Daily Archives: September 21, 2014

The God Of Peace

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THE GOD OF PEACE

“Everyone has heard about your obedience. So I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.

“Timothy, my co-worker, sends his greetings to you, as do Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, my fellow Jews.

“I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord.

“Gaius, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greetings. Erastus, who is the city’s director of public works, and our brother Quartus, send you their greetings. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.”  Romans 16:19-24.

“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” That doesn’t sound very peaceful, does it? It sounds rather ruthless but let’s look at the statement from God’s perspective.

Satan was first of all a traitor. He took what God gave him, beauty, perfection, power and the highest office in heaven and turned it against Him. Then he stole the allegiance of one third of God’s angelic creation. Then, not satisfied with that, he deceived Eve and turned Adam, and through him, the whole human race, against Him because he deceived them into believing that he was Lord. Because of him, the whole of creation was corrupted, became chaotic and the very image of God was distorted in man and the universe.

As if that were not enough, he turned God’s own people against Him. They rejected Him and nailed Him to a cross, causing Him the most horrendous suffering any human being could ever endure. They mocked, insulted, humiliated and killed Him and then turned on His followers in the name of God! At the very time that Paul wrote this letter, the followers of Jesus were being persecuted by Jews and at the hands of the madman, Nero. Soon enough, Paul himself would be one of his victims.

And yet Paul could confidently write, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.”

What made him so confident? The resurrection! Satan had dished up the worst he could offer; Jesus took it on the chin and walked away, the victor. The enemy, vanquished by the Son of God, was counted out. Finished! Defeated! Overthrown! All that was left to do was the mopping up – collect the spoils of war – the sons and daughters of God who were waiting to be released from prison.

Satan is still around, though, waiting for his final judgment and going around with his lies, deceiving those who still believe he is in charge, masquerading as Lord when God has declared Jesus to be Lord and given Him the name above every other name.

But for those who believe it, the truth is out. The devil has been unmasked, defeated and stripped of his weapons – the lies he has been propagating all over the world. Contrary to what he wants people to believe, he is not in charge. God is – and Jesus made that very clear to him in the wilderness. “It is written…”

“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!'” Isaiah 52:7.

There will only ever be true peace when Satan has been crushed and dispatched forever but, in the meantime, it’s our job to live out and proclaim God’s rule because it is our confidence that God reigns, in spite of our circumstances, that “crushes” Satan under our feet. As long as we have niggling doubts about who is in charge, the devil will continue to have a field day with us and the world will not be convinced that Jesus is Lord.

“Our God reigns!”

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

Unity – The Hallmark Of The True Church

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UNITY – THE HALLMARK OF THE TRUE CHURCH

“Greet Mary… Andronicus and Junia… Ampliatus… Urbanus and Stachys… Apelles… Aristobulus… Herodion… the household of Narcissis… Tryphena and Tryphosa… Persis… Rufus and his mother… Asynchritis… Phlegon… Hermes… Patrobas… Hermas and the other brothers and sisters with them… Philologus… Julia… Nereus and his sister… Olympas and all the Lord’s people with them. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings.” Romans 16:6-16.

Strange-sounding names! Real people! Paul knew a host of people, both men and women in the churches in Rome, well-known associates who had worked with him or who had served well in the churches he had founded or with whom he was closely associated. He was always quick to commend or show appreciation for his fellow believers.

When one thinks that this was a young movement in the Roman Empire – not even thirty years old, with no history except that of the Jewish people, which was their root, the maturity of God’s people in a hostile environment was amazing. They had to be, because there were few grey areas in the church.

O yes, there were always the false teachers who distorted the gospel and tried to lure people away. There were the gullible ones, who left the flock to follow them. But to be a follower of Jesus was dangerous and not for the faint-hearted. His true disciples knew the risks, stuck together and supported and cared for one another, creating a tight-knit group across the empire called “the church”.

“I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.” Romans 16:17, 18.

Into this close fellowship crept those who were there for their own reasons. Paul was not shy to warn believers about those who sowed dissention and taught lies to confuse, cause division and lure people into following them. Jesus described these people as “wolves in sheep’s clothing.” From the earliest days of the infant church, the apostles were careful to preserve the precious unity that the Holy Spirit had created in the beginning.

“All the believers were together and had everything in common… All the believers were one in heart and mind…” Acts 2:44; Acts 4:32a.

As the church grew and spread, there were the unscrupulous ones, always ready to do the work of their master, the devil. The apostles all warned the flock against such people. On his way to Jerusalem for the last time, Paul warned the Ephesian elders

“Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He bought with His own blood. I know that, after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.” Acts 20:28-30.

How tragic that there are people who are so greedy and self-centred, in spite of hearing the truth, that they use unsuspecting people for their own ends.  Leaders in the church have a threefold responsibility – to protect love, preserve unity and promote contentment. Paul’s counsel was, “Be ruthless with those who cause division. Have nothing to do with them. Throw out the rotten apple from the box before it infects all the others.”

Why is this so important? Unity is the very glue of the universe. It is a reflection of who God is.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” Deuteronomy 6:4, was the daily confession of the people of God. The constitution of Israel, the Torah, was an expression of and a mandate to preserve unity among His people because God is one. It is our mandate to maintain that unity in humility by love and mutual submission under the authority and leadership of God’s appointed leaders so that the church can be a reflection of God to the world.

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.