The Righteous Requirement of the Law

The theme of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans is righteousness. In this Epistle Paul explained to the Christians in Rome how to achieve righteousness without observing Moses Law.

Paul said, “For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:3, 4, NKJV, emphasis added).

Here are some observations:

1. Because of the sinful nature of the natural man it is not possible for anyone to achieve righteousness by keeping Moses Law. The Law was given by God and therefore perfect (Rom 7:12). But, the fault was not in the Law; the fault is in us. God has never expected us to achieve righteousness by keeping the Law of Moses.

2. Therefore, God has provided an alternative way through the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. Jesus gave His life as an atonement for the sins of all those who have broken the Law and also for the sins of those who have not been under the Law.

3. For those who believed and are walking in the Spirit the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled.

The Scripture revealed that even Old Testament saints were concerned about righteousness.

Job asked the question, “Truly I know it is so, but how can a man be righteous before God” (Job 9:2)?

Hundreds of years later God gave the answer in Paul’s Epistle to the Romans (Romans 8).

Love is the Righteous Requirement of the Law

The following verses of Scripture confirmed that “LOVE” is the righteous requirement of the Law.

1. A lawyer was testing Jesus by asking Him which was the great commandment in the law.

“Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind’. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets’” (Matthew 22:36 – 40, NKJV, emphasis added).

The Law and the Prophets represent the entire Old Testament Scripture. Jesus indicated that the first two of the ten commandments of loving God and loving our neighbors as ourselves fulfilled the Old Testament righteousness.

2. Paul said, “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Gal 5:14, emphasis added).

The one word is “love”.

3. Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13: 34, 35, emphasis added).

“To love one another” is the only New Testament commandment to fulfill all the ten commandments. By loving one another Christians are showing the world that we are His disciple. This is the testimony Christians will reach the whole world for Christ!

4. Paul wrote to Timothy, “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion” (1 Timothy 1:5, 6, NAS, emphasis added).

God is seeking “love” in His people which expresses in three ways – through a pure heart, good conscience and sincere faith. This is the kind of love that Paul expected Timothy to express through his instructions (teaching and preaching) to Christians believers.

In my opinion if you are a Pastor you must aim at producing love in the people who listen to you. If you are not aiming to producing love everything else is just idle talk or vain discussion and empty words! The goal of all Christian ministry is love. The will of God for Christian living is the consistent expression of divine love.

The Evidence of Being Born Again

Most apostles said the evidence of being born again is “love”.

1. Peter wrote to the Jewish believers who had been born again but were struggling in the midst of persecution:

“Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever” (1 Peter 1:22, 23, NKJV, emphasis added).

It is clear that the primary evidence of being born again is to love one another fervently with a pure heart. Being born again is therefore a total life transformation.

2. John said, “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him” (1 John 3:14, 15, emphasis added).

Clearly, a person who is born again has passed from death to life.

3. Paul wrote to the Church in Thessalonians, “But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another” (1 Thess. 4:9, emphasis added).

4. Paul said, “Therefore be imitators of God dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma” (Ephesians 5:1, 2).

As God’s children if we are imitators of God we will walk in love because “God is love” (1 John 4:16).

In my opinion, in the contemporary Church many people who claim to be born again do not want to undergo any radical life transformation. They just want to be respected as being born again Christians. They only think of themselves as nice people who go to Church and are heading to heaven. To them Christianity becomes a cliche and no more than a passport to heaven. Their relationship with God is not secured but shaky.

The Evidence of Knowing God

The primary evidence of a person who claims to know God is “love”. This is logical, because as God is love (1 John 4:16), a person who does not know God does not know what “love” is!

John said, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him” (1 John 4:7 – 9).

Notice that the “love” that John spoke about is “love of the brethren” or “brotherly kindness” referred to in 2 Peter 1:7. This is different from the “natural affection” that Paul referred to in 2 Timothy 3:3 which is the type of natural love shown by both the natural man (unconverted man) and Christian toward his family members.

How God imparts love to His people?

“Love” is not one of nine gifts of the Spirit, but nevertheless it originates from God and it is a gift of God for His people. The Scripture reveals two ways by which God imparts love to us.

1. By the Holy Spirit

“Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:5, emphasis added).

Paul was talking about divine love here. The word for “love” is the Greek word “agape” which is God’s own love. Agape love is not humanly achievable except by the Holy Spirit. We can never produce agape love in our natural man.

After the new birth, in the new nature that is produced by the new birth, the Holy Spirit pours out the totality of God’s love into our heart. There is no limit of this love, but the limit is our receiving it (Read John 7:37 – 39).

2. By His Word

Genesis Chapter One shows that creation took place when God spoke His Word in the presence of the Holy Spirit (Genesis 1:2, 3). Similarly, love being a creation of God, created in us also by His Word and the Holy Spirit.

Divine Love is the Fruit of the Holy Spirit

As mentioned earlier, God poured out His divine love in us without measure by the Holy Spirit. But, most of us are unable to receive the full measure of His love even when we are baptized in the Holy Spirit. Divine love, like all the rest of the Fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22, 23), takes time to grow. As we grow in the knowledge of Him, His divine power in us causes us to grow in “all thing that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3).

Peter continued to say:

“But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, the self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love (2 Peter 1:5 – 7, NKJV, emphasis added).

Peter wrote about the progress in the Christian life. There is an up-building of the Christian character; the climax is divine love. It takes six steps to get there. We need to add these steps to our walk of faith in Him.

1. Virtue – or excellence. The first thing you do when you have been saved is to become excellent. When you are a doctor before you are saved then you become an excellent doctor. When you are a slave before you are saved then you become an excellent slave.

2. Knowledge – the knowledge of God. The knowledge of God is revealed through His Word. So, we have to read the Scripture “Till we come to the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).

3. Self-Control. Without self-control you’ll give in to lust, excessive appetite, yield to ungodly emotion and lose your temper. Without self-control you’ll fail to make progress in your Christian life.

4. Perseverance – endurance. In the process of maturing as a Christian you’ll encounter tests, trials and obstacles. Without perseverance you’ll give up. But Jesus said, “He who endures to the end shall be saved” (Mark 13:13).

5. Godliness. A godly person carries the presence of God with him wherever he goes. When he enters the room God enters with him.

6. Brotherly kindness – brotherly love. This is your love for your brethren. It means loving your fellow-believers. We need to admit that not all Christians are easy to love!

7. Love – divine or agape love. This is the climax of the Christian walk. This is the kind of love that helps us to love our enemies; love the people who persecute us, who don’t understand us, who are difficult to reason with.

The Nature of the Lamb

When John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him, he said to the Jews:

“Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water. I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God” (John 1:29 – 34, NKJV, emphasis added).
Notice all three persons of the Godhead are mentioned in these few verses of Scripture:

1. God the Father who sent John the Baptist to baptize with water.

2. The Lamb of God who is Jesus Christ the Son of God.

3. The Holy Spirit, like a dove, descended upon Jesus and remained on Him.

The two creatures singled out are the Lamb and the Dove. God gives us a picture of the nature of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Jesus has the nature of the Lamb and the Holy Spirit has the nature of the Dove. In a certain sense God also gives a picture of what He wants us to be like.

The Lamb’s nature which is the nature of Jesus speaks of purity, meekness and a life laid down in sacrifice. The Dove’s nature which is the nature of the Holy Spirit speaks of purity, gentleness, timidity and holiness. I believe that is how God presented Himself in the Gospel according to John.

The Nature of the Lamb in Jesus

God told John when he saw the dove descending upon Jesus and remaining on Him He is the Messiah. The Messiah came in the likeness of a lamb and not some other fearful creature like a tiger, a lion, wild dog or any other wild beast.

It is important for us to note that the Holy Spirit in the likeness of a dove remained on Jesus throughout His ministries. Jesus knew that the Holy Spirit has the nature of the dove. Jesus never did anything to scare the dove away.

The Nature of the Lamb in Christians

Christians who desire to be like Jesus must cultivate the nature of the Lamb. We must be baptized in the Holy Spirit to order to receive power to fulfill the Great Commission (Act 1:8). But, the dove nature of the Holy Spirit will never descend upon you because of what you are, who you are and what you do. But, when He sees the nature of the lamb brought out in you through Jesus Christ, He is willing to settle on you. If you want the anointing of the Holy Spirit you need to have the dove remain upon you, as you continue to walk in the nature of the lamb.

Many Christians are praying for supernatural power of the Holy Spirit in their ministries. But power is not the real issue. The issue is the nature of the lamb. Many ministers of the Gospel failed to do God’s will because they do not maintain the nature of the lamb.

The Nature of the Wild Beast

In the Book of Revelation two major animals are mentioned – the Lamb and the Beast. In fact, the Book of Revelation describes the war between these two animals. The Lamb is mentioned 29 times in the New King James Translation and the Beast 38 times. The Beast is the antichrist.

According to Revelation 5 only one person is worthy to open Scroll. This person is the slain Lamb. John heard the voice of many angels around the throne of God saying with a loud voice:

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing” (Rev. 5:12)!

According to Revelation 14, the 144,000 with the Father’s name written on their foreheads, follow the Lamb wherever He goes (Rev. 14:4). These are God’s people with the nature of the Lamb and “in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God” (Rev. 14:5). The Beast and the false prophet with the nature of the beast are finally defeated by the Lamb and “they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Rev. 20:10). The New Jerusalem is built for those with the nature of the Lamb:

“Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb” (Rev. 21:14).

There are two natures, and only two natures. If a believer does not have the nature of the Lamb then, he has the nature of the Beast! Christians have to determine which nature will control them. The spirit of the beast is actively at work to take control of humanity. We have never seen so much violence and hatred as we see in the world today. If we do not cultivate the nature of the lamb we will come under the power of the wide beast.

The natural man’s fallen nature is the nature of the wild beast. There is a pressure or natural tendency in the natural man to take control, to rule and to dominate. This natural desire is put in the natural man by the creator. He commanded Adam and Eve to rule and dominate the earth. But through Adam’s sin and fall, the original direction from God has been corrupted. Therefore, now the natural man wants to dominate others. He wants to control and to rule over others. Look at the history of world with one war after another. The motive of each war is to dominate and to control others. The spirit of the wild beast is fully responsible for this.

The spirit of the beast is also at work in the business world. It is common for a large business corporation to take over other smaller corporations. They call this taking over as a “merger”.

Nature of Wild Beast at work in the Church

When the spirit of world comes into the Church, the elders of the Church act the same way of as the people in business organizations. The main aim is to take over. Christians are talking about great ministries, expanding the existing ministries, about power and forming larger Churches. We use our own plans and effort. We manipulate others until we get what we want!

But the Spirit of the Lamb works differently:

“Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts” (Zech. 4:6).

The Spirit of the Lamb is the Spirit of servant-hood:

Jesus, the Lamb of God said, “… whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant, and whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:26 – 28, NKJV).

Jesus laid down a simple principle in the Body of Christ – the higher up you want to go, the lower down you have to start. If you want to be great you have to be slave first.

This Lamb’s principle is the exact opposite to the principle of the world. The nature of the Lamb the exact opposite to man’s nature.

The Nature of the Lamb in Paul’s ministry

Paul, being a servant of God to the Corinthians said:

“You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart” (2 Cor. 3:2, 3, NKJV, emphasis added).

I would like to consider the above two verses of Scripture as Paul’s doctrinal statement. He ministered by the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of the Dove) directly to the human heart.

“On tablets of stone” means “things written by the letters”. “Tablets of flesh” means “The human heart”. The only way to write on the human heart is through the Holy Spirit. What is written in the human heart will not be forgotten. To Paul the result of writing on the heart is much deeper that the emotion and the intellect (the soul realm). Paul’s teaching goes directly into the heart of men and women!

“My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you, …” (Gal 4:19, emphasis added)

In other words, Paul labored in his ministry until the believers have the nature of the Lamb (Christ is formed in you).

Paul’s desire of having the nature of the Lamb formed in the believers he ministered to can be seen by his statement:

“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteems others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interest, but also for the interests of others” (Phil. 2:3, 4).

The “foolishness” of the Cross

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18).

For believers who are saved, the Cross is the power of God. But to the natural man, the Cross is the ultimate of weakness and foolishness. In other words, the Lamb of God laid down His life for humanity is the power of God for those who are being saved.

“… but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Cor. 1:24, 25).

Notice the phrase, “To those who are called”. It means those who called by God to follow the Christ. Those who are saved by following Christ must allow the Cross to work in them. Only the Cross will reveal the nature of the Lamb. Then the power of God will rest on those who follow the Lamb. This is exactly how Paul sees it:

“And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong” ( 2 Cor. 12:9, 10, NKJV, emphasis added).

Paul’s strength comes from cultivating the nature of the Lamb. He found strength in infirmities, in reproaches, in distresses for the sake Christ, the Lamb of God!

The Root of Pride

Contrary to what many Christians believed, the first sin committed in the universe was not rebellion but pride. Pride was an inner attitude; but rebellion was the external outworking of pride. Pride leads to rebellion; the inner comes before the outer. Pride is the inner core that is responsible to the outer act of rebellion against God.

The first sin of pride took place in heaven and not on earth. It was committed by an angel and not a human being. Ezekiel’s description of the king of Tyre was that of Lucifer, a created archangel of immense beauty. Because of pride and rebellion against God Lucifer was cast out of the heaven where God dwells (Ezekiel 28:11 – 18).

God spoke through Isaiah concerning Lucifer:

“How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit” (Isaiah 14:12 – 15, emphasis).

Lucifer said “I will” five times. This was a strong indicate of pride. Notice the progression of Lucifer’s pride. Ultimately, he would like to be equal with the Creator. As a result he was brought down by God “to the lowest depths of the Pit”!

The Root of Pride

In this message we take a look at the root of Pride. God always deal with the root. When we focus on the root we will understand that God sees Pride differently. Therefore, there is a need to redefine what Pride is.

God sees pride in His people when they act and walk in independence of Him. The opposite of pride is humility which means dependence on God. A person with spiritual pride is someone who is unwilling to let God act in His own time and in His own way. He takes matters in his own hands without a clear mandate from God. The greatest temptation a Christian faces is to get ahead of God. He might walk in holiness and righteousness, but very often because of the lack of patience and long-suffering, he tends to believe God is acting too slowly. He could be a prayerful, fruitful and productive person, but he fails to wait upon the Lord and allow God to take full control of the situation.

David knows the importance of waiting upon the Lord:

“Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass, cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret – it only causes harm. For evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth” (Psalm 37:5, 7 – 9, emphasis added).

“Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord” (Psalm 27:14, emphasis added).

A Christian who waits upon the Lord is a humble person. He has the spirit of humility.

The Pride of King Saul

After Saul was anointed as King of Israel Samuel said to him:

“You shall go down before me to Gilgal; and surely I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and make sacrifices of peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, till I come to you and show you what you should do” (1 Samuel 10:8, NKJV, emphasis added).

Samuel’s instruction to Saul was very clear. He should do nothing but to wait for Samuel for seven days until he bring God’s word to him.

But, before Samuel came as promised, the Philistines gathered with 30 thousand chariots and 6 thousand horsemen and multitude of people (1 Sam. 13:5) to fight with Israel. Saul was still in Gilgal and all the people with Saul were trembling with fear and many were scattered from him. Saul could not wait anymore for Samuel and so he said to his people:

“Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me” (1 Sam 13:9).

And he offered the burn offering. As soon as this was done Samuel came and said to Saul:

“You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be a commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you” (Verse 13, 14, NKJV, emphasis added).

Saul failed to keep the commandment of God and took matters in his own hands. He took control of the situation himself and failed to wait upon the Lord. The serious implication was that Saul charged God of deception. To Saul, God sent him out to do his work but let himself figured out how to get it done. He could not sit and watch and let the Philistines destroy Israel! Samuel might not be coming to bring the Word from the Lord anyway!

Consequently, God rejected Saul and David was chosen to replace Saul.

The Humility of David

The Lord has chosen David as king of Israel because of his humility – “a man after His own heart”! The man who is after God’s own heart would be obedient to God and waits upon Him and listens to His commands.

As soon as the Philistines heard that David was anointed as king over Israel, they went up to search for David (2 Sam. 5:17).

“So David inquired of the Lord, saying ‘Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?’ And the Lord said to David, ‘Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand’” (2 Sam. 5:19, emphasis added).

David did not take matters into his own hands. He humbled himself and “inquired of the Lord”. David was obedient and let the Lord takes full control of the situation. He did not act presumptuously but waited upon the Lord until he heard Him said:

“You shall not go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the Lord will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines (2 Sam. 5:23, 24).

The Philistines were defeated because of David’s obedience to the Lord’s command.

“And David did so, as the Lord commanded him; and he drove back the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer” (Verse 25).

David knew the benefits of waiting upon the Lord:

“I will wait for You, O You his Strength; for God is my defense. My God of mercy shall come to meet me; God shall let me see my desire on my enemies” (Psalm 59:9, 10).

Humility and Servanthood

Pride repels the concept of servanthood. Most Christians want to be masters and not servants. Christians are sons of God (Galatians 4:5) and no longer slaves (or bondservants). But most of the Epistle writers called themselves bondservants – Paul (Romans 1:1; Gal. 1:10; Titus 1:1), Peter (2 Peter 1:1), James (James 1:1).

Jesus Christ though being in the form of God chose to be a bondservant:

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and become obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:5 – 8, NKJV, emphasis added).

Jesus said to the Jews, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner” (John 5:19, emphasis added).

Jesus was in total dependence on the Father. He never took matters in His own hands and waited for the Father to show Him what to do.

The Humbled and the Exalted

Jesus used the two Parables to illustrate a Spiritual Law that “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted”.

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Luke 18:9 – 14)

The Pharisee was self-righteous and trusted only himself. He was proud and despised the Tax Collector. He thought he could impress God by his “righteous” acts – fasted twice a week and gave tithes. He mentioned all these in his prayer. On the other hand, the tax collector not only humbled himself but also repented and asked for God’s mercy in his prayer and supplication.

Jesus said, “I tell you, this man (the tax collector) went down to his house justified rather than the other, for everyone who exalts him will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:14, NKJV, emphasis added).

The Parable of the Lowly Place (Luke 14:7 – 11)

A person who is invited to a feast should not sit at the best place but the lowest place to avoid being asked by the host to let someone more honorable than him to take his place. But, if he chose to sit at the lowest place he might be asked by the host to move up to a higher place of honor. In this case, he would receive glory in the in the presence of those who sit at the table with him.

Jesus said, “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11).

The Only Unshakable Foundation

We are living in the last days – or rather the last of the last days. Bible prophecies are being fulfilled right before our eyes. The great shaking (both physical and spiritual) as prophesied by the Prophets that will happen just before the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is happening now! If your faith is being put to the test and shaken because of the much talked-about false “gospels” of “The gospel of Judas” and “The Da Vinci Code” this message is for you. I believe this is the beginning of the “spiritual storm” which is part of the great shaking. This message concerns only spiritual shaking.

The writer of Hebrews said that our God is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29) and this is what He declared:

“Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven” (Heb. 12:26).

“Now this, ‘Yet once more,’ indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear” (Heb. 12:27, NKJV, emphasis added).

“A kingdom which cannot be shaken” is a spiritual Kingdom where Jesus is the Lord and King. Those who serve God with reverence and godly fear will not be shaken!

A Message for the Church

God is shaking everything so that Jesus is the only unshakable power left on earth. Those who are truly His and live in Jesus Christ and maintain an intimate relationship with Him will not be shaken.

Jesus is warning us, the Church, with the parable of “Building on the Rock” that there will be a flood of iniquity, a flood of apostasy and a flood of demonic activities in the days to come. The false “gospel of Judas” and “The Da Vinci Code” are just the beginning of the flood.

All Christians must take heed of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount found in The Gospel According to Matthew Chapters 5, 6, 7. At the close of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus gave a warning in the form of a parable in Chapter 7.

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall” (Matt. 7:24 – 27, emphasis added).

Two Kinds of Christians

Jesus said there are two kinds of Christians who build their house on different foundations. The house they build could be the same. The difference is the foundation. One builds his house on the rock and the other on the sand.

We are here talking about the spiritual life of Christians. We are talking about the spiritual house that Christians built. We are talking about the condition of the heart and our walk with the Lord. Christian life is never static. We are always building something one way or another; on the rock or on the sand. If you are busy in your Church life, you are busy building something!

Building on the Rock

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matt. 7:24, emphasis added).

Jesus was talking about obedience here. He was talking about Christians who are walking in total obedience; who are doers of His Word and not hearers only (James 1:22).

There are two kinds of obedience – one, out of the love of God and the other, out of the fear of consequences of the wrath of God. For example when Israel was under the Law, they obeyed (tried to anyway) God’s Law because of the fear of breaking God’s Law which would bring death. Therefore, it is possible to obey God and His Word and still grieve God! This is the kind of obedience that is born out of the wrong motive. This is the kind of obedience that makes God weeps instead of pleasing Him!

It is possible for the Church to have this type of obedience. Churches have man-made religious and denomination laws. Christians obey God legally, according to technicality. True Christians must allow God to show them what He wants them to do without relying on man-made rules and regulations. We must do away with legalism. We should not forget to obey and to please the Head of the Church – Jesus Christ. It is impossible to please God by obeying man-made rules. It is impossible to find the will of God by following legalistic laws.

God is looking for people with whole-hearted obedience to Jesus. Jesus Himself obeys the Father with total commitment and does things that please Him.

Jesus said, “….that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him” (John 8:28, 29, NKJV, emphasis added).

Jesus also said, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work" (John 4:34, emphasis added).

A Christian who pleases Jesus and does His will is the one who builds his house on the rock. Jesus is the Rock (Exodus 17:6). The Foundational Rock (God the Father) is what Jesus Himself built on – to love the Father and to please Him with all His heart and nothing else matters. We build on the rock because we want to please Jesus and do His will.

We are building on the Rock when we cultivate and maintain an intimate relationship with Him. If we do that we are able to walk through fire, through flood, storm and rain without being shaken. We will not be shaken by false Christs and false gospels.

But, you can’t have an intimate relationship with Jesus unless you are willing to obey Him and do His Will. This is how I define the will of God – His will is His pleasure and His pleasure is His will. We give Him pleasure when we please Him by doing His will.

Enoch was taken by God without seeing death because he pleased God (Hebrews 11:5).

Paul said, “… even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts” (1 Thess. 2:4).

Building on the sand

“But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who build on the sand” (Matt. 7:26, emphasis added).

Jesus was talking about disobedience here. Now, who is this foolish man? He is a believer, a so-called Christian, who fails to do the will of God. Jesus talked about such a person a few verses earlier:

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in You name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matt. 7: 21 – 23, NKJV, emphasis added).

The following is my observation:

1. I do not believe the people who made these claims of working miracles in the Name of Jesus were lying. They had actually done what they claimed. But being able to prophesy, cast out demons and work wonders in the Name of Jesus does not necessarily prove that a person is one of God’s elect.

2. There are many such people in the Church – Pastors, preachers, evangelists, and teachers of Scripture. It is easy to pick them out. They are always busy laying hands on the sick, casting out demons and working miracles. They are busy because Church members seek after them!

3. We need to be reminded that there is Power in the Name of Jesus. The Scripture says, “The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:9). This is logical because if these gifts are revocable, they will not be called a gift, but a loan! People got healed and received miracles because God answered their faith and not the “faith” of the one who laid hands on them!

4. These people have the formula. They come to Jesus for deliverance, for power but they do not come to know Him. They are very busy people and very active for Jesus. You see them running all over local Churches. They appear to be full of compassion for human needs. Outwardly, these miracle workers have been serving the Lord, but in their innermost character God had discerned something described as “lawlessness”. This expressed itself in attitudes such as pride, arrogance, self-seeking, covetousness and personal ambition.

5. They don’t know how to wait upon the Lord. The idea of producing Christian character and waiting upon the Lord and to get ready for the coming spiritual storm is foreign to them.

6. They have not given Jesus their heart. They give Him their mind. They have a concept of Jesus; but they have not been broken and yielded to Him completely.

Conclusion

The fearful statement made by Jesus is:

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21, NKJV, emphasis added).

Notice Jesus has given us the condition for entering the kingdom of heaven. The condition is:

Christians must be obedient and do the will of God. The Kingdom of heaven is meant for those who obey God and His Word. Christians who build their house on the Rock will enter the Kingdom of heaven. On the other hand, those who build their house on the sand will not be allowed to enter the kingdom of heaven. Not only they are not Christians but they are lost as well. In the sight of our Lord Jesus Christ these people are not saved! They were saved at one time, but failed to remain being saved.

Jesus said, “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness'" (Matthew 7:23)!

Reliability of Bible Translations

No, I am not questioning the reliability of the Bible which is the Word of God. Neither am I talking about reliability of Bible interpretation or hermeneutics. What concerns me most is the unreliability of some Bible Translations. All Bible-believing and God-fearing Christians must be able to trust the accuracy and reliability of any versions or translations of the original Biblical texts. In other words, all Bible translations must be trustworthy. The question is, are all versions of Bible Translations be trusted?

By careful study of various versions and translations of the Bible it becomes obvious to me that there are serious inconsistencies between them. More importantly, some versions contain more facts and verses than others. And without apparent reason certain verses are removed or added in when compared with others. Certain verses carry entirely different meaning when compared with others.

It is beyond the scope of this message to discuss different Bible versions and translations. You may refer to any good Bible Dictionary. For clarity sake I shall use the King James Bible (KJB) or the New King James Version (NKJV) as reference in comparing with other versions like the New International Version (NIV), New Living Bible (NLB), The New American Standard Bible (NAB), Revised Standard Version (RSV) and the Amplified Bible (AB).

For easy comparison we shall confine our discussion with the above mentioned few popular translations. This is not a comprehensive study; but rather what I have discovered so far.

The Lord’s Prayer

Please read Matthew 6:9 – 13. Let me just quote the last verse of the Lord’s Prayer:

“And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” (Verse 13, NKJV, emphasis added).

The highlighted phrase is intact in the KJB, NKJV, NAB and AB, but totally removed from the NIV, RSV and the NLB! This last sentence is “doxology” or ascription of praise connected with the Prayers by the word “For”.

Is it shameful to praise the Lord according to some Bible translators? Or is it good to praise the Lord? My Bible says only the dead do not praise the Lord (Psalm 115:17)!

Is Joseph the paternal father of Jesus?

After Simeon took the Child Jesus in his arms and blessed Him, Luke recorded:

“And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken to Him” (Luke 2:33, NKJV, emphasis added).

Both the KJB and the NKJV say “Joseph and His mother”. The NLB says “Joseph and Mary”. AB says “His (legal) father and (His) mother”. The RSV and NAB say “His father and mother”. But the NIV says “the Child’s father and mother”!

If you believe the virgin birth and that Jesus is the Son of God, then Jesus’ Father is God the Father and not Joseph!

The Blood of Jesus

“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, NKJV, emphasis added).

The phrase “through His blood” has been removed from the NIV, NAB and the RSV! Surprisingly, it is found intact in the NLB.

The writer of Hebrews says, “… without shedding of blood there is no remission” (Heb. 9:22).

Jesus Christ is the only BEGOTTEN SON

Let us look at the all familiar John 3:16:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only BEGOTTEN Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16, NKJV, emphasis added).

The word “BEGOTTEN” has been removed from the NIV, RSV and NLB.

Christians should know that there is a great difference between “His only begotten Son” and “His only son”.

The Scripture makes it clear that some sons of God are created, some are adopted and some are angels.

1. “… the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God” (Luke 3:38, NKJ, emphasis added).

In the above verse Adam is the created son of God. (Read Gen. 5:1, 2).

2. Christians are call “sons of God”

“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:26, NKJV, emphasis added).
“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1, NKJV, emphasis added)

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Romans 8:14, NKJV, emphasis added).

Clearly, Christians are “adopted” sons of God through Jesus Christ. We are the children of God in the New Covenant.

3. In the Book of Job “sons of God” are angels of God:

“Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them” (Job 1:6, NKJV, emphasis added).

Read also Job 2:1 and Job 38:7 you will realize that these “sons of God” are celestial beings. There are created angels of God.

It is true that what NIV say “the one and only Son” is sufficient to indicate that there is only one Son (capital S). But then the NIV is supposed to be read by Christians young in the faith. The NLB simply says, “his only Son”!

Words removed from the Mouth of Jesus Himself!

1. After Jesus was baptized by John, He was led by the Spirit to into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil.

Jesus answered the Devil, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God’” (Luke 4:4, NKJV, emphasis added).

The important phrase “But by every word of God” has been removed from the NIV, NLB, RSV and NAB. As far as I know only the KJB, the AB and the NKJV have this phrase intact.

Notice that Jesus was quoting Deuteronomy 8:3;

“So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord” (NKJV, emphasis added).

Amazingly, all the versions mentioned above have the highlighted phrase intact.

2. The Devil desired Jesus to worship him. But Jesus said to him:

“Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve’” (Luke 4:8, NKJV, emphasis added).

The phrase, “Get behind Me, Satan!” has been removed from the NIV, NLB, RSV and NAB. Only the KJB, NKJV and the AB have the phrase intact.

3. Jesus went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and was reading from the Book of Isaiah:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me the heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set all liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:18, NKJV, emphasis added).

The phrase, “He has sent Me the heal the brokenhearted” has been removed from the NIV, NLB, RSV and NAB. Only the KJB, NKJV and the AB have the phrase intact. Therefore, according the some translators, God did not send Jesus to heal emotion or inner hurt! The healing virtue of Jesus is not complete. Christians should know that Jesus came to heal the whole person – Spirit, soul and body. It is true that “By whose stripes you were healed” (1 Peter 2:24).

4. Jesus was explaining to His disciples regarding His departure to the Father:

“A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father” (John 16:16, NKJV, emphasis added).

Similarly, the phrase, “Because I go to the Father” has been removed from the same versions of the Bible. Why would Jesus withhold this important truth from His disciples? More importantly, without going to the Father implies no resurrection of Jesus. Then our faith is futile and we are still in our sins (Romans 15:13 – 19)!

Actually there are many more verses of the sayings of Jesus have been removed without valid reasons from the same translations of the Bible as I have mentioned above. It is quite a tedious exercise to search out what have been added and removed.

The following verses are also removed!

Matt. 15:8, Matt. 19:9, Matt. 20:7, Matt. 20:16, Matt. 20:22, Matt. 25:13, Matt. 27:35, Mark 6:11, Matt 10:21.

Verses of Scripture removed from the Epistles

I will quote only two important verses:

1. “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:1, NKJV, emphasis added).

The same translations removed the phrase, “Who do not walk according to the Spirit”.

This phrase is important because it indicates that true Christians (who are in Christ Jesus) do not walk according to the Spirit.

2. “If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on you part He is glorified” (1 Peter 4:14, NKJV, emphasis added).

The same translations removed the highlighted phrase. This phrase explains further how a believer is blessed by being reproached for the name of Christ.

The following verses are also removed:

Rom. 13:9; 1 Cor. 6:20; 2 Cor. 10:4; Gal. 3:1; Eph. 5:30; Phil. 3:16; 1 Tim. 6:6; Heb. 7:21; 1 Peter 1:22; 1 John 4:3; 1 John 5:13.

Verses from the Book of Revelation

The verses removed are: Rev. 1:11; Rev. 5:14; Rev. 14:5 and Rev. 21:24.

Conclusion

From the above study I discover that the most reliable translations of the Bible are The King James, The New King James and The Amplified Bible. As far as I know (based on my present Bible Research) nothing has been taken out of the Original Bible Texts.

The Bible warns against taking away and adding to the Words of God!

“Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar” (Proverbs 30:6, NKJV).

“You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you” (Deu. 4:2, NKJV).

God’s last warning is, “… If any man shall add unto these things, God shall unto him the plagues … And if any man shall take away from the word of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life ….” (Rev. 22:18, 19, KJB).

Notice that the phrase “the book of this prophecy” means the entire Bible and not just the Book of Revelation. The Bible is a prophetic Book.

The Purpose of Resurrection

In my message last week I mentioned that Hosea was one of the prophets who foretold the suffering, death, burial and resurrection of Christ.

“After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight” (Hosea 6:2, NKJV).

The above verse indicates that we are included in the resurrection of Christ. God helping me, I try to answer the following questions:

What is the purpose of being included in the Resurrection of Christ? What are the conditions by which we have the assurance of resurrection? What are the blessings of the Resurrection of Christ?

Assurance of our Resurrection

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:4 – 6, emphasis added).

Notice the above verses are in the past-tense indicating what Christ had already done for us! All we need to do is to enter into the promised blessing of sitting “together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” by faith.

The Old Creation and the New Creation

The Resurrection of Christ separates the New and the Old creation.

“And so it is written, ‘The first man Adam became a living being.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven” (1 Cor. 15:45 – 47, emphasis added).

Paul contrasts the first man (Adam) and the second Man (Last Adam). Jesus Christ is the Last Adam or the second Man. He is the Lord from heaven.

As the Last Adam, Christ exhausted the entire evil inheritance that came upon the whole Adamic race, through the sin of rebellion of Adam and Eve. When Jesus Christ rose from the dead 3 days later as the second Man (Last Adam), he became the Head of the new race. This is the purpose of God – through the death and resurrection of Christ to put an end to the Adamic inheritance and sealed it off by His death. By the resurrection of Christ, God opened the way, for those who believed, into a new race which Jesus Christ is the Head.

The Emmanuel Race

The new race which Jesus Christ is the Head is the Emmanuel (Immanuel) Race – or “God with us” race. The way by which every human being enters into the new race in Christ, is by being begotten again (or born again) by the Spirit of God:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord 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” (1 Peter 1:3, NKJV, emphasis added).

Jesus Christ becomes the source of life for everyone who believes because of the resurrection of Christ. No resurrection, no life; only the Emmanuel Race has life! Christ is our life!

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory” (Col. 3:1 – 4, emphasis added).

Notice the wonderful assurance given to us, being the member of the Emmanuel Race – “Your life is hidden with Christ in God”!

Because the Emmanuel Race bears the image of the heavenly Man (Christ) (1 Cor. 15:49) we are being comforted:

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16).

Resurrection and Justification

“And he (Abraham) believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness” (Gen. 15:6, emphasis added).

As believers in the New Covenant, if we believe with the same kind of faith that Abraham had, then it would be credited to us for righteousness just as it was to Abraham:

“He (Abraham) did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convince that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore ‘it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification” (Romans 4:20 – 25, emphasis added).

Therefore through believing in Christ’s resurrection we are made righteous and received full justification.

There are two aspects of transaction of justification and righteousness:

1. By His death Christ paid the full and final penalty for our sins. So, God’s justice was satisfied by the death of Jesus on our behalf. Jesus became our legal representative!

2. By His resurrection Christ provided acquittal or justification for complete righteousness.

Therefore, we were acquitted of all guilt, justified and reckoned righteous by faith.

The Christian faith therefore depends entirely on the resurrection of Christ!

“And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” (1 Cor. 15:17)!

We are vindicated because Christ was vindicated

Two human courts had condemned Christ to death – The secular court of Rome and the religious court of the Jewish Sanhedrin.

By the resurrection of Christ God reversed those unjust verdicts and vindicated the righteousness of Christ. When Christ was vindicated we too are vindicated because we are identified with Him in resurrection.

Paul sums it up concerning our righteousness and vindication:

“For He (God) made Him (Christ) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21).

Entrance to Salvation

Read Romans 10:6 – 10. Paul is saying that the righteousness of faith does not come to us automatically just because of what Christ had already done on our behalf. We have to accept what Christ has done for us by faith! The acceptance of this truth is our salvation.

There are two simple logical practical requirements for entering into salvation:

1. Concerns our heart. Our heart must believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. In other words, we must believe in the resurrection of Christ. Those who do not believe in the resurrection do not enjoy acquittal and justification of God. They are still in their sins!

2. Concerns our mouth. Our mouth must confess and acknowledge Christ’s Lordship over all aspects of our own life. That is what we have done when we acknowledge “Jesus is Lord”. There is total surrendering of our will to His will. There is the total unreserved act of commitment to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Resurrection overcomes Death

Apostle John saw a vision of the resurrected and ascended Christ (Rev. 1:10 – 18).

Jesus Christ said to him, “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death” (Rev. 1:18, emphasis added).

Notice that Death is not merely a physical condition. It is not merely the separation of life (spirit) from the body of a person when he dies. Both Death and Hades are evil angels, Satan’s representatives ruling over the kingdom of darkness. The true nature of Death and Hades is revealed in John’s vision concerning the forth horseman:

“So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him” (Rev. 6:8).

It is obvious that Death and Hades are persons. Only a person could sit on a horse, and only another person could follow along with the first one. Death claims a person’s body; Hades claims his soul when he dies.

But Jesus descended into the realm of these evil angels between His death and resurrection. He striped them of their authority and took the keys of Hades and Death from them!

We need to know that Death is already defeated but not yet destroyed:

“For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feat. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death” (1 Cor. 25, 26).

Ultimately, Death and Hades would be destroyed:

“Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:14).

Isaiah foretold Jesus’ victory over death:

“He will swallow up death forever and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces” (Isaiah 25:8).

Paul quoted the above:

“Death is swallowed up in victory, O death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” (1 Cor. 15:54, 55).

Jesus’ victory over death casts light on the words of Jesus Himself:

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life” (John 5:24, emphasis added).

“Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death” (John 8:51, emphasis added).

Once again “death” must be a person - only a person can be seen! Death is a defeated foe to anyone who believes and keeps the Word (Commands) of Jesus Christ. To “keep His Word” means to “To obey His word without compromise”. I believe the converse is also true; a person who does not keep His Word will see death!

Conclusion

“Death” to the believer is merely a gateway to a new life because of Christ’s Resurrection!

The Heart Of The Gospel

The heart of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is the Person of Christ Himself. You take away Christ you take away the Gospel. You take away the Gospel you take away Christianity. The Gospel message consists of three simple historical facts centered on Christ Himself. These are the death, burial and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

These facts are made known by Paul:

"Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you - unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures" (1 Cor. 15:1 - 4, NKJV, emphasis added).

Take note of the following facts:

1. The Gospel is to be believed for salvation. A person's job is to receive the truth of the Gospel and not to question it.

2. A person who believed in vain is someone who denied the truth and considered the doctrine of the Gospel as false. Such person is not saved.

3. Paul himself received the message of the Gospel and was saved.

4. The three historical facts are: Christ died for our sins; He was buried; He rose again the third day.

5. The Gospel message is based on Scriptures. Paul emphasized it twice!

6. The Scriptures are the Old Testament Scriptures because the New Testament Scriptures have not been written yet in Pual's time. Therefore, the Gospel of Jesus Christ was fortold or predicted by the Old Testament prophets.

According to the Old Testament Scriptures

Peter wrote to the Jewish believers:

"Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven - things which angels desire to look into" (1 Peter 1:10 - 12, NKJV, emphasis added).

Take note of the following facts:

1. According to the above verses of Scripture, Jesus Christ who brought salvation to mankind had been foretold in the Old Testament by the prophetic utterance of the Old Testament prophets.

2. The most interesting fact revealved by Peter is the fact that the Spirit of Christ was with the Old Testament prophets ever before Christ was revealed.

3. The Spirit of Christ speaking through the Old Testament prophets testified two importnat facts concerning Jesus - The suffering of Christ and His Glory which would follow.

4. By the anointing of the Holy Spirit, the Gospel of Jesus Christ was preached to us.

Christ's Suffering, Death, Burial and Resurrection Foretold by the Prophets

The Psalmist David

David was a king and a prophet. Many of the psalms of David are prophetic utterance in the first person. In other words it was Christ Himself spoken through David:

1. Prophecy concerning Christ's suffering and crucifixion

"For dogs have surrounded Me; the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lot" (Psalm 22:16 - 18).

"Reproach has broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness; I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. They also gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink" (Psalm 69:20, 21).

The gospel according to Matthew testifies that the above Scriptures were fulfilled:

".... They gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when He had tasted it, He would not drink. Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet ...." (Matthew 27:34, 35).

2. Prophecy concerning Christ's resurrection and ascension

"I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You will show me the path of life; in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore" (Psalm 16:8 - 11).

The above prophecy became a historical fact as confirmed by Luke as a witness:

"Therefore, being a prophet (David), and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up of which we are all witnesses" (Acts 2:30 - 32, emphasis added).

3. Prophecy concerning the resurrection and other experiences of Jesus

"You, who have shown me great and severe troubles, shall revive me again, and bring me up again from the depths of the earth. You shall increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side" (Psalm 71:20,21, emphasis added).

Notice the accurate description of the experiences of Jesus. He was physically resurrected from "the depths of the earth". God exalted Him (Phil. 2:9) and seated Him on the right hand of God. Jesus was entroned with God and experienced "comfort on every side".

Prophet Isaiah

Just like the psalmist David, Isaiah gave prophetic utterance in the first person concering Christ's suffering.

"The Lord God has opened My ear; and I was not rebellious, nor did I turn away. I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting" (Isaiah 50:5, 6).

Matthew testifies that the above prophecy was fulfilled:

"Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands" (Matthew 26:67).

Prophet Hosea

Hosea spoke of the experiences of Jesus and our identification with Him:

"Come, and let us return to the Lord; for He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight. Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, like the latter and former rain to the earth" (Hosea 6:1, 2, 3, NKJV, emphasis added).

Take note of the following:

1. All the experiences of Jesus relate to the restoration and revival of mankind. He suffered for our restoration.

2. The phrase "He has torn, but He will heal us" speaks of "by whose stripes you were healed" (1 Peter 2:24).

3. Believers are identified with Jesus in resurrection. This is the only Old Testament prophet who predicted Christ would be resurrected on the third day. Because of Christ's resurrection we would be resurrected - "He will raise us up".

4. Hosea's revelation is given to those who pursue the knowledge of God - those who believe in the resurrection of Christ.

5. Jesus's going forth from the tomb compares the morning sunrise with the resurrection.

6. After resurrection and glorification, Jesus would "come to us like the rain, like the later and former rain on the earth". This speaks of the coming of the Holy Spirit prophesied by Joel (Joel 2:23). This was culminated on the day of Pentecost.

The above prophecy of Hosea was filfilled according to the New Testament Scripture:

Paul in his epistle to the Ephesians said that believers will share with Jesus in His resurrection and other subsequent experiences:

"But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved). And raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus ...." (Eph. 2:4 - 6, NKJV, emphasis added).

The three experiences that we share together with Jesus are:

1. We are made alive.

2. We are raised up or resurrected.

3. We are made to sit together with Jesus and enthroned with Him in heaven.

Notice that the outward act of the believer's identification with Jesus is Water Baptism:

"... buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead" (Col. 2:12).

The witnesses who saw Him alive after His Resurrection

Paul's epistle to the Corinthians reveals that Jesus was seen by many after His resurrection:

".... and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve, after that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time" (1 Cor. 15:5 - 8).

Luke recorded that Jesus was seen by many for forty days before He was ascended (taken up):

".... Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:1 - 3, emphasis added).

Conclusion

The single most important event that has ever taken place in human history is the Resurrection of Christ - for the salvation of mankind. This is the heart of the true Gospel Message. The full Gospel Message does not end in crucifixion of Christ as depicted by the film, "The Passion of The Christ". It ends in Resurrection!

Whatever You Fear Becomes Your God

Hanani the seer came to Asa, king of Judah, to rebuke him because he relied on the king of Syria and not on the Lord his God. He was defeated because He relied on a man and the strength of his army (2 Chronicles 16:7).

Hanani said, "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him" (2 Chron. 16:9, NKJV, emphasis added).

The phrase, "those whose heart is loyal to Him" means "those who fear Him and show reverence toward Him". The Lord is looking for those who fear Him and His strength will be made known to those who are loyal to Him. He will deliver them from their enemies.

Asa's failure to rely on God shows that he was a person who did not fear God. The fact that he relied on Syria instead of relying on God also indicates that he feared man and exalted man above his God. In the Lord's eyes man became Asa's god!

God rebuked Laban after Jacob had served him for twenty years. Jacob said:

"Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hand, and rebuked you last night" (Genesis 31:42, NKJV, emphasis added).

Isaac was the promised seed that was to bring forth the Messiah. Isaac had the fear of the Lord in him. In the above verse, the phrase "the Fear of Isaac" means "the God of Isaac". As far as God-fearing Jacob was concerned, God was Isaac's Fear and also his Fear. Isaac's Fear and his Fear was their God!

Religious fear and the fear of man

Religious fear is closely related to the fear of man. There is a man-made god in every religious practice. During the time of Isaiah, the people of Judah were religious. They feared and worshipped the gods made by their own hands.

The Lord rebuked them, "Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have moved their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of man" (Isaiah 29:13, NKJV, emphasis added).

They kept up the forms of religion taught by man and from the doctrine of man; but they withheld their devotion to God.

Here is one of the wise sayings of Solomon:

"The fear of man brings a snare. But whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe" (Proverbs 29:25, emphasis added).

The word "safe" means "secure". A person who is governed by the fear of man will want to please man and will not fear God.

Abraham, for the fear of man, denied his wife twice! If he had feared God he would have trusted the Lord to keep his wife safe in all circumstances. Similarly, Peter for the fear of man denied his Lord three times!

A person who puts his trust in the Lord for mercy and protection shall be set on high, above the power of man and above the fear of that power. A person who fears man has made man bigger than God. Man suddenly has greater influence and greater impact against him than God. And so, he lacks the fear of God.

The Sin of Fearing Man

Judah's sin was religious fear and the fear of man.

Thus said the Lord, "Cursed is the man who trust in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord" (Jeremiah 17:5).

A person who fears man is a man who makes flesh his strength. His heart departs from the Lord because he does not trust the Lord.

Notice a man cannot trust man and God at the same time. He either makes flesh (man) his strength or God his stregth; he either fear man or fear God.

The curse upon his life is:

"For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited" (Jeremiah 17:6).

In other words, he is in the wilderness situation and his Christian walk is barren.

In my opinion, this is the description of a man who fears man and compromises the truth of God's Word in order to please man and to gain acceptance from man. His praise is from man but not from God. But the Lord is watching him and He says:

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings" (Jeremiah 17:9, emphasis added).

The Blessings of the God-fearing Man

The man who fears the Lord trusts in the Lord and honors the Lord.

Thus said the Lord:

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out the roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit" (Jeremiah 17:7,8, emphasis added).

Notice that a person who fears and trusts in the Lord will not fear any circumstances. Instead, he enjoys abundant life!

A God-fearing Lifestyle

The Lord desires fear, reverence and honor from His people. One way of preventing the snare of fearing man is to cultivate a God-fearing lifestye.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, "A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am the Father, where is My honor? And if I am a Master, where is My reverence" (Malachi 1:6)?

There is a Scriptural way to cultivate a God-fearing lifestyle:

1. Serve the Lord with fear

The psalmist said, "Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling" (Psalm 2:11).

In the spiritual realm there is a close relationship between fear of the Lord and rejoicing. Rejoicing is sandwiched in between fear and trembling. It is the fear of the Lord that releases the rejoicing. Without the fear of the Lord our rejoicing will be very shallow and incomplete.

2. Submitting to one another

Paul wrote to the Church in Ephesus regarding maintaining Spirit filled lifestyle:

"And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God" (Ephesians 5:18 - 21, emphasis added).

The phrase "be filled with the Spirit" means "continuously filled with the Holy Spirit". A congregation of believers continuously filled with the Holy Spirit will be be guided to submit one to another in the fear of God.

Notice that Paul said to submit one to another. But, many Church-goers only submit themselves to the Pastors and Elders of the Church.

3. Holy in conduct

Peter worte to the Jewish believers, "He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, 'Be holy, for I am holy.' And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear, ...." (1 Peter 1:15 - 17, emphasis added).

How to Understand the Fear of the Lord

Solomon gave a Scriptural way to understand the fear of the Lord:

"My son, if you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; you, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God" (Proverbs 2:1 - 5, NKJV, emphasis added).

The conditions for understanding the fear of the Lord are:

1. Receive the words of wisdom.

2. Treasure and obey His Commands.

3. Seek discernment and understanding.

A person who fulfills the above conditions given by Solomon will understand the fear of the Lord. Furthermore, he will find the knowledge of God!

On the other hand, a person who does not seek wisdom, discernment and understanding and fail to obey God, does not know God. If he does not know God there is no way he understands the fear of the Lord.

A person who fears man does not know God. He lacks wisdom, discernment and understanding. He disobeys God by making man his god!

Fear God And Keep His Commandments

Solomon looked at life from the human perspective and declared that "under the sun" everything is empty. Power, prestige, popularity, wealth and pleasure - nothing can fill the void in man's life but God Himself!

Solomon came to the conclusion that the real foundation of human life is:

"Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden things, whether it is good or evil" (Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14, NIV, emphasis added).

In the context, the phrase "His commandments" does not mean only the Ten Commandments. God's commandments include the whole laws (not the whole of Moses Law) and commands of God pertaining to the New Testament, commands of Christ, full counsel and truth of God's Word. To keep His commandments means to obey Him wholeheartedly and be doers of His Word in our Christian walk.

The prase "whole duty of man" speaks of the "whole man, his whole being in heart attitude, conduct, thoughts and deeds in life". Man's heart attitude is as important as his deeds in God's sight.

In other words, the whole purpose of the existence of man is to fear God (to show reverence, great respect and honor toward Him) and to keep His commandments. Man's life is in Him and He will judge every man's work and his secret thoughts.

He who fears God keeps His Commandments

The fear of the Lord expresses the keeping of God's Commandments. It is not possible to fear God without keeping His commandments. Similarly, it is not possible to keep His commandments without fearing God at the same time.

Let us look at the First of the Ten Commandments:

"You shall have no other gods before Me" (Exodus 20:3, NKJV).

We are commanded to give God our pre-eminence. That is to give God His rightful place in every area of our life. Nothing should come before God. We shall let nothing else be in the same level with God in our Christian walk.

Notice that another god is not necessarily a false god. It can be any other object of our worship that takes the place of our worship toward God. It can be a man, a pet, a career, a home, a car, money and wealth.

Jesus said to the Pharisees concerning the First Commandment, "You shall love the Lord you God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment" (Matthew 22:37).

The man who wholeheartedly obeys the First Commandment is a man who fears the Lord.

Jesus and the Fear of the Lord

Isaiah gave a prophetic preview of Jesus:

"There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jess, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. His delight is in the fear of the Lord, ...." (Isaiah 11:1 - 3, NKJV, emphasis added).

Notice that Jesus was filled with the seven-fold Spirit of God. The anointing of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus that set Him apart as the Messiah culminated in the fear of the Lord. Notice that the fear of the Lord pairs with the Spirit of knowledge:

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, ...." (Proverbs 1:7).

The writer of Hebrews described Jesus as the High Priest:

"Who, in the days of His flesh, when He Had offered up prayers and supplication, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear" (Hebrews 5:7, emphasis added).

The fear of Lord gave Jesus unhindered access to the Father. It delivered Jesus from the hour of temptation. If Jesus needed the fear of the Lord before his prayer was heard, how much more we need to fear God in order to have our prayers heard and answered!

The Early New Testament Church and the Fear of the Lord

"Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied" (Acts 9:31, emphasis added).

The above verse describes the condition of the Churches in Judea, Galilee, and Samaria in the beginning of Paul's ministry immediately after his conversion.

As a result of the believers' "walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit" two things happened in the early Church:

1. They experienced peace and were edified. They enjoyed the presence of the Holy Spirit who gave them rest.

2. The number of believers multiplied. In other words, the Church grew.

It is interesting to compare the early Church to our present day Local Churches. The early Church experienced peace and was edified because in the Spirit realm they walked in the fear of God and the comfort of the Holy Spirit. Can we say the same with our Local Churches today?

Without exception, all Elders and Pastors desire revival and growth in the local congregation. Christians pray for revival in their prayer meeting. But, the Scripture says that unless we choose to fear the Lord He would not answer our prayer. To fear God is an act of will; we need to choose to fear Him or not to fear Him.

"Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but they will not find me. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, ..." (Proverbs 1:28, 29, NKJV, emphasis added).

"He will fulfill the desires of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them" (Psalm 145:19, emphasis added).

Church growth is directly linked to the fear of the Lord.

Prayer and the Fear of the Lord

The above verses of Scripture show that the key to effective praying is to fear God.

Furthermore, Daniel discovered that when a God-fearing person prays, the Lord confides with him and He reveals His secret to him.

"Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and kight dwells with Him" (Daniel 2:20 - 22, emphasis added).

Daniel said the above because he realized that the key to tapping spiritual secret and to answered prayers is by fearing God!

The Bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdow (Proverbs 9:10) and the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7). These are given to those who have understanding.

The Psalmist relates the fear of the Lord and obeying His commandments with understanding:

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments" (Psalm 111:10).

Therefore, anyone who fears the Lord will have wisdom, knowledg and good understanding. This makes his prayer effective.

The Promise of God for those who fear Him

The promises and benefits for those who fear the Lord are many. Most of these promises can be found in the Books of Proverbs and psalm. It is beyond the scope of this message to mention all of them. But, here are some very interesting ones:

1. The Lord promises to prosper those who fear Him

"Who is the man that fears the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses. He himself shall dwell in prosperity, and his descendants shall inherit the earth. The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant" (Psalm 25:12 - 14).

Notice the five promises:

a. The Lord will teach him the way He chooses. This also speaks of the wisdom of God.

b. He shall dwell in prosperity. This also speaks of the peace of God.

c. His descendants shall inherit the earth. This also speaks of the blessings of God for future generations.

d. The Lord reveals His secret to Him. Notice that, "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, ...." (Deut. 29:29).

e. The Lord shows him His covenant. He will impart to him who fears Him the true knowledge and understanding of His covenant.

In my opinion, the first three promises - The widsom of God, the peace of God and the blessings of God for future generations are what we are praying for most of the time! The wonderful thing is, by just fearing God we have the answers to most of our prayers without actually praying specifically for them!

2. The Lord is merciful to those who fear Him

"Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy" (Psalm 33:18).

"For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him" (Psalm 103:11).

"The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy" (Psalm 147:11).

The above Scripture verses need no further explanation.

3. The Lord promises abundant blessings to those who fear Him

"Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who delights greatly in His commandments" (Psalm 112:1).

Once again the fear of the Lord is closely associated with obeying in His commandments.

In fact the entire Psalm 112 is a list of promises and blessings for the man who fears the Lord:

• Wealth and riches will be in his house (V. 3).
• He will never be shaken (V. 6).
• He will not be afraid of evil tidings (V. 7).
• His horn will be exalted with honor (V. 9).

4. The Lord promises strong confidence to those who fear Him

"In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, and His children will have a place of refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to turn one away from the snares of death" (Proverbs 14:26, 27).

God's children who fear the Lord will have strong confidence that they have a place of refuge and the Lord will turn them away from the snares of death.

5. The Lord promises life to those who fear Him

"The fear of the Lord leads to life, and he who has it will abide in satisfaction; He will not be visited with evil" (Proverbs 19:23).

"By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life" (Proverbs 22:4).

Conclusion

We can sum up all these promises and benefits of God for those who walk in the fear of the Lord with one word - LIFE!

The Purpose of Parables

A parable is a simple story, drawn from everyday experience, to communicate a spiritual truth. Jesus used parables to illustrate the Truth about the Kingdom of Heaven.

The purpose of the parables of Jesus is both to reveal and to conceal the truth of the Kingdom of Heaven. To the disciples truth is revealed, but to the underserving and unbelieving Jews like the Scribes, Pharisees and Sudducees, truth is concealed.

The purpose of Jesus' Parables fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah concerning the people of Judah:

God said to Isaiah, "Go, and tell this people: keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive. Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return and be healed" (Isaiah 6:9, 10, NKJV).

Jesus explained to his disciples why He spoke to them in parables:

"Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear" (Matt. 13:11 - 13, 16, NKJV, emphasis added).

Take note of the following:

1. The phrase "to them it has been given" refers to the undeserving and unbelieving Jews.

2. To these people whatever light given to them in the beginning, because they failed to learn the truth, whatever light they had would be taken away from them.

3. On the other hand, those who are teachable (the disciples) after light has been given to them, more light will be given to them.

4. Jesus used the understanding of His parables to separate His disciples from the undeserving Jews - those who "do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand".

5. His disciples recieved more and more light. Jesus said, "Blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear"!

Therefore, according to Jesus, only His disciples are given understanding of the Parables.

Christians, Disciples and the Parables

I believe Jesus is speaking the same thing to Christians. Genuine Christians are true disciples of Jesus Christ, and therefore they are expected to understand the Parables.

Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:31, 32).

Christians who abide in the Word of God are genuine disciples and they shall understand the parables because parables speak of the truth of God's Word. If they fail to understand some of the parables they need to abide in His Word in a greater degree.

It is interesting to note that Jesus' disciples failed to understand even the simplest of all the parables:

Jesus said to His disciples, "Do you not understand this parable? how then will you understand of all the parables" (Mark 4:13, emphasis added).

In the context "this parable" means the Parable of the Sower (Mark 4:4 - 9). Jesus put forth this parable to the multitude and the 12 disciples. Jesus then explained this parable to His disciples (Matt. 13:18 - 23) when they were alone with Him (Mark 4:10).

Matthew also recorded that Jesus also explained the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares to them. Other than these two parables it is not known what other parables the disciples asked for explanation.

Two Examples of the Parables of Jesus

It is beyond the scope of this message tointerpret all the Parables of Jesus. here are two Parables which could be confusing to many Christians and Bible teachers.

1. The Parable of the Lost Son (Luke 15:11 - 32)

Some Bible teachers call this parable as "the Parable of two sons" or "the Parable of the prodigal son" or the Parable of the loving father". The correct interpretation of this parable will enable us to answer these questions - Were both sons lost? Or, only one of the sons was lost? If so, which of the sons was lost?

This parable is related to a parable mentioned earlier - The Parable of the Lost Sheep (Luke 15:4 - 7).

The younger of the two sons took his share of possessions and "journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living". But after he had spent all, he came to his senses. Then he repented of his sins and returned to his father. He was a type of lost sheep and then later was found. The father was a type of Christ. This prodigal son was received back by his father. He was a type of text collector or a prostitute who repented of his sins.

One the other hand, the older son did not waste his father's possessions, but he was self-righteous. He remained living with his father, but was a stranger to his father's heart. He was a type of scribe or Pharisee who needed no repentance in his own eyes.

Hear what Jesus said, "I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance"

Therefore, there was more joy in heaven when the repentant younger son was received back by the loving father!

Therefore, the lost son was the elder son and not the younger!

The lesson learned is , a self-righteous person who needs no repentance is lost!

2. The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1 - 16)

Jesus Himself said this is a parable to illustrate the truth about the Kingdom of Heaven (Verse 1). The story given by Jesus is in "spiritual terms" to describe the salvation process by which a lost person enters the Kingdom of Heaven (or God) and the gifts he receives to fulfill his calling by God.

Seen in this light a Christian is someone who is called by God to be a worker in His Vineyard.

Please take note of the following:

1. Our salvation is a calling (1 Cor. 1:24 -31). According to Paul it is God "who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, ..." (2 Tim. 1:9, emphasis added).

Salvation and calling cannot be separated. If we are saved, we are also called. Furthermore, we are called and saved by grance "before time began". Our calling is holy.

The best example to illustrate this truth is the salvation and calling of the apostle Paul.

2. In the Parable, the Landowner is a type of Jesus Christ. The laborers speak of unsaved souls. The hiring of the laborers speaks of their calling to salvation. The denarius speeks of the gift of God.

3. The denarius mentioned in this Parable is not a reward for the work done. It is neither a wage nor salary. It is given by "grace" of the landowner who gives according to his will whether the laborer's work is one hour or one day!

4. This Parable shows that our calling (salvation) and gifts are entirely dependent on the grace and sovereign will of God.

Someone might say that our salvation also depends on our freewill. The truth is we cannot excercise our freewill unless God calls us first. Similarly, the landowner calls the laborers to work in his vineyard; but they are given a choice to work in his vineyard or reject the calling.

5. Jesus said, "So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen".

This means - It does not matter we are saved early or later. The important thing is our attitude toward God and toward our calling. With the wrong attitude we might be saved (called) but it does not necessarily mean that we are fit to be worker in His Vinyard!

The laborers with the wrong attitude are obviously the first batch of laborers!