Blog https://www.versebyverseradio.org Thu, 28 Mar 2024 07:47:19 -0400 http://churchplantmedia.com/ Essentials for Christian Growth – Part 1 (October 26, 2010) https://www.versebyverseradio.org/blog/post/essentials-for-christian-growth---part-1 https://www.versebyverseradio.org/blog/post/essentials-for-christian-growth---part-1#comments Mon, 07 Feb 2022 15:00:00 -0500 https://www.versebyverseradio.org/blog/post/essentials-for-christian-growth---part-1 The birth of our firstborn child was an exciting time.  His birth opened up a new world to us, as this little infant became an integral part of our lives. Before long, the novelty wore off as it became obvious that it was necessary to settle down into a daily routine—taking care of this infant to ensure he grew up properly.

What’s true in the physical realm is also true in the spiritual realm.  When a person receives eternal life, he receives Jesus Christ as his personal Savior and Lord.  It is a thrilling time; you are a new person in Christ and you have been born into God’s eternal family. Eventually, like the physical child born into a physical family, things settle down and the work goes into nurturing that infant. You also need to be nurtured and grow in the Lord. As part of God’s eternal family, it’s His responsibility to help you grow and provide the means for your growth. God has provided several means for spiritual growth.

We want to look at the first means of spiritual growth. Food is an essential need in our lives.  We can’t grow without food.  You would starve to death without food, and God has provided His food.  His food is the Bible.  It is the living Word of God and we want to look at the spiritual food He has provided for our growth. 1 Peter 1:23 tells us that the Word of God brought us into His family and it is the Word of God that is used by the Lord to help us grow. Peter writes, “For you have been born again, not of seed which is perishable, but imperishable, that is through the living and abiding word of God.” When the Word of God came to you, you believed the message of the Gospel and you were saved.  You became a part of God’s family when you were born again.

1 Peter 2:2 states, “Like newborn babes long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.” Just as newborn babes long for milk, Christians long for the pure milk of the Word of God.  We’ve been born again by the Word, and now we are to desire this Word as the means by which we grow.  That’s why Peter said, “if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.”  If you have been saved, if you have understood the grace of God that salvation is free, then you have understood it by the Word of God and you are to grow by that same Word.

Why is the Bible important to our growth?  Simply because it is the Word of God.  When we say that, we mean exactly that: It is the word— the words that come from God Himself.  2 Timothy 3:16 says “All Scripture is inspired by God and it is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.” This classic verse tells us that the Bible is the word of God.

The word “inspired” is literally “God breathed out.”  In other words, every word in the Bible from Genesis through Revelation, comes from God—the very source of the Bible,

The apostle Paul says that not only are these God’s words, he also said God’s words are profitable.  Why is the Bible profitable?  The Bible teaches us what God wants us to know about Him, about living and about life.  It teaches us the truth that we need to know.  Additionally, the Bible states it is profitable for correction.  It reveals to us when we’re in sin the Bible rebukes us for sin and gets us back on the path of right living  Finally, the Bible is profitable for training in righteousness.  It not only gets us back on the path, it tells us how to stay on the path.  It instructs us in living a life that pleases the Lord Jesus Christ.  Paul says that the Bible is the spiritual nourishment we need to grow up to become more like the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

The health and success of your Christian life depends entirely on what you do with your Bible.  If you neglect it, you will stagnate in your spiritual growth.  However if you get into the Bible, if you open and study your Bible and dig into God’s word, you’ll become spiritually strong which will lead to growth in the Lord.  You’ll get to know Jesus Christ in a way you did not realize was possible.  Your faith will increase and your life will be blessed.  A Christian who regularly studies the Bible knows and experiences not only the joy of the Lord, but also knows the comfort of the Lord in times of trouble. The importance of the Bible cannot be underestimated.

So how do we get into the Bible?  How do we study it so that it makes sense?  How do we get into the Bible in such a way that the Bible gets into us, and gets a hold of our lives and changes it for the better?  To start, I want to talk about preparation for Bible study—because we don’t just come to the Bible and study it.  We must have prepared hearts to study God’s Word.  You must have the right attitude when you approach the Bible, so let’s look at the preparation, or the right attitudes, for Bible study.

First, you need purity of life. This is not to be confused with perfection, but rather the active pursuit of purity in your life. What would pursuing purity look like?  I like 1 Peter 2:2  where he states, “Like newborn babes long for the pure milk of the word that by it you may grow in respect to salvation”. How do we obtain an intense, heartfelt desire to study the Bible? 1 Peter 2:1 tells us how by stating “Therefore, putting aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisy, and envy, and all slander.” When there’s sin in your life that you refuse to confess—poor attitudes towards other people, lack of forgiveness, malice, and hatred; if you refuse to confess sin and let God to deal with, then you won’t have a desire for the Word of God.  What keeps many Christians from a desire for reading and studying the Word of God, is they refuse to let God deal with the sin in their lives.  But when you confess sin, when you forgive people, when you have the purity of heart and attitude, then the desire comes.  If there isn’t a desire, you need to go back and find out what sin is hindering that desire. This is what is meant by having purity of life.

We also need humble dependency upon the Lord to teach us.  We don’t come to the Bible believing we are totally capable of understanding everything.  We come to God’s Word with a humble dependency upon the Author of this Book, the God of the Bible.  This means that we need to pray for understanding and trust the Lord to open up His Word. The psalmist put it well in Psalm 119:18, when he said “Open my eyes that I may behold wonderful things from Thy Law.” He said, “Lord, open my eyes.”  He didn’t mean physically open his eyes rather spiritually—“Give me insight into the Word of God,” and that’s what we need to do.  When you come to the Bible, pray for understanding, and God will provide.  The Bible teaches that when we receive Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit comes into our hearts.  He is God the Holy Spirit and one of the things that the Spirit of God does is teach Scripture.  That is, when we hear the truth, He affirms it in our heart and confirms it.  He makes His point with an inner conviction in our spirit.  We need to depend upon the Lord, and God will answer our prayers and teach us the Word of God.

In addition to preparation, we need a desire to obey.  This is important because we don’t study the Bible to gain mere facts or satisfy curiosity.  We study the Bible to learn what Jesus Christ wants us to do.  The Bible wasn’t given to fill our heads with knowledge rather it was given to help us express our love and obedience to Jesus Christ. Jesus said in John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” How do we know His commandments unless we get into the Bible?  These days, God doesn’t speak to us any other way except through the Bible.  Long ago God spoke through dreams, visions, prophets and other ways.  Today, the Bible says God speaks to us through His Son, and the message of His Son is found in the New Testament.  We must have the attitude of not trying to gain knowledge, but to learn what God wants us to do so that we might express our love for Jesus Christ and obey Him.  Jesus said in Luke 6:46, “Why do you call Me Lord and don’t do the things I say?”  What a strong, significant question this is—why do we call Him Lord if we’re not going to obey Him?  To do so is hypocrisy. Come to the Bible with the attitude of “I will obey before I know what He wants me to do.”  My attitude is: “I submit to the authority of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Bible.”

Once you’ve prepared yourself to study God’s Word, then you’re ready to approach the Bible.  So let’s look at the principles of Bible study: We’ve prepared our hearts for Bible study and now we can examine the principles of Bible study.

Many think the Bible is a closed book and therefore think it’s difficult to understand.  I’ve had people say, “I can’t possibly understand the Bible,” but that’s not true.  The Bible isn’t a difficult Book to understand.  It just takes some disciplined effort and some common sense.  Often, the reason we don’t understand the Bible is because we’re too lazy to get into the Bible and study it.  I would suggest that you start by reading one book of the Bible and a good place to begin is the gospel of John.  The gospel of John is a great book because it clearly presents Jesus Christ as God in flesh.  Avoid starting off with a complicated book like Revelation.  People approach me and say, “I’ve just come to know the Lord and I’m ready to study Revelation.”  New Christians are not ready to study a complex book such as Revelation therefore,  it’s best to start with a different book.  Study Revelation in the future, but for now stick with a basic book like the gospel of John or the gospel of Mark or one of the epistles such as Romans or Galatians.

The Gospel of John is a great place to begin to learn how to study the Bible systematically.  Don’t pick it up one day and read a verse, then pick it up another day and read another verse in another place.  Read it through and through, from beginning to end.  Also, set aside a definite time for your Bible reading; a time during the day that you can be alone in a quiet place where there are no interruptions.  Read on a regular basis, preferably daily.  Read a little each day.  Don’t burden yourself, by insisting you must read for an hour.  Start with ten minutes each day or whatever fits your schedule.  Read a little each day, and while you read, ask specific questions. Answering questions while are reading is how we should approach Bible study. Here are some excellent questions to ask:

First, you ought to ask, “Who is the author writing to?”  That is, is he writing to unbelievers or is he writing to Christ’s disciples?  Knowing who the author is writing to, makes a difference in understanding.  The next question would be to ask is “Who is speaking?”  Is it God, man, Satan or an angel who is talking?  Find out who is doing the talking and who is the person talking to?  Then ask, “What is he saying?”  Is the speaker encouraging those he is speaking to or is he rebuking them? Is he giving promises for the future or is he warning of danger?  Perhaps the speaker is sharing something about himself?  Maybe the speaker is giving a command to follow. Always ask yourself what the speaker is saying.

As you read, you should also ask, “Why is he saying what he is saying?  What are the reasons he is speaking?  What’s the purpose of saying what he is saying?  Have they done something wrong or have they done something right?  Is it an encouragement or rebuke?  What is going on?  What’s the situation?

Then ask, “When is he saying that?”  What I mean by this is: what’s taken place, or about to take place?  What is the local situation?  When is it happening?  Is it happening before some important event?  Is it happening after some significant holy day?  Try to determine the timeframe of when a person speaks.

Additionally, ask “How does he say what he says?” Does he say it by parables, figures of speech, or literal language?  In other words, find out how the speaker is communicating his message?  One should also ask, “Where is he speaking?” In other words, from what location is he speaking?  Is he speaking in a field, in the temple, in a room or in a garden?  Where?—Is the Lord Jesus on the Cross? Determine where the speaker speaking from.

John 14 demonstrates the importance of these questions.  John 14 is a precious passage in the Word of God.  When you do Bible study, write these things down to remember so write it in your Bible or a notebook.  In this case, my first question would be: Who’s speaking?  It’s Jesus who’s speaking.  Who is He speaking to?  He’s speaking to His disciples, the believers.  What is He saying?  He’s giving a message of encouragement and promise.  Why is He saying what He is saying?  He’s about to be crucified and then resurrected and return to His Father, and He knows that it won’t be easy for His disciples while He’s gone and that’s why He’s saying what He’s saying—a message of encouragement and promise.  When did He speak this?  He said it a few hours before his arrest.  How did He give His message?  He gave it in literal language—straightforward truth.  (It’s interesting that while it’s straight forward, it’s not always clear.  It’s clear now because we understand what He was saying after reading other portions of Scripture, but it wasn’t clear to the disciples, even though it was literal and straightforward.  They needed the Holy Spirit to teach them more truth.)  Where was He when He gave this message?  He was in an upper room in the city of Jerusalem. We’ve gone through John 14 to demonstrate how important it is to ask questions because asking questions opens up the Bible.

Another principle to apply when studying the Bible is to study the verse or passage in context.  The “context” means “its setting.”  The verses before and after the passage you are reading affect the meaning of the verses in between.  Not reading in context makes it impossible to interpret the Bible any way you want.  I know of people who pull a verse here and there, and make the Bible mean anything they want. For instance, Matthew 27:5 reads “He went away and hanged himself.”  Since we don’t know what the context is, the correct meaning is lacking. Then you say, “That doesn’t seem right, so I’ll turn to another passage Scripture, and I’ll just pull out Luke 10:37.”  Luke 10:37 says, “Go and do thou likewise.” Then you would say, “Well, that doesn’t make sense.  He hung himself and now I must go and do likewise?  Since this makes no sense, the search for sense continues by turning to John 13:27 which reads, “What thou doest, do quickly.” Anyone can see the absurdity of taking a Bible verse out of context.  Avoid this error by learning what the theme of the book is, which is revealed as you read the book.  As you read John’s gospel, you’ll see the theme is the deity of Christ.  Then you see the theme of the chapter by reading it.  It is common sense, so it will become clear to you as you will see patterns repeated again and again.  Never take a verse or a passage and isolate it.  Nobody likes to be quoted out of context and God is no exception; so don’t quote God out of context.  See His word in its proper setting, and it’ll begin to make sense.  Most of the problems people have with understanding the Bible is because they will not see it in its context.

Another excellent Bible study principle is to interpret the Bible in the normal sense of language.  This is significant and important because the Bible is a piece of literature.  It is divine literature, but it is also literature, and we need to remember that.  The Bible should be read as any piece of literature is read; that means you take it literally, at face value, unless it becomes obvious by its context that you ought to interpret it in another way, such as a figure of speech: a hyperbole, a simile, a metaphor.  But you only do that when the context makes it obvious.  For instance, Jesus said, I am the door. Obviously, He didn’t mean He was a literal door rather He meant that He functions as a door.  Applying normal language to literature is common, plain sense.  Look for the plain, obvious meaning rather than some deep, symbolic meaning.

Moreover, I will say that the Bible will not say one thing to you and another thing to me.  I’ve had people say that to me.  “Well, the Bible says this to me or this is what it means to me.”  A good question to pose to a person who makes such a statement is to ask, “What if you weren’t alive, then what would it mean?”  It’s really not important to say it means something to you and something else to me.  God has one meaning in His Word for a passage or a verse.  There may be different applications to our lives, but He means only one thing, so take the statements as they are presented.  It has been said that “When the plain sense makes good sense, let’s be careful not to make it nonsense.”  Take the Bible’s obvious meaning and don’t look for the sensational or hidden message because it’s not there.  God wants you to understand His Word not play games, which means He wants to earnestly communicate to you.  God is reasonable and wants us to understand His Word, so He gave it to us the only way we could understand it—by using the normal laws of language. If it means one thing to this person and something else to that person, then nobody can be certain what God means.  Once the Bible is open to subjectivity we lose ourselves in the sea of our own understanding rather than God’s clear communication.

Finally, if you don’t understand something in the Bible, don’t be discouraged.  There are many things in the Bible that are difficult to understand. I encourage you to live by what you do understand, and trust the Lord to give you light on the obscure passages—in His own time.  Don’t fret over what you don’t know; rather actively obey what you do know.

In summary, we’ve looked at preparation—have your heart right before the Lord.  Next, we examined the principles of Bible study, and finally we are to engage in practicing the Bible.  Practicing the Bible is often left out when people try to understand the Bible. Practicing the Bible is an important element of Bible study because after you read the Bible and study it, you must obey its message and apply what you’ve read to your own life.

James 1:22 tells us, “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, who deceive themselves.” This means don’t merely read what the Bible says, but put it into practice.  Don’t go away from the Bible saying, “Isn’t that interesting?” rather, God says to apply it!  Ask, “What does the Lord want me to do?” or “What does the Lord want me to start or stop doing?  Is there something I’m doing that’s wrong?  Is there something I’m not doing that I ought to be doing?  Maybe there’s something I’m doing but I ought to do more often and more consistently?”  This is the application of God’s word, and only God can apply it to your heart.  To apply it to your life,  ask the questions and be sensitive.  You’ve got to want the Bible to get a hold of your life and change it for God’s glory.  This is why the apostle Paul told Timothy that the Bible is profitable in 2 Timothy 3:16 because the Bible affects our lives in every situation of life.

One Bible teacher said this: “Nothing darkens the mind like disobedience.  To obey a truth prepares you to see other truths.  To disobey a truth, darkens your mind to all truths.”

When you study the Bible, it is important that you obey every truth that God begins to apply to your life.  Maybe you’re asking yourself, “But what about the days I don’t feel like studying the Bible?”  There will be days where you have no desire to study the Bible. Everybody has days where you just don’t feel like picking up your Bible to read or study.  What do you do then?  You read and study it anyway.  When I was a young child and I was sick, my Mom used to come to me and tell me that I had to eat.  And I’d say, “But I don’t feel like eating.”  And she’d say, “But you must eat, even if you don’t feel like it because you need this food to strengthen you, to nourish you so you can be strong again.”  Whether you feel like it or not is not the issue; the issue is you need food for strength.

With the Bible, the same truth applies: The Bible is spiritual food from God, and as our Heavenly Father, He comes to us and He says, “Look, you need it.  Whether you feel like it or not, you need it to be nourished so that you can grow strong in the Lord.”

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The birth of our firstborn child was an exciting time.  His birth opened up a new world to us, as this little infant became an integral part of our lives. Before long, the novelty wore off as it became obvious that it was necessary to settle down into a daily routine—taking care of this infant to ensure he grew up properly.

What’s true in the physical realm is also true in the spiritual realm.  When a person receives eternal life, he receives Jesus Christ as his personal Savior and Lord.  It is a thrilling time; you are a new person in Christ and you have been born into God’s eternal family. Eventually, like the physical child born into a physical family, things settle down and the work goes into nurturing that infant. You also need to be nurtured and grow in the Lord. As part of God’s eternal family, it’s His responsibility to help you grow and provide the means for your growth. God has provided several means for spiritual growth.

We want to look at the first means of spiritual growth. Food is an essential need in our lives.  We can’t grow without food.  You would starve to death without food, and God has provided His food.  His food is the Bible.  It is the living Word of God and we want to look at the spiritual food He has provided for our growth. 1 Peter 1:23 tells us that the Word of God brought us into His family and it is the Word of God that is used by the Lord to help us grow. Peter writes, “For you have been born again, not of seed which is perishable, but imperishable, that is through the living and abiding word of God.” When the Word of God came to you, you believed the message of the Gospel and you were saved.  You became a part of God’s family when you were born again.

1 Peter 2:2 states, “Like newborn babes long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.” Just as newborn babes long for milk, Christians long for the pure milk of the Word of God.  We’ve been born again by the Word, and now we are to desire this Word as the means by which we grow.  That’s why Peter said, “if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.”  If you have been saved, if you have understood the grace of God that salvation is free, then you have understood it by the Word of God and you are to grow by that same Word.

Why is the Bible important to our growth?  Simply because it is the Word of God.  When we say that, we mean exactly that: It is the word— the words that come from God Himself.  2 Timothy 3:16 says “All Scripture is inspired by God and it is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.” This classic verse tells us that the Bible is the word of God.

The word “inspired” is literally “God breathed out.”  In other words, every word in the Bible from Genesis through Revelation, comes from God—the very source of the Bible,

The apostle Paul says that not only are these God’s words, he also said God’s words are profitable.  Why is the Bible profitable?  The Bible teaches us what God wants us to know about Him, about living and about life.  It teaches us the truth that we need to know.  Additionally, the Bible states it is profitable for correction.  It reveals to us when we’re in sin the Bible rebukes us for sin and gets us back on the path of right living  Finally, the Bible is profitable for training in righteousness.  It not only gets us back on the path, it tells us how to stay on the path.  It instructs us in living a life that pleases the Lord Jesus Christ.  Paul says that the Bible is the spiritual nourishment we need to grow up to become more like the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

The health and success of your Christian life depends entirely on what you do with your Bible.  If you neglect it, you will stagnate in your spiritual growth.  However if you get into the Bible, if you open and study your Bible and dig into God’s word, you’ll become spiritually strong which will lead to growth in the Lord.  You’ll get to know Jesus Christ in a way you did not realize was possible.  Your faith will increase and your life will be blessed.  A Christian who regularly studies the Bible knows and experiences not only the joy of the Lord, but also knows the comfort of the Lord in times of trouble. The importance of the Bible cannot be underestimated.

So how do we get into the Bible?  How do we study it so that it makes sense?  How do we get into the Bible in such a way that the Bible gets into us, and gets a hold of our lives and changes it for the better?  To start, I want to talk about preparation for Bible study—because we don’t just come to the Bible and study it.  We must have prepared hearts to study God’s Word.  You must have the right attitude when you approach the Bible, so let’s look at the preparation, or the right attitudes, for Bible study.

First, you need purity of life. This is not to be confused with perfection, but rather the active pursuit of purity in your life. What would pursuing purity look like?  I like 1 Peter 2:2  where he states, “Like newborn babes long for the pure milk of the word that by it you may grow in respect to salvation”. How do we obtain an intense, heartfelt desire to study the Bible? 1 Peter 2:1 tells us how by stating “Therefore, putting aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisy, and envy, and all slander.” When there’s sin in your life that you refuse to confess—poor attitudes towards other people, lack of forgiveness, malice, and hatred; if you refuse to confess sin and let God to deal with, then you won’t have a desire for the Word of God.  What keeps many Christians from a desire for reading and studying the Word of God, is they refuse to let God deal with the sin in their lives.  But when you confess sin, when you forgive people, when you have the purity of heart and attitude, then the desire comes.  If there isn’t a desire, you need to go back and find out what sin is hindering that desire. This is what is meant by having purity of life.

We also need humble dependency upon the Lord to teach us.  We don’t come to the Bible believing we are totally capable of understanding everything.  We come to God’s Word with a humble dependency upon the Author of this Book, the God of the Bible.  This means that we need to pray for understanding and trust the Lord to open up His Word. The psalmist put it well in Psalm 119:18, when he said “Open my eyes that I may behold wonderful things from Thy Law.” He said, “Lord, open my eyes.”  He didn’t mean physically open his eyes rather spiritually—“Give me insight into the Word of God,” and that’s what we need to do.  When you come to the Bible, pray for understanding, and God will provide.  The Bible teaches that when we receive Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit comes into our hearts.  He is God the Holy Spirit and one of the things that the Spirit of God does is teach Scripture.  That is, when we hear the truth, He affirms it in our heart and confirms it.  He makes His point with an inner conviction in our spirit.  We need to depend upon the Lord, and God will answer our prayers and teach us the Word of God.

In addition to preparation, we need a desire to obey.  This is important because we don’t study the Bible to gain mere facts or satisfy curiosity.  We study the Bible to learn what Jesus Christ wants us to do.  The Bible wasn’t given to fill our heads with knowledge rather it was given to help us express our love and obedience to Jesus Christ. Jesus said in John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” How do we know His commandments unless we get into the Bible?  These days, God doesn’t speak to us any other way except through the Bible.  Long ago God spoke through dreams, visions, prophets and other ways.  Today, the Bible says God speaks to us through His Son, and the message of His Son is found in the New Testament.  We must have the attitude of not trying to gain knowledge, but to learn what God wants us to do so that we might express our love for Jesus Christ and obey Him.  Jesus said in Luke 6:46, “Why do you call Me Lord and don’t do the things I say?”  What a strong, significant question this is—why do we call Him Lord if we’re not going to obey Him?  To do so is hypocrisy. Come to the Bible with the attitude of “I will obey before I know what He wants me to do.”  My attitude is: “I submit to the authority of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Bible.”

Once you’ve prepared yourself to study God’s Word, then you’re ready to approach the Bible.  So let’s look at the principles of Bible study: We’ve prepared our hearts for Bible study and now we can examine the principles of Bible study.

Many think the Bible is a closed book and therefore think it’s difficult to understand.  I’ve had people say, “I can’t possibly understand the Bible,” but that’s not true.  The Bible isn’t a difficult Book to understand.  It just takes some disciplined effort and some common sense.  Often, the reason we don’t understand the Bible is because we’re too lazy to get into the Bible and study it.  I would suggest that you start by reading one book of the Bible and a good place to begin is the gospel of John.  The gospel of John is a great book because it clearly presents Jesus Christ as God in flesh.  Avoid starting off with a complicated book like Revelation.  People approach me and say, “I’ve just come to know the Lord and I’m ready to study Revelation.”  New Christians are not ready to study a complex book such as Revelation therefore,  it’s best to start with a different book.  Study Revelation in the future, but for now stick with a basic book like the gospel of John or the gospel of Mark or one of the epistles such as Romans or Galatians.

The Gospel of John is a great place to begin to learn how to study the Bible systematically.  Don’t pick it up one day and read a verse, then pick it up another day and read another verse in another place.  Read it through and through, from beginning to end.  Also, set aside a definite time for your Bible reading; a time during the day that you can be alone in a quiet place where there are no interruptions.  Read on a regular basis, preferably daily.  Read a little each day.  Don’t burden yourself, by insisting you must read for an hour.  Start with ten minutes each day or whatever fits your schedule.  Read a little each day, and while you read, ask specific questions. Answering questions while are reading is how we should approach Bible study. Here are some excellent questions to ask:

First, you ought to ask, “Who is the author writing to?”  That is, is he writing to unbelievers or is he writing to Christ’s disciples?  Knowing who the author is writing to, makes a difference in understanding.  The next question would be to ask is “Who is speaking?”  Is it God, man, Satan or an angel who is talking?  Find out who is doing the talking and who is the person talking to?  Then ask, “What is he saying?”  Is the speaker encouraging those he is speaking to or is he rebuking them? Is he giving promises for the future or is he warning of danger?  Perhaps the speaker is sharing something about himself?  Maybe the speaker is giving a command to follow. Always ask yourself what the speaker is saying.

As you read, you should also ask, “Why is he saying what he is saying?  What are the reasons he is speaking?  What’s the purpose of saying what he is saying?  Have they done something wrong or have they done something right?  Is it an encouragement or rebuke?  What is going on?  What’s the situation?

Then ask, “When is he saying that?”  What I mean by this is: what’s taken place, or about to take place?  What is the local situation?  When is it happening?  Is it happening before some important event?  Is it happening after some significant holy day?  Try to determine the timeframe of when a person speaks.

Additionally, ask “How does he say what he says?” Does he say it by parables, figures of speech, or literal language?  In other words, find out how the speaker is communicating his message?  One should also ask, “Where is he speaking?” In other words, from what location is he speaking?  Is he speaking in a field, in the temple, in a room or in a garden?  Where?—Is the Lord Jesus on the Cross? Determine where the speaker speaking from.

John 14 demonstrates the importance of these questions.  John 14 is a precious passage in the Word of God.  When you do Bible study, write these things down to remember so write it in your Bible or a notebook.  In this case, my first question would be: Who’s speaking?  It’s Jesus who’s speaking.  Who is He speaking to?  He’s speaking to His disciples, the believers.  What is He saying?  He’s giving a message of encouragement and promise.  Why is He saying what He is saying?  He’s about to be crucified and then resurrected and return to His Father, and He knows that it won’t be easy for His disciples while He’s gone and that’s why He’s saying what He’s saying—a message of encouragement and promise.  When did He speak this?  He said it a few hours before his arrest.  How did He give His message?  He gave it in literal language—straightforward truth.  (It’s interesting that while it’s straight forward, it’s not always clear.  It’s clear now because we understand what He was saying after reading other portions of Scripture, but it wasn’t clear to the disciples, even though it was literal and straightforward.  They needed the Holy Spirit to teach them more truth.)  Where was He when He gave this message?  He was in an upper room in the city of Jerusalem. We’ve gone through John 14 to demonstrate how important it is to ask questions because asking questions opens up the Bible.

Another principle to apply when studying the Bible is to study the verse or passage in context.  The “context” means “its setting.”  The verses before and after the passage you are reading affect the meaning of the verses in between.  Not reading in context makes it impossible to interpret the Bible any way you want.  I know of people who pull a verse here and there, and make the Bible mean anything they want. For instance, Matthew 27:5 reads “He went away and hanged himself.”  Since we don’t know what the context is, the correct meaning is lacking. Then you say, “That doesn’t seem right, so I’ll turn to another passage Scripture, and I’ll just pull out Luke 10:37.”  Luke 10:37 says, “Go and do thou likewise.” Then you would say, “Well, that doesn’t make sense.  He hung himself and now I must go and do likewise?  Since this makes no sense, the search for sense continues by turning to John 13:27 which reads, “What thou doest, do quickly.” Anyone can see the absurdity of taking a Bible verse out of context.  Avoid this error by learning what the theme of the book is, which is revealed as you read the book.  As you read John’s gospel, you’ll see the theme is the deity of Christ.  Then you see the theme of the chapter by reading it.  It is common sense, so it will become clear to you as you will see patterns repeated again and again.  Never take a verse or a passage and isolate it.  Nobody likes to be quoted out of context and God is no exception; so don’t quote God out of context.  See His word in its proper setting, and it’ll begin to make sense.  Most of the problems people have with understanding the Bible is because they will not see it in its context.

Another excellent Bible study principle is to interpret the Bible in the normal sense of language.  This is significant and important because the Bible is a piece of literature.  It is divine literature, but it is also literature, and we need to remember that.  The Bible should be read as any piece of literature is read; that means you take it literally, at face value, unless it becomes obvious by its context that you ought to interpret it in another way, such as a figure of speech: a hyperbole, a simile, a metaphor.  But you only do that when the context makes it obvious.  For instance, Jesus said, I am the door. Obviously, He didn’t mean He was a literal door rather He meant that He functions as a door.  Applying normal language to literature is common, plain sense.  Look for the plain, obvious meaning rather than some deep, symbolic meaning.

Moreover, I will say that the Bible will not say one thing to you and another thing to me.  I’ve had people say that to me.  “Well, the Bible says this to me or this is what it means to me.”  A good question to pose to a person who makes such a statement is to ask, “What if you weren’t alive, then what would it mean?”  It’s really not important to say it means something to you and something else to me.  God has one meaning in His Word for a passage or a verse.  There may be different applications to our lives, but He means only one thing, so take the statements as they are presented.  It has been said that “When the plain sense makes good sense, let’s be careful not to make it nonsense.”  Take the Bible’s obvious meaning and don’t look for the sensational or hidden message because it’s not there.  God wants you to understand His Word not play games, which means He wants to earnestly communicate to you.  God is reasonable and wants us to understand His Word, so He gave it to us the only way we could understand it—by using the normal laws of language. If it means one thing to this person and something else to that person, then nobody can be certain what God means.  Once the Bible is open to subjectivity we lose ourselves in the sea of our own understanding rather than God’s clear communication.

Finally, if you don’t understand something in the Bible, don’t be discouraged.  There are many things in the Bible that are difficult to understand. I encourage you to live by what you do understand, and trust the Lord to give you light on the obscure passages—in His own time.  Don’t fret over what you don’t know; rather actively obey what you do know.

In summary, we’ve looked at preparation—have your heart right before the Lord.  Next, we examined the principles of Bible study, and finally we are to engage in practicing the Bible.  Practicing the Bible is often left out when people try to understand the Bible. Practicing the Bible is an important element of Bible study because after you read the Bible and study it, you must obey its message and apply what you’ve read to your own life.

James 1:22 tells us, “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, who deceive themselves.” This means don’t merely read what the Bible says, but put it into practice.  Don’t go away from the Bible saying, “Isn’t that interesting?” rather, God says to apply it!  Ask, “What does the Lord want me to do?” or “What does the Lord want me to start or stop doing?  Is there something I’m doing that’s wrong?  Is there something I’m not doing that I ought to be doing?  Maybe there’s something I’m doing but I ought to do more often and more consistently?”  This is the application of God’s word, and only God can apply it to your heart.  To apply it to your life,  ask the questions and be sensitive.  You’ve got to want the Bible to get a hold of your life and change it for God’s glory.  This is why the apostle Paul told Timothy that the Bible is profitable in 2 Timothy 3:16 because the Bible affects our lives in every situation of life.

One Bible teacher said this: “Nothing darkens the mind like disobedience.  To obey a truth prepares you to see other truths.  To disobey a truth, darkens your mind to all truths.”

When you study the Bible, it is important that you obey every truth that God begins to apply to your life.  Maybe you’re asking yourself, “But what about the days I don’t feel like studying the Bible?”  There will be days where you have no desire to study the Bible. Everybody has days where you just don’t feel like picking up your Bible to read or study.  What do you do then?  You read and study it anyway.  When I was a young child and I was sick, my Mom used to come to me and tell me that I had to eat.  And I’d say, “But I don’t feel like eating.”  And she’d say, “But you must eat, even if you don’t feel like it because you need this food to strengthen you, to nourish you so you can be strong again.”  Whether you feel like it or not is not the issue; the issue is you need food for strength.

With the Bible, the same truth applies: The Bible is spiritual food from God, and as our Heavenly Father, He comes to us and He says, “Look, you need it.  Whether you feel like it or not, you need it to be nourished so that you can grow strong in the Lord.”

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Something to Consider (February 8, 2013) https://www.versebyverseradio.org/blog/post/something-to-consider--feb https://www.versebyverseradio.org/blog/post/something-to-consider--feb#comments Mon, 07 Feb 2022 15:00:00 -0500 https://www.versebyverseradio.org/blog/post/something-to-consider--feb Prayer is the natural outgushing of a soul in communion with Jesus.

“Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law and keep it with all my heart.”  Psalm 119:34

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Prayer is the natural outgushing of a soul in communion with Jesus.

“Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law and keep it with all my heart.”  Psalm 119:34

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The Importance of the Gospel (February 8, 2013) https://www.versebyverseradio.org/blog/post/the-importance-of-the-gospel--february-8-2013- https://www.versebyverseradio.org/blog/post/the-importance-of-the-gospel--february-8-2013-#comments Mon, 07 Feb 2022 15:00:00 -0500 https://www.versebyverseradio.org/blog/post/the-importance-of-the-gospel--february-8-2013-

Apart from the gospel, nothing else matters.

Don’t read that statement and make the assumption that I am just using hyperbole.  I am not.  No human achievement of any kind will matter when you stand before God.  The only thing that will matter is who is going to pay for your sins.  It will either be you—by spending eternity in the everlasting torment of hell, away from the presence of God—or it will be paid by Jesus Christ, who alone is able to satisfy God’s holy demands and provide the righteousness you so desperately need.  Only He is able to bear both the responsibility of perfect obedience to the Law and the weight of God’s just wrath against you.

Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.  He didn’t come to save the self-righteous and those who don’t consider themselves in need of help.  He didn’t come to save those who believe they can satisfactorily obey His Law through their own ability.  No, He came to save sinners; those who recognize their sin and their own inadequacy to satisfy God’s holy and righteous standards, who place their faith and trust in Him and Him alone for forgiveness of their sins and for eternal life.

Make sure you communicate that truth clearly to your children, your family, your friends, and anyone who will listen to you.  That is the primary responsibility of Christians.  It is our job to boldly go into a dark, hostile, God-hating, Christ-rejecting world and share the good news that Jesus Christ is mankind’s only hope for eternal life.

There won’t be very many who receive that message.  In fact, most will reject it and will persecute those who proclaim that message.  But that doesn’t change the fact that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the truth and the only way by which anyone can have an eternal, personal relationship with God.

Apart from the gospel, nothing else matters.

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Apart from the gospel, nothing else matters.

Don’t read that statement and make the assumption that I am just using hyperbole.  I am not.  No human achievement of any kind will matter when you stand before God.  The only thing that will matter is who is going to pay for your sins.  It will either be you—by spending eternity in the everlasting torment of hell, away from the presence of God—or it will be paid by Jesus Christ, who alone is able to satisfy God’s holy demands and provide the righteousness you so desperately need.  Only He is able to bear both the responsibility of perfect obedience to the Law and the weight of God’s just wrath against you.

Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.  He didn’t come to save the self-righteous and those who don’t consider themselves in need of help.  He didn’t come to save those who believe they can satisfactorily obey His Law through their own ability.  No, He came to save sinners; those who recognize their sin and their own inadequacy to satisfy God’s holy and righteous standards, who place their faith and trust in Him and Him alone for forgiveness of their sins and for eternal life.

Make sure you communicate that truth clearly to your children, your family, your friends, and anyone who will listen to you.  That is the primary responsibility of Christians.  It is our job to boldly go into a dark, hostile, God-hating, Christ-rejecting world and share the good news that Jesus Christ is mankind’s only hope for eternal life.

There won’t be very many who receive that message.  In fact, most will reject it and will persecute those who proclaim that message.  But that doesn’t change the fact that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the truth and the only way by which anyone can have an eternal, personal relationship with God.

Apart from the gospel, nothing else matters.

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Should Pastors Teach the Doctrine of Election? (February 18, 2013) https://www.versebyverseradio.org/blog/post/should-pastors-teach-the-doctrine-of-election---februaury-18-2013- https://www.versebyverseradio.org/blog/post/should-pastors-teach-the-doctrine-of-election---februaury-18-2013-#comments Mon, 07 Feb 2022 15:00:00 -0500 https://www.versebyverseradio.org/blog/post/should-pastors-teach-the-doctrine-of-election---februaury-18-2013- As I write this blog, I am in the country of Honduras, having just finished speaking at a Bible conference. For the last several days I have been teaching verse by verse through Romans chapters 9-11 about God’s righteousness in His dealings with Israel.

Among the many issues taught by the Apostle Paul in these chapters is the sovereignty of God in electing some to salvation. At the close of this conference, I was asked if I thought that pastors should teach on such a controversial subject. And my response was that pastors must teach on God’s sovereignty in election for the following two reasons.

First of all, we must teach about election because this truth is revealed in the Word of God. The doctrine of election comes from God, and therefore He wants it to be taught to His people. Pastors don’t have the option of choosing which doctrines of the Bible they want to preach about. They are called to proclaim the “whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:20).  Regardless of how much controversy the doctrine of election might generate in a local church, no pastor should be held hostage by the reactions of his congregation. Pastors are first and foremost servants of Jesus Christ, and as such they must be faithful to His Word.

The second reason why pastors must teach the doctrine of election is because this doctrine magnifies the Lord by highlighting His sovereignty, and what an individual believes about God’s sovereignty determines his outlook on life. Christians who embrace this teaching have a God-centered theology and an exalted view of God. Those who reject this teaching gravitate to a man-centered theology and an erroneously high view of man. The former leads to trusting God, the latter leads to depending on human devices and methods.

Every believer in Jesus Christ should praise God for His sovereignty over all things, especially salvation. And pastors should help their people to understand that “our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases” (Psalm 115:3).

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As I write this blog, I am in the country of Honduras, having just finished speaking at a Bible conference. For the last several days I have been teaching verse by verse through Romans chapters 9-11 about God’s righteousness in His dealings with Israel.

Among the many issues taught by the Apostle Paul in these chapters is the sovereignty of God in electing some to salvation. At the close of this conference, I was asked if I thought that pastors should teach on such a controversial subject. And my response was that pastors must teach on God’s sovereignty in election for the following two reasons.

First of all, we must teach about election because this truth is revealed in the Word of God. The doctrine of election comes from God, and therefore He wants it to be taught to His people. Pastors don’t have the option of choosing which doctrines of the Bible they want to preach about. They are called to proclaim the “whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:20).  Regardless of how much controversy the doctrine of election might generate in a local church, no pastor should be held hostage by the reactions of his congregation. Pastors are first and foremost servants of Jesus Christ, and as such they must be faithful to His Word.

The second reason why pastors must teach the doctrine of election is because this doctrine magnifies the Lord by highlighting His sovereignty, and what an individual believes about God’s sovereignty determines his outlook on life. Christians who embrace this teaching have a God-centered theology and an exalted view of God. Those who reject this teaching gravitate to a man-centered theology and an erroneously high view of man. The former leads to trusting God, the latter leads to depending on human devices and methods.

Every believer in Jesus Christ should praise God for His sovereignty over all things, especially salvation. And pastors should help their people to understand that “our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases” (Psalm 115:3).

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What About Those Who Have Never Heard the Gospel? (March 26, 2013) https://www.versebyverseradio.org/blog/post/what-about-those-who-have-never-heard-the-gospel-- https://www.versebyverseradio.org/blog/post/what-about-those-who-have-never-heard-the-gospel--#comments Mon, 07 Feb 2022 15:00:00 -0500 https://www.versebyverseradio.org/blog/post/what-about-those-who-have-never-heard-the-gospel-- When I was 18 years old, somebody told me about Jesus Christ and the message of salvation.  I am so grateful that this person loved me enough to tell me that I was a sinner and needed to be saved.  But there are millions of people who have never heard the gospel, and countless others who have lived and died without ever knowing the meaning of Christ’s death.  What about them?  Are they lost and doomed for Hell, even though they never heard about Christ?

The Apostle Paul addressed this very issue in his letter to the Romans.  In presenting the theology of the gospel to the Christians at Rome, Paul spends the first three chapters of his letter proving that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).  Putting both the Jewish people and the Gentiles on trial, the Apostle condemns both groups for failing to live up to the truths of God that were revealed to them.  Gentiles know instinctively God’s standards of right and wrong, yet they don’t live up to the light of their conscience (2:1-16).  Jewish people also fail to live up to the light they have been given, because they fail to obey God’s written Law (2:17-29).

However, it is in Romans chapter one where Paul’s words helps us understand whether or not those who die without ever hearing about Jesus Christ are eternally lost.  Reaching back in time to the early days of human history, Paul declares that ancient man suppressed the truth that God was His Creator (Rom. 1:18-19).  Even though he could clearly see the evidence of God’s creative power in nature, he stubbornly refused to glorify Him by acknowledging His supremacy and giving Him thanks (Rom. 1:20-21).  And as a result of refusing to worship God as Creator, mankind was plunged into the darkness of worshipping created beings (Rom. 1:21b-23).  In other words, when man turned away from the truth that God was his Creator, he became an idolater and worshipper of false religion.  No wonder Paul states that ancient man (and by implication anyone who rejects the light that God has given them) “is without excuse” (Rom. 1:20b).

In declaring mankind inexcusable, Paul is clearly asserting that all men are lost regardless of how much they know or don’t know about God.  And the reason for this is because whatever light God reveals to man about Himself—whether it be the light within a man’s conscience, the light of His written Word, or the light of creation—mankind rejects it!  Therefore since all men suppress the truth about God—regardless of the form or content of divine revelation—they would certainly reject the revelation about Jesus Christ and His salvation, if they heard it.

However, if someone who has never heard about Jesus Christ would respond positively to the light of divine revelation, it is reasonable to believe that God would give this person more light until He eventually sent a witness with the message of the gospel.  But the Bible teaches that no man naturally seeks after God, meaning that no one is interested in pursuing a true understanding of God by humbly submitting to Him (Rom. 3:10).  All individuals come into this world dead in sins and trespasses (Ephesians 2:1-3).  Therefore if someone is to be saved, God must take the initiative by opening their hearts so that they see their need for Christ and come to Him for salvation.

It is important to understand that no one is lost because they don’t believe in Jesus whom they have never heard about.  They are lost because they are rebellious sinners, and God’s holiness and justice demands that their sins be eternally punished.  But Christ was punished on behalf of sinners.  Therefore, those who have come to know and believe in the light of the glorious gospel of Christ are obligated to witness to those who are still in darkness.

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When I was 18 years old, somebody told me about Jesus Christ and the message of salvation.  I am so grateful that this person loved me enough to tell me that I was a sinner and needed to be saved.  But there are millions of people who have never heard the gospel, and countless others who have lived and died without ever knowing the meaning of Christ’s death.  What about them?  Are they lost and doomed for Hell, even though they never heard about Christ?

The Apostle Paul addressed this very issue in his letter to the Romans.  In presenting the theology of the gospel to the Christians at Rome, Paul spends the first three chapters of his letter proving that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).  Putting both the Jewish people and the Gentiles on trial, the Apostle condemns both groups for failing to live up to the truths of God that were revealed to them.  Gentiles know instinctively God’s standards of right and wrong, yet they don’t live up to the light of their conscience (2:1-16).  Jewish people also fail to live up to the light they have been given, because they fail to obey God’s written Law (2:17-29).

However, it is in Romans chapter one where Paul’s words helps us understand whether or not those who die without ever hearing about Jesus Christ are eternally lost.  Reaching back in time to the early days of human history, Paul declares that ancient man suppressed the truth that God was His Creator (Rom. 1:18-19).  Even though he could clearly see the evidence of God’s creative power in nature, he stubbornly refused to glorify Him by acknowledging His supremacy and giving Him thanks (Rom. 1:20-21).  And as a result of refusing to worship God as Creator, mankind was plunged into the darkness of worshipping created beings (Rom. 1:21b-23).  In other words, when man turned away from the truth that God was his Creator, he became an idolater and worshipper of false religion.  No wonder Paul states that ancient man (and by implication anyone who rejects the light that God has given them) “is without excuse” (Rom. 1:20b).

In declaring mankind inexcusable, Paul is clearly asserting that all men are lost regardless of how much they know or don’t know about God.  And the reason for this is because whatever light God reveals to man about Himself—whether it be the light within a man’s conscience, the light of His written Word, or the light of creation—mankind rejects it!  Therefore since all men suppress the truth about God—regardless of the form or content of divine revelation—they would certainly reject the revelation about Jesus Christ and His salvation, if they heard it.

However, if someone who has never heard about Jesus Christ would respond positively to the light of divine revelation, it is reasonable to believe that God would give this person more light until He eventually sent a witness with the message of the gospel.  But the Bible teaches that no man naturally seeks after God, meaning that no one is interested in pursuing a true understanding of God by humbly submitting to Him (Rom. 3:10).  All individuals come into this world dead in sins and trespasses (Ephesians 2:1-3).  Therefore if someone is to be saved, God must take the initiative by opening their hearts so that they see their need for Christ and come to Him for salvation.

It is important to understand that no one is lost because they don’t believe in Jesus whom they have never heard about.  They are lost because they are rebellious sinners, and God’s holiness and justice demands that their sins be eternally punished.  But Christ was punished on behalf of sinners.  Therefore, those who have come to know and believe in the light of the glorious gospel of Christ are obligated to witness to those who are still in darkness.

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A Lesson in True Integrity (April 30, 2013) https://www.versebyverseradio.org/blog/post/a-lesson-in-true-integrity--april-30-2013- https://www.versebyverseradio.org/blog/post/a-lesson-in-true-integrity--april-30-2013-#comments Mon, 07 Feb 2022 15:00:00 -0500 https://www.versebyverseradio.org/blog/post/a-lesson-in-true-integrity--april-30-2013-

In the movie “The Legend of Bagger Vance” released in 2000, Matt Damon plays Rannulph Junuh, a former golfing great. One of the final scenes of the movie demonstrates personal character and integrity in a way rarely seen in today’s secular films.

Junuh, who has been greatly impacted by his experiences in World War I, is living as an alcoholic bum until Bagger Vance becomes his caddy and helps him regain his golf swing as well as teaching him several important life lessons. Once Bagger sees that Junuh has learned those lessons, he disappears from the scene and a young boy named Hardy takes his place as Junuh’s caddy.

At the end of the movie, Junuh is playing in a two-day tournament against Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen, two of the greatest golfers to ever pick up a club. On the final hole of the match, the three golfing rivals are all neck and neck. Junuh is preparing to chip onto the green when he reaches down to remove a twig from beside his ball. As he picks up the twig his ball moves slightly. The young caddy Hardy was the only one to witness the ball move.

Junuh reveals tremendous courage as he admits, “The ball moved.”

Hardy immediately begs him not to say anything, as he is sure it would mean defeat. Hardy tells him, “No one saw it move but me and you. I promise I will never tell. No one will ever know.”

Junuh displays even more resolve and courage as he instructs Hardy, “I’ll know and you will know.”

Naturally, the movie ends happier than we can always expect in real life, but the message is clear that our response should be the same regardless of the outcome. Many times in life—whether at work, school, home, or in the marketplaces of our society—we have opportunities to cut corners or get ahead because our actions go unnoticed, but to live a life of integrity requires faithfulness in the small things. If we don’t practice our integrity when alone, we will be less likely to do the right thing when someone else is watching.

Jesus said it best in Luke 16:10, “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.” What about in your workplace, classroom, or home? Have you had any balls move lately that you haven’t told anyone about? Do what is right even when no one else is doing it, and never do wrong, even when everyone else is doing it.

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In the movie “The Legend of Bagger Vance” released in 2000, Matt Damon plays Rannulph Junuh, a former golfing great. One of the final scenes of the movie demonstrates personal character and integrity in a way rarely seen in today’s secular films.

Junuh, who has been greatly impacted by his experiences in World War I, is living as an alcoholic bum until Bagger Vance becomes his caddy and helps him regain his golf swing as well as teaching him several important life lessons. Once Bagger sees that Junuh has learned those lessons, he disappears from the scene and a young boy named Hardy takes his place as Junuh’s caddy.

At the end of the movie, Junuh is playing in a two-day tournament against Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen, two of the greatest golfers to ever pick up a club. On the final hole of the match, the three golfing rivals are all neck and neck. Junuh is preparing to chip onto the green when he reaches down to remove a twig from beside his ball. As he picks up the twig his ball moves slightly. The young caddy Hardy was the only one to witness the ball move.

Junuh reveals tremendous courage as he admits, “The ball moved.”

Hardy immediately begs him not to say anything, as he is sure it would mean defeat. Hardy tells him, “No one saw it move but me and you. I promise I will never tell. No one will ever know.”

Junuh displays even more resolve and courage as he instructs Hardy, “I’ll know and you will know.”

Naturally, the movie ends happier than we can always expect in real life, but the message is clear that our response should be the same regardless of the outcome. Many times in life—whether at work, school, home, or in the marketplaces of our society—we have opportunities to cut corners or get ahead because our actions go unnoticed, but to live a life of integrity requires faithfulness in the small things. If we don’t practice our integrity when alone, we will be less likely to do the right thing when someone else is watching.

Jesus said it best in Luke 16:10, “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.” What about in your workplace, classroom, or home? Have you had any balls move lately that you haven’t told anyone about? Do what is right even when no one else is doing it, and never do wrong, even when everyone else is doing it.

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How Did Christ Become Sin for Us? (July 11, 2013) https://www.versebyverseradio.org/blog/post/how-did-christ-become-sin-for-us--july-11-2013- https://www.versebyverseradio.org/blog/post/how-did-christ-become-sin-for-us--july-11-2013-#comments Mon, 07 Feb 2022 15:00:00 -0500 https://www.versebyverseradio.org/blog/post/how-did-christ-become-sin-for-us--july-11-2013-

Sometime back a friend asked the following question: “2 Corinthians 5:21 says: “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” So does this mean that Christ gave up His holiness at the cross?   How could this be if God is inherently holy?”

This is a very significant question, so let me pass along the answer I gave because I’m sure others have wondered the same thing.

Because we know that Christ was without sin, the phrase “to be sin” requires a careful understanding.  It does not mean that Christ became a sinner.  As God in human flesh, He could not possibly have committed any sin or in any way violated God’s law.  It is equally unthinkable that God, whose “eyes are too pure to approve evil” (Hab. 1:13), would make anyone a sinner, let alone His own holy Son.  He was the unblemished Lamb of God while on the cross, personally guilty of no sin.  Isa. 53:4-6 describes the only sense in which Jesus could have been made sin.  It says:

4Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.  5But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.  6All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.

Jesus was not made a sinner, nor was He punished for any sin of His own.  Instead, the Father treated Him as if He were a sinner by charging to His account the sins of everyone who would ever believe.  All those sins were charged against Him as if He had personally committed them, and He was punished with the penalty for them on the cross, experiencing the full fury of God’s wrath unleashed against them all.

This is what we call “imputation.”  In the same way that Christ was made “to be sin” by our sin being imputed to Him, so also, the righteousness of Christ was imputed to our account so that we were made to “become the righteousness of God in Him.” We are not sinless and righteous, but through imputation in which Christ’s righteousness is charged to our account, God looks on us as being as pure and sinless as Jesus Christ.  So imputation works both ways—our sin was imputed to Christ, and His righteousness was imputed to us.  He remained absolutely holy and sinless, but was treated as though He had sinned; we are absolutely corrupt and sinful, but are treated as though we have never sinned.  What incredible, marvelous grace!

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Sometime back a friend asked the following question: “2 Corinthians 5:21 says: “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” So does this mean that Christ gave up His holiness at the cross?   How could this be if God is inherently holy?”

This is a very significant question, so let me pass along the answer I gave because I’m sure others have wondered the same thing.

Because we know that Christ was without sin, the phrase “to be sin” requires a careful understanding.  It does not mean that Christ became a sinner.  As God in human flesh, He could not possibly have committed any sin or in any way violated God’s law.  It is equally unthinkable that God, whose “eyes are too pure to approve evil” (Hab. 1:13), would make anyone a sinner, let alone His own holy Son.  He was the unblemished Lamb of God while on the cross, personally guilty of no sin.  Isa. 53:4-6 describes the only sense in which Jesus could have been made sin.  It says:

4Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.  5But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.  6All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.

Jesus was not made a sinner, nor was He punished for any sin of His own.  Instead, the Father treated Him as if He were a sinner by charging to His account the sins of everyone who would ever believe.  All those sins were charged against Him as if He had personally committed them, and He was punished with the penalty for them on the cross, experiencing the full fury of God’s wrath unleashed against them all.

This is what we call “imputation.”  In the same way that Christ was made “to be sin” by our sin being imputed to Him, so also, the righteousness of Christ was imputed to our account so that we were made to “become the righteousness of God in Him.” We are not sinless and righteous, but through imputation in which Christ’s righteousness is charged to our account, God looks on us as being as pure and sinless as Jesus Christ.  So imputation works both ways—our sin was imputed to Christ, and His righteousness was imputed to us.  He remained absolutely holy and sinless, but was treated as though He had sinned; we are absolutely corrupt and sinful, but are treated as though we have never sinned.  What incredible, marvelous grace!

]]>
Responding to Laws We Don’t Like (July 13, 2016) https://www.versebyverseradio.org/blog/post/responding-to-laws-we-don-t-like--july-13-2016- https://www.versebyverseradio.org/blog/post/responding-to-laws-we-don-t-like--july-13-2016-#comments Mon, 07 Feb 2022 15:00:00 -0500 https://www.versebyverseradio.org/blog/post/responding-to-laws-we-don-t-like--july-13-2016- Sometime back a Christian friend of mine received a traffic citation for not wearing his seat belt when driving his car. He was incensed, giving the usual complaints about the enforcement of such safety laws as a waste of law enforcement’s time (“they should be catching true bad guys instead of harassing fathers taking their children to the park”) and being a violation of a driver’s freedom of choice (“this is the land of the free, isn’t it?”). Another Christian friend (and lawyer) interacted with him very effectively regarding the legal aspects of his offense and why it is important to have such laws and to enforce them, but I think there is a much bigger issue at stake here than most believers ever realize.
The point is that there are many laws about which there is disagreement as to their validity or their enforcement. But whether the government should enforce certain laws and not others is not the issue. The issue is that obedience to those laws is not an option for the believer. Christians are to willingly and joyfully submit to those laws, even if they disagree with them. Why? Because the government which passed those laws is ordained by God (Rom. 13:1) and anyone who resists the government’s authority is living in disobedience to God (Rom. 13:2). The apostle Paul goes on to say that it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of what actions the government might take against us, but also for the sake of our conscience (Rom. 13:5). In other words, we are not to obey the law only because we might get caught, but also because doing so violates our God-given conscience which helps us discern right and wrong. Disobedience to the law is an act of non-submission to God-ordained authority over us and thus, a sin. Only when the government commands us to do something which violates something God has commanded us in His Word to do are we ever authorized to disobey the law (Acts 5:28-29).
But what about my friend’s argument that law enforcement should utilize their assets more effectively by apprehending “true bad guys” instead of nabbing fathers driving their children to play time at the park? Again, the issue is not whether we disagree with how the government is spending the tax dollars it receives. No matter what law you may pick, you can always find someone who thinks it is a waste of time to enforce it. And there are many expenditures which the government makes which I personally believe are a waste of resources which could be better used elsewhere. However, we must return to the point that Christians are called to submit to our government and obey its laws—even those with which we disagree or those which we believe are unimportant. Our submission to those laws provides us the opportunity to demonstrate to a watching world that followers of Jesus Christ are not shrill, disrespectful whiners who want our own way and think the laws are good for others, but not for us. The apostle Peter instructed us that obedience to every authority and law is “the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men” (1 Peter 2:15). In other words, we should put those who oppose and attack us to shame by our example of submission and obedience to the law. And we need to recognize that when we violate those laws, we deserve the consequences of the government’s decision to enforce those laws.
Now, let me give credit where credit is due to my friend. After he received his citation, he explained to his children right in front of the officer that daddy had violated the law and was being rightfully punished for his actions. He took advantage of a tremendous opportunity to teach his children to respect law enforcement officers, and the fact that even daddy is not spared from being corrected when he violates the law. He made such an impact on his children that when they got home, they offered him the money in their piggy bank to help pay the fine and made a “thank you” card for the officer that said “Dear Policeman, thank you for telling us about seat belts.”
I’m thrilled that he taught his children such a valuable lesson and did not verbalize his complaints in their hearing like he did with his adult friends. Now if he will only teach those same truths to his own heart…

]]>
Sometime back a Christian friend of mine received a traffic citation for not wearing his seat belt when driving his car. He was incensed, giving the usual complaints about the enforcement of such safety laws as a waste of law enforcement’s time (“they should be catching true bad guys instead of harassing fathers taking their children to the park”) and being a violation of a driver’s freedom of choice (“this is the land of the free, isn’t it?”). Another Christian friend (and lawyer) interacted with him very effectively regarding the legal aspects of his offense and why it is important to have such laws and to enforce them, but I think there is a much bigger issue at stake here than most believers ever realize.
The point is that there are many laws about which there is disagreement as to their validity or their enforcement. But whether the government should enforce certain laws and not others is not the issue. The issue is that obedience to those laws is not an option for the believer. Christians are to willingly and joyfully submit to those laws, even if they disagree with them. Why? Because the government which passed those laws is ordained by God (Rom. 13:1) and anyone who resists the government’s authority is living in disobedience to God (Rom. 13:2). The apostle Paul goes on to say that it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of what actions the government might take against us, but also for the sake of our conscience (Rom. 13:5). In other words, we are not to obey the law only because we might get caught, but also because doing so violates our God-given conscience which helps us discern right and wrong. Disobedience to the law is an act of non-submission to God-ordained authority over us and thus, a sin. Only when the government commands us to do something which violates something God has commanded us in His Word to do are we ever authorized to disobey the law (Acts 5:28-29).
But what about my friend’s argument that law enforcement should utilize their assets more effectively by apprehending “true bad guys” instead of nabbing fathers driving their children to play time at the park? Again, the issue is not whether we disagree with how the government is spending the tax dollars it receives. No matter what law you may pick, you can always find someone who thinks it is a waste of time to enforce it. And there are many expenditures which the government makes which I personally believe are a waste of resources which could be better used elsewhere. However, we must return to the point that Christians are called to submit to our government and obey its laws—even those with which we disagree or those which we believe are unimportant. Our submission to those laws provides us the opportunity to demonstrate to a watching world that followers of Jesus Christ are not shrill, disrespectful whiners who want our own way and think the laws are good for others, but not for us. The apostle Peter instructed us that obedience to every authority and law is “the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men” (1 Peter 2:15). In other words, we should put those who oppose and attack us to shame by our example of submission and obedience to the law. And we need to recognize that when we violate those laws, we deserve the consequences of the government’s decision to enforce those laws.
Now, let me give credit where credit is due to my friend. After he received his citation, he explained to his children right in front of the officer that daddy had violated the law and was being rightfully punished for his actions. He took advantage of a tremendous opportunity to teach his children to respect law enforcement officers, and the fact that even daddy is not spared from being corrected when he violates the law. He made such an impact on his children that when they got home, they offered him the money in their piggy bank to help pay the fine and made a “thank you” card for the officer that said “Dear Policeman, thank you for telling us about seat belts.”
I’m thrilled that he taught his children such a valuable lesson and did not verbalize his complaints in their hearing like he did with his adult friends. Now if he will only teach those same truths to his own heart…

]]>
Encouragement (December 16, 2016) https://www.versebyverseradio.org/blog/post/encouragement-- https://www.versebyverseradio.org/blog/post/encouragement--#comments Mon, 07 Feb 2022 15:00:00 -0500 https://www.versebyverseradio.org/blog/post/encouragement-- Recently, I received a letter from a man, asking for some biblical guidance in the area of encouragement. Not only was he interested in finding out the meaning of encouragement, but he also desired some practical advice on how to give encouragement and how to receive it. He wondered if the reason some Christians are so reluctant to offer an encouraging compliment is because of their fear of lifting someone up with pride. Considering the fact that only God should get the glory in all things, he was genuinely concerned about praising someone for something they’ve done. The following is my response back to him. I hope that it will encourage you to encourage others.

Thanks for your letter and the questions you’ve asked about encouragement. I believe that the best example of what it means to encourage others is to look at our Lord’s words to the churches of Revelation 2 and 3. He certainly didn’t hesitate to compliment and commend them, and wasn’t concerned that it would go to their heads and inflate their egos. He simply told them positive things that He saw about their behavior. And so, I think it is perfectly right to compliment other Christians by commending them for godly behavior. What they do with that information is up to them. But I believe that to withhold such encouragement would be wrong.

I also think that encouragement is something that all of us need, because it is so easy to be discouraged. We live in a world that offers very few words of commendation and praise, so I believe that when we do praise someone, it really lifts their spirits and encourages them. Encouragement is similar to strengthening believers and edifying them, and that’s something all of us should be actively involved in.

As far as receiving encouraging words of praise, I used to try to deflect them by explaining that it’s really the Lord and not me. However, that tends to sound a bit like pseudo humility, so now I usually say, “Thanks” or “Praise the Lord,” with an understanding in my heart that whatever I am, I am by the grace of God.

One principle to guide us in encouragement is the Golden Rule. We are to do unto others, as we would have them do unto us. Therefore, since words of encouragement tend to strengthen me and spur me on to do good, I’m compelled to offer words of encouragement to others.

At the end of the day my advice to you is not to over analyze the concept of encouragement, but to concentrate on encouraging others, even if they don’t encourage you back.

]]>
Recently, I received a letter from a man, asking for some biblical guidance in the area of encouragement. Not only was he interested in finding out the meaning of encouragement, but he also desired some practical advice on how to give encouragement and how to receive it. He wondered if the reason some Christians are so reluctant to offer an encouraging compliment is because of their fear of lifting someone up with pride. Considering the fact that only God should get the glory in all things, he was genuinely concerned about praising someone for something they’ve done. The following is my response back to him. I hope that it will encourage you to encourage others.

Thanks for your letter and the questions you’ve asked about encouragement. I believe that the best example of what it means to encourage others is to look at our Lord’s words to the churches of Revelation 2 and 3. He certainly didn’t hesitate to compliment and commend them, and wasn’t concerned that it would go to their heads and inflate their egos. He simply told them positive things that He saw about their behavior. And so, I think it is perfectly right to compliment other Christians by commending them for godly behavior. What they do with that information is up to them. But I believe that to withhold such encouragement would be wrong.

I also think that encouragement is something that all of us need, because it is so easy to be discouraged. We live in a world that offers very few words of commendation and praise, so I believe that when we do praise someone, it really lifts their spirits and encourages them. Encouragement is similar to strengthening believers and edifying them, and that’s something all of us should be actively involved in.

As far as receiving encouraging words of praise, I used to try to deflect them by explaining that it’s really the Lord and not me. However, that tends to sound a bit like pseudo humility, so now I usually say, “Thanks” or “Praise the Lord,” with an understanding in my heart that whatever I am, I am by the grace of God.

One principle to guide us in encouragement is the Golden Rule. We are to do unto others, as we would have them do unto us. Therefore, since words of encouragement tend to strengthen me and spur me on to do good, I’m compelled to offer words of encouragement to others.

At the end of the day my advice to you is not to over analyze the concept of encouragement, but to concentrate on encouraging others, even if they don’t encourage you back.

]]>
Love is not Rude (August 28, 2017) https://www.versebyverseradio.org/blog/post/love-is-not-rude--august-28-2017- https://www.versebyverseradio.org/blog/post/love-is-not-rude--august-28-2017-#comments Mon, 07 Feb 2022 15:00:00 -0500 https://www.versebyverseradio.org/blog/post/love-is-not-rude--august-28-2017- Many years ago, the Irish play writer, George Bernard Shaw, wrote that “Christianity might be a good thing if anyone ever tried it.” Now, Bernard Shaw’s sarcastic criticism of Christians may disturb some of us, but in being cynical he actually makes a valid point, and that is that our faith in Christ is to be lived out and practiced; that the truths of Christianity that we profess to believe are to be applied and observed and followed on a daily basis.  Nowhere is this more challenging than in our response to Christ’s command to love others.  On the night that Jesus was arrested, He told His disciples that they were to love others as He loved them.

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35, NASB)

Jesus said that love for one another was the universal mark of a Christian, and that the world had every right to judge us as to whether or not we were true followers of His based on how we treated one another.  Interestingly though, in every one of Paul’s letters to the various first century churches, there are statements from him urging each congregation to be more loving.  The reason for this is because these early Christians had trouble loving each other (just as we do), and needed an exhortation from the Apostle to be obedient in this most important issue of life.

But no church gave Paul more trouble when it came to loving each other than the Church at Corinth.  This particular church was filled with the most self-centered, arrogant, loveless Christians of that day, and thus the reason Paul devoted an entire chapter to addressing their problem with love, by telling them how love behaves.

In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul gives a number of very practical descriptions of how love behaves, as he seeks to correct the Corinthian on their negligence in showing love.  One of the descriptions of love that he mentions is an area of behavior not usually associated with love.

Writing at the beginning of verse 5, Paul says that “love does not act unbecoming” (NASB).  The thought behind this Greek word that is translated “unbecomingly” is “indecent,” and the way that Paul is using it is here is to say that love doesn’t behave in an inappropriate, rude manner.  In other words, love is not ill-mannered.  Simply put, the Apostle means that love is not rude.  The reason for this is because someone who is rude has no regard for others.  They do and say whatever they want, no matter how it affects others, regardless of the pain their words may bring.

Those who are rude are tactless, discourteous, thoughtless, and generally unconcerned about how their actions or their words affect others.  The only one a rude person thinks about is himself!  To understand the true nature of rudeness, it is helpful to know that the literal meaning of this Greek word is “shapeless, unformed,” which tells us that those who are rude are undisciplined in their behavior; they are just out of control in their comments and conduct.  They do and say whatever they feel like doing and saying, without using any self-discipline or self-control.

As one reads through 1 Corinthians it becomes apparent why Paul addressed the issue of rudeness in this chapter on love.  It is because the Corinthians had a serious problem in this area.  They were a congregation of undisciplined, rude, ill-mannered people.  We see this very clearly in a couple of places in 1 Corinthians.

First of all, they were certainly rude in the way they treated each other when they observed the Lord’s Supper, which included a common pot-luck type meal known as “the love feast.”  According to what Paul wrote in 11:20-22, instead of waiting for others to arrive at the common dinner prior to the Lord’s Supper, those who got their first quickly gobbled up their food and drank so much wine that they became drunk, while others went hungry, because by the time they arrived later, there was nothing left for them to eat or drink.  There was absolutely no consideration for others.

We see this same kind of rude disregard for others in the church in the way they carried on their Sunday services.  Writing in 1 Cor. 14:26 Paul said, “What is the outcome then, brethren?  When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation.  Let all things be done for edification.” Paul says that when they assemble for church on Sundays, everyone feels free to shout out what they believe is a word from God, so that one person shouts, “I have a psalm I would like to sing,” and they just start singing.  Another yells, “I have out a Bible lesson I’d like to give,” and they just start giving it.  Still another says, “I have a new revelation from God,” and they give it.  Then another starts speaking in tongues, and someone says, “I have an interpretation for that tongue.” Their behavior was nothing more than complete chaos, and it was rude because no one cared about what anyone else was saying; they just wanted to be heard.  So they spoke up anytime they wanted to, even if someone else was speaking at the time.  These people were just competing for who got the most attention, and it didn’t matter if they interrupted anyone else.  They were determined to be heard.  That’s rudeness, and it was unloving.

While it’s certainly true that the Corinthians were an extreme case of a congregation that acted rudely, it’s also true that rudeness among Christians did not die out with them.  Many of us can still be terribly rude without even being aware of it.

One way we can be rude is by telling each other exactly what we think about them, regardless of how it will make the other person feel.  Over the years I have observed that many Christians—especially senior saints—think that they have a license to give their opinion about someone else in the name of honesty.  They have convinced themselves that it’s ok to do this because, after all, the Bible commands us to speak the truth.  But the Bible tells us to speak the truth in love, not to be brutal in our honesty.  You don’t have the right to tell people anything on your mind about them, with the attitude of “I just speak my mind, and if somebody doesn’t like it, well, that’s just too bad.” Well, there is someone who doesn’t like it—God! He says that “love is not rude”!

Another way we can be rude is by not being on time to an appointment or to meet someone.  Certainly there are times when we can’t help being late because it’s out of our control.  So often though, it is in our control, and by being late we show no regard for the other’s person’s valuable time.  That’s nothing but ill-mannered rudeness.  And I am personally aware of this expression of rudeness, because I was once habitually guilty of being late to meet my fiancé (now my wife) for dinner when we were students at college.  I would consistently keep her waiting for me every day, simply because I had no regard for her time.  My constant lateness was rude, and it was sinful, because it was selfish.

This is why love doesn’t behave in a rude manner.  Love isn’t selfish.  It isn’t thoughtless and insensitive towards others.  It considers their feelings, it doesn’t run roughshod over others in the name of honesty.  It is attentive to, and understanding of, the plans, interests, and time constraints of others.  Love listens and pays attention to others when they are speaking.  Love doesn’t rudely interrupt others, or ignore their ideas and suggestions.  Love is not ill mannered.

So how do we overcome the sin of rudeness?  First of all, if you are aware that you have been rude to someone, then you need to ask God to forgive you, and then you need to ask forgiveness of the person to whom you have been rude.  Secondly, you have to recognize that the root cause of rudeness is an inflated sense of your own importance.  It is being puffed up with pride that makes you feel as if you are more important that anyone else, and therefore have a right to say or do whatever you want to say or do.  But the sooner you realize that you are aren’t more important than anyone else, the sooner you will learn to love others by being sensitive, tactful, and polite, both in your speech and your actions.

Of course, the greatest example of someone who wasn’t rude was Jesus.  He treated all people with respect.  How thoughtful He was in speaking kindly to those who were condemned and scorned in His society; namely, the prostitutes and tax collectors.  He was known as a friend of sinners.  He showed respect to women and children.  In speaking the truth to people about themselves, He always spoke in love.  May we follow His example.

]]>
Many years ago, the Irish play writer, George Bernard Shaw, wrote that “Christianity might be a good thing if anyone ever tried it.” Now, Bernard Shaw’s sarcastic criticism of Christians may disturb some of us, but in being cynical he actually makes a valid point, and that is that our faith in Christ is to be lived out and practiced; that the truths of Christianity that we profess to believe are to be applied and observed and followed on a daily basis.  Nowhere is this more challenging than in our response to Christ’s command to love others.  On the night that Jesus was arrested, He told His disciples that they were to love others as He loved them.

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35, NASB)

Jesus said that love for one another was the universal mark of a Christian, and that the world had every right to judge us as to whether or not we were true followers of His based on how we treated one another.  Interestingly though, in every one of Paul’s letters to the various first century churches, there are statements from him urging each congregation to be more loving.  The reason for this is because these early Christians had trouble loving each other (just as we do), and needed an exhortation from the Apostle to be obedient in this most important issue of life.

But no church gave Paul more trouble when it came to loving each other than the Church at Corinth.  This particular church was filled with the most self-centered, arrogant, loveless Christians of that day, and thus the reason Paul devoted an entire chapter to addressing their problem with love, by telling them how love behaves.

In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul gives a number of very practical descriptions of how love behaves, as he seeks to correct the Corinthian on their negligence in showing love.  One of the descriptions of love that he mentions is an area of behavior not usually associated with love.

Writing at the beginning of verse 5, Paul says that “love does not act unbecoming” (NASB).  The thought behind this Greek word that is translated “unbecomingly” is “indecent,” and the way that Paul is using it is here is to say that love doesn’t behave in an inappropriate, rude manner.  In other words, love is not ill-mannered.  Simply put, the Apostle means that love is not rude.  The reason for this is because someone who is rude has no regard for others.  They do and say whatever they want, no matter how it affects others, regardless of the pain their words may bring.

Those who are rude are tactless, discourteous, thoughtless, and generally unconcerned about how their actions or their words affect others.  The only one a rude person thinks about is himself!  To understand the true nature of rudeness, it is helpful to know that the literal meaning of this Greek word is “shapeless, unformed,” which tells us that those who are rude are undisciplined in their behavior; they are just out of control in their comments and conduct.  They do and say whatever they feel like doing and saying, without using any self-discipline or self-control.

As one reads through 1 Corinthians it becomes apparent why Paul addressed the issue of rudeness in this chapter on love.  It is because the Corinthians had a serious problem in this area.  They were a congregation of undisciplined, rude, ill-mannered people.  We see this very clearly in a couple of places in 1 Corinthians.

First of all, they were certainly rude in the way they treated each other when they observed the Lord’s Supper, which included a common pot-luck type meal known as “the love feast.”  According to what Paul wrote in 11:20-22, instead of waiting for others to arrive at the common dinner prior to the Lord’s Supper, those who got their first quickly gobbled up their food and drank so much wine that they became drunk, while others went hungry, because by the time they arrived later, there was nothing left for them to eat or drink.  There was absolutely no consideration for others.

We see this same kind of rude disregard for others in the church in the way they carried on their Sunday services.  Writing in 1 Cor. 14:26 Paul said, “What is the outcome then, brethren?  When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation.  Let all things be done for edification.” Paul says that when they assemble for church on Sundays, everyone feels free to shout out what they believe is a word from God, so that one person shouts, “I have a psalm I would like to sing,” and they just start singing.  Another yells, “I have out a Bible lesson I’d like to give,” and they just start giving it.  Still another says, “I have a new revelation from God,” and they give it.  Then another starts speaking in tongues, and someone says, “I have an interpretation for that tongue.” Their behavior was nothing more than complete chaos, and it was rude because no one cared about what anyone else was saying; they just wanted to be heard.  So they spoke up anytime they wanted to, even if someone else was speaking at the time.  These people were just competing for who got the most attention, and it didn’t matter if they interrupted anyone else.  They were determined to be heard.  That’s rudeness, and it was unloving.

While it’s certainly true that the Corinthians were an extreme case of a congregation that acted rudely, it’s also true that rudeness among Christians did not die out with them.  Many of us can still be terribly rude without even being aware of it.

One way we can be rude is by telling each other exactly what we think about them, regardless of how it will make the other person feel.  Over the years I have observed that many Christians—especially senior saints—think that they have a license to give their opinion about someone else in the name of honesty.  They have convinced themselves that it’s ok to do this because, after all, the Bible commands us to speak the truth.  But the Bible tells us to speak the truth in love, not to be brutal in our honesty.  You don’t have the right to tell people anything on your mind about them, with the attitude of “I just speak my mind, and if somebody doesn’t like it, well, that’s just too bad.” Well, there is someone who doesn’t like it—God! He says that “love is not rude”!

Another way we can be rude is by not being on time to an appointment or to meet someone.  Certainly there are times when we can’t help being late because it’s out of our control.  So often though, it is in our control, and by being late we show no regard for the other’s person’s valuable time.  That’s nothing but ill-mannered rudeness.  And I am personally aware of this expression of rudeness, because I was once habitually guilty of being late to meet my fiancé (now my wife) for dinner when we were students at college.  I would consistently keep her waiting for me every day, simply because I had no regard for her time.  My constant lateness was rude, and it was sinful, because it was selfish.

This is why love doesn’t behave in a rude manner.  Love isn’t selfish.  It isn’t thoughtless and insensitive towards others.  It considers their feelings, it doesn’t run roughshod over others in the name of honesty.  It is attentive to, and understanding of, the plans, interests, and time constraints of others.  Love listens and pays attention to others when they are speaking.  Love doesn’t rudely interrupt others, or ignore their ideas and suggestions.  Love is not ill mannered.

So how do we overcome the sin of rudeness?  First of all, if you are aware that you have been rude to someone, then you need to ask God to forgive you, and then you need to ask forgiveness of the person to whom you have been rude.  Secondly, you have to recognize that the root cause of rudeness is an inflated sense of your own importance.  It is being puffed up with pride that makes you feel as if you are more important that anyone else, and therefore have a right to say or do whatever you want to say or do.  But the sooner you realize that you are aren’t more important than anyone else, the sooner you will learn to love others by being sensitive, tactful, and polite, both in your speech and your actions.

Of course, the greatest example of someone who wasn’t rude was Jesus.  He treated all people with respect.  How thoughtful He was in speaking kindly to those who were condemned and scorned in His society; namely, the prostitutes and tax collectors.  He was known as a friend of sinners.  He showed respect to women and children.  In speaking the truth to people about themselves, He always spoke in love.  May we follow His example.

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