Mark 3:4-5 (KJV) Guarding Their Hardening

Mark 3:4-5 (KJV)
And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.

When Jesus engaged these Jews with the Word of God, rather than answering Him or even responding to Him, they held their peace. The next verse tells us why; they had hard hearts.

This sort of hardness is often observable in people. When those who disagree with a particular thing refuse to communicate with the ones with whom they disagree they often resort instead to silence. Sometimes this is a sullen silence, moody and irritable. Sometimes it is a covert silence, watching, fact gathering, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce.

The hardened heart cannot engage in genuine conservation because to do so opens at least three possibilities:

• It may expose the weaknesses of their view
• It may include unintended persons, less hardened into the conversation 
• It may introduce them to the possibility that they are wrong and need to change

Their silence protects their hardness.

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Mark 3:4-5 (KJV) Guarding Their Hardening

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Psalms 121:1-2 (KJV) Fruit for Others

Psalms 121:1-2 (KJV)
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.

The Psalmist begins with his personal relationship with the Lord.
I will lift up mine eyes … My help cometh from the Lord. 

• See his duty, “I will” 
• Then his reflection “from whence” and 
• Then his assurance “My help“

No believer will be of much good without taking time for personal growth in his or her relationship with the Lord

The Psalmist then moves to encourage others in their relationship with the Lord.

A life for God must maintain this twofold aspect to be:

• Real
• Life changing and 
• Relevant

It has never been the case that Christianity can be lived silently or privately. True, its roots and life spring from something that cannot be seen or shared but its fruit is always meant for others.

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Psalms 121:1-2 (KJV) Fruit for Others

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Psalms 119:35 (KJV) God’s Sovereignty or Man’s Free Will? Yes and Yes

Psalms 119:35 (KJV)
Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.

I was stricken with the apparent contradiction but observable truth that to delight in a thing, to desire to do a thing, especially when it is a good thing, does not necessarily mean one will do that thing.

The Psalmist delights in the path of God’s commandments but he must pray that God would make him go in them. I am reminded of Paul’s painful words in Romans 7:19 (KJV) For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. The Psalmist pleads with God to address in him this painful reality.

The word, make, means to incline or to bend. He is asking God to give him not only a delight in the path of His commandments but an inclination to do them.

This brings up the whole issue of the sovereignty of God versus the free will of man. Is it so that I cannot go in the path of God’s commandments without His making me, or am I a free moral agent responsible to discern and then do the right? The answer is “Yes” on both counts.

God is so much higher than man that we cannot comprehend Him. Our finite nature has to put things of this nature into boxes of limit. We choose one or the other; sovereignty or free will. By doing so we create divisions among ourselves, we err from the Word of God and miss the truthful message of God’s work. Philosophy and human reason longs to elevate man to godlikeness, putting God into a box we can understand. Humble servanthood sets this ambition aside and lets God be God and not ourselves.

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Psalms 119:35 (KJV) God’s Sovereignty or Man’s Free Will? Yes and Yes

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Mark 2:9 (KJV) The One Thing God Sees As Important

Mark 2:9 (KJV)
Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? 

It is a mistake to see every miracle and message of Christ as directly applying to salvation. Calvinists seem to do this and, in doing so, come up with some pretty bad doctrine. Using, for instance, the raising of Lazarus as a picture of salvation, the Calvinist claims that the unsaved is corpse like dead, unable even to respond to Jesus unless He gives them life first. Thus, they put regeneration before praying for salvation, something they agree the newly saved must do.

While mistakes like that can be made, there is no mistaking the lessons to be gained from this miracle. Jesus impressed those lessons into the account by saying to the crippled man

first of all, “Thy sins be forgiven.” He could easily have just said, “Take up thy bed.” But had Jesus said that His audience would miss the point. He healed the man so we could know He has power on earth to forgive sins.

We come up with all sorts of things we deem to be important.

• Health
• Finances
• Family
• Peace
• Etc

I believe there is just one thing God sees as ultimately important; that our sins be forgiven.

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Mark 2:9 (KJV) The One Thing God Sees As Important

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Mark 1:8 (KJV) What Is Baptism with the Holy Ghost?

Mark 1:8 (KJV)
I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.

One time, when I was in Bible College, my pastor brought a message on a Wednesday night on the one baptism in the Bible (he referred to water baptism). The next day, as I remember it, I stepped into the first class of the day, Life of Christ, where the professor gave us the three baptisms found in the Bible. I kid you not, the very next class, Personal Evangelism, the teacher gave us a printed handout of the seven baptisms found in the Bible. I was flabbergasted. I blurted out before the whole class, “I have learned something since coming to this college; I don’t know anything about the Bible.” Teacher responded, “Great that’s the first thing we wanted to teach you.” I then said, “I have also learned that none of you know anything about the Bible either!”

He offered me a job on staff at his church.

I am of the position that there is only one Scriptural baptism in the Bible, water baptism:

• Of a saved person
• By immersion 
• As a memorial of the gospel
• Under authority of a duly established Baptist church 

I do however recognize that the term is found in the Bible referencing something other than water baptism and I believe each of those references must be understood in light of this passage. John the Baptist was sent from God with unquestioned authority to baptize. Every one of the twelve was baptized of Him. Jesus Himself submitted to John’s baptism. Later we learn that God is glorified through submission to the same.

So what is the baptism with the Holy Ghost John mentions here? John the Baptist simply took his audience from where they were to where Jesus is. Scriptural baptism is water baptism. He uses that baptism (the word means immersion) to point to the work of Jesus to immerse or envelop and seal the saved with the Holy Spirit until the day of our presentation before God in heaven. It is not a contrast, the baptism of John versus the baptism of Jesus, it is a not even a comparison of the one alongside the other, it is an object lesson meant to capture the minds of the hearer to one subject and then to take them from that subject to another the teacher wants them to learn.

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Mark 1:8 (KJV) What Is Baptism with the Holy Ghost?

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Matthew 28:5-7 (KJV) A Message For Those Who Know Jesus

Matthew 28:5-7 (KJV)
And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.

The women who came to the tomb that morning of Christ’s resurrection were seeking Jesus but not in the sense the term is popularly understood today. They knew Christ intimately. They sought Him out of love, to serve and they sought Him to know what had become of Him. They sought to grow. It is to that sort of seeker the angel gave:

Something to seeThe tomb was empty. Any growing believer must see it so. The confidence of the Christian faith is wrapped up in the resurrection of Christ.

Somewhere to goTo the disciples. Growing Christians are fellowshipping Christians. They get with other believers.

Something to tellEvery Christian has a story to tell. There is something God has done in your life. There is a piece of truth each Christian possesses that needs to be added to the treasury of his or her church. We give testimony, we teach classes and we speak privately together in order to let that message out.

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Matthew 28:5-7 (KJV) A Message For Those Who Know Jesus

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Psalms 117:1-2 (KJV) Real Study

Psalms 117:1-2 (KJV)
O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people.For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD.

I found this brief paragraph in a series of quotes and quaint expressions recorded in Spurgeon’s Treasury of David.

“In God’s worship it is not always necessary to be long; few words sometimes say what is sufficient, as this short Psalm giveth us to understand. – David Dickson.”

I do not know who David Dickson was but I certainly agree with him. Long-windedness is not necessarily the sign of study. The most thought out and studied works are likely those that have been boiled down to their most earnest message.

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Psalms 117:1-2 (KJV) Real Study

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Psalms 115:1 (KJV) Pay Particular Attention

Psalms 115:1 (KJV)
Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.

One of the ways a subject is emphasized in Jewish literature and especially in the Bible is through repetition. When the Bible speaks, listen. When the Bible repeats itself, pay particular attention.

Not once but twice the verse deflects glory from man to the Lord. It is worth our noting that man is quick to accept glory.

• We like our names to be spoken. 
• We enjoy the notice of the crowd. 

Even when we say we want God to get all the glory we wouldn’t mind at least getting an “honorable mention.” We love the limelight, celebrity status, sound of applause for our efforts.

And so the Psalmist, in prayer form, asks God to help us. He asks God to take the glory and, not once but twice asks that any glory be removed from our names.

It’s so important it’s repeated. As badly as we want glory. As much as we accept it even when we say we don’t want it. Glory belongs to the Lord alone.

“Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.”

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Psalms 115:1 (KJV) Pay Particular Attention

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Matthew 27:3-4 (KJV) The Unbelieving Character

Matthew 27:3-4 (KJV)
Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. 

Too much should not be made of the fact that Jesus once insinuated that Judas was “a devil.”[1] Remember he also once called Peter Satan.  Judas was a man. He was deceived by the devil and, though obviously close to Christ, was missing some part of faith the other Apostles possessed. Though Judas “repented himself,” the true unbelieving character of this man is seen in:

• His conspiring to betray Christ 
• His carrying out of the deed and
• His killing himself rather than facing the terrible consequences of His sin.

Could Judas have been forgiven and saved had he had godly repentance and faced his crime? That is left to speculation. I do know that many a professing believer has proved that theirs was a false faith by turning from Christ and, not having the character to face their wrong, never returned. Contrarily, many a true believer has proved the genuineness of their profession by, having done some gross and heinous crime against Christ, confessed it,

suffered through the consequences and returned to live for the Lord.

[1] As a point of interest, Adam Clarke wrote of this passage, “There is much of the wisdom and goodness of God to be seen in this part of Judas’s conduct. Had our Lord been condemned to death on the evidence of one of his own disciples, it would have furnished infidels with a strong argument against Christ and the Christian religion. “One of his own disciples, knowing the whole imposture, declared it to the Jewish rulers, in consequence of which he was put to death as an impostor and deceiver.” But the traitor, being stung with remorse, came and acknowledged his crime, and solemnly declared the innocence of his Master, threw back the money which they gave him to induce him to do this villainous act; and, to establish the evidence which he now gave against them and himself, in behalf of the innocence of Christ, hanged himself, or died through excessive grief and contrition. Thus the character of Christ was rescued from all reproach.”

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Matthew 27:3-4 (KJV) The Unbelieving Character

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Matthew 26:21-22 (KJV) Is It I?

Matthew 26:21-22 (KJV)
And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?

Jesus has delivered startling news. Up to this point the disciples had practically ignored Jesus’ messages about His death, burial and resurrection. It had been heard and it would be twisted and used against Him by His accusers but it had not registered with the disciples.

Until here.

Here Jesus added a piece of information that sent them into high alert. Jesus would be:

• captured, 
• tried and 
• killed 

not to long from now and one of them will be betray Jesus for the event.

What? One of them? How could it be? They had forsaken all to follow Him. They had

• seen His miracles 
• heard His messages and 
• trusted His Word. 

One of them would betray Jesus?

But then it got personal. They could not fathom that any one of them could betray the Lord. What if it wasn’t one of them?

Lord, is it I?

Could I be the one to do such an awful thing? Could I be so deceived about myself that I could go so far as betray Jesus to death?

One by one they asked, searching deeply into their souls. Every one of them (except perhaps John) fled from Christ. One of them denied Christ. Judas did, in fact, betray Christ.

I see two thoughts worthy of mention:
They did not begin judging one another.Though it seems like the most natural thing to do it is not what they did. These men kept their focus where it ought to have been, with themselves. God’s message is meant for self-examination and not the manipulation of others. God will indeed convict and move and work in the souls of other men. God will use us to help them. Never jump to bring a message home to another until it’s got home to you.

It would do us all very well to reflect on our own tendency for sin.None of us is without fault.

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Matthew 26:21-22 (KJV) Is It I?

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Matthew 25:38-39 (KJV) When Saw We Thee?

Matthew 25:38-39 (KJV)
When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 

There are two truths here worth considering:

• That, in this day, we have difficulty seeing Christ 
• That He is seen in our service and ministry to others in His name 

Christ is present with us.

• It is a promise. 
• It is as sure as our life. 
• It is a truth that is immutable and unchanging. 

But He is not visible in physical form.

• He is present in the hearts of those whom He has saved. 
• He is present in the plan that He works to accomplish. 
• He His present in the message He has delivered in the Bible. 
• He is present in the assembly of local churches.

He is present but He is only seen when we know where to look.

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Matthew 25:38-39 (KJV) When Saw We Thee?

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Matthew 24:3 (KJV) Give It Some Time

Matthew 24:3 (KJV)
And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

There was a message Jesus gave the general public and another one He gave His disciples. Mind you they were not contradictory messages. The one was more general and the other was more specific.

As a preacher I find that there is one sort of message I can bring to a general crowd, perhaps mostly of unbelievers, and a different sort of message I might be able to bring to Christians. Generally speaking the message to Christians is more detailed and probably a little longer.

As a believer I learn from this that, if I desire to know more about the things of the Lord, I will need to pursue it.

• I will need to ask about the thing I want to know
• I will need to attend a service meant for believers
• I will need to invest more time to hear and learn 

Some people never grow past the more general things of God because they only attend the more general messages from God.

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Matthew 24:3 (KJV) Give It Some Time

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Matthew 23:37 (KJV) Plenty of Room

Matthew 23:37 (KJV)
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! 

Jesus, in this chapter, issues one woe after another against the Scribes and Pharisees. At one point He even intimates that it would be impossible for them to escape hell. But He ends the chapter addressing Jerusalem as a whole and doing so in an emotional rather than harsh tone. Though the city would not gather under His wings as it were, there was compassion. With compassion, I believe comes opportunity for mercy.

There are some who have so engrained themselves in error that the hope of their conversion is far fetched at best. But among them there are some, maybe many, whose hardness is not so set they cannot be won.

Appeal to the multitudes to come to Jesus. Trust in His compassion and pray for them to gather near Christ.

There is plenty of room and mercy sufficient for all who do.

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Matthew 23:37 (KJV) Plenty of Room

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Matthew 22:9 (KJV) Come Well Dressed

Matthew 22:9 (KJV)
Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. 

This parable makes it so obvious who the called are that even Calvinist John Gill claims them to be the Jews.

They were called of God for the wonderful purpose of presenting to the world the Scriptures and for delivering into the world the Lamb of God.  They had the benefit of dozens of generations hearing from God.

But being called is not the same as being bidden. The benefits extended to them gave them no right to ignore that vital moment when they were invited “in.”

I note that though they were bidden first, they were not bidden alone. The invitation to the wedding extended to those who were called and to as many others as could be found. The lesson is clear. The Gospel is not only for those who are the called or the elect; the Gospel is for whosoever will.

Come dressed in the righteousness of Christ, of course, but come one and come all.

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Matthew 22:9 (KJV) Come Well Dressed

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Matthew 21:28-31 (KJV) Be The First

Matthew 21:28-31 (KJV)
But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. 

It would be pretty difficult not to see where this parable leads. Jesus is contrasting the Gentiles with Israel. Israel is that son who pretended to do the will of God but did not; from the Gentiles comes the son who, though at the first rebels, then repents and does God’s will.

I notice in a parable further down the chapter Jesus said, Matthew 21:43
Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.

It is not the Gentile nations that are given the kingdom. It is one new nation comprised of both Jews and Gentiles. It is that holy nation of faith in Christ.

Back to the first parallel, I want to be the first son. Mind you, I wished it were not true that I had rebelled at first but that is what I did. The Bible assures me that I am not the only one but that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” That includes the Jew if he will admit it. Having seen my rebellious nature I repented and asked Christ to forgive and to save me.

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Matthew 21:28-31 (KJV) Be The First

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Matthew 20:11 (KJV) Resist the Ungrateful Nature

Matthew 20:11 (KJV)
And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, 

Notice the nature of man:

• They murmured though they received 
• They received work to do
• They received the wages they were promised 
• They received those wages in a timely manner

And still,
They murmured though he was a good man

• He was fair, giving, and good hearted. 
• He was successful, industrious and ever quick to hire more labor. 
• He was prepared, available and inclined to pay for the labor rendered

Yet they murmured.

They murmured at the One who represents GodThis good man is an illustration of God’s oversight of the kingdom of heaven. Is it not stunning that men murmur against such a good man as God? Are we not in awe that men would complain against the One who has showered grace upon sinners?

Let us learn from this text to resist this ungrateful nature within us.

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Matthew 20:11 (KJV) Resist the Ungrateful Nature

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Psalms 110:1 (KJV) Essential for Satisfaction

Psalms 110:1 (KJV)
A Psalm of David. The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

Jesus made it clear that, though the word “Lord” is used twice in this verse, the intent of this passage is that God is speaking to God. God the Father spoke to God the Son giving Him both a place and a promise. The passage is also clear that this conversation took place prior to the incarnation of Christ (even prior the days of David). The multi-personal nature of the Godhead is an essential quality of God and not merely a manifest appearance strictly for the benefit of mankind.

So many aspects of God could be seen as merely anthropomorphic expressions meant not to actually describe God but to describe something about Him in a manner that a finite being is able to understand. None of us believe that God has wings, but the Bible speaks of Him hiding us under the shadow of His wings.[1] This is not so of the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost. Our One True God has eternally and essentially existed as three Persons before time and the foundations of the World. God spoke to Himself as He spoke the world into existence.

God’s fellowship with man is therefore not essential to His satisfaction, but to ours. God created man specifically to fellowship with Him not because He needed it but so we can enjoy it. God, who is perfect to the extent that He is perfectly fulfilled in Himself, graciously created man to partake in that fulfillment.

[1] Matthew 23:37 (KJV)
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

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Psalms 110:1 (KJV) Essential for Satisfaction

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Matthew 18:7 (KJV) No One More Guilty

Matthew 18:7 (KJV)
Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! 

It is a sorrowful thing that, in this world, there are offenses. There are evils that happen of every sort.

• There are those who, like Joseph’s brothers, commit harm to a person because of jealousy.  
• There are those who, like Nebuchadnezzar or Sennacherib, lead armies to take that which belongs to another. 
• There are those who, like Haman, commit crimes against others just because they are mean spirited.

Such sins did not originate with God. He did not create sin, He does not approve of sin but He does permit sinners their leash. God also uses the sins and consequential offenses as a means to accomplish His will and direct the course of this world toward His final plan.

Having said that God permits sinners their leash and uses their actions for His own purposes, yet Jesus still insists that the sinner is culpable for his sins. Barnes says concerning this, “He who leads others into sin is awfully guilty – no man can be more guilty.”

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Matthew 18:7 (KJV) No One More Guilty

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Psalms 107:33-37 (KJV) A Reversal of Fortune

Psalms 107:33-37 (KJV)
He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground;A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein.He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into watersprings.And there he maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation;And sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase.

This appears to be a prophecy concerning the reversal that took place in the rejection of Jesus by the Jews.

Israel, who had been like rivers of abundance and a land of fruitfulness, became dry and barren at the rejection of Jesus.These people, who had been given so much: the great men of God, the prophets of His Word, the righteous Law and the promised Messiah, lost all of it when they crucified the Lord.

The Gentiles, on the other hand, had been like desert wildernesses and unfruitful fields.There was nothing about them that appealed to righteousness. They were idolaters, abusers of mankind, proud and self satisfied. But when Jesus was resurrected, they began to receive Him. The Word of God, which began in the Old Testament to the Jews, became increasingly in the New Testament to be believed by the Gentiles.

• It was in the Gentile nations that churches sprung up where the Word of God was preached effectively and souls turned to the Lord. 
• It was among the Gentiles that men surrendered their lives for the preaching of the Gospel.
• It was the Gentile believers who then looked back to the Jews and became their friends, offering to them relief in their wilderness.

In the work of Christ God indeed made barren the fruitful land and made bountiful that which was once wilderness.

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Psalms 107:33-37 (KJV) A Reversal of Fortune

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Psalms 105:2 (KJV) Musically Minded

Psalms 105:2 (KJV)
Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works.

The psalmist is addressing people about their relationship with God. His subject in this case is singing. Notice that he does not encourage them to sing songs to people about God. He urges them to sing directly to God.

How many Christian songs today are created and then performed for God’s benefit and not necessarily the hearers?

• How many songs today are written as a message to God? 
• How many of those songs are performed for God’s pleasure and not the assembly? 
• How often does the performer have God in mind rather than the audience?

I am not suggesting that every song must be written in the form of a prayer. I believe that the best place to get a clue as to how to write profitable spiritual songs would be the Psalms. There are a variety of subjects addressed in the Psalms. There are a multitude of audiences, sometimes within the same Psalm. The Psalms are written to cover:

• A wide array of emotions in 
• A number of situations with 
• A plethora of instruments 

Some are designed to be song by those ordained to a music ministry. Others are written to be sung by the congregation. Some of them are doctrinal. Some of them are worshipful. Some of them are motivational. The overriding principle is that they are to be pleasurable to God first.

To my readers:
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Psalms 105:2 (KJV) Musically Minded

Please consider helping our church’s teen department by signing up for cash back shopping at Bible Baptist Church Fundraiser. This program has three levels of participation, the first being completely free.