"Social Alienation" from Eph. 2:11-13

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/31/2018 11:00 AM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  “Social Alienation”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Eph. 2:11-13

            Messages of the verses:  “11 Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called "Uncircumcision" by the so-called "Circumcision," which is performed in the flesh by human hands- 12 remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”

            I have mentioned that the past SD’s on these verses were actually an introduction as we talked much about alienation, and so today we want to look at the first part of alienation, and that is “Social Alienation,” and we can see this from verse one where we read that “formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called ‘Uncircumcision’ by the so-called, Circumcision,’ which is performed in the flesh by human hands.”  In this section we see that Paul calls his readers “the Gentiles in the flesh,” and he does this in order to emphasize the physical, and eternal nature of the distinction, and he also calls on them to “remember” exactly who they were before coming to Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.  The Jews used the term “uncircumcision” as a term of derision, defamation, and they use it also as a reproach.  We can see this even from the great OT King, David who called Goliath an “uncircumcised Philistine” as seen in 1 Samuel 17:26.  Circumcision is something that came about as far as the Jewish people are concerned with Abram, when this became part of the covenant that God made with him.  I believe that we can say that this is similar to what Christian baptism is.  I will try to explain:  Both acts are physical, and both acts have a spiritual meaning, which is the most important.  God wanted the hearts of the Jewish people to be circumcised and not just their bodies.  Having their bodies circumcised did not do anything for their spiritual condition, and neither does an unbeliever have anything happen to them as a result of baptism.  I for one have been baptized three times, and the third time that I was baptized it was done n the NT church where I joined as a result of being baptized.  When a person is baptized it should only be done after they became believers, after they are saved.  Standing in the waters of baptism gives us a picture of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  I remember when I was baptized in April of 1978 and as I went under the water I saw in my mind me lying in a casket.   It took me a while to tell my Pastor about this and his reply was “I didn’t see it.”  I guess he did not want to talk about my experience, but going under the water pictures the death of Christ and being raised up pictures the resurrection, and so it seemed kind of normal to me.

            It was because that the Gentiles did not have the physical mark of circumcision that they thought that they were better than Gentiles, and looked down at them.  John MacArthur writes “Paul carries a tone of disdain for such Jewish hatred, as evidenced in his choice of words to describe Jews—the so-called ‘Circumcision’ (lit., ‘in the flesh, made by hand’) .  He thereby takes exception to Jewish boasting by emphasizing that circumcision is also only external (cf. Lev. 26:41; Deut 10:16; Jer. 4:4; Ezek. 44:7).” 

Lev. 26:41 “41  I also was acting with hostility against them, to bring them into the land of their enemies-or if their uncircumcised heart becomes humbled so that they then make amends for their iniquity, “

Deut. 10:16 “"So circumcise your heart, and stiffen your neck no longer.”

Jer. 4:4 “4 “Circumcise yourselves to the LORD And remove the foreskins of your heart, Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Or else My wrath will go forth like fire And burn with none to quench it, Because of the evil of your deeds.’”

Ezek. 44:7 “7  when you brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to profane it, even My house, when you offered My food, the fat and the blood; for they made My covenant void-this in addition to all your abominations.”

            I want, now to look at a few verses in the NT to show that circumcision had was never a mark of personal relationship to God:  “28  For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly,

nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. 29 But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God (Rom. 2:28-29).”

Gal. 5:6 & 6:15 “6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.”  “15 For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.”

            As we look further into the book of Romans Paul points out that Abraham was saved before he was circumcised, making the point that physical circumcision was not the important part, but spiritual circumcision was.

            In our next SD, the first one of the New Year we will begin to look at the “Spiritual Alienation,” which will take several days to go through.

            I wanted to mention, and will probably mention again that the Bible questions that I ask at the end of my Spiritual Diaries come from a game I have entitled “Bible Challenge” and each card has seven questions and answers on it, making it good for one week.  I tried to find the first time that I stated this and it was started on March 12, 2013.  I only have a couple of cards left and then this will end this portion of my SD.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am thankful that Jesus paid it all for I could never pay for the salvation that He gives to me freely.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust that the Lord will give to my family a very blessed 2019.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Gideon” (Judges 7:15-16).

Today’s Bible question: Which chapter of the Bible is called “The Love Chapter?”

Answer in our next SD.

12/31/2018 11:48 AM

PT-2 "Alienation Apart From Christ" from Eph. 2:11-12

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/30/2018 9:22 AM

My Worship Time                                                    Focus:  PT-2 “Alienation Apart From Christ”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                              Reference:  Ephesians 2:11-12

            Message of the verses:  “11 Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called "Uncircumcision" by the so-called "Circumcision," which is performed in the flesh by human hands- 12 remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”

            We have been looking at what we could call an introduction to these two verses in our last SD, and that will continue in this SD as we continue to talk about the things that causes divisions which we stated as being predigest and I will give a definition from something that I found while searching for the meaning of this word: 

Prejudice

“Prejudice is an affective feeling towards a person or group member based solely on that person's group membership. The word is often used to refer to preconceived, usually unfavorable, feelings towards people or a person because of their sex, gender, beliefs, values, social class, age, disability, religion, sexuality, race/ethnicity, language, nationality, beauty, occupation, education, criminality, sport team affiliation or other personal characteristics. In this case, it refers to a positive or negative evaluation of another person based on that person's perceived group membership.”

            We have mentioned the problems that Israel had because they misunderstood their call from the Lord and a good example of how they felt about Gentiles comes from the prophet Jonah as he typified the common Jewish attitude toward Gentiles.  Most people know the story of Jonah as he was told by the Lord to go to Nineveh which was the capital of the Assyrians who would eventually conquer the Northern Tribes of Israel.  They were a very mean spirited people and so the Lord wanted Jonah to preach to them.  Jonah went the opposite way in a ship and so the Lord caused a great storm to come upon the ocean and Jonah knew that the storm was caused because of his running away.  He was thrown overboard and the storm stopped.  He was prepared to die until swallowed by a very large fish and was in the belly of this fish for three days.  God directed the fish to vomit him out near Nineveh.  While in the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord and wanted to be forgiven.  Jonah probably looked a different color since he was in the belly of the fish and so when he got to Nineveh he began to preach to the people there and they repented because of his preaching.  Jonah told them if they did not repent that God was going to destroy them.  Jonah became upset with the Lord because the people of Nineveh repented and this was because even after being in the belly of a fish for three days it did not cure his prejudice as he still thought Gentiles were below the people of Israel in stature.

            John MacArthur writes “Like Jonah, most Jews did not want to share their gracious and loving God with anyone else.  They accepted their divine blessings but not their divine mission—to be a light to the Gentiles nations (Isa. 42:6, 49:6; 60:3; 62:1-2).”

            We know that the Jews have been the most persecuted group of people to ever live, and yet for the most part they most often vented their own resentment and hatred back against their persecutors.  Similar to Jonah, they wanted Gentiles to be judged and not forgiven.  John MacArthur adds that “Some Jews believed that God created the Gentiles to use as fuel for hell.”  Some Jews even believed that God loved the Jews and hated the every other nation.

            There is a point in all of this writings about the feelings of the Jews towards the Gentiles as we continue this introduction and that is to say how much trouble it was for the Jews to accept the Gentile believers as they came into the churches in the first century.  With all of the prejudices this was going to be a most difficult transition. 

            John MacArthur writes in his last paragraph before we move onto the first sub-point the following:  “This important section begins with the word therefore, indicating that the next line of thought regarding the new identity of these Gentile Christians is built on what Christ has done to give them life and eternal blessing, as described in verses 1-10.  It is as if Paul is calling them to be so grateful for their deliverance from their old situation that they come to fully appreciate their new situation of union with all other believers.  Nothing more inspires gratitude in a saved sinner than a look back to the pit from which he has come.”  I have mentioned in past SD’s that this word “therefore” has always been something that I like as it does take us back to previous thoughts written by the writers of the Bible and also mentioned that it is used in the NASB95 904 times in the Scriptures. 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  There has been a lot of looking back for me when it comes to my Spiritual life, looking back at my salvation and how I was not looking for the Lord when He saved me.  Looking back is good for my soul as I can be ever more thankful to the Lord for saving me from the life that I was headed into.  I suppose that in some ways that is one reason that I watch each Christmas season “It’s a Wonderful Life.” 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to look back at my life in order to see if I have sinned against the Lord so that I can ask for forgiveness.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Bethlehem” (2 Samuel 23:15).

Today’s Bible question:  “Who led an army of 300 men carrying trumpets, lamps and pitchers?”

Answer in our next SD.

12/30/2018 10:02 AM

PT-1 "Alienation Apart From Christ" from Eph. 2:11-12

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/29/2018 11:22 AM

My Worship Time                                                     Focus: PT-1 “Alienation Apart From Christ”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                              Reference:  Ephesians 2:11-12

            Message of the verses:  “11 Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called "Uncircumcision" by the so-called "Circumcision," which is performed in the flesh by human hands- 12 remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”

            I really can’t speculate how much trouble there is in today’s world as far as having Jewish believers in the church because I have never been in a church where there was a Jewish believer.  I can say that I think that I could really benefit from that situation as the Old Testament was a shadow of what has come when Christ came into the world and therefore if I can look at the shadow I can probably gain from the real thing.  An example of what I am trying to say comes from how the Jewish people celebrate the Passover, and when a believer looks at how they do this it is very revealing on my Christian faith. 

            We have been talking about disunity and also unity in the body of Christ and the biggest thing that caused the disunity in the Christian church when it began was having Gentile believers worshiping in the same church as Jewish believers.  Today it is probably having people of color worshiping with what we call white people.  I can’t help but go back to when I listened to a rather long sermon by Ken Ham as he was explaining where the different people groups came from.  He stated that when God created Adam and Eve that they were probably a bit darken than what we call white people today, but that in their genes would come all the different shades of people we have today.  One of the things that he said that I always remember is that there is only one race on planet earth and that is the human race, and if you go back far enough we are all brothers and sisters for we all came from the family of Adam and Eve and then eventually Noah.  Ok that is enough of this as I want to try and understand the verses that we are looking at today, and it will take a number of Spiritual Diaries to do that.

            I think to better understand this section we have to understand the history of the Jewish people and understand that God called them in order to teach them about who He is.  The church owes a lot to the Jewish people for if it were not for them then we would not have a Savior, for Jesus Christ in the flesh was Jewish.  We would not even have a Bible for all of the books of the Bible were written by Jews.  The problem was that they misunderstood what one of their purposes was and that was to evangelize the nations around them.  They took what God had given them and thought that they were so special that all the peoples around them were less than what they were because of what God had done for them.  I think that this same things happen to the church today as even though people have not done nothing to deserve the salvation that Christ has provided for them that they get puffed up over it and then we end up with division in our churches because of this pride.  Paul is and has been taking the people who he is writing to and trying to show them once again what they were before they became believers, and I think that this is a really good thing for all believers to do, that is look back at what we were before the Spirit of God gave us an effectual call that we could not say no to and thus became believers because of what Christ has done for us.

            At the beginning of the church age there were no Gentiles in it.  When we get to Acts chapter ten we see the first Gentile come to know the Lord and it was Peter who was the one who led him to the Lord.  However Peter had to be taught a lesson and that lesson involved him going into a trance as the Holy Spirit did this to him.  While in that “trance” he saw a sheet filled with animals that Jews were not permitted to eat as it was a part of their law.  Peter was told to eat but he said that he had never did this and would not eat these kinds of animals.  God told him "What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy’ (Acts 10:15).”  The result was that he and some of his friends went to the household of Cornelius and that entire household became believers. 

            In Acts chapter 15 we see a meeting with all of the heads of the church in Jerusalem along with Paul and Barabbas and this was such an important meeting that if the outcome of it would have been different then the church would have stopped to exist.  Paul had been on missionary journeys and led many Gentiles to the Lord, and so some of the Jews said that these Gentiles could not become believers until they became Jews first and then they had to keep the Law before they could be saved.  This of course was not true and so at the end of the meeting there was a letter prepared telling these Gentile believers that they did not have to become Jews and keep the Law.  Peter stated the following near the end of the meeting:  “10 “Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 “But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are."   In the book of Galatians Paul tells how Peter seemed to forget what he had learned and was actually causing a division in the church:  “11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision. 13 The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, "If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews? (Gal. 2:11-14).”  It is not hard to believe these things about Peter as all of us have that old nature or flesh which can cause us to do sinful things.  I am reminded of a verse that I don’t know where it is at in the Bible that God says that we are made from dust and therefore we have a tendency to sin. 

            I want to write a bit about why it was that God made Israel different, that is that there were laws given to them telling then what to eat, and even how to dress, laws that as believers in Jesus Christ we do not have to follow any more.  However nine of the Ten Commandments are repeated in the New Testament so that we are to follow them through the power of the Holy Spirit.  God made them different so that people would see that they were different and have a desire to want to understand who their God was.  I have heard that the Jewish children have to memorize the book of Leviticus and I suppose that man believers do not even read, let alone study the book of Leviticus.   Leviticus shows us that God is holy and that we should realize that we are different, not that different makes us a believer, but that different makes stand out once we become believers so that others will notice us and desire to know our God who made us different.

            This SD is more of an introduction than actually breaking down the verses (Eph. 2:11-12), which we hopefully will get to in our next SD.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am thankful that I am different than what I was before I became a believer.  God did this, and continues to do this as I study His Word, listen to good sound preaching from His Word, and think about His Word.  Something I desire to do more.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to continue to cause me to grow, to continue to give me the desire to grow by staying in His Word.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Paul” (Acts 23:6).

Today’s Bible question:  “Where was the well from which David wanted a drink?”

Answer in our next SD.

12/29/2018 1:08 PM

PT-2 Intro to Eph. 2:11-22

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/28/2018 9:46 AM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  PT-2 Intro to Eph. 2:11-22

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Eph. 2:11-22

            Message of the verses:  “11 Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called "Uncircumcision" by the so-called "Circumcision," which is performed in the flesh by human hands- 12 remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, 15 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, 16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. 17 AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR; 18 for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, 20  having been built on the foundation of the apostles and

prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, 2 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”

            Here are the verses we will be looking at in our next few weeks as we try to understand together “The Unity of the Body.  John MacArthur writes that “Just as the physical body has a common principle of life flowing through it, so does the Body of Christ, His church.  The Spirit of God puts the life of God in the soul of every person who trusts in Jesus Christ and unites that person with every other believer in the same eternal realm.  In the kingdom of Jesus Christ all barriers come down.  In Him there are no walls, no classes, no castes, no races, no gender, no distinction of any sort.”  I suppose the question is why does it not seem that way in our churches around the world today?  I suppose the answer could be sin, the sin nature or flesh is what is causing problems in our churches along with Satan and his demons.

            Paul writes the following to the Corinthians “And, I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to babes in Christ…for you are still fleshly.  For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? (1 Cor. 3:1, 3).”  11 For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. 12 Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, "I am of Paul," and "I of Apollos," and "I of Cephas," and "I of Christ." 13 Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? (1 Cor. 1:11-13).”  I have mentioned about a sermon that I listened to soon after I became a believer in Jesus Christ which was entitled “Becoming What You Are,” and although this sermon focused on individuals, it is also true of church families.  I know that none of us are perfect, but I also know that if we continue to study the Word of God that the Spirit of God can then use the Word of God to change our lives, after all it is living and active and it also is a sharp sword to help make us to become what we are in Jesus Christ. 

            The Spirit of God can use the Word of God to bring peoples together who in the past had been fighting against each other, spilling each other’s blood.  John MacArthur tells the story of how this happened in Africa as several tribes who were gathered together in order to participate in the Lord Supper were not spilling each other’s blood but were remember the blood that the Savior had shed for all of them, and that is what is called unity in the body of Christ.  The apostle James spoke of disunity in his letter stating that when a rich man came into the church that the people made a special place for him, and put the poor people in the back.

            In our next SD, Lord willing, we will begin to dig into these verses to see what the Lord has for us as we look at them.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It is my desire to have fellowship with all believers who come to our church no matter who they are.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust that the Lord will give me wisdom to find out what He wants me to do about the physical problem that I have at this time.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “The coming of the Lord draweth nigh.”

Today’s Bible Question:  “Who said ‘I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question’?”

Answer in our next SD.

12/28/2018 10:17 AM

PT-1 "Intro to 'Unity of the Body'" from Eph. 2:11-22

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/27/2018 10:27 AM

My Worship Time                                                        Focus:  PT-1 “Intro to ‘Unity of the Body’”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                              Reference:  Ephesians 2:11-22

            Message of the verses:  In today’s SD we will be looking at the first part of the introduction to Ephesians 2:11-22 which are the remaining verses in this second chapter of Ephesians.  John MacArthur entitles this seventh chapter of his commentary on Ephesians “The Unity of the Body.”

            As we begin this section I want to talk about barriers, or I suppose another word that can be used is predigest for when a person is predigest against another person or group of people then they will build a wall against that group of people.  As we look at the situation that we see in the Middle East today we can see a good example of this as many of the nations that surround the nation of Israel want to destroy Israel, and the reason is because they hate Israel.  This has been an ongoing problem every since Israel began as a family way back when God called Abram to be the father of Israel.  Abram and his wife Sarah could not have children for a long time and so Sarah talked Abram into having a child with her maid servant whom they had gotten when they went to Egypt, which was something that was displeasing to the Lord.  Sarah did not like the child very much even though according to the times that they lived in was actually her child.  It was probably around 13 years later that Abram and Sarah had their own child, Isaac, and after that Sarah kicked Hagar and Ishmael out of their tent.  God told Hagar that her son Ishmael would begin a nation because he had come from the loins of Abraham.  Just like Jacob Ishmael had 12 sons and these are the ancestors of the Arab nations that hate Israel even to this day.

            I wanted to give this as an example of what we will be studying about as we come to these remaining chapters in this second chapter of Ephesians because it will rear its ugly head as the church begins and Jews and Gentiles will be in the same local churches.

            John MacArthur quotes from Sir Philip Gibbs book “The Cross of Peace” in his commentary:  “The problem of fences has grown to be one of the most acute that the world must face.  Today there are all sorts of zig-zag and criss-crossing fences running through the races and peoples of the world. Modern progress has made the world a neighborhood and God has given us the task of making it a brotherhood.  In these days of dividing walls of race and class we must shake the earth anew with the message of Christ, in whom there is neither bond nor free, Jew nor Greek, Scythian nor Barbarian, but all are one.”

            God has always disliked disunity and although it has been a while ago when we look at the gospel of John we saw that in the 17^th chapter, Jesus Christ’s High Priestly Prayer, that He prayed for unity in that prayer.  “11 "I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.”  “21  that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.”  “22  "The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; 23  I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.”

            As we can see from our Lord’s prayer in John 17 it was His desire for the church to be one, and yet when we look at the church today it may seem that this prayer has not been answered, and yet I think that it has been answered in that once a person becomes a believer that they are one in Christ as Paul spoke of in the first chapter of Ephesians.  I mentioned to the head of our deacon board at the church that I attend that I had begun to pray for our Pastors, deacons, and also for our congregation for unity even though at this time there was no problem with disunity that I could see, and he told me that he also was praying for this so that our church could continue to move forward for the cause of Christ as Jesus was praying for in John 17.  I want to mention one more time that disunity is heartache for God.  Jesus prayer will be answered for the reason that He always prayed according to His Father’s will. 

            We will continue to talk about this subject in our next SD.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Faithfulness” (1 Corinthians 4:2).

Today’s Bible question:  “How soon does James 5:8 indicate the coming of the Lord is?”

Answer in our next SD.

12/27/2018 11:32 AM

PT-2 "Salvation is unto Good Works" from Eph. 2:10

SPIRIRUAL DIARY FOR 12/26/2018 11:22 AM

My Worship Time                                                   Focus: PT-2 “Salvation Is Unto Good Works”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Ephesians 2:10

            Message of the verses:  “10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

            It is the same power that “created us in Christ Jesus” that empowers us to do the “good works” for which He has redeemed us.  In the book of James we see a very controversial verse if you don’t really understand it, and if you take the time to compare it with this verse.  “14 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? (James 2:14).”  What James is saying here is the same thing that Paul is saying and that is that good works verify that you are truly saved, your works do not save you but they verify that you are a true believer.  John MacArthur writes “Righteous attitudes and righteous acts proceed from the transformed life no living in the heavenlies.  To the Corinthians Paul said there was in them ‘an abundance for every good deed’ (2 Cor. 9:8).  To Timothy he instructed that the believer is ‘equipped for every good work’ (2 Tim. 3:17).  Christ died to bring to Himself a people ‘zealous for good deeds’ (Titus 2:14).  Even this is the work of God, as Paul says: While you ‘work out your salvation…it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure’ (Phil. 2:12-13).”

            We have spoken about the fact that Paul is writing to believers who have been saved for a long time, and is explaining to them what happened to them once they were saved, and not showing them how to be saved, and this is important for us to remember.  “Just as they already had been given everything necessary for salvation, they also had been given everything necessary for faithfully living the saved life” writes John MacArthur.  I have come to the conclusion a number of years ago that when we read the last portion of verse ten “which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” that this has to do with how we get rewards in heaven.  It is my belief that God has given every believe works to do in eternity past, just as He chose people for salvation in eternity past and once a person is saved then he will begin to do those works that God prepared for him to do, and if one is living in the Spirit and praying that God will show them what He wants them to do then they will be doing the good works that God prepared for them in eternity past and thus receive rewards for doing these good works.  It is all about God and our obeying Him as we do the works that He has prepared for us to do.

            John MacArthur writes “It is from poiema (Workmanship) that we get poem, a piece of literary workmanship.  Before time began God desgned us to be conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:29).  Paul could therefore say to the Philippians, ‘For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus’ (1:6).”

            The story goes of a Sunday school teacher who taught young boys and girls and one of the students gave this lady a difficult time and so the teacher as the young man if he knew who made him, and his reply was that he knew who made him but He was not done with him yet.  This is true of every believer, as we are like uncut diamonds that as we live our Christian life we are being cut into the image of our Savior Jesus Christ.  Sometimes this seems very painful.

            I will conclude with a story from MacArthur’s commentary something that I have heard before, but worth repeating on this SD.  “A famous actor was once the guest of honor at a social gathering where he received many requests to recite favorite experts from various literary works.  An old preacher who happened to be there asked the actor to recite the Twenty-third Psalm.  The actor agreed on the condition that the preacher would also recite it. The actor’s recitation was beautifully intoned with great dramatic emphasis, for which he received lengthy applause. The preacher’s voice was rough and broken from many years of preaching, and his diction was anything but polished.  But when he finished there was not a dry eye in the room.  When someone asked the actor what made the difference, he replied, ‘I know the psalm, but he knows the Shepherd.’ 

            “Salvation does not come from knowing about the truth of Jesus Christ but from intimately knowing Christ Himself.  This coming alive can accomplish by the power of God because of His love and mercy.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It is my desire to obey what verse ten has taught me and that is to do the works that God has prepared for me in eternity past in order to bring glory to my Lord Jesus Christ.

Answer to our last Bible question:  “No” (2 Kings 5:11-12).

Today’s Bible question:  “What is the major requirement of a steward?”

Answer in our next SD.

12/26/2018 12:04 PM

Merry Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS

                I promised yesterday to write a Christmas greeting on my blog on Christmas Day.

            What I have today about Christmas has probably already been said before, well at least some of it, but if that is the case then I will say it again.  Christmas, to me, holds mixed feelings in my mind.  I am not one who likes going all out on buying presents just because it is Christmas, but want to remember what Christmas is suppose to be all about.  Now we know that Jesus Christ was probably not born on the 25^th of December, but we do know that He was born, and probably born in the winter months, and I do not know exactly know how the 25^th of December came about as the day we celebrate Christmas.  I suppose a little digging on the internet would answer that question, but I probably will not do that.  Like I say the important thing is that Jesus Christ was born into the world and the first prophecy of Him coming into the world goes all the way back to the book of Genesis, and right after Adam and Eve sinned we read “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel."”  God is speaking of Satan in this passage and also He is saying that there will be war between Satan and the offspring of the woman.  “I’m declaring war between you and the Woman, between your offspring and hers. He’ll wound your head, you’ll wound his heel." (Message)” We see in the NASB that God speaks of the “seed of the woman,” and this is the only time we see this in the Word of God.  The seed comes through the man, but there were three differences in the Scriptures when this did not happen that way.  First God created Adam out of the earth, and then God created woman out of Adam’s rib, and then we read that Mary became pregnant through the Holy Spirit and this is where we get the seed of the woman as involved in the birth of Jesus Christ.

            Now as we read through the Old Testament we see how the Lord narrows down the line in which the Messiah would come from.  In the book of Matthew we see the bloodline of Jesus through Joseph, and in Luke’s gospel we see the bloodline of Jesus through Mary.  Both Joseph and Mary were descendants of David, but Mary came through the line of Nathan while Joseph came through Solomon.  Luke’s line of Jesus goes all the way back to God, while Matthew’s line only goes back to Abraham.  One of the kings of Judah, Jeconiah had a curse against him and so his line could not be in the line of the Messiah to be King.  As I said Mary came through the line of Nathan, Luke 3:31 “the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David,.”   Joseph also came from the line of David and even though Jeconiah was in his line this did not permit Jesus from being the Messiah for He was not born of Joseph but of the Holy Spirit and Mary.

            Now as far as the place where Jesus was born and who was there when He was born, it is not like the nativity scenes we see in people’s yards or in their houses.  I read a historic novel a few years ago and the author incorporated into the birth of Jesus a place called Midgal Eder and this place is mentioned in the book of Micah 4:8 where we read “8 "As for you, tower of the flock, Hill of the daughter of Zion, To you it will come-Even the former dominion will come, The kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.”  The words “tower of the flock” in the Hebrew is Midgal Eder, and this place was near Bethlehem on the way to Jerusalem and is where the lambs were born who would go to the temple and used for sacrifices.  There was a cave there and many believe that Jesus was born in that cave where these sacrificial lambs were born.  When you think about this it all makes perfect sense.  Now as far as who was there we know that Joseph, Mary, Jesus and later on the shepherds came, but as far as the wise men they did not come and see Jesus until he was close to two years old.  They probably came from what was once Babylon and they probably got their information from Daniel who prophesied in his book of the time when the Messiah would die and so they would know when it would be near time for Him to be born and looked for Him following a star.  They first came to see Herod and asked him where the Messiah would be born and then went to find Him, giving gifts to Him and were then told in a dream not to go back to tell Herod.  Herod then had all male boys from the age of two years old and younger killed as was prophesied by Jeremiah. 

            Okay so the story of Jesus’ birth is probably much different than what we use to celebrate it in our world today as I tried to bring out, but the point of all of this is that God was in total control of all the things which would bring His Son into the world to fulfill what His plans were for Him to accomplish, and He accomplished all of them, and we can praise the Lord on this Christmas Day that He did accomplish all of them.  Jesus told His mother while in the temple that He came to do His Father’s will and at the end of His life, while hanging on a cross He said “It is finished.”  What was finished was His becoming sin for us so that we could receive His righteousness and have it credited to our account so that when the Father looks at those who have received this free gift of salvation He will see Jesus Christ and not our sinfulness.

            The all time very best gift a person can receive on Christmas Day or any other day is to receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, to confess that they are a sinner in need of a Savior and find out that Jesus paid it all, and receive Him as Savior and Lord.

            Merry Christmas to all!

I, Jacob Howard, wrote Dr. Charlie Dyer, who is the speaker on the Land and the Book Radio, a question about Migdal-Eder, mentioned in Micah 4:8. This was Dr. Dyer’s response.

Jacob,

Thank you for your e-mail, and thanks as well for your kind words! Denny and I both appreciate the privilege God has given us to serve Him in this way. You have encouraged us both!

As far as Midgal Eder is concerned, there is no universal identification of the site. But I do believe it was a real site. The best thing I’ve read on the subject is from Alfred Edersheim’s The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. (You can find his complete work online at Google Books.) I’ll include his quotation here, and then I’ll follow it with a few observations. (I’ll also highlight the key point he makes in the quote.)

But as we pass from the sacred gloom of the cave [i.e., he was just talking about the birth of Jesus in a cave] out into the night, its sky all aglow with starry brightness, its loneliness is peopled, and its silence made vocal from heaven. There is nothing now to conceal, but much to reveal, though the manner of it would seem strangely incongruous to Jewish thinking. And yet Jewish tradition may here prove both illustrative and helpful. That the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem, was a settled conviction. Equally so was the belief, that He was to be revealed from Migdal Eder, “the tower of the flock.” This Migdal Eder was not the watchtower for the ordinary flocks which pastured on the barren sheep ground beyond Bethlehem, but lay close to the town, on the road to Jerusalem. A passage in the Mishnah leads to the conclusion, that the flocks, which pastured there, were destined for Temple-sacrifices, and, accordingly, that the shepherds, who watched over them, were not ordinary shepherds. The latter were under the ban of Rabbinism, on account of their necessary isolation from religious ordinances, and their manner of life, which rendered strict legal observance unlikely, if not absolutely impossible. The same Mishnaic passage also leads us to infer, that these flocks lay out all the year round, since they are spoken of as in the fields thirty days before the Passover—that is, in the month of February, when in Palestine the average rainfall is nearly greatest. Thus, Jewish tradition in some dim manner apprehended the first revelation of the Messiah from that Migdal Eder, where shepherds watched the Temple-flocks all the year round. Of the deep symbolic significance of such a coincidence, it is needless to speak.

—Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, pp. 186-87

If Edersheim is correct (and I believe he is), the location for Migdal Eder would be north of Bethlehem and near the old road from Bethlehem to Jerusalem. (That road is the old “Hebron road” one drives on between Jerusalem and Bethlehem today!) I believe this puts the location  somewhere between the Jewish kibbutz of Ramat Rachel and Bethlehem, probably just to the west of Har Homa. There used to be an actual sheepfold in this area where I would take our groups but, sadly, it has been covered over by the modern road that now goes to Har Homa.

A key point here. Edersheim indicates that Migdal Eder was an actual spot, but he is not saying it was a town or village. Rather, the name means “watchtower of the flock” which seems to identify it as a specific pasture area for sheep. And the sheep that grazed here were those specifically destined for Temple sacrifice. In that sense the shepherds keeping watch over the temple sacrifices were the ones to whom God announced the birth of the ultimate “sacrificial lamb.”

I’m attaching a screen shot from Google Earth that might be of help in identifying the location for Midgal Eder. Note that Ramat Rachel is at the top of the picture and Bethlehem is at the bottom. The road running along the left side of the picture is the old Hebron Road, and Homat Shemu’el/Har Homa is just to the right of center in the picture. Based on Edersheim’s description, I would place Migdal Eder almost in the center of the picture…north of Bethlehem, just to the west of Har Homa, and east of the road from Bethlehem to Jerusalem. Since the word means “tower of the flock” it is likely a high spot in this area where sheep would graze. The hills right around (or right at) Har Homa are probably the best possible location.

I hope this is helpful!

Charlie

PT-1 "Salvation is unto Good Works" From Eph. 2:10

Spiritual Diary for 12/24/2018 4:45 PM

My Worship Time                                                        Focus:  PT- Salvation is Unto Good Works

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Eph. 2:10

            Message of the verses:  “10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

            I have said that I have many favorite verses, and Ephesians 2:10 ranks up there with my all time favorite verses in the Scriptures.  What I like about it is that in verses 8-10 we see that he horse is in front of the cart.  We are saved by grace through faith and not because of good works, but once we are saved we are then able to do good works for the cause of Christ.  Good works causes us to live out our own salvation as Paul said in Philippians “2:12-13  So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” Jesus spoke the following in John 15:8 “"By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.”  John MacArthur writes “When God’s people do good deeds they bear fruit for His kingdom and bring glory to His name.” 

            The word “works” is found 125 Times in the Word of God, and work is found 355 times in the Word of God, so we can conclude that the Bible has much to say about works.  One of the same it speaks of is the works of the law, which are good but cannot saves a person as found in Galatians 2:16 “nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.”  In Hebrews 6:1 we see that the Bible speaks of dead works “Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God.”  The Bible also talks of works, or deeds of darkness that are of the flesh and all of these are evil as seen in the following verses:  (Rom. 13:12; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 5:11).  Everyone of these kinds of works are done in man’s own strength.

            I will conclude with another quote from John MacArthur and then look at John 15:1-8 as I conclude this SD.  Another thing to mention is that I have been putting a Christmas message onto my Blogs for the last several years and so that will be what goes on here for tomorrow, Lord willing, and then I desire to finish the commentary on Ephesians 2:10 the following day.  Thanks for your patience.

            “Before we can do any good work for the Lord, He has to do His good work in us.  By God’s grace, make effective through our faith, we become ‘His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.’  God has ordained that we then live lives of good works, works done in the power and for His glory.”

“1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. 3 “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 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. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. 6 “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. 7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My

disciples.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “John.”

Today’s Bible question:  “Did Naaman think it was a good idea to wash in the Jordan River?”

Answer in our next SD.

12/24/2018 5:18 PM

PT-2 "Salvation is through Faith" from Eph. 2:8-9

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/23/2018 10:39 PM

My Worship Time                                                           Focus:  PT-2 Salvation is Through Faith”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Ephesians 2:8-9

            Message of the verses:  “8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

            We all live to a certain to agree by faith each day whether believer or unbeliever.  When we drive over a bridge in our car we trust that the people who made the bridge made it safe and when we go out to eat we trust that the food we eat will not cause us to become sick or worse.  A thing like this causes us to demonstrate faith.

            Being a member of a certain church, or being baptized, or confirmation, or even giving to charity and also being a good neighbor have no power to bring salvation, not even taking communion or trying to keep the Ten Commandments, or even trying to live by the Sermon on the Mount cannot bring salvation to us.  The only thing a person can do that will have any part in salvation is to exercise faith in what Jesus Christ do for you.

            John MacArthur writes “When we accept the finished work of Christ on our behalf, we act by the ‘faith’ supplied by God’s ‘grace.’  That is the supreme act of human faith, the act which, though is ours, is primarily God’s—His gift to us out of His ‘grace.’  When a person chokes or drowns and stops breathing, there is nothing he can do.  If he ever breathes again it will be because someone else starts him breathing.  A person who is spiritually dead cannot even make a decision of faith unless God first breathes into him the breath of spiritual life.  ‘Faith’ is simply breathing the breath that God’s ‘grace’ supplies.  Yet, the paradox is that we must exercise it and bear the responsibility if we do not (cf. John 5:40.)”  “And you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.”

            We can be sure that human effort has nothing to do with Salvation “because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin (Rom. 3:20).”  “nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified (Gal. 2:16).”  So since this the truth we can be sure that what Paul wrote in Eph. 2:9 “not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  He says this because we have no part in it and if we did then we could boast, but we don’t. 

            Now we cannot boast about doing something to earn salvation, but there are good works involved and we will look at this in our next SD.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “John the Baptist” (Matthew 3:1-3).

Today’s Bible question:  “Which Gospel is called ‘the Spiritual Gospel’ and ‘The Gospel of the Church’?”  Answer in our next SD  12/23/2018 11:00 PM