The Law

Posted on by kevinjandt

amosesrembrandt

 

Oh, how I love Your law!

It is my meditation all the day. – Psalm 119:97

This is a verse that really smacks me upside the head. I just don’t know how to say that with much more impact or clarity. It really is a dividing line between those that say they love Jesus and those that really do love Jesus. Our relationship to the Bible is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of our hearts.

How can we really love God without knowing God and how do we know God without reading His Word? The Bible says of itself that it is sufficient for all things pertaining to godliness, righteous living, correction and instruction and then it summarizes that statement by saying “so that the man of God can be complete and thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

So it really seems to make the most sense that if you say you are a man of God you would be quite infatuated with the Word of God doesn’t it?

But what about “The Law”, that seems so harsh and unloving…it seems so legalistic to many modern day evangelicals.

The law or the Torah is simply a precept or a statute, and it primarily refers to the Decalogue (Ten Commandments) or the Pentateuch (Books of Moses). The law is a reflection of the heart of God. God is all these things and to have a proper understanding of God we must understand and love the things that He loves.

Why is this important?

Loving the law of God gives us wisdom and understanding. It is the most important thing we can gain, in fact it is said to be more valuable than gold or fine silver.

I have more understanding than all my teachers… – Psalm 119:99

I understand more than the ancients. – Psalm 119:100

God’s Word restrains us from evil and is a light unto our path. In other words it keeps us on the straight and narrow. It causes us to hate evil, to despise false ways, and bad thinking. How can one gain knowledge and wisdom without knowing God’s precepts and commands?

I have restrained my feet from every evil way, that I may keep Your word. – Psalm 119:101

Through Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way. – Psalm 119:104

The professing church today is full of those that really don’t care for the Word of God, much less the Law of God. They don’t read the Bible, they don’t know the Bible, and what they do know of the Bible is generally misquoted or taken out of context. The Bible should be the lifeblood of a Christian. It is like a gold mine that can never be fully harvested. It should be something we can never get enough of as we desire to grow in godliness. Jesus said if you’ve truly been born from above you will hunger and thirst for it. (Matthew 5:6)

The Law is the heart and etiquette of God and those that pick and choose, or those that dislike or even despise the law are at enmity with God no matter what their mouth might say. This is a real gut check. It’s a great way to examine yourself to see if you are truly in the faith. What is your relationship to your Bible?

Teach me, O LORD, the way of

   Your statutes,

And I shall keep it to the end.

Give me understanding, and I

   Shall keep Your law;

Indeed, I shall observe it with my

   Whole heart.

Make me walk in the path of

   Your commandments.

For I delight in it.

Incline my heart to Your

   Testimonies,

And not to covetousness.

Turn away my eyes from looking

   At worthless things,

And revive me in Your way. – Psalm 119:33-37

 

Kevin

 

If you find a professing Christian indifferent to his Bible, you may be sure that the very dust upon its cover will rise up in judgment against him. — C.H. Spurgeon

Depart From Me…

Posted on by kevinjandt

Antinomianism is alive and well in the professing church today.   It won’t take you long, or many Facebook conversations, to find out the reality of this statement. Many people desire to “be blessed”, many people desire a savior, and I’ve not met that many people that say they are unconcerned about an eternity in hell. But…they don’t mind going out and living like the devil.

So what is this word “Antinomianism”? And why is it such a big deal.

“Antinomianism teaches that “the believer was completely free from all obligation to the Law and any concession to legal duty was an infringement of free grace.” Roman Catholicism attacked Protestantism for allegedly granting a license to sin through its doctrine of justification by faith alone.   The council of Trent, in its decree on justification (1547) implicitly accused the Reformers of abolishing the law for the Christian.

In their view of the law, the Reformers spoke of three distinct “uses” or applications of the law.

  1. Civil – guide the civil magistrate in rewarding good and punishing evil (Romans 13:3-4; 1 Tim 2:1-2) Luther wrote – “The first understanding of the use of the Law is to restrain the wicked…This civic restraint is extremely necessary and was instituted by God, both for the sake of public peace and for the sake of preserving everything, but especially to prevent the course of the Gospel from being hindered by tumults and seditions of wild men.”
  2. Evangelical – drives sinners away from their own righteousness to trust in Christ alone. (Galatians 3:10, 24, Gal 2:17) Calvin said the law warns, informs, convicts and lastly condemns, every man of his own righteousness…
  3. Directive or normative – it serves as a didactic “rule of life” to guide believers in ways that are pleasing to their God and Savior. The law drives sinners to Christ through whom they “become doers of the law”. – James 1:22” [1] – From A Puritan Theology by Joel Beeke & Mark Jones

 

2 Corinthians 7:1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

What is Paul referring back to when he says “therefore”?   We must look back at what Paul just said. He supports his upcoming argument with his previous statement, and as is the manner of Paul he consistently uses the Word of God, just as we should when we argue for the truth.

2 Corinthians 6:17 Therefore

“Come out from among them

And be separate, says the LORD.

Do not touch what is unclean,

And I will receive you.”

What we will consistently see is an argument against the Bible to support man’s sinful desires, and often we will see the twisting of the Scriptures to get them to say what we want them to say.   This is most often done in church going people, or people that want to hold onto their sin.   Thus Antinomianism, which means “against law”. Antinomians love to argue against the law. They want to be free from the guilt of obeying the law, but yet their conscience continues to bear witness against them and so they suppress the truth in their unrighteousness.

So what are we to understand about God’s law as New Testament believers? Are we under the obligation to keep the law? Can we keep the law?

One thing all must do, and all are responsible to do, is to understand God’s Word in full context. The best way to interpret Scripture is with Scripture. If you see something that doesn’t seem to make sense, use other Scripture to help you interpret.

Psalm 119:1-2 Blessed are the undefiled in the way. Who walk in the law of the LORD! Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, Who seek Him with the whole heart!

Psalm 119:11-12 Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You, Blessed are You, O LORD! Teach me Your statutes.

I won’t have the space to highlight all of Psalm 119 and the heart of a true believer, but it’s unmistakable, that there must be a heart transformation, and a burning desire to follow God’s law, IF, you are truly saved.

Paul knew this so well and he continued to drive home this point.

Romans 6:1-4 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death…even so we also should walk in newness of life.

The whole message of Scripture is a newness of life. It’s unmistakable, and those that want to continue in their sin are deceived. This does not mean sinless perfection. It means gaining ground on sin consistently. It means we will grow in holiness, because without holiness we will not see God.

This is the life of a Christian, or you’re not a Christian. This must be stressed, because it causes self-examination. It causes lamenting and mourning when we fall back into sin. It’s a constant desire to repent and turn from our sin. The stakes could not be higher. Don’t be deceived by the deceitfulness of sin and risk that you will someday stand before the righteous Judge and hear these words.

And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ – Matthew 7:23

 

Kevin

Go to Hell!

Posted on by kevinjandt

Go_to_Hell

How many times have you said this to someone? Well, as a Christian I hope you would never say this to someone, but as a Christian how many times do you say this to people in act or in deed? I’d say we all do this more times than we can imagine. I actually shudder to think how many times I do this.

Just recently a man died. His name was Jack. Jack woke up not knowing this day would be his last. I’m sure he had a lot of things on his to-do list that day and I’m certain he expected he’d accomplish all, if not most of his tasks. I didn’t know Jack; in fact, I know almost nothing about Jack except that he was in his forties. I’m sure he was a family man with a wife and kids. Maybe he was a church going man, I’m not sure. Maybe he wasn’t.

The thing is it’s possible I’ve talked to Jack at some point in my life and I wonder if in that encounter I told him about Jesus? I wonder if I told him that there is a Holy God that we will give account of our lives. I wonder if I told him that we’ve all sinned and fallen short of This God’s glory, and because of that problem justice must be served.

We are all guilty criminals; guilty of the most heinous of all crimes, against an infinitely Holy God. That God has given us life and everything good that we experience on this earth and we really have no thoughts of Him and we certainly don’t care to thank Him or honor Him. No, we just go along in our daily endeavors rarely thinking, if ever thinking, that this day might be our last, that today will be the day that we must stand in His courtroom and tell of all our deeds.

This courtroom has a much higher level of strictness and judgment than any earthly courtroom could have. In fact it is so strict that it requires perfection or we will be found guilty. In this courtroom anger is considered murder, in this courtroom looking with lust, or sexual desire is the same as adultery.

I don’t know if Jack knew that or not? I’m sure there will be a funeral where a minister will say a lot of nice things about Jack. How he was a good father, a good husband and probably a “good” man. But I wonder if that minister will remind those people that today or tomorrow could be the day they will face the judge?

Today I wonder if you or I, Mr. and Mrs. Christian, will tell people that today could be the day that they will face the judge. Will we tell them that He is a righteous judge, and that He is angry with the wicked every day? That if they don’t turn from their sin, and place their trust in Christ Jesus as their only hope that they will spend an eternity in a place called Hell, the place where God punishes guilty sinners just like I was, or just like you were?

Do we tell the guilty sinner that the only hope they have is in Christ? Not their own goodness?

Or do we really tell them to “Go to Hell!” I don’t want to take the time… I don’t want to risk the embarrassment…   I don’t want to risk the rejection… I don’t want to risk being labeled a freak…

In other words, you just don’t care about their soul. In other words, I don’t care about their soul.

If we believe the Bible, and I expect most reading this post will say they do, did we forget the imperative command of the Lord Jesus Christ, when He said “Go” and make disciples, teaching them to obey My commands? (Matthew 28:18-20) Did we also forget He said He would be with us, as we did it?

Did we forget that He said the first and greatest command is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind and the second commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself?  Loving our neighbor certainly includes calling them to repentance doesn’t it?

“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me: When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.” – Ezekiel 3:17-19

My dear friends, if your evangelistic zeal is non-existent, or seriously lacking, please consider your testimony today. Do you really love people, or do you just love yourself? Do you prefer to protect yourself, or do you really desire to live for the glory of God?

For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. – Luke 9:24

Let’s consider today, how many Jack’s we will pass by and tell them to “Go to Hell!”

 

Kevin

 

Sexual Immorality

Posted on by kevinjandt

head in hands

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. – Colossians 3:1

We live in a culture saturated and obsessed with sex. There is no other way to describe it. This past week I was on a flight to San Francisco and I was sitting in an aisle seat and all of the seat backs had televisions. The woman in the middle seat in front of me had the show Sex in the City playing from the time we left Chicago until we landed in San Francisco and I was at an angle where I could watch it quite easily. It was a show that my wife and I once watched before we were saved. I remembered many of the episodes that would catch my attention from time to time during the flight and I was disgusted by the ease at which men and women are portrayed slipping into and out of bed together.

I was disgusted by the man that I once was, and yet at the same time so grateful for what the Lord Jesus Christ has delivered me from. In the confines of marriage sex is a beautiful thing, but like so many other things the world has to offer, outside of proper boundaries, it’s an abomination to God. Sexual immorality is very subtle and can creep into the lives of the saints. It’s as simple as spending too much time observing what’s going on in the seat in front of you. It can start as a very small seed and blossom into full blown sin if not mortified and put to death.

God’s word is clear on the matter.

Therefore put to death your member which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. – Colossians 3:5

Put it to death…kill it, mortify it, says the Apostle Paul.

Here’s the catch, “if” you were raised with Christ. This message is for believers. If you call yourself a believer and you are living in these things, you will either, kill them, mortify the deeds of the flesh, or you are not a believer. The word if is a primary particle of conditionality, in other words it connects these two thoughts together. So if you were raised with Christ, then this is now what you will do.

This requires the act of obedience. It’s really plain and simple, because the worship of God requires obedience.

We must… because of who God is…and because of what Christ has done.

I must look away from the television screen; I must not look too long at the woman that is standing next to me, or allow my mind to dwell on her physical attributes. I must desire to kill those members that desire these things.

For men, we know this is not an easy thing to do. And it’s impossible if the Spirit of God does not live inside of us, but if the Spirit does indwell us, then we will and we must, or the Spirit does not indwell us. Does that make sense?

A couple years ago I was challenged by my Elders to decide to whom I would write this blog and it was at that time I decided I needed to minister to believers more than non-believers, but today this post needs to apply to both camps. If you are living in sexual immorality, it’s important to understand that you are not in right relationship to God, that you are an enemy of God, and the future is bleak should you continue in that pattern.

Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience. In which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. – Colossians 3:6-7

There is no mistaking what this means. If you live in sexual immorality, and this means fornication which is sex outside of marriage (living together), homosexuality, adultery, pornography, or any other sort of sexual perversions the wrath of God abides upon you. The Bible makes this crystal clear. There is no way around it and in fact Jesus even raises the standard and says that if you even look with lust, you’ve already committed adultery in your heart. (Matthew 5:27)

Do not be deceived, no matter what your mouth says, no matter what you think; what matters is an obedient life. This obedience is what proves your salvation. It can’t save you, but the pattern of your life is how one knows, it’s how a person works out his salvation with fear and trembling.

Obedience is a big deal.

And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ – Matthew 7:23

If you are involved in any sort of sexual immorality, I urge you to repent and turn from your sin. You must have a change of heart, leading to a change of life that brings the Lord Jesus Christ glory. I know who I was and I know who I am now and those two men are completely different men. Paul leaves us with hope when he says “In which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.” His letter is to believers, and the way we know we believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior is that we “once” walked, but no longer walk in that pattern of life.

Soli Deo Gloria!

 

Kevin

How Much is Enough?

Posted on by kevinjandt

how-much-is-enough

We live in a world that is all about more. It’s everywhere you look and it’s indoctrinated into this culture that the more you have, the better you are and the happier you will be. This generation like no other has incredible wealth. There are those in this country that are considerably more wealthy than others, but yet I’ve not seen anyone sitting on a street corner with bones showing because they didn’t have anything to eat and they couldn’t find food.

You’ve seen those pictures from places like Africa where people are literally starving to death, the images from the Nazi death camps, where they are walking skeletons. That’s what I’d consider poor, completely without anything. We, in the US, have a completely different concept of poverty, and although there is compassion for those that have less I also have as much compassion for those that have more, but yet are without Christ.

The riches of this world blind our eyes, and cause those to trust in those riches. I know when I have a little cash in my pocket it makes me feel good about myself. It lightens the load, so that I really don’t need to worry as much about Jesus providing my needs. I’ve got that one under control, but “Oh Lord, you are sooooo good…I’m sooooo blessed!” “Thank You Jesus!” After all, doesn’t He want that for us?

The thing about the Christian experience, that I once wrote about, is that it’s really a bizzarro world. It’s completely upside down. First is last, last is first, those that desire to save their life will lose, but if you desire to lose your life you’ll save it. It’s stuff that just doesn’t seem right to most people. It’s certainly why Jesus said, there are few that find life, and many go the way of destruction, because it just isn’t logical.

God has spoken a lot about money. Money is clearly something He cares about, and it should be something the Christian should care about, but not in the same way as the world will care.

Two things I request of You

(Deprive me not before I die):

Remove falsehood and lies far

   from me;

Give me neither poverty nor

   riches—

Feed me with the food allotted

   to me;

Lest I be full and deny You,

And say, “Who is the LORD?”

Or lest I be poor and steal,

And profane the name of my God. – Proverbs 30:7-9

God has given us balance. He’s shown us what we should desire in money and worldly possessions, just enough. The god of this age tells us we need more. The god of this age tells us we can be blessed by god if we only have faith, because god wants us happy healthy and wise. The charlatan preachers peddle this like crack cocaine. It’s easy to get you hooked because it sounds so good. Once you’ve had a taste it’s hard to go back. But that’s not what the Bible tells us…

Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts wich drown men in destruction and perdition. – 1 Timothy 6:6-9

Desiring more is a snare. It will drown you.

Have you ever heard about how natives catch monkey’s in Africa? They take a coconut and hollow it out, just big enough for a monkey to get his hand inside and then put peanuts inside. When the monkey smells the peanuts he’ll grab hold and not let go. He’s trapped by his desire for the peanuts. All he has to do to get away is let go of the peanuts. Yet he will die rather than let go. This is exactly what Paul is telling us about money. We don’t know what’s good for us, so we’ll hold onto those peanuts until it kills us.

“Therefore do not worry, saying ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” – Matthew 6:31-34

Here is our remedy. This is the answer to the problem that we face concerning our desire for wealth and prosperity. Seek first the kingdom of God. Let go of your peanuts, seek Christ and His righteousness and then stop worry about your money as if it’s yours anyway; if you can’t do this, then consider if you are truly saved or not. Money will not have a hold on the true believer and if it does he is not a believer.

 

Kevin