Weekly Sermon

This message is a companion to two previous messages:  If Ye Fulfill the Royal Law (Part 1) - James 2:8
                                                                                             If Ye Fulfill the Royal Law (Part 2) - James 2:8     

James 2:8 reads, “If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well.” 
 
In James 2:8 we find the commendation of the Lord our God Himself in His Holy Word unto all who fulfill His royal law.  Herein the law of the Lord our God is described as His royal law because He is the divine Lord and King of our lives.  Indeed, this reveals that we believers in this time of the New Testament do have the responsibility to serve under our Lord’s authority and to submit ourselves in obedience under the authority of law for our lives.  Furthermore, we have the responsibility to fulfill our Lord’s royal law, that is – to obey it completely and consistently.  Finally, we are brought to understand that we must fulfill our Lord’s royal law over our lives in accord with the Old Testament Scripture from Leviticus 19:18, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”  If we do this, then the Lord our God through His Holy Word by the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit commends us with the declaration, “Ye do well.”  If we do this, then in our Lord’s sight we are walking in the way of righteousness.
 
So then, what does it mean to love our neighbor as ourselves?  In Leviticus 19:17-18 this instruction was first given, wherein God’s word declares, “Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.  Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.”  Then throughout the New Testament, this instruction of our God’s law was quoted by our Lord Jesus Christ on two occasion in Matthew 19:19 & 22:39 (with Mark 12:31 being a parallel passage to Matthew 22:39), by the apostle Paul on two further occasions in Romans 13:9 & Galatians 5:14, and by James in James 2:8.  Even so, through a study of these and of some supporting passages, we may develop a greater understanding concerning what it means to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Already in the first part of the study, we considered two truths concerning this matter, as follows:

1.  To love our neighbor as ourselves is the foundational principle of God’s law in relation to others.  
2.  To love our neighbor as ourselves is a debt that we constantly owe unto those around us.  
3.  To love our neighbor as ourselves means that we work no ill against those around us. 
4.  To love our neighbor as ourselves means that we not use our Christian liberty for an occasion to our selfish flesh. 
5.  To love our neighbor as ourselves means that we pursue a behavior of service unto those around us. 
6.  To love our neighbor as ourselves means that we not verbally “bite and devour” those around us. 

Now, in this third part of the study, let us consider four additional truths.

Meditations in Ezekiel

I.     The Dead Condition

Ezekiel 37:1-2 – “The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, and caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.”

Ezekiel 37:11 – “Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.”

         1.  Very Dead
         2.  Very Many
         3.  Very Dry
         4.  Without Hope

Weekly Sermon

James 2:5 reads, “Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?”

James 2:5 indicate that those from the poor class in relation to this world who place their trust in Christ as Savior are chosen by God to be rich in relation to His kingdom.  Regardless of their poor status in the realm of this world, they possess an abundantly rich status in the realm of faith.  Indeed, every one of us who are the children of God through faith in Christ are spiritually rich in the realm of faith.  These spiritual riches may be considered from two perspectives.  First, we may consider our spiritual riches in the realm of faith in relation to our eternal salvation.  Second, we may consider our spiritual riches in the realm of faith in relation to our daily walk.  So then, in this first part of the message, let us consider the first of these truths.

Weekly Sermon

This sermon is a companion to a previous sermon:  And His Name Shall Be Called Wonderful - Isaiah 9:6     

Isaiah 9:6-7 reads, “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulders: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and justice from henceforth even for ever.  The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”

Now, the fullness of this promise and prophecy has not yet been fulfilled.  The Lord Jesus Christ has not yet come in the fullness of His glory as King of kings and Lord of lords to rule and reign over the whole world from the throne of David in Jerusalem.  Yet the fulfillment of this promise and prophecy has indeed begun to be fulfilled.  Unto us that Child has been born.  Unto us that Son has been given.  The zeal of the Lord is already at work.  God the Father has already sent God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to be born into this world as God in human flesh.  The fulfillment of this promise and prophecy has already begun in Christ’s first coming, and most certainly the fulfillment will be completed in Christ’s second coming.  Amen, and amen.  “Even so come, Lord Jesus.” (Revelation 22:20)

However, the focus of this message is not upon the coming of our Lord, but upon the character of our Lord.  In the closing portion of verse 6 five titles are given to reveal the character of our Lord Jesus Christ, God the Son who was given to be born in human flesh – “And his name [His title] shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”  In this message let us consider four truths concerning the second of these titles – “And his name shall be called . . . Counsellor.”

Now, the word “consellor” refers to someone who possesses such wisdom that he behaves wisely in his own conduct and is able to deliver wise counsels and correctives unto others.  So then, in what ways is our Lord Jesus Christ to be called Counsellor?

Weekly Sermon

This sermon is a companion to three previous sermons:  Consider Your Priorities - Haggai 1:5    
                                                                                         Consider the Lord's Pleasure - Haggai 1:8      
                                                                                         Consider Our Lord's Purpose - Haggai 2:10-19    

Haggai 2:10 gives the report, “In the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying.”  Then in Haggai 2:18-19 we come to the conclusion of that message where our Lord declared through His prophet, “Consider now from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the LORD’S temple was laid, consider it.  Is the seed yet in the barn?  Yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you.”  Finally, in Haggai 2:20-23 our Lord delivered a second message on the same day through His prophet Haggai.  There we read, “And again the word of the LORD came unto Haggai in the four and twentieth day of the month, saying, Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth; and I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.  In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the LORD, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the LORD of hosts.”

In Haggai 2:15-17 the Lord had instructed His people at that time to consider His hand of chastening against them and to consider His purpose in that chastening.  Yet in Haggai 2:18-19 the Lord instructed them to consider another matter.  In these two verses, the Lord gave promise to reverse their situation.  Until that time His hand of chastening had been against them, but from that time forward He promised to open His hand of blessing upon them.  At the end of verse 19, the Lord proclaimed, “From this day will I bless you.”  He had confronted them and chastened them for their sinful priorities and ways, and they had repented of those sinful priorities and ways.  Thus from that day of their repentance forward, the Lord promised to bless them.  Even so, the Lord instructed them to consider His promise.  In like manner, we ourselves also need to consider our Lord’s promise to those who will repent of their sinful ways and return unto the Lord.

Weekly Sermon

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 exclaims, “What?  Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?  For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

Brethren, too many of us believers too much of the time are living our Christian lives on the ground of a spiritual lie.  Too many of us too much of the time are living out our lives as if they are our lives to live as we please.  Too many of us too much of the time are making the decisions of our lives as if they are our decisions to make as we choose.  Too many of us too much of the time have convinced ourselves that we have the right and the freedom to do what want to do, to say what we want to say, to enjoy what we want to enjoy, to pursue what we want to pursue, to choose what we want to choose, to think what we want to think, to feel what we want to feel, and to desire what we want to desire.  Yea, even when we would never make such a bold claim to such complete freedom in these areas because we recognize that there are some spiritual boundaries that we are not to cross, we still live out our lives and make our decisions most of the time on the ground of our own heart’s natural course without any consideration of any higher authority or priority.  We would not stubbornly declare, “It’s my life, and I will live it the way I want to!”  Rather, we simply go forward each day with whatever flows naturally.  Thereby, without stubbornly declaring it, we actually live out our lives the way that we want to. 

In addition, our adversary the devil has deceived us with the lie that we believers are no longer under the law, but are now under grace, and that because we are now under grace, we have the spiritual freedom to live and decide as we please.  Brethren, the great deceiver, our adversary the devil, is a liar from the beginning.  Certainly it is a Biblical truth that we believers are no longer under the spiritual bondage and condemnation of the law, but are now under the spiritual freedom and justification of God’s saving grace.  However, God’s saving grace does not provide us with the spiritual freedom to live and decide as we please.  As Jude 1:4 reveals, this is the teaching of the ungodly, who are ever “turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness [unbridled lust, doing whatever one pleases].”  Rather, God’s saving grace has provided us with the spiritual freedom to overcome temptation and sin and to walk in fellowship with God and in righteousness before God.  Even so, Galatians 5:13 declares, “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”  In addition, Titus 2:11-12 proclaims, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.” 

Now, the truth of our obligation and responsibility as believers to live in this manner is founded upon another truth – the truth that we are “bought with a price,” with the price of the shed blood and sacrificial death of God the Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  So then, from 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 let us consider four important elements concerning this truth that we are “bought with a price.”

Thought for Meditation
(This thought is a companion to a previous thought for meditation:  Selfishness versus Godly Love)

Only by yielding oursleves to the filling influence of the Holy Spirit
can we overcome our selfish nature (which is the essential opposite of godly love)
and walk in genuine godly love toward others.

Weekly Sermon

This sermon is a companion to three previous sermons:
            By the Renewing of Your Mind (Part 1) - Romans 12:2     
            By the Renewing of Your Mind (Part 2) - Romans 12:2     
            By the Renewing of Your Mind (Part 3) - Romans 12:2      

Romans 12:1-2 reads, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

In Romans 12:1 God the Holy Spirit pleads with us to present ourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto the Lord our God.  Then in verse 2 God the Holy Spirit gives two commands that we must obey if we are truly to present ourselves as such a living sacrifice unto the Lord our God.  The opening portion of the verse presents the first command – “And be not conformed to this world.”  Then the second command follows – “But be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.”  Brethren, we are not to be “conformed to this world.”  We are not to be in the same form or in agreement with this present evil world.  Rather, we are to be “transformed.”  We are to be changed into a different form and a different character than this present evil world.  Yea, we are to be changed into the same form and character as our Lord Jesus Christ.  Even so, 2 Corinthians 3:18 declares, “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image [as the glory of the Lord] from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

In addition, Romans 12:2 reveals that the means of this transforming work is “by the renewing of your mind.”  We are commanded to be “transformed by the renewing of [our] mind.”  This means that we ourselves must involve ourselves in the renewing of our minds.  We ourselves must seek out, and commit ourselves to the things that will make for the renewing of our minds.  What then are the things that will make for the renewing of our minds?  Already in the first three parts of the message, we have considered six answers to this question – (1) We must commit ourselves to the truth of God’s holy Word; (2) we must commit ourselves to put away from us any and all sin; (3) we must commit ourselves to live wholly unto the will of God; (4) we must commit ourselves to the truth of our new life in Christ; (5) we must commit ourselves to walk in and after the Holy Spirit; and (6) we commit ourselves to walk always in prayer and thanksgiving.  Now in this second part of the message, let us consider one additional answer to this matter.

Weekly Sermon

This sermon is a companion to two previous sermons:  By the Renewing of Your Mind (Part 1) - Romans 12:2     
                                                                                       By the Renewing of Your Mind (Part 2) - Romans 12:2    

Romans 12:1-2 reads, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

In Romans 12:1 God the Holy Spirit pleads with us to present ourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto the Lord our God.  Then in verse 2 God the Holy Spirit gives two commands that we must obey if we are truly to present ourselves as such a living sacrifice unto the Lord our God.  The opening portion of the verse presents the first command – “And be not conformed to this world.”  Then the second command follows – “But be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.”  Brethren, we are not to be “conformed to this world.”  We are not to be in the same form or in agreement with this present evil world.  Rather, we are to be “transformed.”  We are to be changed into a different form and a different character than this present evil world.  Yea, we are to be changed into the same form and character as our Lord Jesus Christ.  Even so, 2 Corinthians 3:18 declares, “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image [as the glory of the Lord] from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

In addition, Romans 12:2 reveals that the means of this transforming work is “by the renewing of your mind.”  We are commanded to be “transformed by the renewing of [our] mind.”  This means that we ourselves must involve ourselves in the renewing of our minds.  We ourselves must seek out, and commit ourselves to the things that will make for the renewing of our minds.  What then are the things that will make for the renewing of our minds?  Already in the first two parts of the message, we have considered four answers to this question – (1) We must commit ourselves to the truth of God’s holy Word; (2) we must commit ourselves to put away from us any and all sin; (3) we must commit ourselves to live wholly unto the will of God; and (4) we must commit ourselves to the truth of our new life in Christ.  Now in this second part of the message, let us consider one additional answer to this matter.

Weekly Sermon

Romans 12:1-2 reads, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

In these two verses of God’s holy Word, our Lord gives us three instructions.  First, our Lord instructs us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto Him.  Second, our Lord instructs us not to be conformed unto this present evil world.  Third, our Lord instructs us, rather, to be transformed into His own image by the renewing of our minds.  Yet all three of these instructions are built upon one foundation.  That foundation is presented in the opening phrase of Romans 12:1, where the apostle Paul states under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God.”  The foundation for our obedience to our Lord God’s instructions is the foundation of our Lord God’s mercies toward us.  Indeed, when we truly meditate upon “the mercies of God,” then we will be moved and motivated to obedience.

What then is involved in “the mercies of God” toward us?  Mercy can be defined either as a holding back of a punishment that is certainly deserved, or as a helping compassion for an individual in desperate need.  In “the mercies of God” toward us, we find that both elements are involved.  Under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit, the apostle Paul presented the elements of “the mercies of God” throughout Romans 1-11.  Thus we shall find the answer to our question in these chapters – What is involved in “the mercies of God” toward us?

Weekly Sermon

In John 14:16-17, during His upper room discourse with His disciples on the night before His crucifixion, our Lord Jesus Christ declared unto them, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”

Now, in Galatians 5:16-23 we learn of the spiritual fruit that will be brought forth in our lives as believers when we walk in the Spirit.  There we read, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.  But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”

In like manner, in John 15:4-5 our Lord Jesus Christ (also during the discourse with His disciples on the night before His crucifixion) spoke concerning the spiritual fruit that will be brought forth in our lives as believers when we abide in Him.  There He declared, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.  I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”

Yet the truth of these two passage raises a question – What is the Biblical relationship between the fruit bearing of walking in the Spirit and the fruit bearing of abiding in Christ?