Romans 14:13 – “Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.”

Ephesians 4:25 – “Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.”

1 Peter 2:1 – “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.” 

    I put these three scriptures together because they all speak of our relationship with or toward one another. Jesus condensed the Ten Commandments into two – “love the Lord Thy God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27) These then are the most important commandments and they cover all of our relationships; with God and one another.

    I want to look a little more into what precedes Ephesians 4:25 starting at; Ephesians 2:11 “Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 

    For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 

    For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”

Ephesians 3:4 – “In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. (This mystery) is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.”…His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”

Ephesians 4:1 – “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”… (There are no denominations, we are one church!)

Verse 14 "Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Now, back to Ephesians verse 25 - “Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 

“In your anger do not sin” Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need. Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

1 Peter 2:1 “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.”

    Whew! That’s a lot of scripture, and it seems as though I have let the Word of God do all the talking or writing, however, God says it best and God’s Word is truth! If I may, let me paraphrase all of this in my own words – “The point is that “we are all members of one body”…so, Stop it!”

    If we must, we should go back through all this scripture and make a “pro’s and con’s” list of all the things he says we must stop doing, and all the things he says we should do! Maybe we should paste the list on the refrigerator or the bathroom mirror, lest we forget. Remember that these things were written over 2000 years ago to the early (just starting out) church. Yet, we have learned very little. Our world today in the year 2016 – soon to be 2017 – is a mess! Maybe we as the church should have paid more attention to the “Therefores!”

Next week I will focus in on the words of Paul in Ephesians 3:6 concerning “This mystery…” See you then.

     Well, here it is just a week before Christmas, and I'm writing about the wrath of God and Hell. Sorry if I am ruining your Christmas joy, but I have to continue my thoughts in conclusion of this part of "Therefore"...my latest (BOOK)

    The wrath of God is truly a forgotten doctrine, even in the evangelical church. I’ll dare say that many have never heard a sermon on God’s wrath—that is, not a full sermon devoted to this one topic.

    The reasons for this apparent neglect are not hard to find. Most of us would rather hear about love and grace. I know I would rather preach about God’s grace. After all, to speak of the wrath of God makes us appear narrow-minded, judgmental, and God help us, fundamentalist.  And on another level, God’s wrath is difficult to comprehend, so in some ways, this is a doctrine that is easy to overlook. The thought that nice people we know might someday go to eternal hell is so overwhelming—and so disheartening—that we’d much rather not think about it at all.

    Many Christians feel as if they have to apologize for this doctrine. Some think it a blemish on God’s character. Others think that God’s wrath is inconsistent with his love. Let us then consider the words of J. I. Packer: “The fact is that the subject of divine wrath has become taboo in modern society, and Christians by and large have accepted the taboo and conditioned themselves never to raise the matter” (Knowing God, p. 149).

    True though these words may be, two facts stare us in the face: The Bible says more about wrath than about love. And, Jesus spoke more about hell than about heaven. We may speculate as to the reasons behind those two facts, but no amount of reasoning can change the truth. The Bible is filled with warnings about God’s wrath and about eternal judgment. I would not be a faithful pastor if I did not deal with this topic. God has made no secret of his wrath, and neither should we.

    Dr Steven Lawson puts this in a great way in one of his sermons; “The Genevan Reformer John Calvin said, “Preaching is the public exposition of Scripture by the man sent from God, in which God Himself is present in judgment and in grace.” Faithful pulpit ministry requires the declaration of both judgment and grace. The Word of God is a sharp, two-edged sword that softens and hardens, comforts and afflicts, saves and damns. The preaching of divine wrath serves as a black velvet backdrop that causes the diamond of God’s mercy to shine brighter than ten thousand suns. It is upon the dark canvas of divine wrath that the splendor of His saving grace most fully radiates. Preaching the wrath of God most brilliantly showcases His gracious mercy toward sinners. Like trumpeters on the castle wall warning of coming disaster, preachers must proclaim the full counsel of God. Those who stand in pulpits must preach the whole body of truth in the Scriptures, which includes both sovereign wrath and supreme love. They cannot pick and choose what they want to preach. Addressing the wrath of God is never optional for a faithful preacher—it is a divine mandate.”

    God has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness. Acts 17:31) That day is looming on the horizon. It gets closer and closer the more we abandon God. Like the prophets and Apostles, and even Christ Himself, we too must warn unbelievers of this coming dreadful day and compel them to flee to Christ, who alone is mighty to save.

    Hi, and welcome back. I hope you are enjoying my weekly blog. I truly enjoy teaching others about discipleship and what it means to be a Christian. It’s not easy to walk the walk, but the more you know…the more it will show!

    This passage from Romans 1 then, describes the downward progress of the human race as it steadily moves away from God. Each step takes man further away from God and deeper into moral depravity. The key to this passage is that three-fold phrase—"God gave them over.” Each time it is repeated, it describes a further stage in man’s turning away from God. Stage 1 is bad, Stage 2 worse, Stage 3 worse still. In the end society has turned all moral values upside down.

    What is the judgment of God when men turn away from him? God “gives them up” to their own devices. He lets them follow their own desires. He doesn’t try to stop their meteoric descent into the abyss. God “abandons” the human race by letting men reap what they have sown. Nothing more terrible could ever be contemplated. When men “abandon” God in their thinking, God “abandons” them. Why? Because God is a perfect gentleman. He respects the freedom of the human will. If a man or a woman decides to live without him, he says, “Fine. You can live without me. In the end, you’ll be sorry. But if that’s your decision, I’ll respect it.” When we abandon God in our homes, we reap what we sow. When we abandon God in our schools, we reap what we sow. When we abandon God in our govern-ment, we reap what we sow.

    Verse 25 explains what happens: “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the created things instead of the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.” When men and women turn away from God, they “exchange” the truth of God for “a lie.” What lie? The lie that you can ignore God and still find fulfillment in this life. The lie that you can break God’s laws and still be happy. The lie that you can live the “good life” without God. The truth is that living without God isn’t the good life. It’s quite literally hell on earth.

    Zac Saenz says in a sermon, “Sinners have stifled the truth God naturally reveals to all people in order to believe anything that supports their own self-centered life-styles. Why is God so angry, because God cannot tolerate sin or sinners. His nature is morally perfect and will not allow Him to. He cannot ignore or condone willful rebellion. What God wants is to remove the sin and restore the sinner through His Son Jesus Christ.

    Does anyone have an excuse for not believing in God? The Bible says plain and simple NO. God has revealed Himself to us since the beginning of time, who He is and what He expects from us. Every person therefore either accepts or rejects God. When the day comes for God to judge us, no excuses will be accepted. Every single person was born with a sense of wrong and right. This sense of wrong and right was instilled in all of us by God. We were made in His image. Just look around, Gods hand is everywhere. The reason for this is so that no one could say that they didn’t know about Him.” Romans 1:20 – “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

    How could a loving God send anyone to hell? The truth is we all deserve the penalty of hell. God expects perfection. People since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden through the first man Adam have since all became flawed. We are born sinners. Romans 3:23 – “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
    I think many people today unfortunately like to think they are in complete control of their lives. Some even have their own distorted view of who God should be and what He should do. They think in some weird way that they have the right to even say what or who God should be.

    Well, I have done gone to preaching now! To be continued next week… By the way, we are working on launching a new and improved site that will become my home page for all that is part of Life Ministries. Watch for it… Wait for it… Coming soon!

Romans 1:18-32

“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised.Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.”

 

    If this isn’t a snapshot of our world and our government from 1950 to the present day, I don’t know what is. I could write volumes about all that is happening, but I want to stick to the subject and look at verse 24 – “Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts…”

    Therefore, or because they “lived according to the flesh” seeking only (the big four) pleasure, fame, wealth, and power, and worshiped idols, rather than God, and “exchanged the truth about God for a lie”… God gave them over.

    Three times in verses 24–32, Paul uses the formula “God gave them over.” He writes, “God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity” (verse 24). Then, “God gave them over to dishonorable passions” (verse 26) and then again God gave them over to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done” (verse 28).

    We often hear this passage taught as a warning to Rome, and other empires, that God is giving them over to their own sinfulness. Then, the application is brought to bear on the United States of America, that if we follow in the pattern of Rome’s sinful descent, God will likewise give us over in the same manner. This passage, however, is not about empires — Roman or American. This text is about humanity. The verb tense in the phrase “God gave” is past tense — this has already happened.

God has given humanity over. The apostle Paul includes everyone in the indictment as he describes the giving over of all of humanity to the sinfulness of their hearts.

    We have gone down a long ways from the 1950’s! Some would say that because of these flagrant sins, America is on the brink of God’s judgment. But, Paul would argue that America is already under God’s judgment! When a society flaunts and gives approval to such sins, God has already given them over to the consequences of depraved minds and degrading passions. There is a cause and effect relationship, a “reap what you sow” effect. More about this next week…