http://www.firstbaptistorillia.org/ A blog about Christianity, Life, the Church and all things Bible en http://www.firstbaptistorillia.org/typo3conf/ext/tt_news/ext_icon.gif http://www.firstbaptistorillia.org/ 18 16 A blog about Christianity, Life, the Church and all things Bible TYPO3 - get.content.right http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Mon, 07 May 2012 21:04:00 -0400 http://www.firstbaptistorillia.org/pastors_blog/blog_post/article/-d3f4fe9834/index.php Hey family, As part of my summer internship Pastor Paul asked me to send out a weekly devo... 11About this we have much to say that is hard to explain, since you have become dull in understanding. It had never occurred to me that we can have a real influence on our capacity to listen, I just thought that some people are good listeners and some people aren't, but that isn't what the Bible says.  The author goes on to say: 14But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. (Hebrews 5:14. NKJV) It sounds like we can train ourselves to be better listeners and better discerners of good and evil.  In light of that, I wanted to provide a summary of a helpful little book that Pastor Paul gave me called "Listen Up".  It is a book about learning to be better listeners during sermon time. Throughout the scriptures, preaching was never meant to be a solo sport, but was meant to function like a team. On a sports team, it is crucial that everyone plays their own unique roles, but that they do it effectively and not sloppily. The effectiveness of the team is completely dependent on each individual's performance. If someone decides to slack off, the entire team suffers loss.  Much like how a sports team functions, an effective sermon requires the active cooperation of each of the listeners to drive the message home. That very much relates to our reading in Hebrews 5.  Hebrews 5:11 suggests that one's capacity to hear truth and teaching can either improve or regress based on their ability to listen. What the author wanted to say to the Hebrews became hard to explain because they had become sluggish and slack in their hearing. He was faced with a barrier to speak truth into the hearts of Hebrews. Because they were dull of hearing, their capacity to hear truth regressed.  We see in verses 12-14 that because the Hebrews were slack in hearing, they remained as undiscerning, spiritual babies. They were spiritually immature because they would not choose to listen to truth and teaching. This passage connects the rebuke to "grow up" with a call to "listen up". People don't spiritually grow up until they decide to actively listen to truth and teaching. God does not expect us to passively hear teaching with little consideration of how it affects our lives presently. He expects us to actively consider how the teaching is to be lived out in the life, both while and after the teaching is given. Obeying the call to "listen up" to teaching is critical to "work out our salvation" as a church - literally to "work at our health". Obedience is connected to a healthy spiritual walk. "12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;... "(Philippians 2:12) Lastly, the primary way we hear spiritual teaching is through preaching. Every Sunday the Word is faithfully preached, and just like the infield and outfield of a baseball team, we have the choice to both run and dive for the life application of the message, or to numbly let the words wash over us. Some people are numb listeners, convincing themselves that sitting in a pew on Sunday has some kind of magical power to make them holy without their active listening in the process. It doesn't work and this approach is foolish. We are called to "listen up" to teaching, because in listening up we obey and mature as Christians. Although trying to obey God on our own strength is just as foolish, be encouraged! We have the privilege through Jesus Christ to draw from a strength so strong as to conquer the disobedience of the flesh! It is Him who works in us to give us His righteous desires and to accomplish them. By relying on the grace of the Holy Spirit we can conquer our dullness of hearing so that we might grow fully mature in Christ Jesus! The Apostle Paul said right after verse 12:  "13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13) We truly serve an awesome God who desires for us to be holy even as He is holy. Even if it meant interjecting by His Holy Spirit to equip us to be holy Let me end this devo blast by offering 5 practical tips for listening to sermons from "Listen Up": 1)      Pray for your pastor in the middle of the week - If we are going to listen well, we must expect that God is going to speak through him 2)      When listening, try to determine the main point of the message - Is there repetition in the sermon? What was the punch line at the end of that parable? What is the overall theme that runs through the passages? Does the message reflect the meaning of the passage? 3)      Consistency. Make sure you go to your local church consistently so that you can be held accountable and hold others to account for applying the sermon's truth into daily life. When people surround themselves with nosey brothers and sisters in Christ, holiness is easier. 4)      After or during a sermon, take notes. Feel free to write down exactly what the Holy Spirit may be speaking to you, and specific actions you need to take to obey his convictions from the sermon. 5)      Pray, repent, then grace! Come to God and repent after the sermon for the areas in your live where He wants to change you, submitting to Him so that he can empower you to live for him. It can be easy to forget this, but it is important if we are to honestly listen and submit to what God is saying to us. Also, if you would like to order a copy of the book Pastor Paul lent me, the ordering information is found at the link below: http://www.christianbook.com/listen-practical-guide-to-listening-sermons/christopher-ash/9781906334673/pd/334673?item_code=WW&netp_id=888743&event=ESRCG&view=details The book is a bargain at $2.99! I hope this helps you get more out of what God has in store for you in future sermons! God bless, Jesse Stewart                                                                                     ]]> WTTB Devotions Mon, 07 May 2012 21:04:00 -0400 http://www.firstbaptistorillia.org/pastors_blog/blog_post/article/hebrews-12/index.php Hi all, Pastor Paul here. This past Sunday's message may have been a hard one for... 12Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 13and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. 14Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: 15looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; 16 lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. 17For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears. (Hebrews 12:12-17. NKJV) Here the author is telling the church to help people press all the way into saving faith.  He tells them to heal up those little nagging injuries that might cause someone to quit before pressing all the way in, he tells church leaders to help maintain a spirit of peace in the church  and to insist on the connection between holiness and faith.  The phrase "root of bitterness" tends to distract and confuse the modern reader.  He is not telling us to beware of little grievances in our heart that may grow large and distracting, though that is a real concern, rather he is speaking to them again in the language of the Exodus and wandering.  Do you recall when Moses said: 16(for you know that we dwelt in the land of Egypt and that we came through the nations which you passed by, 17and you saw their abominations and their idols which were among them-wood and stone and silver and gold); 18so that there may not be among you man or woman or family or tribe, whose heart turns away today from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations, and that there may not be among you a root bearing bitterness or wormwood; 19and so it may not happen, when he hears the words of this curse, that he blesses himself in his heart, saying, 'I shall have peace, even though I  follow the dictates of my heart'-as though the drunkard could be included with the sober.  (Deuteronomy 29:16-19. NKJV) Before sending the people over into the Promised Land Moses reminded them that they mustn't allow people who were lusting after foreign idols to remain in their midst lest they contaminate the whole community.  That is what the author of Hebrews is saying here.  He is saying to leaders that one of the ways we protect our people from falling away is by practicing church discipline and removing people from the congregation who have given themselves over to apostasy and false idols. He compares the typical apostate to Esau.  Esau was a man who "tasted" of the heavenly gifts and despised them in his heart.  In the end he preferred simple earthly pleasures like a good pot of stew to the promises of the kingdom.  The author says: "Don't let any Esaus stay in your church.  If a man chooses earthly pleasures like sexual immorality over the Lord then kick him out lest he infect others".  Lastly he reminds people that for people like Esau, who sample the kingdom goods and declare them of less value than the pleasures of the earth, there is no turning back.  Esau could not undue what had been done.  Similarly, those who "sample" and "taste" Christianity and then intelligently and willfully reject it in favour of lust or greed or "the god within" cannot of themselves undue that.  They are given over to what they have chosen.  The author here says pretty much exactly what he said in chapters 3-4 and then again in 5:11-6:12.  The real addition here, for our purposes is the new teaching on how a church should respond to this hard truth.  The church should work with people on overcoming their "nagging injuries" so that they can press forward and go all the way into saving faith.  (Think reCOVER and Family Circle).  He is also telling them to practice church discipline and to insist on holiness (sanctification in some translations) among those who say they are saved.  Setting the bar low is unhelpful for everyone.  We must insist that those who say they love Christ are walking as he walked, ever increasingly, by one degree of glory to the next.  If they are not, we are to treat them as unsaved.  We must also protect the new believers from false believers and so church Boards and pastors cannot wimp out on discipline issues.  Pray for me and pray for our Board that we would have the courage to do what we need to do to respond appropriately to this fearful teaching.  Indeed, our God is a consuming fire. Blessings, Rev. Paul Carter]]> WTTB Devotions Mon, 07 May 2012 13:00:00 -0400 http://www.firstbaptistorillia.org/pastors_blog/blog_post/article/what-is-meant-in-hebrews-3-and-4-by-my-rest/index.php QUESTION: What is meant in Hebrews 3 and 4 by "my rest"? Is God promising internal... 1Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, 2all  were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3all ate the same spiritual food, 4and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. 5But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.6Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. 7And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play." 8Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; 9nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; 10nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 12Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.  (1 Corinthians 10:1-12. NKJV) As you can see, the teaching is very similar.  Paul is telling them that many people who have been baptized and taken communion will still go to hell because they did not believe truly and nor did they turn away from evil.  Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.  That is the point in 1 Corinthians 10 and it is also the point in Hebrews 3:1-4:10.    This is not to say that rituals are unimportant, it is simply to say that they are not magic.  Baptism is only effective if it is wedded to real faith, communion is only effective if the believer examines himself in a true spirit of humility and faith - they are not magic potions or as they used to say in Latin, they do not work ex opera operata.  (In the working it works - i.e. no faith required) The take away for all of us is that we mustn't think that mere external participation makes us Christians.  Sticking your head in an oven does not make you a Christmas turkey and participating in the external graces of the church does not make you a Christian.  If you have real faith such things will be a tremendous help and benefit, if you do not, they will likely deceive you into an eternal death.  Hope that helps. Blessings, Rev. Paul Carter]]> WTTB FAQ Thu, 03 May 2012 22:16:00 -0400 http://www.firstbaptistorillia.org/pastors_blog/blog_post/article/song-of-solomon/index.php Hi all, Pastor Paul here. If you are up to date in your readings you will have finished Song... WTTB Devotions Thu, 03 May 2012 13:45:00 -0400 http://www.firstbaptistorillia.org/pastors_blog/blog_post/article/-18233d27f6/index.php Hi all, Pastor Paul here. This FAQ is actually an anticipation - no one has asked me this... There are three things which are too wonderful for me, Yes, four which I do not understand:   19The way of an eagle in the air,  the way of a serpent on a rock, the way of a ship in the midst of the sea, and the way of a man with a virgin. (Proverbs 30:18-19. NKJV) The Bible says that the sex act is one of the most marvelous things in creation and we must not allow the sordidness of our world to steal beauty from anything God has created.  That being said, there is wisdom in not stirring up fire before the time and so parents will need to act with wisdom and courage on this matter.   Blessings to you as you read this book and teach it in your homes, Pastor Paul]]> WTTB FAQ Sun, 29 Apr 2012 22:39:00 -0400 http://www.firstbaptistorillia.org/pastors_blog/blog_post/article/why-do-we-read-books-like-leviticus/index.php Hi all, Pastor Paul here. One of the questions I have been asked countless times over the... "Why do we read books of the Bible like Leviticus?  Isn't all of that obsolete and passé under the New Covenant?  Isn't it actually kind of primitive and pre-enlightened?  Wouldn't we be better to relegate study of such things to historians and theologians?"  Have you ever been asked that?  Have you ever asked that yourself?  One of the reasons that we are using the RMM reading plan instead of the "4 chapters a day, Genesis - Revelation" plan is because Leviticus is hard and it is dense and it is generally the place where everyone's Bible reading resolutions end up in the trash heap.  So why do we even bother? Let me start you off with two New Testament reasons: 1.        Because Jesus did not come to abolish the law. Jesus said in his Sermon on the Mount: 17"Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18"For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19"Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:17-19. NASB) It has become increasingly common in the Evangelical church over the last 20 years to hear people talk as though this verse is not in the Bible.  Pastors and preachers who give the impression overtly or covertly that the Old Testament is no longer God's Word need to pay very close attention to verse 19 of the this New Testament Scripture.  Jesus did not abolish or make obsolete the law or the torah, he came to fulfill it.  That is a totally different concept and it lies at the heart of why we read Leviticus. 2.       Because all Scripture is inspired and useful The Apostle Paul said: 16All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.  (2 Timothy 3:16-17. NKJV) When Paul said "all Scripture" he was not speaking about the New Testament - the New Testament hadn't even been written yet!  He was talking about the Old Testament.  He was talking about Psalms, Judges, Malachi, Isaiah and he was talking about Leviticus. So..... what are we supposed to learn in Leviticus?  Obviously this is not the place for a full length commentary on a book of the Bible, this is an e-blast not a sermon and not a treatise.  Let me say two things: 1.       The sacrificial system prepares us to understand the necessity and meaning of the cross. In your readings last week you heard the Apostle Paul say: 16So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, 17which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.  (Colossians 2:16-17. NKJV) A while back you read in Romans 5: 14Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.  (Romans 5:14. NKJV) The idea of "typology" is very important in Biblical thought.  Old Testament stories or characters or rituals are "types" or anticipations of things to come in fuller form in the time of Christ.  They are object lessons that were intended to prepare people to respond to Jesus Christ in faith.  Everytime people celebrated Passover and ate a lamb whose bones were not broken and remembered the wrath of God passing through their camp and falling on the first born but not falling on them because they were under the blood of the lamb they were being prepared by God to understand the cross.  In the cross even the wrath of God passes over all who are under the blood of the lamb and it falls instead on the first born.  The first born is not an Egyptian prince, as it was in the SHADOW or ANTICIPATION, in the SUBSTANCE of things, the fullness of things, it is the only begotten Son of God upon whom wrath falls.  Similarly in Leviticus we are being prepared to understand the cross.  We see a lamb come forward and we see the high priest put his hand upon him to TRANSFER the sins of the nation to the account of the substitutionary animal.  This prepares us for the crucial doctrines of imputation and substitution, without which we can never understand the Gospel.    As such, reading Leviticus provides us with all of the categories and frames of reference necessary to make sense of the cross. 2.       Even in Old Testament rituals that are fulfilled in the cross, valuable principles are embedded that must be retained. To say that a thread of typology is fulfilled in Jesus is not to say that those passages are now unnecessary.  The Book of Hebrews goes to great lengths to say that now that the sacrificial anticipation has been fulfilled  in Jesus Christ it is wrong to long for the return of the routine of animal slaughter.  We cannot go back to something once it has been fulfilled.  That is why we do not sacrifice goats in church (although it would be pretty  cool and there would be no shortage of volunteers!).  However, to say that something has been fulfilled is not to say it is no longer useful.  All Scripture is inspired and PROFITABLE.  These Old Testament shadows and types climax in the work of the cross but they retain many useful and profitable principles that apply today.  For example, just the other day a member of the church asked me about the washings that are so common in Leviticus.  Everybody is washing their hands before entering the tabernacle - what gives?  Well Jesus made it clear that ritual hand washing was a type - it was a thing that pointed us forward to Jesus, and that it is not fulfilled, and therefore no longer required.  Jesus was frequently criticised by the Pharisees for not requiring ritual washing of his disciples.  It was clear that Jesus did not enforce the type, but he did retain the principle.  He said in response: "Listen and understand: 11it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles." 12Then the disciples approached and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?"13He answered, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit." 15But Peter said to him, "Explain this parable to us." 16Then he said, "Are you also still without understanding?  17Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?18But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. 19For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander.  20These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile." (Matthew 15:10-20. NKJV) Jesus considered the usefulness of the type to have expired now that he was physically here and ushering in the new worship in Spirit and truth.  However, he was quick to retain the principle and his disciples did not miss the point.  Consider the Apostle Paul's careful use of the language and imagery in 2 Corinthians: 1Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.  (2 Corinthians 7:1. NKJV) Or consider John's teaching in 1 John 3: 1Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. (1 John 3:1-3. NKJV) Lastly, consider James' teaching in James 4: 8Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.  10Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.(James 4:8-10. NKJV) The point then is that just as in Leviticus, the closer you wish to draw near unto God, the more you needed to cleanse yourself seek purity though the means of grace he has appointed for you.  So we see that "fulfill" is very different than to "abolish" or make "obsolete".  Leviticus is fulfilled in Christ, it is not abolished or made unnecessary.  On the contrary, neglect of Leviticus leave us ignorant of the cross and in danger of lawlessness and impurity.  It remains true that drawing near to God requires "clean hands and a pure heart". Blessings,
Pastor Paul]]> WTTB FAQ Sun, 22 Apr 2012 16:44:00 -0400 http://www.firstbaptistorillia.org/pastors_blog/blog_post/article/together-for-the-gospel/index.php Hi friends, Pastor Paul here. Last week I had the privilege of travelling to Louisville for... www.tg4.org  The first link will take you to the best missions sermon I have ever heard.  There were 8000 pastors (pastors and wives I should say) listening to this message and you could have heard a pin drop throughout.  The Spirit of God was on it, no doubt about it.  The second link will take you to a message by the fellow I mentioned a few weeks ago as one of my "distance mentors", a pastor and theologian named Ligon Duncan.  He preaches one of the best messages I have ever heard on the character of God as revealed in the story of Elijah.  I share these two suggestions by way of thanks for your gracious gift of this time of refreshment to me.  May you be blessed as I was. http://t4g.org/media/2012/04/divine-sovereignty-the-fuel-of-death-defying-missions-2/ http://t4g.org/media/2012/04/the-underestimated-god-gods-ruthless-compassionate-grace-in-the-pursuit-of-his-own-glory-and-his-ministers-joy/  Thanks again,]]> General Theology Thu, 19 Apr 2012 22:38:00 -0400 http://www.firstbaptistorillia.org/pastors_blog/blog_post/article/family-devotions/index.php QUESTION: This question has been slightly altered to obscure the identity of the asker and to... QUESTION: This question has been slightly altered to obscure the identity of the asker and to reflect other similar questions I have received from other people. It will be likely be useful only to parents of younger children. "Hi Pastor Paul, we are enjoying the Walk Through The Bible Journey and want to teach the Bible to our kids but are not sure how to do that. You mentioned Family Devotions in your last sermon and that reminded us that we need to get going with this in our home. Can you give us a sense of what this looks like in your house? Our oldest is 4 years old, is this the right age to start? Thanks!" ANSWER: I am so glad you are thinking about this already - some people wait way too late. Four years old is about the right time to really begin a Family Devotional routine. Every family faces different challenges, for me the issue is age disparity. I have a 3.5 year old, a 7 year old, a 9 year old and a 14 year old all around the same table. Obviously they all think and learn differently. The key is not to let our challenges become our excuses. With a 4 year old I would focus on key stories (Creation, Fall, Flood, Abraham, Joseph, Moses/Exodus, Joshua, Samuel, David, sin, collapse, judgement, hope...... JESUS!) and key verses for memorization. If you do Family Devotions twice a week (with bedtime prayers and short readings thrown in as appropriate) you could be 2 years just covering those big narrative rocks. The key when doing this is to tell the story and drive home the point. So for example, when telling the flood story make sure that you do not edit out all meaning. The point of the story is that sin is very serious because God is Holy and he does not tolerate sin. If people persist in sin, eventually God's anger bursts forth against them and he destroys them and starts over with a faithful few. Even in the midst of anger and punishment God is gracious and is working out the salvation of those who fear him and take him at his Word. That's the point, make sure your children's version of the story does not eviscerate that. It can also be very helpful to use songs when teaching kids. Anytime I know a little song that relates to the story I try and sing it and teach it. There is a DVD called "Bible Action Songs" that we have used to great profit in our house, not sure if it is still available. It has great songs like "Father Abraham", "Only A Boy Named David" etc. Family Devotions at our home go for about an hour and include readings, memory work, trivia and recitation. We have also started some quizzing with the new Children's Catechism that Liz has produced - it is excellent! Peyton usually only participates in the readings and memory work and sometimes only parts of that. SL has her in and out as appropriate. Mikayla (age 7) is in for the old shebang. Madison (14) has her own private devotional routine and Max has started doing some extra work with me on Saturday mornings. For your home having only one 4 year old, I would think 15 -20 minutes would be appropriate. Hope that helps! ]]> WTTB FAQ Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:44:00 -0400 http://www.firstbaptistorillia.org/pastors_blog/blog_post/article/chapter-6-question-3/index.php Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God QUESTION 3:  (Follow up from question 2).  What if you become a Christian but your husband doesn't?  It is really hard to follow the Lord and to have the kind of exclusive loyalty to Jesus that you are talking about if you are married to someone who doesn't care for such things and thinks you are a fanatical crazy person.  I've been in this scenario for years and it is killing me.  What does the Bible say about that?  If I divorce my husband to follow Jesus, is that a contradiction?  Have I sinned in order to obey?  Help! ANSWER: I want to handle this very carefully.  Let's begin with the general teaching of Jesus on divorce. In Matthew 19 it says: 3The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?" 4And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' 5and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? 6So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."7They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?"8He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."  (Matthew 19:2-9. NKJV) In Jesus day, the religious authorities taught that a man could divorce his wife FOR ANY REASON.  It was a time of cheap divorce and a very casual approach towards marriage.  Jesus said that if you divorce your spouse FOR ANY REASON (meaning for a silly or frivolous or non-serious reason) you are effectively committing adultery when you re-marry because God does not affirm the legality of your divorce.  He sees you as still married and therefore ineligible for remarriage.  Jesus here teaches that a marriage is sacred and is not to be severed cheaply.  In the case of sexual betrayal divorce becomes PERMISSIBLE - though not required.  Many Christian couples have rebounded from sexual betrayal but in some cases, particularly when the betraying party is unrepentant, divorce is the appropriate, through tragic approach.  In such cases the wronged party is FREE TO REMARRY.  Sexual betrayal needs to be defined more broadly then simply `cheating`  as the Greek word por-ni-ah means more than that.  It is the word from which we get our pornography and better might be translated `sexual betrayal` `sexual deviance`.  Thus sexual abuse would potentially qualify.  In any such case, the person leaving the marriage, or being sent out, would get the certificate of divorce so that they could remarry. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit the Apostolic community extended this permission to one other case.  (Remember Jesus gave to his apostles the freedom to bind and loose which means to apply with authority).  We see this in 1 Corinthians 7: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. 13And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. 14For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. 15But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us to peace. 16For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife? (1 Corinthians 7:12-16. NKJV) In the first century, as now, it was very common for a woman to come to Christ first, often to the displeasure of her husband.  So a Jewish or Roman husband may find himself with a Christian wife and all the problems that may come to mean.  For a Roman husband it could mean the loss of his guild status, for the Jewish husband it could mean being put out of the synagogue.  The problem was less severe in the case where a man came to Christ first simply because it was the custom in those days for the wife and children to adopt automatically the religion of the husband.  Anyway, the question became, what do we do with these wives who've been put away?  The answer was that if the husband would let her stay on then she was to try and win him over with her meekness and improved character: 1Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, 2when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear.   (1 Peter 3:1. NKJV) If the husband did not want her to stay on, if he ABANDONED her or put her away, then she was free to divorce him and remarry a believer.  That is what is meant by "a sister is not under bondage in such cases".  So, to summarize, divorce is clearly acceptable for Christians in two cases: 1.     In a case where the other partner persists without repentance or rehabilitation in adultery and or sexual deviance. 2.     When the believing partner is put off or abandoned by the unbelieving partner. In your particular case it doesn't sound like your husband is unwilling to live with you, rather it sounds like you might prefer to live without him.  In such a situation I would suggest you have two options: 1.     Stay in the marriage and attempt to win your husband over with your renewed character. 2.     Separate from your husband without pursuing divorce. I would strongly recommend that you pursue option one.  Many people have come to Christ in equally difficult situations and have won over their husbands by their gentle spirits, renovated character and patient prayerfulness.  You can too, by God's grace.  Being married to an unbeliever does not mean that you are divided in your devotion to Christ.  Obey your husband unless he commands you to disobey Jesus.  Peter and John said much the same to the Sanhedrin when commanded by them not to preach: 29But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men.   (Acts 5:29. ESV) Peter and John submitted to the authority of the Sanhedrin up until they were commanded to disobey a clear command of Jesus.  It was only then that they had to make a choice.  I would suggest that unless your husband commands you to do something that is CLEARLY a violation of Biblical law that you steadfastly pursue option one by the power of the Holy Spirit.  God bless you as you do.]]> The Narrow Way Wed, 18 Apr 2012 14:49:00 -0400 http://www.firstbaptistorillia.org/pastors_blog/blog_post/article/chapter-8-question-1/index.php Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God QUESTION 1:  If its true what you say about Christians ruling and reigning with Christ in heaven, who are we reigning over?  Won't everybody be a Christian?  Won't we all be equal?  How will that work ANSWER: Maybe the best way to handle that would be to unpack Revelation 20 a little bit.  Verse 4 and following says: 4And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.  So here we have the coming to life - the RESURECTION of martyrs, the witnesses, those who did not worship the beast and they reign with Jesus for a thousand years.  The rest of the dead, meaning unbelievers, those who DID worship the beast, they are not resurrected until after the thousand years.  This is the first resurrection. 6Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. We recall that this was the promise stated in Revelation 1: To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,   6and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.  (Revelation 1:5-6. NKJV)  When we are saved by Christ we are made kings and priests and we begin to serve in that capacity even now in the church age, but here we see this perfectly and ultimately in the Millennial Age.  The question asked though is: "Who are they ruling over?"  Well for that we have to go back to Revelation 19 and the description of the last battle and the second coming of Jesus Christ.  Revelation 19:19 and following says: 19And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. 20Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.  The battle is not described at length, it is merely said that people gathered together, they marched, he marched and WHAM!  It was over and it is now time to divvy up the spoils and deal with the captives.  In chapter 17-18 we saw the fall of the whore, now we see the fall of the beast - God hating, God opposing government and also the false prophet who worked counterfeit wonders to deceive people into worshipping the beast - false science, false religion, godless materialist philosophy.  It all collapses, is judged and cast down.  System and incarnation - government and anti-Christ, religion and prophet are cast alive into the Lake of Fire. 21And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.  (Revelation 19:11-21. NKJV) The rest are generally understood as the rest of those gathered to make war, not necessarily the rest of the people on the earth.  Most of the passages that deal with the last battle and introduce the eternal Messianic Kingdom then move on to a description of iron righteous rule, as indeed this one does, so the assumption is that there are people left on the earth at this time who are not cast into the Lake of Fire.  These people bow the knee and acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord over all and walk alive into the Millennial Kingdom.  This is the fulfilment of all the promises in the Bible that seem to talk of a righteous rule of the Messiah on the earth that is ideal yet short of the promises of eternity.  For example Isaiah 65 says: No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days,for the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed. 21 They shall build houses and inhabit them;    they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 They shall not build and another inhabit;    they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord, and their descendants with them. 24Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear.  25The wolf and the lamb shall graze together;  the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent's food.  They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain," says the Lord.  (Isaiah 65:20-25. ESV) The earth will experience the perfect rule of Jesus and we will be rulers under his authority restoring the earth to its original design and intention.  This state of affaires seems to continue on into eternity.  Many people are surprised to discover that there is human leadership in the eternal kingdom under the overall dominion of Jesus Christ, but the Scripture clearly teaches this.   22And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25and its gates will never be shut by day-and there will be no night there. 26They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.   (Revelation 21:22-26. ESV) In the eternal kingdom, after the new heavens and the new earth are unveiled, there are still nations and there are still kings.  Human leadership will be a part of our experience of eternity!  Of course it will be renewed and restored leadership, just like everything else, but it will be there.  It begins in the Millennial Age and it continues into all eternity.  Truly the peacemakers shall be sons of God and will share in his rule.  If you endure, you will reign.]]> The Narrow Way Wed, 18 Apr 2012 14:31:00 -0400