PT-3 "Realize Your Duty" (2 Tim. 1:11-12a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/23/2024 2:36 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                     Focus:  PT-3 “Realize Your Duty”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                            Reference:  2 Timothy 1:11-12a

 

            Message of the verses:  “11 for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. 12 For this reason I also suffer these things,”

 

            I have to say that the reason I have missed a number of days in doing my Spiritual Diaries is because I am sick and it does not seem to be getting better but I thought that I will try and continue on today and then I will see how it goes.

 

            You know when sin entered the world recorded way back in the 3^rd chapter of Genesis mankind has been on what could be called a rollercoaster ride of doing good and evil, and I am talking about those who are true believers in Jesus Christ.  It is a struggle to do the right things for the cause of Christ.  John MacArthur writes that “Faithful ministry in the Lord’s service is always bittersweet; It brings sufferings and joy, disappointment and gratitude.  It is like the little book representing judgment that John took ‘out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and it was in my mouth sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter’ (Rev. 10:10.)”

 

            In reading the letters that Paul wrote we find out that he often suffered for that cause of Christ, and this was not just for Paul as he writes in our verse for today.  To Paul suffering was a small price to pay, because his joy always outweighed his suffering, and his satisfaction always outweighed his disappointments.  He wrote in Philippians 1:21 “Even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith,”  he testified later in that letter, “I rejoice and share my joy with you all” (2:17).  Paul gave similar testimony to believers at Colossae, saying, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body (which is the church) in filling up that which is lacking in Christ’s afflictions” (Col. 1:24).  The worst suffering we endure is not comparable to our future glory Rom. 8:18).

 

            I finish this section with a quote from John MacArthur who quotes Charles Sturgeon.

 

            “Charles Spurgeon gave a vivid illustration of the overriding satisfaction that comes from selfless, godly service.

 

“A man shall carry a bucket of water on his head and be very tired with the burden; but that same man when he dives into the sea shall have a thousand bucked on his head without perceiving their weight, because he is in the element and it entirely surrounds him.  The duties of holiness are very irksome to men who are not in the element of holiness; but when once those men are cast into the element of grace then they bear ten times more, and feel no weight, but are refreshed thereby with joy unspeakable.”

 

            “Duty can bring the deepest pain or the highest joy.  Spiritual duty unfulfilled brings untold dissatisfaction, regret, and anguish, no matter how easy unfaithfulness maybe.  On the other hand, a spiritual duty fulfilled brings untold satisfaction and happiness, whatever the cost of faithfulness.  The Christian who is obedient to his duty under the Lord can say with Peter, ‘If anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not feel ashamed, but in that name let him glorify God’ (1 Peter. 4:16).”

 

 

12/23/2024 3:04 PM

 

PT-2 "Realize Your Duty" (2 Tim. 1:11-12a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/18/2024 10:21 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                     Focus:  PT-2 “Realize Your Duty”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                            Reference:  2 Timothy 1:11-12a

 

            Message of the verses:  “11 for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. 12 For this reason I also suffer these things,”

 

            In this SD I want to continue to write about guarding against being ashamed of Christ, as this is something that I have been writing about for a while, and from this verse we can see the next two means of this subject.

 

            Think about what Paul did, and for that matter what all believers should be doing and that is to be a proclaimer, or herald who will officially and publicly announce a message on behalf of a ruler and in the case the Lord Jesus Christ.  In the world we live in now many believers are so attracted to this world that they do not do their duty in proclaiming the message about Jesus Christ.  “15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world” (1 John 2:15-16). 

 

            Paul was not only was a commissioned as an apostle “of Christ Jesus by the will of God” (2 Timothy 1:1 cf. 1 Tim. 1:1) and a teacher.  Now the meaning of a Preacher emphasizes his function in ministry, while apostle his authority, and then teacher emphasizes his interpreting the message he authoritatively proclaimed. 

 

            MacArthur writes “It was for this reason, that is, his threefold divine calling, that he also [had to] suffer these things, a reference, in general, to his ‘suffering for the gospel according to the power of God’ (v-8) and, in particular, to his loneliness (1:4) and his ‘imprisonment as a criminal’ (2:9 cf. 1:8).  He suffered because he faithfully preached the fullness of the gospel of salvation, because he proclaimed that truth with divine authority, and because he interpreted that Word with divine insight.  Very often, the price of devotion to divine duty is affliction by the world.”

 

            I have mentioned many times that I feel that it is my duty to make sure that what I written on my Spiritual Diaries is truth, for I would never want to cause anyone to go astray, and that is why on many of my Spiritual Diaries I will quote from the author that I am using to help me learn the truth so I can pass it along to those around the world who are reading my Spiritual Diaries.  In the cause now I am listening to sermons and reading commentaries by John MacArthur as I trust him to teach me the truth so that I can pass it along to those who read my Spiritual Diaries.  With that said I desire to continue to quote from John MacArthur’s commentary. 

 

            “These things also applied to the long list of afflictions Paul mentions in his second letter to the church at Corinth, in which, ‘In foolishness, ‘he boasted ‘according to the flesh’ (2 Cor. 11:17-18).  Speaking sarcastically about certain ‘false apostles, deceitful worker’s disguising themselves as apostles of Christ, [who] disguise themselves as servents of righteous’ (vv. 13, 14). He asked rhetorically,

 

23 Are they servants of Christ? — I speak as if insane — I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. 24 Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. 26 I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; 27 I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure’ (vv. 23-27; cf. 6:4-10).”

 

            There is a story that goes along with the use of these verses and it is a story about David Jeremiah.  He was in the hospital suffering greatly with a type of cancer where he had to have a bone marrow transfer which put him a great deal of pain.  He got a letter from a friend of his, and I don’t remember the name of that friend, but in the letter he quoted those verses from 2 Corinthians in order to make him feel a bit better about his circumstances as his circumstances were nothing like what Paul went through.  I mentioned in an earlier SD about what happened to Paul when the Lord spoke to him on the road to Damascus to persecute true believers.  The Lord told Ananias the following of what would be Paul’s fate: “15 But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; 16 for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.’”

 

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am to do what I believe the God has called me to do for cause of Christ, and I believe that He has called me to teach a Sunday school class and to write my Spiritual Diaries for the Spirit of God to spread around the world.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I trust that the Lord will use what He has called me to do to bring glory to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

12/18/2024 11:12 AM

PT-2 "Hope Is Secured by Abiding" (1 John 2:28)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/17/2024 9:31 PM

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  PT-2 “Hope Is Secured by Abiding”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                         Reference:  1 John 2:28

 

            Message of the verse:  “28 Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.”

 

            I want to pick up where I left off in my last SD on this verse, I hoped to get a little further than I did, but there was some different elements that happened and so I did not get as far as I wanted to.  So I want to pick up from where I left off yesterday and talk about the word abide this evening.  Abide translates a form of the verb mento, which means “to stay” or “to remain.”  Now this is a term that John the Apostle used rather often in his New Testament writings.  John uses this word “abide” for instance, it appears nearly a dozen times in the 15^th chapter of his gospel writing.  It is there Jesus instructed the eleven apostles, as Judas was by this time gone.  Let us look at John 15:4 "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.”  Now earlier in this second chapter of 1 John, John again focused on the importance of abiding in Christ and the general significance of aspects of abiding:  “The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked” (v. 6).  MacArthur writes “Neither Christ nor John referred to some mystical, elitist spiritual experience.  They commanded believers to persevere daily and sustain their faith in the gospel and in the Christ of the gospel.”  “In order to do that, believers must continue to love and obey the Scripture, submit to the direction of the Holy Spirit, and remain committed to the truth they first received (cf. 4:12-13, 15-16; 2 John 2, 9).  Such abiding precludes clinging to a habitual pattern of sin.”

 

            Now John’s teaching that true Christians abide in Him reinforces Jesus’ statement found in Matthew 24:13 “"But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.”  John’s words are also consistent with Paul’s exhortation that he gave to the Colossians to continue in the faith:

 

21 And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, 22 yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach —  23  if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister” (Col. 1:21-23).

 

MacArthur writes that “No one who professes to believe the gospel but then permanently abandons the faith possesses eternal life.  Earlier in this letter John wrote “They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been  of us, they would not remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us” (2:19).  Only those who remain faith to the Lord and His Word, and give evidence of the fruits of righteousness (5:1-5, 10; Matt. 7:17-18; 12:33, 35; John 3:21, 36; 13:35; 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 5:22-23; 6:7-8; Eph. 5:9; James 2:14-26; cf. Isa. 3:10; Jer. 17:9-10) by the indwelling power and presence of the Spirit (cf. Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19; Gal. 4:6) are truly saved.  As John penned earlier in this chapter: 

 

“23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. 24 As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life” (Col. 2:23-25).

 

12/17/2024 10:03 PM

 

PT-1 "Realize Your Duty" (2 Tim. 1:11-12a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/17/2024 7:54 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                     Focus:  PT-1 “Realize Your Duty”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                            Reference:  2 Timothy 1:11-12a

 

            Message of the verses:  “11 for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. 12 For this reason I also suffer these things,”

 

            Now we have been writing about guarding against being ashamed of Christ in the past SD’s and want to continue with that them as we look at these verses.  Here Paul draws from his own life and ministry and it is known by those of us who read and study the Word of God that Paul indeed suffered much for the cause of Christ.  I want, for a moment go back to look at when the Lord called Paul to salvation, and also to the work that He chose for him to do.  “3 As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; 4  and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" 5 And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" And He said, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, 6  but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do’” (Acts 9:3-6).  Now Paul was blinded by the light of the Lord and was led into Damascus.  We move on:  “10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here I am, Lord." 11 And the Lord said to him, "Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight." 13 But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to Your saints at Jerusalem; 14 and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name." 15 But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; 16 for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake’” (Acts 9:10-16).  I have to say that it seems that every time that I read those highlighted verses that I think that the reason that Paul was told that he had to suffer for the name of the Lord was because of what he had done to the Church of God.  Now that I think more about that I am changing my mind for that would mean that the Lord would have to be vindictive something that I know that He is not, for He is just.  I think that perhaps in eternity past that Paul was chosen to give out the gospel to the Gentiles and that in doing that he would encounter sufferings for the cause of Christ.  Ok I had better move on to what I am looking at this morning. 

 

            MacArthur writes that “Paul draws from his own life and ministry.  The first of those two means is realizing one’s duty, about which Paul had the strongest personal conviction. Using the same words (in the Greek text) as he had in his first letter (1 Tim. 2:7), Paul reminded Timothy, I was appointed a preacher and an apostle.”  I think that this can be seen partly in the text from Acts that I quoted above. 

 

            Now as I look at MacArthur’s commentary I think that it best if I quote the next paragraph.  “The Greek ego (I) is in the emphatic position, strengthening the meaning to ‘I myself.’ Was appointed refers, of course, to Paul’s divine commission, which he dramatically received on the Damascus Road, after which the Lord informed Ananias, a faithful disciple in Damascus, that Paul ‘is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and sons of Israel’ (Acts. 9:15).  At least twice, Paul publicly testified to that calling, first on the steps of the Roman army barracks before a large crowd in Jerusalem (Acts 22:3-21) and some years later before the Roman governor Festus, King Agrippa, and his wife Bernice in Caesarea (Acts 26:2-23).”

 

            As I continue to look at MacArthur’s commentary I find that I am glad that I quoted the verses from Acts chapter nine as he refers to the story that is seen in those verses.  We know that Paul’s name was Saul and that while on his first missionary journey Luke began to identify him as Paul.  We also know that because he was a persecutor of the Christians that he did not plan to become a Christian, but then that was true with me also as I was planning to do some sinful things back in January of 1974 when the Lord gave me an effectual call that I could not say no to and that was almost 51 years ago.  “Nor, after his conversion, was it his own plan, or any other human plan, for him to be a special ambassador for Jesus Christ.  On the beach near Miletus, he reminded the elders from Ephesus that he had received his ministry solely ‘from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God’ (Acts 20:24; cf. Col. 1:25).  In his first letter to the church at Corinth, he stated that truth in even stronger terms.  ‘ For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, he said; ‘for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel’ (1 Cor. 9:16),  (quoted from MacArthur’s commentary).

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I realized that my call to become a child of God was certainly all in the plan of God, and for that I am very, very thankful.  I have been thinking back on that day in January of 1974 when I was in Florida visiting a friend of mine in the last few days as I used my testimony in our Sunday school class this past Sunday.  When I think about that call that the Lord gave me, my thoughts are great gratitude to the Lord for the call that He gave me, and also great thankfulness.

 

            My Steps of Faith for Today:  I trust that the Holy Spirit will continue to guide me to do the things that God has planned for me to do while on this earth, things for the cause of Christ.

 

12/17/2024 8:35 AM

 

           

PT-1 "Hope is Secured by Abiding" (1 John 2:28)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/16/2024 12:53 PM

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  PT-1 “Hope Is Secured by Abiding”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                         Reference:  1 John 2:28

 

            Message of the verse:  “28 Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.”

 

            I have read that the emphatic particle nun (now) introduces a new section and plainly indicates a paragraph break which is seen in the NASB95 version.  This is not the first time that I have heard or read about how sometimes those who broke the Bible up into chapters have not really done the best job in places like this one.  Now as I read from John MacArthur’s commentary and saw how the verses in this chapter had a couple verses from the 2^nd chapter of 1 John with the first three verses of chapter three I was wondering why that happened and now I understand the reason. 

 

            Now as we look at what comes after “Now” we see the words, which seem to be favorites of John, and that is little children, as this is the way that he chose to address his readers.  MacArthur writes “That phrase encompasses believers at all levels of maturity.”  He then gives a number of verses which I am not going to quote that go along with what he just wrote.  He finishes the sentence by writing “and expresses John’s continuing fatherly care and concern for the recipients of this letter (cf. 2:12).”  “I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake.”

 

            It seems to me that as MacArthur stated that John is addressing the different people when he uses titles like “little children” and other words like this that he is not talking about someone’s age chronologically but their spiritual maturity.

 

12/16/2024 1:07 PM

12/16/2024 11:22 PM

 

            In my next SD I will try and get a little more done.  The evening got pretty busy with a couple of our grandkids.  I want to look at the word “Abide” as I begin this next SD.

 

12/16/2024 11:39 PM

PT-4 "Remember Your Calling" (2 Timothy 1:8b-10)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/16/2024 8:17 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                            Focus:  PT-4 “Remember Your Calling”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                               Reference: 2 Timothy 1:8b-10

 

            Message of the verses:  “according to the power of God, 9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, 10 but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,”

 

            Let us begin this SD by looking at a familiar verse just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him (Eph. 1:4a).  We see here that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world.  “1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure” (1 Peter 1:1-2).  This is how Peter begins his first epistle, which has similar things in it as Paul does in Ephesians 1:4a.

 

            These verses show us that we should live according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity.  MacArthur writes “Our destiny was determined and sealed before the world began.  Because we no belong to Christ, we can praise and thank our heavenly Father that He has loved us, just as He has loved His only Son, ‘before the foundation of the world’ (John 17:24).  He has chosen us and loved us ‘in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Eph. 3:11).

 

            I understand that this doctrine is difficult for some to accept, but it is what the Word of God teaches us and so we must believe it.  I will say this that God never chose anyone for hell, people do that on their own by not believing in the salvation provided for them when Jesus died on the cross.

 

            MacArthur goes on “But this divine plan from all eternity only now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.  Most often in the New Testament (see, e.g., 1 Tim. 6:14; 2 Tim. 4:1, 8; Titus 2:13), epiphaneia (appearing) refers to Christ’s second coming.  But here it obviously refers to His first coming, when He abolished death.”

 

            The word abolished in the Greek is katargeo literally means to render inoperative.  It is not death no longer exists or that believers are promised escape from it, unless they are raptured.  But for believers, death is no longer a threat, it is no longer an enemy, and no longer the end.  Paul first quotes from Isaiah 25:8 and then from Hosea 13:14 he exulted, ‘When this perishable will have put on imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death where is your sting?’” (1 Cor. 15:54055).  Next we look at Hebrews 2:14b “He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.”

 

            John MacArthur concludes this section by writing “More than simply abolishing death, at His first appearing Christ brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.  It was not until the Son of God became incarnate in Jesus Christ that God chose to reveal the full truth about eternal life and immortality.  Bringing them to light means making them known.  That is our area of expertise.  We know the immeasurable reality of eternal, immortal existence.  That also is our joy and hope in Christ.”

 

            It was yesterday in our Sunday school class, a class I teach, that in our lesson from the book of Colossians that part of the lesson included my testimony, testimony of how the Lord brought me to Himself in salvation.  I don’t intend to go over all the story as it takes a bit to do that, but as I look back at the circumstances of it I can say that there was little or no human part in it.  It happened on a vacation to Florida, as I was recently married to the woman who has been my wife for 51 years +.  I went by myself to visit a high school friend and to be honest had some bad motives, but it was on that vacation that I found the Lord, or better He found me as He gave me the effectual call of salvation.  It was there that I listened to a series of tapes from Hal Lindsey entitled “Two Years After The Late Great Planet Earth,” that the Spirit of God opened my heart to receive His Son.  I have to say that this was the last thing on my mind, but looking back it was the best thing that happened to me.  This is why I have no problem believing that for God’s own purpose that He chose me in eternity past as He did all true believers. 

 

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  God is in control and I never knew that more than when He saved me on the 24^th of January, 1974.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Remember His calling to me and live for the cause of Christ.  Remember that salvation is a miracle, a miracle from the Lord.

 

12/16/2024 8:57 AM

PT-8 "Intro to 'The Purifying Hope'" (1 John 2:28-3:3)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/15/2024 8:32 PM

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  PT-8 “Intro to ‘The Purifying Hope’

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                   Reference:  1 John 2:28-3:3

 

            Message of the verses:  “28 Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. 29 If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.  1 See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.  3 And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”

 

            I hope that those who read this Spiritual Diary that they would also look at the one from yesterday as it was my intent to finish this introduction to these verses, but the Lord had some different ideas for me, and the previous SD will explain that.

 

            Again I try to finish these last two sections on hope in this SD and the first one is actually the tenth feature of hope and that is that it removes the fear of death.  Now those who are genuinely saved are acutely aware of their sinful violations of God’s holy law.  I will now give you a list of verses that help with that thought:  Psalm 25:11; 38:3-4; 5:13; 69:5; Rom. 7:17-24; 1 Tim. 1:15; cf. Isa. 6:5) and the severity of earthly permanence of its consequences (cf. Gen. 3:7-24; Rom. 5:12; 1 Cor. 6:9-11; Gal. 6:7-8).  MacArthur writes “But at the moment of salvation their sins are forgiven, they receive eternal life, and though gaining a stronger sense of sin, they lose the fear of death and divine judgment.  Believers may still not relish the pain and suffering that can accompany death (hence the Bible’s commands to trust God and not be anxious; cf. Ps. 55:22; Jonah 2:7; Phil. 4:6).  However, they possess a hope that removes the ultimate sting of death, which is part of the penalty for those who reject God’s law.  Like Paul, they can look forward to death with joy, because the Savior has fulfilled the death penalty for all who believe:

 

“54 But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. 55 “O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?" 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:54-57; cf. Col 1:5, 22-23-27).”

 

            It is said that it is good to save the best to last and this last facet on hope for the Christian will be consummated when Jesus Christ returns (1 Cor. 1:8; Col. 3:4; 1 Thess. 3:13; 5:23; Heb. 9:28).  I have to say that this was one of the very first things that I learned when I first became a believer as that is what the Lord used to draw me to Him.  MacArthur writes about this:  “His return (referring broadly to both the rapture and the second coming) will encompass all that believers hope for, including glorified resurrection bodies (1 Cor. 15:50-52); 1 Thess. 4:13-18), the privilege of reigning with Christ in His earthly kingdom (2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 20:4), and hope will not be entirely complete until that time of resurrection; then it will be fully realized at His coming—and it will continue in its full splendor for all eternity.  Hence Paul could write that the saints are continually ‘looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of [their] great God and Savior, Christ Jesus’ (Titus 2:13; cf. 1 Thess. 4:16-18; 1 Peter 1:3-5).”

 

            Well we have looked at a lot of things about hope and from the beginning I mentioned that this kind of hope that we are looking at here is a noun, a sure thing.  Hope is not only foundational to Christian doctrine and the believer’s confidence, but it also has immense ethical implications.  Genuine hope will purify the lives of those who possess it.   “3 And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”  This hope verifies that they are true believers.  MacArthur writes that “This is one of the primary themes of the apostle John’s writings, especially in this passage.”

 

            Now in this letter that we are looking at from the pen of John he has already presented doctrinal and moral tests that can determine one’s true spiritual condition, and in the section we are no looking at he further elaborates on the moral (ethical) test.  Now Orthodox beliefs about the nature of sin and the person of Christ, the practical presence of sincere love and obedience, and now a personal pursuit of purity and holiness are all evidences that a person has true, eternal hope, and that is the greatest thing to have. 

 

            MacArthur concludes this introduction by previewing what we will be looking at in the rest of this chapter from his book.  “This passage contains five perspectives that further define and clarify the essence of biblical hope:  It is secured by abiding, it is manifested by righteousness, it is established by love, it is fulfilled by Christlikeness, and it is characterized by purity.”

 

12/15/2024 9:10 PM