PT-1 "The Reminder" (Col. 3:1a)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/7/2017 11:29 PM

My Worship Time                                                                             Focus:  PT-1 “The Reminder”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Colossians 3:1a

            Message of the verse:  “If then you have been raised up with Christ”

            Paul is not asking a question here as the “if” should be translated as “since” making this a statement or a reminder that they had been raised up with Christ at the point when they became believers.  There is no doubt that this happened to them.  John MacArthur writes that the verb actually means ‘to be co-resurrected,’ so there is no doubt that this happened to them and of course this is a very important statement, not only for the Colossians but for all true believers in Jesus Christ as we have been co-resurrected with Him.

            Let us take a look at Galatians 2:20 another very important verse:  “"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”  So as we look at this verse we know that we have entered into Christ’s death and also His resurrection as God has seen all true believers do this when Christ died and then was resurrected from the dead.  Baptism is a picture of this truth, but spiritual and physical water baptism, as the water baptism pictures this spiritual baptism which places us into the body of Christ as we become a part of the catholic church, catholic meaning all believers.  Once a person has been born-again and become a part of the entire church family then they are to then be baptized in order to become a part of the local church.  Let us look at Romans 6:3-4 which teaches the same thing as Galatians 2:20 “3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”  Now as mentioned earlier this baptism is not water baptism but spiritual baptism.

            John MacArthur writes about what it means to have eternal life because of what Christ has done for us:  “By saving faith they [believers] have entered into a new dimension.  They possess divine and eternal life, which is not merely endless existence, but a heavenly quality of life brought to them by the indwelling Lord.  They are thus alive in Christ to the realities of the divine realm.

            “Consequently, Christians have an obligation to live consistently with those realities.  Paul delineates the specifics of that obligation in Romans 6:11-19,” and with that quote we will end the Spiritual Diary.

“11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, 13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. 15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! 16 Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.”

4/7/2017 11:49 PM

PT-2 "Christ's Supreme Courage" (John 18:1-4a)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/7/2017 7:52 AM

My Worship Time                                                         Focus:  PT-2 “Christ’s Supreme Courage”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  John 18:1-4a

            Message of the verses:  “1 When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the ravine of the Kidron, where there was a garden, in which He entered with His disciples. 2 Now Judas also, who was betraying Him, knew the place, for Jesus had often met there with His disciples. 3 Judas then, having received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. 4 So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth.”

            I mentioned in our last SD that it was Jesus who was in control of what was about to happen to Him, and not Judas or Satan, or the Pharisees, for Jesus came to earth to die, and He was in control of when and where and how He would die.  Many of us have read this story of the Passion of Christ and perhaps have not realized this fact that it was Jesus who was in control of all these events.  Remember in John 17:1 where we discussed Jesus’ prayer to the Father and He said “the hour has come.”  We spoke about what this meant, was in fact planned from eternity past for the Father to give the Son a bride as a love gift.  We spoke about how this time was pictured in the Jewish marriage ceremony and on October 26, 2015 I quoted from the commentary of John MacArthur on Revelation 21:2 the following ““The city is pictured as a bride because it contains the bride and takes on her character.  The imagery is drawn from a Jewish wedding, which typically had three parts.  First was the betrothal, which was like a modern engagement, but more legally binding.  The betrothal of the Lord’s bride took place in eternity past when God pledged to His Son a redeemed people.  The next stage was the presentation, a time of celebration and feasting leading up to the actual wedding ceremony.  The presentation of the bride took place following the Rapture of the church, when believers are taken to heaven.  The third stage was the ceremony, which for the Lord’s bride began at the marriage supper of the Lamb (19:7-9) and stretched through the millennial kingdom.  The final stage was the consummation, which corresponds to the eternal state.  John saw the bride adorned for her husband because it was time for the consummation.  Adorned is from the verb kosmos (‘to order,’ or ‘to arrange’); the related noun kosmos (translated ‘adornment’ in 1 Peter. 3:3) is the root of the English word ‘cosmetics.’  The bride has become appropriately ordered in all her beauty.  By this point in Revelation, the bride concept expands to include not only the church (as it has since Acts 2), but also all the rest of the redeemed from all the ages who live forever in the eternal city.  This is the moment described by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:28: ‘When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.”

            This is important for us to know because as we begin to look at the events that unfold in chapters 18-19 we see that Jesus Christ came to purchase His bride by dying on the cross in order to redeem His bride out of the slave market of sin and nothing was going to stop Him from fulfilling this which as stated was planned in eternity past.  Jesus was the One who planned His arrest to take place in this rather remote place and at this exact time.  Why? Well the Jewish leaders were afraid of having Jesus arrested during the feast time because of the crowds.  Jesus had just prayed for His disciples that none of them would be harmed and if this took place at another time, in a more public place then Jesus and His disciples would all be arrested and this was not going to happen.  Another thing is the timing of all of this as we spoke of earlier Jesus had to die at the exact time when the Passover lambs were killed as He was and is our Passover lamb as Paul explains.  “1Co 5:7 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.”

            Once more the point I am making is that it was our Lord who was in control of all that was going on, which is a very important point for us to believe and understand.

            As we move on in the passages we are looking at we see the following “Judas then, having received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees.”  Well this could have been as many as a total of 1000 men who came to arrest one Man, and I am not going to go into the details of how this number came about but let us just say that there were hundreds of men, led by Judas to come and arrest Jesus.  We also read that they came with lanterns and torches, along with weapons to seize Jesus.  John MacArthur points out that there would have been a full moon at this time, for remember that the Jewish calendar was a lunar calendar so this was very predictable.  Now as we look at “Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth,” and knowing that we know that He knew what was going to happen to Him we get a climes of what our focus is on for these verses which is the “Christ’s Supreme Courage.”  Yes Jesus was 100% God and Man and yet as we look at Luke’s account of His prayer in Gethsemane we see that He was sweating great drops of blood, so we can see from that the stress that He was going through.  A number of years ago I spoke at a men’s Bible subject on this subject of Jesus sweating great drops of blood noting that Jesus went through stress and as I was thinking about this the Lord seemed to direct me to Philippians 4:6-7 “6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  It seems to me that this is exactly what Jesus did during that awful night when He was about to die. 

            John MacArthur writes “Though the apostle John does not record it, Judas, in history’s most cynical act of hypocrisy, brazenly approached Jesus and kissed Him (Matt. 26:49; Mark 14:45; Luke 22:47)—the prearranged signal by which he would point Him out (Mar, 14:44).  Nothing more clearly symbolizes the depravity of his heart and the depth of his sin than Judas’s using a disciple’s kiss as a traitor’s sign.

            In addition to being a recognized gesture of respect and affection, this kind of kiss was a sign of homage in that culture.  Of the varieties of the kiss (feet, hand, head, then on the garment), Judas chose the one that declared the deepest homage and love.  The kiss on the cheek with an embrace was appropriate for an intimate friend.  Thus the treachery of Judas is the most despicable.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  “1Jo 4:19 Yes, we love because he first loved us.”  Jesus first loved me so that I could love Him, for I could not love Him if He had not died for me to take away my sin, and yet there are times when I betray Him like Judas did and this is most hurtful to my heart when I do this.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Remember the great courage that Jesus had in dying for me as He not only died for me but He became sin for me and was separated from His Father for me.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “With blindness” (2 Kings 6:14-18).

Today’s Bible question:  “Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn’ was spoken for whose sake?”

Answer in our next SD.

4/7/2017 9:08 AM

 

 

Intro to Colossians 3:1-4

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/6/2017 11:17 PM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Intro to Colossians 3:1-4

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Colossians 3:1-4

            Message of the verses:  “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 the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”

            John MacArthur entitles this chapter in his commentary on Colossians “Living the Risen Life.”  These are very important verse from the Word of God and as we look at the reason that Paul wrote them to the Colossians church we will find out that they indeed are necessary for us to walk with Christ in our lives today.

            We have been studying the book of John in my morning devotions and lately we spent close to two months looking at the 17^th chapter of John’s gospel, a chapter that is called “Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer,” and in that chapter we see the word world mentioned eighteen times, and in some of those times it is mentioned Jesus is praying for His disciples, and later on for us to go into the world to spread the good news, but not to be affected by the world system.  The Great Commission found in the 28^th chapter of Matthew says the same thing, believers going out into the world to preach the gospel.

            The thing about this is that if Christian are to reach the world then they cannot be of the world and this I realize is a paradox, but true.  Jesus Christ was certainly the best example of being in the world but not being of the world as it was impossible for Him to do that since it was impossible for Him to sin, and being attracted to the things of this world system is sinful as John points out “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. 17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever (1 John 2:15-17).”

            Our citizenship (believer’s citizenship) is not on this earth, but is in heaven.  We are actually aliens on this earth and our Lord Jesus Christ, our Head is in heaven praying for us as our High Priest, so we are to always answer to Him.

            John MacArthur concludes his introduction with the following, which will also give us an outline of where we will be going with these verses:

“It is only when we rise above the world that we can both appreciate the appalling spiritual poverty in which most people live and learn to fix our minds on heavenly realities.  Our blessings are in heaven (Eph. 1:3); the angels are there (Eph. 3:10); Christ is there (Eph. 1:20); and we, through our union with Him in His resurrection, exist in the heavenly the heavenly realm (Eph. 2:6).  Because the things most important to us are in heaven, we must not be entangled in this present world.  All those Scriptures provide the backdrop for Paul’s message in 3:1-4 as he moves to the practical side of the epistle.  He begins by calling the readers to that preoccupation with heavenly reality that is the hallmark of true spirituality, and the starting point of practical holiness.  Five features will help unfold the power of heavenly living on earth:  the reminder, the responsibility, the resource, the reason, and the revelation.”

4/6/2017 11:41 PM

PT-1 "Christ's Supreme Courage" (John 18:1-4a)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/6/2017 11:52 AM

My Worship Time                                                         Focus:  PT-1 “Christ’s Supreme Courage”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  John 18:1-4a

            Message of the verses:  “1 When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the ravine of the Kidron, where there was a garden, in which He entered with His disciples. 2 Now Judas also, who was betraying Him, knew the place, for Jesus had often met there with His disciples. 3 Judas then, having received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. 4 So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth.”

            We have talked before how that John’s gospel is different than the other three gospels, and I am not saying that because it is different that it contrary to the things that are in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.  Let us look once again at the theme of John’s gospel “30 Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.”  We have to keep reminding ourselves of the reason why John wrote this gospel to help us understand the different sections of it when we get to it and as we begin chapter eighteen we are moving into a different section which will end with the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord.  Make no mistake our Lord was in control of all that is going to happen to Him and as we look at these verses we will better understand it, as this is very important for us to understand.  Jesus did not die as a martyr so that people would feel sorry for Him, Jesus died, in the words of Peter “this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death (Acts 2:23).”  Now you may ask if this was the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God how can those who caused this to happen be blamed.  All who were involved in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ desired to do what they did, they wanted to do it and so they will be punished for their sin of doing this.  Once again I have to look at Deuteronomy 29:29 when I come to situations like this “"The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.”  We cannot understand everything that God does, nor should we be able to understand everything He does.  John MacArthur stated in one of the sermons that I listened to that trying to figure things like this up will have cause you to lie down under the pew reciting the Greek alphabet.

            “Jesus went forth with His disciples,” MacArthur writes “The point made here is not that they left the upper room, but that they left Jerusalem.  They had already abandoned the upper room, so that the last part of Jesus’ farewell discourse, and His High Priestly Prayer, took place as He and the disciples passed through the streets of Jerusalem.”   John 14:31b states “let us go from here.”  This statement speaks of Jesus and His disciples leaving the upper room on their way through Jerusalem towards Gethsemane.

            Jesus and His disciples would leave Jerusalem on their way to the Mount of Olives and on their way there they would have to cross “over the ravine of the Kidron,” and as they moved this way they would cross over a “wadi” which was where the blood from all of the sacrificed lambs flowed out of the temple where they were sacrificed.  Can you imagine what our Lord may have been thinking about when He crossed over that wadi?  John MacArthur writes the following on the history of the Kidron Valley as it “had been part of another scene of betrayal and treachery, as David fled Jerusalem after Absalon’s rebellion (2 Sam. 15:23).  Asa (1 Kings 15:13), Josiah (2 Kings 23:4-12), and Hezekiah (2 Chron. 29:16; 30:14) had burned idols there in connection with their reforms.”

            John does not mention the place where Jesus was headed for, but Matthew and Mark call it Gethsemane, and this name actually means “oil press,” which suggests that it was an oil orchard, and these orchards were very common on the Mount of Olives.  The rich of Jerusalem would have their orchards there because they did not have the room in the city to plant an orchard.  Gethsemane’s meaning “oil press” was fitting to what happened to our Lord there, but because this presented His humanity John does not mention it.  Jesus would spend time here in prayer to His Father and Judas knew this place very well as “Jesus had often met there with His disciples.”  We will pick up here in our next SD.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  These have always been difficult passages for me to read and in this case study because of knowing what would happen to my Lord, and yet I know that this was in the plan of God to happen and for that I am thankful, knowing that this would be the only way that I could ever have a right relationship with the Lord.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust that the Lord will teach me the things that will bring honor and glory to Him.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “2 Samuel” (21:20).

Today’s Bible question:  “When the Syrian army surrounded the place where Elisha was, how did the Lord smite them?”

Answer in our next SD.

4/6/2017 12:38 PM

 

PT-3 "Asceticism" (Col. 2:20-23)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/5/2017 11:37 PM

My Worship Time                                                                                  Focus:  PT-3 “Asceticism”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Col. 2:20-23

            Message of the verses:  “20 If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, 21 “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!" 22 (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)-in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? 23 These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.”

            We want to finish up looking at these verses which speak of asceticism which means one who lives a life of rigorous self-denial.

            Asceticism is something that can be described a useless as it focuses attention on “things destined to perish with the using,” as described in verse 22.  Paul finishes verse twenty-two by writing in accordance with the commandment and teachings of men.”  There is no spiritual value in keeping the commandments and teachings of men because they are just commandments from men.

            Asceticism is impotent as we see in verse 23 for it has “the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body”, but it is “of no value against fleshly indulgence.”  The ones who practice it may seem like they are spiritual in their appearance because of their emphasis of humility and poverty, however it serves only to gratify the flesh.  Things have to be done for the glory of God, and not according to the flesh.  In Matthew 6:16-18 we see that Jesus warned His disciples against asceticism:  “16 "Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 17 "But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face 18 so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”  This perfectly describes what believers are not to do, and also what they should do.

            John MacArthur quotes a nineteenth century Scottish preacher, Alexander Maclaren who wrote “Any asceticism is a great deal more to men’s taste than abandoning self.  They will rather stick hooks in their backs and do the ‘swinging poojah’ than give up their sins and yield up their wills.  There is only one thing that will put the collar on the neck of the animal within us and that is the power of the indwelling Christ.  Ascetic religion is godless, for its practitioners essentially worship themselves.  As such, we are not to be intimidated by it.”   

            Now as we look at these warnings that Paul gave to those in the Colossian church, he is also giving us the same warning.  We have to guard against trying to do things on our own and not do them in the power of the Spirit so that Jesus Christ will be glorified.

We will begin to look at Colossians 3:1-4 in our next SD.

4/5/2017 11:58 PM

Intro to John 18:1-11

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/5/2017 8:33 AM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Intro to John 18:1-11

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  John 18:1-11

            Message of the verses:  “1 When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the ravine of the Kidron, where there was a garden, in which He entered with His disciples. 2 Now Judas also, who was betraying Him, knew the place, for Jesus had often met there with His disciples. 3 Judas then, having received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. 4 So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, "Whom do you seek?" 5 They answered Him, "Jesus the Nazarene." He said to them, "I am He." And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them. 6 So when He said to them, "I am He," they drew back and fell to the ground. 7 Therefore He again asked them, "Whom do you seek?" And they said, "Jesus the Nazarene." 8 Jesus answered, "I told you that I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their way," 9 to fulfill the word which He spoke, "Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one." 10 Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus. 11 So Jesus said to Peter, "Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?"”

            I really don’t want to jump into the end part of these verses, but the highlighted portion of these verses seem to speak to my heart this morning.  Jesus’ prayer was answered by the Father a prayer that He prayed asking that all that the Father had given to Him would not be lost.  Judas was not given to Christ!  I believe that we can conclude that in eternity past God chose many for salvation and all that He chose He gave to His Son as a love gift and everyone of those that He gave to His Son, none of them will be lost as we read at the end of verse nine.

            As we begin to look at these verses we have to understand that what happened to Jesus Christ at this time of His life on earth as well as all of His time on earth was exactly carried out in the divine plan of God.  Remember when we began our study of John 17 and we read as Jesus began His prayer to the Father "Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You.”  The death of Jesus Christ was planned in eternity past and was foretold also in certain OT passages like the 22^nd Psalm, the 53^rd chapter of Isaiah and in Daniel 9: 26 “Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing,” and the words “cut off” means that He would die.  People try and say that because He died that things went terribly wrong for Him, but don’t believe this as all things went exactly the way that they were planned in eternity past.

            John MacArthur writes “In keeping with his purpose of portraying Jesus as the incarnate Son of God (20:31), John depicts His majesty and glory—even as He is betrayed and arrested to be executed.  The apostle skillfully demonstrates that the shameful, debasing things done to Christ failed to detract from His person, but rather offered decisive proof of His glory.  B. F. Westcott observes,

‘In comparing the narrative of St. John with the parallel narratives of the Synoptists, it must be observed generally that here, as everywhere, St. John fixes the attention of the reader upon the ideas which the several events bring out and illustrate.  The Passion and Resurrection are for him revelations of the Person of Christ.  The objective fact is a ‘sign’ of something which lies deeper…It [the account of the Passion and Resurrection] is…like the rest of the Gospel, an interpretation of the inner meaning of the history which it contains.’  

“Thus unlike Matthew, Mark, and Luke, John makes no mention of Jesus’ agonized prayer to the Father  (cf. Matt. 26:39; Mark 14:36; Luke 22:42-44).  John’s different emphasis does not contradict the picture of Christ given in the other gospels, but supplements it.

            “In his account of Christ’s betrayal and arrest, John presents four preeminent features that demonstrate His majesty and glory:  His supreme courage, power, love and obedience.”

            This last short paragraph gives us the outline that we will follow as we look closely at these verses in this 18^th chapter of John.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Witch of Endor” (1 Samuel 28:7-8).

Today’s Bible question:  “Which book records a man with twelve fingers and twelve toes?”

Answer in our next SD.

4/5/2017 9:09 AM     

PT-2 "Asceticism" (Col. 2:20-23)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/4/2017 11:31 PM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  PT-2 “Asceticism”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Colossians 2:20-23

            Message of the verses:  “20 If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, 21 “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!" 22 (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)-in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? 23 These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.”

            First thing we want to do here is get some info from Dr. Warren Wiersbe and then we will get a quote from John MacArthur that I’m sure that you will agree is very unusual to say the least.

            In Wiersbe’s commentary he states that the first thing we need to understand about these rules that these false teachers are bringing up did not come from God.  1 Timothy 6:17 states “Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.”  Now when I listened to a sermon from John MacArthur on this subject he stated that there were people in the Roman Catholic church that would wear something around their mid-section that had things like nails in it which he wore to bring about holiness in his life.  When you compare that with this verse in 1 Timothy you know that that is not necessary. 

            Dr. Wiersbe says that “The commandments and doctrines of the false teachers replaced the inspired Word of God (see Mark 7:6-9).  The doctrines were what the false teachers believed; the commandments were the regulations they gave in applying their doctrines to practical daily life.”  Now we have mentioned many times that the theme of the letter to the Colossians was the completeness of Jesus Christ as He has provided salvation, sanctification, and victory for all believers and nothing needs to be added to it.  I am not saying that people have not suffered for the cause of Christ because many have given up the ultimate sacrifice, but this was in the will of God for them and they did not do it to add holiness to them for that came from Christ.

            Dr. Wiersbe concludes his comments concerning verse 21 “Many of us are quick to criticize the ancient monks, the Oriental mystics, and the Hindu or Muslim fakirs; but we fail to see this same error in our own churches.  While there are automatic connections between physical discipline and health, there is no connection between such discipline and holiness.  If we deliberately abstain from some food or drink to keep from hurting a weaker Christian (Rom. 14:13ff), that is one thing.  But we must not say that our abstinence makes us more spiritual than another brother who partakes of that food and gives thanks to God (Rom. 14:6).”

            Now I want to give this interesting quote from John MacArthur to end up this SD.

“As already noted, the false teachers taught a form of philosophical dualism.  They practiced asceticism in an attempt to free the spirit from the prison of the body.

“The view that the body was evil eventually found its way into the church.  According to the church Father Athanasius, Anthony, the founder of Christian monasticism, never changed his vest or washed his feet (Life of Anthony, para 47).  He was outdone, however, by Simeon Stylites (c. 390-459), who sent the last thirty-six years of his life atop a fifty-foot pillar.  Simeon mistakenly though the path to spirituality lay in exposing his body to the elements and withdrawing from the world.  Their feasts have been emulated by monks throughout church history.  Even Martin Luther, before discovering the truth of justification by faith, nearly wrecked his health through asceticism.”

            All I can say about things like these is that I am thankful that the Spirit of God, through the Word of God, and through many spiritual leaders in my life have taught me the truth, the truth that I am complete in Christ, and for that I am thankful.  Who would want to spend their life on top of a pillar?  I assure you that would not be something I would want to do to obtain holiness when Christ has provided it already for me.

4/5/2017 12:00 AM