Honor Marriage

“He answered, "Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate."” (Matthew 19:4-6 ESV).

As we consider the command to honor marriage, we must consider what God says about who is to marry who. We begin with what seems very clear, that God created male and female, which is determined by physical characteristics, not by what you think you are or want to be. For example, if a person, a male by birth, who has fathered children, walks around dresses as a woman and thinks he is a woman, is not a woman, but one who is deceived and dishonors God.

This male and female that God created, who have the proper physical parts to come together to create children, are to marry. It is to be one male to one female, not some other combination that some promote. Any marriage combination other than one male and one female and for life, dishonors God and is sin. Remember, “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.” (Hebrews 13:4 ESV).

Prayer

Father, even many Christians have deviated from this command. We are not willing to take a stand against the immoral behavior that is becoming a more normal way of life and as a result the family unit Is rapidly breaking down, resulting in social distress in our culture. Looking at the cross, we see love as a sacrifice, but today love has become more of a feeling. Love as a sacrifice looks out for the benefit of the other while love as a feeling looks out for the benefit of self. Father, we need to bring honor and sacrifice back into marriage.

See "The Commands of Jesus" Index to view other commands.

Honor God's Law

“Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:19 ESV). This command to honor God’s Law is found in a section where Jesus is explaining that he came to fulfill the Law. Stating it's important, Jesus then points out the importance for us to understand the need to obey the commands and emphasize their importance to others. How effective we are in accomplishing this will determine our position in kingdom of heaven.

As I think about this I realize how relaxed we have come in obedience to the word. Our relationship to the word is like our eating habits. We select what we like and eat all we want without too much concern about how it will impact our health. We pick and choose what we like; for example, things like the verse of the day, or a devotional verse, or those that make us feel good, but anything that would cost us something, take our time, or limit us in fulfilling our desires, we tend to shun. As a result, our knowledge and experience with God is limited and we are not growing in spiritual maturity as we should. We need to be more intentional in our faithfulness to the word of God.

Prayer

Father, we need to embrace Galatians 2:20 (ESV): “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” We need to clearly understand that “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21 ESV). Lord, we need to be broken before you so that you can use us to accomplish great things. We also need to understand that a rich meaningful life comes when we pour ourselves out in giving ourselves in serving others, to make room to receive more. If you fill your cup and leave it full it will soon become undesirable, but if we continue to pour out some we make room to receive more, which is new and refreshing.

See "The Commands of Jesus" Index to view other commands.

Hear God's Voice

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Matthew 11:15 ESV). At first this sentence seems out of place with little connection to what Jesus is saying. But realizing this to be a proverbial expression, frequently used by Jesus to draw attention to that which is important and which may require extra effort to understand, it then fits here as in many other places in Scripture. For example, see Matthew 13:9, Mark 4:23 and the end of each of the seven letters to the churches in Revelation.

When the reader encounters this expression, the command is too backup and read again what was written because it probably includes something of importance, which will require special attention to truly understand what is being said. In this current context, Jesus is saying that John the Baptist is the greatest of all, but the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater yet. Looking at verses 12 – 14, raises some interesting questions. How has the kingdom of heaven suffered violence since the days of John the Baptist? What have the prophets, of which John is the last, prophesied? How is John, Elijah who is to come? These are not easy questions to answer and may require extra study to understand. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” is a speed bump to draw your attention too slow down and think about what you just read or heard.

Prayer

Father, so often, when we read the Bible, we just read over the surface, like we were snorkeling, but we need to slow down and do some scuba diving to experience some of the beauty found at greater depths. It seems to me that this command is asking us to do more scuba reading to learn more about the mature things of God. Father, the past two years of Bible study have been so rich as to cause the things of the world to become simply shadows of what is truly real.

See "The Commands of Jesus" Index to view other commands.

Go to Offenders

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.” (Matthew 18:15-17 ESV).

The discipline process outlined by these verses applies only for sin serious enough to remove a member from fellowship and there is evidence of that unrepentant sin by at least two or three witnesses. If the situation is about conflict resolution or there are not firsthand witnesses to the unrepentant sin, then these verses do not apply.

If a brother sins against you it is your responsibility to go to that brother, in love and humility, to seek his forgiveness. If he understands how he has sinned against you and seeks your forgiveness, then you have maintained fellowship with that brother. If that brother refuses to repent and evidence of that sin was witnessed by others, then take those witnesses with you and seek his forgiveness. If he refuses and the offense is serious enough to remove him from fellowship, then the final step is to be considered as a last resort. In our politically correct environment of today, this command is very rarely applied now. Even going to the brother who has sinned against you is often complicated by your own sin of sharing your hurt with others as judgment against him and not trying to help you brother who has stumbled.

Prayer

Father, as I think about those who offend us, I am reminded of what Paul said: “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:1-3 ESV). If we could live in this way, then the offense against us would probably not appear to be as serious as we think it to be.

See "The Commands of Jesus" Index to view other commands.

Go the Second Mile

“You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.” (Matthew 5:38-42 ESV). We are not to apply these verses literally, but to understand the truth of what Jesus is teaching and how this might apply to the command of going the second mile.

When someone wrongs us it is our tendency to want to retaliate, but the expression of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth is to place a limit on our need of justice to not exceed the injustice done to us. To not resist evil does not mean we give up to its advances when we have opportunity to hold it back. Jesus is not suggesting we allow continued abuse when there are means to overcome it. We are not to allow others to take what is ours just because they want it and there is a limit to what we can do for others. So, what is Jesus teaching through these extreme illustrations?

Consider an example of one who has been taken into custody by authorities for sharing the gospel in a country of persecution. The person is about to be tortured and any resistance would only make matters worse. To renounce your faith, as they demand, is not an acceptable option. Evidence shows and Scripture supports yielding our need of justice over to God, allowing a spirit of love and forgiveness to fill us, providing us with a supernatural witness of the power of the gospel. Many evil men have come to salvation from this kind of witness.

To gain the insight of these verses, one needs to understand the life of Jesus and live as he did. As the Son of God, he humbled himself to a shameful death on a cross to purchase our salvation. How do we resist the powers of darkness and advance the kingdom of God? By going the second mile when called upon to do so.

Prayer

Father, there have been many sermons preached and much written on going the second mile, but the bottom line seems to be our surrender to your will to accomplish your desire for us in doing kingdom work. Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth to walk the second mile to give his life so that we who were spiritually dead in our sin could be forgiven and obtain eternal life. Father, help each of us be willing to go the extra mile, to sacrifice whatever is necessary to benefit someone else by living out our faith.

See "The Commands of Jesus" Index to view other commands.

Forgive Offenders

“Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (Matthew 18:21-22 ESV). This command was prompted by a question Peter asked Jesus about forgiveness. Apparently Peter thought there was a limit on the number of times a person should be forgiven. Since Peter suggested seven times, Jesus also responds with a number. The number given was large enough to suggest no limit and was validated as such with an illustration.

The setting of the illustration is the kingdom of heaven and its king who wishes to settle accounts with his servants. He calls up one who owed more than a lifetime of wages and wanted payment. The servant fell on his knees and begged for time to repay, which would be an impossibility. Out of pity the king released him and forgave his debt. That forgiven servant then goes and finds a fellow servant and requires payment of debt owed him. That servant asks for time to repay, but the request was denied and he was sent to prison until he could pay in full.

The purpose of this story is to illustrate that each of us owes God more than we could ever pay to cover our sin and if we expect to enter heaven we would have to be forgiven our enormous debt. That forgiveness was made possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus, but it comes with conditions; a humble submission before Jesus in belief and the willingness on our part to forgive others: “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:14-15 ESV). Just as God is willing to forgive us who offend him, we are to forgive those who offend us, and without limit.

Prayer

Father, it appears that a characteristic of a believer is the willingness to forgive others. The range of seven times to 777 times would suggest we must forgive the small offenses as well as the large ones. Father, as I study persecution, I see extreme examples of this by those who can transfer their need of justice to God and then share expressions of love and forgiveness to those who are persecuting them. Replacing our need of justice with forgiveness is not natural and requires direction and strength from the Holy Spirit. Father, thank you for making that ability available and providing us with an example with Jesus and those who are willing to die for their faith.

See "The Commands of Jesus" Index to view other commands.

Follow Me

“And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."” (Matthew 4:19 ESV). This command was given as an invitation to those men Jesus was calling to be his disciples. Apparently each one called decided to follow as there is no indication otherwise, and to those who follow and leave their current lifestyle, he promises to train to become fishers of men. Since this was a call to those to become his disciples, how might thus apply to us?

In Matthew 28:19, Jesus commands us, as believers, to go and make disciples. Each believer is therefore considered to be a disciple of his. As we follow Jesus our task is to call others, but only a few of them are actually chosen to follow: “For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:14 ESV). As followers of Jesus, our job is to invite or to call, but only those who are lost sheep, will the Father choose to become disciples. The more people we call the more lost sheep we will find. Remember, of those called only a few are chosen, so we must not be discouraged.

It is important to point out that evidence of being chosen is that we will begin bearing fruit, “Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:20 ESV). Those who are chosen receive the Holy Spirit and thus should display the fruit of the Spirit of “. . . love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; . . .” (Galatians 5:22-23 ESV). A central piece of being chosen that is increasingly being ignored today I that we are by faith to be crucified with Christ, for “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20 ESV). As Jesus lives his life in me we will take on a new lifestyle and bear fruit to his glory. So, how are we doing in following Jesus?

Prayer

Father, as I think about a prayer in relation to this command to follow Jesus, I realize how far off the mark we are today. Our following involved little lifestyle change and little desire to commit to kingdom work. Following Jesus today appears more and more like being of the world, not being in the world as a representative of God, with the attitude that I have a free pass to heaven. Following Jesus is not being what I want to be, it is becoming more and more like Jesus Christ.