God of Patience, God of Hope, God of Peace

Wednesday 2020.08.26

Reading from Romans Chapter 15

God of Patience, God of Hope, God of Peace

It is interesting to note that the Apostle mentioned three attributes of God, "even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom 15:6b), in three distinct verses placed roughly at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of the chapter, as follows:

Romans 15:5 KJV

Now the *God of patience* and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:

Romans 15:13 KJV

Now the *God of hope* fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

Romans 15:33 KJV

Now the *God of peace* be with you all. Amen.

Firstly, our God is the God of Patience. Let us ask Him to grant us likemindedness towards one another in the fellowship of the body of His Anointed One.

Secondly, our God is the God of Hope. Let us ask Him for the power of His Holy Spirit, that we may be abound in hope.

And finally, our God is the God of Peace. May His presence be with us always, that we may have peace.

Stand before the Anointed, Kneel before God.

Monday 2020.08.24

Reading from Romans Chapter 14

Stand before the Anointed, Kneel before God.

One day we shall all stand before the judgment seat of the Anointed One, to be judged.

And on that day, every knee shall bow before God. That is, we shall all kneel before God our Father in Heaven. And every tongue (or language) shall confess to God, the God and Father of our Lord Iesou the Anointed.

This is how we shall give account of ourselves to God.

Romans 14:10 - 12 KJV

10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

Isaiah 45:23 KJV

I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.

Isaiah 45:23 - 25 LXX

By myself I swear, righteousness shall surely proceed out of my mouth; my words shall not be frustrated; that to me every knee shall bend, and every tongue shall swear by God, 24 saying, Righteousness and glory shall come to him: and all that remove them from their borders shall be ashamed. 25 By the Lord shall they be justified, and in God shall all the seed of the children of Israel be glorified.

Fulfilling the Law with one commandment

Monday 2020.08.24

Reading from Romans Chapter 13

Fulfilling the Law with one commandment.

In verses 8 and 9 of Romans 13, the apostle teaches that we fulfill the Law by loving one another. He points out, for instance, that the Sixth to the Tenth Commandments, given in Exodus 20:13 - 17, can be simply understood in one saying, "You shall love your neighbour as yourself".

Romans 13:8, 9 KJV
8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

The saying, "You shall love one another" is a command given by Moses in Leviticus 19:18, and is taught by our Lord Iesou in Matthew 22:39 as the Second Greatest Commandment in the Law (the Greatest Commandment being, "And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." given in Deuteronomy 6:5 and 10:12).

In Matthew 22:40, our Lord Iesou states that all the Law and the teachings of the Prophets hang on these two Greatest Commandments.

See also Matthew 5:43; Matthew 19:19; Mark 12:31; Galatians 5:14; and James 2:8.

Looking deeper into the Ten Commandments

Tue 2020.08.11

Reading from Leviticus Chapter 19 LXX  *(to be augmented from old diary notes 28Sep-01Oct2005)

Deeper insight into the Ten Commandments, and beyond.

The Lord reiterated some of the Ten Commandments to Moses in this passage, beginning with the command, "Ye shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy", a verse quoted by the Apostle Peter in 1 Peter 1:16.

In this reiteration, the Fifth commandment, to revere father and mother, is stated before the Fourth, to keep the sabbaths. This appears to show that the Ten Commandments can be affirmed by the children of Israel in no particular order. (verse 3) (The Fourth Commandment is repeated later in verse 30).

This is followed by a reminder of the Second Commandment, to avoid following idols or making them. (verse 4)

After a brief section of reminder about how peace offerrings are to be sacrificed and eaten so as not to profane "the holy things" of the Lord, in verses 5 through 8, an elaboration is given in verses 9 and 10 about leaving the remnants of any grain that drops to the ground during harvest, or any grapes that are left remaining in the vineyard for the poor and the stranger (foreigner?) who are among them.

These commands in verses 9-10 to leave remnants of harvest for the poor and the aliens, along with a longer section of commands in verses 13-18 to avoid injuring, robbing or reviling the deaf, or making the blind stumble, acting unjustly in favour of the rich against the poor, dealing deceitfully, hating one's brother or taking revenge, or even be angry with anyone, is summed up in the last part of verse 18, 

" . . . and thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself; I am the Lord".

This command to love your neighbour as yourself, though not appearing as part of the Ten Commandments, is described by the Lord Iesou as the Second Greatest Commandment in the Torah of Moses in Matthew 22:39, and also in Mark 12:31.

An interesting verse to note in today's passage is Leviticus 19:11, where the Eighth Commandment, You shall not steal, is separated from the Ninth Commandment, You shall not bear false witness, by an apparently new command, You shall not lie.

I have often asked why lying is not mentioned in the Ten Commandments. Today, I found the answer here in this passage. By putting the command not to lie, just before the Ninth Commandment, not to bear false witness "as an informer against his neighbour", it is now clear to me that the Ninth Commandment does not limit itself to merely bearing false witness (which is a severe form of lying), but also includes all other forms of telling lies.

Finally Leviticus 19:12 elaborates on the meaning of the Third Commandment, You shall not take the Name of the Lord in vain. This is another question I have asked myself over the years, i.e. what does it mean not to take the Name of the Lord in vain? How does one take the Name of the Lord in vain? Verse 12 here tells us, " And ye shall not swear unjustly by my name, and ye shall not profane the holy name of your God: I am the Lord your God."

Yes swearing unjustly by the Name of God, profaning his name thereby, is taking His Name in vain.

In fact, our Lord Iesou teaches us in his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:34 - 37, that we should not swear at all, neither by heaven, nor by earth, nor by Jerusalem, nor even by our own heads.

Today's passage in Leviticus chapter 19 gives us a deeper insight into the Ten Commandments, and points us to the Second Greatest Command of all in the Torah, "You shall love your neighbour as yourself".

Leviticus 19:1 - 18 LXX
1 1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
2 Speak to the congregation of the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, Ye shall be holy; for I the Lord your God am holy.
3 Let every one of you reverence his father and his mother; and ye shall keep my sabbaths: I am the Lord your God.
4 Ye shall not follow idols, and ye shall not make to yourselves molten gods: I am the Lord your God.
5 And if ye will sacrifice a peace-offering to the Lord, ye shall offer it acceptable from yourselves.
6 In what day soever ye shall sacrifice it, it shall be eaten; and on the following day, and if any of it should be left till the third day, it shall be thoroughly burnt with fire.
7 And if it should be at all eaten on the third day, it is unfit for sacrifice: it shall not be accepted.
8 And he that eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned the holy things of the Lord; and the souls that eat it shall be destroyed from among their people.
9 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, ye shall not complete the reaping of your field with exactness, and thou shalt not gather that which falls from thy reaping.
10 And thou shalt not go over the gathering of thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather the remaining grapes of thy vineyard: thou shalt leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the Lord your God.
11 Ye shall not steal, ye shall not lie, neither shall one bear false witness as an informer against his neighbour.
12 And ye shall not swear unjustly by my name, and ye shall not profane the holy name of your God: I am the Lord your God.
13 Thou shalt not injure thy neighbour, neither do thou rob him, neither shall the wages of thy hireling remain with thee until the morning.
14 Thou shalt not revile the deaf, neither shalt thou put a stumbling-block in the way of the blind; and thou shalt fear the Lord thy God: I am the Lord your God.
15 Thou shalt not act unjustly in judgment: thou shalt not accept the person of the poor, nor admire the person of the mighty; with justice shalt thou judge thy neighbour.
16 Thou shalt not walk deceitfully among thy people; thou shalt not rise up against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the Lord your God.
17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, so thou shalt not bear sin on his account.
18 And thy hand shall not avenge thee; and thou shalt not be angry with the children of thy people; and thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself; I am the Lord.

Matthew 5: 34 - 37 KJV
34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:
35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

It is in your hands . . . again

Sun 2020.08.02

Reading from Matthew Chapter 18 ASV, see also Job 31:1

About two weeks ago, I wrote briefly on the teachings of our Lord Iesou, from Matthew Chapter 5, entitled "Eyes over evil, Hands over heart", where I observed that sin is committed by our hands and our eyes, among other parts of our body, and that in order to stop committing sin, it is necessary to turn our hands, and our eyes, away from temptation.

Today, thirteen chapters later, I see the same teaching being commanded again by our Lord.

It's in your hands . . . again

Just as our Lord commanded in His Sermon on the Mount earlier, he commands his disciples again here in chapter 18, that if their hand, or foot, or eyes cause them to sin, in this case "to stumble", or to be "that man" through whom the occasion of stumbling comes (verse 7), then they should cut those limbs off, if they have to.

Christians often attribute sin, or yielding to temptation, as a form of weakness, a lack of self-control, something that comes from our strong desires, our lusts, something in our thoughts, in our hearts and minds. In fact, the Epistle general of James does tell us that when we're tempted, we're being drawn away and enticed by our desires, our lusts.

James 1:14 ASV
but each man is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed

This morning, however, I read both here in Matthew 18 and the earlier passage in Matthew 5, that we should turn our attention away from our lusts and desires, and instead pay attention to the parts of our body that causes us to commit sin, our hands, and our feet, and our eyes, among others.

It is our hands, feet and eyes that actually cause us to stumble. We should, as it were, cut off our hands or feet, and even pluck out eye and throw it away, if it were so necessary!

As an example of turning our eyes away from looking lustfully at that which tempts us, we can follow the example of Job,  who said in Job 31:1 ASV, "I made a covenant with mine eyes; How then should I look upon a virgin?"

Yes, dear Brothers and Sisters, let us make a covenant with our hands not to reach out to commit sin. Let us make a covenant with our feet, not to turn aside from the path of righteousness. And let us make a covenant with our eyes, not to look lustfully at that which is sinful in the sight of God.

Fighting temptation, it is all in our hands .

Matthew 18:7 - 10 ASV
7 Woe unto the world because of occasions of stumbling! for it must needs be that the occasions come; but woe to that man through whom the occasion cometh!
8 And if thy hand or thy foot causeth thee to stumble, cut it off, and cast it from thee: it is good for thee to enter into life maimed or halt, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into the eternal fire.
9 And if thine eye causeth thee to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is good for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the hell of fire.
10 See that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 5:29 - 30 ASV
29 And if thy right eye causeth thee to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not thy whole body be cast into hell.
30 And if thy right hand causeth thee to stumble, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not thy whole body go into hell.