2Timothy 2:15

Sunday, February 23, 2025

PT-1 "Perfect Love and the Christian's Confidence in Judgment" (1 John 4:17-21)

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/23/2025 10:25 PM

My Worship Time Focus: “Perfect Love And The Christian’s Confidence in Judgment”

Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 1 John 4:17-21

Message of the verses: “17 By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. 19 We love, because He first loved us. 20 If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.”

Just to let all of you know that this section is the last section in the 4^th chapter of 1 John and it has one of my favorite verses in it, the one that is highlighted.

Let us begin with what is stated in verse 17b we may have confidence in the day of judgment, and this is the experience of believers who not only know when they have an accurate grasp of the gospel and other biblical doctrines, but also when love is perfected within them.

MacArthur explains that “The day of judgment refers in the broadest sense to the final time of reckoning before God (cf. 2:28). John says believers can live their lives with confidence (literally, ‘boldness’) as they look to the day when Christ returns and they stand before God (1 Cor. 3:9-15; 2 Cor. 5:10; cf. James 1:12; Rev. 2:10). In 3:21 John used the same word (parresia) to refer to the confidence believers can have that God will grant their prayer requests. In the present verse the apostle declares that boldness and lack of fear should characterize believers (cf. Rom. 5:2; Heb. 6:19) whenever they think ahead of God’s time of judgment (cf. Titus 2:13).”

Now one may ask why can believers have such confidence? Because as He is, so also are we in this world. Now this is a stunning statement which means that the Father treats the saints the same way He does His Son Jesus Christ. Now think about that statement for a moment. God clothes believers with the righteousness of Christ (Rom. 3:21-22; 2 Cor. 5:21; Phil. 3:9), and grants the Son’s perfect love (Matt. 9:36; John 10:11, 14-16; 13:1; 14:21) and obedience (cf. John 4:34; 5:30; 18:37). The truth is that someday believers will stand before God’s throne as confidently as their Lord and Savior does. (Think about that statement). When they reach that final accounting, they will see the fulfillment of 1 John 3:2b, “We [believers] know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.”

Ok it is Sunday evening and my Spiritual Diaries are shorter than on the week days, and so it is my desire to be able to finish looking at the great and wonderful verses in tomorrow’s evening SD.

2/23/2025 10:49 PM

PT-1 "False Teaching Characterizes Those Who Do Not Belong to the Lord" (2 Tim. 2:19)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/23/2025 8:04 AM

My Worship Time Focus: “False Teaching Characterizes Those Who Do Not Belong to the Lord”

Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 2 Timothy 2:19

Message of the verse: “19 Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness."

This morning we begin the last danger of false teaching which is mentioned here, and that it fits those who are unsaved and ungodly.

As we look at the first word, nevertheless we can see that Paul is again making his point by contrast, he continues the firm foundation of God stands. Now unlike those who trust in a satanic scheme of religion, those who are truly saved, who are God’s spiritual children and genuine disciples of Jesus Christ, are part of the firm foundation of God.

Now in this context, writes MacArthur, the firm foundation of God seems most likely to refer to the church. In the previous letter to Timothy, Paul speaks of ‘the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth’ (1 Tim. 3:15, emphasis added). The foundation of Christ’s church stands on the truth, ‘and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it’ (Matt. 16:18).

“On that promise, we have God’s seal. A sphragis (seal) was a sign of ownership and God has placed His divine seal of ownership on the church. In the end times, those ‘who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads’ will be tormented by the locusts (Rev. 9:4). It is also doubtless that God’s seal on their foreheads will protect believers from taking the mark of the beast (see Rev. 13:16).” “16 And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead.”

One more quote from MacArthur’s commentary for this SD as today is Sunday and my Spiritual Diaries are rather short on Sunday mornings.

“God’s seal of ownership is on the church in two ways. First, every member of the body of Christ, the church, has God’s divine assurance of election, in that ‘the Lord knows those who are His.’ The source of this quotation is not certain, but is possibly from the book of Numbers. When some Israelites were about to rebel against the Lord and His appointed leaders Moses and Aaron, Moses declared to Korah and the other rebels, ‘The Lord will show who is His, and who is holy and will bring him near to Himself; even the one whom He will choose, He will bring near to Himself’ (Num.16:5).”

Spiritual Meaning for My Life Today: I am thankful to know that the Lord has chosen me to be His child, and for that I truly do not understand, but truly am thankful.

My Steps of Faith for Today: I am trusting the Lord for His will to be done as my wife has some surgery on Tuesday afternoon. It is suppose to be short, but this is something that I have to trust the Lord to do His will, and to comfort her during and after the procedure.

2/23/2025 8:31 AM

Saturday, February 22, 2025

PT-2 "Perfect Love And The Christian's Claim of Faith" (1 John 4:12-16)

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/22/2025 6:39 PM

My Worship Time Focus: PT-2 “Perfect Love And The Christian’s Claim of Faith”

Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 1 John 4:12-16

Message of the verses: “12 No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”

Now before I continue on looking at these five verses I want you to notice something as you read over these verses and that is that the entire Trinity is seen in these verses. Notice that God is mentioned in verse twelve two times. Now in verse thirteen I believe that the Him is speaking of the Son, and then at the end of the verse we see the Holy Spirit. Verse fourteen we see again the Father and the Son. Verse fifteen we see Jesus is the Son of God, then again God two more times. Verse sixteen we see God four more times.

Now I want to continue to quote from John MacArthur’s commentary, picking up where I left of yesterday. “Jesus compared the Holy Spirit to the wind (John 3:8) and said people can see on the Spirit’s effects; there are no visible, physical signs that guarantee that someone is filled with the Spirit. But the reality of their faith enables believers to know they have the indwelling Spirit, as John reminds his readers: We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. Belief in the gospel (the doctrinal test) provides evidence of the Spirit’s ministry and presence (cf. 1 Cor. 12:3).” Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus is accursed"; and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit. Because sinners are spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1, 5), they cannot come to God on their own (cf. Matt. 12:35; John 1:12-13). Saving faith is possible only because God grants it (Eph. 2:8). In John’s case, his own experience of seeing and being with Jesus verified his faith (1 John 1:1-3). He bore witness that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world, but he would not have believed had the Father not chosen him (John 644; 15:16, 19) and the Spirit opened his eyes to the truth.”

Now thinking back on my life a little over 51 years ago I would not have understood all of this that was just written in the paragraph above. It took a series of events for me to understand that I was born a sinner, born spiritually dead, and on my own could do nothing about it. I have given this illustration in earlier Spiritual Diaries, but think of a dead person, best illustrated by a man and the undertaker is about to dress him for the funeral service. He looks at the man trying to decide which color of tie to put on him, and then asked the dead man lying there, perhaps without thinking “what color of tie do you want on?” Well you know that he will not get an answer because the man is dead. Spiritually speaking we are born dead, dead in are trespasses and sins, and there is nothing we can do on our own about that as far as becoming a believer. The Holy Spirit is the One who gives an effectual call to a person and then they become spiritually alive as they are given a new nature, but are now alive in Christ. At that point as I look back 51+ years ago that is what happened to me, but I did not understand it, just knew I was different, for at that time the Lord cleaned up my mouth and I never swore again, as He took it away from me. I knew that but little else and it was the patience of the Lord through the Holy Spirit who now lived in me and the Word of God along with help from different Pastors and teachers that has caused me to grow in the Lord. Yes it is a struggle from time to time, but God is faithful throughout all of it, and for that I am very thankful.

“Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God, knows that abides in him, and he in God. The true believer has discerned the presence of the Holy Spirit, and has come to know and [has] believed the love which God has for us. Such persons understand the eternal love of God, who is love, for all believers. They can rest confidently in the assurance that the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. They will further demonstrate the genuineness of their salvation by loving the Father and the Son, loving righteousness and fellow believers rather than the world’s system, and even loving their enemies. In summary, they will increasingly love the way God loves (cf. Matt. 5:48; 22:37-40; 2 Cor. 3:18).”

I have to say that a few weeks ago I sent a letter to John MacArthur who was then in the hospital having a number of operations on his heart. I referenced that I was using his commentaries to help me to write my Spiritual Diaries and that by the grace of God were going around the world each and every day. Years earlier I had sent a similar letter to Dr. Warren Wiersbe explain to him that at the time I was using his commentaries in order to help me write my Spiritual Diaries. These two great men of God never said a word about me using some of their material, and I believe the reason was because they were thankful that the Word of God was being spread around the world, and for that I am very thankful.

2/22/2025 7:13 PM

PT-2 "False Teaching Upsets The Faith of Some" (2 Timothy 2:17b-18)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/22/2025 7:43 AM

My Worship Time Focus: PT-2 “False Teaching Upsets The Faith of Some”

Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 2 Timothy 2:17b-18

Message of the verses: “Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and thus they upset the faith of some.”

I begin by saying that the particular heresy of Hymenaeus and Philetus was their claiming the resurrection has already taken place. “12 Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?” (1 Cor. 15:12). Now Paul does not explain what resurrection they had in mind. Neither Jesus’ resurrection, the one that has taken place, nor the physical resurrection of believers, which had not take place yet, makes sense in this context. It would seem provable, therefore, that they men propounded some form of spiritual resurrection as the only resurrection. It is possible that they were teaching that the only resurrection was the spiritual union with Christ in His death and resurrection (cf. Rom. 6:1-11). Such a view would have been based on pagan Greek philosophy, perhaps incipient Gnosticism, whose adherents believed that the body and all other material things are intrinsically evil. It is possible that they got this false idea from the fact that once a person is born-again that the old nature has died, but believers still have the flesh which certainly can cause a believer to sin. In Acts 17:32 we read “Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, "We shall hear you again concerning this." This happened at the time when Paul was along in Athens and had a chance to witness to some Greeks there. The ones that he was talking to, MacArthur reports “were doubtless into such philosophical dualism and were horrified at the idea of the body’s being restored in the afterlife. Hymenaeus and Philetus possibly held the belief of many pagans that the only immortality is in life carried on through progeny. By denying the bodily resurrection, they were destroying the very foundation of the Christian faith—denying both the reality and the implications of Christ’s resurrection.”

Now in the first letter to the church at Corinth, Paul makes clear the monumental importance of both Christ’s and also the believer’s resurrection and of a right understanding of those truths. “12 Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. 15 Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; 17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins” (1 Cor. 15:12-17).

“To deny or distort the truth about the resurrection is to deny and distort the heart of the gospel. It is therefore a tragic and damnable thing to teach falsehood about that doctrine. Not only does it blaspheme God and denigrate His Word but inevitably it will upset the faith of some.

“Anatrepo (to upset) carries the idea of overturning or overthrowing, indicating that the faith held by some of those who listened to false teachers was not saving faith, which cannot be overthrown or destroyed. Those hearers apparently had heard the gospel and been attracted to Christianity as a possible answer to their religious quest. But because they had not placed their faith in Christ as Savior and Lord and were exposed to deception, they fell prey to corrupt teaching and remained lost.

“Again, that sad truth reveals one of the greatest perils of a false gospel: It keeps some souls—over the centuries, countless millions of them—out of the kingdom.”

I have to say in conclusion that that is a very sad, sad situation to be in, to believe a lie that will keep you out of the kingdom of God.

2/22/2025 8:12 AM

Friday, February 21, 2025

PT-1 "Perfect Love And The Christian's Claim of Faith" (1 John 4:12-16)

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/21/2025 5:03 PM

My Worship Time Focus: PT-1 “Perfect Love And The Christian’s Claim of Faith”

Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 1 John 4:12-16

Let us look at verse 12 as it is quoted in the paragraph above, and in this verse John makes the simple point that if “no one has seen God,” and he is talking about the Father, so no one has seen the Father at any time. (cf. John 4:24; 1 Tim. 1:17; 6:16), and also we know that Jesus is in heaven and so no one can any longer see Him, then people will not see God’s love unless believers love one another. Now if they love one another, then God will be on display, testifying that He abides in [them], and His love is perfected in [them] (cf. John 13:34-35; 1 John 3:24). The unseen God will thus reveal Himself through the visible love of believers; the love that originated in God and then was manifested in His Son is now demonstrated in His people.

MacArthur writes “In this section the apostle John also sets forth a key sequence of evidences to remind readers once again that they can know they are saved. Assurance begins with the work of the Holy Spirit (2:20, 27; Rom. 8:9, 14-16; 1 Cor. 6:19-20; Eph. 1:13-14). Bruce Milne summarizes it for believers this way:

The heart of Christian experience of the Holy Spirit lies in his bringing us into a living relationship to Jesus Christ so that we share in his redemption and all its blessings. All Christian experience can be focused in this one gift of God to us through His Spirit, our union with Christ. ( [Downers Grove, Ill.” InterVaristy, 1982], 182)

“Therefore John assures his believing readers they can know that [they] abide in God and He in [them], because He has given [them] of His Spirit.

“Having already focused on the Father and the Son within his discussion on perfect love, John now emphasizes that role of the Spirit. By noting the work of each member of the Trinity, the apostle underscores the Trinitarian orgins of perfect love. Such love, which is accomplished through the work of each member of the Trinity and subsequently manifested in the lives of believers, finds it source in the triune God, who from eternity past enjoyed perfect fellowshipas Father, Son, and Spirit. As those who abide in God, believers will reflect His love, because God abides in them and His Spirit is a work in their hearts.”

I think that I will complete this section in my next Evening Spiritual Diary even though there is not a lot to do, but sometimes it is best to make my Spiritual Diaries shorter so that the readers can think about the things that are in them, and this one has much to think about.

2/21/2025 5:30 PM

PT-1 "False Teaching Upsets The Faith of Some" (2 Tim. 2:17b-18)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/21/2025 8:13 AM

My Worship Time Focus: PT-1 “False Teaching Upsets The Faith of Some”

Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 2 Timothy 2:17b-18

Hymenaeus has already been denounced in Paul’s first letter to Timothy so we can be sure he had been a threat to the Ephesian church for some time. Paul had actually put him out of the church when he was at Ephesus, having “delivered [him] over to Satan,” Hymenaeus obviously persisted in his efforts to mislead believers there in Ephesus, and Philetus had replaced Alexander as his coconspirator (see 1 Timothy 1:20). “Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme.”

John MacArthur writes “Those men were apostates, like those of whom the writer of Hebrews wrote: 4 For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame” (Heb. 6:4-6). They have ‘trampled under foot the Son of God, and [have] regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which [they were] sanctified, and [have] insulted the Spirit of grace’ (Heb. 10:29). As Jesus said to Judas (Matt. 26:24), it would have been better if those men had not been born.”

A couple of things, and first is that I have chosen to split this section into two parts even though it is not that long. Second when I taught the Sunday school class on the book of Hebrews there were some who were upset over what I taught about some of these verses that we have just gone over. Let me say that it is my belief, and the belief of those who I trust in helping me to understand the Bible better that if a person is genuinely saved that they can never lose their salvation, so if the Bible speaks about those who are not saved, even though it seemed that they were at one time then they never were.

Jesus began to speak in parables in Matthew chapter 13, and the reason was that He was accused of being Beelzebul in chapter 12, who is Satan. Jesus told them that they could not ever come to salvation because of what they were saying about Him. Now because of this Jesus then began to speak in parables and the first parable was about the sower and the seeds. Now I will quote this in two parts, just like it is written in Matthew, and the reason that I am quoting this parable is because to tells of how people seemingly come to the Lord for salvation, but there is only one of the “seeds” that were planted that represents true salvation.

“3 And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, "Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4 and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 “Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. 6 “But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7 “Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. 8 “And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. 9 “He who has ears, let him hear." (Matt. 13:3-9).

17 “For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. 18 “Hear then the parable of the sower. 19 “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. 20 "The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 "And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 23 "And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty” (Matt. 13:17-23).

2/21/2025 8:47 AM

Thursday, February 20, 2025

"Perfect Love and the Coming of Christ" (1 John 4:9-11)

EVINING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/20/2025 8:50 PM

My Worship Time Focus: “Perfect Love and the Coming of Christ”

Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 1 John 4:9-11

Message of the verses: “9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed looking at Warren Wiersbe’s commentary yesterday on these verses, and I learned that this was the second of three comments that he wrote on what I have been going over for the last few days, and so perhaps I will go back and write some of the things that he had to say on the verses that I recently went over from 1 John. Today I will look at what John MacArthur has to say about these three verses.

It is not too hard to understand that Jesus Christ is the preeminent manifestation of God’s love (John 1:14, cf. Rom. 5:8); He is God’s only begotten Son, meaning unique. “For to which of the angels did He ever say, "YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU"? And again, "I WILL BE A FATHER TO HIM AND HE SHALL BE A SON TO ME"? (Heb. 1:5). It is known that Jesus Christ came in the flesh to planet earth as seen in (Luke2:7-14; John 1:14, 18; Heb. 5:5). It is the incarnation that was the supreme demonstration of a divine love that was and is sovereign and seeking; it was not that [believers] loved God, but that He loved [them] and sent His Son to be the propitiation for [their] sins. MacArthur explains “The term propitiation refers to a covering for sin (Rom. 3:25; Heb. 2:17), and is a form of the same word (hilasmos) used in 2:2.” Now we wrote about this in an earlier SD back beginning on 9-12-2024. Now hundreds of years before Christ came to planet earth, the prophet Isaiah foresaw His propitiatory sacrifice:

“4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. 6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him” (Isa. 53:4-6; cf. 2 Cor. 5:21: Gal. 3:13; 1 Peter 3:18).

MacArthur writes: “By this the perfect love of God was manifested in [believers], John wrote, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that [believers] might live through Him. The apostle’s point is that since God, in sovereign mercy, graciously displayed His love in sending Christ, the saints should surely follow His example and love others with sacrificial, Christlike love (Eph. 4:32). The Father not only gave His children a perfect love when He redeemed them (Rom. 5:5), but He also gave them the ultimate model in Christ of how that love functions in selfless sacrifice. The cross of Christ compels believers to such love. Thus John exhorted his readers: Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another (cf. John 15:13). The apostle really just restated his admonition from 3:16, ‘We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.’ Now one who has ever savingly believed in Christ’s atoning sacrifice, and thus been granted eternal life, can return permanently to a self-centered lifestyle. Instead such persons will obey Paul’s exhortation to the Ephesians to ‘be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma’ (Eph. 5:1-2; cf. 1 Peter 1:15-16).”

2/20/2025 9:25 PM