October 12, 2022

Shake the Dust Off Your Feet

Man with Bible Facing Away

Many religious people are familiar with the Great Commission in which Jesus told His apostles to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15). Earlier, during His earthly ministry, He gave His apostles a more “limited” commission – to “go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:6).

When Jesus gave this “limited” commission, He told His apostles, “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand’” (Matthew 10:7). However, even though their message would be confirmed with miracles (Matthew 10:8), not everyone would accept it. So Jesus gave them instructions regarding what they should do when this happened:

“Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet” (Matthew 10:14).

Jesus indicated the severity of the offense committed by those who refused to listen when He said that “it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city” (Matthew 10:15). This shows us just how serious it is for someone to reject the message of the gospel.

The same thing was done as the Great Commission was carried out as well. In Antioch of Pisidia (Acts 13:14), the Jews opposed Paul’s preaching out of jealousy when they saw that “the whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord” (Acts 13:44-45). Their response led to Paul and Barnabas “[shaking] off the dust of their feet in protest against them” (Acts 13:51).Continue Reading

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September 28, 2022

“You Follow Me”

Jesus and Peter

In the last recorded conversation in the gospel of John, Jesus warned Peter about what was in store for him in the future. Jesus said, “‘Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.’ Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, ‘Follow Me!’” (John 21:18-19).

If we were in Peter’s position, it might have been a little shocking or scary to hear this from Jesus. We are not told exactly what Peter’s emotional state was at this time; however, we are told of his verbal response to Jesus. When he saw his fellow apostle John, he asked Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?” (John 21:21).

When facing particularly trying situations, it is often tempting to look at others who do not seem to be facing the same degree of difficulty that we are and then complain that our situation is not fair. Perhaps this was Peter’s intent when he asked about John. Regardless of his motive, Jesus explained that he was not to be concerned about anyone else: “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!” (John 21:22).Continue Reading

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August 31, 2022

When Every Man Does What Is Right in His Own Eyes

Riot

The book of Judges covers the period between the conquest of Canaan under Joshua to the time just before the kings. It was a time of wickedness, oppression, and anarchy (cf. Judges 2:11-15; 21:25). Toward the end of the book, we read about a man named Micah whose story typifies the culture as a whole. Notice the text:

“Now there was a man of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah. He said to his mother, ‘The eleven hundred pieces of silver which were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse in my hearing, behold, the silver is with me; I took it.’ And his mother said, ‘Blessed be my son by the Lord.’ He then returned the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother, and his mother said, ‘I wholly dedicate the silver from my hand to the Lord for my son to make a graven image and a molten image; now therefore, I will return them to you.’

“So when he returned the silver to his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver and gave them to the silversmith who made them into a graven image and a molten image, and they were in the house of Micah. And the man Micah had a shrine and he made an ephod and household idols and consecrated one of his sons, that he might become his priest.

“In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:1-6).

We do not know much about this man, but there are some important lessons from this account. His example serves as an illustration of what happens when “every man [does] what is right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6). Since this same attitude is prevalent in our day and age, it will be beneficial to consider some lessons from the text.

So what happens when “every man [does] what is right in his own eyes”?Continue Reading

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August 17, 2022

The Blood of the Covenant

Crown of Thorns

The book of Hebrews was written to emphasize the fact that the new covenant under Christ is better than the old covenant. This is true regarding the priesthood (Hebrews 7:23-28), sacrifices (Hebrews 10:1-4), promises (Hebrews 11:39-40), and so on.

One of the comparisons made by the Hebrew writer had to do with the blood of the sacrifices. The reason why this comparison was important had to do with the fact that blood was inherently connected with the covenant itself. After describing Jesus as “the mediator of a new covenant” (Hebrews 9:15), the Hebrew writer said:

“For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it. For a covenant is valid only when men are dead, for it is never in force while the one who made it lives. Therefore even the first covenant was not inaugurated without blood. For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the Law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, ‘This is the covenant which God commanded you’” (Hebrews 9:16-20).

“And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Hebrews 9:22-26).

If every covenant is inaugurated with blood (Hebrews 9:18), what was it about the blood of the new covenant that made it better than the old covenant? Notice what the Hebrew writer had to say about this:Continue Reading

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August 3, 2022

“O How I Love Your Law!” – The Message of Psalm 119

Open Bible, Turning Page

“O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day” (Psalm 119:97).

With one hundred seventy-six verses, Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible. From beginning to end, it is focused on a single theme – the word of God. The psalm teaches us what the word of God is, what it does for us, and what it requires of us.

It would not be possible to cover everything in this psalm in one article.* Instead, in this article we are going to notice some of the highlights from this psalm to help deepen our understanding and strengthen our appreciation for the word of God. Each of these points is just as true today as when the psalm was originally written.Continue Reading

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July 27, 2022

Where Will Your Church Be in Twenty Years?

Church building at sunset

In this lesson,* we are going to be looking ahead into the future and trying to determine how our local congregation fits into it. My purpose is not to make any predictions or prophecies. Like Amos would say, “I am not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet” (Amos 7:14). Instead, the purpose for this lesson is to examine the direction we are going so we can plan, prepare, and adapt as best we can.

The future has always been uncertain, yet it seems as though there is even more uncertainty now than ever. There are a few reasons for this.

  1. Post-pandemic – The COVID-19 pandemic was possibly the most significant disruption we will experience in our lifetimes.
  2. Digital/virtual world – With the rise of the internet and social media, we are experiencing “the biggest communication shift in the last five hundred years.”
  3. Increasingly godless society – This means that we have less common ground with those around us and more hostility toward those who claim to be Christians.

As we go through this lesson, we are going to break it up into three parts:

  1. Conditions today – the current state of our society and the religious landscape in which we live
  2. General principles – some things that will always be true about the future of the church
  3. Specific issues – some specific things affecting the church today and will continue to do so in the future

So let us begin our consideration of this question: Where will your church be in twenty years?Continue Reading

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July 13, 2022

Rest for the People of God

Stone walkway

“Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience” (Hebrews 4:11).

In the verses leading up to the passage above, the Hebrew writer encouraged his readers to remain faithful in order to receive the promised rest. He reminded them of the example of their forefathers and how they did not remain faithful. He then warned them that they could also fall short of the rest that the Lord had promised.

These instructions and warnings provide an important lesson for us as well. So let us consider what the passage teaches us today.Continue Reading

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