Posts made in January, 2015


Love, A More Excellent Way!

Love, A More Excellent Way!


Posted By on Jan 20, 2015

Love, A More Excellent Way! Interestingly, the Apostle Paul concludes chapter twelve of his first letter to the Corinthians, by exhorting them to desire earnestly “the greater gifts” and how he will show them a more “excellent way.” (1 Cor. 12:31).   Paul, then proceeds into what is perhaps the most definitive chapter on “love” in the entire Bible; it is definitely the most known by Christians.   He urges the Corinthians earnestly to pursue love.  Interestingly, love is not even a spiritual gift, but rather a “fruit” of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22).  In John MacArthur’s Commentary on 1 Cor. 13 he states: “The truly spiritual life is the only life in which the gifts of the Spirit operate.  The health of spiritual living is not reflected in spiritual gifts but in spiritual fruit, the first and chief of which is love. (Gal. 5:22).  Without the fruit of the Spirit the gifts of the Spirit cannot operate except in the flesh, in which they become counterfeit and counterproductive.  Through the fruit of the Spirit God gives the motivation and power to minister the gifts of the Spirit…Walking by the Spirit is Paul’s way of defining day-to-day obedience to the Word of God and submission to the Lord. (Col. 3:16).” To possess love is tantamount to faith in Jesus Christ; examples of this are taught with inculcation throughout the New Testament.  Peter exhorts Christians to love one another fervently and states how “agape” love (sacrificial; selfless) covers a multitude of sins.  Only two verses prior, he wrote instructing believers to use their spiritual gifts for the edification of one another.  (1 Pet. 4:8-10).  But perhaps the greatest exhibition of love recorded in Scripture, occurred in the Upper Room, where Jesus washed His disciples’ feet on the eve of His crucifixion.  (John 13:3-12).  Here was God, Creator of the universe; condescending to the level of an insignificant galley slave and washing the feet of sinful men.  Who, He omnisciently knew, very shortly, would all abandon Him at the time when His arrest and crucifixion had arrived!   Incidentally, Jesus even washed Judas Iscariot’s feet, the disciple who would betray Him.  This was the ultimate act of “loving your enemies”, as He had commanded during the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:44).  When Jesus had finished washing their feet, He commanded His disciples: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35).   This was a new commandment Jesus had given...

Read More
We Must Speak God’s Word’s!

We Must Speak God’s Word’s!


Posted By on Jan 1, 2015

  We Must Speak God’s Words! Evangelism must contain the proclamation of the Gospel; God commands it!   “…how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher”? Rom. 10:14    A sign posted outside of a Christian church read; “You can preach a better sermon with your actions, rather than your words.”   Another sign of a local church ominously read; “Preach the Gospel by how you live, and if necessary, use words.”  In other words, both signs insinuated that you can have a successful Gospel outreach and “attract” those to Christianity, by just living a godly life without proclaiming the Gospel.   Although, there is truth to that statement, we ought to live a sanctified life, always demonstrating the Gospel and Christ-likeness.  But, it is perilous to eliminate the essential vehicle the Holy Spirit employs to grant souls unto salvation.  In fact, the use of words is God’s chosen method to convey His truth, the Gospel message; a message vitally necessary for everyone to hear.  Scripture commands us to proclaim God’s truth in many verses and obviously this command includes the use of words (Matt. 28:19-20, Luke 24:47, John 20:21, Acts 1:8, 5:20, 10:33, 42, Rom. 10:14-15); as well as in numerous other places in the Bible.  Both, in the Old Testament and the New Testament God’s servants, prophets, or Apostles, were commanded to declare His unadulterated truth especially to recalcitrant and  stony-heart people.    The Old Testament prophets were commanded by God to proclaim words of repentance, judgment, wrath, or destruction to His people.  God did not simply “suggest” to His servants, that they live in a godly way, with the hopes of others responding positively to their examples.  But rather, He commanded them to proclaim with words exactly what He desired them to “speak”.  For example, the prophet Isaiah was commanded to preach a message of imminent destruction and captivity to the city of Judah.  Furthermore, God declared to Isaiah that nobody would listen to his warnings.  When Isaiah beseeches God how long he was to proclaim that impending judgment on Judah, God replied,  “…Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant, Houses are without people, And the land is utterly desolate.” (Isa. 6:10).  That was an extremely difficult command for Isaiah to obey.  Just think, if you were commanded by God to proclaim ineluctable judgment on a very hostile nation, and had no good news to tell them; no light at the end of the tunnel.   Yet Isaiah unwavering obeyed God! Jeremiah faced similar circumstances, but even harsher.  Throughout the book of Jeremiah, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah and commanded that...

Read More