Our theme for this month: “Life on this side of the cross”

Our Bible verse for today: “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.” 2 Corinthians 1:20 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “We are heirs of the promises”

This morning we will continue our discussion from yesterday concerning which parts of the Old Testament carry over and apply to us in the New Testament Age, and which don’t. Yesterday we learned that if an Old Testament command, instruction, or principle is retaught or in some way reaffirmed in the New Testament, then it applies to us. And if it is not retaught or in some way directly affirmed for us, or if it is specifically negated (dietary restrictions, animal sacrifices), then it doesn’t apply to us.

But that still leaves us with the question of whether or not the promises of God in the Old Testament are ours to claim, and it also leaves us with the question of what to think about all that history recorded in the Old Testament.

With respect to the history: Old Testament history is as important for us. It tells us where we came from and it teaches important lessons that we need to know. The New Testament came out of the Old Testament (one flows from the other), and you cannot properly understand the New without also being familiar with the Old. Also, Old Testament history teaches important lessons about how God has historically dealt with and interacted with His people. So there is much to be gained from a thorough study of Old Testament history.

And then there’s the issue of the promises God made in the Old Testament. Were they intended for us too? Can we claim them as ours? And the answer is … it depends. The overwhelming majority of the Old Testament promises were intended for all of God’s people in all ages, and most of them have at least one New Testament companion verse or passage. For instance, compare Psalm 23 to Matthew 11:28-30 and John 10:11-18. It’s the same theme of the Good Shepherd watching over and caring for those who belong to Him. Therefore, we know that Psalm 23 is as much for us as is Matthew 11:28-30 and John 10:11-18. Likewise, compare Deuteronomy 31:6, Joshua 1:9, and Isaiah 41:10 to Hebrews 13:5-6. There we find promises that God goes before us, He is always with us, and He will protect us. That’s as true for us today as it was for the people in the days of Moses, Joshua, and Isaiah.

But some Old Testament promises were one-time promises specifically for those people in that instance, and we can know it from the context. For instance, in Joshua chapter six God promised the people that if they would march around the walls of the city of Jericho for six consecutive days blowing trumpets, on the seventh day the walls of the city would miraculously fall down all by themselves. That was a promise for those people in that day and it did happen – for them. But I’m betting it won’t happen for you if you were to try it today, because that wasn’t a promise that was intended for you, and you can tell it from the context.

The history of the Old Testament does matter and we should be familiar with it, and most of the promises of the Old Testament are ours as well, unless the context specifically teaches otherwise. We are the people of God in our day, and we are heirs of the promises found in both the Old and New Testaments.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Life on this side of the cross”

Our Bible verse for today: “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “How can we know which parts of the Old Testament carry over and apply in the New Testament Age?”

In 2 Timothy 3:16-17 the Apostle Paul gave us a helpful insight into the importance and value of the entire Bible, both the Old and New Testaments. There he told us that “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable …” It all comes to us from God and it all has value for us. But does it all apply to us? All of it has value, in some way, but in terms of life-application and guidance for living does all of it apply to us on this side of the cross?

A fast and simple rule of thumb which can provide us with a basic answer to that question is to consider whether or not the New Testament specifically refers to an Old Testament law, command, instruction, or principle – either positively by reteaching it, or negatively by excluding it. For example, yesterday we learned in Mark 7:18-19 that Jesus specifically did away with the Old Testament dietary restrictions. Likewise, we learn in Hebrews 10:1-18 that since Jesus was the ultimate and final sacrifice for the sins of the world, the animal sacrifices required in the Old Testament are no longer necessary or required. So those Old Testament requirements no longer apply in the New Testament Age because the New Testament specifically negated them.

On the positive side, there are many places in the New Testament which reteach or in some way affirm an Old Testament command, instruction, or principle. For instance, rather than in any way negating the Ten Commandments, in Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus actually bundled them all together and summarized them in two: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”

Likewise, in some cases Jesus took Old Testament principles and raised them to a new higher standard for life in the New Testament Age. For instance, in Matthew 5:27 He said that in the Old Testament we were taught not to commit adultery. But His standard is that we are not to even entertain lustful thoughts.

So, a general rule of thumb for determining which commands and instructions carry over and which don’t is to see which of them are directly addressed in the New Testament. Some are specifically and intentionally excluded. Others are specifically and intentionally included. For the most part, if the command or instruction is not specifically retaught and affirmed in some way in the New Testament, then it doesn’t apply to us today. That’s a good basic answer, but it’s not a complete answer. What about all the promises God made in the Old Testament, do they apply to us today? Can we claim them as ours? And then, what about all that Old Testament history? What does that mean for us in our day? We’ll think about those things tomorrow.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Life on this side of the cross”

Our Bible verse for today: “Don’t you realize that nothing going into a person from the outside can defile him? For it doesn’t go into his heart but into the stomach and is eliminated (thus he declared all foods clean). Mark 7:18-19 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Jesus did away with the Old Testament dietary restrictions.”

Yesterday some friends of mine came home from two months of serving in northern Italy with Samaritan’s Purse medical disaster relief team. They were there as part of the effort to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. The Italians were so grateful for the team’s service that they put them up in a nice hotel and hired a professional chef to prepare the team’s meals. So although my friends worked long hard hours seven days a week in a dangerous environment, they had comfortable accommodations and they were very well-fed.

When they arrived home, they had to go into fourteen days of self-quarantine in their house. To help them with that, family members and friends stocked their home with fresh groceries and put some prepared meals in the refrigerator and freezer. As I was driving to the church to deliver the meal my wife had prepared for them (a big tray of her homemade lasagna), it suddenly occurred to me that they had just spent two months in Italy being fed every day by an expert Italian chef, and we were now greeting them upon their arrival home with a big tray of Italian food! Oh well, our intentions were good anyway.

Fortunately, on this side of the cross, in the New Testament Age, we are free to eat what we want (or not!). In Mark 7:14-19 Jesus did away with all the Old Testament dietary laws that were given to the Jews in the book of Leviticus. Those restrictions had their purpose for those people in that day, but the New Testament Age was to be marked by a tremendous amount of freedom and flexibility in how the people of God could practice their faith – and compulsory dietary laws would not be part of it. To clarify and emphasize that point, the Apostle Paul dedicated lots ink and paper in his New Testament writings to teaching about this new freedom of choice when it comes to food.

Personally, I love to eat. I enjoy food very much. Food is a gift from God. So are taste buds – and it didn’t need to be that way. God could have created food simply as a source of fuel for the body. He didn’t have to make it tasty and He didn’t have to give us taste buds. But He make it tasty and He did give us taste buds simply so we could enjoy it, and I’m very glad He did. I’m also grateful that Jesus took away all those restrictions (and all you bacon lovers should be shouting some hearty hallelujahs too!).

Those dietary restrictions were one part of the Old Testament that didn’t carry over into the New Testament. Tomorrow we will think about how we can know which commands, instructions, and principles in the Old Testament carry over to the New, and which don’t.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Life on this side of the cross”

Our Bible verse for today: “Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Pray for Muslims”

Today is April 23, 2020. At sundown tonight the annual Muslim observance of Ramadan begins. Ramadan is a month-long time of prayer and fasting for Muslims. It takes place in the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and it commemorates the anniversary of Muhammad’s first revelation, which led to the writing of the Koran. Ramadan begins with the sighting of the crescent moon and continues for twenty-nine to thirty-one days, or until the sighting of the next crescent moon. During Ramadan observant Muslims abstain from food, drink, tobacco, and sexual relations during daylight hours. Each day they have a large pre-dawn meal, and then a large nighttime meal, but nothing in-between.

There are approximately 1.8 billion Muslims in the world today, making Islam the second largest religious group on the planet (Christianity is the first with approximately 2.8 billion adherents).

In John 14:6 Jesus made an extraordinarily exclusive statement when He declared that He is the only way to heaven. If those words of Jesus are true (and I have no doubt that they are), that must mean that every other faith system, including Islam, is false.  If those words of Jesus are true then that must mean that contrary to popular belief, all faiths do not lead to the same destination. Also contrary to popular belief, you cannot be a good enough person in order to earn your way into heaven. You cannot give enough money to charity, or perform enough religious rituals, or light enough candles, or do any other thing that will adequately prepare you to go to heaven. Jesus said very clearly and emphatically that it is faith in Him for the forgiveness of your sins or you don’t get there.

Over these next four weeks observant Muslims around the world will be fervently praying to a god who doesn’t exist, and performing arduous religious rituals that will accomplish nothing. I encourage you to pray for them. The One True God is at work in the Muslim world. We often hear reports from missionaries about Muslims being led to faith in Christ. At Oak Hill Baptist Church we even have a personal relationship with a missionary family serving faithfully in a large Muslim-majority country, and we routinely receive reports from them about how their work there is proving to be very successful for the cause of Christ.

I encourage you to make Ramadan a time when you pray for the salvation of Muslims. Pray also for Christians, like our missionary family, who are diligently serving in Islamic countries around the world.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Life on this side of the cross”

Our Bible verse for today: “Remind them to submit to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to slander no one, to avoid fighting, and to be kind, always showing gentleness to all people.” Titus 3:1 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.”

Recently in our country there have been many public protests regarding the stay-at-home orders currently in effect as a result of the COVID 19 pandemic. Beyond just the heated chatter on social media, crowds of people are now taking to the streets, defying the orders of government officials, and not even practicing social distancing.

Is it okay for Christians to be involved in such demonstrations? Engaging in civil disobedience is a fine line even for the average citizen regardless of faith issues, but for Christians it’s more complex because it is both a civil issue and a matter of faith.

Sometimes laws are unjust and have to be opposed, and sometimes Christians should be involved in civil disobedience. Christians were at the forefront of the abolition movement that eventually led to the end of slavery in this country. Christians played a huge role in the fall of communism in eastern Europe. And Christians have taken the lead in the fight against abortion in this country. Those are all good things, and in each of those cases it required Christians to stand opposed to governmental authorities.

But probably 99% of the time the right thing to do is to pursue change through legal means not civil disobedience. For Christians the issue is Biblical. The only time we find Christians in the New Testament refusing to obey the directions of civil authorities is when the civil law was in direct conflict with God’s law. Then Acts 5:29 comes into play, “We must obey God rather than men”. But there are no Biblical examples that would lead Christians to break laws and defy civil authority like we see right now on the streets of some of our towns and cities.

The other day somebody shared with me an interesting piece of history regarding this. It comes from the great leader of the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther. If you know your Christian history then you know that Luther was one of the most important and influential voices in Christianity in the last 500 years. He lived through the bubonic plague of 1527 and interestingly, the civil authorities of that day instituted the same kinds of social distancing and stay-at-home orders that are being used in our day for this pandemic. And, the Christians of that day had the same questions about it that we do today. So, they looked to Luther for guidance for what to do and here is what he wrote:

“I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I will fumigate, purify the air, administer medicine, and take medicine. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed, in order to not become contaminated, and thus perchance infect and pollute others, and so cause their death as a result of my negligence. If God should wish to take me, he will surely find me. But I have done what he has expected of me and so I am not responsible for either my own death or the death of others. If my neighbor needs me, however, I shall not avoid place or person, but will go freely. This is a God-fearing faith because it is neither brash nor foolhardy, and does not tempt God.”

As citizens we do have rights, and one of those rights is to voice our disagreement and dissent regarding laws and practices that we disagree with – but we have to be careful how we do it. Disobeying the law is not normally an option for Christians unless the civil law is in conflict with Biblical principles. When we do engage in dissent, we must be respectful rather than angry or mean-spirited or unkind. Titus 3:1 is just one verse from an entire body of Biblical literature which teaches that the people of God are to be good law-abiding citizens.

Luther was a help not a hindrance during the plague in his day, and that should be true of us too during this plague in our day. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Life on this side of the cross”

Our Bible verse for today: “It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don’t go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment.” John 16:7-8 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Conviction of sin is a good sign.”

At some point most Christians wrestle with the question “Am I really saved?” Assurance of salvation is an important doctrine of the Christian faith and it’s one we could spend an entire month of devotional messages exploring. Personally, I believe the Bible clearly teaches that once a person has received forgiveness for their sins by placing their faith in Christ, that person is saved for all time. As Romans 8:28 teaches, nothing can then separate us from God. Jesus was clear about this too when He said in John 10:28, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.” In other words, once saved always saved. Once you belong to Jesus you are His and He will never let you go. There’s an entire body of Biblical literature which teaches the doctrine we call “The assurance of salvation”.

But that still leaves us with the question, “How can I know I am really saved?” And again, there is an entire body of Biblical literature which teaches about how to be saved and how to know you have been saved. It’s more than we can address this morning. However, I do want to talk about how a negative situation in our lives (sin) can help us to know we really are saved.

The Holy Spirit performs many roles in our lives. He is our Counselor, our Teacher, and our Guide. He is a source of comfort and peace and joy. He leads us into worship; He equips and empowers us for ministry; and so much more. He also convicts us of our sins. In that respect then, sin in our lives can actually serve as an assurance of salvation if (and this is a big “if”), if, we fall under a sense of conviction from the Holy Spirit regarding that sin. If we do sense that strong conviction, that’s proof that He is present and working in our lives, and that’s a good sign.

Have you sinned lately? Did you feel bad about it? Did you confess it and ask God’s forgiveness for it? Well, hello Holy Spirit! That’s evidence that He is at work in your life. If you weren’t truly saved the Holy Spirit wouldn’t be at work in your heart and He therefore wouldn’t be there to convict you of your sin. The sin isn’t a good thing, but the conviction of that sin is.

So, thank the Holy Spirit for convicting you of your sins, and then rest assured that the conviction of the sin is a good sign that you really are saved.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Life on this side of the cross”

Our Bible verse for today: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Help them to be good rather than to just feel good.”

In the sermon at Oak Hill Baptist Church this past Sunday (www.oakhillbaptist.net), as we continued our study of the Gospel of Matthew, we were considering some of what are called the “hard” teachings of Jesus. Hard teachings are different from easy teachings. In the Gospel accounts Jesus spoke many words of comfort and peace and of good things to come. Those are the “easy” teachings. They are lessons we like to hear and are eager to accept, and therefore preachers and Bible teachers are happy to teach those passages.

In fact, many contemporary preachers and teachers focus exclusively on those easy lessons, precisely because people like to hear them.  I call that kind of ministry “cotton-candy Christianity” because like cotton-candy, it is light and fluffy and sweet to the taste, but it lacks substance, it has no nutritional value, and it isn’t good for you. Also, the cotton-candy gospel gives Christians an incomplete understanding of what the Christian life is really like. It leaves out a large segment of the instructions Jesus gave to His followers, which fall in the category of “hard” teachings. They’re hard, and therefore not easy to listen to, but they are vital for our spiritual health and for successful Christian living.

In the Great Commission, cited above in Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus told us to go out into the world and to make disciples. He didn’t tell us to just make converts. He told us to do the hard work of helping people to grow and to become spiritually mature. We are to teach them how to live successfully as His followers in this broken and bleeding and sin-filled world.

Coming to faith in Christ is a wonderful experience. It often results in feelings of relief and freedom, of hope and joy. Beyond that, as we begin to experience the manifold blessings of God, it all leaves us feeling very good. But more than just helping people to feel good we have to help them to actually be good. That’s where the discipleship part comes in. This is where the long-term transformation occurs. It’s in discipleship that bad habits fall away and new good habits begin. It’s in discipleship that the virtues of a solid Christian character are developed and manifest themselves in good behaviors. Salvation is important, but it’s just the starting place of the Christian life. From that point on it’s all about discipleship. And that’s where the hard work takes place.

I encourage you to help people to be good rather than just to feel good. Help them to become committed disciples of Christ. That’s primarily what the Great Commission is really all about.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Life on this side of the cross”

Our Bible verse for today: “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Meet with Him in the depths of your heart.”

The primary purpose of our theme “Life on this side of the cross” has been to explore the amazing and significant differences between the Old Testament Age and the New Testament Age. The ways in which we experience and interact with God are exponentially different and better now than then. Jesus changed everything!

Perhaps the most significant difference in terms of day-to-day living is the fact that the Holy Spirit lives in our hearts (Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, who was placed there by God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20). In the Old Testament the people of God went to the temple to enter into the presence of God. In the New Testament the people of God are the temple, and rather than us entering into the presence of God, God is present within us. That doesn’t mean that you are God, because of course, you aren’t. But it does mean that the presence of God is in you by means of the Holy Spirit living in your heart.

In terms of worship, nurture, comfort, and peace this is huge! In the Old Testament you went into the temple to meet with God. In the New Testament you plumb the depths of your heart to encounter Him within you. That’s where you meet Him in worship; that’s where your relationship with Him is nurtured; and that’s where you are embraced by the God of all comfort – right there in your own heart!

Today is Sunday, the day in which we typically gather as a church family. In that gathering we bring the worship that is taking place within our own heart and we join with others who are also worshiping in their hearts. Being joined together like that in worship can create a powerful spiritual dynamic.

Unfortunately, we won’t be gathered in the church building today. However, since we live in the New Testament Age, and since you have the Holy Spirit right there with you in your heart, you yourself are the temple! That means that you can experience great worship right where you are; and you can go deep into your heart and embrace the comfort of God, right there, right where you are. Even though there’s great value to our group gatherings, and therefore they should not be missed (Hebrews 10:24-25), you can still have a deep encounter with God this morning right there at home.

This morning I make Paul’s prayer for the Romans my prayer for you: “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Life on this side of the cross”

Our Bible verse for today: “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:2 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Take advantage of the time.”

In Romans 12:2 the Apostle Paul highlights a key difference between life in the Old Testament and life on this side of the cross in the age of the New Testament and of the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament, the practice of the faith for the people of God consisted, in large part, of memorizing and obeying a long list of rules and regulations. In the New Testament, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the practice of the faith involves a careful and consistent process of nurture and growth that leads us to become increasingly sensitive and responsive to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. This is the process Paul referred to in Romans 12:2 which results in a transformation of mind and heart. That then enables us to become discerning individuals who understand the will of God and who live accordingly.

Paul was writing about spiritual maturity. It’s a process of growth that leads to increasing spiritual awareness and understanding. But it’s not magic. It doesn’t happen automatically. The implication of Paul’s teaching in Romans 12:2 is that you have to consistently take actions to place yourself in a position before God everyday whereby the Holy Spirit can work in your mind and heart to transform you into that spiritually mature person. It is a process, and it does take time, and you do have to work at it.

During this time of the coronavirus pandemic most of us have a lot of extra time on our hands. Some people are older or sick and are therefore staying almost entirely in the house. Others are unemployed right now. And even if you do go to work every day, you are still no longer able to participate in many of your other social and leisure activities, and therefore you too have extra time on your hands. How are you using that time? What an excellent opportunity this is to enhance and nurture your relationship with the Lord by spending lots of extra time in prayer, meditation, Bible study, memorizing scripture, reading good Christian books, watching Christian movies, writing in your journal, and spiritual activities like that.

This time of isolation can actually be a gift that ends up resulting in great spiritual growth for you. You can come out of this different, more mature, on a new level in your relationship with the Lord. I encourage you to redeem this time. Use it for a good purpose. As Paul wrote, be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Life on this side of the cross”

Our Bible verse for today: “All you have made will thank you, Lord; the faithful will bless you. They will speak of the glory of your kingdom and will declare your might, informing all people of your mighty acts and of the glorious splendor of your kingdom.” Psalm 145:10-12 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Speak words of praise and encouragement.”

I thank the Lord for positive people. I love having them around. I’m talking about people who see the glass half full rather than half empty; people who have a sunny disposition by nature and who manage to find good even in the middle of difficult times and trials; people who praise God and declare His goodness even while others are muttering and complaining.

If you listened to the Easter sermon I preached at Oak Hill Baptist Church (www.oakhillbaptist.net) then you might remember that at one point in the sermon I quoted a line from a great poem by the poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning. The poem is about the ability of a spiritually mature person to see God and His glory, even in the common everyday situations of life. Here’s what she wrote: “Earth’s crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God, But only he who sees takes off his shoes; The rest sit around and pluck blackberries.” In other words, we see glimpses of glory and hints of heaven all around us. Spiritually mature people notice and say so, while spiritually immature people are oblivious to it.

Spiritually mature people have the capacity to see good and to see God in the normal moments of life, and also in the difficult times, and they comment on it. They call other people’s attention to Him; they sing His praises; and they live a life or praise and joy. Sadly, many others fail to see it and waste their time complaining and criticizing instead. C.S. Lewis once noted that “cranks, misfits, and malcontents praise the least” while those who are “humblest and balanced and with capacious minds praise the most.” In other words, spiritually mature people are joyful and they praise God frequently, while immature people don’t.

We’re all living through a time right now that is testing people’s patience and their faith. Some have compared this time of worldwide pandemic to catastrophic times in history such as “The Black Death Pandemic” of 1347-1353 when the bubonic plague killed something like 100 million people; or the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-1920 which infected 25% of the world’s population and killed about 50 million people; or the Great Depression; or World War II; or 9/11; or … well, pick your disaster. The point is that people are scared and pessimistic and saying a lot of negative things. But that’s not helpful.

This is a time for the people of God to be salt and light, bright spots in an otherwise dark time. Don’t minimize or be dismissive of the very real suffering and the very real problems associated with this pandemic, but don’t join in the negativity either. Jesus is still on the throne, you are still saved, and we will get through this. In the meantime, there’s still much good in the world. The beauty and splendor of God’s creation is still all around us and there is still much to praise Him and thank Him for. So how about if we, the people of God, lead that choir of praise today?

God Bless,
Pastor Jim