N.T. Reflections- Matthew 7

“'Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

'Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’" Matthew 7:15-23

Reading these verses reminded me of a story a speaker from Barakel told this last summer. (I'm not sure if this story is true. I just know it was effective, and a very good illustration.) There was a couple with a small baby that they loved very dearly. They had been told for many years that they could not have children, so it was with great surprise and joy that they discovered they were pregnant. When the baby was born, they never wanted to leave her with anyone else. They bought her all the best things, and surrounded her with every type of toy imaginable. As time wore on, people advised them to get out and leave their baby with someone else. Finally one day, they decided it was time to leave their child in the care of another, so they interviewed dozens of prospective babysitters, finally chose one, and made plans to spend a few hours together on a Friday night. The night arrived, and the couple lathered their baby in kisses and left. The whole time they were gone, they couldn't enjoy themselves, worrying about what could be happening with their baby. Finally after an hour, they headed home. As they entered their neighborhood, they heard sirens and saw smoke rising from their block. As they drew closer, they realized that it was THEIR home that was on fire. Frantically, they raced to their home and up to the group of firefighters. One was just stumbling out of the building, and they saw with relief that he was holding a baby-sized bundle wrapped in a blanket. As the firefighter emerged from the house, the entire building collapsed in flames behind him. The parents rushed over to the firefighter. "It's ok," he reassured them. "The babysitter told me about the baby, and I have your little girl." With tears of relief and sobs of thank you, the parents took the precious little bundle from the firefighter and unwrapped it...only to find a lifesize doll wrapped in their baby's blanket.

The firefighter got something that looked like the real thing, but wasn't really truly what he thought he had. In the judgment day many people will say to Jesus, "I am your child because I did good things for you!" But Jesus will only say, "You got something that looked like me, not me. Eternal life is knowing me."

Paul exhorts us in Second Corinthians 13:5 "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—" So how can we know whether we really 'have Christ' or just have somehing that looks like him? I John is an excellent book to look in for the answer to this question, since it claims that it is written to those who believe, so they may KNOW for certain that they have eternal life. "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may KNOW that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God." (I John 5:13) 'Know' is a key word in this book and is used 42 times.

First John has three tests for those who want to know whether they're saved: The doctrine test, the moral test, and the love test. We'll take a quick look at what John said about each test, then I have a link to a short video of a pastor explaining all this way better than I ever could.

First test: The doctrine test. Do I believe Jesus is God and also the Messiah, the Son of God sent to die for my sin? "Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God." I John 5:1 "Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ [Messiah]? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. If what you heard from the begining abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father, And this is the promise he has promised us-eternal life." (I John 2:22,24-25) "Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God." (I John 4:15) What's so significant about believing Jesus is God and also the Messiah? If Jesus was not fully God, He would not have been perfect. If He had not been perfect, His death would mean nothing to us: it would have no saving power. The only reason Jesus could pay for our sins, is because he had none of his own to pay for. Had he not been God and been a sinner, his death would have been what He deserved, and He would not have been able to be the substitute sacrifice for our sins. But what's this about a Messiah? Why do we have to believe that? The Messiah or Christ was the one God had promised since Adam who would come and die in the people's place, ending the animal sacrifices which were only a symbol of Jesus. If we don't believe Jesus was truly the Messiah, the one whose death paid for our sin so we don't have to, then we end up trying to pay our own way to heaven by being good enough, and that won't work. If I do not believe Jesus is God and Jesus is the Messiah who paid the punishment I deserved for my sins, I am not a Christian.

Second test: The Moral Test. Do I see a change in my desires and the way I live my life that has come as a result of what I believe about who Jesus is? "Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, 'I know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar...But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in Him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk as He walked." (I John 2:3-6) "No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God." (I John 3:9-10) I taught these verses every Saturday morning at camp this last summer. I always said that the key word in these last two verses was 'practice'. If you are practicing volleyball and try to serve the ball, and it hits the volleyball net and doesn't go over, it would be a dumb thing for me to say, "Oh, you must be playing basketball!" I can tell what you're practicing no matter how many times you mess up. In the same way, it should be clear in your life what you are practicing: sin or righteousness, no matter how many times you mess up. Check your desires. What is your deeper desire: to sin and enjoy the fun in it, or to please God and enjoy the lasting joy we will have in heaven? Does sin bother you or make you happy? One speaker this summer used the anology of what pigs and kittens do after you clean them. A pig jumps right back into the mud. He loves mud! But a kitten tries to stay clean, and even if she does get dirty, she cleans herself as quickly as possible. Same with a Christian and someone who is not a Christian. Someone who has not trusted Jesus for Salvation loves sin and has no desire to follow God and "stay clean", while those who HAVE trusted Jesus are those who John talks about in 3:3 "Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He [Jesus] is pure." If I do not see a change in my desires and the way I live my life that has come as a result of who I believe Jesus is, I am not a Christian.

Third Test: The Love Test. Does the way I live my life show that I have real, sacrificial love for others? "If anyone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen." (I John 4:20) "We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death." (I John 3:14) "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love." (I John 4:7-8) "My little children, let us not love in word or tongue, but in action and in truth." (I John 3:18) These verses aren't just talking about saying we love people according to this last verse; they're asking us to show and PROVE we love them by our actions. Love is loving people even when it hurts us or even when they're different from us. But what does that really mean? How can we do that? God gave us all these commands we're supposed to follow AND on top of that He wants us to love people? Actually, the reason God gives commands in the Bible is just to explain what it means to love Him and love others. The first four of the 10 commandments teach us how to love God, and the last six teach us how to love others. Jesus taught this is Matthew 22:36-40 when he said that the greatest commandment is to love God, and the second greatest is to love others, then He said that all the laws in the Old Testament and things the prophets said are summed up by those two laws. John agrees-"By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments." (I John 5:2-3) If I do not see new love for others and love for God in my life as a result of what I believe about Jesus, I am not a Christian.

When testing ourselves by the love and moral tests, we have to make sure to look at our desires (does sin make us happy or bother us?) and what we're 'practicing', since no once can follow God perfectly. How can we even follow God at all? I certainly don't have the strength to obey Him and love others. I John has the answer again! (If you couldn't tell before now, I love this book!) "We love Him because He first loved us. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him." (I John 4:9-11, 16, 19)

God's requirement for anyone to get to heaven is that they must live a perfect life. Unfortunately for us, we all mess up. But God loved us so much, He provided a way out of that mess- He sent Jesus! Jesus lived the perfect live we should've lived, then died a painful death, taking the punishment we deserved. Now if we trust His payment for our sin to be enough to get us to heaven, then turn from sin to follow Him, He will give us eternal life AND the desire and strength to follow and obey Him.

How does He do this? Through the power of the Holy Spirit! When we trust Jesus for Salvation, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside us. I John 4:13 says, "By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit." The Holy Spirit gives us the power and desire to obey God. He's the one who does the work in us, making us more like Jesus. When we realize just how great His love is for us and how it drove Him to make the ultimate sacrifice for us, loving Him becomes easier. Loving Him in action looks like loving the people He made, and loving the people He made looks like obeying His commands. But it all starts with what God does for us. We don't love God and others and obey Him to become a Christian and get to heaven, we love Him because He has saved us already. We are saved by trusting that Jesus' death on the cross was enough to get us to heaven, THEN we are driven to love God and live to please Him.

The word Christian means "little Christ." Christians are followers of God who look like little Christs. Here's what Jesus said about following Him:

"Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples." Luke 14:25-33

Following Christ (being a Christian) is difficult. It requires sacrifice. But it is SO worth it, and it will be even more worth it when we finally reach heaven.

N.T. Reflectons- Matthew 1

"Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah." Matthew 1:5-6

Every time I read the names in this section of the geneaology of Jesus, I am just amazed by the people and events God included in the ancestral line of Jesus. Rahab was a harlot. Ruth was not born a Jew, but grew up worshipping false gods. David committed adultery with Bathsheba (Solomon's mother) and killed her husband to cover his sin. Yet God used them all to bring His Son into the world. Why? Ultimately the answer lies in God's great grace, and the power of God's forgiveness based on their repentance.

Rahab's redemption began with fear of the God of the Israelites. She heard stories of the mighty wonders He had done for His children, and decided she'd rather be on this God's side and risk punishment or death from her government than be against this all-powerful God and be crushed anyways. Her fear led to faith, and her faith led to action- hiding the Israelite spies and sending them safely away. So great was her faith in the power of this God, that she risked everything to serve Him, and consequently her life was saved, she became part of the line of Jesus, and she is even mentioned in Hebrews 11- the hall of faith heroes.

Ruth's story of change begins with unusual circumstances. Elimilech and his family left their home in Bethlehem to travel to Moab, a city outside of God's promise land. Jewish law stated that this was not allowed unless buying and selling food became impossible. Nevertheless, Elimilech disobeyed God and moved there, taking his wife Naomi and two sons Mahlon and Chilion. While there, his two sons married Moabities (Ruth and Orpah), which was also against Hebrew law. Yet when Elimilech, Mahlon, and Chilion all died in Moab and Naomi left to return to Bethlehem, Ruth (although no longer bound by law to Naomi, and having received Naomi's blessing to remarry and stay in Moab) chose to go with Naomi so she could provide for her. "Your people will be my people," she declared, "and your God my God." We all know the rest of the story of how, in providing for Naomi, she meets Boaz, a relative in line to marry her and buy the family land. Ruth's choice of loyalty to Naomi and decision to leave her people and gods to serve Naomi and follow the God of Israel, although seeming to mean sacrifice for her, resulted in great blessing, and the placement of her into the line of Jesus.

David was called a man after God's own heart. But this certainly doesn't mean he never messed up. The most embarrassing sin that he wished to cover up was the one God chose to expose and use to bring Himself glory. David fell in love with a woman named Bathsheba while watching her bathe from his rooftop. Although he was warned that she was married, he sent and had her brought to his home where he lay with her. After discvering she was pregnant by him, he devised a plan to get rid of her husband so he could marry her and cover up the fact that he had gotten her pregnant when they weren't married. But God wasn't fooled. He sent the prophet Nathan to David to confront him of his sin in front of a whole courtyard of people. But rather than wallow in guilt, David was repentant and had godly sorrow over his sin, and thus we now have Psalm 51, the most beautiful prayer of repentance recorded in the Bible. The child Bathsheba bore did not live, but God sent her another child through David- Solomon, who became a part of the line of Jesus.

With all three of these people we see a life of sin, running away from God, but then we see a change- a turn towards following Him and away from sin. We see God's grace and powerful forgiveness in these lives as he redeems stories that would be hopeless without Him, and turns them into masterpieces from which he can showcase His glory.

But what if Rahab had feared the people of her city more than she feared God? What if Ruth had stayed inside her comfort zone with people and gods she knew? What if David had denied his sin or not taken it seriously that he had offended the God of the universe? Would God have been able to use their story for his glory?

Am I doing the same? Am I hindering God's work through my life by living in fear of others, staying inside my comfort zone, or not taking sin seriously? If so, what am I going to do about it? By God's grace, may MY response be the same as Rahab, Ruth and David- repentance and surrender to the God who can give any story true meaning and purpose, and a beautiful ending!