Category: Insecurity

Spiritual Warfare – Part 6

Introduction

       As the celebration of Jesus’ birth approaches, I am reminded of that first Christmas which is recorded from a human perspective in Matthew’s and Luke’s gospels (Matt. 1:21-2:12; Luke 2:1-20). It is presented as a very peaceful event involving Mary and Joseph, some angels, shepherds, wise men, and the baby Jesus. The angels praised God saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:14). Hence, most Christmas celebrations today focus on the peace that surrounded the birth of Jesus, assuming He would bring peace “on earth” during His First Coming. 

        But at the beginning of the week before Jesus’ crucifixion when Christ triumphantly entered Jerusalem, a multitude of His followers praised God, saying: “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (Luke 19:38). Notice they say, “Peace in heaven,” not “peace on earth.” The first coming of Christ would establish spiritual peace “in heaven” between God and humankind (Rom. 5:1; Eph. 2:16-18). But it won’t be until Jesus’ Second Coming to earth that universal peace “on earth” will be established by King Jesus during His thousand-year reign on earth (Rev 20:4-6; Isa. 2:1-4; 9:6b-7; Mic. 4:1-5). 

       In Revelation 12:1-5, the apostle John shares a version of the Christmas story that is from heaven’s perspective, and it is the opposite of peace (see above picture). This version of the Christmas story involves three main characters: the woman, representing the nation of Israel who endured much pain in bringing the Messiah into the world (Rev. 12:1-2; cf. Gen. 37:9-11); the Child, representing the Lord Jesus Christ (Rev. 12:2, 5); and the dragon, representing the Devil (Rev. 12:3-4a, 9).

       When Jesus is born into the world, Satan is there with his army of demons represented by “a third of the stars of heaven” (Rev. 12:4a), waiting to destroy Him: “And the dragon (Satan) stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child (Jesus) as soon as it was born” (Rev. 12:4b – parenthesis added). While shepherds are watching, angels are singing, and wise men are worshipping, Satan is waiting to make his move. The attempt to kill the Child John sees in this vision is probably a reference to king Herod’s brutal attempt to kill Jesus (cf. Matt. 2:16).

       The next verse says, “She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne.” (Rev. 12:5). In this version of the Christmas story Jesus goes from being born at Bethlehem, to ruling on the throne of the universe. John uses this one verse to summarize the birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension, and future reign of the Lord Jesus Christ. Satan not only used Herod in an attempt to kill the baby Jesus, but He would later use Judas to betray Him, Pilate to condemn Him, and the Roman soldiers to crucify Him. All the fury of hell would be released against the Child born on that silent night.

      The rest of Revelation 12 talks about the last half of the Tribulation period when Satan and his fallen angels are cast down from heaven and persecute the people of God – the nation of Israel (cf. 12:7-17). Since Satan could not destroy the Christ Child Who is now on His throne in heaven, he is going to go after what is dearest to the Child – His own people. This is why there is so much opposition against God’s people today, especially His Jewish people, and it will only intensify as the Second Coming of Christ to earth draws near. If the Devil can destroy Israel before Jesus returns to earth with His Bride, the Church (Rev. 19:7-21), then there can be no triumphant return of Christ and Satan will rule the earth.

       John’s version of the Christmas story reminds us we are in a struggle with a dragon. It is a struggle we can’t win; it is a struggle Jesus already won. You see, if you are a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ, Satan is going to attack you. “Satan” means adversary. During this Christmas season (and all our lives), he wants to rob us of the joy and peace of Christmas by reminding us of our sins and shortcomings. He will accuse us of the times we have lied and been unfaithful, of the times we’ve lost our temper and broken our promises.

The Armor of God

       How can we deal with this intense spiritual battle whereby the enemy seeks to rob us of God’s peace? The apostle Paul instructs his Christian readers (including you and me) to “put on the whole armor of God” so we may stand against the “wiles” or trickery of the Devil (Eph. 6:11). Paul describes the armor that Roman infantrymen wore in the order they would put it on.

       The soldier first puts on his belt which represents the Christian’s belt of truth (Eph. 6:14a). Since Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44), this first piece of armor is essential to protecting us from Satan’s deceptions and lies. We learned that truth is God’s viewpoint on a subject. It is the absolute standard by which reality is measured in its original form.Truth points us in the direction that God wants to lead us.

       After putting on his belt, the soldier then puts on his breastplate which protects his vital organs in his chest region. “The breastplate” we are to put on is “righteousness” (dikaiosunē) which refers to the quality of “being right.” [1] God’s truth is the informational base that tells us the right thing to do. The truth points our heart in the direction of God’s righteousness. The breastplate of righteousness is our response to God’s truth or viewpoint on a matter.

       When God’s truth and righteousness are operative in our lives, it will lead to the next piece of armor which has to with our feet or shoes (Eph. 6:15). Why is this so important?

The Importance of Our Feet

      In the 21st century, we have shoes for every occasion. There are dress shoes, casual shoes, work shoes, and many kinds of athletic shoes. There are shoes for cold weather, warm weather, and rainy weather. We have indoor shoes and outdoor shoes. There are specialty shoes like dance shoes (ballet,  tap, etc.), work boots (steel-toe, waterproof, etc.), and orthopedic shoes. Some of you may have a closet full of shoes that are designed to adorn your feet. The fact that we have so many varieties of shoes today demonstrates the importance of our feet. [2]

      It is also a very serious thing to have feet that hurt. Have you ever noticed how difficult it is to focus on an objective when your feet are hurting? When your feet hurt, you hurt are over. When our feet hurt, we do not make a good soldier. This is why our military places great emphasis on examining the feet of a soldier. They understand that a person’s feet need to be comfortable to be a good soldier. God understands this more than anyone. [3]

The Soldier’s Sandals

       God wants His people to wear a certain kind of shoes all the time because they will address an important issue regarding spiritual warfare in our lives. After a Roman soldier put on his belt and breastplate (Eph. 6:14), he then puts on his sandals: “And having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” (Eph. 6:15). The Greek word translated “shod” (hupodeō) is a compound word meaning “under” (hupo) plus “to bind/tie” (deō)or “to bind/tie under or beneath” [4](sandals). [5] It refers here to what you are wearing on your feet at all times. [6]

       The word translated “preparation” (hetoimasia) refers to the state of “readiness.” [7] If we are wearing these shoes, we will be ready for the Devil’s attacks against us. We will be prepared to deal with our enemy’s methods of deception.

        To properly understand this piece of armor, we need to realize that the Roman soldier had what modern-day American football players have. They had cleats or spikes coming out of the bottom of their shoes. “Roman soldiers wore sandals with cleats built in to help them have firm footing and to stand their ground under attack.” [8] These spikes on the bottom of a soldier’s sandals gave him stability and mobility on the battlefield. They kept him from slipping and sliding when he was under attack.

       If we were in a battle in Paul’s day, we had better be well-shod. There would be nothing worse than losing our footing with an enemy standing over us with a sword in his hand. [9]

       Paul has already emphasized the need to be stationary in battle by using the word “stand” (stēnai) or a form of this word (antistēnai/stēte) four times (Eph. 6:11, 13-14). Why? Because the Devil wants to knock us off our feet. He wants to knock us to the ground and keep us there. He desires to remove us from our place of stability.

       When Paul says to have our feet “shod,” he is talking about placing ourselves in a stationary position so that when all hell breaks loose “in the evil day” (Eph. 6:13), Satan cannot knock us down or knock us out. Why? Because what we are wearing on our feet gives us stability and sure-footedness.

       If you are like me, you know what it is like to be knocked over by the evil one. Our circumstances have knocked us over. Our finances have knocked us over. Our relationships with certain people have knocked us over. Our jobs have knocked us over. Our feet have slipped, and we are going down.

       So, what this third piece of armor teaches us is that God wants to create stability or sure-footedness for us so that when we face a Satanic full-frontal attack, we can stand firm. Evans explains, “Through the cross and resurrection of Christ, victory is already won. The devil has lost. The only power he has is the power you give him. We are to stand firm in Christ’s victory. Paul tells the Ephesians over and over: stand (6:11, 13-14). In other words, stay in the area where victory has been achieved under the cover of God’s armor. When you stand under an umbrella, it doesn’t stop the rain. But it does stop you from getting wet. You have to dress for success in this thing called the Christian life.” [10] [emphasis added]

The Purpose of Satan’s Attack

       Remember that the Devil is a thief (John 10:10a). He knows he cannot take away our salvation because we are secure forever in Christ after we believe in Him for His free gift of eternal life which can never be lost (cf. John 3:16; 6:35-40; 10:28-29; Rom. 8:38-39; Eph. 1:13-14; I John 5:13). Since the evil one cannot keep us out of heaven, he wants to make us experience hell on earth. [11] How does he do this?

       This third piece of armor teaches us that Satan wants to rob us of God’s “peace.” The opposite of “peace” is anxiety. The Devil wants God’s children to live with anxiety and fear. He knows that whatever we fear, we give control to. Hence, the purpose of the enemy’s attacks is to keep God from controlling our lives, so our salvation is not manifested through us. He wants to keep us defeated and discouraged.

       But God wants His people to have feet that are not hurting in the area of “peace.” The Lord understands that one of the Devil’s strategies is to rob God’s people of His peace. Satan wants to promise us peace through his “wiles” or trickery. He will promise us peace through counterfeit religions, drugs, education, entertainment, materialism, the occult, and sex outside of marriage. Often times we discover that we have less peace than we did before we pursued the enemy’s counterfeit peace. It is that way with everything Satan promises to use to give us peace. Instead of giving us peace, Satan’s ways lead us into bondage and death.

What is Peace?

       But God’s “peace” is real, and it protects us from the activities of the kingdom of darkness. But what is this “peace” God wants us to wear all the time? The Greek word for “peace” (eirēnē) in Ephesian 6:15 refers to a “state of concord, harmony, or well-being” [12] between Jews and Gentiles (Eph. 2:14-15) and between God and humankind (Eph. 2:16-18).

       Jesus used this word for “peace” (eirēnē) twice in John 14:27 when He referred to two types of peace. The first kind refers to His work on the cross. “Peace I leave with you.” (John 14:27a). The word “leave” (aphiēmi) implies something that Jesus does. Christ’s death on the cross would provide eternal “peace with God” (Rom. 5:1) for us because all our sins would be forgiven (Acts 10:43; Col. 2:13-14). The meaning of “peace” in this case “is the spiritual well-being that results from being rightly related to God through Jesus Christ.” [13]

       The second type of peace in verse 27 is the kind that Jesus enjoyed on earth. He says, “My peace I give to you” (John 14:27b). In the context (cf. John 14:21, 23), this peace of Christ’s is given to obedient believers. It arises from a life of faith in God. It refers to a calmness “that would come to their hearts from trusting God and from knowing that He was in control of all events that touched their lives.” [14]

       Christ distinguishes His peace from the kind of peace the world can give – “not as the world gives do I give to you.” (John 14:27c). The world cannot offer eternal peace with God. The world denies that people need to be reconciled to God. The world says that people are inherently good because they are created in the image of God. “Because God loves everyone,” the world says, “There is no need for reconciliation with God.” The world offers a false peace to people. Sin has distorted God’s image in people. Some churches deny this because the world has influenced them to believe that people are inherently good and do not need a Savior.

       The peace the world offers depends on one’s circumstances and is temporary. Itis deceptive and misleading. But the peace Jesus offers is the calm and tranquility of the soul that is independent of our external situation. [15]

       This peace is much like the painting above. [16] The sky is black with storm clouds. The waves are violently billowing up and down against the rocky shore. There is turmoil and chaos all around. 

       But on the right side of this portrait about halfway up the rocky cliff at the edge of this horrific circumstance of life, was a mother bird sitting on her nest protecting her young. One little light piercing the darkness of the clouds was shining down on the bird as it sat peacefully on its nest. 

       This picture portrays biblical peace. Biblical peace is not the absence of problems. It is not “when nothing is wrong, I am calm.” Biblical peace is when everything is wrong, and we are still calm. It is when circumstances or situations are not conducive to rest, but we are able to chill. Biblical peace is when there is calm on the inside while there is nothing but chaos on the outside. We do not know we have biblical peace until circumstances are not peaceful.

       When Jesus spoke of His peace in John 14:27, it was the night before His crucifixion. There was nothing peaceful about Jesus’ situation. He knew it would involve terrible darkness when all hell would break loose against Him and He would experience separation from His heavenly Father for the first and last time when the sin of the world would be placed upon Christ as our Substitute for sin (cf. 2 Cor. 5:21; I Pet. 3:18). Yet Jesus could speak with confidence about giving His peace to His disciples the night before His brutal death on a cross. Christ lived this peace, and He wants to empower us to do the same.

Where Do We Find this Peace?

       This third piece of armor speaks of standing in “the preparation of the gospel of peace” (Eph. 6:15). The “peace” that Jesus gives us is found in “the gospel.” This peace is not found in a pill or an injection or in entertainment or in the accumulation of wealth. It is not found in our favorite television program or movie. Nor is it found on a vacation or in an image on the computer screen. This peace is not found in a better job or in a counseling session. That’s the world’s kind of peace which is momentary.

       The peace that God wants us to continually wear on our feet is found in “the gospel.” To understand the “peace” that the apostle Paul is talking about, we need to understand the gospel. The Greek word for “gospel” is euangelion, which means “good news.” [17] So, what is the good news?

       The apostle Paul defines the “gospel” or good news by which we are saved today when he writes, “3 that Christ died for our sin according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once…” (I Cor. 15:3-6). The gospel is that Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead. We are saved from an eternity in hell when we believe in the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection as our Substitute for our sins (Acts 16:31). At that moment of faith in Christ, we receive both the complete forgiveness of all our sins (Acts 10:43; Col. 2:13-14) and the gift of eternal life (John 3:14-16). Jesus says we are born again (John 3:3). But you may say, “I am born again but I still have anxiety and worry – the opposite of peace.” 

       One reason we may still have worry after we are born again is because we do not understand or believe the gospel. Most Christians apply the gospel only to what it takes to get to heaven. But that is just part of the gospel. The gospel also has a lot to do with living a victorious life on earth. [18]

       The apostle Paul writes, “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” (Rom. 5:10). Notice that “the death of” Jesus “reconciled” (past tense) us to God so we could go to heaven (justification), but Jesus’ “life” “shall” (future tense) save us from the power of sin and its consequences (sanctification) on earth (cf. Rom. 1:18-32; 5:9). [19] Most of us know the gospel because of Jesus’ death, but we have missed the gospel of His life which progressively gives us victory over the power of sin as we learn to walk in the Spirit (cf. Rom. 6:1-8:39).

       Evans writes, “The death of Jesus reconciled us to God, but Jesus didn’t stay dead. He’s alive right now. And He’s interceding for us (see Heb. 7:25) in order to give us victory over the power of sin and its consequences. Think about it. If Jesus could take you from hell to heaven by dying, what He can do for you by living is even more exciting. Many believers who have accepted the saving death of Christ have yet to understand and access the saving life of Christ, which gives us victory in history.” [20] [emphasis added]

       Let’s look now at what our sandals of peace include. [21]

Our Position that Protects our Mental Peace

       These sandals of peace include our POSITION THAT PROTECTS OUR MENTAL PEACE: “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Rom. 5:1). The Greek word translated “justified” (diakaioō) means to be declared totally righteous [22] by our holy God [23] in heaven’s courtroom.  The perfect righteousness of Christ in us has been imputed or credited to our account in heaven by virtue of our position in Jesus.[24] 

        “Justification is a legal concept meaning that in God’s courtroom, He pronounced us innocent of all charges. He does this through what theologians call ‘imputation’—taking Jesus’s perfect record and crediting it to our accounts.” [25] [emphasis added]

       Notice in Romans 5:1 that we are “justified” not by our good life, prayers, or religion, but “by faith.” Peace with God is “through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The moment we believe in Jesus Christ and His death on the cross for all our sins, we are “justified” or declared totally righteous before God as if we had never sinned.

       The preposition “with” (pros) in the phrase “peace with God” (pros ton Theon) is very important  (Rom. 5:1). This preposition used with the accusative case (ton Theon) refers to being “friendly with” God. [26] It is the promise that through justification by faith in Jesus, the enmity and hostility that existed between a holy God and a sinful people is totally removed. The war has ended between the Christian and his or her God! And we have peace “with God.”

       How does the Christian know he has peace “with” God? There is only one way to know this, and it is through faith in God’s promise. Justification before God is not a feeling or experience. It is a judicial, legal declaration from a holy God.

       “The nature of this peace is of course judicial, since justification is the act of God as our Judge. We should avoid understanding the idea as inner tranquility. The peace involved here is like that which results when two warring nations are no longer in a hostile relationship to each other.” [27] [emphasis added]

       That is why Romans 5:1 begins with the word “Therefore…” It is as though God is pointing His finger back to the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross (cf. Rom. 4:24-25). “Therefore,” because of what Jesus has done, you have “been justified by faith” and you “have peace with God.” The war with God is over! The battle has ended!

       But Satan will try to rob Christians of this peace. He will attempt to make us think that God is angry with us. That God could never forgive us. That God is against us. He may whisper in our ears, “The reason you have so many troubles is because God is mad at you. He keeps punishing you because He is against you.”

       While it is true that God disciplines His wayward children (Heb. 12:5-11), His discipline of us is not evidence that He hates us or is mad at us. It is evidence that He loves us: “5 My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6 for whom the Lord loves He chastens.” (Heb. 12:5-6).

       Thus, putting on the sandals of peace means we have an intellectual understanding of what God’s Word says – that the believer in Jesus has “peace with God.” If we are to “stand” against the wiles of the devil (Eph. 6:11), we must know this positional truth, review it, and abide in it daily, never turning aside from it even during Satan’s most vicious or subtle attacks.

The Possession of Peace

       But our sandals of peace also include our POSSESSION OF PEACE. This can be seen in Philippians 4. “6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:6-7). This aspect of our sandals of peace protects our emotional peace (“anxious”). God wants the Christian to not only have legal or mental peace (“peace with God”), but to also have emotional peace (“peace of God”).

      How do we gain this relationship of peace? It comes through the practice of prayer. When Paul writes in Philippians 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing…” (Phil. 4:6a), he is saying not to lose your emotional peace even though you may be facing a worrisome situation. Don’t try to resolve your anxiety by worrying about the situation. Instead, he says to resolve this worrisome situation with “prayer” (Phil. 4:6b). Talk to God about what makes you anxious. When was the last time we got alone with God and talked to Him about what we are worried about? Talking about it helps to diffuse the power of worry. But it does not stop there.

       Then God says, “in everything by… supplication” (Phil. 4:6c). The word “supplication” means to tell God what you need. Few people ever identify what they need because they are so busy worrying.

       For example, some of us may be worried about our health. So, we talk to the Lord about that. And as we do that, ask God to help us identify the underlying need. Perhaps we need protection from illness especially during the aftermath of COVID. Or perhaps we are afraid of death because we are not prepared for it. So, we need assurance of life after death. Ask God to give you the assurance that there is everlasting life both now and after death through believing in Jesus (cf. John 11:25-26). Thus, talk to the Lord about what you need from Him.

       Next, God says, “with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Phil. 4:6d). One of my mentors taught me that the word “requests” refers to our heart’s desires which align with God’s will. Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” The Hebrew word for “delight” (anog) can mean “to be soft” [28] or lean toward God. Just as a house plant leans in toward the sunlight coming through a window to get nutrients from the sun, so we need to lean into God during these challenging times to nourish our souls, and He promises to give us the desires or dreams of our hearts. So, talk to God about your desires or dreams. Ask God what He wants to do in your life.

       Notice that God wants us to pray with “thanksgiving.” He wants us to have a thankful heart. Why? Because when we trust God to supply our needs and wants in advance during difficult times, we can accept those circumstances and respond more appropriately. Also, gratitude stimulates the release of dopamine (happy chemical) in our brain which decreases our stress and enhances our sleep.

       As we talk to God about our anxiety, needs, and desires with thanksgiving, He promises that “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:7). The “peace of God” is like a deep calmness in the midst of life’s storms. For example, the water underneath the surface of the ocean remains calm during a storm (see above pic). We can experience a deep-seeded calmness in our souls when we surrender to God in prayer as we face these challenging times.

       The phrase “will guard,” pictures an armed soldier walking back and forth in front of the city gate, protecting the occupants inside the city from intruders. God’s peace constantly protects those who choose to talk to Him about their worries and ask Him for what they need and want.

       Do we know this experientially? Are we practicing this kind of prayer? We live in a day of cell phones. If someone wants to get a hold of us, they send us a text or call us on our phones. Our phones alert us through vibration or a distinct sound that someone wants to talk to us.

       This illustrates how God sometimes wants us to talk to Him in prayer. One of the ways God may alert us to His desire for us to talk to Him is by allowing us to feel uneasy or anxious about something. This may be His way of inviting us to spend time alone with Him in prayer. Putting on the sandals of peace includes practicing this kind of prayer.

The Protection of Peace

       Our sandals of peace also include THE PROTECTION OF PEACE. The apostle Paul writes, “The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Phil. 4:9). Paul is not talking about the “peace of God” in this verse, but “the God of peace.” This aspect of peace results when believers walk in obedience to God (“The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do…”). Paul says that when we follow the godly example of another believer, we can experience “the God of peace” being with us.

       Bubeck suggests that “the God of peace” refers to the protection of our will. The strong powerful nearness of God to us (“the God of peace will be with you”) will protect our will. It is that “peace” which God brings to us when our enemies greatly outnumber us and are about to destroy us, and the God of peace says, “No more! You cannot touch him! He is mine!” [29] 

       There are many examples of this in the Old Testament when God’s people, Israel, are surrounded by their enemies who greatly outnumbered them and were about to destroy them with no apparent way of escape. And God’s people cried out to Him, and “the God of peace” showed up and put their enemies to flight or destroyed them. Sometimes He did this with hornets or sounds in the treetops (or heavens) which frightened them and caused confusion or fear, so they fled and were defeated (cf. Exod. 23:22-28; Deut. 7:17-22; Josh. 24:11-12; I Sam. 7:10-11; 2 Sam. 5:22-25; 2 Kgs. 6:8-23; 18:1-19:37; I Chron. 14:13-17; 2 Chron. 31:1-22). And at other times God caused Israel’s enemies to turn against each other so they could be defeated (cf. 2 Chron. 20:1-24).

       God is so powerful that “when a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.” (Prov. 16:7). God is able to make our enemies be at peace with us quickly when we live in a way that pleases Him. They will have to flee simply because of Who God is.

       It is not surprising that the phrase “the God of peace” is used in the New Testament in the context of obedience and Christian growth (cf. Rom. 15:33; 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:11; Phil. 4:9; I Thess. 5:23; Heb. 13:20-21). If we are hurting in our peace, it is important to examine our obedience to God. Are we trying to walk our own way instead of God’s way? Are we seeking our own pleasure instead of God’s?

       The Lord may let us walk our own way, but please know that “the God of peace will be with” us. He wants us to be near to Him but that cannot be our experience if we are walking our own way instead of His way.

The Person of Peace

       These sandals of peace also include THE PERSON OF PEACE. “13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation.” (Eph. 2:13-14). Our sin not only separates us from God, but it also separates us from the people of God. The Ephesians were Gentiles who were called “Uncircumcision” by the Jews who are referred to as “the Circumcision” (Eph. 2:11).

       In their unsaved condition before the Cross, Ephesians 2:12 tells us that Gentiles “were without Christ,” having no corporate national hope centered on the promise of a coming Messiah, as the Jews did. They were “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel” in that God excluded them in having a part in what He planned to do in and through the nation of Israel. The Gentiles were “aliens” from Israel in this sense. [30] Nor did Gentiles have a direct part in the “promises” of God to Israel contained in the biblical covenants (e.g., Abrahamic – Gen. 12:1-3; 13:15-17; 15:17-21; 17:1-22; Mosaic – Exod. 19:1-24:8; and Davidic – 2 Sam. 7:12-17; I Chron. 17:3-14; 2 Chron. 7:17-18; 13:5; 21:7;  Psa. 89:1-4; et al.). As a race of people, the Gentiles had “no hope” of a corporate future promised by God to which they could look and in which they could hope, as Israel did. [31] And worst of all, they were “without God in the world.” The Greek word translated “without God” (atheos) is where we get our English word “atheist” from. Before the cross, Gentile unbelievers may have worshiped many gods, but they were without the one and only true God. [32]

       “But… the blood of Christ” not only brought us “near” to God, but it also brings Jews and Gentiles (“you who once were far off”) near to one another (Eph. 2:13). How did this take place? “For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation.” (Eph. 2:14). Jesus is “our peace” Whose atoning sacrifice on the cross has made Jew and Gentile “both one,” having “broken down the middle wall of separation.”

       What is this “middle wall of separation”? The next verse tells us: “…Having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace.” (Eph. 2:15). Jesus “abolished in His flesh” by dying on the cross “the enmity” or hostility that was created by the Jewish “law of commandments contained in ordinances.”

       The Mosaic Law had been the cause of the hostility between Jews and Gentiles. It was the “barrier” that separated Jews and Gentiles. Its dietary distinctions, and laws requiring separation in particular, created hostility between Jews and Gentiles. Jesus Christ broke down the barrier and the hostility that resulted from it by terminating the Mosaic Law. When Jesus Christ died, He fulfilled all the demands of the Mosaic Law (cf. Col. 2:14). When He did that, God ended the Mosaic Law as His rule of life for the Jews. The word “abolished” (katargeō) means to “cause something to come to an end or to be no longer in existence, wipe out.” [33] The Mosaic Law ceased to be God’s standard for regulating the life of His people when Christ died (Rom. 10:4; Gal. 3:24-25; et al.). [34]

       God did this through His shed blood on the cross to “create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace.” Christ died in our place “to make one body out of the two very distant groups. When a Jew or Gentile trusts in Christ for eternal life, he is placed in union with other believers in the Body of Christ. Jesus Christ by His death removed the barrier that separated Jews and Gentiles. By faith they become one new man, the Body of Christ, the Church. Christ is the end of the Law to all who believe (Rom. 10:4). 

       “God reconciled both Jews and Gentiles to Himself in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity (between Gentiles and Jews who believe in Christ). The Law that divided is removed, and Jews and Gentiles are in one body together.” [35] [emphasis added]

       Christ, Who is “our peace,” died “that He might reconcile” Jews and Gentiles “to God in one body,” the church, “through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity” created by the Jewish Law (Eph. 2:16).

       This Person of peace protects our spirit. It has to do with our spiritual relationship with Jesus. [36] Our Christian faith is not primarily a system of dogmas and doctrines. It is primarily a relationship with a Person – Jesus Christ. This is a relationship that we enter into through faith alone in Christ alone (Eph. 1:13-14; 2:8-9). As we grow closer to Jesus, the more we can experience Him as “our peace” and the more we can live peaceably with other Christians. Satan seeks to divide Christians, so they do not express the image of God by living peacefully in unity with one another. But Jesus Christ is “our peace” and He is the source of reconciliation and restoration of peace within His body, the church.

Conclusion [37]

       God wants His peace to be the norm for His children on the battlefield. When God’s truth is operative in our lives, it will point us in the direction of His righteousness. We are faced with a myriad of choices and decisions in life, but how do we know we have made the right choices or decisions? How do we know we are moving in the right direction? How do we know we have the right perspective on a matter? God’s peace will confirm it. The Lord will give us a deep-seeded calm to move forward (“feet” suggest movement) with a decision even though hell may be breaking loose in our lives.   

      But if anxiety or worry is our normal way of operating, then we are not wearing the shoes God has given us. Please note that I am not talking about certain times of worry because we all battle that in our flesh. But if worry is normative for us then these shoes or sandals of peace are not being worn on our feet.

       Are we wearing our sandals of peace every day? Do we take time to put them on? Are we taking time to remember and review that we have “peace with God” now because God has declared us (not made us) to be totally righteous (“justified”) the moment we believed in Jesus (Rom. 5:1)? Are we experiencing the emotional “peace of God” through prayer and the fullness of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives (Phil. 4:6-7)? Through obedience, are we experiencing “the God of peace” (Phil. 4:9) Who makes even our enemies to be at peace with us (Prov. 16:7)? And are we getting to know the Person of “our peace” (Eph. 2:13-17) more intimately, so we can live more peaceably with our brothers and sisters in Christ? In the midst of war, God wants us to stand victoriously in “the gospel of peace.”

       Submarine crewmen do not get nervous when there is a storm at sea because they can go deep down where the waters are calm. Fish do not have anxiety attacks when it is storming because they know that severe storms will only reach approximately three hundred feet below sea level, [38] so they go down three hundred and one feet where it is peaceful.

       When our world gets chaotic, it is time for us to go deep into the spiritual realm where God says there is peace and calm. God will give us “perfect peace” when our mind is focused on Him (Isa. 26:3). Instead of retreating to the world for its false sense of peace, we need to redirect our attention to the mind of God. When our thoughts agree with God’s, we will experience His peace.

       For example, [39] when the three Hebrew young men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who had  been promoted “over the affairs of the province of Babylon where they were captives” (Dan. 3:49), refused to serve the gods of Babylon and worship the ninety-foot-tall gold statue (Dan. 3:1) of king Nebuchadnezzar, they were told by the king they would be “cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace” (Dan. 3:15). When these three young men heard this news that they were about to be burned alive – which, by the way, would normally obliterate anyone’s sense of peace – they responded to Nebuchadnezzar saying, “16 O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18 If not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” (Dan. 3:16b-18).

       Their response infuriated Nebuchadnezzar, so he commanded his servants to “heat the furnace seven time more than it was usually heated” (Dan. 3:19b). The king was extremely upset that these Hebrew men feared their God more than the king’s death threat, so he had them tied up and thrown “into the midst of the burning fiery furnace” (Dan. 3:20-21). The flames of the furnace were so intense that the mighty men carrying them were “killed” (Dan. 3:22). Keep in mind that these three men were wearing several layers of clothing (Dan. 3:21) which were most likely flammable, so there appeared to be no hope of their survival. 

       After a while, the king looked into the furnace and he was shocked to “see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire” (Dan. 3:25a) because they had only thrown three men into the furnace. And now he sees four of them, and the three men  were no longer tied up. They were “walking” around in the midst of these intense flames full of peace and calm, “and they are not hurt” (Dan. 3:25b). How was this possible? Because there was a fourth Person with them in the fire and the kings says He had “the form…  like the Son of God.” (Dan. 3:25c). This was the pre-incarnate Lord Jesus Christ Who joined them in this terrible circumstance. God’s presence protected them from the fire (cf. Isa. 43:2). 

       It is important to understand that God is not going to join the world to help us out if we retreat to the world to find peace. If we are conforming to the world’s values and allurements and get into a bad situation as a result, and then cry out to God, He is not going to join the world because then He would be compromising His peace to join the world’s peace. These men did not bow to the king of Babylon. They remained faithful to God even though they did not know for sure if He would deliver them from this terrible situation.  

       Instead of looking to the world for peace, God wants us to take a stand in this pagan world with our minds focused on the God of peace. When we do this, the God of peace will show up in the fiery trials of life and give us His peacewhich surpasses human understanding. His presence will remove the chains or ropes that bind us so we can move freely. His presence will deliver us from the intense fires of life.

       Some of us may be facing some very significant fiery trials right now. Maybe we have lost our job or lost our health. Perhaps we have lost a relationship with a loved one. God wants us to go deep into the spiritual realm to connect with His mind so His peace can be ours. He wants us to wear these shoes of peace at all times. 

       How do we do this? As with the other pieces of armor, we can put on our shoes of peace through prayer (Eph. 6:18).  

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we are living in an increasingly chaotic world that lacks Your peace. We praise You because You not only brought us peace, but You are also our peace. Protect us from anything that would rob us of Your peace. Please help us to wear our sandals of peace every day so we may stand victoriously against the trickery of the Devil. We claim the peace with God that is ours through justification by faith alone in Jesus alone (Rom. 5:1). We desire the peace of God that touches our emotions and feelings through prayer (Phil. 4:6-7). Through our obedience, we seek the God of peace (Phil 4:9) Who makes even our enemies to live at peace with us. And we want to grow closer to You Jesus, because You are our peace. Satan and his kingdom of darkness are relentless in their efforts to keep believers divisive toward one another. As the accuser of believers, the Devil continually plants suspicions in our hearts. In the authority and name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pull down that work of darkness and bind our enemy that he might not succeed. We ask the Holy Spirit to bring to a stop all divisive works active in our lives and in all the lives of other believers. The diversity of Your body, Lord Jesus, is part of its beauty and appeal to the lost. It adds to Your glory. Help us to love one another in our diversity. In Your precious and mighty name, we pray, Lord Jesus. Amen. [40]

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2000 Kindle Edition, pp. 247-248.

[2] Adapted from Tony Evans’ video message entitled “The Shoes of Peace” on youtube.com.

[3] Adapted from Mark Bubeck’s video message, “7. Peace in the Midst of War: Ephesians 6 Series,” on the BRMinistry app.

[4] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2000 Kindle Edition, pg. 1037. 

[5] Archibald Thomas Robertson, A. T. Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament, 2014 Kindle Location 154992.

[6] The Greek verb hupodēsamenoi is in the aorist or past tense, meaning “having shod.” As with the first two pieces of armor, this refers to the state we should always be in.

[7] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2000 Kindle Edition, pg. 401.

[8] Tony Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 2666.

[9] Jim Logan, Reclaiming Surrendered Ground (Chicago: Moody Press, 1995), pg. 182.

[10] Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 2665.

[11] Evans’ video message entitled “The Shoes of Peace” on youtube.com.

[12] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2000 Kindle Edition, pp. 287-288.

[13] J. Carl Laney, Moody Gospel John Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1992), pg. 265.

[14] J. Dwight Pentecost, The Words and Works of Jesus Christ (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1981), pg. 440.

[15] Evans’ video message entitled “The Shoes of Peace” on youtube.com.

[16] This portrait is used with permission from the artist, Katrina Case (see  katrinacaseart.com). 

[17] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2000 Kindle Edition, pg. 402.

[18] Adapted from Evans’ video message entitled “The Shoes of Peace” on youtube.com.

[19] The theme of the book of Romans is the “salvation” or deliverance from God’s present-day wrath introduced in Romans 1:16-32. This deliverance includes justification through faith in Christ’s death (Rom. 2:1-5:9a, 10a) and sanctification through faith in Christ’s life (Rom. 5:9b, 10b-8:39). See Zane C. Hodges, “Romans,” The Grace New Testament Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 966ff; Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 2416ff; Joseph Dillow, Final Destiny: The Future Reign of The Servant Kings: Fourth Revised Edition (Grace Theology Press. 2018 Kindle Edition), pp. 198-199.

[20] Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 2430.

[21] Much of these next four sections are adapted from Bubeck’s video message, “7. Peace in the Midst of War: Ephesians 6 Series,” on the BRMinistry app, unless otherwise noted.

[22] Tom Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on Romans, 2023 Edition, pg. 77.

[23] The Greek word translated “justified” (dikaiōthentes) is in the passive voice, indicating that God is the One Who justifies the believing sinner.

[24] David R. Anderson, Free Grace Soteriology: Third Edition (Grace Theology Press, 2018 Kindle Edition), pp. 115-116.

[25] Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pp. 2424-2425.

[26] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2000 Kindle Edition, pg. 874.

[27] Hodges, The Grace New Testament Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 1012.

[28] Francis Brown, Samuel R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (Omaha, NE: Patristic Publishing, 2020 Kindle Edition), pg. 2564.

[29] Bubeck’s video message, “7. Peace in the Midst of War: Ephesians 6 Series,” on the BRMinistry app.

[30] Tom Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on Ephesians, 2024 Edition, pg. 59. 

[31] Ibid.

[32] J. B. Bond, “Ephesians,” The Grace New Testament Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 1367.

[33] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2000 Kindle Edition, pg. 525.

[34] Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on Ephesians, 2024 Edition, pg. 63.

[35] Bond, “Ephesians,” The Grace New Testament Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 1368.

[36] Bubeck, “7. Peace in the Midst of War: Ephesians 6 Series,” on the BRMinistry app.

[37] Much of this section is adapted from Evans’ video message entitled “The Shoes of Peace” on youtube.com, unless otherwise noted.

[38] Retrieved on December 14, 2024, from “How do hurricanes impact the deep ocean?” at www.oceanexplorer.noaa.gov.

[39] Adapted from Evans’ video message entitled “The Shoes of Peace” on youtube.com.

[40] Adapted from Mark Bubeck’s prayers entitled, “Prayer for Christian Unity” and “Prayer to Wear the Armor of God,” from Spiritual Warfare Prayers pamphlet (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 1997). 

I John 3 – Part 6

“For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.” I John 3:20

God wants His born-again children to manifest their new righteous nature by loving their Christian brothers and sisters (3:10b-23). This Christian love is not like Cain who took his brother’s life (3:12); but it is like Christ Who sacrificially gave His own life for us (3:16). Jesus did not love us merely with words, but with actions. Likewise, Christians are to love one another “in deed and in truth” (3:17-18).

We may ask ourselves, “Am I really loving others the way Christ has loved me (3:16)? Can I even do that?” The apostle John reassures us, “And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.” (I John 3:19). The words, “And by this” refer back to 3:18 and suggest that by loving others “in deed and in truth” (3:18) we can “know” (ginōskō) experientially “we are of the truth” (3:19a). This verse is not talking about assurance of salvation. To be “of the truth” (ek tēs alētheias) means that when a Christian engages in practical acts of love (3:17-18), he can know that his actions are sourced in the truth (3:19a). 1 It is talking about the assurance that we are experiencing “the truth” about love that is revealed in Christ (3:16-18). 2

“By practical acts of love in which the needs of others are met, Christians can have a basic assurance that they are participating experientially in the truth.” 3

So, as we grow in our love for others and practice it (3:17-18), we can assure ourselves that we are experiencing the truth about Christ’s love for us (3:19a). In addition, demonstrating love for others also increases our confidence before God in prayer. “And by this we … shall assure our hearts before Him” (3:19b). In the Greek of verse 20, the sentence begins with a repetition of the Greek word hoti (“For”) which connects verse 20 to verse 19. This word (hoti) could also be translated “that.” Hence, these verses would read, “19 and by this we … shall assure our hearts before Him 20 that [hoti] if our heart condemns us, that [hoti] God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.” (3:19-20). 4  By acting with love toward one another (“by this” – 3:19a), Christians can know they are experiencing the truth about love (3:19a) and quiet their condemning hearts (3:19b-20). 5

Sometimes when we kneel before the Lord in prayer, we may feel like failures trying to love one another compared to how Jesus has loved us without limitations. We may have a sensitive conscience that condemns us for having done too little, or for not making up for past failures. Our sinful flesh may even suspect ourselves of impure or unworthy motives when we try to love others. This kind of self-condemnation can lead us to think that God could never answer our prayers. No doubt, Satan, who is the accuser of believers (Rev. 12:10), is happy to see Christians approaching God in prayer with a condemning heart that lacks the assurance that God will answer their prayers. The Devil knows if this is not addressed, shame will set in and isolate the believer from God and others.

The Greek word translated “assure” (peithō) in 3:19 means “to convince, persuade, set at ease/rest.” 6 John counters a self-condemning heart by reminding us that “God is greater than our heart” (3:20a) which may forget how we have loved “in deed and in truth” (3:18) in the past. But what our heart does not take into account, God, Who “knows all things,” does take into account (3:20b). God is all-knowing whereas our hearts are not.

We can persuade or quiet our self-condemning hearts by embracing the truth that says, “God is greater than our heart” in that He “knows all” about how and why we have loved others in the past. Our self-condemning hearts do not have complete understanding of the thoughts and intents of the heart, but God does (Heb. 4:12-13). God remembers the times we have loved others even though our hearts may be inclined to ignore this. The apostle John does not want our critical hearts to keep us from approaching God’s throne of grace with confidence in prayer (Heb. 4:15-16). John wants us to remember that God takes into account, even if our heart does not, “all” that we have done for Him in love.

“Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.” (I John 3:21). When our condemning hearts are quieted 7 by resting on God’s knowledge of “all things” (3:20), we can come before God in prayer with a heart which “does not condemn us,” and then we can “have confidence toward God” (3:21). The word “confidence” (parrēsía) is the same word used in I John 2:28 which spoke of having confidence before Jesus at His coming. This word refers to “a state of boldness and confidence, courage… fearlessness, especially in the presence of persons of high rank.” 8 If Christians do not have confidence before God when they kneel in prayer now, they are even less likely to have such confidence before Christ when He returns. 9

Dr. Tony Evans tells the story of being in Columbia S.C. to preach at a crusade at the University of South Carolina’s football stadium. Twenty-five thousand people had gathered for the evening session, but news reports indicated a severe thunderstorm was on the way. In fact, the storm was expected to hit at 7:00 pm – the exact time the meeting was scheduled to start.

As the sky grew darker and darker, the organizers didn’t know what to do at first. Eventually, they called a prayer meeting. When the preachers and other Christian leaders came together, Tony says that all the preachers prayed “safe prayers” – prayers where God would look good either way it went. Prayers about the Lord’s will and so forth.

Then, a short little woman named Linda spoke up, asking, “Do you mind if I pray?” Linda’s prayer went something like this: “Lord, Your name is at stake. We told these people if they would come, they would hear a word from God. If they come, and it rains, and You control the weather, then You look bad… Because we told them that You wanted to say something to them. Therefore, right now I command You, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to stop the rain for the sake of Your name!” The preachers opened one eye and started looking at one another and said, “Whoa!”

Everyone took their places under the dark, threatening sky. The leader of the crusade told the people, “We will go as long as we can.” Umbrellas sprouted up among the crowd. Linda was on the stage and a man next to her opened his umbrella and offered to shield her as well. Linda said, “That’s okay. I don’t need it.”

Tony says he and his wife watched as the rain clouds came up to the stadium and then split in two. The storm rained on both sides of the stadium and came back together on the other side. All of those gathered for the crusade stayed dry.

Christians can have the same kind of boldness before God in prayer that Linda had at that crusade. In addition to loving one another “in deed and in truth” (3:17-19a) and resting on God’s knowledge of “all things” (3:19b-21), John tells us, “And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.” (I John 3:22). When we (Christians) “keep His [Jesus’] commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His [Jesus’] sight,” we can be confident we will “receive from” Christ “whatever we ask” from Him because we are asking “according to His will” (5:14). This verse (3:22) teaches us that God’s pleasure in our obedience becomes a motive for obeying Him. As God’s children, we may forget that the Lord is pleased when we obey Him. But God never takes our obedience for granted. He understands we can be prone to please ourselves instead of Him.

Believers who actively seek to please God will NOT ask for things that are not “pleasing in His sight.” 10 For example, I know that asking God to punish another believer who has hurt me is not pleasing to the Lord. God wants me to love and forgive my brother or sister in Christ as Jesus has loved and forgiven me (John 13:34-35; I John 2:10; 3:11; Ephes. 4:32). Knowing that this puts a smile on my Lord’s face motivates me to pray for His help to love and forgive my offending brother or sister in the Lord.

Since an obedient believer is seeking to do God’s will by keeping His commandments (cf. I John 5:14-15), he will naturally make all his prayers subject to that will when he is in doubt about what God truly wants him to do (cf. Luke 22:42).

Answered prayer (3:22) finds its basis in our obedience to a twofold commandment: “And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.” (I John 3:23). John connects faith and love in this single commandment. 11 Hence, this commandment is one that only Christians can keep 12 because it includes believing “on the name of His Son Jesus Christ” which gives eternal life to all who believe in Jesus (5:13) and views other believers as their Christian brothers and sisters so they can know whom to love.

“This relationship gives them the proper object for their love when we are told to love one another. Believing the name of God’s Son is a prerequisite, and an essential component, of love for one another.

“The closing words of the verse, as He gave us commandment, refer to Jesus from whom the commandment to love one another directly came (John 13:34). The verse should read, that we should believe on the name of His [God’s] Son Jesus Christ and love one another as He [His Son] gave us commandment. God’s will therefore can be summarized as faith in His Son’s name and obedience to His Son’s commandment.” 13 (bold print added for emphasis)

“Non-Christians do not believe on the name of Jesus, which is why they are non-Christians, and therefore cannot love their Christian brothers. Remember, non-Christians don’t have Christian brothers. They aren’t part of the same family.” 14

Verse 23 reminds us that faith in the name of Jesus Christ enables us to experience His resurrection power (cf. John 11:25-26) and love the unlovely. We cannot begin to love other Christians as our brothers and sisters until we first become a believer in the name of Jesus Christ ourselves.

“The story comes from Denmark in the days after Hitler put forth the decree to round up the Jews from the nations surrounding Germany. Are you aware that far more Jews were killed from nations outside of Germany than in Germany itself? There were less than a million Jews in Germany when the persecutions began, but as we all know, more than six million Jews were destroyed by the Nazi war machine. In Denmark every Jew was commanded to wear a yellow arm band to identify his lineage. Then they were picked up by the Gestapo to be railroaded into the death camps.

“This was more than the king of Denmark could bear. Yet he had to read the decree or be killed himself. So Christian X stood up in the palace in Denmark and read the decree from the Nazi government. Then with tears in his eyes he pulled out a yellow arm band, though he had no Jewish blood in his own lineage, and put it on his own arm. Then all the people all the people listening to and watching the king did the same thing. You see, news of the king’s plan has spread all around Denmark, so the Gentiles in Denmark decided they too would wear yellow arm bands. So, both the Jews and the Gentiles were wearing yellow arm bands, thus confusing the Gestapo, and preventing them from singling out the Jews for extermination.

“Christian X did this at the risk of his life. But greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. And you know, all of us came into this life with yellow arm bands, not signifying our Jewishness, but rather our sinfulness. It’s in our lineage from Adam. But the great mystery of it all is that the King of Heaven, with love and with tears in His eyes, came down to earth, marched up to Golgotha, and put on a yellow arm band for us. He identified with us and offered to take our yellow arm bands from us, so that whoever would believe in Him could take off his yellow arm band and nail it to the cross that we might not be marched off to Satan’s death camp, but that we could be free and live forever.” 15

Do you want to be free and live forever with Jesus in His heaven? If so, take Jesus at His Word when He says, “He who believes in Me has everlasting life.” (John 6:47). To “believe in” (pisteuōn eis) Jesus means to be persuaded that He is speaking the truth and is therefore worthy of your trust. 16

When it comes to obtaining eternal life, Jesus is not asking you if you keep the Ten Commandments, because He never said, “he who keeps the Ten Commandments has everlasting life.” He is not asking you if you pray every day because He never said, “he who prays every day has everlasting life.” Jesus is not asking you if you go to a place of worship every week because He never said, “he who goes to a place of worship every week has everlasting life.” Nor is Jesus asking you if you have lived a good, moral life because He never said, “he who lives a good, moral life has everlasting life.” Jesus is asking you, “Do you believe in Me?” because He said, “He who believes in Me has everlasting life.”

If you are convinced Jesus is telling the truth in John 6:47 and is therefore worthy of your trust, then believe or trust Christ alone (not your good life, prayers, or religion) to give you His gift of everlasting life. If you now believe this, you can tell God in a simple prayer:

Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for persuading me to believe You alone can give me everlasting life. It is not something I can work for or earn through my own efforts. I believe You loved me so much You took my punishment for my sins when You died on the cross and rose from the dead. I am now believing or trusting in You alone Jesus (not my good life, my prayers, or my religion), to give me everlasting life and a future home in Your heaven. Thank You for the gift of eternal life I just received and for the future home I will have in Your heaven. In Your mighty name I pray, Lord Jesus. Amen.

When you believed in Jesus, He gave you everlasting life which can never be lost (John 6:35-40; 10:28-29). God is now your Father, and you are His child forever (John 1:12; I John 3:1). All believers in Jesus around the world are now your brothers and sisters in Christ. Christ commands us to love one another as He has loved us (John 13:34-35) so we can manifest our new nature given to us by God the moment we believed in Jesus (I John 3:8-18). When we seek to please God by aligning our will with His, especially having faith in His Son’s name and being obedient to His Son’s command to love one another, we can be confident before Him in prayer that He hears us and will answer us (I John 3:19-23).

Prayer: Loving Father in heaven, thank You for sending Your Son Jesus Christ to lay down His life for us on a cruel cross so whoever believes in Him has everlasting life. As Your children, we now have direct access to Your throne of grace through prayer in Jesus’ name. Thank You for hearing and answering our prayers when they are aligned with Your will, especially Your commandment to have faith in Your Son and to love one another. By Your grace, please help us to manifest the new nature You have given us so our lives may be pleasing in Your sight. In the mighty name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

ENDNOTES:

1. The Greek phrase translated “of the truth,” (ek tēs alētheias) is a genitive of source. See Zane C. Hodges; Robert Wilkin; J. Bond; Gary Derickson; Brad Doskocil; Dwight Hunt; Shawn Leach; The Grace New Testament Commentary: Revised Edition (Grace Evangelical Society, Kindle Edition, 2019), pg. 598.

2.Ibid.,pp. 597-598.

3. Zane C. Hodges, The Bible Knowledge Commentary Epistles and Prophecy, Editors John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck (David C. Cook, 2018 Kindle Edition), Kindle Locations 3904 to 3909.

4. Hodges, The Grace New Testament Commentary, pg. 598.

5. Ibid.

6. Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature: Third Edition (BDAG) revised and edited by Frederick William Danker (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000 Kindle Edition), pg. 791.

7. The phrase “if our hearts do not condemn us” (ean hē kardia hēmōn mē kataginōskē hēmōn) is a third-class condition (see Archibald Thomas Robertson, A. T. Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament [with Bible and Strong’s Numbers Added!], 6 Volumes (E4 Group, 2014 Kindle Edition), Kindle Location 206444) and refers to a generic situation or universal truth at the present time.

8. Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, pg. 781.

9. Hodges, The Grace New Testament Commentary, pg. 598.

10. Ibid.

11. Ibid.

12. David R. Anderson, Maximum Joy: I John – Relationship or Fellowship? (Grace Theology Press, 2013 Kindle Edition), pg. 182.

13. Hodges, The Grace New Testament Commentary, pg. 598.

14. Anderson, Maximum Joy, pg. 182.

15. Ibid., pp. 183-184 cites Joseph Stowell, Loving Christ (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 2000), pg. 204-205.

16. Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, pp. 816-817.

I John – Part 5

“I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning.” I John 2:13a

Since the book of I John is primarily about fellowship with God (1:3-4), the apostle John’s main concern is that his readers’ fellowship with the Lord continues. With that said, he knows that believers in Jesus have three enemies which can jeopardize their fellowship with God: sin (1:6-2:2), the world (2:15-17), and the devil (2:18-25). John also understands and believes that our position in Christ is foundational for victorious Christian living. To prepare his readers (including us) for spiritual warfare, the apostle reviews basic truth about our position in Christ.

Last time John addressed his readers as “little children” who had experienced complete and permanent forgiveness from their heavenly Father (2:12) the moment they “believed in the name of the Son of God,” Jesus Christ (5:13a). This positional forgiveness provides the basis for practical or fellowship forgiveness (1:9). While all who believe in Jesus have positional forgiveness which includes past, present, and future sins (Acts 10:43; Col. 2:13-14), they still need practical forgiveness which is based on the confession of their known sin to maintain or restore their fellowship with God (I John 1:9; cf. Matt. 6:12, 14-15).

For example, when parents decide to have children, they already know their children will commit sins. They are aware that their children will be imperfect. But this does not prevent the parents from choosing to have the children. And when the child is conceived, an eternal relationship begins. Nothing, including death, can change the fact that this child will always be the child of his or her parents. So, in a sense, since this relationship will last forever, the child has positional forgiveness for all his or her future sins. And based on this positional forgiveness, the parents are predisposed to fellowship-forgiveness whenever their child sins against them but also chooses to come back to them and seek their forgiveness. God gave us positional or relationship forgiveness when we became His forever children through belief in Jesus Christ (John 1:12; Ephes. 1:7; Col. 2:13-14). Based on that, He will always be “faithful” to grant us fellowship-forgiveness when we confess our sins to Him (I John 1:9; cf. Matt. 6:12, 14-15) to restore our closeness to Him. 

Next John reminds his readers of what he just wrote about in I John 2:3-11: “I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning.” (I John 2:13a). As “fathers,” John’s readers “have known Him who is from the beginning.” The words “Him who is from the beginning” could refer to either God the Father or Christ; “the distinction was not important to John. His readers knew both.” 1 John uses a verb and tense (egnōkeite) we saw earlier in 2:3-4. When the perfect tense is used with a stative verb like “to know,” it means to know intensely or intimately. 2 What this suggests is that as “fathers” his readers have come to know God more intimately which implies they have reached the stage of keeping His commandments (cf. 2:3). 3 There is a big difference between knowing about a person and knowing him intimately.

Why does John use the term “fathers” to describe this experience? As “fathers” they “have known” the Eternal One (“Him who is from the beginning”). Older people know people that go way back. In this case, all the way back to eternity past. God’s “beginning” really has no beginning. It will take all of eternity for us to begin to get to know God because He is infinitely greater than us.

Notice the progression: “little children” (teknia) or “little born ones” experience complete forgiveness from their heavenly Father (2:12). Experiencing God’s forgiveness is one of the first things a new believer appreciates about his or her salvation. 4 This complete forgiveness invites the new believer to get to know God more intimately (2:13). “We all begin as children—both physically and spiritually. And babies get to know their daddies. New Christians come to know God as Father.” 5

One of the most important weapons a Christian can have going into spiritual battle is knowing Christ more intimately. We get to know Christ better by spending time with Him and obeying Him. Jesus said, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” (John 14:21). Observe the progression in this verse – “has… keeps… loves Me.” Before we can “keep” Christ’s commandments, we must “have” them. To “have” Jesus’ commandments, we must spend time with Him to be aware of what He has said. When a believer “keeps” or obeys the Lord’s commandments, God the Father and God the Son will “love” him or her more intimately and Jesus will “manifest”or reveal more of Himself to them.

In Revelation 2, the same author who wrote I John writes to a church whose members had lost their initial love for Jesus. Christ commends this church for their hard work, perseverance, and discernment of false teaching and teachers (2:2-3). But the one thing He had against them is stated in the next verse. “Nevertheless, I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” (Revelation 2:4). The order of words is emphatic in the original language; the clause could be translated, “Your first love you have left” (tēn agapēns sou tēn prōtēn aphēka). 5

While this church had excelled in their service for Christ and their orthodoxy, they had left their “first love.” This refers to their original love and devotion to Jesus. They were doing the right things now, but not with the same love and devotion for Jesus that they had in the beginning of their Christian lives.

This can happen to any church or individual Christian. We start out passionate in our love for Jesus considering all He did for us in saving us from all our sins. But as the years pass by, we can easily shift from passionate love for our Savior to more of a program mentality whereby we function out of duty instead of devotion to Christ. We go through the motions, but our heart is not connecting to the Lord like it was in the beginning of our Christian lives. We can become so familiar with the teachings of the Bible that we become less sensitive to what God is saying to us. Familiarity can produce apathy in our Christian lives.

What was Jesus’ counsel to these Christians who lost their initial love and devotion for Him? “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works…” (Revelation 2:5). Christ is telling them (and us) to go back and do the things we were doing when we were passionately in love with Jesus. For me that would mean spending time alone with Him, listening to His still small voice as I read and meditate on the Bible. Or going on walks through the woods and reciting memory verses from the Bible. When I stop doing these life-giving works with Jesus, my love for Him lessens and can grow cold.

This is especially dangerous when I am serving Christ because Satan does not want me to do that. So, he intensifies his attacks. If am not spending time alone with Christ, I am more vulnerable to failure because I have lost the intensity of my love for the Lord and can be easily led astray.

In closing, I want to share some thoughts from Dr. David Anderson: “One of my favorite paintings of Jesus is called ‘The Good Shepherd.’ It pictures Christ as a shepherd out in a pastoral setting, surrounded by sheep. But what interests me most about this painting is not the Shepherd as much as the sheep. The Shepherd is holding one little lamb in His arms; a couple more are nudging up against His robe. Others are lying in a cluster not far away. Further back in the scene we see some sheep grazing. But it’s the sheep far from the Shepherd who concerns me. Some are looking this way and others that way. They are not at all close to the Shepherd. These are the sheep which are in danger of the wolf and the lion. These are the sheep which could fall off a cliff and break their bones. If you were doing a self-portrait to touch up this painting, where would you place yourself in the picture?” 7

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for John’s words of encouragement in his epistle which prepare us for spiritual battle with our enemies. Like little children, we have experienced Your complete and permanent forgiveness through faith in Christ alone as our Savior so we can approach You now as our Father. Because of Your amazing forgiveness, we can get to know You and Your Son more intimately as we spend time with both of You and learn to obey Your commandments. Knowing You on a deeper level is one of the most important weapons against spiritual attacks. Some of us are like the sheep in the painting who are young or hurting and so we have drawn close to You to be held in Your arms close to Your heart. Others of us are close to You and nudging You to focus on our needs. There may be those of us grazing on the riches of Your grace while being close to You. Some of us are resting in green pastures or being refreshed by the stilled waters You have led us to. There are those of us who have wandered farther away from You. We can still see You and take glimpses of You at times, but we are more captivated by our surroundings. We want to explore the world unaware of its many temptations and dangers. And then there are those of us who have wandered so far from You that we have lost sight of You. Little do we know the hidden dangers that are waiting to pounce on us and devour us. Wherever we may see ourselves in this image of You as our Good Shepherd, may each of us know You are always available to help us if we will take that first step toward You. It may be a cry for help or a simple, “Please forgive me, Lord.” You are waiting to hear from us, and You are eager to be our Good Shepherd. Thank You Lord God. In the mighty name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

ENDNOTES:

1. Zane C. Hodges, The Bible Knowledge Commentary Epistles and Prophecy, Editors John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck (David C. Cook, 2018 Kindle Edition), Kindle Location 3677.

2. David R. Anderson, Maximum Joy: I John – Relationship or Fellowship? (Grace Theology Press, 2013 Kindle Edition), pg. 74; cf. K. L. McKay, “On the Perfect and Other Aspects in the New Testament Greek,” Novum Testamentum, Vol. 23, Fasc. 4 (Brill: 1981), pp. 289-329.

3. Zane C. Hodges; Robert Wilkin; J. Bond; Gary Derickson; Brad Doskocil; Dwight Hunt; Shawn Leach; The Grace New Testament Commentary: Revised Edition (Grace Evangelical Society, Kindle Edition, 2019), pg. 591.

4. Tom Constable, Notes on I John, 2022 Edition, pg. 44.

5. Tony Evans, CSB Bibles by Holman, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary (B & H Publishing Group, Kindle Edition, 2019), pg. 2938.

6. John F. Walvoord, The Bible Knowledge Commentary Epistles and Prophecy, Editors John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, (David C Cook, 2018 Kindle Edition), Kindle Location 4950. 7. Anderson, pp. 101-102. While I do not believe the picture I have shared with this article, is the exact painting Anderson had in mind, its similarity serves as an adequate substitute.

Will Jesus Reject His Own?

“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.”  John 6:37

After miraculously feeding thousands of people (John 6:1-14) and walking on water (John 6:15-21), Jesus begins His discourse on the bread of life for those who hunger spiritually (John 6:22-58). In the middle of this discourse, Christ makes an incredible promise to His listening audience: “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” (John 6:37). Let’s look closely at what Jesus says:

  • “All…,” not some or most, who have ever believed in Jesus prior to the Church Age are given to Christ by “the Father.” Before the Church Age (Acts 2:1ff), those who believed in Jesus as the coming Messiah belonged to God the Father. Because of Israel’s rejection of Christ (Matthew 12:22ff), Jesus anticipated the transfer of ownership of Old Testament believers to Him by the Father in anticipation of the coming Church Age (Matthew 16:18; cf. Acts 2:1ff). 1
  • “…the Father…” The safe keeping of Old Testament believers is not solely about a gracious Son trying to calm down an uncontrollably angry Father. The Father lovingly takes the initiative. 2
  • “…gives…,” not “quibbles over.” It is the Father’s great delight to entrust rebellious sinners who believed in the coming Messiah into the safe keeping of His Son.
  • “…will come…” The Father’s safe keeping of a believing sinner is never thwarted. All who have believed in Jesus in the Old Testament are securely kept by Christ after this transfer of ownership from the Father to the Son.
  • “The one who comes…” While the Father loves “all,” coming to Christ is an individual’s choice. God cares about “the one” sinner who is lost without Christ. We are not robots. We are not drawn to Christ against our wills kicking and screaming. Each human being has the freedom to choose to come to Christ by believing in Him (cf. John 6:35). 
  • “…comes to Me…” God is not inviting sinners to come to a set of doctrines, to a church, or even to the gospel. He is inviting us to come to a Person – Jesus Christ. 3
  • “…I will by no means cast out.” This phrase “I will by no means cast out” is emphatic in the Greek language (ou mē ekbalō exō). Literally it means, “I will no not ever cast out” the one who comes to Me. In Jesus’ day and ours, there are lost sinners who are deeply afraid that Jesus will not welcome them into His fold or family much less keep them forever. If there was no fear of being cast out, then there would be no need for Jesus to say this so emphatically both then and now. 

We may have many objections to this incredible promise from Jesus:

  • “But Lord, You don’t realize what I have done in my past!” “I will by no means cast out.”
  • “I have proudly turned away from You.” “I will by no means cast out.”
  • “I relied totally on myself.” “I will by no means cast out.”
  • “I have deeply hurt others with my own brand of selfishness and sin.” “I will by no means cast out.”
  • “I have served Satan all my life.” “I will by no means cast out.”
  • “I have sinned against Your grace.” “I will by no means cast out.”
  • “I have sinned against Your mercy.” “I will by no means cast out.”
  • “I have sinned against Your light.” “I will by no means cast out.”
  • “I have sinned against Your love.” “I will by no means cast out.”
  • “I have no good thing to bring with me.” “I will by no means cast out.”
  • “I cannot measure up to Your standard of holiness.” “I will by no means cast out.” 4

Jesus’ promise answers all our objections. Even when we run out of specific sins and failures, we may anticipate that Jesus will eventually reject us when He gets to know us better. We say to Him, “Lord, You know me better than anyone else, for sure, but You don’t know the darkness that is hidden from everyone deep in my soul.” Christ says, “I know it all.”

We retort, “But the thing is, it isn’t just my past. It is also my present.” “I understand,” He replies.

“But I don’t know if I can break free from this sin any time soon.” “That’s the only kind of person I am here to help,” Jesus says.

We say, “The burden is getting heavier and heavier all the time.” “Then let Me carry it,” He offers.

“It is too much to carry, Lord.” “Not for Me,” He assures.

“You don’t understand, Jesus. My sins are not against others. They are against You.” “Then I am the most suited to forgive them,” He responds.

“But the more of the wickedness You discover in me, the sooner You will reject me.” 5 “The one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.”

When we come to Christ in faith we will be welcomed forever. The only condition for enjoying such everlasting love is to come to Him just as we are in faith. Jesus does not say, “The one who comes to Me feeling bad enough about their sin,” or “The one who comes to Me with a load of good works,” or “The one who comes to Me with extra devotion.” Christ simply says, “The one who comes to Me.” This is God’s amazing grace. It cannot be earned, and it cannot be undone. Once you come to Christ in simple faith, you are God’s child forever.

There may be some of us who still do not accept this assurance from Christ. It may be because we come from backgrounds which are filled with rejection. The main reason some of us have a hard time trusting people today is because we have experienced so much rejection while growing up. Perhaps a parent criticized us for everything we did, a teacher humiliated us, a friend betrayed us, a spouse left us, or an employer terminated us.

Every human being has limits. If we offend enough, if a relationship gets damaged enough, if we betray enough, we are cast out. The walls go up. But with Jesus, our sins and weaknesses are what qualify us to come to Him. Nothing but coming to Him in faith is required. 6

You may think, “My sins may not exhaust Christ’s acceptance of me, but what about my pain? What if my pain keeps piling up, and numbness starts to take over? As the months go by, won’t Jesus eventually cast me out because my burdens are too great for Him? Surely such intense pain is not designed for someone who comes to Christ and is promised never to be cast out?”

But Jesus does not say that “the one who comes with pain-free lives will by no means be cast out.” He simply says, “the one who comes to Me.” It is not what life gives to us but to Whom we come to in faith that determines Christ’s permanent acceptance of us. Jesus says we come to Him to enjoy His everlasting love. 7

I can hear someone says, “But what if I stop believing in Jesus after I come to Him? Won’t He cast me out?” 8 Jesus did not say, “The one who comes to Me and keeps coming to Me.” He simply says, “The one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” If Christ were to cast out a person who stops believing in Him after his or her conversion, He would have told a lie here. Coming to Christ in faith has permanent results. Jesus cannot lie because He is God (John 1:1; I John 5:20) Who is “full of truth” (John 1:14) and is “the truth” (John 14:6), and He never breaks His promise of eternal life (Titus 1:2). Jesus guarantees you will never be rejected by Him. If we will come to Jesus on His terms – believe in Him (even if it is just once) – He guarantees to accept us forever!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for taking our place on the cross when You received the punishment for sin that should have been ours so that when we come to You in faith we will never be cast out of God’s family. Although many of us have been deeply wounded by the rejection of others, please help us learn to trust You knowing You will never reject us regardless of what we or others do, say, or think. Heal us so we are no longer driven by the fear of rejection. Help us to rest in Your total acceptance of us. No longer do we need to seek the love and approval of others because we are totally loved and accepted by You. Use us Lord Jesus to share this good news with those who need it the most. We love You Lord and seek to live for You now. In Your matchless name we pray. Amen.

ENDNOTES:

1. Anthony B. Badger, Confronting Calvinism: A Free Grace Refutation and Biblical Resolution of Radical Reformed Soteriology (Anthony Badger, 2013), pp. 185-186.

2. Dane Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Suffers (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2020), pg. 60.

3. Adapted from Ibid., pp. 60-61 cites John Bunyan, Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2004) and in Vol. 1 The Works of John Bunyan, 3 Vols., ed. George Offor (repr., Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1991, pp. 240-299.

4. Adapted from Ortlund, pg. 62 who cites Bunyan in Come and Welcome to Jesus in The Works of John Bunyan, pp. 279-280.

5. Ortlund, pp. 63-64.

6. Ibid., pg. 64.

7. Ibid., pp. 64-65.

8. While Ortlund (pp. 65-66) and other Puritans believe that a true believer can never fall away from Christ (stop believing in Christ), nothing in Jesus’ promise suggests such an understanding. Our eternal security is not based upon our enduring faith but upon our Savior’s enduring faithfulness to His promises (2 Timothy 2:13). See Charles Stanley, Eternal Security, Can You Be Sure? (Nashville: Oliver Nelson, 1990), pg. 80.

Revelation 18 – Part 3

“Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, ‘Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore.’” Revelation 18:21

The third angelic announcement of Rome’s (“Babylon”) judgment in Revelation 18 is now recorded by the apostle John (18:21-24). The first two announcements depicted the rapidity of God’s judgment of Rome (18:1-19) whereas this last announcement describes its finality. 1 “Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, ‘Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore.’” (Revelation 18:21). The “violence” and finality of Rome’s destructionis graphically portrayed by “a mighty angel” throwing “a great millstone… into the sea.”

In John’s day, millstones often measured four to five feet in diameter, were one foot thick, and weighed thousands of pounds (cf. Mark 9:42). 2 As it would be impossible for such a huge stone to float to the surface of the ocean, so certainly the religious and economic system of Rome that had deceived and misled this world throughout human history, will sink to the bottom of the sea never to rise again. 3 The phrase “and shall not be found anymore” contains two doubt negatives in the Greek text (ou mē), emphasizing the finality of Rome’s judgment.  

The mighty angel then lists all of Rome’s worldly luxuries and pleasures that will vanish with its destruction never to be found again. “22 The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters shall not be heard in you anymore. No craftsman of any craft shall be found in you anymore, and the sound of a millstone shall not be heard in you anymore. 23 The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore, and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore.” (Revelation 18:22-23a). Not one of these material things listed here is evil in and of itself. But in the Babylonian world system, these every day things drew people away from the true God to glorify humanity. Their sudden disappearance represents the total and final destruction of every facet of society, from fine arts (“the sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters”)to night life (“the light of a lamp”), from expert craftsmanship (“craftsman of any craft”) to common labor (“the sound of a millstone”), 4 not even the sound of joyful celebration (“the voice of bridegroom and bride”)will “be heard in” her “anymore.” In a flash, all of Rome’s worldly luxuries and pleasures will be removed permanently. Where there had once been hustle and bustle, there will be silence. 5

The prophet Jeremiah announced a similar kind of judgment against Judah for her disobedience: “8 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Because you have not heard My words, 9 behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,’ says the Lord, ‘and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations. 10 Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp.” (Jeremiah 25:8-10).

Instead of focusing on the Giver, Rome and all its followers had focused on the gift. Instead of worshiping the Creator, they worshiped the creation. In case you think such a sudden and violent judgment is unfair or too harsh, the mighty angel gives two reasons for Rome’s judgment. “23b For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived. 24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth.” (Revelation 18:23b-24). Through Rome’s businessmen (“merchants”) she will cast a materialistic spell (“sorcery”) over humankind so that “all the nations were deceived.” 6 The word “sorcery” (pharmakeia) is where the English word “pharmacy” comes from.

“If one is puzzled over the connection between medicine and sorcery as illustrated by this word (our pharmacy), he has only to recall the quackery today in medicine (patent medicines and cure-alls), witch doctors, professional faith-healers, medicine-men in Africa. True medical science has had a hard fight to shake off chicanery and charlatanry.” 7

Rome’s worldly luxuries and pleasures had deceived the nations of the world into believing that joy, security, and meaning in life come through the accumulation of material wealth instead of through their Creator God. Papal Rome has also grown wealthy with its focus on paying money for forgiveness (indulgences). For a fee, parishioners could get a deceased family member out of Purgatory and save up for their own future sins. 8 Selling forgiveness is what sparked the Protestant Reformation. 9

The second reason for Rome’s severe and final judgment is because “in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth” (18:24).

“Not surprisingly, worship of the wrong object (wealth) is accompanied by wrath misdirected at the improper target (Christians). In the Antichrist’s kingdom, as with other godless societies, throughout history, the blood of prophets and saints testifies to the slaughter of those who stand for God’s values in opposition to the religion of materialism.” 10

When people worship the creation instead of the Creator, they no longer value human life as God does. We see this in America as our educational institutions have taught evolution for decades now which leaves God out of the picture and worships His creation. As a result, this country has murdered an estimated 62 million unborn babies through abortion since legalizing abortion on demand in 1973. 11 Even now state legislatures are about to vote on bills sponsored by Planned Parenthood that could legalize the killing of newborn babies up to 28 days after birth. 12

Rome’s sudden and violent destruction is also due to her killing God’s people, including “prophets and saints” (18:24). For centuries, pagan and papal Rome has seduced people away from the true God with her rituals and superstitions and has persecuted those who proclaim the truth exposing her materialistic and idolatrous false religion. History shows that the Roman Catholic Church has shed the blood of many believers and victims of the Crusades and Roman Inquisition. 13But the height of Rome’s hostility toward God’s people will take place during the Tribulation period when she vehemently opposes God’s prophets and saints on the earth. Because Rome has shed the blood of God’s children, and led others to do the same, she “will receive the death penalty from God’s hand. She will not be found anymore!” 14

How can we reach materialistic people with the gospel of Jesus Christ before it is too late for them? We look to Jesus’ example. After Jesus had miraculously fed thousands of people with five loaves of bread and two sardine-sized fish (John 6:1-14), He crossed over to the other side of the lake only to encounter the same crowd again (John 6:15-25). These people were like most materialistic people today. Like the beneficiaries of Rome, they were more interested in satisfying their physical appetites than their spiritual appetites, so Jesus confronts their selfish desires. “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.” (John 6:26). Christ is saying, “You came not because you understand Me to be the Messiah-God but because you wanted another free meal.” To this crowd, life was all about keeping alive, being healthy and well fed, and economically sufficient.

In an essay written by George Orwell, he describes a wasp that (as he puts it) “was sucking jam on my plate and I cut him in half. He paid no attention, merely went on with his meal, while a tiny stream of jam trickled out of his severed esophagus. Only when he tried to fly away did he grasp the dreadful thing that had happened to him.”  15

This wasp and people without Jesus have much in common. Severed from their souls, but greedy and unaware, people continue to consume life’s sweetness. Only when it is time to fly away will they grasp their dreadful condition. Jesus encourages the materialist to seek after something better. To seek after bread which lasts and produces life which never ends.

Jesus tells the materialist how to satisfy his spiritual hunger and thirst forever, and it is not through the accumulation of wealth or buying your forgiveness as Rome taught. Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35). The materialist hungers and thirsts for power… possessions… and popularity! But the greatest hunger and thirst of all is for immortality. Jesus says to look to Him in faith to satisfy our hunger for immortality. Look to Him in faith to quench our thirst for eternal life.

What do you do when you are hungry? You eat. What do you do when you are thirsty? You drink. Jesus says that if we come to Him in faith, we will never hunger for eternal life again. If we believe in Him, we will never thirst for eternal life again. One bite of the bread that Jesus’ offers, one drink of the water that Jesus offers, satisfies our spiritual hunger and thirst forever. This is difficult for the materialist to do. He has always provided for his own needs, and now he is being challenged to trust Someone outside of himself for his most important need.

What if a person stops believing in Christ? Will he hunger or thirst for eternal life again? No. Because the spiritual need which Jesus meets can never reoccur. Once you receive eternal life, you have it forever. After all, how long is “never” (John 6:35)? It is forever, right? If a person could hunger or thirst for eternal life again after believing in Jesus, then Christ just told a lie. Jesus says one bite… one drink satisfies for eternity. The results of believing in Christ are permanent even if we don’t keep on believing.

Has your hunger or thirst for immortality been satisfied forever? Do you know for sure that you have eternal life? If not, why not take Jesus Christ at His word right now? Place your trust solely in Him to save you. Give up confidence in anything else: your prayers, giving of money, church attendance, baptism, obedience, commitment, or the reformation of your life. Jesus Christ guarantees eternal life to all who believe in Him alone for it.

Let us share this message gladly and often. It is glorious news! It is the greatest news! Tell people eternal life is a free gift and that the sole condition for receiving it is believing in Christ alone. Leave the results to God. After all, eternal life is the gift of God. He is the One giving the gift.

Prayer: Father God, give us a love for the self-reliant religious people of this world. Increase our burden for the materialistic people of our community. Give us the courage to confront their selfish desires, to correct their misconceptions about salvation, and to challenge them to believe in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life so that they can discover the joy of everlasting security in Him. Security that cannot be lost or taken away. Lord, I pray that those of us who know You will seek satisfaction in our relationship with You and not the things of this world. Enable us to live in light of eternity. In Jesus’ mighty name we pray. Amen.

ENDNOTES:

1.Bob Vacendak; Robert Wilkin; J. Bond; Gary Derickson; Brad Doskocil; Zane Hodges; Dwight Hunt; Shawn Leach; The Grace New Testament Commentary: Revised Edition (Grace Evangelical Society, Kindle Edition, 2019), pg. 1570.

2. Tom Constable, Notes on Revelation, 2017 Edition, pp. 200-201 cites Alan Johnson, “Revelation,” In Hebrews-Revelation Vol. 12 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary Edited by Frank E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981), pg. 568.

3. Constable, pg. 200.

4. Charles R. Swindoll, Insights on Revelation (Swindoll’s Living Insights New Testament

Commentary Book 15, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2014 Kindle Edition), pg. 329.

5. Constable, pg. 201.

6. Vacendak, pg. 1571.

7. Constable, pg. 201 quotes Alan Johnson, Vol. 6, pg. 445.

8. See Randy Petersen’s article entitled “Selling Forgiveness: How Money Sparked the Protestant Reformation,” at christianhistoryinstitute.org.

9. Ibid.

10. Tony Evans, CSB Bibles by Holman, The Tony Evans Study Commentary (B & H Publishing Group, Kindle Edition 2019), pg. 2413.

11. See the January 22, 2021, Foxnew’s article entitled, “An Estimated 62 million abortions have occurred since Roe v. Wade decision in 1973” at www.foxnews.com.

12. Taken from an email on April 21, 2022, from American Center for Law and Justice’s Executive Director, Jordan Sekulow.

13. “Bill Salus on Mystery Babylon” video on the August 26, 2018, Christ in Prophecy show.

14. Vacendak, pg. 1571.

15. https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/76254-a-wasp-was-sucking-jam-on-my-plate-and-i .

Receiving Life Freely – Part 5 (Video)

This is the fifth video in a series about the gospel of John – the only book of the Bible whose primary purpose is to tell non-Christians how to obtain eternal life and a future home in heaven (John 20:31). This video looks at the fifth miracle of Jesus recorded in the gospel of John involving His miraculous walking on water (John 6:15-21).

The movie clip subtitles are from the Good News Translation. All other Scripture are from the New King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise noted. Gospel of John pictures are used with permission from www.GoodSalt.com, Sweet Publishing / www.FreeBibleimages.org, Good News Productions International and College Press Publishing / www.FreeBibleimages.org, David Padfield / www.FreeBibleimages.org, The Edge Group and Lion Hudson Ltd. / www.FreeBibleimages.org, or they are creative common licenses. The Revelation Art is used by permission of Pat Marvenko Smith, copyright 1992. To order art prints visit her “Revelation Illustrated” site, http://www.revelationillustrated.com. The Gospel of John movie clip is used with permission from Jesus.net. You may view the entire Life of Jesus movie at https://jesus.net/the-life-of-jesus/.

How can we experience the blessedness of clean feet? Part 2

“Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself.” John 13:3-4

Jesus is in the final week of His life before His crucifixion. It is Thursday, our time. We are learning in John 13 how to experience the blessedness of clean feet or intimacy with Jesus Christ. Last time we saw that we are to recognize Jesus’ loyal love for us (John 13:1-2). Today we discover we are to RECKON WHO WE ARE IN CHRIST (John 13:3-5; cf. Ephesians 2:10).

What happens next is incredible. “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God…” (John 13:3). Jesus knew that His Father in heaven had given Him a position of absolute authority (“the Father had given all things into His hands”). He knew His origin (“He had come from God”) and His destination (“and was going to God”). He knew who He was and where He was going. From this position of strength and security, we see Jesus taking the role of a lowly servant.

Jesus “rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself.” (John 13:4). “In Palestine the roads are dusty, and though guests would normally bathe before a social gathering like Passover, after a walk across the city their feet would be dirty. A basin of water and towels were customarily placed at the door of a home for washing. The task of washing guests’ feet was generally assigned to a household servant. A basin of water and towel had been left in the upper room for the disciples’ use, but not one of them took responsibility for washing the others’ feet. They were too busy thinking of themselves to think of others.” 1  The disciples’ refusal to put themselves in the place of a servant reveals their own insecurity.

We are told that Jesus “rose from supper and laid aside His garments.” Pentecost observes that “there are several hints from Scripture concerning the outer clothing which Christ wore. From the record given to us at the Crucifixion, we know that He wore a seamless robe. This would have been an unusually costly robe. Normally robes were made of strips of cloth that had been woven on narrow looms; these strips were sewn together to make a garment of sufficient size to be wrapped around an adult. But the robe that Christ wore had been especially prepared at great cost… We also notice that when Christ during His ministry went into a strange synagogue He was greeted as a rabbi and welcomed in that assembly. A rabbi was normally designated by the color of the tassels or ribbons sewn onto his robe. It may be that Christ wore the robe of a rabbi. Such a robe would have entitled Him to respect and honor. In Israel only the priest was held in higher esteem than the rabbi… It was such a garment as this that Christ laid aside in order to wrap a towel around His waist. A towel was the sign of a servant. A servant had no position and no honor.” 2

Imagine the look of shock on the disciples’ faces when Jesus stood up and laid aside His robe of honor to wrap Himself in a servant’s towel to wash their feet. Yet, even after Jesus took the position of a slave to wash their feet, no one offered to do the task instead. They were too embarrassed or too proud to perform a house servant’s task. This is the extent of Jesus’ love for His own disciples. He is willing to humbly serve them. Humble servanthood is not an expression of weakness. It is actually a show of strength. The more we embrace who we are in Christ and where we are going because of His amazing grace, the more we can serve others from a position of strength and security. This means we must lay aside our robes that entitle us to honor and respect and put on Christ’s love with which to serve others.

“After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.” (John 13:5). The “towel” was long enough to wrap around Jesus’ waist and use the free end to dry His disciples’ feet. This was a tremendous expression of love! Jesus loved them enough to become their servant and minister to them. You would have thought that Jesus needed them to minister to Him as He faced the cross. Instead, we see Him reaching out to them and meeting their needs. He knew that in a short time they would reject Him, but here He is serving them. What an amazing Savior and Lord we have! The more secure we are in Christ’s love and our identity in Him, the more empowered we will be to serve others.

When Jesus took the position of a lowly household servant, He made Himself extremely vulnerable. He knelt down before men who would betray Him. Among those feet were Judas’ and Peter’s. One man would betray Him and the other would deny Him before the night was over. Still, in love, Jesus knelt down before them. Today, God’s love kneels down before us wherever we are. And as He does, He urges us to bare ourselves before Him, to be vulnerable before Him with our dirty feet (i.e. sinfulness). Jesus’ security and strength to humbly serve these men (John 13:4-5) was based upon His knowing His absolute authority from the Father, His origin, and His destination (John 13:3).

Likewise, as we discover and believe who we are in Christ, we can also make ourselves vulnerable to serve others even when it involves washing dirty feet. The Bible tells us in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” The word “workmanship” is the Greek word poiēma from which we get our English word “poem.” God has made us a heavenly piece of poetry on this earth. We are His masterpiece, not a mistake. The more we see ourselves as He sees us, the more we can “walk in the good works, which God prepared beforehand.” You and I are not defined by our sin and shame, we are defined by God’s view of us recorded in His word. The more we embrace the way God sees us, the more vulnerable we can become in serving one another.

What are the “good works” God has “prepared beforehand” for us to walk in (Ephesians 2:10)? I believe some common “good works” for all Christians to walk in involve going into all the world and preaching the gospel to everyone (Mark 16:15) and making disciples or followers of Christ by baptizing those who believe in Jesus and teaching them to obey all of Christ’s commands (Matthew 28:19-20). Christ’s gives all Christians the “authority” to do these works for His glory (Matthew 28:18).

Do you want to experience the blessedness of clean feet or intimacy with Christ? Then recognize Jesus’ loyal love for you and reckon who you are in Christ. When you do, you will be in a position to humbly serve our Lord by serving others. The world could use a lot more of this right now.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, what a beautiful picture of Your love when You got up from the table and made Yourself extremely vulnerable by taking the position of a lowly household servant to wash the dirty feet of Your disciples who should have been washing Your feet. Even though they would eventually abandon You in Your darkest hour, You chose not to abandon them. Lord, none of us deserve this loyal and unlimited love from You. But we gratefully receive it because we need cleansing from our own sin and shame. Thank You so much for meeting us where we are at. Please help us to see ourselves through Your eyes so we can serve others from a position of strength and security. We have been given Your authority to represent You on earth as Your ambassadors (Matthew 28:18; 2 Corinthians 5:20). We have been entrusted with Your gospel message to boldly share it with a lost world (Mark 16:15) and then make disciples of those who believe in You (Matthew 28:19-20). Because You made Yourself vulnerable for us, we can now make ourselves vulnerable for others. We love You, our Lord and our God. In Your gracious and loving name we pray. Amen.

ENDNOTES:

1. J. Carl Laney, Moody Gospel John Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1992), pg. 239.

2. J. Dwight Pentecost, The Words & Works of Jesus Christ, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1981), pg. 428.

How can I experience security forever? Part 3

“And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.” John 10:28-29

In John 10:22-30, we have learned so far that I can experience security forever when I…

– Ignore the Blindness of Christ’s opponents (John 10:22-26).

– Believe in Jesus alone for His free gift (John 10:27).

The third and final way I can experience security forever is when I REALIZE THE BENEFITS OF BELIEVING IN JESUS (10:28-30). Jesus promises three benefits to His sheep i.e. to those who believe in Him.

1. THE GIVING OF ETERNAL LIFE (John 28a). Jesus said, “And I give them eternal life.” (John 10:28a). He does not say and “they earn eternal life.” No, He gives it to them. It is a gift. As one man in an audience said while listening to a salvation message, “Oh it’s beautiful. I always thought I had something to do, but now I see I have something to receive.” Eternal life is a gift to be received. If you have it, you have it eternally. If a person ever lost eternal life, then Jesus just told a lie.

2. THE GUARANTEE AGAINST PERISHING IN HELL (John 10:28b). How secure are those who receive eternal life from Jesus the moment they believe in Him? Christ says, “and they shall never perish.” (John 10:28b). The construction of the Greek clause “they shall never perish” (kai ou mē apolōntai eis ton aiōna), with a double negative literally reads “and never not shall they perish for the age.” How long is “never”? (Pause). It is forever. The moment we believe in Jesus, we have the assurance that we shall never perish in hell for eternity. Jesus is very emphatic here. He wants His sheep to be confident that they will never experience eternal ruin or destruction in hell. Eternal life is God’s life. You can no more perish in hell than God can perish in hell. Believers do sin and stumble, but our Good Shepherd will “never” let us perish in hell! Even if you were to desire to go to hell to spend eternity with unsaved family and friends after you believe in Jesus for eternal life, it is too late because Christ guarantees you shall “never perish”! The third benefit of believing in Jesus is this…

3. THE GRASP THAT LASTS (John 10:28c-29). Christ then says, “neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.” (John 10:28c). Why? Because Jesus securely holds each believer in His hand and no one – not a lion, wolf, thief, bandit, false teacher, popular speaker, demon, devil, not even you yourself – is strong enough to snatch (John 10:12) them out of His hand. The word “snatch” (harpasei) means “to snatch, seize, i.e., take suddenly or vehemently.” It is impossible for even one sheep to be removed from the hand of our Good Shepherd. And no matter how strong or persuasive they are, not one of His sheep can wriggle out of His grasp.

If you are still not convinced that the believer in Jesus is secure forever, Christ adds: “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.” (John 10:29). The hand of Jesus holding the believer is secure in the hand of God the Father. And no one is strong enough to snatch a believer from the hand of God the Father. In other words, the believer is doubly secure.

This Shepherd is all-powerful and the sheep in His hand have nothing to fear. The security of the frail sheep does not depend on their grip on God, but on God’s grip on them. And God will never let go of them. If you come to Jesus by faith, He has got you. When you are too weak and your hands go limp, He will still be hanging on to you. Our eternal security does not depend upon our own ability but upon the ability of our Shepherd to protect and preserve His flock.

There are some who do not believe in eternal security who insist that a believer can jump out of the hands of Jesus or God the Father on his or her own initiative. But this position cannot be supported contextually. “They shall never perish” (John 10:28b) means just that. If a believer could jump out of God the Father’s and God the Son’s hands, then Jesus just told a lie here. The phrase, “No one” (John 10:29), includes the believer himself. Even if you take the “no one” to be a reference to “the thief” (John 10:10a) which represents the devil or his false teachers, even they cannot snatch the believer out of the hands of God the Son and God the Father, not even by persuading or deceiving the believer to jump out. 

Jesus then says, “I and My Father are one.” (John 10:30). Jesus claims oneness with His Father in the sense that He and the Father both provide the sheep with security forever. They both are God. But He is not saying they are the same Person. They are two distinct Persons with the purpose which guarantees the eternal destiny of all who believe in Christ. If He had meant they were the same Person, He would have used the masculine form of the word translated “one” (heis). Instead He used the neuter form of the word (hen) to emphasize that they are one in their actions. This explanation also harmonizes with the context, since Jesus had said that He would keep His sheep secure forever (John 10:28), and that His Father would also keep them secure forever (John 10:29). 

Conclusion: When you believed or trusted Christ alone for eternal life, why is eternal life guaranteed?

1. Because security is not you holding God, but God holding you forever.  Security is not based on our feeble hold on Christ, but on His firm grip on us. In order to lose your eternal life, you would have to be greater than God Himself. And that is not going to happen! What wonderful security God provides for us especially in a day when so many dreadful things are happening.

2. Because no one is strong enough to open God’s hand and remove any Christian who is held securely in it. Do you realize how strong God’s fingers are? In Psalm 8:3 we are told, “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained.” Imagine how strong God’s fingers are which placed the stars and moon that we see in our night sky! No one is strong enough to pluck us out of God’s hands. He has such a good grip on us that we could not get out of it even if we wanted to. It is a done deal!

A newlywed couple was given a lottery ticket by the bride’s aunt and uncle as a wedding gift. Two days later they discovered they had the winning numbers. The uncle and aunt had done this before for other newlyweds, but this was the first time any of the couples had received the winning numbers. When the aunt was asked whether they would try to get any of the money she replied, “I gave them the ticket as a gift, and a gift it will remain.”

Christ gives us eternal life the moment we believe in Him for it and He never takes it back. We are secure forever not because of our grip on God but because of His grip on us. We are forever in His hands!

Prayer: Precious Lord Jesus, what wonderful security You provide for me especially during a time when there are so many dreadful things happening in the world that can easily leave me feeling insecure. Knowing that I am secure in Your promises of eternal life, of never perishing, and never being snatched from Your hands gives me unspeakable joy and peace! Even if my grip on You becomes weak and my hands grow limp, Your hands will not let go of me! The assurance that I will go to heaven is not based upon my grip on You, but upon Your grip on me. I do not have to live in fear of losing my relationship with You. This frees me up to focus on You and the work You have set before me. Oh my Good Shepherd, please lead me to those who are overwhelmed with insecurity so I may share with them about Your security that lasts forever. In Your powerful name I pray. Amen.  

How can I experience security forever? Part 1

“Jesus answered them, ‘I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me.’ ” John 10:25

People today may feel extremely insecure and rightly so. Eleven percent of the world’s population are undernourished and 697 million people in the world are severely food insecure and do not know if any food will be available for them to eat. 1

Since the onset of COVID-19, we see a growing economic insecurity with the loss of jobs and businesses. Many people fear their financial situations will only get worse. There is also insecurity attached to the rise in social unrest, with peaceful protests turning into rioting. Violent conflict and crimes are on the rise throughout the world which is a tremendous source of insecurity for people today. 2

Psychologists have identified that the kind of childhood you had, past traumas, recent experiences of failure or rejection, loneliness, social anxiety, negative beliefs about yourself, perfectionism, or having a critical parent or partner can all contribute to our insecurity. 3

Some people feel insecure because they perceive that they are lacking or they have been told that they are lacking. For example, you may feel too fat, skinny, tall, short, old, young, educated or uneducated. We may try to compensate for our insecurities by telling ourselves, “If I had a nice house or a new car or a better job or was more popular, I would feel more secure about myself.” So, thinking that we are lacking something or someone may cause insecurity.

One of the most insecure feelings is not knowing where you will go after you die here on earth. The truth is all people die (unless of course you are a Christian and the Rapture or sudden removal of the Church takes place – I Thessalonians 1:10; 4:13-18). Not being certain of your eternal destiny produces deep seeded insecurity in people. People take extreme measures to avoid thinking about death. They color their gray hair, go on extreme diets and exercise programs trying to delay the inevitable.

Please understand, no matter how insecure you may feel right now, God does not want His children to be insecure. He has given us incomparable security in the Lord Jesus Christ and He wants us to share this security with a lost world that is becoming more and more insecure.

In the context of our passage today, there is a stark contrast between the false shepherds of Israel who brought death and insecurity to God’s people and the Good Shepherd who brings life and protection (John 10:1-21). This is Jesus’ last act in His public ministry. Let’s look now at how we can experience security forever. I CAN EXPERIENCE SECURITY FOREVER WHEN I …

IGNORE THE BLINDNESS OF CHRIST’S OPPONENTS (John 10:22-26). “Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter.” (John 10:22). The Feast of Dedication is now known as Hanukkah or the Feast of Lights. Although it was not one of the feasts prescribed in the Mosaic Law, it was still an important and popular celebration that brought many Jews to Jerusalem.

The historical basis for this festival was the cleansing of the Temple in Jerusalem in 164/165 B.C. three years after their desecration by the Greco-Syrian Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Antiochus, in his zeal to Hellenize his realm, persecuted the Jews, plundered the temple treasury, and erected an idolatrous altar and sacrificed a sow to Jupiter. The Hasmoneans led by Judas Maccabeus revolted and eventually overthrew the forces of Antiochus. The festival commemorates this last great deliverance that the Jews had known and symbolized their hope that the Messiah would again deliver His people from their enemies, the Romans. 4

During the eight days of the Feast, the Hallel (Psalms of praise) was chanted, both in the Temple in Jerusalem and in private homes. During the rededication of the Temple in 164/165 B.C., tradition said that only one unpolluted bottle of oil was found, just enough to provide light for one day, but it was miraculously replenished for eight consecutive days. For this reason, the Feast lasts eight days and is called the Feast of Lights. 5

What is the significance of this Feast to the dialogue within this passage? Because of this feast, a large crowd had gathered for Jesus to teach. The regular synagogue readings nearest to the Feast of Dedication were concerned with the theme of shepherds and sheep (cf. Ezekiel 34). Some scholars suggest that the mention of the Feast was designed to connect Christ’s teaching with the hopes associated with the Maccabean deliverance. 6 “It was the last great deliverance that the Jews had known, and therefore it must have been in people’s minds a symbol of their hope that God would again deliver his people.” 7 Little did the people know that their prayers for another deliverance would be fulfilled through Jesus.

The Feast of Dedication took place in the middle of December. It had been three months since the Feast of Tabernacles in John 7:1-10:21. So the teaching in John 10:22-39 was three months following the teachings in John 7:1-10:21. The mention of “winter” in verse 22 explains verse 23. “And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch.” (John 10:23). Winter was the colder rainy season in Israel. In warmer weather, Christ would have taught in the courtyard of the temple. But because it was “winter,” He took shelter from the wet and windy weather in “Solomon’s porch” which was a long walkway covered by a roof supported on pillars on the east side of the Temple facing the Kidron Valley. One writer suggests that John mentioned that it was “winter” because it resembled the spiritual climate in Jerusalem, namely the frigid spirits of the Jews. 8

“Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, ‘How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.’ ” (John 10:24).  As Jesus walked down Solomon’s porch “the Jews surrounded Him” with hostile intent. The word translated “surrounded” (ekyklōsan) means they “besieged” Him. They pinned Him in so they could obtain a clear reply from Him about His identity. The question “If You are the Christ…” is in the first class of the Greek language and assumes for the sake of argument that Jesus is the Messiah-God. By asking for a plain statement that He was the Messiah they were implying that if they rejected Him, it was His fault and not theirs because He had not clearly stated that He was Israel’s Messiah.

Jesus responds. “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me.” (John 10:25). The Jews asked Jesus if He was the Christ, their Messiah-God, and Jesus says, “I told you again and again Who I am, yet you refused to believe Me.” They had His Word as to His Person, but they also had His works or miracles which testified that He was their Messiah. Even though Christ’s words and works provided sufficient evidence that He was their promised Messiah-God, they still refused to believe in Him. Why? Was it because of the lack of a clear statement from Christ about His identity? No.

“But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.” (John 10:26). Their unbelief was because they “were not of His sheep.” They did not listen to His Word, like sheep will listen to the voice of their shepherd. They were like the thief and hireling, bringing death and caring only for themselves (John 10:8, 10a, 12-13). So, the fault of their unbelief, was not His, but theirs.

If you and I are going to possess security forever, we must ignore the spiritual blindness of Christ’s enemies. Jesus gave them more than enough evidence that He was the promised Messiah-God, but they were determined not to believe in Him. They had no interest in becoming His sheep.

There are many skeptics today who ignore the sufficient evidence concerning Jesus’ identity as the Messiah-God. Even though the historical evidence overwhelmingly points to Jesus as the Messiah-God Who lovingly died on the cross for the sins of the world and rose from the dead, skeptics continue to deny these historical facts. They undermine the clear promises of Jesus which state that all you must do to possess eternal life is believe in Him (John 3:15-16; 4:10-14; 5:24; 6:40, 47; 10:25-27; 11:25-26). God wants us to ignore these impostors and focus on the promises of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13).

Some of you reading this article have been taught that Jesus never claimed to be God and never died on a cross to pay the penalty for all your sins. But still you are here wanting to learn more about Jesus. Your soul is restless and you have no security about your future. Give Jesus a chance. He has drawn you here to reveal more of Himself to you.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd, but you have experienced spiritual leaders that care only about themselves and use their religion to meet their own needs instead of care for the people entrusted to them. Jesus loved you so much that He laid down His life for you and me on the cross. When the Messiah-God died in our place as our Substitute, God was satisfied with His perfect payment for all our sins (cf. I John 2:2; 4:10). That is why Jesus said while hanging on the cross, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). The Greek word translated “finished” (tetelestai) means “paid in full.” Receipts in New Testament times were stamped with this word which meant that the debt had been paid in full. Jesus finished making the full payment for all our sins when He died in our place. There is no more payment to be made because God was satisfied with Jesus’ payment.

This is substantiated further when Matthew tells us at the time of Jesus’ death on the cross, “the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.” (Matthew 27:51). This “veil” or curtain separated the holy place from the holy of holies in the Jewish temple (cf. Exodus 26:33; Hebrews 9:2-3). The fact that this occurred “from top to bottom” signified that God is the One who ripped the thick curtain. It was not torn from the bottom by men ripping it. God was showing that the way of access into His presence was now available for everyone, not simply the Old Testament high priest (Hebrews 4:14-16; 10:19-22), because God was satisfied with Jesus’ payment for our sins. No other animal sacrifices or payments were necessary to enter God’s presence in heaven.

Jesus Christ laid down His life for us so we may have life that never ends the moment we believe or trust in Him alone. Since God was satisfied with the sufficient sacrifice of His perfect Son to pay the penalty for all our sins (Isaiah 53:11; John 19:30; I John 2:2; 4:10), we must also be satisfied with what satisfied God – Jesus’ death on the cross. God cannot accept anything we do as payment for our sins because He has already accepted His Son’s payment for all of our sins when He died in our place on the cross.

Jesus did not say, “Whoever does good works… prays every day and lives a good life should not perish but have everlasting life.” No, Jesus said, “Whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16). Being secure forever is not faith in Christ PLUS something else. It is faith in Christ alone.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, all of us in the world today have many reasons to be insecure. We may have external reasons and internal reasons for our insecurity. But You do not want any of Your children to be insecure about Your identity. You have given us Your Word which never changes to provide security that lasts forever. Because You experienced opposition to Your identity as the Messiah-God when You walked on the earth 2,000 years ago, we can know that You understand and sympathize with us when we encounter opposition to Your identity today (Hebrews 4:15-16). When the ruler of this world and his false shepherds attack Your identity, help us to focus on Your voice of truth. Because You, Father God, were satisfied with Your Son’s payment for the sins of the world when He died on the cross, we must also be satisfied with what satisfied You. I pray in Your name, Lord Jesus, that Your Holy Spirit will persuade lost and insecure people to believe the truth about You – that Your are the Promised Messiah-God, Whose death on the cross satisfied God’s demand to punish sin. And now whoever believes in Jesus alone may have never-ending life in His name. Once this life is received, it can never be lost because it is eternal and it is based on Your faithfulness to Your promises, not ours. Lord Jesus, You are the truth and You cannot lie. Thank You my Lord and my God for security that lasts forever! In Your name I celebrate. Amen.  

ENDNOTES:

1. See https://ourworldindata.org/hunger-and-undernourishment#severe-food-insecurity

2. https://www.un.org/en/un75/new-era-conflict-and-violence

3. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-mindful-self-express/201512/the-3-most-common-causes-insecurity-and-how-beat-them

4. Dr. Tom Constable, Notes on John, p. 192.

5. J. W. Shephard, The Christ of the Gospels (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans), 1946, p. 400.

6. J. Carl Laney, Moody Gospel John Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1992), pg. 193.

7. Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John. New International Commentary on the New Testament series (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1971), p. 459.

8. John G. R. Beasley-Murray, Word Bible Commentary series, Second Ed. (Waco: Word Books, 1987), p. 173.

A Look into the Future – Part 3 (Video)

This is the third in a series of videos about the future as recorded in the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation. This video focuses on the last half of the seven year Tribulation period after the removal of the Church from the earth. Please share this video with those you want to see in heaven.

The Revelation Art is used by permission of Pat Marvenko Smith, copyright 1992. To order art prints visit her “Revelation Illustrated” site, http://www.revelationillustrated.com. The music in this video is used with permission from the producers of the video entitled “The Free Gift.”