Monthly Archives: December 2015

A Body Thou Hast Prepared Me

Teaching, , , ,

The Old Testament is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ.

So how did all of the Old Testament sacrifices bring us to Christ? Why did they slaughter so many animals and go through ceremonial burnings and disposals? Was all of this just in order to do what God had commanded them to do in the ceremonial laws? Yet, God later rejected even these very ceremonies. Why?

“When Christ came into the world he said, ‘Sacrifices and offerings thou hast not desired, but a body hast thou prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings thou hast taken no pleasure.  Then I said, ‘Lo, I have come to do thy will, O God’ as it is written of me in the roll of the book.”  When he said above, ‘Thou hast neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings’ (these are offered according to the law), then he added, ‘Lo, I have come to do thy will.’  He abolishes the first in order to establish the second.  And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”  (Hebrews 10:5-10 RSV, quoting from Psalm 40:6-8.)

So what did all of the sacrificial laws and ordinances foreshadow? Answer: The ritual, ceremonial law was only types and shadows to bring us to understand the sacrifice of Christ.

What sacrifices does God require of us?

Are we still to offer sacrifices to God? What could we possibly give to God Who is the Creator and Giver of all things?  The answer is that He has graciously provided us with the sacrifice that pleases Him most, our bodies. He has given us our bodies for a sacrifice.

Romans 12:1: “I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”  (RSV)

So how do we “sacrifice” our bodies? We present our bodies through an exercise of our will, as exemplified by Christ: “Lo, I have come to do thy will, O God.”  It is by submitting our will to His will in sacrificing our fleshly bodies that we are sanctified, even as Christ made possible: “And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

This means that we are to crucify the lusts of the flesh and bring them into subjection to the will of God:

“And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” (Galatians 5:24)

To crucify is to kill, deaden, mortify, the Flesh. “For if you live according to the Flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death, [mortify], the deeds of the body, you will live,” Romans 8:13 RSV. It is a matter of Life and Death.

We find specific similar instructions in Colossians 3:5-10: “Put to death, [mortify], therefore what is earthly in you: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you once walked, when you lived in them. But now put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and foul talk from your mouth. Do not lie one to another, seeing that you have put off the old nature, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator,” RSV. We are to put to death the old nature of sin.

How do we live this out in our earthly walk with God?

Answer: Romans 12:1-2: By a LIVING sacrifice: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies, a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.” KJV. We are to put on the new nature of Christ.

Jesus said: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it,” Matthew 16:24-25. The cross means “death.” We are to daily deny our flesh; that is the daily “cross” we are to bear.

Yes, it is a conundrum,

A conundrum is a kind of riddle in which some odd resemblance is proposed for discovery between things quite unlike, in this case, between Life, and Death. For John 3:16 promises us eternal Life in exchange for the old carnal nature: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” See also John 6:54; 10:28; 12:25; 17:2-3; Romans 6:23; I Timothy 6:12, 19. IJohn 1:2; 2:25; 5:11, 13, 20, and many other references. We gain eternal Life by submitting to the ‘death’ of our unholy nature.

So the question is:

Are you ready and willing to trade this body of death, the unholy desires, appetites, lusts, and practices for the beauty, power, and glory of Eternal Life? This is what Jesus came to offer us in His glorious Body. Through His death, He purchased Life for every man. He offers us eternal life in His resurrected Body. What a Savior!

 

How Should Christians Counter Terrorism?

Teaching, , ,

‘Christian’ means “Christ-like,” or “a follower of Christ.” Did Christ teach violence?

No. He said:

Matthew 5:38-48: “Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have they coat also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you: That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sunto rise on the evil and on the good and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For If ye love them which love you, what reward have you? Do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so?

“Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”

Romans 12:17, 21: “Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in he sight of all men…. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Does this leave us, then, as helpless victims?

2Corinthians 10:4-5: {“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;) Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”

When Israel’s army was in warfare against the Philistines, they were cowering down before the Philistine giant, Goliath, until David stood up to the threat and agreed to go out against him. King Saul offered David his own armor, but David found that it was not suitable for this battle, (1Samuel 17:38-47.)

David approached the giant with these words: “Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.”

David stated his purpose: “That all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.” This approach and strategy won the battle. The giant was defeated and slain and God was indeed glorified.

For Christians carnal weapons are in vain:

Psalm 33:16-20: “There is no king saved by the multitude of his host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength. An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength. Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waiteth for the Lord: he is our help and our shield.”

We cannot meet the spiritual enemies on their terms. Christianity cannot go to battle in carnal armor. Neither can we allow them to choose the battlefield. We must deal with the enemy on the spiritual level, and fight with spiritual weaponry. We cannot go into battle without the Lord with us; our strength is in the Holy Spirit.

Psalm 46:8-11: “Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire. Be still and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen. I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.”