Category Archives: Bible Study

LET GOD FINISH WHAT PRIDE STARTED

Bible Study, ,

Pride is a powerful weapon in Satan’s arsenal to destroy us. Pride is encased in deception. Pride says, “You can do it yourself. You don’t need God. You are God.”

Strange thing is that pride is a weapon we use against ourselves. We set it up; we use it to destroy ourselves while the devil watches for the outcome. You see, although pride brought the devil down, he caught us in the deception too, through Adam. So now, pride is entrenched in us as well. Satan doesn’t have to do anything. He only eggs us on.

Why does God hate pride?

‭James 4:6 NLT‬
[6]…”As the Scriptures say, “God opposes (ranges in battle against) the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Our independence and self-sufficiency are the most impenetrable barriers to God’s grace. He can do nothing for us unless we humble ourselves enough to cry out for help.

‭John 15:5 NLT‬
[5]“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”

However, in God’s wisdom, He allows pride to do its own work. Our pride backfires for His own purposes!

Take the experience of David, God’s model king. At the peak of his reign…kingdom expanded, enemies subdued, peace established.. David’s pride led him into forbidden territory, and eventually exploded his self-importance. He became nothing more than he was inside, a guilty criminal. Without God’s mercy, he was finished!

And God did nothing to stop him! No warning, no teaching, just waiting. Remember the old proverb, “Pride comes before a fall”?

Why is it important that we experience some kind of fall before we realise how heinous pride really is? Until we feel the terrible humiliation of a fall from our ‘high horse’, we will never really take seriously the effects of pride that create a chasm between ourselves and others, and most of all, between ourselves and God.

David’s pride brought him back to reality with a bang. For one terrible moment, he thought he didn’t need God, all his years of humble obedience obliterated by one thought, one act of rebellion.
The consequences of his pride were agonising. He even suffered physically because he refused to acknowledge his guilt.

‭Psalms 32:3-4 NLT‬
[3] “When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. [4] Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.”

David knew he was wrong but he did it anyway. However, God’s work in him was thorough and effective. Lifelong lessons came out of his foolish and high-handed rebellion.
He knew that there were sacrifices for sin unwittingy comitted, but he also knew the law. He knew the consequences of his adultery and murder but he did them anyway.

‭Hebrews 10:26 NLT‬
[26] “Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins.”

God could have legitimately killed him, but He didn’t. He allowed David’s pride to do a thorough work in him, dragging him down to the depths of humiliation when his sins were exposed.

David’s only escape route was to admit his guilt, repent of his sin, and cry out to God for mercy and forgiveness. God heard his cry, but there was a heavy price to pay which he could not escape. His family was torn apart by his sin.

What did David learn from this horrible glitch in his character and the deeds that followed?

He learned that…

  1. He carried a flaw in his nature from birth which he had no power to overcome. Perhaps he thought, up to this point, that he was a good guy, that he was okay with God, always doing what he was told without question until….his ungodly desires caught him out.

‭Psalms 51:5 NLT‬
[5] “For I was born a sinner— yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.”

  1. Only God’s mercy could save him from his evil deeds. No amount of animal blood could pay for what he had done.

‭Psalms 51:1 NLT‬
[1]”Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.”

‭Psalms 51:16 NLT‬
[16] “You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering.”

  1. What he had done was against God and His Word. It was not against any human first, as bad as that was, but against God Himself that he had rebelled and flown in the face of God’s commandments.

‭Psalms 51:3-4 NLT‬
[3] “For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. [4] Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just.”

  1. Repentance and confession were the only way to forgiveness. He didn’t window-dress his sin. He called it what it was. It was rebellion that he acknowledged and from which he turned. He had revolted against God and His Word.

‭Psalms 32:5 NLT‬
[5]”Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.”

  1. He discovered something about himself, that what he had done was the outcome of a perverse nature. The Hebrew – ‘avon’ – translated ‘iniquity’, is from the root meaning ‘perverse’,… “showing a deliberate and obstinate desire to behave in a way that is unreasonable or unacceptable” (dictionary definition).

‭Psalms 51:3 NLT‬
[3]”For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night…”
(Hebrew ‘pesha’ (rebellion), meaning ‘revolt’).

Only trust in God’s unfailing love could deliver him from the attitude of rebellion that provoked him to do the terrible things he had done.

‭Psalms 32:10 NLT‬
[10]”Many sorrows come to the wicked, but unfailing love surrounds those who trust the Lord.”

  1. There was something about God rhat he discovered through his rebellion that gave him deeper insight into God’s covenant love, ‘chesed’. God’s love for him was so great that He forgave and restored him because of the sacrifice of the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, which David himself foretold in his Psalms.

‭Psalms 51:1 NLT‬
[1] “Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.”

‭Psalms 32:1 NLT‬
[1] Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight!”

‭Psalms 32:5 NLT‬
[5]”Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.”

  1. His pride, his deep-seated root of rebellion, had to be effectively crushed, broken in pieces, before he could accept the ‘bit and bridle’ of God’s authority like a horse broken in to submit to the rider’s control.

‭Psalms 51:16-17 NLT‬
[16]”You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering. [17] The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.”

He needed to take his demolished pride and had it over to God as a sacrifice, to receive, in its place, a ‘broken and contrite (Hebrew ‘dakah’ – meaning ‘collapsed’) heart’ – a disposition of submission and obedience totally dedicated to God.

Then, and only then, would God accept his sacrifices of animal blood as worthy worship because they represented a far greater sacrifice that would make this exchange possible.

‭Psalms 51:19 NLT‬
[19] “Then you will be pleased with sacrifices offered in the right spirit— with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings. Then bulls will again be sacrificed on your altar.”

So, to conclude David’s story, if the process of pride and the lessons to be learned, are to finish pride’s work, we must allow pride’s fruit to destroy our pride so effectively that we can offer to the Lord a crushed and collapsed heart and spirit (attitude). Then we will truly please Him and offer to Him the worship He accepts.

Paul’s story was of God’s intervention to save him from the ravages of pride…

‭2 Corinthians 12:7 NLT‬
[7] “… even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God…, to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.”

Paul pleaded three times for deliverance but God refused, for one simple reason.

‭2 Corinthians 12:9 NLT‬
[9]”Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.”

If pride cuts us off from God’s grace, weakness keep us humble enough to depend on God’s power to overcome. Grace provides every resource to live abundantly despite our suffering.

2 Corinthians 12:10 NLT‬
[10]”So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. [10] That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Paul’s response was much more than to endure and survive. His weakness was the very thing that qualified him for God’s grace. He rejoiced in and celebrated his hardships because it was, in the first place, through God’s grace that the hardships he suffered, kept his feet on the ground.

When we finally understand what God is doing, we too will rejoice in our sufferings. We know that God will do whatever it takes to obliterate the pride that cuts us off from grace, for “He resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

THE SIGN OF JONAH

Bible Study, ,

Matthew 12:38-41 NLT
[38] “One day, some teachers of religious law and Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign to prove your authority.” [39] But Jesus replied, “Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign; but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah. [40] For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. [41] “The people of Nineveh will stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here—but you refuse to repent.”

Jonah’s story is intriguing. It has hidden lessons that casual readers will not easily recognise. Why is it included in Scripture? Why did Jesus quote it as a sign of His own death and resurrection?

We know the story well from Sunday School days. God instructed Jonah to go to Nineveh with a message of inevitable coming judgment. Nineveh represented a cruel and godless nation that had caused great harm to Israel. It should have pleased Jonah to tell them of their fate.

Instead, Jonah fled in the opposite direction, as far from Nineveh as he could go. Why? Deep in his heart he knew that, if the people of Nineveh repented, God would forgive them. If he didn’t deliver God’s message, God would judge them without mercy.

God was so determined to give Nineveh a chance that He stopped Jonah in his tracks, got him off the boat and sent him back, via a big fish, in the direction of Nineveh. Jonah must have been so traumatised that he had no option but to obey, albeit with great reluctance… as the story unfolds.

What did he look like when he came out of the fish? We can only speculate. Was he so bleached by the fish’s digestive juices that he appeared as a ghost to the Ninevites?

Whatever his appearance, they listened and repented to a man. Even the animals were forced to participate in their expressions of repentance.

Jonah was incensed. Just as he thought, God forgave the people of that city and let them off the hook. Jonah sat outside the city and sulked, watching hopefully for sign of God’s judgment to fall on Nineveh.

In the interim, a little scene played out on the hillside where Jonah sat, between him and God, an object lesson for the rebellious prophet. It was scorching hot, a Middle Eastern summer. God mercifully and miraculously grew a plant to provide shade for His perspiring servant.

Jonah was grateful for the shade until a worm ate through the stem and collapsed the plant. Once against, the prophet sat in misery and discomfort to watch what God would do. He was angry with God for treating him cruelly. He was upset about the plant that came and went so quickly.

The story ends, with an unanswered question.

Jonah 4:10-11 NLT
[10] Then the Lord said, “You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly. [11] But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?”

Yes, or no, Jonah? No reply! Case closed!

So, how does this story fit with Jesus’ death and resurrection? The answer seems obvious. Jonah was entombed inside a great fish for three days and three nights, apparently dead, but he came out alive with a message of judgement (and redemption – implied) for a whole city. Jesus would be entombed in a burial cave, really dead, for three days, and three nights, but He would also come out really alive, to bring redemption to the whole world. No wonder Jesus declared that, “A greater than Jonah is here.”

Is that all to the message of the story?

We understand that God used natural means supernaturally, to redirect His prophet.

We understand that the sight of Jonah and his message shocked the people of Nineveh, albeit temporarily, into a change of heart.

We understand that God responds to repentant hearts with grace,
no matter how bad they are.

What does this have to do with the context of the story?

The religious leaders, scribes and Pharisees, masters of unbelief, were, once again, on Jesus’ case. No matter what He said or did, they refused to be convinced that He was who He said He was. They refused to examine the evidence. Once again, for the umpteenth time, they demanded a sign.

So, Jesus gave them a sign which, unlike the Ninevites, they would reject to their own doom. How strange, that godless pagans repented when they saw and heard one sign from a prophet, but the religious leaders of God’s own people utterly refused to repent after seeing and hearing many signs from the Son of God Himself!

Does this story speak to us today?

God extends His grace to all who repent, no matter what culture, colour or creed. His message is clear and simple. Turn away from your life of sin and believe in Jesus.

His message is the same to His own people who have piled so much on top of the simple story of Jesus’ death and resurrection that its simplicity has been lost under the burden of theology and tradition.

Repent, return to the ancient way, is His call to us today. Despite our opinions and prejudices, His way is still the same. Repent, return, and follow Jesus. He extends mercy and forgiveness to everyone who repents regardless of who and where they are.

The sign of Jonah? Not only did Jonah’s ‘burial’ in the fish for three days and nights provide a parallel for Jesus’ own death and burial for three days but also God’s mercy to the Ninevites points to His mercy to all people through the death of His own Son.

God takes no delight in the death of sinners. Even His warnings are forerunners of mercy. His mercy to undeserving sinners peaked at the cross and was cemented at the empty tomb. Hence His question to which Jonah had no answer…
“Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?”

Jonah 4:11 NIV
[11]”And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”

AN IRRESISTIBLE BLOOD SACRIFICE

Bible Study,

Hebrews 10:19-22 NLT
[19] “And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. [20] By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. [21] And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, [22] let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.”

Blood sacrifice is the core of our relationship with God. Worship in God’s covenant with Israel was built on a variety of animal sacrifices for various situations. No one was permitted to approach God without blood. Every inanimate object used for worship rituals was set apart by the sprinkling of blood, even to the high priest, the priests and their garments, who served in the tabernacle and temple.

What was the significance of blood?

Scripture makes two profound pronouncements about blood.

Leviticus 17:11 NLT
[11]”…The life of the body is in its blood. I have given you the blood on the altar to purify you, making you right with the Lord. It is the blood, given in exchange for a life, that makes purification possible.”

Hebrews 9:22 NLT
[22] “In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.”

Shed blood is God’s remedy for sin.

1 John 1:7-9 NLT
[7] “But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. [8] If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. [9] But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”

The Israelites were forbidden to ingest blood in any form since
“the life is in the blood”.

Animal blood both symbolised and substituted for the only blood that can atone for sin. It pointed to a sacrifice that, from God’s perspective, was made before time began but effected in history by His Son at Passover.

The Israelites, influenced by their idolatrous neighbours and through their own idolatry, began to abuse the purpose of animal sacrifices. Rather than a reminder of God’s holiness and the cost of sin, they sacrificed countless animals as an excuse for sin.

Hosea 8:12-13 NLT
[12] “Even though I gave them all my laws, they act as if those laws don’t apply to them. [13] The people love to offer sacrifices to me, feasting on the meat, but I do not accept their sacrifices. I will hold my people accountable for their sins, and I will punish them. They will return to Egypt.”

Isaiah 1:11-15 NLT
[11] “What makes you think I want all your sacrifices?” says the Lord. “I am sick of your burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fattened cattle. I get no pleasure from the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. [12] When you come to worship me, who asked you to parade through my courts with all your ceremony? [13] Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts; the incense of your offerings disgusts me! As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath and your special days for fasting— they are all sinful and false. I want no more of your pious meetings. [14] I hate your new moon celebrations and your annual festivals. They are a burden to me. I cannot stand them! [15] When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look. Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen, for your hands are covered with the blood of innocent victims.”

Though the hearts of God’s people were rotten with sin, they hid behind their sacrifices as an excuse to keep sinning. They thought that their sacrifices guaranteed God’s forgiveness. Instead, all the animal blood they shed only multiplied their guilt.

Unfortunately, some believers also harbour the subtle idea that God’s forgiveness through the blood of Jesus covers a sinful lifestyle. They choose to sin, thinking that they can ask for forgiveness after they have sinned.

Nothing can be farther from the truth. The Bible clearly states God’s case.

1 John 3:4, 8, 10 NLT
[4] Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God…
[8] But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning from the beginning…
[10] So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.”

Continuing to practise sin as a way of life clearly indicates that the sinner has not understood God’s grace and that His grace has had no effect on them.

Romans 6:1-3 NLT
[1]”Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? [2] Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? [3] Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death?”

The blood of Jesus not only forgives and cleanses us from sin, it also gives us the motive and power for living new lives of righteousness and holiness. The Holy Spirit provides the power and the suffering and sacrifice of Jesus the motive.

Our union, by faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection, symbolised in our water baptism, has moved us from living under the influence of the sinful world system to the kingdom of God, to live under His authority and control.

Romans 6:4 NLT
[4] “For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.”

Colossians 1:13-14 NLT
[13]”For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, [14] who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.”

This transfer from darkness to light also means that we have a new nature, the nature of Jesus, superimposed on our old nature which still demands self-rule and drives us with ungodly desires.

So, there is a relentless war going on inside those who have been born from above, flesh against spirit and spirit against flesh. The outcome for the winner is eternal life or death.

Romans 8:5-8, 12-13 NLT
[5] “Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. [6] So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. [7] For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. [8] That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God…
[12] Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. [13] For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.”

Eternal life is the destiny of those who purposefully follow the path of righteousness, holiness, and truth through obedience to the Holy Spirit.

Romans 6:20-23 NLT
[20] “When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. [21] And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. [22] But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. [23] For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 8:5-8, 12-13 NLT
[5] “Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. [6] So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. [7] For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. [8] That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.
[12] Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. [13] For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.”

However, those who have been born of God also have a guarantee.

1 John 3:9 NLT
[9] “Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God.”

1 John 3:9 NIV
[9] “No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed (Greek – sperma) remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.”

What if we fall into sin despite our desire to live by and walk in the Spirit?

We have the assurance that God will forgive our sin if…

1 John 1:9 NLT
[9] “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”

We have a legal representative who pleads our case.

1 John 2:1-2 NLT
[1] “My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. [2] He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.”

Of all the blood offered on all the altars in the world for all time, there is only one sacrifice for sin that is acceptable and irresistible to God.

1 Peter 1:18-20 NLT
[18]”For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. [19] It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. [20] God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days he has been revealed for your sake.”

Why is the blood of Christ precious (Greek meaning ‘honoured, valuable, costly, priceless’)?

Jesus offered His blood as an eternal sacrifice.

Hebrews 9:13-14 NLT
[13]”Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. [14] Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.”

His blood ratified the New Covenant.

Hebrews 13:20 NLT
[20]” Now may the God of peace— who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood—”…

He lives forever to present His blood to the Father, to make intercession for us.

Hebrews 7:24-25 NLT
[24] “But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. [25] Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.”

His once-for-all sacrifice makes us holy.

Hebrews 10:14 NLT
[14]” For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.”

How do we know that faith in this acceptable, irresistible sacrifice has changed our lives? There is one test, one evidence that God’s grace is effective.

1 John 3:14 NLT
[14]”If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead.”

Since God has given us only two commandments in the New Covenant…

1 John 3:23 NLT
[23] “And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us.”

… the test of obedience is simple.

1 John 3:10 NLT
[10] “So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.”

SOME PUZZLES OF SCRIPTURE – 6

Bible Study, ,

Did Jesus teach His disciples to be doormats under people’s feet?

We can easily believe this when we read His take on “turning the other cheek,” etc. However, there may be a hidden meaning in His illustrations. It is true that God wants us not ‭to retaliate and take revenge on those who misuse us. It takes grace to allow insults and injuries to pass without reaction.

We have the supreme example of Jesus Himself. He absorbed all the wicked and cruel ways He was treated into Himself during His arrest, trial, and crucifixion without retaliation in word or action. As the God-man, He could have saved Himself or destroyed His enemies, but He didn’t.

‭1 Peter 2:23-24 NLT‬
[23] “He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly. [24] He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.”

In His sinless attitude and actions, He took our sin upon Himself and suffered God’s wrath for us.

However, He did not condone injustice or cruelty in any form, nor did He ever fail to uphold the freedom and dignity of fellow humans. Even when the rich young ruler rejected Him, He let him go with a sad heart but without trying to persuade him otherwise.

‭Matthew 5:38-39 NLT‬
[38] “You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ [39] But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also.”

What did He imply when He said, “Turn the other cheek”?

In ancient Hebrew culture, when a superior insulted an inferior by slapping him in the face, he would hit him with an open right hand on his left cheek. If the victim offered him his right cheek as well, he would be forcing vhis aggressor to use his left hand. This was unacceptable in that society because everyone used their left hand for ‘unclean’ purposes, inferring that everyone was equal.

‭Matthew 5:40 NLT‬
[40] “If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too.”

Two main articles of clothing formed the wardrobe of poor people in those days, an inner garment, the robe, and an all-purpose outer garment, the cloak. If a poor person was sued for his cloak, he would have nothing to cover himself at night. Jesus advocated that he offer his robe as well, leaving him naked. Apparently, it was sin, not to be naked but to look at a naked person. A simple solution would be to return his cloak, restoring the poor person’s dignity.

‭‭Matthew 5:41 NLT‬
[41] “If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles.”

Roman soldiers were not permitted to force a Jew to carry his heavy pack for more than one mile. Beyond that, he would be punished by forfeiting a day’s wages.

Hence Jesus’ prescription, “Carry it for two miles,” forcing the soldier to intervene. In this way, the soldier to save himself from a penalty for his cruelty and restore the oppressed Jew’s dignity.

Case closed!

Not only did Jesus teach His followers to accept unfair treatment without retaliation, but He also advocated actions WITHOUT WORDS, that forced aggressors to restore dignity to their victims.

These instructions fit perfectly into Jesus’ attitude towards all people. He hated arrogance in any form, the attitude that some people think they are better than others. He was especially strict on the Pharisees for their hypocrisy. They set high standards for others which they altered for themselves and did not observe.

Perhaps the greater lesson for us who claim to follow Jesus is that we are as careful to preserve the dignity of others as we are to guard our own.

SOME PUZZLES OF SCRIPTURE – 5

Bible Study, ,

Some Scriptures have such a variety of interpretations that one can recognise the confusion in the minds of Bible translators and scholars.

I found one such passage in James 4.

‭James 4:1-5 NLT‬
[1] “What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? [2] You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. [3] And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure. [4] You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. [5] Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him.”

The verse in question is verse 5. Every translation I have read gives a different slant to its interpretation. If we don’t take the context into account, the meaning of verse 5 is obscured.

Most Bible scholars seem to understand that James is referring to the Holy Spirit who longs for us to be faithful to Him.

‭James 4:5 NIV‬
[5] “Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?”

‭James 4:5 CEV‬
[5] “Do you doubt the Scriptures that say, “God truly cares about the Spirit he has put in us”?

‭James 4:5 KJV‬
[5]”Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?”

‭James 4:5 NKJV‬
[5] “Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?

These translators focus on the Holy Spirit who jealously watches over our spirits. However, is that what James is saying? To what spirit is He referring and what is the nature of that spirit?

“What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you?”

“Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.”

The ‘spirit’ James is describing
is the old nature, driven by evil desires and at war with God’s Spirit in us.

Paul describes the same conflict in us.

‭‭Galatians 5:16-17 NLT‬
[16]”So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. [17] The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.”

The Greek words imply that we think, it seems or appears, in vain, that the Scriptures say or mean that the spirit that inhabits, is in (an established position) me (the word used is ‘ego’, I, me, singular), holding a grudge, spite, jealousy, or ill will, is full of lustful desires.

In this rather clumsy interpretation, is James saying that it is the spirit that is established in me, is spiteful and jealous and that strongly desires what others have that I want. Hence the wars and fights between believers.

This verse is not about the Holy Spirit at all. It’s about the reason for the quarrels between believers. The old sinful nature wants what others have, and fights to get it. James calls this “friendship with the world”. So does John.

‭1 John 2:15-17 NLT‬
[15]”Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. [16] For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. [17] And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.”

What is the solution? James continues…

‭James 4:6-8 NLT‬
[6]”And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” [7] So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. [8] Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.”

GRACE! Only God’s grace, received with humilty, can rescue us from the ravages of our old, sinful nature. This grace comes to us through the Holy Spirit who lives in us, and helps us overcome the evil desires driven by our old nature.

The Greek word James uses to describe God’s treatment of proud people is graphic. He calls in His heavenly troops to set up a strong military resistance. He approaches those who approach Him (through the correct channel, the blood of Jesus – Hebrews 10:19ff). Like the father of the lost son, the Father runs to meet them.

When we accept the position on earth that God has prepared us for, and live and function in it under His authority, with gratitude and humility, we will flourish and be blessed.