SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/11/2014
11:34 AM
My Worship Time
Focus: The
Distinctiveness of Believers’ Behavior
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 1
Thessalonians 5:6-8
Message of the
verses: “6 so then let us not sleep
as others do, but let us be alert and sober. 7 For those who sleep do their
sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. 8 But since we
are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and
love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.”
To begin with I am happy to write that it was forty-one
years ago today that my wife and I were married, and then in January of the
following year I became a believer in Jesus Christ who saved my soul six months
after we my wife and I were married. I
want to also say that we are actually going over the same verses that we went
over yesterday, but will look at them in a little different way as we try and
find some more nuggets of gold from these verses.
John MacArthur writes that the words “so then” “emphasize
the inseparable link between Christians’ nature and their behavior, between
their character and their conduct.” This
is something that is a truth that is taught throughout the NT. Now as we go on looking at these verses Paul
writes that believers are not to sleep, something that is a part of the
believers conduct and character, and also to be alert and sober too. There are many things that happen to a
believer when they are first born into the family of God through the blood of
our Lord Jesus Christ, and one of those things is that a believer is given a
new nature, a new nature that always wants to do good and this shows that all
believers have a different way of living their lives and as the believer
continues to grow in their new life with Christ they continue to l earn more
and more of what they have in Christ. A
believer has two natures in them, the old that they were born with and the new
that was given to them when they were born again. In order to continue to grow the believer has
to follow their new nature and say no to their old nature, and this is
something that is difficult to do. Paul
speaks of this in the seventh chapter of Romans where he writes: “14 For we know that the Law is spiritual,
but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not
understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the
very thing I hate. 16 But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree
with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. 17 So now, no longer am I the
one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. 18
For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the
willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. 19 For the good
that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want (Rom.
7:14-19).” I once heard a sermon a very
long time ago that was entitled “Becoming what you are.” This is part of the sanctification process
that all believers have to go through, for we have to live in the way that we
actually are, that is what is a part of our new nature, and this is what Paul
is telling the Thessalonians in this section, that they are not to sleep and
they are to be alert, which is a part of their new nature, thus making it a
part of their character.
Now we went over the word “sleep” in our SD from
yesterday, so we will not go over it again in todays.
MacArthur writes: “Living
consistent with their nature as day people provides believers with comfort,
because living a righteous, godly life brings assurance of salvation (cf. 2
Peter 1:5-10). When day people walk in
the darkness, however they forfeit that assurance and become fearful of God’s
judgment. They become ‘blind or
short-sighted having forgotten [their] purification from [their] former sins’
(2 Peter 1:9). Though it is not possible
for day people to be caught in the Day of the Lord, it is possible for sinning
ones to lose assurance and fear they might be.”
We mentioned yesterday about the spiritual armor that is
found in different places in the NT, and we see it in verse seven, however Paul
often writes about faith, hope and love in his letters and that is what we see
in verse seven. MacArthur writes “They
also provide an excellent defense against temptation. Faith is trust in God’s power, promise, and
plan. It is the unwavering belief that
God is completely trustworthy in all that He says and does.”
He goes on to give four points about faith, 1. Believers can trust God’s Person, and 2.
Believers can trust God’s power, third believers can trust God’s promises, and
forth believers can trust God’s sovereign plan, which can neither be halted nor
hindered.
Next we look at Faith:
“Faith provides a defense against temptation, because all sin results
from a lack of trust in God. For
example, worry is the failure to believe that God will act in love on behalf of
His people; lying substitutes man’s selfish plans for God’s sovereign purposes;
adultery denies God’s wisdom in instituting the monogamous marriage bond. Thus faith is an impenetrable breastplate,
providing sure protection against temptation.
But to put it on, believes must study and meditate on the rich depts. Of
God’s nature as revealed in Scripture, and then translate that knowledge into
action in their lives.”
“Love toward God involves delight in an devotion to God
as the supreme object of affection. It,
too, provides a powerful deterrent to sin, since all sin involves a failure to
love God. The greatest command, the
injunction that sums up the whole law of God, is to ‘love the Lord your God
with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind’ (Matt.
22:37).” “So love and faith form an
impregnable barrier against temptation; it is only when one or both are lacking
that Christians fall victim to sin.
Perfect trust in and love for God leads to perfect obedience.”
When Paul writes about the “helmet of the hope of
salvation” he is writing about our future aspect or glorification that we will
receive when we get to heaven, and as we focus on this it will help us defeat
temptation.
MacArthur finishes by writing “When faith is weak, love
grows cold. When love grows cold, hope
is lost. When hope in God’s promises of
future glory is weak, believers are venerable to temptation and sin. Only those who keep the breastplate of faith
and love, and the helmet of hope of salvation firmly in place can resist
effectively the onslaught of the forces of darkness.”
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: I have some new
things to think about when I put on my spiritual armor each morning; especially
the helmet of the hope of salvation, for this has always been something that I
have not understood until now.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Fight the good fight to win over temptation.
Memory verses for the
week: Colossians 3:1-5.
1 Therefore if you have been
raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated
at the right hand of God. 2 Set your
mind on things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you died and your life is not hidden
with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is
our life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. 5 Therefore consider the members of your
earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire and greed,
which amounts to adultery.
Answer to yesterdays Bible
question: “Four.”
Today’s Bible
question: “What was Jacob’s name changed
to?”
Answer in our next SD.
8/11/2014 12:29 PM
No comments:
Post a Comment