A Christian blog from www.abiblecommentary.com

At one point during a game, the coach said to one of his young players, “Do you understand what cooperation is and what teamwork is all about?” The little boy nodded in the affirmative.

“Do you understand that what really matters is not whether we win or lose, but that we play together as a team?” The little boy nodded yes.

“Good,” the coach continued. “And, when a strike is called, or you’re thrown out at first, you don’t argue, curse, attack the umpire with a bat, or throw dirt in the opposing team members’ faces. Do you understand all that?”

Again the little boy nodded, “Well, sure, coach. That’s what you taught us.”

“Good,” said the coach. “Now, please go over there and explain all that to your mother.”

I’ve been to a few Little League games when the above conversation needed to take place! It’s sad to see parents who act in an irresponsible manner because you know that they are teaching their children (and others’ children) to behave in a similar manner.

God has given those of us who are parents an awesome responsibility — not only to teach our children what is right, but to live in such a way that they can see that we are willing to practice what we’ve been teaching them to do.

Moses told the parents of Israel to take the laws which God had given them and “teach them diligently to your children….” (Deut. 6:7). But before telling parents to do that, he warned them: “Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it….” (Deut. 6:3).

Before we can teach a love of God and others to our children, it must be in our own hearts. May God bless those of you who are parents as you strive to do just that. May your life be so filled with a desire to follow God that your children will be open to hear all that you have to say to them.

Alan Smith

Years ago, there was a woman who went browsing through an antique store. While she was there, she found a piano that she fell in love with. It was a magnificent old mahogany upright with beautiful carvings across the front. Inside the top was a beautiful hand detailed painting along the back along with the serial number and name of the original maker. It had been made in 1901. It had a warm full tone and so she thought all it needed was to be tuned.

So she bought the piano, brought it home and called a piano restoration specialist to come out to tune it. But it didn’t take him long to determine that the pinblock had been “doped.” He explained to the woman that old pianos “die” when the pinblock dries out because the pinblock can’t keep the pins tight when they’re tuned. When this happens, if someone wants to sell a piano in this condition, they will sometimes dope it, which means they lay the piano on its back and pour a mixture of anti-freeze and water around the pins to swell the pinblock. Sometimes, it will add some life to an aging piano; in this case, it ruined it.

The woman was so disappointed and so angry that she put the piano outside her home and made a sign for it that said “Free: 500 pounds of firewood”. What she thought was a treasure had turned to trash.

Have you ever had something like that happen to you? You find something that you love, something you think is going your life so much better, but shortly after you get it, it’s destined for the trash pile. How many of you have corners in your garages and basements and attics where you keep all those so-called treasures? Yard sale lawn mowers that can’t cut a lick of grass, one of those slicer-dicers you thought your kitchen just couldn’t do without, maybe even your collection of 8-track tapes – now there’s a treasure!

We pursue many things in life hoping to gain a wonderful treasure. We spend our lives in the pursuit of “things.” But there are moments when we’re forced to stop and ask ourselves, “Is what I have really such a treasure, or is it nothing but trash?” The apostle Paul was a man who once faced this difficult question. Here’s the conclusion he came to:

“But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” (Philippians 3:7-8)

Paul says, “At one time, I had it all. But the things that I used to think were important, I have weighed them, I have evaluated them, and I have come to the conclusion that they are absolute garbage compared to what I have in Jesus Christ.”

What were those “things”? In the first few verses of Philippians 3, Paul sets forth his credentials as a Jewish leader. Paul says, “If you were to look at me, you would assume, ‘Here is a man who has it all. He has prestige, he has honor, he has power. He has everything that a man could possibly want.’”

But, again, “What things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.” Everything he had as a Jew that he considered to be important, he re-evaluated and came to the conclusion that it really wasn’t all that important. “Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” (3:8).

Now I understand that generally the things that are important to us are not the same things that were important to Paul, but they are “things” nonetheless. Maybe we enjoy living in our dream house. Maybe new clothes or jewelry excites us, maybe a new computer, maybe a new car. Maybe making it big in sports is our pride, maybe being popular and well-liked. Maybe those awards we’ve hung on our walls. But when you take all these things and you compare them to our blessings in Jesus Christ, they’re a pile of garbage, and we need to understand that.

Take a look around you. What do you see — treasure or trash?

Alan Smith

Back in 2004, Mel Gibson produced The Passion of the Christ. Ironically, he didn’t star in the film. He did, however, have a small, yet significant, cameo in the actual movie.

Don’t recall seeing him? Watch it carefully again. He’s there. You don’t see his face or body, but you do see one of his appendages.

Remember the scene when Jesus was being nailed to the cross? You don’t see the soldier who held the hammer and drove that long nail into the Lord’s flesh, but you do see the soldier’s left hand. That was Gibson’s hand.

Gibson said he reserved that role for himself because he wanted his audience to know that his sins made the crucifixion necessary. He said, “I’m first on line for culpability. I did it.”

In truth, we all did it. We’re all responsible for Calvary. Scripture says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). “All have sinned.” That means everybody. Our transgressions, both cumulative and individual, put the Savior on tree of Golgotha.

So, what do we do? If we’ve sinned, and we have (Rom. 3:10), and if sin separates us from God, and it does (Isa. 59:1-2), then what is our recourse? What do we do?

My denominational friends would say, “Nothing. There’s nothing you can do, because if you do anything, you negate the grace of God.” But dear reader, is that accurate? Biblical?

Turn in your New Testament to Acts 2. On the Day of Pentecost, the apostle Peter told his listeners, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ” (v. 36; emphasis mine–mb).

Like Gibson, Peter’s audience had nailed Jesus to the cross. In this case, literally. Now notice how they responded, “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”

And how did the apostle respond to their sincere inquiry? He said, “Do? My friends, there is nothing you can do. If you do anything, you negate the grace of God.” Right? Read the next verse.

“Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’” (v. 38).

Repentance (Matthew 12:41; Luke 13:3) refers to change. Change requires effort, in essence, doing (Jonah 3:10) something.

Baptism refers to immersion in water (Acts 8:36-39). Again, doing (Acts 22:16) something.

Now pay close attention that little word “for.” “Repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ FOR (Greek, “eis”) the remission of sins.” “For” means “in order to” obtain. Repent and be baptized in order to obtain the remission or forgiveness of sins (Mark 16:15-16).

Question. What would have happened to these believers on Pentecost had they not repented and been baptized? Obviously they would have been lost! They recognized this, and that’s why two verses later we’re told, “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them” (v. 40).

Now did any of these 3,000 earn or merit God’s grace simply because they obeyed Peter’s command (cf. Acts 10:38)? Could any in that assembly proudly thump his breast and say, “Look what I’ve done to save myself?!” Of course not.

Some object, “Mike, you’re confusing effort because of what Jesus did for us; any effort we exert in an attempt to merit the gift of grace.” Friend, if works — of any kind — have absolutely no role whatsoever in our salvation, then it matters not if they are before or after.

In truth, none of us can earn or merit our salvation. Period. Underline that statement. Highlight it. Catholicism says, “Earn it.” Calvinism says, “You can’t earn it, so do nothing.” Both extremes are unscriptural.

Meritorious works can’t save (Ephesians 2:8-9; 2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 3:5), but a dead, non-working faith (James 2:17, 19) can’t save either! Only through faith coupled with works (Galatians 5:6) of obedience (Acts 10:34-35; James 2:14-26; Philippians 2:12) can we lay hold of the free gift of God’s grace.

Read through Hebrews 11 and then consider the following questions in the context of our study:

. Did Noah earn his salvation when he built the ark (Hebrews 11:7; cf. Genesis 6:22)? . What if he had never constructed it in the first place? . After the flood waters abated, could the aged Patriarch have smote his chest and say, “Look how I’ve saved myself!”? . Was he saved before or after expressed his faith? . Did Abraham earn his salvation when he obeyed God and left his home for a foreign country (Hebrews 11:8; cf. Genesis 12:4)? . What if he had never moved as God decreed? . Did Moses earn his salvation when he kept the passover (Hebrews 11:28; Exodus 12:3ff)? . What if he had not slain a lamb and placed its blood on the doorposts? . Was splashing blood on the door a meritorious act? . Did the children of Israel earn their salvation when they passed through the Red Sea on dry ground (Hebrews 11:29; Exodus 14:22)? . Could one among those thousands have objected, “Hey, we can’t cross over! If we do anything we’ll be negating the grace of God!”? . Did the children of Israel earn Jericho when they marched around the city (Hebrews 11:30; cf. Joshua 6:1ff)? . Jericho was a gift (Joshua 6:2; cf. 2:9, 14). If the Israelites hadn’t marched around the city as God had required, would they have received the “gift”? . Did Rahab merit her salvation by hiding the spies and later tying the scarlet cord in the window (Hebrews 11:31: cf. Joshua 2:ff; 6:17ff)?

All of these Old Testament stories illustrate without question that it’s not a dead, non-working faith that saves, but a living, obedient faith. That’s why the Bible says, “He who believes (a work of obedience, John 6:28, 29) AND is baptized (a work of obedience, Titus 3:5) will be saved” (Mark 16:16; cf. 1 Pet. 3:21).

We’re all guilty. We’re all culpable. We all had a part in nailing Jesus to the cross. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that Jehovah has enacted a gracious plan by which we can receive divine pardon. We must

(1) believe that Jesus is the Christ (John 8:24);

(2) repent and turn away from our sins (Acts 17:30; 26:20);

(3) confess that Jesus is the Christ (Acts 8:35-38; Romans 10:9-10);

(4) and then be immersed (Galatians 3:27; cf. Acts 8:12-13; 36, 38; 9:18; 10:47; 16:15, 33; 18:8; 1 Corinthians 12:13).

God has done his part. Will you do yours (1 Thessalonians 1:3)?

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12).

–by Mike Benson

Dad and I got up early Thanksgiving morning to go to the woods. We saw a few whitetails, but no shooters. After the day’s hunt, we stopped by a local gas station for a cup of coffee to warm us up from the chill.

The drive home took nearly an hour. About halfway through the trip, I decided that I had to take off some of my heavy clothes. I still had on all of my hunting apparel…insulated underwear, hooded sweatshirt, wool coat, coveralls, camouflage jacket, and two pairs of socks. Okay, so I overdressed; who likes to be cold in the woods? I pulled over in a local church parking lot and shed most of those sweltering layers.

The next morning we decided to give it a try again. Dad and I went through our usual pre-hunt preparations and started loading up the jeep. We had everything we needed — except my billfold. I have a habit of placing my billfold in a special place at home, but it wasn’t there.

The two of us turned the jeep up-side-down. We looked under the seats. We checked the house five times. We woke my family up at 4:30 a.m. and enlisted their help in the frantic search. This was my billfold! It had my driver’s license, bank numbers, insurance cards, social security info, debit card, hunting license, important phone numbers, etc.

The only two places I could think where possibly I had lost the billfold was either back at the gas station, or perhaps back in the parking lot when I was “disrobing” the morning before. Had I accidentally dropped it there?

We hastily made our way over to the church parking lot. The drive seemed like it took forever. I was afraid to look, but more afraid not to look. I whispered a brief prayer, “Please Lord.” There it was — the black billfold lying on the blacktop driveway. It had been there for nearly a day. Hundreds of cars had passed by, but no was observant enough to see it. I quickly called my wife and shared the good news. “We found it!” I announced.

Stay with me for just a moment.

In Luke 15 Jesus tells the story of a woman who had lost a silver drachma. The coin was worth about the same as a denarius, which was a full day’s wages for common labor (cf. Matthew 20:2).

She scoured her house for the missing money. Who wouldn’t go looking for a day’s wages? But there’s more to the story. When a Jewish girl married, she began to wear a ten-piece garland around her head to signify that she was now a wife. Think of it as an ancient version of our modern wedding ring.

Note the words the Lord employs to describe her search: light, sweep, and seek (v. 8). Notice too that she “diligently” (NKJV) sought after the coin. Ladies, how hard would you look for your diamond wedding band?

When she finally found it, she shared the happy news with her friends and neighbors. Jesus’ audience could identify with the woman’s feelings. Many of them knew what it was like to lose something of great value as well as the raw emotion of finding it again.

But the Lord really wasn’t talking about a lost coin. His parable highlighted the elation of reclaiming a lost soul. Every individual is precious to him (Luke 9:25; 2 Peter 3:9). Likewise, every individual should be precious to his people, entrusted as they are with the message of reconciliation (Romans 5:10; 2 Corinthians 5:18, 20).

Finding a lost object like a billfold is a relief and joy. Saving a lost soul for eternity starts a party in heaven (Luke 15:10).

– by Mike Benson

A sick man turned to his doctor as he was preparing to leave the examination room.  He said, “Doctor, I am afraid to die.  I need to know what to expect when I go to heaven.  Please tell me what lies on the other side.”

The doctor wanted to offer comfort to his patient, but he didn’t know what to say.  Very quietly, the doctor said, “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?!  Then why do you want to go to heaven if you don’t know?  You, a Christian man, do not know what is on the other side?”

The doctor was uneasy and was holding the handle of the door.  From the other side came a sound of scratching and loud whining.  As the doctor opened the door, a dog sprang into the room with his tail wagging and leaped on him with an eager show of gladness.

Turning to the patient, the doctor said, “Did you notice my dog?  He’s never been in this room before.  He didn’t know what was inside.  He knew nothing except that his master was here, and when the door opened he sprang in without fear.  I know little of what is on the other side of death, but I do know one thing: I know my Master is there, and that is enough.  And when the door opens, I shall pass through with no fear, but with gladness.”

It’s true that while we are given a glimpse of what lies ahead, there is a great deal that we don’t know and often wonder about.  Will there be a literal street of gold and a gate of pearl?  Highly unlikely. Those kinds of images may be helpful in understanding how precious heaven is, but they are not of much value in helping us to know exactly what it will look like.

And quite frankly, it doesn’t matter to me, for two reasons.  First of all, I trust my heavenly Father to provide nothing less than the very best for His children.  And secondly, as the doctor in the story above pointed out, the only thing that really matters is that we will be in the presence of God.  Living in a shack in His presence would be preferable to living in a mansion apart from Him.  Whatever else heaven may be, its essence is that we have the opportunity to have intimate fellowship with God.

“And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.’ ” (Rev. 20:12)

Recently, I read a quote that has convicted me more than anything I’ve heard in a long time.  John Piper asked the question, “If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there?”

It makes me wonder if we’re anxious to get to heaven to have the opportunity to be with God, or if we just want to go because it’s a place where we’ll enjoy ourselves and have all the comforts and pleasures that we’d like to have right now.  Think about it.

– Alan Smith

Some time ago, after being admitted into the local Work Release Center for the first time, an officer asked me several questions.  After the questioning another officer escorted me to a classroom and told me to wait.  A few minutes passed and in came an officer with a drug dog.  Apparently she wanted to verify that I was not trying to bring any type of illegal substance into this facility.  The staff did not perform a “pat down” on me, but they were pretty thorough in their investigation of me and my visit.

The Work Release officers were cautious and thorough, but their investigation was hardly as detailed as the one done by God.  In Heb 4:12 we read:  “For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

We may be able to hide a lot of things from people, but absolutely nothing is hidden from God.  In Heb 4:13 we read, “And there is no creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and laid open before the eyes of him with whom we have to do.”

Remember that absolutely nothing is ever hidden from God.

Brad Price, www.abiblecommentary.com

In my mind I can still hear Bill Withers voice coming from that old radio, “Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone, only darkness every day.”

How strange it is that while these words sweep us into identifying with gut wrenching sadness, when a biblical prophet lyrically casts a similar vision of gloom, people start checking to see how bright the sun is.

How would we describe our feelings if a foreign nation were to crush our country, not only killing family and friends, but also sweeping away everything we know and hold dear?

Singing the blues to Pharaoh about his future in encountering the king of Babylon, Ezekiel proclaimed God’s lament:

“When I snuff you out, I will cover the heavens and darken the stars; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give its light. All the shining lights in the heavens I will darken over you; I will bring darkness over the land … when I bring about your destruction among the nations.” (Ezekiel 32:7-9).

Isaiah described Edom’s destruction:

“dead bodies will send up a stench … All the stars of the heavens will be dissolved and the sky rolled up like a scroll; all the starry host will fall like withered leaves from the vine … my sword … descends on Edom in judgement.” (Isaiah 34:3-5).

Warning ancient Israel that the day in which God would act toward them would not be a day of salvation but a day of destruction, Amos announced:

“Why do you long for the day of the LORD? That day will be darkness, not light. … Will not the day of the LORD be darkness, not light-pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness? I hate, I despise your religious feasts…” (Amos 5:18,20-21).

Foretelling Babylon’s fall, Isaiah proclaimed, “the stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light.” (Isaiah 13:10)

When God destroys, there certainly ain’t no sunshine, only darkness fills the day. So will the final day of the Lord when God judges everyone, will our day be one of light or darkness?

To avoid the epitome of the most gut wrenching despair imaginable by being unprepared to face God in judgment, we need to walk in his light now. We need Jesus.

–Barry Newton @ www.forthright.net

Eric Aderholt can speak as an expert about the ramifications of a locked fire hydrant.  His suburban Fort Worth, Texas, house burned down this past August, not because fire fighters took so long to arrive but because they did not have the key to unlock the hydrant.  In response to Homeland Security measures in the wake of 9/11, many rural neighborhoods’ hydrants were outfitted with a locking device meant to prevent vandalism and especially terrorism.  When there was no fire, that hydrant in Aderholt’s Alexander Ranch community may have provided some sense of security and confidence just by being there.  But when the need existed, the very substance that could make the difference was not even introduced.  There was no water when water was most needed.

A great fire will come at a time no one expects (2 Th. 1;7-9).  God has provided a means to keep us from suffering total loss when this occurs.  The “key” to proper preparation rests in one of the most neglected “tools” of all time-the Bible.  How do we know about the fire?  How do we know about eternal loss prevention?  How do we know about the only true and living water (cf. John 4:10-11)?  How do we know Who the fire escape is?  Yet, so many who think everything is OK are unprepared.  Even more tragic are those who should know better, who have even been shown the “key.”  They throw it away or refuse to take it.  They chose not to be protected.  The fact of Jesus’ sacrifice and grace is wonderful, but that fact will not save.

We must unlock the benefit of God’s grace by faith-filled obedience (cf. Heb. 5:9).  Simply acknowledging His existence or even His identity is insufficient.  There is a “key of knowledge” (Luke 11:52).  Let us use it and show others how to use it, too!

–Neal Pollard

As a junior in a high-school history class, I remember watching a movie that covered several important times, events and people in American society. At one point it flashed a topless pose of Marilyn Monroe.

I was shocked that they would show this to a class of high-school students. My teacher quickly stopped the classroom buzz by saying, “That’s not nudity, that’s art.”

There is no question that our society is obsessed with pornography. While it is never a comfortable issue to address, it has become an American epidemic.

Though pornography has been a problem for a long time, only recently has it become something so public. People are no longer ashamed, but actually quite proud, of the pornography industry. Pictures of the “Playboy” bunny are now found on clothing, car stickers and other places.

The pornography industry makes more money than professional baseball, football and basketball combined.

It is a true problem in the world around us and, sadly, it has even filtered into the church.

We need to guard ourselves and our families by whatever means possible to keep from being sucked into this godless pastime.

Job said, “I have made a covenant with my eyes; why then should I look upon a young woman?” (Job 31:1 NKJV).

We, too, should make a covenant with our eyes and keep from joining in with the sex-crazed society around us. Our prayer should be like the psalmist who said, “Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, and revive me in Your way” (Psalm 119:37).

Sadly, we live in a world of perverts who call pornography art.

Let us not be one of them, but let us make a covenant with our eyes, and let us turn away our eyes from worthless things.

–by Garrett Bookout @ www.forthright.net