Tag: Salvation

Inch by Inch, Little by Little

Psalm 1 

1Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

6 For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

The first Psalm is only believed to be written by King David. It is really not known for sure, so often it is captioned authored by “Anonymous”. It describes the WAYS of the faithful, as compared to the WAYS of the faithless.

It is amazing how, while in prayer over a particular issue in life, God will send us to a spot in His word that will bring to us some understanding. This is what happened to me. I am struggling with many things, but a couple are at the top of my prayer list. I often find myself asking God, “am I right on this?”, “Am I speaking your will or my own?”, “Am I pleasing you, or am I not understanding what I am reading or have read?” I was led to this Psalm, which is certainly Holy Spirit led because rarely do I go this far back for support. I usually look for the red letters. But nevertheless, here we are.

“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of the sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful”. In case you are not catching the theme I am searching for here, I am looking at the participation of Godly people in the world of the ungodly. When I say that a Godly person has no business interacting with the world, my Godly friends look at me like I am insane. How can we not interact? Easy!!! Understand that we are to witness and testify of God’s Gospel. That is what a Christian is called to do the moment we take the yoke of Christ upon us. We are instructed to do so. We are also told that the moment we are saved, the moment we accept Christ into our hearts, we are set aside. We are set aside for a greater purpose, the purpose of spreading the gospel. Because this is true, we can no longer keep doing to things that we used to. For before we served satan, and now we serve God. The world is the secular atmosphere where evil is the behavior of the day. In God’s eyes, and in His word, even those who do good deeds all day long and do not hurt a flea are ungodly and wicked if the good deeds are not spirit led and all done for the glory of God. So in other words, apart from God, there is not one of us that are good, not a single one of us. Therein lies the difference. Everything a Christian does is supposed to glorify the Father. The world glorifies itself. Only a person full of self and worshipping their own self can think that they alone have the sovereign authority to decide what is morally right and wrong.  Christians are no longer in that atmosphere.

Albert Barnes comments on the word walk- “Whose character is that he does not walk in the manner specified. Prof. Alexander renders this, “Who has not walked.” But it implies more than this; it refers to more than the past. It is the characteristic of the man, always and habitually, that he does not thus walk; it has not only been true in the past, but it is true in the present, and will be true in the future. It is that which distinguishes the man. The word “walk” is often used in the Scriptures to denote a way of life or conduct – since life is represented as a journey, and man as a traveler.”

When I talk like this, some go right to JUSTIFYING their own actions by saying, “Jesus spent time with the sinners”. Of course He did. He was a preacher. He sat with them and ate with them, and defied all Jewish law, man’s law, that said that the righteous should shun the “unclean” and all non-Jews, commonly referred to as gentiles. Jesus was a champion of civil rights before it was called civil rights, mainly because membership in the club of the saved has nothing to do with ethnicity, gender, handicap, and so on, and everything to do with Faith and Obedience. But Jesus did not live in that world, meaning He did not stay there. Every second of every day, Jesus was about His Father’s business. After talking about sin and hell with the sinners, because he more than anyone else in the bible spoke about Hell and wanted to tell the sinner why it was important to be redeemed (what we commonly refer to as the “spreading the GOSPEL”), he would leave. He usually went off to pray. Jesus was always in communion with the Father. He was always talking about how much the Father loved His children and wanted them to have faith and to obey the scriptures and to love one another. Jesus NEVER stood in the WAY of the sinners, He never SAT with the scornful, Jesus never said that disobedience was good or even non-consequential, and Jesus never said that loving someone meant that you did not have to share the gospel with them or correct them. In fact, Jesus says the Father corrects those He loves. Standing in the WAY means to do what they do, to look and act like they act, to participate in the sinful WAYS. In fact, did you know that before the word Christian was used in a positive manner to describe a follower of Christ it was used as a derogatory word to insult a follower? Before the word Christian, a person following Christ was said to be “in the WAY” of Christ. You did what he did, looked like he looked and so on. The world is the “council of the ungodly.” “Sitteth in the seat” refers to the same thing, but with a great deal more determination. We have now taken root, we have gotten comfortable. We are them. How will we know if we are in the WAY or sitting in the SEAT? If our non-saved friends don’t see us any differently than they see their unsaved friends, we are doing something wrong. If we say that we want to be friends with the unsaved because we have a lot in common with them, we are doing something wrong. The unsaved people of the world should be looking at us and either thinking that we are the strangest person they ever met, or examining us because what they see in us is different and interesting. But if we spent an abundance of quality time with the unsaved, if we invite unsaved people to be the make-up of our inner circle, and there are no conversations about the differences between us, we are doing something wrong. It is important to me to stress the importance of this because contrary thinking leads us one step at a time in the wrong direction. Does one act alone cause grave concern, maybe not? Does the totality of years of bad choices cause grave concern, absolutely yes! I usually refer to this by saying, “inch by inch” or “one small step at a time”. In researching this, I see that Spurgeon referred to it as “little by little.

Charles Spurgeon remarks, “The sum of the whole is, that the servants of God must endeavor utterly to abhor the life of ungodly men. But as it is the policy of Satan to insinuate his deceits, in a very crafty way, the prophet, in order that none may be insensibly deceived, shows how by little and little men are ordinarily induced to turn aside from the right path. They do not, at the first step, advance so far as a proud contempt of God but having once begun to give ear to evil counsel, Satan leads them, step by step, farther astray, till they rush headlong into open transgression. The prophet, therefore, begins with counsel, by which term I understand the wickedness which does not as yet show itself openly. Then he speaks of the way, which is to be understood of the customary mode or manner of living. And he places at the top of the climax the seat, by which metaphorical expression he designates the obduracy produced by the habit of a sinful life. In the same way, also, ought the three phrases, to walk, to stand, and to sit, to be understood. When a person willingly walks after the gratification of his corrupt lusts, the practice of sinning so infatuates him, that, forgetful of himself, he grows hardened in wickedness; and this the prophet terms standing in the way of sinners.”

 

Ephesians 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. (side note- look at the last four words. For those of you who think Christians should “live and let live”, or “to each is their own” or wait until you have your act together before speaking, notice the COMMAND of these four words. To reprove, elénchō –  ἐλέγχω, means to rebuke, expose, bring to the light. It is defined in Ephesians 5:13- But all things that are reproved (same word elénchō –  ἐλέγχω) are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.)

Even for those in the WAYS of Christ, we are commanded to separate ourselves. The book of 2 Thessalonians is a letter to the church of Thessalonica. It tells them of things that have to happen before Christ returns. It was needed because people started to WALK in the WAYS of Christ differently, and some became idle. So even in the church we are told to separate ourselves from those who are not following the WAY of Christ (again, not to not witness or testify, but not to socialize or abide- which is another great word which means to hang out, to set up residence).

2 Thessalonians 3:6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.

 

2 Corinthians 6

14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.

18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

Often we look at these verses and consider it to refer to marriage only. I would challenge you to see that the principle here expands out to all relationships a believer has. This principle, this ruler, should be applied to our marriages, to our selection of friends to the decisions we make about where we go and what we do.

The books of Acts, Romans, 2 John, and more, state something about separating yourself from the secular world, the sinful WAYS and scornful SEATS, ran by the prince of darkness. It is getting increasingly difficult to teach this principle because we live in a sinful world where satan spreads the lies that if you keep yourself separate you are hateful, you think you’re better than others, you are a racist (a word which is incorrectly used since there is only one race to begin with), or are labelled guilty of any one or combination of more than one of the numerous –isms and –phobes. We must stand on these principles! It is not okay for us to joyfully, willingly, knowingly, and purposefully, participate in the world. There is a difference between making a mistake to which you seek God’s correction and forgiveness, and actually living in the behavior thinking it is okay. Huge difference!!

In closing, I will quote Albert Barnes, again, in summation, “So also it is in regard to the persons with whom they associate. They are, first, irreligious men in general; then, those who have so far advanced in depravity as to disregard known duty, and to violate known obligations; and then, those who become confirmed in infidelity, and who openly mock at virtue, and scoff at the claims of religion. It is unnecessary to say that, in both these respects, this is an accurate description of what actually occurs in the world. He who casually and accidentally walks with the wicked, listening to their counsel, will soon learn to place himself in their way, and to wait for them, desiring their society, and will ultimately be likely to be feared identified with open scoffers; and he who indulges in one form of depravity, or in the neglect of religion in any way, will, unless restrained and converted, be likely to run through every grade of wickedness, until he becomes a confirmed scoffer at all religion. The sentiment in this verse is, that the man who is truly blessed is a man who does none of these things.”

If you stand in the mirror what will the reflection tell you about yourself, and what are you going to do about it? May the peace of God be abundantly heaped upon you and your house, straight from the cross to the Christian!

Be Unspotted of the World

James 1

22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:

24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.

27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world

I post this because I see many hearers of the word and few doers. In fact, if you even try, just a little bit, to be a doer in this world you are labeled as an -ist, or a -phobe, or declared guilty of some form of -ism, and if none of these apply then you’re crazy, hateful, abusive, and so on.

I wish we would read the word of God with the intent to be doers no matter what the world says. I wish we would read God’s word, God’s written plan for our lives with the intent to follow it and not the intent to make God’s word fit into our plan. I wish we would read and study the God’s sovereign word with the intent to become more firm and fervent, and bold in our faith, not to try and use his own word against himself or to try and disprove his word. That has not worked ever since the word was penned yet we still try. I wish we would all stop thinking so highly of ourselves and realize the futility in trying to do it our own way.

Not a single one of us is so great as to be able to claim a greater sovereignty than God. Be hearers and then be doers of GOD’S WORD, NOT YOUR OWN AND BE UNSPOTTED OF THE WORLD!

No Mercy

James 2
10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
 
11 For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.
 
12 So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.
 
13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
 
14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
 
15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
 
16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
 
17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
 
God can do anything. He is sovereign. But make no mistake, this relationship with God is reciprocal. That means that although God can do everything, he wants you to take responsibility and work too. We pray for healing, and do not go to a doctor, we pray for financial blessings but do not work, we pray for unsaved relatives to get saved and do not talk to them about sin and death brought on by sin, we pray for peace and unleash anger on the world, we pray to understand and yet we seek only to be understood, we pray for anything and do not position ourselves in any like manner to receive the blessing. We show great faith in constantly praying, believing that God hears us, and yet that faith is not producing the work God expects from us. Remember, God created the perfect world, he made it so there was no death. Satan chose to rebel, and Adam and Eve chose to follow.
We, mankind, brought sin and death into the world. If you ask yourself why does this happen or does not happen, it is because that perfect union with God was broken. We now live in a time where we must start with faith. THe belief that God is who and what he says he is. Then we have to allow ourselves to be servants to him. And if there is any of you who believe that a servant does not work, then please re-read the bible. Jesus came first as a servant. He showed us what the work of the spirit. Yes, he showed loved. But he also told people to stop sinning. He saved the harlot, and then told her to sin no more. He broke bread with those whom the law said he should not. But during the bread breaking he was preaching about the will of the father.
Jesus spoke more about hell and the consequences of sin than any other man in the bible. That is the work of the spirit. We are commanded to follow him, to do HIS will. Be ye doers of the word, not just hearers!! Faith without work is dead. Can you hear that brethren. If you say you have faith, and do not see clearly the work before you, then your faith is dead. Translated, you are not a follower of Christ if you do not do it the way he says do it. You do not have the authority to change HIS plan. There is only one way to get this done. HIS WAY!!! For he will have judgment without mercy. Oh please hear that, no mercy. Yes, the Jesus that loves is saying that for the disobedient he will have no mercy. Mercy is that gift we are all counting on to be saved. To have faith and no works is to forego that mercy. Jesus has made it clear.

The Carrot and Stick Principle

Its captivating to me that when I go through something, I tend to relate what I am going through, the relationships and grievances, with God. When I think of how children who do not listen to their mother, who do not use the skills and lessons that they have been equipped with to navigate even the simplest of task in the home, I tend to turn that around and wonder how God must feel when I, as an adopted child of His, refuses to do what I have been taught, refuse to use the gifts that He blessed me with, when I pick and choose what I will and will not do. If I am a small bearing in a big wheel, I wonder just how much more His feelings are amplified as the Father of all, the Father who sacrificed His son only to be used like a flashlight. To be used only when times are dark. To be minimized and placed on a shelf. To feel totally ignored and disrespected by His selfish children.

Whether you are a parent in a home, a supervisor at work, a leader in a group, a person in some position, any position of authority and responsibility, it is your job to teach, to grow, to influence, and to lead others. In these capacities, it is always more difficult to do so when just one, let alone more than one, of your flock is being disobedient. When just one person holds on to the idea that they can do whatever they want to do, come in late, wear things not an official part of the uniform, totally usurp the chain of command, fail to complete routine tasks, call in sick repeatedly, make excuses not to come to trainings and meetings, cause discord amongst the team, and so on, the task of growing and leading a team is made difficult because everyone is seeing what you are seeing and if permitted to continue, the rest of the crowd in today’s America adopts the, “well if he can do it, so can I” doctrine. It is a small percentage that ignore the negative and continue to engage the positive, even if they are alone in doing so. It’s like the one child who does right, living among brothers and sister who not only don’t do right, but make fun of and intimidate and harass the one who does. This is hard for that one. Again, I think often, how does my disobedience hurt my Father’s heart.

Throughout the bible, cover to cover, God speaks repeatedly about being obedient. As sinners, we must understand that our willful, purposeful, and deliberate disobedience causes God’s heart to mourn. Yes, mourn! He mourns because if we do not change our disobedient ways, we will surely die, TWICE!!!

Exodus 23:20-24

20 Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.

21 Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.

22 But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.

23 For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off.

24 Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images.

God starts off by stating that IF they, His children the Israelites, follow the angel, the angel that has the nature and authority of God himself, then God will bless them with the following. God starts off like this so that in a gentle way He acknowledges that man has the tendency to ignore God, and do what they want. So here God employs the early version of the Carrot and Stick principle. He wants nothing but the best for His children. But He needs them to see, ON THEIR OWN, that it is in their best interest to follow Him so that they do so willingly and without duress. God is stating to his children that if they are obedient, He himself will not let anything happen to them. He will provide victory after victory. If His children obey Him, those who oppose them, will also be the enemy of God.

Charles Ellicott states- “God is “the rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” He chooses to “reward men after their works,” and to set before them “the recompense of the reward.” He “knows whereof we are made,” and by what motives we are influenced. Self-interest, the desire of our own good, is one of the strongest of them. If Israel will keep His covenant, they will enjoy the following blessings :—(1) The guidance and protection of His angel till Canaan is reached; (2) God’s help against their adversaries, who will, little by little, be driven out; (3) the ultimate possession of the entire country between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea on the one hand, the Desert and the Euphrates on the other; (4) a blessing upon their flocks and herds, which shall neither be barren nor cast their young; and (5) a blessing upon themselves, whereby they will escape sickness and enjoy a long term of life. All these advantages, however, are conditional upon obedience, and may be forfeited.”

Fast forward to almost the end of the Bible.

1 Peter 1:13-15

13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:

15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;

16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

There are so many scriptures on obedience. John 14:15, Acts 5:29, Luke 6:46, and Ecclesiastes 12:13 are just some of my favorites on the subject. However, I believe these versus fit with those from Exodus. I believe in verse 13 we can clearly see God saying to us as gentiles, “If you obey me….” This is what He said to Israel, “If you choose to follow me…” When we read “Gird up the loins of your mind” and “be sober” what we read is God telling us, Prepare yourself for battle and hard work.

Gird Up Your Loins

God is saying to us…. Prepare yourselves to follow me, prepare for battle and hard work and focus on me and I will bring you victory in the face of your enemies. Don’t even think about the lusts and desires of your flesh. Listen to my voice, do what I say. Do not conform to the world, do not bow down to the gods of the world, do not follow them, do not serve them, and do not do as they say. Be Holy as I am Holy. Be obedient children not fashioning, not molding, not conforming to the behaviors of the world. That’s what God is telling you! And finally, where is the victory that God spoke about in Exodus, “hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” For the Gentile Christian, the adopted child, this is our victory. The hope, or better translated, the expectation in the salvation in Jesus the Christ. What a victory that will be.

Joseph Benson Comments- “The apostle alludes to the manners of the eastern countries, in which the men’s garments being long and flowing, they prepared themselves for travelling, and other active employments, by girding them up with a girdle put round their loins, to prevent their being encumbered by them. The loins of the mind, therefore, is a figurative expression for the faculties of the soul, the understanding, memory, will, and affections, which the apostle signifies must be gathered in and girded, as it were, about the soul by the girdle of truth, so as to be in a state fit for continual and unwearied exertion in running the Christian race, fighting the good fight of faith, and working out our salvation with fear and trembling. Our mind must not be overcharged at any time with surfeiting and drunkenness, or the cares of this life: our affections must be placed on proper objects, and in a just degree; and especially must be set on the things that are above, which are to be our portion and felicity for ever: our various passions must be under the government of reason and religion, of the truth and grace of God.”

On the hope of Christ, John Calvin states, ” For the object of Peter was to call us away beyond the world; for this purpose the fittest thing was the recollection of Christ’s coming. For when we direct our eyes to this event, this world becomes crucified to us, and we to the world.”

Obedience is not a choice. Being a Christian is not a game. It is a discipline. The world will exercise large amounts of discipline when it comes to the study, to the execution, to the devotion of many aspects of our lives. But when it comes to God, many treat it as a passing fancy. It is not something that requires effort. There is no work in faith. I know there was a time when we used to focus on faith without works is dead, but I believe we have been so heavy on the anit-works righteous movement, and rightfully so, that a negative side-effect has taken place. That is that love is all there is and that no work is necessary. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you love God, you will follow Him, you will obey Him, and you will gird up your loins, you will prepare yourself for battle against the world and against your own flesh.

Once again, in his daily devotional, Dr. Charles Stanley reports something directly to the point. “Are you trying to rationalize a decision or behavior? Perhaps you’ve offered reasons for pursuing a certain path. Or maybe you tried bargaining with God. I assure you He isn’t moved by any arguments. Remember: Partial obedience is disobedience in His eyes. And no sin is worth being outside His will.”

If you stand in the mirror what will the reflection tell you about yourself, and what are you going to do about it? May the peace of God be abundantly heaped upon you and your house, straight from the cross to the Christian!

Christ is not your boy toy.

This world is coming unraveled, and it is speeding up the unraveling with each passing day. The bible warns us, many times over, of what is to come (which I believe is already here in some regard) and how to identify it, and then how to deal with it. We can boil the reasons down to just one, sin. But I know that is when people start rolling their eyes and say, “Yeah, yeah, yeah! Sin, that’s the reason for everything with you people!” So instead of just saying ‘sin’, let me try to put it another way, let me reveal how God puts it, and see if we can’t clear some things up.

I am reading from the second epistle (a short dispatch or note) of John. There is only one chapter, so let’s go directly to verses 7 through 11.

7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

To start off with, we are told here that if there be a person who does not confess that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, they are a deceiver. We have no need to interpret this, as it is plain. There is no reason why a Christian entertains theory from a person who does not believe that Jesus Christ was God in the flesh. In fact, there are many who confess this, but fail to actually believe it. This is a principal that is a huge hiccup for a lot of people. Faith is more than lip service. It is a total belief system. You say it, but do you confess it from the nucleus of your mind? With all of your logical senses, do you truly confess that Christ is God in the flesh?  In the next verse, John starts of with the word ‘THIS’. The word indicates the behavior. ‘This’ really means those who do not confess and believe that Christ is the God man, and that this behavior makes a person a deceiver and the enemy of Christ. I know that when we talk about an anti-christ, we think of just one person that is going to rise to power as the testimony of Christ reveals in the pages of Revelation. But here, John is letting you know that ALL who do not believe are an enemy of Christ. This is serious business folks. I put it to you because I think the Christian of today believes that a relationship with Christ is some cavalier on again off again deal. Christ is not your trophy girlfriend, or your boy toy. He is almighty God and this is a lot more serious than you think!

Ellicot wrote– “among all the human errors by which the influence of the Evil One is manifested, this is the most destructive. Those who adopt such errors are the most fatal deceivers and opponents of Christ and truth.”

John Gill wrote- “who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh; these were not the Jews who denied that Jesus was the Christ, though they would not allow that Christ was come in the flesh; but these were some who bore the Christian name, and professed to believe in Jesus Christ, but would not own that he was really incarnate, or assumed a true human nature, only in appearance; and denied that he took true and real flesh of the virgin, but only seemed to do so; and these are confuted by the apostle and upon everyone of these he justly fixes the following character.”

8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.

Why is the gathering of the saints important? Why is a church home important? Why should the brethren be the most important people in your life? Because we are to ‘look to ourselves’. We are to be AWAKE!! We are to be on constant guard for the series of men who deceive and who are an anti-christ. We are to be a peculiar people set aside all on one accord, like minded so that when we see that which is not right we can identify it as such and stay clear of it. Christians are not hate mangers and we are not filled with phobias. We believe the BIBLE declares a right behavior and a wrong behavior. As we all should be on the constant lookout for flaws in our own lives, we are also on the constant lookout for the snares of the world. And we are to identify them, call them out so we can all, together, stay clear of them. Why? So that we do not lose the things which we have wrought. This is very clear. We must be watchful for if we fail, we lose all the ground we covered. It is a constant effort, it is an endless walk, it is enduring to the end, it is making the good choice, it is leaving behind your earthly flesh and giving over to God all that is you. There is a finish line to cross, a reward to be lost, and a hell to shun. But there is a full reward to be had, a heaven to be gained for those who endure unto the end. In Galations 3:3 Paul asks the Galatians if they were so foolish as to begin “in the spirit” and then be “perfected by the flesh”. We must remain vigilant in rebuking those who would mislead us with wrong interpretations of God’s word. That is the answer to the ‘why’ questions. So that we can bare each other’s burdens and be our brother’s keepers.

Benson comments– “Lest you lose the reward of what you have already done, which every apostate does; but that we receive — Which every one that is faithful unto death shall do; a full reward — That, having fully employed all our talents to the glory of him that gave them, we may receive the whole portion of felicity which God has promised to diligent, persevering Christians.”

Adam Clarke comments– “This reading is more consistent and likely, and is supported by at least as good evidence as the other. We find that if these persons did not keep on their guard they might lose their salvation, and the apostles their rejoicing in the day of the Lord Jesus. Even this intimation might put them on their guard. Had the apostle said ye cannot finally fall, what a different effect would it have produced!”

Ellicott writes– “The result of the error would be loss of the fellowship with the Father and the Son in truth and love.”

9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. 10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: 11 For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

Again, there really is not need for too much discussion as this is pretty clear. If you subscribe to crying out LORD LORD and do not have the doctrine in you, you are not abiding with God. These are His words. Not only does God want you to believe in Him, He wants that faith to produce obedience. He does not just want you to believe in Him, He wants you to abide with him. The word abide (μενων) refers to being one with, not separating or becoming something different. That’s how close God wants you to be with Him. But if we transgress by not being one with the doctrine of Christ, God tells us we are not one with Him, but that we have become something different; we are apart from Him. If we do keep the doctrine then we are one with Him. And this is so important to God that He tells us, that if anyone comes teaching something that is not right, we are not to receive that person. Now, John is saying that this person should not be permitted to teach or preach in the house of God because that is not the doctrine of Christ. But this verse does not stop at the house of God alone. If you are a true Christian, then when you leave church and go home, you are truly leaving one house of worship and going to another house of worship. So if the anti-christ is not to be in the church house, he is not to be in your home also. In-fact, the next few words tells you to not bid him God’s speed. This means that we are not to encourage them to continue to preach, teach, talk false doctrine. If you encourage an anti-christ, you then are promoting the false doctrine and are now one with the enemy of Christ. God is simply saying, pick a side. There is no middle. You are either one with me, or you are not.

Benson states– “….so the Christian sister to whom the apostle wrote this letter, being probably rich, and of a benevolent disposition, thought herself under an obligation to supply the wants of those strangers who went about preaching. Wherefore, to prevent her from being deceived by impostors, the apostle here directs her to require such teachers to give an account of the doctrines which they taught; and if she found that they did not hold the true Christian doctrine, he advised her not to receive them into her house, nor to give them any countenance. And this advice of the apostle was certainly perfectly proper, because they who entertained, or otherwise showed respect to, false teachers, enabled them the more effectually to spread their erroneous doctrine, to the seduction and ruin of those whom they deceived.”

Ellicott writes– “Although it would be possible to love unbelievers, in the sense of earnestly desiring that they might come to a knowledge of the truth, it would be wrong—for sincere Christians it would be impossible—to hold out to them the right hand of fellowship. Especially dangerous would it be for the matron and her family.”

This sharing of the word is done so that we may allow the spirit to convict each of us accordingly. I can only know for sure where I stand. Am I a deceiver, or does God abide in me and me in him? I fail everyday to be perfect. But I strive to be as perfect as possible. I am confident that this is a goal that only Christ attained, but I cannot let that be the excuse to do less than I am gifted to do. The truth is, I may not be gifted to do much at all. But God, I believe, loves to see the effort. I must try to grow and learn and to allow the spirit in me to produce works that bring glory to the throne of God.

If you stand in the mirror, what will the reflection tell you about your relationship with God and what are you going to do about it? May the peace of God be abundantly heaped upon you and your home, straight from the cross to the Christian!