Dispensations

I'm studying Ephesians right now and have come to verse 10.  In this verse we see the word dispensation.  What is a dispensation?  It is the Greek word is oikonomia.  It means the management of household affairs, or administration.  It's simply the rule of the house, the way things operate for this time.  It is used 4 times as dispensation (I Cor. 9:17, Eph. 1:10, 3:2, & Col. 1:25) and 3 times as stewardship (Luke 16:2-4).  Some translations will use the word stewardship rather than dispensation.  I use the NKJV, which is based on the Textus Receptus.  In Eph. 3:9 there appears a word for fellowship--koinonia.  But some translations are based on the Alexandrian text, which uses the word oikonomia in that verse instead  Just something to be aware of.  The NKJV reads, "fellowship of the mystery", the ESV reads, "plan of the mystery", and NASB reads, "dispensation of the mystery."

 

Heb. 1:1 – God works in different ways in different times. This does not mean that God tried one thing and it didn’t work so He tried something else. The reason for each of these periods is to lead man to the cross, until the final period where Christ will reign forever.

 

These dispensations help us understand the overall plan of scripture. They help us have a big picture perspective.  Understanding these dispensations particularly helps us understand how we are no longer under the law.

 

So, what are the different dispensations?  There are seven, here is a list.  I interpret them slightly differently than some.  You may ask, "who cares?"  Does this information really do us any good in our day-to-day life?  For one, I will use them to explain the Sheep and the Goats post.  And I see a very practical aspect applied to our parenting.  I will post about that soon.

 

1. Innocence (Gen. 1:28) – from creation to the fall. How long did it last? We don’t really know, but we do know it ended when they sinned. They were no longer innocent at that point.

 

2. Conscience/Moral Responsibility (Gen. 3:7) – from the fall onward. You now know good and evil, I will leave you to your conscience to choose between those. But man tends toward evil, so we get up to Gen. 6:5 and God says that ALL the purposes of man were evil continually.

 

3. Government (Gen. 8:15) – from the flood onward. After the flood there were consequences for evil. Man was still accountable to his conscience to choose between good and evil, but God added an incentive. He says that anyone that takes a human life will have his taken away. We see the value God is placing on human life here. If you can’t govern yourself, someone else will have to. See also Rom. 13.

 

4. Promise (Gen. 12:1) – from the call of Abram onward. This promise was not based on anything Abraham had done; it was unconditional. All Abraham had to do was believe. This promise is still available to us by faith, as well. So this dispensation, too, has not gone away. Gen. 12 & Gal. 3, 4. God is now teaching humans to trust in Him.

 

5. Law (Ex. 19:1) – from Mt. Sinai until Jesus (or specifically John the Baptist—Luke 16:16). Promise does not end and the Law did not bring justification. It brought a picture of the Savior. It brought many, many types and shadows to point us to the cross. You can study everything in the law, from the Sabbath, to the Feasts, to the elements of the Tabernacle, to the Dietary Laws, to the specific instructions to the priests on how to administer offerings, to the laws for declaring leprosy cleansed, and you will see Christ through and through. Beyond all the symbolism, the law was meant to frustrate man and show him he could never make it on his own, even with conscience and human government.

 

6. Church (Acts 2:1) – from Pentecost until the rapture. This is sometimes called the Age of Grace (I do not agree with this title) or the Dispensation of Faith (again, I don’t think this is entirely accurate), or the Dispensation of the Spirit. This is the mystery Paul is talking about, the secret that was hidden, not revealed in the OT, that Gentiles and Jews would be part of the same Body, and that the Spirit would indwell us. These were mind-blowing truths. This is one of the reasons Paul prayed for revelation for the people he was writing to. We need to pray this pray, too, that the Holy Spirit would open our eyes to these profound truths.

 

· Do we still have moral responsibility (#2)? Yes, but now we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us, to give us the power to choose right and wrong, and our human spirits have been recreated in the image of Christ—it wants to follow after Him.


· Do we still have human government (#3)? Yes, we do, but if we walk according to the Spirit, we don’t have to be afraid of the government. If they put us to death for righteousness sake, the Bible says we’re supposed to be happy.


· What about the law? Does it still stand? I Tim. 1:8-10 says that the law is not for the righteous—we have been made the righteousness of Christ—but for the lawless, the ungodly, the sinners. The law still stands to point people to Christ, to show them their need. The law still stands as a standard in our world, that if people would follow it, our world would be a better place to live in. The law does not justify us, but it sets the standard and grace gives us the power to live it.

 

7. Kingdom (Rev. 20:4) – from Armageddon onward. The visible rule of the Lord Jesus Christ on the earth. We can see II Sam. 7:12-16, Is. 9:6-7, Luke 1:31-33, Rev. 3:21, and Matt. 25:31. He came once to die, the second to reign.

  

Now, the thread that is common throughout all these dispensations is grace. That is why I do not call the Church Age the Age of Grace. Every single age has been the age of grace. It was God’s grace that blocked Adam and Eve from the Tree of Life. He did not want them to live forever in their fallen state. It was grace that God had on Cain when He marked him and sent him away. It was grace that saved Noah and his family. Grace called Abram out of Ur. Grace redeemed Israel from their bondage to the Egyptians. Grace came and dwelt among us. Grace will rule on a literal throne forever and ever. The other side of this coin is faith. You can read about people of faith throughout all the past in Hebrews 11. Just like them, we are saved by grace, through faith, in whatever age we live.

What is Grace?

I listened to a fabulous message the other day by John Bevere. You can listen to it, too, here.

He included a great analogy that has really stuck with me.

Imagine a tribe that lives in the bush, in Africa. They live far from all amenities. They have to travel far for water. They have to travel really, really far for medical supplies. They have to go out and hunt their food and then carry the heavy load back to the village. They have no connection to the outside world--no radios, no TV, no Internet. They have no A/C in their huts. And on and on and on.

We decide to grace them, to show them favor, to give them a great gift. We buy them a Land Rover. We bring it over and explain many of its benefits. We show them the A/C, heater, DVD player, Satellite Radio--really awesome things, that will benefit their lives. They are in awe and ask how they can pay for this. No, no, no, this is a FREE gift. We are giving it to them and expect no payment.

We leave and then come back to visit in 10 years. We find that the Land Rover is still sitting in the same spot! We find the odometer reads 0 miles! Why haven't they used it? Why haven't they taken advantage of the benefit of using it for transporting water, medical supplies, food, and more? Why haven't they used it to make their lives better?

Because we FAILED to explain to them the PRIMARY function of the Land Rover--transportation! We explained other good benefits, but not the primary benefit. They wrote songs about how great this gift was, they wrote books about it being a free gift that they didn't earn, they preached sermons about how it covered them when they climbed in to get out of the rain. But they WASTED our gift!

Is Jesus going to come back and see that we have wasted His gift of grace? We write songs about how amazing His grace is--and it is. We write books about how it's a free gift that we could never possibly earn--and it is. We preach sermons about how it covers all our sin--and it does. BUT, we are not teaching people the primary purpose and that is...

Empowerment!

Grace empowers us to overcome sin, overcome our weaknesses, overcome the world, overcome the devil, to be all that God has planned for us to be!

There is much more to the message and I encourage you to listen to it. The different references that were used were Eph. 3:9-10 Msg, Rom. 5:18 Msg, Gen. 1:27 Msg, II Cor. 12:9 TEV & NLT, II Pet. 1:2-3, John 1:16, I John 4:17, I John 2:6 NLT, II Cor. 7:1 TEV, Heb. 12:14, Heb. 12:28, II Cor. 6:1 TEV, John 20:21, Acts 4:33, Acts 6:8 NLT, Luke 2:40, John 14:12, Rom. 5:17 TEV, Dan. 6:3 NASB, Dan. 1:20. Look all of these up and see what the Holy Spirit wants to teach you. All unmarked references are NKJV.

The Wise and Foolish Virgins

Matthew 25:1-13

¹ “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ² Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. ³ Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, ⁴ but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. ⁵ But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.
⁶ “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ ⁷ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.
¹¹ “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ ¹² But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’
¹³ “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

I have been pondering this topic of the race for many months now and I see how many things in the Bible tie into it. If you want to read my post on The Race, click the link. Paul compared our Christian life to a race. He said he was pressing on to win the race and receive the prize. Later in his life, he said he had fought the good fight, he had finished the race, and he knew the prize was awaiting him. He told us in Hebrews 12 how to run that race, how not to get tripped up.

This is important because I know that a lot of Christians don't view their lives as a race. Rather they view Christianity as a ticket to heaven, a "Get Out of Jail Free" card, and that is the extent of their relationship with God. They hear about God's saving grace and sit back and don't ever find out anything else about Him and His plan. They sit around and don't ever do anything, telling themselves and others that they aren't saved by works (which is true). They don't ever take the time to enter into relationship with God, they don't even know him. They are like a bride that had a wedding, but doesn't want to live with the groom.

I heard something recently that was great -

"Between conversion and resurrection is discipleship."

Salvation is not the end, it is the beginning. How is your race going? Are you a disciple or a convert? Are you moving forward or regressing? I don't believe you can remain stationary in this race.

That is why I want to bring up this parable of the virgins. This story tells us of the consequences of running the race well, or not running well.

The general belief is that the wise virgins are Christians, but the foolish are not. I don't agree. Another view is that they are all Christians, but the wise virgins are the ones that get raptured, the foolish ones do not. Again, I don't agree. There are just too many things in the Bible that indicate that the WHOLE church is raptured. And that is a topic for another post.

I believe that all 10 are Christians. First, because they are virgins, they are pure. When we get saved, we are made new, pure, clean. We are made the righteousness of Christ (II Corinthians 5:21). We didn't deserve or earn our salvation (Ephesians 2:8).

Next, notice that all 10 virgins have oil in their lamps. Oil in the Bible represents the Holy Spirit. They would not have the Holy Spirit if they were not saved. Now most who read this (and I did before, too) assume that the foolish virgins didn't have any oil (because of verse 3), but notice in verse 4 that the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. The vessel was apparently a separate container, so that they could keep their lamp full. And this is confirmed in verse 8 when the foolish say their lamps are going out. This tells me they did have oil at one time, but no reserves. Their lamps were lit, but they were going out. So they all started out with oil. They are all Christians that started out filled with the Holy Spirit.

Why did 5 of them get into the wedding and 5 did not? And what is the wedding? Revelation 19 tells of the marriage supper of the Lamb and the wife that has made herself ready. Verse 9 says, "Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!" I take this to mean there is really a literal wedding and marriage feast. And so only those that have made themselves ready get to enter. How do we make ourselves ready?

By keeping our lamps full of oil. This is walking in the Spirit (Romans 8:6, Galatians 5:16-26). Obeying the voice of the Spirit. Yielding in everything to the Spirit. Less of me, more of Him. This is a day-by-day, moment-by-moment decision. We don't just decide one day and then every day after that we are set. Again, it's not about starting, it's about finishing. There are many, many examples in the Bible of people that didn't finish well--Samson, Gideon, King Saul, Solomon, to name a few. These are to show us how NOT to live. (Romans 15:4)

Revelation 19:8 tells us that the bride is dressed in fine linen, clean and bright, and that linen is the righteous acts of the saints. So, you can't just sit still, you have to act! That is the only way you move forward in this race.

But...

You cannot just make up your own acts. This is what got Abraham in trouble. He had a son of his own will, Ishmael. That was not God's plan. Romans 14:23--whatever is not from faith is sin. What is faith? Faith is responding to God's grace. Is your action a response to God's grace, or is it an action to gain something from God, to get God to move? This is how you determine if it is of the flesh or of the Spirit. If it's in response, it's of the Spirit. If it is to gain, to make God pity you and do something for you, it is of the flesh. These works of the flesh will be burned up (I Corinthians 3:5-17). To obey is better than sacrifice (I Samuel. 15:22). You must be filling up with God's Word in order to know what His Spirit is asking of you. Remember my post on fruit? It fits perfectly with this post, click here to read.

Now, this does not mean that some of us attain perfection. Remember what Paul said in Philippians 3:12, "I have not achieved perfection." This is THE apostle Paul talking here. He wrote two-thirds of the New Testament, but he said he had not achieved perfection?!? None of us ever will. But notice his next statement, "I press on to possess that perfection." None of us will be complete and perfect until Christ comes back (Philippians 1:6). But we press on. This includes repenting when we fail (I John 1:9).

This is where it is helpful to know the difference between spirit, soul, and body. Our spirits are complete, they are made perfect. It is our soul that takes a lifetime to be regenerated, transformed, and sanctified. Our bodies on the other hand will be made perfect, in an instant, when Christ returns.

So those that sit around and say you're not saved by works, you are right. But that is justification and that is your ticket to heaven. However, your sanctification takes an effort on your part. It is the Holy Spirit that does the work, but you have to yield to it. This seems to determine whether you get in to that wedding feast or not.

Now is your chance. It's never too late. You can start moving forward in this race. You can fill up with oil. You can be ready for when the bridegroom comes!

So then, is this wedding one of the prizes that Paul referred to? Could it be one of the rewards? I don't know. This brings up an interesting question that may rattle you a bit. If you are like me, you have been taught your whole life that if you are a Christian you are part of the Body of Christ and the Bride of Christ. But Revelation 19 and this Parable of the Virgins seems to indicate otherwise. But don't listen to me, dig in and be like a Berean--search the scriptures daily to see if these things are so (Acts 17:11).

A Running Theme (Pun Intended)

II Timothy 4:7-8 (NLT)
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And the prize awaits me--the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of His return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to His appearing.

Paul is at the end of his life. He knows this is the end, he is about to be executed. He is confident that he has fought the good fight, finished the race, and remained faithful. Do you want to be able to say that at the end of your life? That you fought the good fight? That you finished the race, you didn't quit? That you remained faithful?

In another translation the part about remaining faithful is translated kept the faith. So if Paul is saying he kept the faith, is it possible to lose it? This brings up many questions, such as, can you lose your salvation? Can we become disqualified in any way? Paul was concerned about that in I Cor. 9:27.

I Corinthians 9:24
Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.

If there is a way to run to obtain the prize (and what is that anyway?), then there must be a way to run to hinder yourself from obtaining the prize.

This verse gives us a clue:

Hebrews 12:1-3
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off and throw aside every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the author, source, and finisher of our faith. Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the cross, ignoring the shame. Now He is seated in the place of honor beside God's throne. Just think of Him who endured such grievous and bitter hostility from sinners, so that you may not grow weary and give up.

This one, too:

Acts 20:24
Nothing moves me, nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, faithfully to attest to the good news of God's grace.

And this one:

Philippians 2:16
I will hold fast the Word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run the race in vain or labored in vain.

Throw aside sin, it trips you up, you can only do that by keeping your eyes on Jesus; don't let anything move you, or count your life dear; and hold fast the Word of life!

Now, this is not about achieving perfection:

Philippians 3:12-14
I have not achieved or reached perfection, but I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of me and made me His own. I have not grasped it yet, but one thing I do, I forget what lies behind and look forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

This is about pressing on, forgetting what lies behind, and looking forward to what lies ahead.

Notice every one of these verses mentions a race. How is your race going? Are you running? Are you moving forward? I don't think you can sit still in this race. I think you are either going forward or backward. As a Christian, does your behavior matter? Didn't God forgive all your sin when Christ died on the cross? And what about the prize mentioned in so many of these verses? Stay tuned...

(Note: Some of these verses may be a combination of translations.)

Christmas Prophecy 24

The Messiah would rise from the dead!

Prophecy -

Psalm 16:10

For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.

Fulfillment -

Matthew 28:6

He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

Mark 16:6

But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him.

Luke 24:46

Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day.

Acts 2:32

This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.

Acts 13:26-33 (NLT)

“Brothers—you sons of Abraham, and also you God-fearing Gentiles—this message of salvation has been sent to us! The people in Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognize Jesus as the one the prophets had spoken about. Instead, they condemned him, and in doing this they fulfilled the prophets’ words that are read every Sabbath. They found no legal reason to execute him, but they asked Pilate to have him killed anyway.

“When they had done all that the prophecies said about him, they took him down from the cross and placed him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead! And over a period of many days he appeared to those who had gone with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to the people of Israel.

“And now we are here to bring you this Good News. The promise was made to our ancestors, and God has now fulfilled it for us, their descendants, by raising Jesus.

Our faith means NOTHING without this all important detail. This is the gospel, that Jesus 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. (I Corinthians 15:1-4) He was seen by Peter and then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred at once. (I Corinthians 15:5-6) But if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and our faith is empty. (I Corinthians 15:14) If Christ is not risen, your faith is in vain--devoid of truth, useless, and of no purpose, you are still in your sins!

This Christmas season I want you to see more than the birth of Christ, I want you to see His sacrifice, His substitutionary death for you, His payment for your sins. But none of this means anything if He didn't rise from the grave.

He is now seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven. (Ephesians 1:20 & Hebrews 8:1)

One day, He will come back for us. (I Thessalonians 4:16-18) One day, He will rule and reign on a literal throne, on the earth, and He will remain forever and ever. (Luke 1:31-33, Isaiah 9:6-7, Daniel 7:14)

This is good news! He will put an end to injustice, pain, suffering, misery, fear, worry, dread.

Won't you accept the gift? (Ephesians 2:8)

Most of the information in these posts has been from The New Evidence That Demands A Verdict, by Josh McDowell. Check it out for much, much more detail. And check out my next post where I deal with the questions I brought up in the first post.

This is part of our Christmas Prophecy series. To read all the other entries, click on any of these:
Christmas Prophecy 1
Christmas Prophecy 2
Christmas Prophecy 3
Christmas Prophecy 4

Christmas Prophecy 5

Christmas Prophecy 6

Christmas Prophecy 7

Christmas Prophecy 8

Christmas Prophecy 9

Christmas Prophecy 10

Christmas Prophecy 11

Christmas Prophecy 12

Christmas Prophecy 13

Christmas Prophecy 14

Christmas Prophecy 15

Christmas Prophecy 16

Christmas Prophecy 17

Christmas Prophecy 18

Christmas Prophecy 19

Christmas Prophecy 20

Christmas Prophecy 21

Christmas Prophecy 22

Christmas Prophecy 23

Christmas Prophecy 4

The Messiah had to be of the house (descendant) of David.

Prophecy -

Jeremiah 23:5

“ Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD,
“ That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness;
A King shall reign and prosper,
And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.

Fulfillment -

Luke 3:31

...the son of Melea, the son of Menan, the son of Mattathah, the son of Nathan, the son of David...

[Partial genealogy of Christ. You can read the full genealogy from Luke 3:23-38.]

Matthew 1:1

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham...

[Again, part of a genealogy. To read this one in full, read Matthew 1:1-17.]

Matthew 22:41-42
While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?”

They said to Him, “ The Son of David.”

[The Pharisees, who were the scholars of the day, fully understood that the scriptures clearly spelled out that the Messiah must be of the family of David.]

Acts 13:22-23

[Paul speaking.] And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will. From this man’s seed, according to the promise, God raised up for Israel a Savior—Jesus.

Revelation 22:16

“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”

Matthew 9:27, Matthew 15:22, Matthew 20:30-31, Matthew 21:9, 15, Mark 10:47-48, and Luke 18:38-39 all show that the people called Jesus by the title of, "Son of David."

This is a continuation of our Christmas Prophecy series. To read part one and two, click here:

Christmas Prophecy 1

Christmas Prophecy 2

Christmas Prophecy 3

Christmas Prophecy 2

The Messiah was to be of the seed (family/descendant) of Abraham.

Prophecy -

Genesis 12:2-3 & 22:18

[God is speaking to Abraham]

I will make you a great nation;

I will bless you and make your name great;

And you shall be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

Genesis 22:18

In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.

Fulfillment -

Matthew 1:1

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham...

Galatians 3:16

Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ.

All the families and nations of the earth have been blessed through Abraham, because Jesus was born of Abraham's family and salvation is only through Jesus. Salvation is for Jews and Gentiles (all non-Jews). (John 14:6, Acts 26:23, Romans 3:29)

This is a continuation of our Christmas Prophecy series. You can read the first post here.

A Portrait

The more I learn of God's truth and love, the more compassion I have for others. We had a wonderful message Saturday night at church about losing our religion, so that we can have compassion for sinners. If it wasn't for God's grace, we would be in the same state as them, so we should never be offended by how they act. They need God, just as we need God.

I would like to expand on that. I have been thinking about this topic for quite some time.

There is another person that needs our compassion. Let me paint you a portrait of that person.

This is the Christian that is wrapped up in bondage, overpowered by strongholds, trapped by their flesh.

This is the Christian who feels unable to break free. You are full of guilt and condemnation for your actions. You ask God for forgiveness over and over and over and you promise God you won't repeat your sin, but you end up going back to it over and over and over. You may even make deals with God, promising to stop sinning, if only He would do (fill in the blank) for you. You don't feel you can come near to God, read His Word, go to church, it just makes you feel worse. You feel God is consistently mad at you and you feel you deserve His anger and wrath. Or you spend hours in prayer, crying out to God, reading your Bible, fasting even, to break free, to no avail. You are bound by strongholds. Strongholds are things that keep you from walking the victorious Christian life. You are saved, but you are bound by addictions, fears, sickness, disease, anxiety, and lusts.

This person is not to be confused with the rebellious Christian. You have one foot in the kingdom, one foot in the world. You enjoy the world, you love it. You want it both ways. You feel you deserve a bit of "fun" from time to time. You disregard God's Word, you ignore it's warnings. You don't even listen to the sermons in church. You don't feel guilt or condemnation, in fact, you may even justify your actions because you're covered by the blood, you are saved by grace, after all, not your works.

The rebellious person needs a kick in the pants. They need to be shown all the passages of the Bible that show God's wrath, His anger over sin, His justice. They need to read Numbers 32:23. They need to know that they will have to give an account of their actions. You are abusing God's grace.

How can you tell if you fall into this rebellious category? Do you feel sorrow over your sin? If so, you are not rebelling against God.

You need help. You need to be aware of God's grace and love. You need to be aware of God's power to help you overcome, to help you change from the inside out. You need deliverance.

Now, I don't know why this is, but some people experience immediate deliverance at the moment they're saved (or really, truly commit to Christ), but others don't. I hear stories of people that drank and then had zero desire for it after coming to the Lord. Unfortunately, I think that this type of person can tend toward less compassion on the ones that don't see immediate deliverance. We can tend to say to them, "well, maybe you haven't really repented."

The fact is, though, none of us can see into a person's heart. We cannot (rarely) tell if a person falls into the former or latter category that I have detailed here. We look on the outside, God looks at the heart. We see their actions, He sees their motives. The actions of the rebellious and the bound often look the same. In fact, the bound may even say things like, "Prayer doesn't work, I quit, God doesn't love me, God doesn't want to help me." They may appear to give up on God, to even turn away from God, but they are in ignorance and God will not hold that blame to them. See I Timothy 1:13 where Paul explains that he formerly blasphemed, but did it ignorantly, so he obtained mercy.

I am constantly reminded of the story of Lazarus. I posted about it recently, here. I was re-reading it just the other day and something new stuck out to me. Lazarus was resurrected, that is a picture of the new birth we experience. But he was still wrapped up in his mummy clothes, that is a picture of our strongholds, the things that are weighing us down, hindering us from walking the victorious Christian life. Jesus says to loose him and set him free, this is where we all need to be, walking in victory, free from addictions, worry, fear, sickness, disease, full of joy and peace. But the thing that most stuck out to me the other day was the detail included in verse 44 of John 11--Lazarus' face was wrapped with a face cloth. There is the key, folks! We are bound up in our strongholds when we are blinded and ignorant of the truth. It is when we take the face cloth off our eyes, see the truth in God's Word, that we will be free from the mummy clothes!!! The strongholds will break.

Rather than always reaching for your Bible to make yourself feel better, to find something that will bring you that immediate deliverance you so seek, instead, look to the whole counsel (Acts 20:27) of God, to learn more about Him and see what His Word has to say about you, about who you are in Christ. Make a point to study, to educate yourself. This is how you come out of ignorance. This is how the blinders come off and you will see the light. Dig in and learn about who God is, who you are, who the devil is, who Jesus is, what sin is, what forgiveness is, what rewards God has for us, what His plan is for man, etc. There is a lifetime of learning there.

It may take time, but your thinking will change, the strongholds will be broken, you will see the evidence in your daily life. You can be free!

Now I'm speaking to the whole Body of Christ. This is the group that needs our compassion. We need to create an environment in our churches where they feel secure in coming for help, and won't be afraid of being shunned (even some of our leaders fall into this category, and I wrote about that here). These are the people Christ came to save, we need to do all we can to help them. Rather than tell these folks they need to change, tell them how the Word will transform them. The Word is powerful, but God has also given people wisdom in certain areas and we need to utilize that, as well. Sometimes a person needs to go to a doctor for physical needs, sometimes a psychologist for mental needs. We need not rule these avenues out, especially for those that have suffered intense traumas and abuse in their formative years. These events actually rewire the brain and cause thoughts and feelings and desires that are in contrast to how this person really wants to live. A professional counselor/psychologist (preferably Christian) can walk this person through that trauma, help them to process it properly, and move past it. And we need to have discipleship programs and classes in our churches, to teach people the foundational doctrines, to give them a whole education, to show them who God is, who they are, what God's plans are, and so much more.

Most of all, this person needs your love. They need to know you're not condemning them. They need encouragement in the Word. They need to know who they are in Christ, that God has totally recreated their spirit and it is perfectly pure and righteous, no matter how their soul and body are acting. They need to know God has provided a way of escape from their temptations (I Corinthians 10:13) and sometimes that way out is to call you up and ask for your help. Will you be there for this person?

I am not saying we accept and tolerate sin. We need to speak the truth in love, hold this person to God's standard of purity, set up boundaries in areas they have broken trust. Don't become an enabler, allowing them to continue in their sin, but don't just tell them to shape up. Teach them about the power God has placed on the inside of them, to shape them into the image of Christ. Teach them about renewing their minds, to break old thought patterns and form new ones, in line with God's Word--their actions will follow these thought patterns. And most of all, pray that God will open the eyes of their understanding (Ephesians 1:16-23).

Offensive

I am going to offend you. I'm just warning you before it happens, but it will happen, someday, sometime, something I write will offend you.

Why?

Because I am not perfect. I am a fallible human.

Don't judge the message by the messenger. Judge the message against the Word of God. Do your own study and compare everything I or anyone else teaches with the Word of God.

Hebrews 7:28

For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.

Priests (pastors) have weaknesses, only Jesus is perfect.

I John 4:1

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Check everything you are taught against the Word of God.

2 Timothy 2:15

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Notice it does not say make sure you have a pastor that divides the word properly, this responsibility is laid on each of us.

Acts 17:11

These [the Bereans] were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.

Be as the Bereans. They searched the scriptures for themselves to see if the things they were being taught were true.

All that preach or teach, myself included, are fallible humans. We make mistakes. We interpret incorrectly. It is up to you to dig in and study these things for yourself, come to your own conclusions, allow the Holy Spirit to illuminate the text, just for you.

Look at pastors, teachers, and preachers as merely messengers. Don't discount the message because of their weaknesses (they all have them). But also, don't expect their message to be flawless. I venture to say that if you agree 100% with a pastor, teacher, preacher, then you haven't been doing your homework. There is not one person (friend, pastor, teacher, etc.) that I can think of that I agree with 100%. That is why I advocate listening to a variety of teachers and preachers. Get a varied diet. Get varied perspectives and outlooks. Use various commentaries in your study.

It is the Holy Spirit that leads us into all truth. It is the Holy Spirit that teaches us all things. (John 14:26 & 16:13) Some of what your pastor, teacher, commentary will teach you is being inspired by God, some of it is their own voice. We all have influences and experiences that shape us and shape our thinking. That will come through in our teaching.

So, as I said in the beginning, I am sure I will say something, sometime, that you will disagree with. I hope you do not get offended, but rather agree to disagree civilly. If you feel I have fallen into error, I do want to hear from you, but I won't be drawn into arguments.

My Notes

I love my church! If you are not in a church that is teaching the Word, go and find one. Your life depends upon it.

These are my notes from this weekend.

I Corinthians 6:19-20 God does not dwell in a building, He does not live at church. His presence used to dwell in Moses' tabernacle and later Solomon's temple. All that has changed now. Since Christ died and rose again, God's Spirit lives on the inside of us. If you are saved, you are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, your life is not your own, you were bought with a price.

This is a slavery term. Back in Paul's day slavery was very, very common. The Romans would conquer a land, such as Germany or England, for instance, and make some of the people slaves.

But God is a good master, that is where this differs from the slavery of the day.

I Corinthians 12:18 He is a good master and gives us a specific job to do in the Body of Christ.

I Corinthians 12:28-30 God gives the gifts and He leads.

James 4:13-15 It is not up to us to plan our lives.

Some think that as long as we're doing something good that God is pleased. But that is not so. We are to submit to His direction and be obedient.

People have this idea that everything God hands out is castor oil. It's not going to be easy, it's going to be something that we won't like doing, etc. But that is not so. There are times that are uncomfortable, when we are corrected, but our purpose and job will draw on our skills and strengths that He has given us. When we are fulfilling the purpose that He has set out for us that is when we will truly feel peace, joy, contentment, and fulfillment. We can never attain this planning our own life, career, and path.

Being submissive, willing, and obedient is called having fear of the Lord. This is not a terror kind of fear. This is an awe and reverence. When we are not obeying Him, we are essentially saying, "God, I don't trust you to take care of me, I don't fully believe you have my best interest at heart."

Acts 2:41-43 The church is born on Pentecost. 3,000 people are saved. This passage notes that they have a fear of the Lord. Does that mean they were afraid of Him? No. They want to only do whatever He asks of them, they fully respect Him. Everyone wanted to live right and please God.

Acts 5:1-11 Story of Ananias and Sapphira. Collectively, the church at Jerusalem felt that they should sell possessions and bring the proceeds to the church. This was not something that was required of them. Ananias and Sapphira wanted to keep part of their proceeds. That was certainly okay, but they chose to lie about it. They indicated that they were giving all the profits. Ananias then dropped dead. They carried him out and buried him. His wife comes in a few hours later and corroborates the lie. She, too, drops dead and is buried. This brought fear on the church. Again, this is not torment, but a healthy fear and respect for the Lord. He means what He says and says what He means. Just because we don't see a consequence immediately for our actions doesn't mean it doesn't come. There is a day when we will all give an account.

I John 4:18 Perfect love casts out fear. Why would Proverbs say that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, when John here says that God's perfect love casts out fear? These are two different fears. As I said earlier, fear of the Lord is awe, reverence, respect, submission to His will, willingness to obey. The fear that perfect love casts out is torment. It is when you fully realize God's unconditional love for you that all your fears are cast out. You will have no more reason to fear, because you know that God will take care of you, no matter what.

I John 3:18-21 It is when you are obeying God's direction and His Word that you will have full assurance and confidence in God. You will have no more of the "terror" or "worry" fear, but instead have the proper fear and respect.

Verse 20 - It is when we are not obeying His will and His Word that our heart condemns us. We feel guilt. We have the wrong fear, fear that God doesn't love us. [Side note: Romans 8:1 says that there is therefore now no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus. This means that you have been justified by the blood of Christ, your debt has been paid, your sentence erased. It is finished (John 19:30), it's a done deal. Your sin has been judged. You are no longer condemned (think of as a criminal). We should not go around condemning ourselves. You cannot live your life in regret and guilt and condemnation, beating yourself over the head. Know that God loved you while you were a sinner, He still loves you as a Christian that misses the mark sometimes. If you don't have a full revelation of God's unconditional love, please study that out. Andrew Wommack Ministries has some wonderful material in this area.]

Know this, God does not look at us by our intentions. It is the action that counts. We cannot stand before Christ and say we intended to do such and such. Real love can be seen, not just heard. So if we say we love God, we had better be doing things for Him. James 1:22

These deeds mentioned in I John 3 are not necessarily going out witnessing door-to-door, going out on the mission field, getting up in front of crowds. I imagine as some of you are reading this, you feel some "fear" that God will call you to something you don't want to do.

I know, because I used to feel that same feeling, every time a message like this was preached in church. Why? Because I wasn't doing anything. I was feeling that guilt mentioned in I John 3. My heart was condemning me. I was not condemned as a sinner, my sins have been paid for, but I was beating myself over the head for not serving in any area, not in my church, not outside of church, not anywhere.

I would rationalize and justify myself in my own mind by saying that I know that we are not saved by works. There are many clear scriptures on that point. And I would leave it at that.

I was right, we are NOT saved by works, that is a gift of God, in His grace. (See Eph. 2:8) But back then, I had done so little study of the Bible on my own (okay, really none), I didn't know much about the judgment seat of Christ. We will all stand before Christ one day and give an account of our works. See I Corinthians 3:9-15 and also II Corinthians 5:10. This judgment is only for Christians. There is another judgment for sinners, that is the Great White Throne, mentioned in Revelation 20. We will not be there, our sin has already been judged (as I mentioned above), Christ paid for it with His blood. But what we have done with our lives, since being saved, that will go through fire. Our works that amount to wood, hay and stubble, will be burned up. The works that amount to gold, silver, and precious stones, those last through fire. Those will be rewarded.

There will be regrets that day, when we stand in front of Christ and give an account. That is why I believe there are tears mentioned in Revelation in reference to heaven. But there will also be joy, when the work that we did here on earth for Him, is rewarded. That is exciting to me. Like I mentioned, in the past, that idea scared me, thinking about standing to give an account. That was because I wasn't doing anything! I know there will be things I have done that will be burned up. I cannot change the past. But I can move forward and stop wasting time.

This really hit me one day, in church, listening to a visiting minister. He asked for a show of hands of who was saved. Of course, most hands went up. Then he asked who was in full time ministry. Not too many hands this time. He says, "wait a minute, how many of you are saved?" His point, you're saved---what are you doing with it. This was a wake-up call for me. You mean, I'm supposed to be doing something?!? This seed has grown and grown in me and I want to tell others.

You might be called to be a wife, a husband, a parent, a friend. It doesn't mean we are all called to be pastors, evangelists, or missionaries. Start with the basics. Read your Bible and see what sticks out to you. It could be that you just need to be friendly to that cashier that is rude. Perhaps she has had an awful day and needs to know that God cares. We all have a circle of influence, not just those that get up on a stage. It should sober us to realize that our lives affect lives around us. It could be that we need to live holier lives than we do. It could be that we need to clean some thins up. When our coworkers know we are Christians, but then they see us getting angry, cussing, and such, as they do, it destroys our witness.

Examine yourself, ask God what He wants you to do. (I Corinthians 11:28--self examination is not the same as self condemnation. We do not need to condemn ourselves.)

If you would like to watch the service that prompted these notes, click here. The service should be available by Monday or Tuesday.

Revival

Everyone wants revival. Everyone's praying for revival. Everyone says that revival is part of end-times prophecy fulfillment.

But I have a question - what are we doing to bring revival? God has already poured out His Spirit (see Joel 2:28). Peter told us this was fulfilled on Pentecost (see Acts 2). God has already moved, we don't need to pray that He will!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against prayer. Build yourself up with prayer (Jude 1:20) and then go out and DO your job. What is God asking of you? What is your job in the Body of Christ? Why did God save you?

I'm not saying you have to go to Africa. I'm not saying you have to get up in front of people and preach.

What are your gifts and talents? What is your love? How can you use that to bless others? How can you use that for God's glory?

Let's think outside the box of the five-fold ministry parameters. Let's take a step.

What is Step 1?

If you are saved, then you need to equip yourself. Start a study of God's Word so that you can begin to renew your mind, begin to see what God's plan is, begin to see what God is calling you to do. Don't hesitate, start today!

Analogy

I have been thinking a lot about this whole law and grace thing, after studying Galatians and now starting Romans.

You may or may not know that I am VERY into the topic of food and health, click here to read my health blog.  The thought occurred to me yesterday that law and grace can be compared to diet.

Let's say you are experiencing health issues and your doctor tells you to go on an allergen-free diet.  You can't have any dairy, eggs, wheat, or soy.  You are going to feel VERY restricted, you will feel bondage.  I guarantee, it won't be fun, you will be thinking about all the foods you can't have.  Everywhere you look, there are foods that you can't eat!

Now, let's say that you are studying about health and learn that something isn't good for you, sugar, for example.  You start cutting back on sugar, you may cut out desserts altogether, you may cut out soda altogether, you may start reading labels and becoming more aware of what foods have sugar in them.  It's not a hard thing for you to do, it's relatively easy, you don't desire sugar as much as you used to, you desire to eat more healthy.

This is the difference between law and grace.  Law puts you in bondage, it says what you can and can't do and humans are rule-breakers by nature.  Grace gives you the desire to do what's right and pleasing to the Lord.  It's easy.

Perhaps another analogy will help you.  Let's talk about music.

As a teen, I was told by my church, my parents, and my school that secular music was bad and I was not allowed to listen to it.  Well, remember I said before that we humans are, by nature, rule-breakers.  I rebelled and listened to secular music every chance I got.  Music was my life, I love all types of music, from classical, to jazz, to hard rock.  To tell me I couldn't listen to a huge group of music was unbearable.

Now many years later, I still have a wide repertoire of secular music I enjoy, but I find that if it's not true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report (Phil. 4:8), I don't have the desire to listen to it.  (There is actually a lot of good, quality secular music out there, it's not a clear-cut, secular versus Christian thing.)  In fact, I find the desire for music, on a whole, is just not there like it used to be.  I would rather use my time to listen to a podcast of one of my favorite Bible teachers.

As Christians we do not have a big list of dos and don'ts, it is not a life of bondage and restriction.  We have the power of the Holy Spirit working on the inside of us (Phil. 1:6 & Gal. 5:22) so that we want to please the Lord.  And it is not that since we are no longer under the law, we are free to do as we please, either!  (Romans 6:1-2)  Our lives are no longer our own, we have been bought by the blood of Jesus (Acts 20:28) and when we get a true revelation of His sacrifice and His love for us, we want to please Him.  When we have faith in His redemptive work (His Word, His instructions), and obey the things He leads us to do (be a doer, not a hearer only), it is easy, because of His grace.

Character of God

Update 1/27/09 - I know this is turning into a long post.  It might be best to break it down into days, rather than reading it all at once.  I have highlighted all the day breaks.

This week I decided we should study the fact that God is gracious to balance our study of God's wrath last week.  To read our other studies about God's character, click here.

I had my son write two definitions of grace in his notebook - unmerited favor & the ability to do something you wouldn't be able to do.

I read two verses on day 1 -
Jonah 4:2b I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm.
I wanted to emphasize with this verse that God is SLOW to anger, to balance our discussion from last week.

Then I discussed that we are saved by grace, it was unmerited, meaning undeserved.  There is NO way we could be good enough to save ourselves (all have sinned--Rom. 3:23).

Eph. 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace...

Then I realized that if we were talking about grace, we HAD to bring in the subject of faith!  (Eph. 2:8).   If we were saved by grace ALONE, then everyone in the world would be saved.  It is God's will that everyone be saved. (II Peter 3:9)  But we have to use our faith and this is an important thing to realize.

I used to say for years that I am where I am in life because of the grace of God, but that was only partially correct--I am where I am because of my FAITH in the grace of God! It's not that I am special that He would choose to use me and not some others around me, it is my faith working TOGETHER with His grace.

I heard the other day on my Chuck Missler Galatians commentary that faith and obedience are synonymous (operationally) in the New Testament. I typed that into my notes on that day, but then it came alive to me as I started this study of grace with my son.

On day 2 we read the story of Rahab in Joshua 2 and 6.   She was saved, by grace, from destruction.  But notice that it was her faith working together with grace. She showed faith in God Almighty and asked the spies to spare her life. (Josh. 2:9-13)  She is living in a pagan, idol-worshipping world, but see in verse 11 that she says when she heard of the God of Israel that she knew He was God in heaven and on earth (not just a great god, like a pagan person would say).  This shows her faith.  They then gave her instructions--but she had to take action (obey)! (2:17-20)  It was up to her, if she hung the scarlet cord out her window, her and her family would be saved, if not, they died.  So we see that she found favor (grace), used her faith and obeyed.

On day 3 we read the first 2 chapters of Ruth. Not much to discuss until the next day.

On day 4 we read the last 2 chapter of Ruth.  Ruth was saved by grace, but notice in Ruth 3, verses 3 and 4, Naomi gives Ruth instructions.   In verse 5, what does Ruth say? "I will DO all that you have asked me to do."  She obeyed.  First she had faith in Naomi's words and THEN she obeyed, a thing of action.  So just like Rahab, Ruth found favor with Boaz (grace), had faith in Naomi's words and acted on that faith with obedience.

Salvation is a gift from God, but we have to accept it by faith, we have to OPEN that gift.  I explained it to my son like this--If I wrapped up a cool Lego set and gave it to him, he would never experience the joy of that gift unless he opened it.  Likewise, if I wrap up a nice, big umbrella, raincoat, and galoshes and gave them to him, he wouldn't experience the protection from the rain UNLESS he opens the gift.   JOY and PROTECTION are just two of the many things we get to experience when we OPEN the gift of salvation.

On a side note - I noticed as we were reading this morning in Ruth 3, that Naomi asks Ruth if she could seek security for her.  This means to find her a husband.  But in the margin of my Bible, it says that the word security here literally means rest.  This is what we experience when we accept Christ, rest AND we as the church are called the Bride of Christ.   Interesting! (Read Hebrew 3 & 4)

I have had my son add these two examples, Rahab and Ruth to his notebook page and also copy Ephesians 1:7 into it, as well.

Update 1/23/09 -

Today is day 5 and I couldn't think of any more examples to read, so I thought I would just read a passage, Ephesians 2:1-10, and have a discussion.  I started asking my son questions about grace and I could tell he needed a bit more explanation, so I found myself using the example of the life of Paul.  So, we turned to read that story instead.  

I wanted to emphasize that we are saved by grace, it is undeserved, but also the work that we do for God is because of His grace.  The story of Paul illustrates this really well.

We first read about Paul in the end of Acts 7, then see some of his character in the beginning of Acts 8, and then read of his conversion in Acts 9.

The story of Paul is a good story to read if you are feeling unworthy.  If God could save Paul, He can save any of us!  Paul was killing and arresting and persecuting Christians.  If anyone deserved God's wrath, it was Paul.  But God gives everyone a chance (just like Ninevah, we'll probably read that story after this one).

So picking up in verse 3 of Acts 9, we see that Saul (Paul) was on his way to Damascus to arrest more Christians when he saw an incredible light.  From this light he heard a voice.  The voice said, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?"  And Saul asks, "Who are you?"  The voice answers, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting."  (I'm paraphrasing, please read the entire story in Acts 9.)

This is God's grace.  He could very well have let Saul keep on his destructive path, he certainly didn't deserve God's favor.

What is Saul's response?

"Lord, what do you want me to do?"  Ah ha!  This shows Saul's faith.  Remember that faith has to work together with God's grace.  Saul could have ignored the voice, he could have walked away, he could have said, "this is ludicrous!"  But he didn't, he shows us with his statement that he believes the voice to be, in fact, that of Jesus.  We also see that he wants to know what TO DO.  This is very important.  Faith without obedience is dead.  (James 2:17)

Jesus gives him instructions--go into the city and you will be told what to do.  (Remember the instruction that Rahab and Ruth were given?  What has Jesus instructed you to do?)

Paul has a choice, as we all do.  He could have run back home to Jerusalem, but he didn't.  He went into Damascus and he was saved.  He was saved by grace, AFTER he showed that he had faith by his obedience!

We will read more of Paul's story on Monday.  He tells us in Ephesians 2:8 that we are saved by God's grace, but also in Ephesians 3:8 that the work that we do is only by God's grace, as well.  Paul should not have been able to preach to anyone, since everyone knew of his past, but by the grace of God (AND Paul's faith working with it), he was able.  Hence, the dual definition I have taught my son--unmerited favor AND the ability to do things we wouldn't be able to do.

Update 1/27/09 - 

On Monday, day 6 of this study, we read from Acts 9:26-30 and Acts 11:25.  We see that Paul tries to preach, but everyone is afraid of him, they don't trust him because of who he used to be.  He goes away for a time and we pick up in verse 25 of chapter 11 and see that BY GOD'S GRACE, he is able to start a preaching ministry.  He tells us himself in Ephesians 3:8 that his preaching is BY GOD'S GRACE.

Today is Tuesday, day 7, and I can tell that my son is having a hard time wrapping his brain around the definition of grace.  If you recall from day 1, I taught him the definition of unmerited favor.  I decided to look up favor in the dictionary.  One of the definitions was help or aid.  This was a better word to use for my son.  So I had him write in his notebook that, "grace = favor = help", and, "unmerited = undeserved", and underneath that, "grace is the undeserved help of God."  I think this helped it click in his brain.  We cannot save ourselves, we need God's help.  Paul couldn't preach to anyone without God's help.

I started reading the story of Ninevah in the book of Jonah today.  We will conclude it tomorrow.  I also had my son copy Ephesians 2:8 into his notebook.

Update 1/29/09 - 

Yesterday, Wednesday, was day 8 on this study.  We read the last two chapters of Jonah.  We see that Jonah went to Ninevah and simply said that in 40 days the city would be destroyed.  (Jonah 3:4)  He didn't even mention the word repent!  Verse 5 tells us that the people believed.  Did they go around telling everyone they believed?  Did they shout to God that they believed?  Let's read on.  We see that they took action--they fasted and mourned (wearing sackcloth).  News got to the king and he declared that everyone should repent!  In verse 9 we see that the king has hope that, if they repent, God will relent from His wrath.  And He did.  God is giving everyone a chance.  He gave Jonah a chance, (even after he disobeyed!)  He gave Ninevah a chance, and He's giving you a chance!  The verse that we read in Nahum a couple weeks ago about how God hates sin and will one day pour out his wrath is now put in context.  This was 150 years AFTER Jonah had preached in Ninevah.  Nahum was a prophet that was sent to Ninevah to preach to a city that had heard the truth and had now REJECTED it!  That is important to understand.

Today is day 9 and we started out by reading II Peter 3, I wanted to highlight verse 18, but sometimes it's good to get some background and context.  Wow!  This was a good chapter!  The basic summary is that we should live holy and pure lives, looking forward to the return of Christ (that could happen as a thief in the night--at any moment).  I especially like verse 9, "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.", and verse 18, "but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." This verse is why I picked this passage.  We are saved by grace, but we also need to grow in grace.

I asked my son, "How do we grow in grace?"

He said, "Accept Jesus into your heart."  (He's 9.)

I said, "That is the new birth, your spirit is born again.  Do physical babies grow after they are born?"  (This got a laugh.  The answer was, "Of course!")  I continue, "So how does your spirit man grow up?"

My son thought for a minute, but couldn't come up with an answer.

I explain, "The same way you are saved--by grace, through faith."

Remember that grace works together with faith.  And how do we SHOW our faith?  Through obedience.  We turned to James 2:14-26.  This passage contains an excellent concrete example that children can understand.  The example of a friend that has no food, absolutely nothing to eat.  If you go to them and say, "God loves you!  Have a nice day!", it doesn't do them a BIT of good!!!  You need to DO something for them--bless them with some food, show them God's love with a gift!  It is your actions WITH your words that will mean something to them.  It is the same with God, we cannot simply say we have faith in Him, we must DO something--obey His Word!  Afterall, God showed you His love for you by His actions--He SENT His only Son to DIE on a cross to pay for YOUR sins and to take your sickness and sorrow!  God wants more than lip service.  It's more than simply saying you believe, EVEN the demons believe (James 2:19).

So we see that we are saved by grace, but we ALSO live everyday by grace.  We are only able to grow spiritually by His grace and do the work (Eph. 2:10) He has called us to, by His grace.  This is a day-by-day thing, using your faith and obeying.

Now it is very important to remember that we are NOT saved by works (Eph. 2:8).  Don't fall into the trap of doing good works to get on God's good side.  If you do, you won't have peace.  It is when you have received instruction from the Lord and His Word and are obeying out of faith, that He gives His grace, and remember one of the definitions means help.  It is easy to do, because He is helping you.  Jesus said, "My yoke is easy and My burden is light."  (Matt. 11:30)

Remember that Rahab, Ruth, and Paul all received instruction.  We must go to the Word to receive our instructions (II Tim. 3:16).  This makes for a nice segue into a study of specific instructions in God's Word.  I think we will spend the next few weeks on that.  I will have to do some research.

Tomorrow we will read the story of Abraham offering Isaac (spurred by James 2:21) to finish this topic.

Note to parents:  After reading this, I feel that there may be a few of you that don't feel capable of teaching your children these things from God's Word.  I want to encourage you to just start reading to them from the Bible.  You could start in Genesis and pick out the numerous Bible stories or go to the New Testament and read to them from the gospels about the life of Jesus.

There is something that happens when you start reading out loud and teaching your children.  Light bulbs will start to go off in your head, puzzle pieces will start to connect.  I have noticed a difference in my daily reading (One Year Bible Schedule) and my reading to my children.  Too often with my daily reading, when I was on a particular schedule, I was reading to check that day off my list.  I wasn't retaining much, or stopping to understand what I was reading.  Don't get me wrong, it was beneficial to me (I wrote about that here), but there is SO much MORE I get out of reading to my children.  I am thinking more about what I'm reading and stopping to explain it to them, which in turn helps me to understand it even more.

This topic is a prime example.  All these things I taught my kids in this two-week study, literally came to me as I was teaching them.  The dots were connecting in my head as we went through this and sometimes more thoughts would come to me through the day that I could teach the following days.

So don't hesitate, start sowing seeds of God's Word into your children now!  (Deut. 6:6-7)