One of the posts I want to get to today or tomorrow is on the two stages of salvation. There’s the first one, deliverance from the world, and the second stage, facing the judgment and entering the kingdom.

Very different things are said about those two stages in Scripture, especially in Paul, who was careful to distinguish the two.

However, that entails talking about works and their role in our salvation, and that’s not a good thing to do without defining works.

I’ve been guilty of talking about works without defining them, but I’m not going to do so this time.

What Are Good Works

The easiest place to begin is in Matthew 25:31-46.

When we talk about good works, whose definition should we use?

I suggest using God’s definition because he is the one who is going to judge our works (Rom 2:5-7; 2 Cor. 5:10; 1 Pet. 1:17; etc.).

Jesus describes the judgment in Matthew 25.

It appears, from Matthew 25:31-46, that the works Jesus is concerned about involve helping people: feeding the hungry, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and clothing the naked.

What About All the Other Stuff?

Paul lists a lot of bad works in Gal. 5:19-21, and he says the practicing of those works will keep us out of the kingdom of heaven.

How does that mesh with what Jesus described in Matt. 25?

I always prefer to adopt a view that lets all the Scripture be true, not one that chooses one verse over another.

I think the Scriptures assume that the sheep of Matt. 25 don’t practice the sins of Gal. 5:19-21. In almost every case, people who practice drunkenness, envy, jealousy, outbursts of wrath, adultery, etc. are not people who open their homes to the hungry, thirsty, sick, and imprisoned.

Let’s keep this simple. Rather than debating the status of those who feed the hungry and take in the homeless, yet who practice drunkenness, anger, and sexual immorality at the same time, let’s do some thing different. Let’s leave that judgment to God.

For ourselves, though, let’s acknowledge that it’s probably not a good idea to leave yourself in that position. The Scriptures say, repeatedly as a matter of fact, that if you practice drunkenness, lying, greed, and sexual immorality, you won’t inherit God’s kingdom.

So let’s not do those things.

The Mercy of God

Somehow, once we adopted Thomas Aquinas’ 13th century teaching that Jesus’ died for the penalty of our sins rather than for our sins, we also began to believe that it is just for God to torment people eternally for just one sin.

It’s not true.

• We were already dead in our sins. We needed someone to give us life, not pay a penalty we’re currently paying.
• It’s not just to torture people eternally for just one sin (and thus God would never do that).
• What makes us sinners is not one sin, but the fact that the vast majority of humans are basically radically selfish all the time (Rom. 3:10-23).
• God has always been willing to forgive sin.

Oh, how we underestimate the mercy of God!

Even before Jesus died, God was willing to completely forgive the wicked person who repented. As Ezekiel put it:

If the wicked man turns from all the sins which he has committed, keeps all my statutes, and does that which is lawful and right, then he shall surely live; he shall not die. All the transgressions that he has committed shall not be mentioned to him. In the righteousness he has done, he will live. (Ezek. 33:21-22)

I love the way God puts it in Isaiah:

Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. (Is. 55:7)

Does this sound like a God that sends people to hell for one sin?

God described himself to Moses is this way:

Yahweh, Yahweh God, merciful and gracious, patient, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands and forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. (Ex. 34:6)

Never mind that God adds that he will not clear the guilty. Obviously, the wicked man who turns from his wickedness does not constitute the guilty. The wicked man who turns from his wickedness will never have the evil things he’s done mentioned to him.

As it turns out, we need help forsaking our evil ways.

Knowing what is righteous is not enough. That’s what Romans 7 is about. Showing us what’s good is not the same as our having the power to perform what is good.

It is that problem for which Jesus died. As Romans 8 puts it, "what the Law could not do" (empower us to perform what is good) "God did."

He then adds that the way God did this was by sending his Son is the likeness of our sinful flesh, as an offering for sin, so that the righteous requirement of the Law would be fulfilled in us if we walk by the Spirit.

What a wonderful deliverance!!!

God’s Ongoing Mercy

Even after we are empowered by the grace and Spirit of God to do good works (Eph. 2:10; Tit. 2:11-14), God’s mercy does not disappear.

He still plans on having to forgive us regularly.

There’s some clear statements to that effect. James, for example, says that we all stumble in many things (Jam. 3:2).

However, there’s verses that I think paint the picture better.

If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 Jn. 1:7-9)

I think it’s apparent that even in 1 John, perhaps the strictest letter in the New Testament, it is made clear that God expects to be forgiving us regularly.

John goes on to say that the very purpose he’s writing is so that we don’t sin (2:1). But he immediately follows that with, "If anyone does sin," and he goes on to make it clear that both the Father and the Son forgive us with kindness, being on our side.

So Where’s the Line?

Whenever I say that we will be judged by our works, and that our eternal life will be on the line (Rom. 2:5-8; 1 Pet. 1:17; 2 Pet. 1:5-11; Rev. 3:4-5; and others), people always want to know where the line is.

In fact, many don’t want to know where the line is; instead they object to the possibility that there even could be a line.

What can I say? It’s the Scriptures that say God is a Judge. If there’s a Judge, then there’s a decision being made. Some will be saved, some will be lost, and both the saved and the lost will be saved or lost on the basis of their works.

That’s what the Bible says, anyway.

We’re supposed to be scared that we’ll cross the line (1 Pet. 1:17; 1 Cor. 10:12).

We looked already at the suggestion that there is a line. Exodus 34:6-7 says that God has mercy for thousands, but he will by no means clear the guilty. There are those who are under his mercy, and there are those who are "the guilty," and God is waiting for them to turn from their wicked ways.

The New Testament says very similar things.

In Gal. 6:7-9, Paul says, "God is not mocked."

There are those who stumble, yet they nonetheless walk in the light, and the blood of Christ cleanses their sin. They confess their sins, and God forgives their sins.

And then there’s those whose life mocks God, and they will reap corruption because they sow to the flesh. They are not under God’s mercy, they are not in the light, and they are not confessing their sins.

Of those people, God says, "They profess to know God, but in works they deny him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work" (Tit. 1:16).

There are those who have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, when they sin, and then there are those who practice the works of the flesh and thus do not inherit God’s kingdom (1 Cor. 6:9-11; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 5:5).

You can see this happening in Jesus’ letters to the churches in Rev. 2 & 3.

One of my favorite parts of those chapters is the letter to Sardis. There he says that there are those who have not defiled their garments, and they are "worthy."

You can see the different ways Jesus deals with the sins of the churches. There are those who are worthy, and who will walk with him in white, and there are those who will not.

There are those that he is simply correcting (Rev. 2:24), and there are those that he is threatening with being vomited out of his mouth (3:16) or having their candlestick removed (2:5).

Thus, there is a line.

The line, however, is for the stubborn. It is for those that mock God. It is for those whose lives deny that they know God.

It is not for those who confess their sins and walk in the light, yet happen to stumble.

Those people can know God as the God who abundantly pardons, whose mercies are new every morning, and who does not impute our sins to us.

Paul’s Preaching

This all fits with the fact that Paul summed up his preaching by saying that what he was proclaiming was …

… that they should repent and turn to God and do works appropriate to repentance. (Acts 26:20)

Was this really what Paul was preaching?

Yes, it was … at least according to Paul.

We’ve gotten so stuck in Romans that we have created an interpretation of Romans that contradicts Paul’s Gospel! Out of the very book in which he says he’s not ashamed of the Gospel (1:16)!

Romans does not contradict the idea that Paul preached that the Gentiles should repent and turn to God and do works appropriate to repentance. In Romans 6, he exhorts them to submit their body parts to God for his service so that they don’t die (6:16-23). In Romans 8 he tells them that if they put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit, then they will live, but if they live according to the flesh, they will die.

These things are incredibly consistent in Scripture.

They’re just inconsistent with our traditions.

Summing Up Works and Mercy

The focus of God is love. Not only are the two greatest commandments to love God and your neighbor, but the apostle Paul says that loving your neighbor fulfills the entire Law (Rom. 13:8-10).

God is not focused on nitpicking us to death for a wrong word, a foul mood, or some other act of human frailty.

God is looking for those who walk according to the Spirit, so that he can shower them with mercy and not hold their sins against them.

But to those who make a habit of living according to the flesh and make no effort to live spiritually or to learn or obey the commands of Christ, he will not be mocked. Sow to the flesh, and you will reap corruption.

Therefore, do not grow weary in doing good, for in due season you will reap [eternal life] if you do not lose heart. (Gal. 6:10)

We’ll see how much blogging I can get done tonight. I hope to write more than one.

I’ve done 4 parts of a series on the appearance of Paul before tonight. This is Part 6 because I skipped part 4 in order to do part 5 on exhortation, which I think is very important.

All of those were from 1 Thessalonians, chapter 2.

Now I’m continuing to skip part 4 so that I can get to the part that doesn’t come from 1 Thess. 2.

This is 2 Cor. 10:10 …

For his letters, they say, are weighty and powerful, but in bodily presence he’s week, and his speech is unimpressive.

Paul the Famous Preacher?

Nowadays messages given by preachers are well-prepared. They are not only taught how to outline and write a sermon, but they are taught how to deliver it as well.

There’s a lot of shouting along with careful use of pauses and even quiet whispers for effect. A properly trained preacher uses hand motions, and he makes sure to move his body around—whether by walking or by vigorous gestures—to keep his audience’s attention.

Most sermons have three points, and if possible, they should all begin with the same letter.

Not Paul’s. The report about him is that his speech was unimpressive.

Paul’s Purpose

I remember the first time I did a radio program on a Christian station in Sacramento.

As soon as I got done, I got my first phone call at the station. Because I was on in the evening, the front desk was closed, and the technician and I listened to the answering machine pick up the call.

"I don’t know who this guy is," the caller began. "He never gave any credentials, and he didn’t even preach! He just talked!"

The caller would have had a hard time with the apostle Paul, too. Paul was concerned about content, not presentation.

I … did not come with excellency of speech or wisdom … I was with you in weakness, in fear, and with much trembling. My speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of Spirit and power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of man, but on the power of God. (1 Cor. 2:1,3-4)

Paul had something to say, and he was not ashamed of it.

He knew that his Gospel was the power of God to salvation, and he was content to let God back it up, not his seminary training.

And don’t be confused; Paul had seminary training. He studied under Gamaliel. He knew human wisdom, and he makes it clear in Romans that he knows how to logically argue.

He saved his logical arguments, however, for those who were already convinced. Those that he had to convince, he sought to convince with the straight powerful words of the Gospel.

The verse I left out above says, "I determined to know nothing among except Jesus Christ and him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:2).

Learning from the apostle Paul

It would do us good to learn from Paul. I cannot imagine him recommending three point sermons with each point starting with the same letter.

It’s not the ability to be remembered that makes a good sermon; it’s the power of God that makes a good sermon.

The whole idea of picking a pastor from a school somewhere is completely contrary to the spirit of the New Covenant. Shepherds were chosen from among the people, and the Christians knew their shepherds. They knew their history in Christ, they knew their testimony, and they knew the power of their walk with the Lord.

That’s why the writer of Hebrews could tell us to submit to our leaders "considering the result of their behavior" (Heb. 13:7).

That’s why Timothy and Titus were left in Ephesus and Crete, respectively, to appoint elders.

One early Christian wrote:

Tested men, our elders, preside over us, obtaining that honor not by purchase, but by established character. (Tertullian, Apology 39, c. A.D. 200)

There’s some things we need to do differently?

Let me ask, when you teach or when you hear teaching, is it the enticing words of man’s wisdom, or is it the power of God?

I was reading one of my own archived posts, and I was reminded why we do this.

What do we do?

We take a stand for change. We preach a Gospel that demands the counting of the cost and explains the cost as everything. We say you cannot be a Christian without doing so because cannot is the word Christ used (Luke 14:26-33).

The fact is, the vast majority of "Christians" don’t make it.

Many of those are trying, or at least want to try, but they don’t know how.

They pray more, read the Bible more, and it makes them dislike prayer and the Bible more than ever. It’s supposed to help them, but it seems just to condemn them.

Then they fall away, get on the internet, get besieged by atheists with loads of information on problems with the Bible and Christianity, and they join the attack on the religion that made them feel bad.

What Do We Need To Change

1. Preach a true Gospel. Let people know that Jesus wants everything, that he’s worth everything, and that the church is for those that at least want to have their lives changed by Jesus.
2. Bring them into the church—not a club with bi-weekly meetings, but a family. Show them that you meant what you said, and that your house is their house, your family is their family, and your money is their money.

Pretty dangerous to do that second one, huh?

It’s not so dangerous when you do that with disciples—with people who are giving up everything for Christ.

A Caveat Based on the Mercy of God

I do often sound like God is a harsh taskmaster.

It’s not so.

You do have to give up the world. The Gospel is an exchange of your own life for Christ’s life. Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone. It is only after you die that you enter Christ’s family.

The Gospel cannot be compromised.

But …

But we’re not talking about entering a life where God is looking over your shoulder, measuring the length of your skirt, and pinch testing the tightness of your jeans.

We’re talking about obeying Christ, the friend of sinners, whose burden is easy and whose yoke is light. We’re talking about opening your home to strangers, about being free from caring about money, about trusting and praising God in joyful delight, about fellowshipping with Christ and with his people.

Entering the life of Christ is not entering a monastery. It is entering the wonderful, joyful life of Christ. Holy, yes, but also a touch wild, a touch rebellious, and more likely to get you called a glutton, winebibber, and kook than to be called righteous.

Jesus hung out with the wrong people. His holiness offended the Pharisees, and he openly expressed distaste for them. He publicly called them snakes and pretenders. He accused them of devouring widows’ houses!

You do have to be brave to be a Christian. You do have to help the needy.

You do not have to be boring, and you certainly don’t need the righteousness of the Pharisees.

Jesus commands are given so that your joy may be full.

Final Comment: Continuing in Christ’s Commands

Okay, that was a long caveat.

Back to the point.

If we are going to continue in Christ’s commands, we are going to have to do it together. We need each other. Those who sell everything are supposed to get the pearl of great price in return, not just a bunch of rules about how to live.

In other words, when the seed falls into the ground and dies, it’s supposed to come out never alone again.

We’re supposed to be a family, but we’re never going to be a family with people who don’t give a hoot about Christ’s commands or who explain why they’re unnecessary. Wish them well, kiss them goodbye, then dust your feet off and leave them.

Same with the Pharisees. There’s no hope of bringing them around until they repent of their evil ways, stumbling little ones.

(I’m a little afraid I’ve been a Pharisee on the internet by accident, though those who know me would never call me a Pharisee in person.)

But with those who will fall in love with Jesus, boldly or quietly, we can be family. We can take care of each other, worship God together, and make sure none of us is ever alone again except for when we’re sent on a mission by God.

I think Romans 1:16 is the key to unlocking all the deep secrets of the letter to the Romans.

In that verse Paul says he is not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. But why does he say that?

There are three reasons he says that. Two are directly stated, and one is implied.

• Because he was being questioned about his Gospel.. (This one is implied.)
• Because it is the power of God to salvation.
• Because in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith.

If you understand those three things, you will not be confused about Romans any more, nor ever again use it to justify unrighteous living.

Let’s go backwards through those issues …

In the Gospel the Righteousness of God is Revealed

Due to misunderstandings that have prevailed since the Reformation (not during; Luther and Calvin did not make this mistake), many Protestants believe that Romans is about going to heaven without having to do any good works.

This contradicts the main point of Romans, which is that Paul’s Gospel is nothing to be ashamed of. The reason it’s nothing to be ashamed of is because the righteousness of God is revealed in it … and that from faith to faith.

In other words, when people believe Paul’s Gospel, the righteousness of God is seen in their lives. That’s how it’s revealed.

As Paul says later:

For [the Jews], being ignorant of God’s righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God. (10:3)

God’s righteousness is revealed in those who believe and thus submit themselves to it. It’s a righteousness that is different from our own righteousness, but it is a real, tangible, visible, and experienced righteousness, not merely an imputed one.

The apostle John tells us that only those who actually practice the righteousness of God can claim to have imputed righteousness.

Little children, don’t let anyone deceive you. He that does righteousness is righteous just as [Christ] is righteous. (1 Jn. 3:7)

Notice that John warns us not to be deceived about this! He’s not the only one who warns us …

Don’t Misunderstand This

It’s amazing that people can read Romans 1:16-17 and think that it could possibly mean that you can live however you want and go to heaven. The very next verse—yes, verse 18— says …

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.

Or maybe you believe that Paul disagrees with John when John tells us that only those who do righteousness are righteous as Christ is righteous?

Paul doesn’t disagree with John. He issues almost exactly the same warning …

Don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived … (1 Cor. 6:9)

Revealed Righteousness

After spending verses 19 through 32 castigating those who hold the truth in unrighteousness, Paul then starts on the Jews who oppose his Gospel, upbraiding them for their hypocrisy …

Therefore you are inexcusable, oh man, whichever of you judges someone else … for you that judge do the same things. But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them who commit such things. Or do you think, oh man, you who judge those who do such things yet do the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? (2:1-3)

The fact is that yes, a lot of us Protestants think that we can do the same things as the world and yet escape the judgment of God.

Paul has something to say to such people …

After your hardness and impenitent heart you store up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and the revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will repay every man according to his deeds. (2:5-6)

This is not the only place Paul says this …

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things [in context, this is uncleanness, immorality, and greed] the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore, do not be partakers with them. (Eph. 5:6-7)

Clear enough, don’t you think?

And he even issues another warning not to be deceived about this. It’s as though he knew what was coming.

The Power of God to Salvation

The Gospel is the power of God to salvation. As we have seen, it is a salvation that can be seen.

Later in Romans, Paul gives a very clear—almost amazingly clear—description of salvation. We miss it because we don’t understand it, and some of us simply don’t believe it, but it’s a wonderful description of just what the power of God to salvation is.

In Romans 7, Paul describes what we need to be saved from. We are powerless to obey God. We may love righteousness, but we can’t perform it.

Jesus died to change that.

Romans 7 explains that the Law was powerless to change that. It could not empower us to obedience.

But Jesus can …

For what the Law could not do, God did. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, as an offering for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh so that the righteous requirement of God might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. (Rom. 8:3-4)

Notice something there. Jesus’ death accomplished something, but it only accomplished it in those who do not walk according to the flesh but choose a spiritual walk instead.

What did he mean by that? Did he mean that the choice of which to do was up to us?

Just a few verses later, he answers those questions.

So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh to live according to the flesh, for if we live according to the flesh we will die. But if by the Spirit we put to death the deeds of the flesh, then we will live. (Rom. 8:12-13)

Those sure seem to say something clearly, don’t they? Do you really want to bank your hope on the possibility that the choice of which to do is entirely up to you?

Again, this isn’t the only place where Paul says this. Look up Gal. 6:7-9. Peter says it, too. Try 2 Peter 1:5-11 for that.

Sin will not have power over you, for you are not under Law, but under grace. (Rom. 6:14)

That verse sounds a lot like Romans 8:3-4 that we just looked at, doesn’t it?

Romans 8:3-4 is a description of real grace. Grace is not a license to sin. Grace is the power of God delivering you from the power of sin so that you can make the choices given to you in Romans 8:12-13; Gal. 6:7-9; and 2 Pet. 1:5-11.

You can find a terrific description of the grace that brings salvation in Titus 2:11-14.

Answering Jewish Questions About Paul’s Gospel

Romans is all about Paul defending his Gospel.

He gets to drop that by chapter twelve. In the first eleven chapters he dispenses with any objection that any lover of the Law could have to his Gospel, and then in chapter twelve and afterward he gets to move on to exhortation and encouragement.

3:8 specifically says that negative things were being said about Paul and his Gospel, but the whole tenor of the first eleven chapters makes it clear that he’s defending himself.

Romans 1:16 is the beginning of that: "I am not ashamed of the Gospel."

But note, the reason he is not ashamed, as we saw above, is because the Gospel is producing righteousness. It is producing people whose lives are to be admired; not like the Jews who are powerless to do good (re: all of ch. 2).

What About Me?

Now comes the biggest question of all. What about you? What about me?

Have you believed the Gospel and found no change? Has the Gospel failed to be the power of God for salvation to you?

Gratefulness for the death of Christ is not going to be sufficient. It is by the Spirit that we put to death the deeds of the body, not by gratefulness. The death of Christ is effective for those who "do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."

How do you obtain that power?

Truly, it is only by believing, but is what you have believed the truth?

Jesus said that you cannot be his disciple unless you hate family, possessions, and even your own life (Luke 14:26-33).

You have to despise everything and everyone and follow Christ. You do this not by treating them badly, but by making Christ your sole influence in life.

This is the Gospel. Jesus doesn’t know about another one.

That Gospel will bring you the Spirit, and you will receive the Spirit just for believing it.

Know, however, that Jesus is serious about that Gospel. He is the author of eternal salvation to those who obey him (Heb. 5:9).

Will you become his disciple? Will you forsake everything to have him as Teacher, Guide, and Lord?

Everything else comes later. Theology doesn’t matter. Christ will teach you your theology. Will you follow the One who is risen, who is Lord, and who will judge everyone on the last day according to what they have done?

I got an email from a Roman Catholic yesterday. It was very nice this time. Most of the vitriolic (um, harsh and negative) letters I receive are from Catholics. This one was very kind.

On the other hand, he asked me to go view a video that would set me straight. I didn’t go view it. I already know that even the best RC apologists go quickly to deceit when appealing to the early fathers on behalf of their church.

But the issue is much simpler than what the father say.

Here’s the email I sent back; it applies to Protestants, too …

Why I Reject the Authority of the Roman Catholic Church

And Why You Should, Too

Thank you for your kind letter.

I really can’t back off on my stance on the Roman Catholic Church. I was raised Catholic. You may be surprised at my biggest objection to the RCC.

Back in the 4th century, the church began to let people in who had made no commitment to Christ. This is true for the vast majority of Roman Catholic members. They are not taught the Gospel, that Jesus Christ calls people to deny themselves, take up their cross, forsake their possessions, live separate from the world, and join themselves to the family of Christ.

Protestants don’t do much better.

Either way, Christ, the apostles, and the early churches knew only one Gospel, leaving the old life to become a part of the family of God that cares nothing for the things of this world.

The RCC doesn’t teach that to its members. Protestants don’t teach that much, either, but then, Protestants don’t claim that to have a worldwide leader who is the vicar of Christ on earth.

I want those who are wholly committed to Christ to join themselves to one another and quit fellowshipping with nominal Christians, who, according to Scripture, are no Christians at all. And I certainly want them to reject the RCC as an authoritative representative of God when they are telling over a billion people that they are in fellowship with God because of rituals while they live lives that testify against the Gospel of Christ. (See Luke 14:26-33 and note the “cannots” in there.)

Let’s start with an unusual introduction …

The Middle Age Brain

I’m listening to a book on the Middle Age Brain—well, my wife is, and I’m eavesdropping—as we drive across Nevada on I-80.

The author is telling a story about looking for milk in the refrigerator one morning.

"What are you looking for?" her husband asked.

"The milk," she replied. "Did you drink it all."

His response? "It’s over here on the counter; you poured some in your cereal just a minute ago."

Oops.

Her point is that middle-age people really do have memory lapses, but apparently in most other areas there’s no loss at all. Experience is a great teacher, and middle-age adults tend to be very capable and possess that undefinable quality called "wisdom."

So why am I telling you this?

Where Were We?

I’m 49, and my middle-aged brain has real problems remembering what I’ve already written about.

So I’m going to get back into a series on the appearance of the apostle Paul, and we’ll hope I’m returning to the right spot. I have no internet here in the Nevada desert, so I can’t check.

We’ll also hope there’s actually some wisdom to pass on …

Gentle Among You

The phrase "gentle among you" comes from 1 Thessalonians 2:7 …

We were gentle among you, as a nurse cherishes her own children.

The passage we are talking about concerns building the church, and it takes gentleness.

Paul had two tasks; all apostles did.

1. Evangelize
2. Shepherd

Those are two separate gifts, unless you are an apostle. In that case, you must have both. (Proving that is a long study, especially involving the interchangeable Greek words kerusso and euaggelizo.)

When Paul discusses being gentle among the Thessalonians, he’s talking about the shepherding part of the work—making people strong enough to continue together after he has preached the Gospel to them.

Gentle Shepherds

So often today, we picture a good shepherd as a good speaker. He’s a preacher, but as I just pointed out in the text box above, "preaching" is for the lost, not the church. You’ll never find an example of the church being preached to. The church is taught.

And the church is nursed.

When Paul compares his gentleness to that of a nurse cherishing her children, he’s not talking about a nurse like Cratchett from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Nothing gentle about her, and she doesn’t have any children in relation to her career as a nurse.

Paul is talking about a nursing mother, or a nursing mother hired by a rich person to nurse their baby.

(Gerber’s Baby Foods was not around in the 1st century, so they actually had to breastfeed their babies then. No plastic bottles with rubber nipples to suck on.)

So, let me ask you a question …

If you’re not a pastor, then the question is this. Do you feel like your pastor gently takes care of you like a nursing mother takes care of her baby?

If you’re a pastor, my question is the opposite. Do you feel that your job is to gently take care of the flock like a nursing mother watches her baby?

Thundering Sermons

Thundering sermons, heaping conviction from on high … is that your picture of a good pastor?

Why?

Do you have examples of this in Scripture?

Even in Paul’s most admonishing letters—1 Corinthians and Galatians—he heaps love and care on them along with the conviction. 1 Corinthians 1 is full of praise, not admonishment.

Galatians is a little different because unlike the Corinthians, who were merely giving in to the flesh (possibly to their own condemnation—1 Cor. 6:9-
11), the Galatians had left the Gospel. Paul leaps immediately into the problem because without the Gospel there is no fellowship.

But everywhere his appeal is evidently and clearly from love … and personal.

Notice that Paul saves all his invective for the condemned Judaizers. They are anathema. They need to be cut off. The Galatians, however, get pleading …

Oh, foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you?

You have not injured me at all.

Where is the blessedness you spoke of?

My little children, for whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you. I long to be present with you and to change my tone.

I have confidence in you in the Lord … but he that troubles you shall bear his judgment.

There is simply no Scriptural precedent for thundering sermons.

I’m not saying a thundering sermon should never happen. Dear friends who are trying to serve Christ together will need to raise their voice to one another occasionally.

However, thundering sermons week after week from one man to an audience resembles nothing found in Scripture or in the early church.

Thundering "Prophets"

"Well, my pastor is a prophet," you may say.

First, not all prophets are called to be harsh. Prophets are only harsh when they’re speaking to people who have departed from the way of God.

Second, prophets—plural—are supposed to speak one by one, and everyone can prophesy … at least, according to Scripture.

Ah, but I’ve forgotten. Evangelical Christians believe THE BIBLE, not what the Bible actually says. THE BIBLE is to be honored, praised, and never questioned … unless it says something that requires us to change what we’re doing—like having every member participate in our meetings—in that case, we should never bring that passage up again.

Oops, slipped into a little sarcasm there. In fact, I have a thundering sermon I’d like to give on that BIBLE believers who don’t believe or care what the Bible says …

Gentle Shepherds, the Bible Way

But the point today, my Bible-believing brothers—those who actually love what God says—is that we shouldn’t let tradition get in the way of obeying God, especially in an area as important as this … shepherding the flock.

Sheep will perish—no, sheep are perishing en masse—if we don’t change this.

Sheep need gentle, caring shepherds who know their name (Jn. 10:3).

Do we need thundering sermons, or do we need shepherds (they were plural in the early churches) who will actually notice when 1 sheep is missing from the 100. After all, you can’t leave the 99 to go after the 1 unless you know the 1 is missing!

Cultivating Gentleness

Gentleness is a fruit of the Spirit. That means that if you don’t do anything to cultivate spiritual fruit, then the fleshly fruits of strife, envy, and jealousy will grow instead.

Gentleness will not just happen, and human gentleness is not what the church needs.

There is always no better example of any spiritual fruit than our Lord Jesus Christ. It is obvious that Jesus was not always gentle by the human definition of gentle.

Nonetheless, note that both children and sinners wanted to be around him.

Is that true of you?

As for his disciples, they were half-terrified of him, but they wanted to be around him. They knew that he had the words of life, and they knew he was to be followed. He was clear and occasionally frustrated with them, but he took the time to teach them to be like him.

This was the gentleness of Jesus Christ.

It is the gentleness we need as well.

This series started by looking at Paul’s boldness and his avoidance of flattering speech.

All of these attributes come from 1 Thessalonians 2, and they are all the result of one thing: Paul’s focus on and commitment to the Gospel of Christ.

Paul never lost sight of the goal: preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the salvation and transformation of all who believe.

Today’s topics come from 1 Thess. 2:5-6, where Paul says, " … nor with a pretext for greed … nor did we seek glory from men" (NASB).

Knowing Ourselves

Both these things …

• Greed
• Glory from men

… have to with personal gain.

We are all prone not only to being influenced by greed and glory-seeking, but also to being deceived by them.

Exhort one another daily, while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. (Heb. 3:13)

I have never heard of a deceived person who knew they were deceived.

By definition, a deceived person thinks they’re right. A person deceived by sin thinks he’s not sinning.

A person deceived by greed and glory believes they are not self-seeking. They believe they care about God and about the ministry of the Word of God.

Our protection from these things—according to the writer of Hebrews—is being exhorted/encouraged (parakaleo can mean either) on a daily basis.

Don’t judge yourself in such matters. Let God judge you, and ask your brothers and sisters in Christ to judge you as well … not in condemnation, but in exhortation and, thus, love.

Glory from Men

If there’s anything that has a stronger draw on the hearts of men than money (and women), then it’s glory. We love to be glorified. We love to be held in honor. We love to lead. We love to be respected.

This is such a strong influence on us that God has provided many ways for us to battle the temptation and deception of glory.

Deliverance from Glory-Seeking

1. Humiliation

First, you can count on God to humiliate you. You can count on God—if you’re really his and not marked for perdition because of your self-will—to ensure that you have plenty of opportunity to be humbled.

Humbled, though is a nice word. Humiliated, however, is not so nice. Do not fret when God humiliates you. It hurts badly, but it is important for your own salvation.

2. Weakness of the Flesh

Many Christians are deceived into thinking that God is concerned about correcting all their faults.

He’s not.

He’s concerned about making you useful, and perfect people aren’t all that useful. They’re impossible to follow.

It’s important that a minister of the Gospel have weaknesses and struggles. It’s important that people know they have them.

Paul had a "messenger of satan" that perplexed him. He cried out to God for deliverance, but God told him that God’s strength would only be made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9).

Jimmy Swaggart and Ted Haggard had weaknesses and temptations … sexual ones. I assure you that they are not the only preachers of the Gospel with such struggles.

Their temptations and subsequent sin were exposed publicly.

God will not deliver you from weaknesses and temptations. He will only deliver you from sin.

Nor does God intend to deliver you by public exposure. He wants you to privately expose yourself.

Confess your faults one to another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. (Jam. 5:14)

We don’t make provision for weaknesses in leaders today. Leaders are separated from the people. The church is not a family. It’s more like a manager (the pastor), some players (active members of the church), and a crowd of fans—some for the team and some against it.

Thus, church leaders are forced to perform. No provision is made for the fact that God sends messengers of satan to them, working on them, wearing them down, making them needy, causing them to struggle … so that the power and the excellency would always be his and never theirs.

Church leaders must come from among us.

Obtaining church leaders from seminaries is a practice far more foolish and dangerous than we realize. Beyond the fact that it’s unbiblical, against the tradition of the apostles, and we don’t care … beyond all that, it’s horribly dangerous.

It produces Jimmy Swaggarts and Ted Haggards.

A church leader should be confessing his weaknesses, obtaining prayer, and being healed … humbled all the time, considering himself, lest he also be tempted.

The tried men of our elders preside over us, obtaining that honour not by purchase, but by established character. (Tertullian, Apology 39, c. A.D. 200)

We observe to come from divine authority, that the elder should be chosen in the presence of the people under the eyes of all, and should be approved worthy and suitable by public judgment and testimony. (Cyprian, "To the Clergy and People of Spain"; c. A.D. 250)

Conclusion

Let me just drop this here. I’m sure there’s more to say, but that’s a lot to chew on if you read all this.

I mentioned at the start that Paul was able to say those things in 1 Thess. 2 because he was focused on the Gospel and its transforming power. He was never moved from his goal. He was always steady and straight ahead.

The things above are true for disciples. They are true for those that want to be transformed by God.

Others may find that God doesn’t get in their way. He doesn’t humble them. Their goal is to honor themselves, not to honor God, and so God doesn’t deal with them at all.

Instead, they hear the worst thing that anyone can hear from God, which is "your will be done."

So if you have been called by God as a worker in his body or as a preacher of the Gospel, don’t fret your weaknesses … confess them. Ask for prayer. Be transformed and healed by the prayers of your brothers and sisters, and thus live in humility, apart from the glory of men, a true servant of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Last-Minute Hotel Deals at Expedia.com

I stole the title of this post, "The Appearance of the Apostle Paul," from an old friend of mine. I don’t remember precisely what he taught, as that was 20 years ago, but I’m pretty sure it was similar to what I’m about to say.

What I’m about to say comes from 1 Thessalonians 2.

I really want to get back to Ignatius’ letter to the Ephesians, but apparently that’s not for today. I really want to cover this.

Boldness

I Thess. 2:2: After we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi … we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the Gospel of God amid much opposition. (NASB)

One of my favorite people is K.V. Daniel of Mercy Homes Ministry.

K.V. is always focused. He’s relaxed and pleasant to be around, but he never loses focus of his goal. He is preaching the Gospel, making disciples, serving, and raising up children for Christ.

If what’s going on doesn’t enhance that purpose, then he’s moving on to the next thing.

The apostle Paul was like that. He’d been beaten and jailed in Philippi, then run out of town. But when he got to Thessalonica, he wasn’t thinking about resting … he was thinking about the Gospel.

He put aside everything else, and he preached the Gospel.

Notice that I titled this section "boldness," but I talked about purpose.

That’s really important.

Bold preachers of the Gospel have purpose, not just courage. If they relied on courage, then you and I would have an excuse. Maybe we’re not gifted with courage.

It’s not courage; it’s purpose.

Paul was focused on the goal; K.V. Daniel is focused on the goal; Noah Taylor (Rose Creek Village) is focused on the goal.

Those men inspire me. They are not more courageous than you and me; they are more focused than you and me.

It’s time for us to follow them.

No Flattering Speech

1 Thessalonians 2:5: We never came with flattering speech … (NASB)

This is tied to purpose as well.

Paul knew why he was preaching the Gospel, and it wasn’t to get people to agree that what he was saying is true.

Let me repeat that …

Paul knew why he was preaching the Gospel, and it wasn’t to get people to agree that what he was saying is true.

It was to transform people.

The Spirit of a Python

I mentioned the trouble Paul in Philippi. Do you remember why it happened?

While Paul was preaching a slave-girl with a spirit of a python …

So this slave-girl with a spirit of divination doesn’t oppose Paul, she supports him!

She follows him around crying out, "These men are slaves of the Most High God, and they are proclaiming the way of salvation to you!"

Nice, huh?

Paul didn’t think it was nice. He wasn’t looking for approval, he was looking for transformation.

Therefore, he wasn’t going to share the stage with a demon.

You know the rest of the story. He became "greatly annoyed" with her, cast the demon out, ruined her owners’ business, and was thrown in jail for being a troublemaker.

Flattering Speech in the 21st Century

We’re not as astute as Paul. We share the stage with the devil all the time.

The Scriptures say that anyone who makes himself a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. In fact, friendship with the world is enmity with God.

Nonetheless, when we find that our Gospel is so watered down that it’s not saving anyone, what do we do?

Do we fix it?

No. We add friendship with the world.

We add basketball courts, rock ‘n roll music, rap, worldly hairdos and clothing styles, worldly speech, sports, and anything else we can do.

Then we obtain a modicum of success by preaching the world!

We’ve done far worse than use flattering speech. We’ve changed the Gospel!

Not Ashamed of the Gospel

Paul didn’t just say he wasn’t ashamed of the Gospel. He said there is a reason he’s not ashamed of the Gospel …

Rom. 1:16-17 (wording from NASB, formatting from me):

I am not ashamed of the Gospel because …

• it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes …
• in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith

Paul’s Gospel transformed lives. It did so because he didn’t compromise it.

He didn’t change it because he was beaten with whips in Philippi. He didn’t change it to make people feel good. He gave it out true and straight, just the way he got it from Jesus.

What was it? His description of his Gospel was: “Repent, turn to God, and do works appropriate to repentance” (Acts 26:20).

Of course, this repenting, turning to God, and doing works was accomplished by a grace that comes from God through faith in Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:8-10).

And that Gospel worked.

The Gospel and the Revelation of the Righteousness of God

Look at what Paul said …

In it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith

When Paul’s Gospel was believed, a righteousness of God was revealed.

There’s a righteousness that the Law produces. Paul wasn’t impressed with it. It involved a lot of failure, a lot of stealing, and a lot of adultery (Rom. 2:1-3; 17-24).

But Paul’s Gospel, when believed, caused a righteousness to come forth in believers that revealed the righteousness that God wants to bring to the earth.

That’s why the Gospel is of faith and not of works. It’s not that God doesn’t care what works you do. God knows that in your conscious, western, logical, overconfident, arrogant, selfish mind, you don’t even know what good works are, much less have the power to do them.

But if you believe the Gospel and obtain grace, then grace will teach you how to live seriously, righteously, and godly in this present age (Tit. 2:11-14). You will be created anew to do good works that God himself has prepared for you to do (Eph. 2:10).

Paul wasn’t ashamed of the Gospel of Christ because he was seeing it create disciples who revealed the righteousness of God. They were living the life of Christ through the incredible power of grace, a grace bestowed by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 6:14; 8:13; Gal. 3:3; 5:16-18; etc., etc., etc.)

More

Well, that's more than enough for one post, don't you think?

I guess I'll leave ...

• not with a pretext for greed
• nor did we seek glory from men
• proved to be gentle among you, like a nursing mother
• so fond an affection for you
• imparting our own lives as well as the Gospel
• working night and day
• behaving devoutly, uprightly, and without blame
• and exhorting, comforting, and testifying so others would walk worthy of God

… for future posts.

The part in 1 Thess. 2:13 that says that the word of God "performs its work in you who believe" (NASB), is basically covered above under "The Gospel and the Revelation of the Righteousness of God."

 

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For those of you that read my blog, but not Christian History for Everyman, I’m just letting you know I made a page on water baptism for that site.

It’s pretty comprehensive, even though it only touches on the mode of baptism by accident and that only one time.

 

]]> http://rosecreekvillage.com/shammah/archives/376/feed 2 http://rosecreekvillage.com/shammah/archives/298 http://rosecreekvillage.com/shammah/archives/298#comments Tue, 29 Jun 2010 06:19:21 +0000 Shammah http://rosecreekvillage.com/shammah/?p=298

I started this series yesterday with an introduction to the early Christian writings.

This is Ignatius’ epistle to the Ephesians, written in A.D. 107 or 116, about 50 or 60 years after Paul wrote his epistle to the Ephesians and only about 30 years after the letter to the Ephesians found in Revelation ch. two.

This is chapter 1 of 21, but the chapters are way shorter than Paul’s six chapters.

I have become familiar with your name, much beloved in God, which you have acquired by the habit of righteousness, according to the faith and love in Jesus Christ our Savior. Because you are the followers of God and because you stir yourselves up by the blood of God, you have perfectly accomplished the work which was appropriate for you.
     [You hurried to see me] when you heard that I had arrived from Syria, in chains for our common Name and Hope. With the help of your prayers, I am trusting that I will be allowed to fight with the beasts at Rome so that by martyrdom I may truly become the disciple of the One who have himself for us as an offering and sacrifice to God.
     Therefore I received the whole multitude of you in the name of God by the person of Onesimus, a man of inexpressible love, your bishop in the flesh. I ask you by Jesus Christ to love him and that you would all try to be like him. Blessed is the One who has given him to you, who has considered you worthy to be given such an excellent bishop.

Repentance of the Ephesians

We discussed this when we discussed Ignatius’ introduction yesterday. The start of chapter one is another indication that Ephesus repented after they received Christ’s letter (Rev. 2). The Ephesians had a "habit of righteousness," based in faith and love for Jesus Christ. Because they stirred themselves up by the blood of God, they perfectly accomplished the work God had for them.

I’d say they had returned to their first love.

The Blood of God, Part One: The Trinity

This is fascinating terminology. Yesterday, we discussed the fact that when the Father and Jesus are mentioned together, the Father is called "God," while Jesus is called "Lord." We all know this.

All of us know that Jesus sat down at the right hand of God. We would never read that the Father sat down at the left hand of God.

Yet here Ignatius talks about the blood of God. It is not typical to reference Jesus as God without naming him. If the Scripture mentions "God" without reference to one of the persons of the Trinity, it almost always means the Father. Yet here is Ignatius clearly referring to the Son with a general reference to God.

Acts 20:28 uses very similar terminology …

Feed the church of God, which he has purchased with his own blood.

This is unusual terminology, but not inappropriate, from a Scriptural and early Christian view of the Trinity. It is inexplicable from the Arian or Jehovah’s Witness view of the Trinity.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses have actually put out a small booklet on the early Christian view of the Trinity, in which they take the nonsensical position that the early church was Arian—in other words, that they believed with Arius and the Jehovah’s Witnesses that the Son was a creation of God rather than born of him.

The position is nonsensical because the very reason Arius was condemned as a heretic was because he was against the church. You don’t get rejected for heresy when you agree with the church.

The reason the Jehovah’s Witnesses get away with it is because we’ve forgotten the early Christian view of the Trinity. We’ve replaced it with a doctrine that says that all three persons are coequal and coeternal.

This is neither Scriptural nor historical (sorry). It doesn’t agree with the Nicene Creed. Despite the fact that numerous Catholic and Protestant churches recite it weekly, it expressly disagrees with our view of the Trinity.

According to the Nicene Creed (and Scripture, and the early church), we have one God, the Father, and one Lord, Jesus Christ. The Son, Jesus Christ, is begotten of the Father. The Father is not begotten of the Son. The Son is divinity from divinity, light from light, true divinity from true divinity, but the Father is the true divinity and light from which the Son comes.

All the early Christians believed that Jesus meant it when he said the Father was greater than himself (Jn. 14:28). They did not believe it was a temporary thing while he was on the earth. The Father has times that he has set, and some of those are unknown to the Son (Mk. 13:32).

Those last couple paragraphs may be news to you, but they were not news to the early Christians.

Jehovah’s Witnesses

The Jehovah’s Witnesses have jumped on this bit of information in order to promulgate their disinformation. They quote the early Christians extensively because the early Christians said a lot about the Father being the one God.

But the JW’s neglect to quote passages like this one in the first chapter of Ignatius’ letter to the Ephesians. They neglect to give you the context of early Christian explanations of the Trinity. They don’t let you know that the early churches expressly rejected the idea that Jesus Christ was created from nothing. If Jesus was not formed from the eternal substance of God—if he was not eternally the Logos, or instinctive thought, of God—then he was not really divine.

It’s for this reason that Arius was wrong, and it’s for this reason that the Jehovah’s Witnesses are wrong.

Does this mean that JW’s can’t be saved?

No. It doesn’t. Chances are, you’ve got the Trinity wrong, and God saved you.

What stops JW’s from being saved is their lack of belief in Jesus Christ. They follow men and the teachings of men. They don’t know that Jesus wants to live inside of them by his Spirit because they believe the Spirit of God is an impersonal force.

Thus, they miss out on the whole central message of the Christian faith: Christ in you, the hope of glory.

The Blood of God, Part Two: The Blood

More important than the doctrine of the Trinity …

Yes, more important than the doctrine of the Trinity is the reference here to being stirred up by the blood of God.

Listen, God will be fine if you don’t understand him. In fact, even if you can perfectly explain the Biblical and early Christian view of the Trinity, you still don’t understand God.

Never forget. God is saving us; we are not saving him.

And that’s the point I want to make about stirring ourselves up by the blood of God.

This whole ticket into heaven things is not what God is after. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. The Bible never says that Jesus "paid the penalty" for our sins, and the whole paid-penalty theory is disgusting and immoral.

Are we really willing to suggest that God is under bondage to some cosmic law that forces him to torture people in fire eternally if they commit one sin?

That’s horrifying, and it has nothing to do with the God of the Bible who is praised repeatedly because "his mercy endures forever," a phrase found 41 times in Scripture.

The blood of God was not shed to change God. God was already merciful, which is why Jesus shed his blood. God already forgave sin to the repentant. He did not torture them eternally when they repented; he forgave them when they repented from the very beginning.

As David says, "Sacrifice and offering you do not desire … You do not delight in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart …" (Ps. 51:16-17).

Jesus shed his blood so that you would live a life of repentance and righteousness.

Life was already offered to the repentant even under the Old Covenant …

In repentance and rest you shall be saved … but you would have none of it.

But under the New Covenant, Jesus died for us and not for God.

God didn’t need to change. He was offering salvation to those who would repent. We needed to change. We would have none of it. So Jesus, by his death, enabled us to repent and live for God …

For what the Law could not do … God did. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, he condemned sin in the flesh so that the righteous requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Rom. 8:3-4)

What’s our response?

Being enabled, we repent and perform righteous works that God has made for us to do …

If you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if, by the Spirit, you put to death the deeds of the body, then you will live. (Rom. 8:12-13)

The apostles knew that, so that is what they preached.

• The first Gospel sermon: "Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38).
• Jewish description of the Gospel: "So, then, God has also given the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life" (Acts 11:18).
• Paul’s description of what he preached: "… that they should repent, turn to God, and do works appropriate to repentance" (Acts 26:20).

It remains true to this day that without holiness—a holiness that must be pursued, not one that is simply granted from God—you cannot see the Lord (Heb. 12:14).

It is the blood of Christ that enables us to do this. It is the blood of Christ that breaks the power of sin in us. It is the blood of Christ that cleanses us so that the Spirit of God may dwell in us.

He died for all so that those who live would no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and rose again. (2 Cor. 5:15)

In other words, my friend, you are not going to reap eternal life unless you continue doing good without growing weary (Gal. 6:8-9; 2 Pet. 1:5-11; 1 Jn. 2:3-4; Rom. 2:6-7). (I put Romans 2 at the end of that list because we Protestants don’t believe that verse. However, once you’ve made your way through those verses I listed in Galatians, 2 Peter, and 1 John, maybe Romans 2:6-7 won’t seem so unbelievable to you.)

A Little More on the Blood of God

Isn’t this ridiculous? I’ve spent 1750 words talking about 62 words that Ignatius wrote.

That’s only about 1/3 of that first chapter, and there’s more to say!

For example, he ends that first third—just the part we looked at, not the rest of the chapter—by saying that they have perfectly accomplished the work God had for them. That happened because they stirred themselves up in the blood of God. They did not congratulate themselves on their ticket to heaven and live how they pleased. They stirred themselves up, knowing that the one who says he knows God but doesn’t obey him is a liar (1 Jn. 2:3-4), and they perfectly accomplished the work God had for them.

How? By the blood of Christ.

There’s power in the blood. The blood cleanses us. It gives us fellowship with one another … if we walk in the light (1 Jn. 1:7). That blood is precious.

That blood is precious not only because it saved us, but because it purchased us. Yes, we’ve been bought by the blood of the Lamb of God, slain since the foundation of the world (Acts 20:28; 1 Cor. 6:20; 7:23; Eph. 1:14; 1 Pet. 1:18-19).

Moving On

Okay, we’re hitting 2,000 words again. Let’s move on.

We’ll have plenty to do tomorrow: martyrdom as an entrance to heaven; how close Ignatius comes to bishop-worship and why.

It’ll be fun.

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