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Proverbs 20:1-10
1 Wine is
a mocker, Strong drink is a
brawler, And whoever is led astray by it is not wise.
2 The wrath of a king is like the roaring of a lion; Whoever provokes him to anger sins against his own life.
3 It
is honorable for a man to stop striving, Since any fool can start a
quarrel.
4 The lazy man will not plow because of winter; He will beg during harvest
and have nothing.
5 Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water, But a man of
understanding will draw it out.
6 Most men will proclaim each his own goodness,
But who can find a faithful man?
7 The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him.
8 A king who sits on the throne of judgment
Scatters all evil with his eyes.
9 Who can say, "I have made my heart
clean, I am pure from my sin"?
10 Diverse weights and diverse measures, They are both alike, an abomination to the LORD.
Father God, touch our hearts to believe and live by every
word in the Bible. In Jesus name we pray. Amen!
Gospel of John 8:48-59 NKJV
As we finish out this chapter we have Jesus still
attempting to convince these Jewish leaders that what they are practicing is a
form of religion, not faith in God. This whole chapter has been about Jesus and
these leaders conversing about Jesus, who He was, what they believed in,
denying Jesus as the Messiah, etc.
Our humanistic nature leads people to believe and practice
faith in religion and not God. Jesus and the Apostles all preached and taught
that religion leads to spiritual death and not life. Faith in God through Jesus
is the only way to eternal life in Heaven. This is something hard for us to
comprehend because being human we want to do things ourselves to get to Heaven.
We need to go back to our childhood when we depended on our parents to provide
all that we needed. This is the relationship we need with our Creator, a child
like belief; faith; dependency, but as we grow up as a child and we become
teenagers our mind takes on the; I can take care of myself; I’m invincible; I
can figure things out for myself, I don’t need anyone telling me what to do;
etc. A childlike faith is so difficult for adults because as a child we can
see, hear, touch, and embrace our parents. It is a tangible relationship
whereas the relationship we have with God for the most part is intangible. With
this being a new year, stop and examine what type of relationship you have with
Jesus. Is it the relationship you want; do you want a closer one; are you doing
something about it; does your New Year resolution have a 3 or 4 to 1 ratio (3
part God and one part self)? If not, I encourage you to re-evaluate you
resolution. God will bless you abundantly with a resolution that glorifies Him
and not yourself.
48 Then the
Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly that You are a
Samaritan and have a demon?"
The
response the Jews gave here to Jesus indicates that they accused Jesus of being
a Samaritan previously, even though it is not recorded. So now they thought they were justified in
making this claim again, and that He had a demon inside being a Samaritan,
especially since he was treating them the way He did. These Jewish leaders
claimed they were the true sons of Abraham which they were physically, but not
Spiritually. They also knew Jesus had been among the Samaritans quite
frequently and therefore felt He was a Samaritan.
The Jews had a very ill
opinion of the Samaritans, and to call a man a Samaritan, was to call him a
heretic, an idolater, or an excommunicated person; for such were the Samaritans
with the Jews. They charged them with corrupting the Scriptures, and with
worshipping idols. The Jews viewed the Samaritans of having a demon within. So,
they were saying that His Doctrine was the Samaritans; false, corrupt, in
effect, a lie.
49 Jesus
answered, "I do not have a demon; but I honor My
Father, and you dishonor Me.
Jesus
answered, "I do not have a demon; but I honor My
Father; Here Jesus answers the leaders concerning the accusation
of being possessed. By stating what He did He is claiming that what He does is
good not evil. He honors God the Father by doing His will in all that He does. He
taught the doctrines that exalted God. He taught that He was holy and true. He
sought that men should love and obey God. He performed miracles of God. All His
teaching proved this. An evil spirit would not do this, and this was sufficient
proof that He was not influenced by such a spirit.
Did
you notice Jesus doesn’t address the Samaritan issue? In fact why should He,
after all He came to save anyone that comes to Him. Jesus didn’t just come for
the Jews salvation!
And you dishonor Me; With Jesus making this claim, in effect He is
saying that since they don’t honor Jesus, they don’t honor God.
50 And I do not seek My own
glory; there is One who seeks and judges.
And I do not seek My own
glory; In
essence what Jesus is saying here is that He came to earth to redeem mankind,
not to glorify Himself. He came to break the bonds of sin that man is bound up
in. Man cannot set himself free, only the blood of Jesus can do this.
There is One who seeks and judges; Meaning God His Father who had
glorified Jesus on the mount, and would glorify Him again when raise from the
dead. He would spread His Gospel in all the world and judge the nation of the
Jews; bring wrath upon them, upon their nation, city and temple, for their
contempt and rejection of Him. God sought Glory for Jesus, and Judged Him
worthy of Glory.
51 Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he
shall never see death."
What
Jesus is saying here is that anyone that heeds His words, the Bible, will never
see eternal death, meaning Hell. Unless one is Born Again, he cannot see the
kingdom of God. Here and the verses following, state that abiding by the Word
of God, the Bible, is the only true source; doctrine; eternal survival guide
for eternity. Nowhere in the Bible does Jesus or the Apostles teach that
abiding by religious rules, regulations, doctrine, catechism, etc., one will
gain entry to Heaven.
John 6:49-50 Your fathers ate the
manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
50 This is the
bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. John 3:36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting
life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of
God abides on him." John 5:24 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and
believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into
judgment, but has passed from death into life. John
11:25-26 Jesus said to her, "I am the
resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall
live. 26
And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.
Do you believe this?"
52 Then the
Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a demon! Abraham is dead, and
the prophets; and You say, 'If anyone keeps My word he
shall never taste death.'
Then
the Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a demon; In response to Jesus statement in verse
51these Jews now believe that Jesus was not one of them. How can anyone make a
statement of keeping His teaching and never see death. They are convinced He
has a demon within, at this point.
Abraham
is dead, and the prophets; Here
again these Jewish people are thinking of flesh and blood; the carnal body not
the spiritual body. These Jewish people have no clue as to what Jesus is saying
due to the fact that their faith is in their religious customs, heritage,
upbringing, and laws. Had their faith been in God like Abrahams was they would
have understood Jesus and what He was saying.
Abraham and the prophets
were dead but their spiritual bodies were alive and well in Heaven and will be
for eternity. The OT teaches faith in God and the NT teaches faith in Jesus
which is one in the same for eternal life in Heaven. Neither teach faith in
religious laws, denominational doctrine, customs, sacraments, etc. to save a
person from Hell, only faith in God. Only realizing, we as human beings live a
life of enmity toward God because of the inherited sin nature, that we need to
humble ourselves before God, not man, ask for forgiveness, and have a desire to
turn 180 degrees away from our sinful lifestyle, and accept Jesus into our
heart.
and
You say, 'If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste
death; These statements as given by these Pharisees, portray a
perfect example of the carnal man misunderstanding the Word of God, and the
religious man who perverts its meaning. Paul tells us an unsaved person
struggles with interpreting the Bible in 1 Corinthians 2:14 But the
natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are
foolishness to him; nor can he know them,
because they are spiritually discerned. This is why unsaved people say the Bible
is nothing but a bunch of stories; it has been diluted through the years; there
is no God; God surely has changed in the last 2000 years, etc. Basically they
don’t believe what the Bible says so they just pick and choose or fabricate what
they want to believe in. They take a couple words from a verse and use them out
of context to justify themselves, in other words they practice idolatry;
believing in themselves and mans dogma. (John
16:8–11).
53 Are You
greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Who do
You make Yourself out to be?"
Jesus
did not make Himself out to be anyone great, special, or a know it all. He was
humble in all actions and what He said, but these Jewish leaders made Him out
to be something that He wasn’t. Their view point was that He was a poor
carpenter's son; a Galilean; a Nazarene; greater than Abraham or any of the
prophets; that He was God to promise security from death and eternal life by keeping
the word.
These
leaders had their feathers ruffled because they viewed themselves of having the
authority and power to do spiritual things. They gave the permission to those
they deemed holy and what to say by these Religious Leaders. They felt Jesus
anointed Himself.
54 Jesus
answered, "If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing.
It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.
Jesus
answered, "If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing;
Meaning
if Jesus promoted Himself it would be empty and vain, and not continue over
time, it would fade away. 2
Corinthians 10:18 For not he
who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends. What is of man
will fade away. Acts
5:38-39 And now I say to you, keep away
from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it
will come to nothing; 39 but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest
you even be found to fight against God." Acts
5:34-40
It is My Father who honors Me; Jesus was honored by the Father several
ways; by a voice from heaven, both at His baptism, and transfiguration
declaring Him to be His beloved Son; by the works and miracles He did by Him;
by raising Him from the dead; setting Him at His own right hand; pouring forth His
Spirit on His disciples and ensuing His Gospel in every place.
Of whom you say that He is your God; Jesus has
repeatedly stated in every way possible that if they truly knew God, they would
know Him.
55 Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, 'I
do not know Him,' I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His
word.
There
is no mistaking what Jesus is saying here. He is being direct and to the point.
At this point I believe Jesus is quite perturbed with these people and is why
He is being so direct.
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad."
Though
Abraham was not permitted to live to see the times of the Messiah, yet he was
permitted to have a prophetic view of Him, and also of the plan of his coming. Abraham
was permitted to have a view of the death of the Messiah as a sacrifice for
sin, represented by the command to offer Isaac.
So
we learn from this statement by Christ, that some of the Prophets and
Patriarchs of old, at least Abraham, and no doubt David and Isaiah, etc., fully
understood the coming Incarnation. It was not a mystery to them, and it brought
great joy to their hearts.
Therefore,
Jesus is saying to the Religious Leaders of Israel, that there was no reason
why they should not know Him, especially considering that Abraham knew this
some 2,000 years before.
57 Then the
Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen
Abraham?"
Sarcastically,
these Jews twisted the words that Jesus stated. Abraham longed to see the
Messiah, not that Jesus lived during Abraham’s time, although Jesus did see
Abraham in the Spiritual world.
The
Jews believed a man did not reach full maturity regarding wisdom and intellect
until fifty years of age, that why they mentioned 50 years old.
58 Jesus
said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you,
before Abraham was, I AM."
Jesus
now clearly makes the supreme declaration that He is Jehovah. In essence He
said, “Before Abraham was brought into being I was eternally existent.”
He
then said, “Abraham was, but I am”, not that He came into existence
before Abraham did, but that He never came into being at any time, because He
had always existed. By this statement we see in the next verse that it
infuriates these leaders.
59 Then they
took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the
temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
At
this point Jesus says no more and quietly exits through the crowd of people.
Colossians
1:16
For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth,
visible
and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All things were created through Him and for Him.
Romans
3:23 for
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans
6:23
For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal
life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, Most
assuredly, I say to you,
unless
one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
The
Lighthouse Full Gospel Church
Sinners Prayer; Pray this, and if you
believe it with your heart, Jesus will save you!
“Lord Jesus I know I am a
sinner. I confess my sins to you; I am
sorry for my sins; I repent (Meaning, desiring to turn from a sinful
lifestyle.) of all my sins, and I am asking for your forgiveness. I believe that only you can forgive sin. I commit my life to you and ask you to come
into my heart, direct, and take charge of my life. I believe that you died to set me free from
my sinful lifestyle and you rose from the dead to give me eternal life, and
right now you are seated at the Right Hand of God Almighty. I believe you are
the Son of God; the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life, and my
Savior.” I believe this and have faith
you will make a new person out of me, by sending the Holy Spirit to dwell in my
heart and lead me in a new life. In Jesus name I pray Amen.”
(John
3:16,17; Romans 3:23; 6:23; 5:8;
10:9-13; Ephesians 2:8-10;
1 John 5:11-14; 1:6-10) (Sin: Rom. 1:22-32; Gal.
5:19-21; Eph. 5:3-7)
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