The Carpenter's Chapel (5)

[Watchman]

Saturday December 4, 2004

“That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.” (John 5:23)

What we have here speaks of the absolutely essential Christian doctrine:
The Divinity of Christ. The key words in our text here is the words, "just as." What the Lord Jesus is saying here is crystal clear, and it would be dreadful blasphemy; If it were not true. Everyone is to honor Him "just as" they are to honor the Father.
The cults and false religions adamantly deny the divinity of Christ; even going so far as to say that Jesus never claimed to be God. Considering everything He said of Himself, one can only conclude that those who say such things are willfully ignorant.
"I and My Father are one." (John 10:30)
Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? (John 14:9)
Not only does He speak of His divinity in these, and many other passages, He speaks clearly of His divinity when He uses the term, "I AM'" in speaking of Himself. To get the full significance of this term, we must look at the first use of "I AM."
And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. (Exo. 3:14)

The One who spoke to Moses at the burning bush, and delivered Israel out of bondage in Egypt by many miraculous signs and wonders; cannot be separated from the One who died on the cross at Calvary to deliver those who would believe in Him from the bondage of sin and death.
Then said Jesus to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things." (John 8:28)
God Became flesh, died for our sins, and desires to be our Savior.
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live." (John 11:25)
If anyone is to be a partaker of the resurrection of the saints and live forever, it must be by the Lord Jesus Christ. "Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He." (John 13:19)
Jesus predicted the betrayal of Judas to give evidence that He shared God's attribute of omniscience, that He was all-knowing.
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6)
Jesus is the Way to God, speaks the absolute truth of God, and the giver of eternal life. You cannot and will find the way, truth or life but through the Lord Jesus Christ.
They answered Him, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said to them, "I am He." And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them. Now when He said to them, "I am He," they drew back and fell to the ground. (John 18: 5-6)
Jesus, as He walked this earth was God-in-flesh. The sinners here in the garden, that were coming to arrest Him, could not stand before Him when they were confronted with His Deity.
Then there is the one verse that I passed up intentionally until now; it is the verse that explains why the Divinity of Christ is essential Christian doctrine:
"Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins. (John 8:24)
This can only mean that if one does not believe in Who Jesus Christ really and truly is, he will die in his sins.
The deity of Christ is one of the cardinal doctrines of the faith. The full revelation of God is Jesus Christ. The
I AM of the Old Testament is the Jesus of the New Testament.

 

[Watchman]

Sunday December 5, 2004

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. (John 5:24-29)

Next Jesus combines these two principles of the resurrection and His judgement as He reveals a new aspect of God's plan of salvation in 5:24-29. Both truths are set apart by the word, "Verily, verily," or, "Truly, truly."
The first truth states that if a man hears Jesus' message and believes in God that sent Him, that soul will have everlasting life. But in John 3:15-16 we are told that those who believe in the Son would gain eternal life, and in 5:24 believing on "Him that sent me," the Father, will gain everlasting life. Dr. John R. Rice declared, "To trust Christ is to trust the Father. The words Jesus gave are the words of the Father. The salvation God give, Jesus gives. There is no distinction. Christ is identifying Himself with the Father." (p.122) Verse 5:24 also magnifies the previous statement in 3:18 about condemnation. We are now told that condemnation (negative) is removed and we are "passed from death unto life" (positive). Note also that "we are passed" is present tense, not future (Compare Romans 6:4; Eph. 2:1,5; 1John 3:14)
The second truth begins in 5:25 as it adds to the previous word about the resurrection and connects the work to the Son. Daniel 12:2 spoke of a resurrection of all the dead, "some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." But now Jesus explains that the deciding point is hearing the voice of the Son. Again in 5:29 we are told that there will be two resurrections, one of life and the other of damnation. After the Cross, the Apostles Paul and John will expand this teaching to explain that the first resurrection is of the saints to life (1Thes. 4:13-18); 1Cor. 15:51-52), while the second resurrection is of the lost "dead" which occurs 1000 years later (Rev. 20:11-15).

“I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true.
Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth. But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved. He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.
And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not. (John 5:30-38)

Jesus continues His discourse in 5:31 as He presents His "witness." He first makes reference to John the Baptist, not that He needed a "testimony of man," but that it would continue to convict them, and bring salvation to some. John was a "shining light" (luchnos, a candle,) whereas Jesus is the "true light" (phos). They were drawn to the light "for a season." Then He gives three witnesses: the works of the Father, the Father Himself, and the scriptures. In Luke 7:22, Jesus explained His "works" to some of John's disciples, "Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached." When the Messiah would come, He could be identified by these works (compare Isa. 35:5; 42:7; 61:1)
The Father also gave witness at the baptism of Christ (compare Mat. 3:17 "And lo a voice from heaven saying, 'This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.'") This was a stinging indictment of the Jews as Jesus said in 5:37 "...Ye have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His shape. 38 And ye have not His word abiding in you: for whom He hath sent, Him ye believe not." They were religious, but never had a personal relationship with God. The third witness is the Scriptures of which Jesus declares "testify of me."
After His resurrection, Jesus walked with two disciples on the road to Emmanaus, (Compare Luke 24:27). Then He calls a surprise witness, one who would stand to "accuse" them, "even Moses in whom ye trust." They had selected the things of Moses which they liked (the commandments), but missed their meaning.

 

[following-Him]

Thank you, Charles

God Bless

Sheila

 

[NaasPreacher (C4K)]

Monday, 6th December, 2004

Christmas is a season of many words. Love, joy, peace, good will, etc are all words that we associate with Christmas.

I think there is a Christmas word that we often neglect. That word is the word “grace.” Our Bible word is the Greek word “charis” and it means – “beneficence, favour, gift, etc.” We define grace as “God giving us what we do not deserve.”

Christmas is as good a time as any to reflect on the grace of God. Grace is a refection of God’s mercy and the ultimate gift of grace was given to us on the day of the birth of His Son who came to die for us!

Today, we want to reflect on that gift of grace and what it means to us. How do we respond to that gift of grace? Might we remember the grace of God at this Christmas.

Over the next few days we are going to examine the concept that “the Grace of God has appeared.” Many folks choose to not make a big deal about Christmas and I certainly respect that. However, every year I try to focus on some aspect of the Incarnation of Christ.

The verse to kick off our devotional look at Titus 2 is Titus verse 11 – “For the grace of God, that bringeth salvation, has appeared to all men, teaching…” What does God’s grace teach us? That will be our topic in the next few devotional.

Thank you Father, that the grace of God has appeared!

 

[following-Him]

Roger,

Thank you. I will look forward to those devotionals.

Blessings

Sheila

 

[Watchman]

Yes Roger, I second what Sheila said. I looked at Titus 2 to see the whole context and look forward to your commentary.

 

[Jim1999]

Tuesday, December 7, 2004

During a testimony meeting, a man rose and told the marvellous story of his salvation from absolute sin and degredation. He has lived a life of law-breaking, alcohol and all manner of evil. Jesus came into his life and gave him a new life.

Then, a gentle old woman rose, grasping the pew in front to steady her, and in a frail voice said, "Jesus saved me from a life of ease, luxury and selfishness. For which, I bless His name."

It takes as much grace to save the down and out as it does to save the up and in crowd....As she said, "It took as much grace to save me from my easy chair as it did to save our brother from the gutter."

Do we daily appreciate that Jesus died on the cross equally for us all?

Lord, help me to see You daily as my Saviour regardless of my station in life.

Cheers,

Jim

 

[following-Him]

Jim

I had never looked at our Lord's death quite like that before. A comfortable life doesn't diminish our need of our Saviour.

Thank you.

God Bless

Sheila

 

[NaasPreacher (C4K)]

Thanks so much for that marvelous reminder Jim

Wednesday, 8th December, 2004

Teachers are among the most influences in our lives. They can have a lasting impact for either good or bad. The Bible personifies at least two inanimate subjects as teachers. First, the law is called our “schoolmaster” to bring us to Christ. The goal of this teacher is to show mankind that he was totally incapable of keeping the law and teaching him of his need for a Saviour. In Titus we find a new teacher personified, the grace of God.

We begin our series with a little background as found in verse 11.

“The grace of God, the bringeth salvation has appeared to all men.”

We must ask ourselves first, “Where would we be if the grace of God had never appeared?” We would be, as we see in Ephesians, “Without hope in this world.” “There, but by the grace of God, go I” is indeed a motto we can all understand.

I think we can safely say that the greatest thing about the grace of God is that it bringeth salvation. Mr Grace does something Mr Law never could do for us. Whereas Mr Law was always full of hopelessness and despair, Mr Grace is full of all hope.

The first question that each reader must ask himself in this series is “Under whose tutelage are you sitting?” Are you under the harsh, demanding instruction of Mr Law, with his lessons full of your hopelessness? Or, are you sitting in the classroom where Mr Grace is teaching? As we will see there are things about living that Mr Grace teaches us, but these are lessons full of hope and joy, with a wonderful goal in mind?

If you are trying to satisfy Mr Law with all of his demanding rules, understand that you will never make him happy. Move to the teaching of Mr Grace by accepting the salvation which He offers!

 

[following-Him]

Thank you Roger.

God Bless

Sheila

 

[Watchman]

Thank you Jim. As for a matter of testimony: I am ashamed to say that I have awakened in the past to find myself face down in a ditch. Thanks be to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for His love, patience, and deliverance for me. And as the song says, "What He's done for others, He'll do for you." I KNOW this to be true.

Roger, I think of the bond woman and the free woman when I read your post.
Hagar is Sinai, the Law, Old Jerusalem.
Sarah speaks of grace through faith in Jesus Christ, New Jerusalem. It grieves me to see folks trying to "climb up another way" by the Law or trying to be good. You can't do it folks! Our righteousness is as filthy rags.
Come to Jesus!
Sorry, it's not the weekend and I'm writing a devotional.

 

[following-Him]

Charles,

Please don't apologise for witnessing of the Lord's grace you have experienced in your life. I am sure your words will touch the hearts of others as they have mine.

God Bless

Sheila

 

[Jim1999]

Thursday, December 9, 2004

The other day I was in my basement which has but one door and one window. A little bird flew in through the open door and found itself trapped in virtual darkness. I turned on a few lights. As more area was lit, the bird flew in that direction. It could not find the exit it was looking for. I imagine it got frustrated and finally rested on a beam, looked about, and then flew to the open door and found the great outdoors.

My friends, there is a great lesson there. We don't need to be a genius to find greatness. It is all around us. People are like that little bird. They are lost in the darkness of sin and flit about in that darkness seeking a release, when the door of grace is wide open and all we need do is use it. This can not only be applied to the sinner in need of grace, but to the saint facing turmoil or difficuty in their life. The Lord's door is wide open and it is the only way to freedom of soul.

Lord, help us to see your word even in the creatures of Your creation. Doesn't Paul remind us that even creation reveals to us, God?

Cheers,

Jim

 

[following-Him]

Amen.

Thank you, Jim

God Bless

Sheila

 

[Watchman]

Thank you Jim. The bird flew to the door.
This reminds me of the Lord Jesus Christ saying of Himself that He is the Door. It is sad that all too many members of the human race, who are supposed to be the intelligent ones on the earth(?) doesn't have the sense of a bird!

 

[NaasPreacher (C4K)]

Friday, 10th December, 2004

The grace of God, which bringeth salvation, has appeared to all men

“Hath appeared” is an interesting choice of words for the Holy Spirit to use here. It is the same word He used in Zechariah’s prophecy of Messiah when he said “…to give light to them who sit in darkness…” (Luke 2v79). The word means “to appear with light.” One has defined the word this way – “a sudden intuitive leap of understanding, especially through an ordinary but striking occurrence”.

At this time of year lights are often a part of many decorations. There are many ways we can look at these lights. I choose to see them as a reminder that the grace of God has appeared as the Light of the World embodied in Jesus Christ. One of our hymns says, “The whole world was lost in the darkness of sin, the light of the world is Jesus.” What a wonderful truth that the grace of God appeared as a Light in the world of darkness. Sadly, even though most of the world is physically lit up with Christmas light, they still wander is spiritual darkness. This is why we are sent as lights into the world.

The last phrase in verse 11 is “unto all men.” I don’t think any of us will ever understand all of the “ins and outs” of God’s sovereignty and man’s free will. My own feelings here are that God’s grace appeared to all men and that grace is available to all who will accept it. Either way, we can marvel that God’s grace overcomes the evil of sin which, by all rights, should condemn all men to hell.

“The grace of God has appeared” like a light in the darkness. Praise God for that wonderful grace that is greater than all my sins!

 

[Jim1999]

And that light is so bright, it has left men blind in their own unbelief. A guiding hand is needed to lead them on and this is the wonderful grace of God in that He chose men to lead.

Cheers,

Jim

 

[Watchman]

Saturday, December 11,2004

(Roger, what timing for the above post!)

(John 5:39) Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
This challenge was posed by the Lord Jesus to the Jewish leaders when they objected to His healing a hopelessly crippled man on the Sabbath day. Rather than attempting to justify this Sabbath miracle, however, Jesus realized that their real objection was far more serious, so He proceeded to preach this long (29 verses) message to them, assuring them that, not only was He doing the will of the heavenly Father, but that they had no right to judge Him. Instead, He would someday be their judge, for the Father, "has committed all judgement to the Son." (5:22)
Furthermore, this ability included the right to impart resurrection and everlasting life to all who believe on Him as the Son of God. "For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself." (5:26)
The Jews, both Pharisees and Sadducees, had placed supreme emphasis on the five books of Moses, as their chief source of guidance toward salvation and eternal life. These were the holy Scriptures, absolute in authority. But, as Paul much later told young Timothy: "and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through which is in Christ Jesus." (2Timothy 3:15)

To those who have spiritual eyes to see and hearts to believe, the Old Testament Scriptures can speak clearly of the coming Messiah and Savior, both to the Jews of Jesus' day and to open-hearted people of our day. He is both creator and redeeming Savior, as well as Judge and coming King. To those who honestly search the Old Testament Scriptures, even the books of Moses, their is abundant evidence there of Christ.

(John 5:40) And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
Well, here I am. I knew this day would come when I started John. What am I going to do with this subject? Will I, in a few words, refute Calvinism? This is one of the most contentious subjects on this board, as well as all of Christianity. I have decided that a thorough refutation of Calvinism is beyond the scope of a devotional. However, I am not one to dodge a difficult subject. Therefore, when I am all done with John, I will make to all of you this entire series available to you on disc. At the end will be everything I have accumulated on this subject. Send me a p.m. or an email and I will send you a disc in Microsoft Word format. I know this has never been done by a devotional writer, but this is too important of a subject. I will remind you again in chapter 6.
For now, needless to say, I take 5:40 for just what it says. It was not that they could not come to Him, they WOULD not.

 

[Watchman]

Sunday December 12,2004

“I receive not honour from men. But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you. I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?
Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?” (John 5:41-47)

Now we come to the conclusion of this long (as said before, 29 verses) message that the Lord Jesus gave to those Jews that opposed His healing of the lame man at the pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath day. These Jews always made a great show of allegiance to the teachings of Moses in the Pentateuch, so Jesus pointed out this was hypocritical, since Moses "wrote about Me," yet they refused to "believe my words."
There are many "Christian" intellectuals today who are, if anything, involved in even greater hypocrisy, professing to believe in Christ while rejecting the plain teachings of Genesis as well as other parts of God's Word. The Lord Jesus, for example, taught that "from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female" (quoting Genesis 1:27) and also that, therefore, "shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh" (quoting Genesis 2:24). But these compromising Christians insist that He was quoting from two contradictory accounts of creation, and also that men and women were there not at the "beginning" of creation, but came along 4.5 billion years after the creation of the earth and about 15 billion years after the beginning of the cosmos.
The Lord also taught that the Genesis Flood was global and cataclysmic (Luke 17:26-27), whereas the compromiser's argue that it was either local or tranquil or both.
They also commonly seek to explain away the miracle of the Red Sea parting, the daily bread from heaven, and other mighty miracles recorded in the Old Testament. Rejecting God's Word in the Old Testament to their shame, how can they really believe Christ, who spoke of, and verified, all these things?

 

[Jim1999]

Monday, December 13, 2004

This past week, I took my truck in for servicing. The driver's door was off centre and it would fly open whilst driving. The shop ordered new parts, hinges and bushings. After installation, the door worked better, but it still wasn't correct. It appears that the old parts had worn so that the new parts could not remedy the situation.

Whilst we have received newness in life through the blood of Jesus Christ, our old bodies remain victims of our old lifestyles. The seeds that we have sown in the old nature often remain as reminders of who we are. Whilst we do repent of our sin and Christ has wrought forgiveness, we remain in sin and the ills of that sin.

Through life, we sometimes expect more than we ought. It is not that God is unable to completely heal our bodies as He heals our souls, but nowhere in Scripture is that promise. Didn't Paul make mention of the thorn in his flesh? There has been much speculation as to what that thorn was, but we really don't know. We know that it was physical. This never stopped Paul as a witness to the Lord's goodness, and it shouldn't stop us.

Lord, help us to dwell on the spiritual newness that CHrist has given us and rejoice in its benefits, and less on our physical maladies, which are temporary at worst.

Cheers,

Jim