daily life;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Oh let my love with fervour burn, And from the world now let me turn;
Living for Thee, and Thee alone, Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne;
Only one life, ‘twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one, Now let me say, "Thy will be done";
And when at last I'll hear the call, I know I'll say "twas worth it all";
Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last. (Anon)

Rev. 3.1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, ‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. 2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. 3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.

Eph 2.10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

God has a plan that involves us. God has a plan that we should be fruitful for Him and he has prepared in advance the things we are to do. Simply do the things that God places in front of us not out of duty but out of a response to his love for us. Nothing catches him out by surprise even when we fail him.

Let us remember that Jesus does not require anything from us that he himself is not willing to do. When we pray we are to forgive anyone against whom we have a grievance. Jesus forgave whilst dying an agonising death – and it whilst we were still sinners that Christ died for us (Rom. 5.8).

As a result of this we can ask anything of God and we can receive it if we believe. God gave us His Son so how will he not give us all things? Notice that this is faith in God not faith in faith which is simply positive thinking or speaking. We need not much faith, just a small seed, but it is in WHOM we have faith that matters and we can be assured that if we pray in a way that is in line with the Father’s will we will have exactly what we have prayed for. What an amazing promise that we have been given!

So, to wrap this up: God has a plan, a purpose and nothing catches him out by surprise. Within this plan we have work to do and become like Jesus who walked in this plan, who forgave, and who prayed. Let us be careful of not being consumed by gain or self but let us be stable bearing fruit.

 

 

 
Last Updated on Wednesday, 24 August 2011 14:31
 
Mark 10.13-52 PDF Print E-mail
Written by Rev.Ian Thomas   
Sunday, 31 July 2011 13:47

Acceptance, Trust, Goodness

Listen to the sermon on Mark 10.13-52 given on 31st July 2011 here: Download Embed Embed this video on your site

Mark 10.13 Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. 15 Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” 16 And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.


17 Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” 18 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honour your father and your mother.’”20 And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.” 21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” 22 But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.


23 Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, “Who then can be saved?” 27 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.” 28 Then Peter began to say to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You.” 29 So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, 30 who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”


32 Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed. And as they followed they were afraid. Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him: 33 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; 34 and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.”


35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.” 36 And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” 37 They said to Him, “Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory.” 38 But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” 39 They said to Him, “We are able.” So Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; 40 but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared.” 41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John. 42 But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. 44 And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”


46 Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.” 50 And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus. 51 So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.” 52 Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.

I noticed something about all these verses: that Jesus receives all who come to him, who call out to him, who ask him questions, who want hugs, who want to be blessed.

We see it first with the children who to adults can seem very annoying as it must have been with the disciples. You can imagine them wanting to see and asking and asking and asking and the disciples wanted to stand in their way. So it was now Jesus’ turn to get annoyed with his disciples – let them through for unless you become like them you will not enter the Kingdom of God. What is meant by ‘like a child’? A child is very trusting and accepts what is said without questioning and with complete dependence and therefore are also innocent. Who are the disciples to say who can and cannot have access to Jesus? Like modern celebrities they were acting as security guards but Jesus would have nothing of that. All can have access to Jesus…there is nothing in the way.

Then came the rich man who came running into Jesus and access he was given. Access to Jesus was granted but for it to continue following Jesus is the price along with giving away all that he had to the poor. Notice that Jesus said to him to give away his possessions and then take up the cross. The cross was not in the giving away of the possessions. Note that it was for this man who was wrapped up in his possessions that the command came from Jesus to give away what he had. The rich have access to Jesus too.

Then two of his disciples came to him with a request for power which was turned upside-down by a lesson in Kingdom dynamics. To be first you have to be last. Pride will simply put you in last place. Illusions of power come to all of us – we think if we are first, if we get a name, if we lead then we make a name for ourselves but we have already had our reward from others. In the sight of God this is all vanity. If we want to lead then we are examples and we are to be examples of Jesus and a life laid down. Note that the other 10 were displeased and so it is obvious that this is a problem that everyone has without exceptions – all of us want to be great. Actually, though, we have got to do whatever God wants, whenever he wants, however he wants and not how we want it. But these disciples, too, had access to Jesus.

Bartimaeus was granted an audience with Jesus despite others wanting to restrict him – the irony is that those who were trying to silence Bartimaeus were themselves silenced. He was worth nothing to society but Bartimaeus had heard about Jesus and called out to him because he knew he would be given access. Jesus did come for important people but he came especially for the outcasts, the unwanted, the unloved, the destitute, the sick, the sinners.

Who are we to restrict access to Jesus whether to murderers or to children, to the poor or rich, to our class and those who are not, to our friends or to our enemies, or to anyone else, to gay or straight, to woman, man and child? The Gospel is free to everyone and is for everyone. There is no discrimination. Who are we to restrict access to Jesus when we have been accepted in the beloved (Eph 1.6) unconditionally and so absolutely?

And whilst access is free it is still to those who believe…have faith in…to those who trust in Jesus; If we trust anything else then it is not sufficient.

This young, rich ruler no doubt trusted in goodness and in his possessions whereas the children, in contrast, simply wanted to come to Jesus and the blind man trusted that only Jesus could cure life’s ailments.

The young rich ruler though is not to be simply disregarded as some rich man who is not on the same level as us for, as I have said before, Scripture is very clear that the poor are those who are completely dependent upon another to live…true charity cases. Everyone else is rich. Of course there are levels of richness…I don’t think anyone here owns a yacht or owns a house worth a million pounds but we have food, water, clothing, homes and more beside.

The problem of the rich man, though, is a problem common to all which is why the disciples were amazed: how, then, can anyone be saved?! We all are in the same boat…the size of the boat does not matter…but we trust in our boat to keep us afloat no matter what kind of storm comes our way…and the boat is our possessions and abilities. The root problem is that we trust in ourselves and see no need of anyone outside of ourselves to keep us from sinking.

Let me ask us this: When troubles first come, what do we do to get a solution? Do we go to our family or friends or church or Pastor or neighbour or bank account or loan company? Do we work out in our minds what the solution could be and what we need to do? Whatever is the first place we go to when problems arise is where we have our trust.

Don’t get me wrong, there is no reason why we can’t share our problems with others or work out a solution within oneself unless it is the first place we go to. In many counsellors there is found wisdom because there is safety (Prov. 11.14) but God is wiser than all.

Who do we really trust? When we sing the newer version of the ‘Lord’s my Shepherd, I shall not want’ and sing the chorus: ‘I will trust in you alone’. Is this fact or fiction? When we really put our trust in Jesus then the rewards are substantial. There are rewards for this life and the next as was explained to Peter. The problem is, are we willing to let go of all that we have whether homes, jobs, and families and whatever else…so that we can be first rather than last…and enter into a glorious eternal life even if in this life we will be persecuted?

And if to emphasise the persecution aspect he spoke again of his betrayal and crucifixion. Jesus does not ask us to travel down a road he Himself has not travelled. He had left all behind: he left His Heavenly Kingdom, his Father, His home both heavenly and earthly and was determined to fulfil what God had for him to do. His disciples were amazed at how set Jesus was to go to Jerusalem; this was no ordinary walking pace but Jesus wanted to get there as fast as his feet would travel so that he could lay down his life, to set in motion the chain of events that would lead to his death. Jesus showed he came to serve others. Greatness in God’s Kingdom is not about being chief but being servant of all. Jesus, King of Kings and Lord of lords relinquished his privileges and gave Himself as a sacrifice being the only who truly has served all.

Bartimaeus is there sitting at the side of the road whilst this is all going on and starts to cry out. A beggar, a blind man, a nobody but one who put all his trust in Jesus throwing off his beggar’s garment knowing he would have no further need of it and knowing that Jesus could heal him and not only that but knew that since Jesus could heal him he could also provide for him and from that time forward followed Jesus.

Perhaps this is the first time you have heard that Jesus has served you to give you eternal life. If that is the case we can explain to you that Jesus is the one who has paid the penalty for our individual sin – which according to the bible the penalty for our sin before an Almighty God is death.

Jesus said that there was none good except God. Now I don’t know where we all think we are on the scale of goodness: compared to Hitler or to Anders Breivik, the Norwegian mass-murderer, we indeed may look good or even compared to prostitutes or thieves or our neighbour but Jesus makes it clear that there is no one who is good in the sight of God because he is holy, absolutely righteous, absolutely just, absolutely good and compared to him we are destitute sinners. Has anyone here ever lied? Then you and I are liars. Has anyone here ever stolen anything? Then you and I are thieves. Has anyone ever taken God’s name in vain? Then you and I are blasphemers. The fact is that every one of us has broken the ten commandments. Not only that, every one of us have broken the law because if you break it in one place you break it in all – it makes us law-breakers. God says that death is the penalty for law-breakers. And Jesus paid that penalty for us so that each one of us could be set free from the punishment due to us – the way to get this is to say to God:

Lord God and Father, I believe that Jesus paid the price for me and I want to turn around from my sinful ways and follow you all the days of my life. Come into my life. Please give me eternal life and fill me with your Holy Spirit who will help me to walk in your ways. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

For the rest of us who are Christians the question is are we standing in the way of others who may want to come to Jesus? Are we a help or a hindrance to the Gospel? What person can come in through the doors here that you would not say in one’s heart: Lord, you love him or her. Please save him or her. Or do we only allow people to come to Jesus on our own terms?

And lastly, do we trust Jesus for every problem that we face day by day or are we really liars here on Sunday because come Monday or even Sunday afternoon(!) we want to do it without God because we don’t really trust Him?

My friends, God loves each one of us, each one of us is special, and each one of us is cared for by God. If He has given us His most precious Son, Jesus then He will provide for us and help us in everything we face. And all we have to do is come to Him and ask.

Prayer: With a fabulous God we serve! A God who has served us even when we still rejected you: How can we still not trust you?! As we draw near to you draw near to us that we may know your presence in a real, tangible way knowing that you do indeed love us and care for us and you are worthy of all our trust, all our praise and all our thanksgiving. Lord, if there is anyone here who does not know you in your saving grace then please stir their hearts, cause them to know you because not only did you die for us, you rose from the dead and you are alive today. Praise your name! Amen.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 24 August 2011 14:32
 
Mark 10.1-12 PDF Print E-mail
Written by Rev.Ian Thomas   
Sunday, 24 July 2011 13:49

Marriage, Divorce, Singleness, and Sex

Listen to the sermon on Mark 10.1-12 given on 24th July 2011 here: Download Embed Embed this video on your site

Note: Whilst all the readings are here the recording only has Mark 10 in bold:

Mark 10:1 Then He arose from there and came to the region of Judea by the other side of the Jordan. And multitudes gathered to Him again, and as He was accustomed, He taught them again. 2 The Pharisees came and asked Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” testing Him. 3 And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?” 4 They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her.” 5 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. 6 But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female.’ 7 ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh’; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” 10 In the house His disciples also asked Him again about the same matter. 11 So He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. 12 And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

Deut 24. 1 “When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favour in his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, 2 when she has departed from his house, and goes and becomes another man’s wife, 3 if the latter husband detests her and writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her as his wife, 4 then her former husband who divorced her must not take her back to be his wife after she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the LORD, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

1 Cor 7.1 It is good for a man not to touch a woman. 2 Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. 3 Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 But I say this as a concession, not as a commandment. 7 For I wish that all men were even as I myself. But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that. 8 But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am; 9 but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

10 Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband. 11 But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife.

29 But this I say, brethren, the time is short, so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had none, 30 those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not possess, 31 and those who use this world as not misusing it. For the form of this world is passing away.32 But I want you to be without care. He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord—how he may please the Lord. 33 But he who is married cares about the things of the world—how he may please his wife. 34 There is a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world—how she may please her husband. 35 And this I say for your own profit, not that I may put a leash on you, but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction.

Ephesians 5.25-30 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, because we are members of His body.


Intro

We come to this passage today just as Irena and I are celebrating 12 years as a married couple. This was not planned but it has made me think about our experiences together. People talk about a marriage made in Heaven but I am not sure that it is accurate speech for when we do go to be with the Lord there will be no marriage except to the Lamb. No matter what though marriage is ordained by God as something he instituted at the very beginning of creation and which was to be life-long. But though it is something God instituted it has not been plain sailing but actually, at times, very hard going. There have been very good years and a couple of really bad years. The first year was very hard because we met and married very quickly: Met on April 21st or 22nd, started dating May 23rd, engaged June 20th, married July 24th all in the same year! For both of us who had our independence for 29 and 31 years respectively to be thrown together into the mix was extremely hard for me to adjust to and there were times when we could probably have killed each other. We are passionately in love and can be equally passionate in anger! We both say that when we love we really love but when we have issues woe betide us! I suppose it did or didn’t help that for 24hrs a day we were with each other as we worked for the Kingdom of God and God was gracious and helped us.

We have both calmed down – which may not be obvious to anyone else – it may even be a surprise! Irena is my life partner, friend, and lover and there is very little that I would not do for her…God has given her to me and God knew best. As Clive said: behind every strong man there is a stronger woman! And thank you Lord for that!

Of course it is then also plain that both of us for about 30 years were not married. In fact I wondered if I would ever get married. Irena will testify that every week at prayer she would ask others to pray to give her a husband. (And I am the result of that prayer…don’t let me ask those to pray for anything for me!).

I remember still just how desperate those years were. Of days of utter loneliness.

Singleness

But Paul in 1 Cor 7. Does not apologise for saying that it is better to be single than married as a Christian because you are more able to put effort into the Lord’s work without hindrance or without always having to be in agreement with a wife or husband. And this really is the case. When you are single you can put all your effort into the Christian life and work for his kingdom. If you are single you have more time available to do the things that please God. I spent those years working for a Church in a small village with lots of old people using the gifts God gave me in music, in computers to produce acetates for the overhead projector, spending my money on advancing the Kingdom of God by producing newsletters to put into people’s homes. There was not much that could disturb the work except the TV. Do not be distracted by your TV or Xbox but put more time and effort in seeking God and his Kingdom and working for and with his people. We want you to use every opportunity that comes your way. Perhaps you have ideas that you want to become reality – then come and speak to me and we will see if there is a way. Perhaps you want to go door knocking, perhaps you want to start a club, perhaps you want to make a difference to the old people’s homes here, whatever it is that you think…and if you are not an ideas person but want to do things for God’s Kingdom in Ely then speak to me about that – come on – you cannot expect opportunity to come knocking like this too often. I am really serious. We need you. The Kingdom of God needs you. Ely needs you. God wants to use you. You have gifts and talents and you should not be waiting for me to ask you – now you have opportunity – now you have a chance to let God use you – and you are being given permission. You are equals here – don’t rely upon me or Clive or others to stir up

There is a distraction for a single person that can really take away one’s desire to serve the Lord and that is sex. I don’t know whether I lived such a sheltered life but I am sure that sex was not as pervasive as it is now. There is a film coming out with Justin Timberlake called ‘Friends with benefits’ about teens that sleep with each other without any commitment or, they think, with any emotional attachment. This, I think, is part of the fulfilment of the last days that people are without natural affection. Sex is everything and so they are fully committed to that. There was a youth worker here a few years ago who said this is exactly what is happening on this estate. Everyone is sleeping with everyone else. God says, yes, I created sex but it is to be found within the bounds of a fully committed relationship called marriage for this is the safe place for it to be. Outside of this is STDs, a world of hurt and damage for the soul. I want to make it very clear to everyone here that marriage is the place for sex and if and when you are in boyfriend/girlfriend relationships it is to be with the goal of marriage: and I am saying now that the person you choose as a boyfriend of girlfriend had better be a Christian and a fully committed one at that otherwise you will find that your own commitment will diminish.

Please beware that sleeping with another causes there to be a union with another – you become one with them – and then you become one with another and another and another and then to the one you are married. Be warned that experience before marriage will not improve it. It is proven – it is no coincidence - that those who have sex before marriage find that they are the ones with problems in their marriage that lead to divorce.

When you have found the one that you want to marry do not hang around – get on with it – the longer you wait the sooner you will fail in sexual purity. In the past it may have been possible to have long engagements but not in this day and age.

Marriage

Now it is important that we all realise that marriage is for life and this means you have to choose very carefully but no matter what your choice in the end there is no get out clause in the sight of God unless one or the other commit adultery. Of course if you do not maintain sexual purity before marriage it is going to be harder in to maintain that in marriage because we have shown we are willing to push the boundaries. If you sleep with someone else when you are married your partner has the right to divorce you – I think it is better for there to be reconciliation but that will not be up to you but the one you have failed and betrayed for if you fail just once in this area the chances are you are going to do it again but with that said God is greater than us: true repentance allows God’s power into our lives to overcome.

This is very important because this part is open to abuse – we are equals in the sight of God – I have to love Irena as Christ loves the Church and she is to submit to me and also I to her. I think the balance might me on the side of the woman! We must never use Scripture to force the other to do what we want. We must never be overbearing. The fact is that we all want the other to do what we want – and this is where self-sacrifice and denying oneself is to come into effect. We also must never threaten the other with divorce or blackmail emotionally. We are to relinquish control and power. There is no place in marriage for domination or oppression. And I am not only talking to the men – women you also need to hear this!

But there is an order in marriage where God has given responsibility to the husband to lead and to bring nourishment to his wife. It is not biblical for the woman to lead the man – if it is this way round then it is time to revisit Scripture and relinquish this role – and it is time for the man in this marriage to fulfil their role. Remember that the leadership that Jesus showed was one of service and humility and the road to the cross; an example for all to follow.

Divorce

There are four reasons when divorce and remarriage is permissible:

1. Death

a. Rom. 7.1-3, 1 Cor. 7.39, Matt. 22.23-33

a. If one remarries it is only in the Lord, that is, to another Christian

i. 1 Cor. 7.39

ii. 2 Cor 6. 14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “ I will well in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.” 17 Therefore “ Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.

iii. 1 Cor. 9. 5 Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, as do also the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?

2. Preconversion experience

a. All things become new. The past is no longer operative.

b. Isaiah 43. 25“ I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.

c. Ps 103. 12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

3. Unbeliever married to believer: If you are married to an unbeliever this has either come about through disobedience to the word of God or because of a later conversion experience after marriage.

a. The believer is not to divorce the non-believer if they are happy to stay with them (1 Cor. 7.12) 12 If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. 13 And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. 15 But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us to peace. 16 For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?

4. Adultery

a. The law says…I say. Matt 5. 31 “Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.

iv. God does not recognise the divorce except when it is adultery that is the cause.

b. Hebrews 13.4 Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

Separation

I do not advocate that someone who is in a violent marriage, for instance, that they should stay together if reconciliation is not possible but that they separate. These are not permitted to divorce unless adultery is committed. They are also not allowed to marry another. Separation is one thing, divorce another.

Sex in marriage

With all that said one of the main causes for a breakdown in marriage has to do with the sexual relationship. Scripture is clear that sex is created by God and is to be experienced within marriage.

1Cor 7. 2 Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. 3 Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

Let us make sure that we have a healthy sex life – we do not have the right to keep ourselves from our marriage partners. We live busy lives, have different sleeping patterns, have children and a million and one other things on our minds but if we want to maintain a good, healthy marriage we have to make sure that sex is given priority. The word ‘render’ in verse 3 is a legal obligation. Of course sickness and other reasons can get in the way of this and we should not feel obligated then but let us not make invalid excuses.

Conclusion

Marriage is a great gift especially for working together for the Kingdom of God. Singleness is also a gift which normally means you have more time to give for the Kingdom of God.

Keeping ourselves pure is very important for we can be effective for God and the devil wants to take away our commitment to Christ and diminish our usefulness and destroy our testimony. So, be on your guard. Be careful with what you fill your minds. Rid yourselves of distractions and seek the Kingdom of God and his righteousness.

Amen.
Last Updated on Thursday, 25 August 2011 09:57
 
Mark 9.30-50 PDF Print E-mail
Written by Rev.Ian Thomas   
Sunday, 10 July 2011 12:56

Listen to the sermon on Mark 9.30-50 given on 10th July 2011 here: Download Embed Embed this video on your site : There is Hell to pay

Mark 9. 30 Then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know it. 31 For He taught His disciples and said to them, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the third day.” 32 But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him.

33 Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, “What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. 35 And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” 36 Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, 37 “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.”

38 Now John answered Him, saying, “Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us.”
39 But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me. 40 For he who is not against us is on our side. 41 For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.

42 “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea. 43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched— 44 where
‘ Their worm does not die
And the fire is not quenched.’

45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched— 46 where
‘ Their worm does not die
And the fire is not quenched.’

47 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire— 48 where
‘ Their worm does not die
And the fire is not quenched.’

49 “For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt. 50 Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavour, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another.”

Even after a clear revelation of Himself in Mark 8 where he was recognised for who he was: The Christ, the Son of the Living God. It is clear that the disciples still only saw in shadows even though Jesus spoke plainly. The problem was, of course, their preconceptions and their way of thinking could not accept the saying that he was to die.

It is good for us to be clear about what we believe but it is evident that not one of us has got it all right. We all need to be open to correction in our thinking and not stubbornly hold onto things once we are shown to be wrong.

It was also here that Jesus warns that he is going to be betrayed. You cannot be betrayed by an enemy because you know that they are out to get you. You can only be betrayed by someone close. When we look at the Old Testament there are many occasions of betrayal: Samson and Delilah is a good example, King David was betrayed several times – once by his own son Absalom. It seems to me that betrayal is commonplace. There may be one among us who will betray or one that will be part of us. Only God knows. What can we do about it? Nothing. We are to love one another and if it happens then we are to take the rough with the smooth and know that judgment rests in the hands of God. What I find interesting is that Jesus already knew that it was going to be by betrayal and he did not change his demeanour to the one who would betray him but gave every opportunity to put their heart right.

See that these words were missed by the disciples. Note also how important it is that we take into account every word that is spoken by our Saviour. He does not waste words. The words in our Bible are there because he wants them there as He is the ultimate Word of God through whom the world came into being.

I think that the disciples were so set on a ‘King Jesus’ dethroning the Romans that in their hearts the disciples had other things on their minds to do with position and power. They still thought that the Kingdom was going to be established in the place of the Roman occupation and their hearts just couldn’t grasp that it wasn’t going to be that way.

The disciples had their mind on selfish ambition about who was going to have the most influence and were working out what ministerial post they would get: Ministry for Health, for Education, for War, for Security, for Justice etc. They were so into it that everything they heard from Jesus went through the filter of ambition.

Jesus is out of earshot and so the disciples gave full vent to their ambitions disputing with one another but the moment Jesus asks them about their conversation silence ensues. Jesus both saw and heard everything and both sees and hears everything today too. Jesus then dealt with their argument – if only this was the only time he had to say it to his disciples.

Those of us who are more interested in how great we are going to be are dealt a blow because we are told that to be great you have to be last and a servant to all. It is for this reason that I am referred to as a minister, which is another word for servant. Well, at least, that is what I am supposed to be but I suspect that there are ministers among us as a fellowship who are greater in God’s sight than I ever will be. It is generally those who are unseen, those who do things behind the scenes, who are the greatest in God’s sight.

Jesus takes a child in his arms to prove a point. We are all too happy to receive powerful people, the rich, those who are of benefit to us spiritually, materially, or emotionally but children cannot provide us with these things, or at least it would be unusual for them to do so, because children, by nature, are dependent upon us. Their dependence upon us also places a word of warning on the lips of Jesus. Because children trust us, rely upon us beware of what you do. Do not lead them astray or do anything to them that you would not want God on your back for. Watch yourself and watch out for children that the example given is a godly one.

CAN SOON SPEAK AGAINST – John’s detour away from children and his own judgment

He then goes a step further saying that if any part of us sins then cut it off for going to hell is a place you really do not want to go. For those who want to doubt the reality of hell then you have to take up your argument with Jesus as He believed it and warned of avoiding it. In another place Jesus speaks of everlasting punishment in Matthew 25.46 at the same time as eternal life. If we believe we are given eternal life then we have to accept there is also everlasting punishment, too. Jesus warns about it. We also should warn about it. God is just. Does he mean this literally? Yes, he does! Everlasting has within the word that it is non-stop, never coming to an end.

The problem is that we think that in some way God will see the good in us and that will be enough to save us or others in the end – we will all, or most of us, get to Heaven. Jesus pointed out that there really would be nothing left of us if we tried to cut out everything from us that sin because we would soon discover there is nothing good because every part of us has sinned including our heart – you cut that out and you no longer live! We can never be good enough because out good is tainted with sin. Who is the measure of goodness?

(Matt 19.16-17) Jesus makes this clear when the rich young ruler came to him and said: ‘Good teacher’. Jesus asked him: why do you call me good? There is only one good and that is God. The fact is that we are all in rebellion against God. And justice has to be served and the sentence is hell. We don’t want to hear it because we live cocooned lives in the West but in most places of the world where human cruelty is on show we would demand justice. God is holy and demands holiness and our sin is an abomination to him. The cure to the rebellion is found in Jesus sent to pay the ultimate price for us but if we reject Him then we remain under the judgment of God – and this means that the place we would go to is worse than the worst nightmare dreamt up.

The moment we realise that our sin deserves hell and that we have been saved from such a judgment through Jesus Christ the sooner we will be that much more thankful and the sooner we will realise that our neighbours, friends and family need to hear the good news and be the salt that we are supposed to be. Instead we have sanitised God and sanitised the salt that we are supposed to be that it is of no use but to be trodden underfoot.

A judgmentless God is a God who does not love. A God who loves dishes out justice where needed and judges those who are in the wrong. It is what we expect of judges in court. A man is found guilty of murder and he sentences him to 5 years: There is an outcry! If sentenced to 12 years it is more acceptable but for those affected they would want a life for a life.

This world that rejects the idea of God being a judge and our desire to make Christianity sound much more acceptable we excuse ourselves from ever mentioning his judgment. The Bible mentions it, however, again and again and a time is coming when everyone will have to give an account of themselves to God to whom they owe their very lives. People look at the world and see pain and suffering and say what is God going to do about it…but reject a God who will judge and put those things right! Is it because the judgment will come too close to home?

Is God unjust when he says you have rejected me therefore I reject you? You want no part of me though I have given you everything you need for life and godliness and refused it and wanted to go your own way.

If we are to remain salty in this world then we cannot gloss over something that is so fundamental. Missionaries have gone to the far flung countries of our planet because they knew that if people did not turn to him then they would die and go to hell. Jesus came all the way from Heaven to lay down his life because otherwise we would have to go to hell. Jesus would not have bothered if in the end we would all get there!

We have avoided hell by faith in Jesus. In our saltiness we need to be as clear as Jesus was: we deserve hell – but the good news is it can be avoided because of his great love for us.

Jesus died to reconcile us to God and so that we can have reconciliation with one another and this passage ends with us having peace with one another – and as far as it is possible for us to do so let us get on with one another, loving and forgiving just as we are loved and forgiven by God.

Remember: Those who want to be great have to put aside their selfish ambition and be last and servant of all. We are salt in this world making known the good news of being saved from judgment. Live peaceably with one another. Love one another. In this we are recognised as Jesus’ disciples.
Last Updated on Thursday, 25 August 2011 10:26
 
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