Matthew 5:17-18, Jesus declares: “Do not think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the law until all is accomplished.”
The religion of the Bible is foundationally layout upon the groundwork of the apostles and the prophets, and Jesus Christ is its chief cornerstone. He is its only basis, he alone has authority, but he has chosen the word of God to speak for him. Jesus trained the apostles, he taught them his word from the scriptures, and his Holy Spirit was sent to them to inspire in them the remembrance of those teachings. And then, they are sent out into the world as his authoritative agents for proclaiming the gospel that he gave them.
The authoritative ground of the apostles by which they stand is the Scriptures, and all the authority of Christ Jesus stands behind the apostles and those Scriptures. Jesus is the lawgiver; they carry the law. And the Church bears witness to that authority. The Church doesn't “determine” the Scriptures or its authority, but the Scriptures themselves affirm the Church's authority to witness to those things. The Church is given that authority by virtue of the King's seal. The scriptures are inspired, inscribed, and sealed by the Holy Spirit.
Jesus consistently treats the law and the prophets as real historical events, and he conveys them in his teachings as theological truths founded in the authority of the Spirit. He affirms the tale of Jonah and the great fish as authentic and authoritative. He confirms the account of the global flood and Noah's ark. He taught that all the Scriptures are the Word of God, that they are divinely inspired, and therefore they carry divine authority in all matters of faith. He even went so far as to scold the authorities, the Sadducees, for their interpretation of the scriptures, and for their refusal to see the divine authoritative power that is inherent in those scriptures.
“You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.” (Matthew 22:29-32)
When He was facing off with Satan in his temptations while fasting in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11), Jesus didn't engage in a philosophical debate with the demon. He wasn't trying to reason with Satan. He responded by quoting Scriptures. Each time He responds with “It is written”, showing the demon that the Word of God was, and is His ultimate standard of truth and authority when dealing with the challenges of life (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10). Jesus' place in the kingdom of heaven is Lord and God, the living word of God. And of course, the divine supremacy of his place gives him all authority to govern over the affairs of the universe. Every knee will bow to him after-all, not to the Bible. That said, in the government of the Lord of Lords, Jesus made it very clear that our authority, in regard to faith and how our faith guides and instructs our actions, comes from the word of God, the Holy Bible. Those scriptures are HIS words, HIS teachings, HIS instructions.
Jesus speaks of the patriarchs of the Old Testament in the present tense, meaning as far as he's concerned, they are still alive, thus affirming the doctrine of the resurrection. The scriptures that teach about these patriarchs is teaching us about the resurrection, and the scriptures are teaching us to observe his word and to obey it. Mainly they teach us these things by virtue of the failures this patriarchy practiced, and God's response to those failures. In this way we learn about God's wisdom and authority.
Jesus affirms the authority of the scriptures for salvation...
“They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them. If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead.”
Luke 16:29-31
God's scriptures continue to inspire and crystallizes in the hearts and minds of his followers, his authoritative will. God speaks to us now, in those Scriptures. In every age God speaks directly to every Christian heart via his inspirational words. His word is more than a revelation given to some in the past. We all have access to the ever-living word of God. The scriptures are more than a tradition, more than a doctrine, more than a historical record, they are the published knowledge of the will of God. Wherever Christ is known through the faith that is founded upon the scripture, there is Christianity. People hear, believe, obey, and are saved. God has caused his grace to abound to us in his published word, expressed to us by authority of the apostles He sent.
Apostle literally means "one sent on a mission". They are authorized by Christ Jesus to advocate obedience and faithfulness for Christ's sake, and to instruct others to do likewise. Their testimonies are authorized to make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that Jesus has commanded.
He summoned them. He instructed them. He inspired them. He sent them. And he gave them the authority to seal those things into scripture.
The Bible says it, I believe it, that ends it.
Amen.
#TheHolyBible #Scriptures
Matthew 24:6-8 "You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these events are the beginning of labor pains."
There has been thirteen years of war for every one year of peace since the time of Christ. Mankind loves war.
"Many will fall away, betray one another, and hate one another." (v.10)
Love grows cold. Lawlessness spreads faster than the gospel. But through endurance the kingdom of God will be preached. And the angels will fulfill this mission:
Revelation 14:6 "Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. He said in a loud voice, 'Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.'"
And just as a side note, for all ...
Matthew 10:16
"Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves."
"Beware the moon, Stay on the road. Keep clear of the moors." (From: An American Werewolf in London 1981)
I was 19 when that movie came out and it was then that I was at my lowest point ever. I was dying and couldn't see it happening to me.
It's nearly Halloween, and I've arrived here in my daily studies at Jesus sending his children, as lambs, out to preach the gospel among wolves. And I have to admit this morning my head went to the movie I rewatched (for the hundredth time) again last night. I confess I'm somewhat of a connoisseur of werewolf movies. It's really an odd and unexpected fascination since throughout my entire childhood I was plagued nightly by nightmares of invisible werewolves that stalked me trying to bite me. I couldn't see them but could hear them. And when they were just about to bite, they'd suddenly be visible (this is how I knew they were werewolves). And this was a ...
Matthew 10:32-33
“Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven."
Jesus calls and sends his disciples to the lost sheep of Israel because he has a great compassion for the needy. He sees them as sheep without a shepherd, lost and living in miserable conditions. They're harassed, and cast down. And in the face of many evils they're unable to help themselves. They are outside of Christ, living in darkness.
And what's interesting is the disciples are sent to be forerunners to His coming. Like heralds they are to go into the towns and villages healing the sick, casting out demons, raising spirits and preaching the good news. It's a mission trip, he's sending them outside the congregation to free these people from the bondage of evil. This is aggressive evangelism. It's like rustic camping. Bring it in and take it out. They must depend entirely on God for all their needs. It's a mission trip focused upon aggressively reaching ...
Mark 10:15
"Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it."
The root problem of faith in all of the gospel of Mark is hardness of heart, and in this lesson today we learn that wealth, and the self are expressions of that hardness.
And it's that hardness of heart that we continue to rub up against here again. As we saw in the previous devotion, what we learned was our focus should never be on what we can get away with and still be legally within our rights. Our focus should instead be on preserving what God created for us before we inevitably damage the situation, or the danger becomes too great. And maybe this is why we all must become childlike if we're going to inherit God's kingdom. Maybe a childlike heart is what we need, not one hardened by greed and envy, or biased by our history going into adulthood. God earlier said divorce was wrong because it severs the connection that God unites. Now we've got a different connection being broken. Children were to be seen and not heard in that society. And the disciples try to keep the kids ...
God Hates Divorce
Mark 10:6-9
"But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate."
We all live somewhere in-between hardness of heart and the new creation. Jesus knows this because he lived it. And that's why he calls us to live according to the ideals of his kingdom. But he goes beyond a simple call to a life of piety. He enables us by his prescient words of truth and by the works of The Holy Spirit. But none of this ends the battle for our minds and souls by evil spiritual influences and wicked people. These are the facts of life, and the spiritual life.
Jesus is now knowingly on his way to Jerusalem to be tried by wicked men, betrayed, denied, crucified, and to rise from the grave. And his disciples have still not fully grasped what was going on.
So, the Pharisees are at it again, trolling Jesus as he ...
Exodus 13:21-22
The Lord showed them the way; during the day he went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud, and during the night he was in a pillar of fire to give them light. In this way they could travel during the day or night. The pillar of cloud was always with them during the day, and the pillar of fire was always with them at night.
In 1446 BC, the 435 miles long trip from Goshen (Tell el-Dab’a) to Mt. Sinai took the Hebrews a total of 47 days to trek. The Hebrews made the 12-mile-long crossing of the Red Sea at the Straits of Tiran, and they all eventually arrived at the Red Sea on day 25 then took 22 days to travel 124 miles from the Red Sea Crossing to Mt. Sinai. During that entire trip about 2 million Jews DID NOT die. The Lord was with them in a very prescient manner. And his protection was upon them. They hadn't done anything to earn it. They had no merit born out of faithfulness. In fact, many if not most were people who had been fully engaged in the pagan worship of the Egyptians.
Pharaoh's army easily traveled the 249 miles from Goshen to the Red Sea crossing ...
