Thoughts from Nehemiah for the New Year

Happy New Year! Below is an outline for the New Year exhortation I gave to my family today. I hope you find it to bring some measure of encouragement to you as it did to my own heart. 

Background

The book of Nehemiah and the book of Ezra go together and were originally one book. These books follow 1-2 Chronicles which end with King Cyrus’ edict for the Jews to return to their land. Ezra begins with Cyrus’ edict and Nehemiah continues the story. The Jews had spent 70 years in exile and bondage to Babylon. It is not a surprise then that the Jewish community was struggling with its identity for both those in exile and those who had remained in the land of Judah. The reason the people of God then were in exile was because of their disobedience in the covenant of God.

As you read through the narratives of Ezra/Nehemiah, several themes emerge that are quite relevant to the people of God today. I will only mention these themes (taken from both the NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible and the ESV Study Bible), and then we will read a prayer that is found in Nehemiah 9 that can help teach and challenge us as God’s covenant people for 2026.

Themes

1.     God is Sovereign. The Lord then and today rules over both creation and history. The Lord moved the heart of King Cyrus and Artaxerxes to accomplish His purposes for His people. You could choose to read 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles, and then Ezra and Nehemiah in that order keeping this theme in mind.

a.      This can serve as a great encouragement to you as we enter into 2026 and all the things we see going on in the world knowing that our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. No matter what may assail the Covenant people of God today, Jesus will build His church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

2.     The Worship of God. Many years before the walls of Jerusalem and any buildings were rebuilt, the first action of the returning exiles was rebuilding the altar. After this, they rebuilt the temple and celebrated the Passover. This shows us that the worship of God took priority even over their security and daily living needs.

a.      As the New Year begins, it is a great time to take note of where our priorities are. The Jews were just coming out of a very long and painful lesson of what their unfaithfulness brought them. Paul writes to us in 1 Cor. 10:11 regarding the Exodus that “…these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.” This certainly applies not only to the Pentateuch, but to the whole Old Testament.

3.     The written Word of God. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah frequently refer to the Psalms, the Prophets, and the Torah. They often read from it publicly in the hearing of all the people and many of the priests spent ample time to explain it and give its meaning. In the great reformations seen among the people of God in those days, the written Word of God was central to His people.

a.      It is probably obvious to us all how this theme is relevant to us today. If the Bible is not central in our lives we will suffer great losses. We have the immense privilege of having a full and complete canon. This gives us more light and understanding than that of the Jews in those days and also places more responsibility on us. Let us renew our resolve to the Lord in our personal study and obedience to God’s Word as well as to the public preaching of it from those who faithfully give the sense of it. “They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.” Neh. 8:8

4.     God is Faithful. While the unfaithfulness of the people of God brought them into exile, slavery, and bondage under foreign rulers, the Lord never gave up on His people.

a.      He is faithful in temptations. “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” 1 Cor. 10:13

b.     He is faithful to keep you in Him. “No may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.” 1 Thess, 5:23-24

c.      He is faithful in His protections. “But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.” 2 Thess. 3:3

 

In the days of Nehemiah, the people of God made a covenant among themselves to be faithful to God and walk in His ways (Neh. 10:28-29). This was something they put down in writing and signed their names to it making a public profession. We have also done something similar among the saints of God at Riverside Community Church. It therefore seems good to me that we remember the solemn oath we took. After reading our vows, I will read the prayer from Nehemiah 9. I encourage each one of you to listen as attentively as possible and with a reverent and solemn spirit.

Book of Church Order 57-5

(All of) you being here present to make a public profession of faith, are to assent to the following declarations and promises, by which you enter into a solemn covenant with God and His Church.

1. Do you acknowledge yourselves to be sinners in the sight of God, justly deserving His displeasure, and without hope save in His sovereign mercy?

2. Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and Savior of sinners, and do you receive and rest upon Him alone for salvation as He is offered in the Gospel?

3. Do you now resolve and promise, in humble reliance upon the grace of the Holy Spirit, that you will endeavor to live as becomes the followers of Christ?

4. Do you promise to support the Church in its worship and work to the best of your ability?

5. Do you submit yourselves to the government and discipline of the Church, and promise to study its purity and peace?

 

Read Nehemiah Chapter 9

May the Lord bless each of you at the beginning of this year and incline your whole heart to love Him with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. Amen.  

Hell on Trial

Note: I will be editing and adding to this article over time. The edits are for the purpose of correcting grammar and the additions are for the purpose of clarification and expansion. 

Recently, Kirk Cameron held a podcast with his son on the subject of hell. Because of his popularity and influence, this has caused quite a number of discussions and debates. It came across my "desk" in the sense that I saw it in my Facebook feed, watched the podcast, and entered some discussions online to interact with those who hold the conditionalist view. Briefly, this view of hell does not deny that there is punishment to the sinner who dies without Christ, but rather that at the final judgment those who names are not found in the Book of Life are thrown into the lake of fire they are annihilated and will not suffer eternal conscious punishment for all eternity. 

What most call the traditional view is the belief that the sinner who dies in their sins will be thrown into the lake of fire (which both agree is called the second death in Scripture), but contrary to the conditional view (sometimes just simply called annihilationism) will suffer consciously forever without end just like those who are redeemed will enjoy eternal bliss in heaven without end. More recently, Cameron has publicly responded to the reactions he received seeking to clarify his position and is now working to create a public discussion on the subject with several Christian leaders. 

So why am I writing about this on a blog that nearly nobody will read? Perhaps for my own edification and to reflect on it later on in life. I was naively surprised by the fact that are people who deny the idea that the wicked will also possess immortality like the righteous. I was surprised by this, not because this is what I have been taught by tradition (I was not brought up in a strict Christian home and did not attend any church very much as a kid), but rather because what I have read in the Bible. The Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 1, article 7 states: 

" All things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto all; yet those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed, for salvation, are so clearly propounded and opened in some place of Scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain unto a sufficient understanding of them." 

While it may not be said that the doctrine of hell or the final state of mankind after the final judgment is necessary for salvation, this does not mean that the doctrine of the final state of the wicked is not clear enough so that the learned and unlearned may attain a sufficient understanding of it through due use of ordinary means. For me, having the read the Bible many times from the teaching of Jesus from the Gospels, the Apostles from their letters, and the prophecy of the book of Revelation, it is a straightforward reading that reveals the wicked enter into judgment and will be punished eternally for their sins. 

This understanding is called the traditional view because it has been the main view held by Christian churches throughout the centuries. This is not to say that there have not been those who have held the conditional viewpoint in church history. Louis Berkhof gives a couple of pages on the history of the of this doctrine in his book "The History of Christian Doctrines" saying, "The earliest Church Fathers have very little to say about the last judgment, but generally stress its certainty." (p.267). With regard to the early church fathers he writes, "The punishment of the wicked was generally thought of as eternal, Origen forming an exception." Because Berkhof doesn't devote more than two pages to this topic in his book, there is not too much more that he adds other than to say that from that early period through the Reformation and Post-Reformation era the general and widespread view has been that "They shared the common belief in the eternal bliss of heaven and the eternal torments of hell." While Berkhof's treatment of the doctrine is brief in his book, he cites a number of sources for further reading at the end of that section.

He does report that, "Some Anabaptists taught restorationism (essentially universalism), and some Socinians, the annihilation of the wicked..." and that "...since the middle of the previous century (he wrote his book in 1937) the doctrine of conditional immortality has enjoyed great popularity in some circles." And this is what we find being made somewhat popular again (at least in American culture) by Kirk Cameron today. 

For those who would want to take a deeper dive on the subject, the image at the top of this post is a book written in 2007 that addressed and defended the traditional viewpoint. It is well-written by many authors and well-sourced for  digging deeper (I am 160 pages in, Chapter 4, of 463 pages, Kindle version). For this brief blog article, I would encourage my reader to look to the Scriptures and prayerfully consider what it says. I believe you will find their meaning clear and consistent. 

From our Lord Jesus: 

"If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hand to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, than with two feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye that with two eyes to be thrown into hell, where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched." Mark 9:43-48

While the passage is not a teaching about hell, it most certainly includes it. Not only does it include teaching about hell, but Jesus is also quoting Isaiah 66:24. This is significant because He is providing infallible commentary on the Isaiah. Isaiah reads, 

"And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh." 

It is hard to imagine language more clear from Jesus. The paradox is also startling. As we all are familiar with decomposition and fire, we know that a dead body is eventually consumed in fire and maggots eventually die when they run out of food. Yet, here we have our Lord teaching us that the state of these people is such that the fire is never put out and the maggots never run out of food. Proponents of annihilationism emphasize the phrase "dead bodies" in Isaiah while glossing over the language of Jesus and of Isaiah as to the worm and the fire. The metaphorical paradox is meant to be startling and catch our attention bringing the emphasis of the text to a very clear meaning: This is an everlasting state. 

Another place in Scripture that speaks on the subject is found in 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10 as the Apostle Paul comforts the believers who are enduring persecutions: 

"since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you are are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed."  

The Thessalonians faced persecutions and afflictions, such as mob violence (see Acts 17:1-9), and Paul was comforting the believers by what he wrote them. One day the Lord will come to punish those who troubled them and give them rest from all the troubles that the wicked were bringing upon them. This is foretold to happen for them at the revelation of Jesus when He comes "in that Day" which ties this promise to the final day of judgment. It is also plain from the text that the wicked will be punished with everlasting destruction. The conditionalists want to argue for annihilation arguing that the destruction is everlasting meaning that it no longer exists. However, we need to pay attention to the justice being proclaimed here by the Holy Spirit. This is the Lord's vengeance upon the wicked for their mistreatment of His people and their disobedience to the Gospel. They are being punished with an everlasting (never ending) destruction. 

Furthermore, Greek word for destruction transliterated is "olethros" and may be used to mean ruin, destroy, or death. For those familiar with the use of language, words nearly always have a very wide semantic range. It is in the context of the word being used where the particular meaning is determined. In this context, the Apostle Paul is juxtaposing the Thessalonian's rest with the punishment of the wicked at His coming. The saints rest with the Lord Jesus is forever and ever. And this is not denied by the conditionalists. What justification then do we have to deny that the punishment of those who disobey the Gospel is not forever and ever? Looking at the word "destruction" in Greek or English will not be sufficient by itself to draw the conclusion. 

A sound principle in biblical interpretation useful here is called the Usus Loquendi. This is a Latin phrase that means the use of speaking or the usage of speaking. It is a key principle in interpretation that traces the use of a word in Scripture. For example, this same Greek word is used by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 5:5 in which Paul says of an erroring brother, "To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." Here the use of the word clearly is a temporary destruction. In the book "Hell Under Fire" the authors write concerning this word (and two others): 

"...they usually refer to the situation of a person or object that has lost the essence of its nature or function. This is the case even when the words are applied to physical death )as in, e.g., 1 Cor. 10:0, 10 [apollymi];...what is "destroyed" is "life as we know it in this world"; whether this implied extinction is not at all clear and can be decided only after the broader teaching about life after death has been decided." p.164, Kindle version 

Conditionalists ought to learn this principle and accept the fact that what a word may mean is not enough to determine what it does mean apart of both its immediate and broader contexts. As an example of a broader context here, we can trace the theme of final judgment to the book of Revelation. Consider the following: 

"Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receive his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out in full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name." Rev. 14:9-11. 

Here is the plainest language one could imagine for people who will suffer eternal conscious punishment. They have no rest day or night. Their torment continues forever and ever. For the annihilationist to maintain their view, they must at least give up their view to allow for the conscious eternal punishment of these people. But let us expand the context more: 

"The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire." Rev. 20:10-15. 

Here the language is nearly identical to what we found in chapter 14. We see the eternal puniahment of God against the devil, the beast, and the false prophet. Here is where the Thessalonians, and all those who have been persecuted, will see justice done upon to them. The punishment is that they are cast into the lake of fire where they are tormented day and night forever and ever. This lake of fire is the selfsame place that all those whose names are not found in the Book of Life are also cast. If the devil, the false prophet, and the beast are tormented forever and ever in the lake of fire and it does not annihilate them, then neither will it annihilate the people who are cast into it. 

Someone remarked in one my online discussions asking what I think of Death and Hades being cast there also. They are not people, or the devil, or the false prophet so how are these inanimate things tormented? The lake of fire is called the second death. Death is the last enemy to be destroyed (1 Cor. 15:26; this word translated destroyed here is a different Greek word, transliterated katageo and has the meaning of rendering idle, useless, or to do away with).  Death at this point is no longer the same. The only death that will exist at that time is the second death. Hades is also given up because it was a temporary holding place of punishment for the wicked until the final judgment. Therefore, the lake of fire has replaced Death and Hades. Death and Hades are temporary whereas the lake of fire is forever and ever. And it is MUCH worse. 

This is certainly not the first time hell has gone on trial and probably will not be the last. I think the devil would very much like people to think that if they spend a lifetime living for their own lusts, worshipping idols, committing sexual immorality, being thieves, murderers, liars, etc. that the worst that is going to happen to them is eventually the God they hate will will utterly annihilate them. However, the Scripture does not teach this. And this is not the ONLY thing Scripture teaches. The Apostle John who saw the lake of fire also saw glory and beauty. He wrote, 

"And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp or light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever." Rev. 22:1-5 

"And the Spirit and the bride say Come! And let him who hears say, Come! And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely." Rev. 22:17 

So what of you dear reader? Will you come to the Lord Jesus who was crucified for our sins and raised from the dead to give us life? Will you confess your sins to Him turning from them to the living God who offers you a way of escape from everlasting destruction and punishment that your sins justly deserve? If you hear and if you are thirsty and if you desire, then call upon the Name of Jesus right now. 

Turn to him right now and take the water of life freely. 

Your servant in Jesus, 

Geoff 

Theological labors

I started this blog back in 2010 to be a place to house summaries of a book I was studying for a seminary class at the time. That class was on Hermeneutics with Whitefield Theological Seminary. Now, 15 years later, I begin again on the same subject: Biblical Interpretation. This time my work will be with Westminster Theological Seminary and Lord willing I will complete the degree! My purpose for this blog will be to post what I am learning in a manner that can be beneficial to those the Lord may allow me to interact with. 

This would most certainly be my wife and children as well as my dear brothers and sisters in Christ in our church. Perhaps the Lord will allow my influence to extend to the saints in India through the work at Dayspring Children's Home as well as in my primary vocation. And if by God's incredible grace you my reader find this unknown and obscure blog and are blessed even a little to know Him and love Him more, then my time will not have been spent in vain. 

Your brother and servant in Jesus 

Geoff 

Thoughts in Proverbs

Greetings,

I have been keep a journal for some time as I have have been working through Proverbs, mostly, verse by verse. The following is from Tuesday, November 19th, morning meditation. This particular morning I was deeply moved and impressed by the study for the necessity of the message of the coming judgment of the Lord which seems to be absent from many pulpits in our nation.

"Everyone Proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; though they join forces, none will go unpunished." Proverbs 16:5

Here the Holy One calls the proud in heart an abomination. This word is often used of things related to false religions and of sins such as perversity, injustice, and one who sows division. Prov. 3:32; 11:1.20; 6:19. In Leviticus 18 we can learn the various sins of sexual immorality and the murder of babies to Molech for which the Lord was disposing of those nations, calling them and their deeds abominations, by which the land was defiled and God's judgment was to vomit them out of it. These the Lord called abominations just as He calls a proud heart an abomination. The pride of a man's heart is seen in his face. "An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin." Prov. 21:4. The Lord hates a proud look. Prov. 6:16-17. Here in this Proverb and in Proverb 11:21, we learn the proud in heart and the wicked join forces, literally hand-in-hand. They must think themselves stronger in force and deceive themselves that they are safe and not be shaken because of their numbers and agreement among themselves. But the prophetic Scriptures declare that they shall not go unpunished. "None will go unpunished."

When the whole world united in pride and sin, which one escaped the flood? Only Noah and his family, eight persons, were saved alive because of the grace of God. Genesis 6:8. And now, when the Gospel of Christ is preached to us, if we are proud in our hearts and do not humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord, and remain disobedient to continue in the perversity and wickedness of our hearts, and do not repent of the evil in our hands, do we think we will escape the wrath of God which is yet to come? None will go unpunished. When these things enter our minds and hearts, and we become concerned for our souls so that our hearts melt within us for the fear of the Lord, let us be like Rahab, who trusted in the Lord, and saved herself and her whole family alive and all that they had.

How interesting that on the heels of this Proverb, the next verse declares, "In mercy and truth atonement is provided for iniquity; and by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil." v.6 How wonderful the Holy Spirit is who speaks truth in judgment and declares mercy and truth in forgiveness of sins. When I hear His Word that He will not acquit the wicked, my heart melts. My heart says with His Word, "Who can stand before His indignation? And who can endure the fierceness of His anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by Him." Nahum 1:6. Whose proud heart will not tremble and is so haughty that he thinks he will stand in the day of His anger? I am melted within me and no confidence remains in me. The day of the Lord's wrath surely comes and He does not tarry.

How many tokens can we multiply and examples given of the surety of the fulfillment of His Word? Of the world that perished in the flood, of Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed by fire, of Jericho, and Babylon, and all the cities dispossessed and destroyed by Israel which the Lord did because of all their abominations. And yet a Day remains when He will come and remove out of the earth and make an end of all the wicked of the earth. And though we live long on the earth, continuing in sins and abominations, and the patience of God continues, in our lack of repentance we do nothing more than store up greater wrath against ourselves when the Lord Jesus comes to judge the living and the dead. Moreover, if we live long in sin and die, our spirits will only be reserved in chains of darkness until that day when all will hear the voice of the Son of God and come out of their graves, the righteous to everlasting peace and joy, and the wicked to everlasting destruction and eternal fire.

O how long will you continue in your wickedness, pride, and stubborn heart? Today is a day of mercy and truth. The Lord is slow to anger and rich in mercy. "The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him." Nahum 1:7. Atonement for iniquity has been provided for in the blood of the Lamb, Jesus, the Lord and Messiah, the anointed one. Fear the Lord. Repent. Depart from evil and trust in Him. Come to the Lord Jesus and wash away your iniquity in His blood and receive His grace of eternal life. Amen.

William Tyndale – 1483 – 1536, October 6th

Found hundred and eighty-three years ago on Friday, October 6^th 1526, at the young age of 53, William Tyndale was tied to a stake, strangled to death, and then burnt in the sight of men. Most of what we know of the man comes from Foxe’s Book of Martyrs where we learn of his final words: “His last words, uttered with fervent zeal, and in a loud voice, were these: “Lord, open the king of England’s eyes!”

Tyndale was a highly educated man, studied at Oxford at an early age and later moved to Cambridge where he became acquainted with Erasmus, a great Greek scholar of his day, who had just completed the Greek New Testament. Learning this language and so learning the New Testament in its original language, became a follower of the Lord Jesus. You must understand that at this time in the world, the Bible was not available to people like it is today. It was in a language the people did not speak, either of Greek or Latin, and the Roman Catholic church kept it away, hidden from the people. Tyndale could not keep silent about the things he learned from the Bible and openly taught the people and debated the priests. One of Tyndale’s opponents, a Roman Catholic priest had remarked that it would be better to have the pope’s laws than God’s Law. To this Tyndale replies, “I defy the pope, and all his laws; and if God spare me I will one day make the boy that drives the plough in England to know more of Scripture than the pope himself!”

With a fervent zeal and love for his people, Tyndale set to do what had never been done up to his day: translate the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures (Old and New Testament) out of the original languages into English. After many attempts to do so in England, Tyndale found there was no room for him in all the land to conduct the work there. This did not deter his purpose, so in 1524 he left his home in England, never to return, and went to Hamburg Germany. There, in poverty and constant danger, he continued his work. The Roman Catholic church at the time had often persecuted the true Christians, burning alive men, women and children, who would even quote the Lord’s Prayer in English. How much more Tyndale who would give all of England the whole New Testament in English!

In Germany Tyndale could work and utilize the new printing press which made the making of copies far more numerous and at a cost most could afford. This did not stop the papacy and priestcraft from launching a vehement persecution against the work. Thousands of copies of Tyndale’s New Testament were discovered and burned at St. Paul’s Cross, in the city of London. This in no way discouraged Tyndale who said, “In the burning the book they did none other thing that I looked for; no more shall they do if they burn me also, if it be God’s will that it should be so.” When the papacy could see that burning the books did no good, and the New Testament spread all the more, they conspired to buy all the New Testaments so they could to burn them all. Of course, this meant that ALL of Tyndale’s testaments were purchased. To this Tyndale remarked, “I am the gladder, for these two benefits shall come of it: I shall get money to bring myself out of debt, and the whole world will cry out against the burning of God’s word. The overplus of the money that remains shall enable me to correct the said New Testament, and then newly to print the same again, and I trust the second will be much better than ever was the first that I printed.”

The result was exactly that, and the New Testament went into England with a better revision and all the more abundantly. It was a terrible betrayal that caused Tyndale to be caught by the authorities. A man pretending to be a Christian won Tyndale’s confidence that led to his arrest and imprisonment. He suffered greatly in prison not having good clothing, suffering cold, lack of food, and sickness. The Lord had not only provided for this great brother in the Lord to work in bringing to Word of God in English to the people, but also to crown him with the sufferings of Christ and lay his life down for those who he labored so much to bring to Christ. Of his sufferings we have from him, “I suffer greatly from cold in the head, and am afflicted by a perpetual catarrh (terrible cold, inflammation of sinus, sinus infection), which is much increased in this cell…My overcoat is worn out; my shirts are also worn out…And I ask to be allowed to have a lamp in the evening: it is indeed wearisome sitting alone in the dark. But most of all I beg and beseech your clemency to be urgent with the commisionary, that he will kindly permit me to have my Hebrew Bible, Hebrew Grammar, and Hebrew Dictionary, that I may pass the time in that study.”

Not only Tyndale, but his fellow workers, suffered much to give the English speaking world a Bible in English. All the books of Moses and some of the prophets and the whole New Testament were given to us by God through the life, sufferings, and martyrdom of Tyndale. My purpose in sharing this with you today is not only to remember one of the greatest servants of God in history on the anniversary of his death, but to encourage you and inspire you to treasure what you have when you hold your English Bible in your hands. It is not saying too much to say that from the King James Version of the Bible to all English translations that 70% of what we hold is Tyndale’s (although most will not acknowledge this, as is the case with many servants of God, who would prefer themselves to decrease anyway, and see the Lord Jesus increased all the more). Here are a few phrases that are wholly Tyndale’s that may be familiar to us all:

“And God said, Let there be light, and there was light” Genesis 1

“Ask, and it shall be give you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” Matt 7

“With God all things are possible” Matt 19

“Fight the good fight of faith; lay hold on eternal life” 1 Timothy 6

“Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” Hebrews 12

Let’s pray and give thanks to the Lord who raised up men like Tyndale so we could have His Word in our own language and that Jesus will truly be to us the author and finisher of our faith.

Revived

Glad to see this blog doesn't disappear after 2+ years! Glad to revive it and also have notes back from my studies in hermeneutics! I am not sure where I will take this at this point, but I will take it one day at a time, as the Lord wills.

Headed to the mill

Jadon and I are up early to head to te abortion mill this morning. Praying that our time is fruitful and we will have the blessing of the Lord

Living Water

Hiram GA Outreach

Greetings in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ -

O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him. - Psalm 34:8

Basketball at the Park 

What a wonderful time it was at Ben Strickland Memorial Park in Hiram, GA in sharing the Gospel with many people. Thank you to everyone who had prayed for us while we were there. Your labors were not in vain. We started our morning at Starbucks in Hiram where we had the opportunity to exhort one another in the Lord and share the gospel with some customers and one of the employees there who is attending a 7th Day Baptist church. I gave this man my number and email as well as a card to our church

When we arrived at the park around 10:00AM it was virtually empty. We spent some time testing the acoustics at the amphitheater and found it to be a wonderful place to host open-air services. We decided to go to the pavilion to pray and met two women whose hearts were open to the Lord and professed to love the Lord Jesus. Both were orginally from Jamaica. After a brief conversation with them we noticed the park begin to fill with people. The women joined us in prayer for a time there and we began to go out to share the gospel with people in the park and in the parking lot as many people drove to park in the parking lot to eat a meal. This proved to be a fruitful place to speak with people as they were coming and going. One of the brothers brought water in a cooler which became a great blessing to many. One family had a daughter who was quite thirsty and they had forgotten water. As the day progressed the basketball courts filled up with young men who were able to share the gospel with as a group and one-on-one. One of the main messages that was on our hearts to share with the people was the necessity of the new birth. We asked the question to many if they had ever heard such a teaching and we were amazed to hear that many had never heard such a doctrine before. It was a true joy to open the Scriptures to them and show them their need of being born again and way through Christ Jesus alone.

Sharing the Gospel in the Parking Lot

We also invited everyone who did not have a home church to visit with us at Berean Baptist Church in Hiram. Many took our church cards and several expressed their desire to find a home church. Nearly everyone we talked to did not have a church they were a member of or regularly attending. Some we met had recently moved to the area and had been wanted to find a place to attend.

We met a man who was part of a church that teaches and preaches a false prosperity Gospel. We spent several minuted reasoning from the Scriptures with this man about the Gospel and many other subjects. He had remarked that he had prayed an hour before coming to the park to the Lord to give him direction and felt his meeting us was an answer to that prayer. When we opened the Scriptures to him that contradicted the things he was teaching, he remarked that he could not argue against the Word of God.

Praise the Lord for accompanying the speaking of His Word with power and conviction. We also met a brother in Christ at the park who was attending another church, but it was far from his home. He rejoiced to see us sharing the Gospel and giving water to people as an act of love. He said he was going to consider coming to our church as it has been his desire to find something closer to home. The Lord's will be done.

We all left greatly encouraged of the Lord to continue this work and continually seek out people to speak to about their state of their soul. We know that we saw great success this day because of the blessing of the Lord and many prayers of the saints for us. We saw a great need to have some godly women to accompany us as there was much need to minister to women. I learned from this experience that not only should I have sought to point people to Christ and a good church, but I should have sought to get their contact information for follow-up and to add to our church email list. Next time I will ask people to provide name, phone, and email so that we can continue to reach out to those who expressed interest.

Praise the Lord for this outreach. May many, many more follow it to the glory to God.

Soli Deo Gloria

Update on Dayspring

http://dayspringchildrenshome.blogspot.com/

Please click the link to my other blog for an update on the ministry in India. Pray for this work and for us as to how we can help and support.

The sad ignorance of the unbeliever and of Frank Bruni

This obscure, unknown blog and blog post will most likely be lost in never, never land of the internet. Nonetheless, there are some things that out to be out in view if per chance someone may happen across it.

I came across Frank Bruni's opinion piece posted on the New York Times entitled "Bigotry, the Bible, and Lesson of Indiana." It is appalling the rhetoric certain people and talking heads want to take regarding the Holy Scriptures and followers of Jesus Christ. They rally to themselves every liberal thinking person, religious or not, and flatter themselves to have accomplished something. I saw this many years again in the university with agnostic and atheistic professors who would point to this or that Christian group and say "See, they do not accept the resurrection of Christ, and yet are still Christians!" To which could be answer, "Sir, what defines Christianity?"

I think that if Christ Himself came and rebuked these men they would brand Him a bigot and seek to crucify him afresh. And so these religious freedom laws bring the subject to the minds of many Americans of an issue that has been boiling over for some time in this nation. As we Christians have watched our brothers and sisters Christ in America gladly face the loss of their livelihoods, jobs, and goods confiscated for their stand for righteousness and biblical fidelity, many of us have been emboldened and encouraged. I think of such verses as 1 Peter 3:14, "But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye..."

We are willing, if it be God's will, to not only suffer the loss of all these things for Christ's sake, but our own lives also knowing we have a better country and an everlasting inheritance given to us. Nor are we angry or bitter against those who do these things to us knowing that we also were once foolish and blind and ignorant just as they are. We walked in lived in the same flood of dissipation until the mercy and grace of God appeared to us and washed us from our transgressions, healed our blind eyes, and made us alive in Christ Jesus. Now our hearts are filled with His love and His Word is on our lips.

Frank says homosexuality and Christianity don't have to be in conflict in any church anywhere. But this is not true. This reflects such a gross and fallen understanding of Christianity that one sometimes wonders if the world is really hearing the message clearly. To refer to a Christian church is to refer to those who are born of God by His word and Spirit and who are washed and cleansed in the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, who takes away the sin of the world. The Church is the Body of Christ and wife of the Lamb of God. Men ought to turn the Bible that they suppose supports their erroneous notions and there see instruction in Ephesians Chapter 5 where the Bible instructs both husbands and wives, and quotes Moses regarding a man leaving his mother and father and joining to his wife. Moreover, the apostle teaches that while he is indeed giving instructions to husbands and wives, he speaks a mystery concerning Christ and His church.

The reality is the earthly picture of the union of a man and woman is a picture of the union of Christ and His church. In the beginning God created mankind male and female, and in His own image He created them in this fashion. This is why all true Christians testify against homosexuality because it is contrary and antagonistic to the image of God. It mars and destroys the picture of the union Christ and His church. And therefore it is no wonder that in its rhetoric it is vehement and violent to the Christian.

Frank wants to extend an olive branch to the Christian who thinks Christianity is opposed to homosexuality by saying we are trapped by our tradition. If that tradition be regarded as the plain teaching and examples laid out in Holy Scriptures then we agree. Moreover we happily bound in this Scripture tradition! But this is not what he means. He attempts to set other knowledge over and above the clear teaching of the Bible and thus attempt to set aside biblical teaching for new ideas. He suggests that the continued view that all forms of homosexuality are sin is a choice. Perhaps I will agree, if that choice means that I am going to choose to stick with the Bible's teaching rather than fashionable notions of the day.

You see, we true Christians believe the Bible is the eternal Word of God written. It is true today, tomorrow, and forever. In fact, this is the very nature of truth isn't it Frank? Truth does not change. And while the advances of science and knowledge may have brought some good things, such "advances" are not advances at all if they depart from the truth. They are nothing more than lies.

To suggest to us Christians that the authors of the Bible have biases and blind spots is to call into question and accuse of error the writings left behind by them. And that is to impugn the prophets and apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. This we can never accept. Neither do we ignore biblical interpretation, but like all true Christians agree together that the Bible has one interpretation. The fact that many disagree and debate the Bible's teaching has never been a mark against the text but a testament to the blindness and sinfulness of mankind.

I am happy to look honestly at all forms of homosexuality. And what do I say or see? A sinner in need of Christ Jesus. More or less flawed? No sir. Ruined in sin. More or less dignified? No sir, a sinner through and through and worthy of wrath of God just as the rest. What can we say to these things but "Repent, and believe the Gospel."

While you may think we need to be freed from these opinions, we think you need to be freed from your sins. And surely we will be also accused of self-righteousness in saying so, but nothing could be further from the truth. We were just as you are!

To lay before me 10,000 protestants, evangelicals, and roman catholics to give aid and support to your viewpoint is to present to the true Christian 10,000 apostates who have forsaken the Lord Jesus. Religion is not going to be final holdout and most stubborn refuge for homophobia. Mankind in his sinfulness will create a religion and compromise in 10 million ways to live in and love his sin.

It will be biblical Christianity that will hold fast. It will be true Christians that hold against any acceptance of all forms of homosexuality. Let God be true, and every man a liar. To tell you, Frank Bruni, and every other person who loves and practices sin, that such things are not an offense, that such things are ok, when God's Word clearly and plainly say otherwise, would be to become again like you and love and practice a lie.

Homosexuality is a sin. Those who defiantly practice it will face severe judgment and wrath from God. Those who turn from this sin, and all their sins, and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ may have mercy and forgiveness of their sins by His blood. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world...not confirms mankind into it.

Soli Deo Gloria

The Siren Song of Pornography

It has been my custom, by God's grace, these last few months to read and contemplate on the Proverbs. As a way to work through them systematically have endeavored to read a chapter a day and by this method work through the book of Proverbs monthly. This has been done to great profit to my soul and delight in my heart. I have now nearly silenced the voice that says that each time I begin there will be no benefit. The pernicious discouragement certainly comes from a foul source that now only serves to cheer me on more.

Today, being the 7th day of January, I read Proverbs 7 once more. Today my heart yearned and groaned about those men and women of the world caught in the snares of pornography. This plague has spread over the face of the whole earth infiltrating hearts and homes through the internet never conceived even possible in any age of man till now. We have seen our leaders of state and home destroyed by this vice more times that we like to admit. The insanity rages on as our society even tries to normalize it and say it is good and permissible. The truth of the matter is that it is no more than adultery and fornication vicariously carried out by men and women though their computer and television screens. If a man were to creep to the window of a neighbor's home and gaze upon them in the nakedness and intimacy, and were caught, he would be arrest and charges brought against him for being a peeping Tom. Yet our society stealthily peeks through public and private computer, TV, and movie screens to obtain their immoral and adulterous thrills.

Proverbs 7 seems a fit chapter in applying the truth to our hearts in this matter. If I be permitted to walk through the chapter and adding some commentary to apply it to the licentious practice of modern society is engaged in perhaps some might be saved from this pathway that surely leads to hell and destruction both in this life and the next.

A Proverbs 7 Paraphrase/Commentary

My son, keep my words and lay up my  commandments with thee. Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye. Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart. Say unto to wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman: That they may keep thee from the strange (other) woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words. For at the window of my house I looked through my casement, and beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding.... 

Channel surfing through cable television, searching the web, near her shows and web pages, and he went the way to her domains, in the early hours, late in the evening, in the black and dark night. And, behold, there she met with him, the woman, clothed like a prostitute and with a subtle heart (but she is loud and stubborn; her feet do not stay at home but is outside in the streets or on the corner like a prostitute looking for her next victim. She is not what she seems).

So she caught him when he finally chose the video/picture to watch, and she kissed him in his minds eye and in his heart with a saucy face and said 'I am free and at peace and have no obligations except to be with you. I am free and have made my bed and place that are filled with delightful and wonder things for you to enjoy. All of it looks good and the smell of my perfumes are intoxicating. Stay with me a long time and let us enjoy ourselves all night long and be comforted with pleasure. There is none in heaven or on the earth around that can stop us or will see us! You can delete the history from your computer and hide your tracks and no one will know.

And with her sultry speeches, beauty, and sultry lips she enticed him beyond resistance and greedily he ran to all her images and delights like a cow goes to the slaughter or as a criminal goes to prison. He did not know that he was being led to his doom and prison until the arrow struck him through his liver and like a foul beast caught by a trapper and took his life away. Into bondage he went, and no satisfaction was his.

Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth. Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her. Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.  

O dear reader, if God would give but one straying soul to happen across this little unknown blog and warn them I should count myself blessed and be forever grateful to the Lord Jesus Christ. Both unbelieving and sometimes believer in Jesus are found to be ensnared by the adulterous without having to leave their homes. In the comforts and privacy of their offices, computers, smartphones, and the like they pass near her corner and go the way to her house. They do not know or consider that the Lord of Heaven has looked through the window of His house and seen what you do.

She has caught you in all her subtleties and deceived you with her images. She has lied to by telling you in your heart that none see and you will not be in trouble for your deeds. Hear the Spirit of Truth and Wisdom!! You may go on believing this until the day comes when the arrow of God's truth will strike through you inmost parts and catches you like bird who hurries along to the trap. She has told you that in her place are pleasures forevermore but she has made her bed in hell. And that is exactly where you will find you resting place unless you repent.

Drive this woman from your hearts, your homes, your computers, and your smartphones. Do not think that it will be easy. As a fish hook often tears the guts out of the fish that swallows it to remove it, so will removing your heart from these pernicious ways and practicing tear at your mind and heart. Do not let despair also lie to you and say that it is impossible.

"My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee, keep my commandments, and live, and my law as the apple of thine eye, bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart..." 

Friend, be you young man or old, young woman or old, the Lord Jesus is able and willing to forgive. He is the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world. Lay hold of eternal life in Christ Jesus. Set His words upon your heart. Store up His commandments within you. Run by the door of His house and live! Take the bane of filth and immorality out of your eye and make God's law the apple of it. Let your fingers cease searching for sexual immorality and let them lay hold of His commandment.

Do not delay and do not wait. Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart...while it is still called today.

The Authenticity of 1 John 5:7

"For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one." 1 John 5:7

I am posting only to mainly quote Dr. John Gill regarding this passage as it is so very good and so very lost upon the modern Christian mind. Perhaps it would be pleasing to the Lord to have this little witness out there in support of this verse as the authentic Word of God which so many deny today.

This is such a clear and strong text of Scripture to support the doctrine of the Trinity none can deny. What they have denied is that this verse is Scripture at all and was inserted by a scribe or by Erasmus. Why we are so quick to accept such views without doing our own research is just a symptom of the age and times we find ourselves in. Consider Dr. Gill's commentary who wrote in the 18th century when all texts of the Greek scriptures and body of knowledge was to be had including the Alexandrian Greek texts which our modern translations make too much of. This portion simply deals with the authenticity of the text itself.

"For there are three that bear record in heaven,.... That is, that Jesus is the Son of God. The genuineness of this text has been called in question by some, because it is wanting in the Syriac version, as it also is in the Arabic and Ethiopic versions; and because the old Latin interpreter has it not; and it is not to be found in many Greek manuscripts; nor cited by many of the ancient fathers, even by such who wrote against the Arians, when it might have been of great service to them: to all which it may be replied, that as to the Syriac version, which is the most ancient, and of the greatest consequence, it is but a version, and a defective one. The history of the adulterous woman in the eighth of John, the second epistle of Peter, the second and third epistles of John, the epistle of Jude, and the book of the Revelations, were formerly wanting in it, till restored from Bishop Usher's copy by De Dieu and Dr. Pocock, and who also, from an eastern copy, has supplied this version with this text. As to the old Latin interpreter, it is certain it is to be seen in many Latin manuscripts of an early date, and stands in the Vulgate Latin edition of the London Polyglot Bible: and the Latin translation, which bears the name of Jerom, has it, and who, in an epistle of his to Eustochium, prefixed to his translation of these canonical epistles, complains of the omission of it by unfaithful interpreters. And as to its being wanting in some Greek manuscripts, as the Alexandrian, and others, it need only be said, that it is to be found in many others; it is in an old British copy, and in the Complutensian edition, the compilers of which made use of various copies; and out of sixteen ancient copies of Robert Stephens's, nine of them had it: and as to its not being cited by some of the ancient fathers, this can be no sufficient proof of the spuriousness of it, since it might be in the original copy, though not in the copies used by them, through the carelessness or unfaithfulness of transcribers; or it might be in their copies, and yet not cited by them, they having Scriptures enough without it, to defend the doctrine of the Trinity, and the divinity of Christ: and yet, after all, certain it is, that it is cited by many of them; by Fulgentius (z), in the beginning of the "sixth" century, against the Arians, without any scruple or hesitation; and Jerom, as before observed, has it in his translation made in the latter end of the "fourth" century; and it is cited by Athanasius (a) about the year 350; and before him by Cyprian (b), in the middle, of the "third" century, about the year 250; and is referred to by Tertullian (c)about, the year 200; and which was within a "hundred" years, or little more, of the writing of the epistle; which may be enough to satisfy anyone of the genuineness of this passage; and besides, there never was any dispute about it till Erasmus left it out in the, first edition of his translation of the New Testament; and yet he himself, upon the credit of the old British copy before mentioned, put it into another edition of his translation."

Jesus: The Lord of the Sabbath

To any reader out there I first wish grace and mercy to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ this Thanksgiving holiday. I hope you find rest and reflection during this time. It is a great time to remember all the bounty the Lord has provided us, to make careful reflection upon our lives in confessing personal and national sins, and to offer praise and thanksgiving to Him whose mercy is made new every morning.

I want to continue my study of the Sabbath Day by now looking at the teachings and interactions the Lord Jesus had as recorded in the Gospels. The first one that I am examining is where the Lord teaches that the Son of Man is the Lord of the Sabbath. One note before looking at this teaching regarding something that has stood out to me in my reading of the Scripture recently is worthy of noting. It has had the effect of humbling me and instilling the fear of the Lord in my heart and I hope it does the same for you as well. 

In Matthew 5:17-19 we read the following, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." (NKJV). 

While this verse is sometimes quoted in support of the Christian Sabbath Day teaching, it is not my design here to use it for that reason. While the Lord is speaking specifically regarding the law and the Prophets, and the fulfillment of all those things, I think it is safe to say that this means anything taught in the Bible. There is no doubt that men and women today and in history have mis-taught, mis-used, and twisted the Bible's teaching. Some have done this ignorantly while others have done this for their own wicked purposes. What stands clearly out to me in this text is that the ones who break even the least of these commandments, and teach others to as well, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. This is terrifying. It is enough to never want to be a teacher of the Bible! Yet, by not teaching it to others I am not acquitted from my obligation and responsibility to obey it. Therefore, to understand it more fully and completely is of utmost importance to me. 

For me personally, I cannot escape teaching the Bible to others because I am a father--and that of seven wonderful children! I am responsible before God to train them in the things of God, to fear Him and obey Him, and therefore I must teach them His Word. I am also a husband of one wife. I am commanded by God to wash my wife with the water of the Word and help her as much as possible to grow in Christ Jesus. 

This is sobering and a fearful thing for me. I never want to disobey the Word of God myself nor teach my house to do so because of my lack of understanding. Nor do I wish my reader to come away with a false teaching that would either lead them to legalism nor licentiousness. To make this applicable to our subject, with the fear of the Lord in my heart, if there is a Christian Sabbath Day taught by the Holy Scriptures, and I teach my house they do not have to obey this, then I will have both broken the law myself and have been found to teach others also. If there is no Christian Sabbath Day and I will have taught others there is, then I will be found to having added to God's law things He did not enjoin upon them and be guilty of putting burdens on others He has not. 

What a great responsibility this is! O Lord Jesus, be merciful to your people and to all the teachers of Your Holy Scriptures. Keep us from error and help us understand Your teachings that we may obey and do them as You have commanded and for those of us who must teach others, that we may teach them to obey all that you have commanded and not a syllable more. Enable us by your great power to strengthen our minds and hearts to labor hard in the Word of God in our studies and prosper the work of our hands. Amen. 

In the Gospels of our Lord Jesus we find the account of Jesus walking through the grainfields with His disciples on the Sabbath day. This account is found in all but the Gospel of John. We find this event spoken of in Matthew 12:1-8, Luke 6:1-5, and Mark 2:23-28. Each witness here gives a clear picture of what took place that day and each one with a unanimous testimony: the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. Each one also adds a bit of information to paint a more clear picture for us. Matthew shows us that these men who questioned Him missed essential meaning regarding the Sabbath. After a couple questions Jesus says, "But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless." v.7. Mark recording the same account bears witness of Jesus' mention of Abiathar the high priest setting the historical context for the happenings of King David when he took and ate the showbread thus furnishing us with a witness to the reliability of the Old Testament Scriptures. Moreover, Mark by the Holy Spirit gives us these words of Jesus, "..The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath..." not found in the other Gospels. What precious truth is here! At a closer examination of the text I found that in the original Received Text the Koine Greek places the definite article upon the word "man" so that it would not be improper to translate this as "the man." Hardly any reader can look at this and not recognize that Jesus is referring to Adam, the first man. And Adam, in that day, standing in the place as head of the whole human race, we have here from our Lord Jesus that the sabbath was given to mankind. Luke brings us, as it were,  into the grainfields with the disciples and the Lord so that we can walk beside them as Jesus teaches us. "...and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing the in their hands." v.1 Here we are close enough to see the disciples rubbing the wheat in their hands doing that which these pharisees believed to be unlawful.

I am so thankful to Jesus that this part of the life and teaching of Jesus is recorded. John tells us that not everything Jesus did and taught is written. But the things that are written are written that we might believe, and believing we might have life in His Name. (John 20:30-31) This is recorded in three Gospels for our instruction. This was a significant controversy in those days. How controversies change! In those days the contention was over breaking the Sabbath. Today the controversy is over whether this is one at all. The issue was raised by the legalistic Jews of Jesus' day, the Pharisees. It therefore a question of lawfulness they were primarily concerned. It may prove helpful to understand this group of people to aid our understanding of the text.  

The Pharisees

The pharisees have been known in Christian circles in mainly a negative context. They are, after all, subject to many scathing rebukes from Jesus. In our texts they are corrected in their understanding of the Law of God of which they were supposedly experts. The word pharisee means separated. This most likely was a term others applied to them for their strict view of uncleanness, not only just keeping themselves separate from the unclean heathen nations, but also from other Jews they deemed to have also been affected by pagan culture (Unger's Bible Dictionary, 854). The pharisees called themselves Haberim, meaning associate. This was to mean someone who associated themselves with the Law so that it may be observed strictly against the rising tide of Hellenism (Hellenism is a term referring to the influence of Greek culture, language, customs, style, and/or thought). It is good to keep in mind that the pharisees generally held the sway with the people. This religious group were generally those who the people listened to. While the pharisees were certainly a real sect along with the sadducees and essenes, they can also be thought of in terms of concept, In concept then, pharisaism represents a reaction to the influence of the surrounding culture. The differences between pharisaism and sadducaism can be understood in how each group reacted to the influence of pagan/unholy culture. The pharisees were running to (and too far) adherence to the Law to the degree that they added to it their own teachings and practices, and the sadducees adopting, too much, the Greek culture, became more like the heathen around them. This led the saducees, also receiving many rebukes and corrections from Jesus, to hold ideas and practices that today we might label as liberal. For example, the saducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead while the pharisees did. A parallel could be drawn with the rise of modernism in the late 1800s that in many ways denied religious belief. When this modernism began to influence the Christian churches the "liberals/sadducees" began to adopt the ideas of the surrounding culture by denying miracles or the virgin birth of Jesus for example. This was seen as a danger to fundamental, or core, Christian belief and was responded to with a series of essays published from 1910 - 1915 called The Fundamentals. In time, those who adhered to the fundamentals began to see "modernism" everywhere and took on similar characteristics of pharisaism focusing more on external things as separation from the culture than a pure heart. Eventually, certain groups of these Christians attempted to separate themselves more and more, and like the pharisees of old, began adding to the Word of God their own teachings and practices.

Understanding pharisees and pharisaism is helpful in understanding the Lord's teaching on the Sabbath here. I have heard it said by some in defense of not keeping a Sabbath day that Jesus broke the Sabbath. Well-meaning Christians (at one time, myself included) do not realize what they are saying when they make this statement. To suggest that Jesus broke the Sabbath day would make Jesus out to be a law breaker against God's Law. Jesus was, according to the Scriptures, born under the Law and lived without sin. Breaking the 4th commandment was a sin punishable by death. My dear brethren, if Jesus actually broke the Sabbath day then he was a sinner! God forbid!! Jesus never once broke God's Law. What Jesus did break were the additions this group added to the Law of God and the ways in which they attempted to keep the Law but didn't. 

In these accounts Jesus teaches us something very important about the Sabbath. Our text in Matthew, Mark, and Luke show us that the Lord's practice and teaching was for the purpose of correcting this. The pharisees were offended that Jesus and His disciples went though the grainfields and were plucking heads of grain and rubbing them in their hands in order to eat. When wheat is rubbed together in the hands the chaff is rubbed away and the grain, or seed, is exposed and is edible. How beautiful a picture this gives to us. As His disciples were rubbing the chaff away to bring out the good seed to nourish themselves, Jesus' teaching was rubbing away the false ideas the pharisees had encased the Sabbath in. Jesus was not teaching that we do not have a Sabbath Day to keep. He was correcting and stripping away a false understanding of it. From our three texts I have drawn the following points.

1. The questioning of the pharisees was one of lawfulness.
2. The pharisees inability to see the true meaning of the sabbath was their pride.
3. The true meaning of the Sabbath
4. Jesus is Lord of the sabbath.

1. The questioning of the pharisees was one of lawfulness.

"At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. And when the pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!"  Matt 12:1-2.

It is plain from this text that this statement from the pharisees is a legal one of which the pharisees considered themselves experts. In Mark and Luke's gospel we do not have these words posed as a statement like we read here, but rather as a question. I found this interesting because very often I have asked the Lord questions that haven't really been questions. I have been asked questions by skeptics that haven't really been questions, but have been more accusations and challenges. The Gospel of Matthew gives us this bit of information that is helpful in understanding this passage. Seeing how Jesus answers the question confirms this.

Their accusation was that what His disciples were doing was not lawful. They had judged that what these disciples were doing was breaking the Sabbath. Is this the proper understanding of the Law? The pharisees were men of the Word. They believed the Scriptures, zealously followed the Law, and separated themselves from things and others in order to keep the Law blamelessly. There is a part of me that can relate to these men. I must confess myself a pharisee also. In my zeal for personal purity and holiness I have separated myself from many things. And there is a truth here that ought be forsaken. "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." (2 Cor 6:17-18). This exhortation we find given to us from the Apostle Paul, himself of the sect of pharisees, who understood and taught the Gospel of grace in truth. The Lord has not called us to uncleaness but to holiness (1 Thess 4:7). But like the pharisees of old I have at times gone too far and falling into the same prideful trap they did. Thanks be to God who gave us these Scriptures to help us learn from them so we may know how to walk as we ought to walk without forsaking mercy.

2. The pharisees inability to see the true meaning of the sabbath was their pride.
Jesus is a master physician who first seeks to clear and clean a festering wound before trying to bind it up. "Have ye not read.." He says in verse 3 of Matthew. "Have ye not read so much as this.." We read in Luke 6:3. "Have ye never read.." we find in Mark 2:25. Jesus lays the ax at the root of their pride which is at the heart of all pharisaism. These were the most read men in all Israel. These were the most learned and skilled in the law. And yet the Lord asks them if they have ever read about an account of King David! Of course these men have read this. They read it and did not understand it. The prided themselves on their learning and if they are to learn anything at all this pride has to go.

What Jesus teaches in this regard both hacks off the pride of the pharisees and instructs us on what indeed is lawful to be done on the sabbath day. Now, concerning the question on whether or not there is a sabbath day for the Christian believer, these passage do not offer support for saying there is not. Rather, they offer instruction for a proper understanding of what is lawful on the sabbath day. One has to admit that it would be quite odd for Jesus to teach these things if He intended to remove the sabbath day altogether.

3. The true meaning of the Sabbath.
There are two examples that Jesus sets before us for what lawful sabbath day obedience looks like.

First, King David and the men that were with him. "But he said unto them, have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungered, and they that were with him; how he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?"

This account is given in 1 Samuel 21:1-6. I will not quote the passage entirely, but it gives the account of David coming to Ahimelech the priest asking for bread. The priest tells David that 'there is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread.." This was the bread set aside for the temple service and was not be eaten. But this was all that was in the house to give and the Scriptures says the priest gave this bread to David which he and his men surely ate. The sentence of death was upon those who were not proper to even touch these things (Num. 4:15) let alone take and eat them. Yet David did this and lived. Why? Because the Lord desires mercy and not sacrifice. The Lord desires compassion. Did the pharisees understand that the purpose of the temple service, the showbread, the sacrifices, the incense, and all these other most holy things pertained to giving mercy to God's people? Does God need bread to eat that it cannot be taken from His service to be given to those who needed food for the bodies God had made and for the men who were hard at work in the service of the Lord?

This example Jesus gives us shows us that it is not unlawful to be merciful on the sabbath day. To do the work of mercy is lawful. "But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would  not have condemned the guiltless." Matt 12:7. This clearly shows us that neither Jesus nor His disciples were actually breaking the sabbath. What Jesus is teaching here is to help us and pharisees of any sort understand that they had misunderstood how to keep the sabbath day.

Second, the priests performed much work on the sabbath day in the service of temple. "Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?" We can look to Numbers 28:9-10 to see works done on the sabbath day that would normally be considered profaning or dishonoring the sabbath.

Numbers 28:9-10 "And on the sabbath day two lambs of the first year without spot, and two tenth deals of flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and the drink offering thereof: this is the burnt offering of every sabbath, beside the continual burnt offering, and his drink offering."

There was a great deal of work that went into these preparations. Yet this work was not counted against the priests as breaking or profaning the sabbath. Why? They were obeying the commandments. This shows us two things. First, that the sabbath day is kept even when some work is being done. Second, that which Mark's Gospel reveals, "The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath." Mark 2:27. Under the old covenant sacrifices needed to be made on the sabbath day according to the Law of God and therefore it was lawful to perform the work necessary to accomplish this. Therefore, works of necessity to the service of God and man are lawful to be performed on the sabbath day.

"But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple."Matt. 12:6. The priests under the old covenant did not break the sabbath by doing the temple service any more than the disciples of Jesus did by their actions. It was merciful to permit the hungry disciples refresh themselves as they continued to labor in the Lord.

4. Jesus is Lord of the sabbath.
A final point should be made and that is what we have from Jesus: "..the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day." What right had Jesus to declare that what His disciples were doing was not profaning the sabbath day? The same as He taught us regarding David and the priests. By the authority of God Himself. Jamison-Faussett-Brown's commentary contains one of the most sublime and poetic I have found so far on the passage. Consider what they say,

In what sense now is the Son of man Lord of the sabbath day? Not surely to abolish it - that surely were a strange lordship, especially just after saying that it was made or instituted for Man - but to own it, to interpret it, to preside over it, and to ennoble it, by merging it in the “Lord’s Day” (Rev_1:10), breathing into it an air of liberty and love necessarily unknown before, and thus making it the nearest resemblance to the eternal sabbatism.

In other words, Jesus is the Lord of sabbath and it is His rightful place to restore the sabbath day to its pristine beauty and benefit to mankind that it was meant to be.
 

In conclusion of this initial examination of the Scriptures, it is clear that these passages do not teach that Jesus broke the sabbath day. They teach how the sabbath is truly kept holy before the Lord. It warns me not to take this day in my hands like the pharisees and make of it what they did. It teaches me to remember mercy and do to good on the sabbath. These texts also teach me to consider not only this commandment but all the commandments under such light of mercy and truth.

May the Lord help me and all to a better understanding. 

"There remains therefore a rest for the people of God."

Preface - Contemplation

I am beginning a study on the subject of the Sabbath Day. This is a much debated topic, it seems, and became a controversial one for me many years ago. If the truth be told, I did actually depart from a church surrounding this subject (it was not the main reason, but rather it was a good bit of arrogance on my part that I left). The good pastor of the church was to teach a series on the subject and I had left before I heard it.

I do not want to state the differences here or make this a polemical research project. Lately my heart has grown more and more in its desire to follow all the ways of our Holy and Awesome God. In my Scripture readings I have been in Deuteronomy and have been impressed by the Word with regard to the commandments of the Lord. In Deut. 30:2,6; 11-16; 20 we can read of God's heart and commandment for His people. He desired they be circumcised in their hearts in order to love the Lord God with all their hearts and soul, to walk in His ways, to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments. It was God's desire and commandment that His people truly love Him, obey His voice, and cling to Him because He is their life and length of days. As I read these words my heart burned within me and my mind was aflame with joy. When I read them I long and yearn to fulfill every single one of them. And I should because His mercy has saved such a man as me, most unworthy, and has written His Law upon my heart.

I found my heart saying to the Lord God of all the earth, 'Father, if thou hast commanded a Sabbath for thy people still, and if in my arrogance I rejected the notion, forgive my foolish ignorance and show me thy truth. I will keep thy Sabbath to the end of my days and teach my house the same for thy glory and honor."

It is with such a heart that I seek the truth of the matter. And if truth continue to be told, I can say gladly that a good part of my desire would be to find that such a Sabbath day is given to the Christian to keep. I cannot tell you for certainty as to why, but if this is indeed the case my heart would delight in it and run eagerly now to obey without hesitation and without any grief at all. I love the Lord Jesus and desire with all my heart to obey His commandments. Concerning the truth of Jesus' own teaching we have the promised that "If anyone will do to His will he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority." John 7:17 It is my hope and prayer that God tests my heart and sees that it is my desire to do His will and that He would be pleased help my understanding to know the truth of the matter.

What is before my mind is to answer the question that is taught and practiced by many holy brethren today and has been taught by many more who came before me regarding the Sabbath Day. Is one day in seven still binding upon the people of God? Has this day been moved from the 7th day to the 1st (from Saturday to Sunday) by the Lord Jesus? Are Christians to keep holy one day in seven as the people of God did under the Old Covenant did, but now to keep this under the New Covenant showing the Law truly written upon our hearts to now keep the Lord's Day as a Sabbath? So that my reader may know that this has been taught and believed for centuries, consider that great and wonderful confession of the Westminster divines. Taking an early version of this, The Westminster Confession of Faith of 1646, in Chapter 21, under the heading "Of Religious Worship and the Sabbath-Day" we read: 

VII. As it is of the law of nature, that, in general, a due proportion of time be set apart for the worship of God; so, in his Word, by a positive, moral, and perpetual commandment, binding all men in all ages, he hath particularly appointed one day in seven for a Sabbath, to be kept holy unto him: which, from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, was the last day of the week; and, from the resurrection of Christ, was changed into the first day of the week, which in Scripture is called the Lord's Day, and is to be continued to the end of the world as the Christian Sabbath.

VIII. This Sabbath is to be kept holy unto the Lord when men, after a due preparing of their hearts, and ordering of their common affairs beforehand, do not only observe an holy rest all the day from their own works, words, and thoughts about their worldly employments and recreations; but also are taken up the whole time in the public and private exercises of his worship, and in the duties of necessity and mercy.

So far I have taken a conscientious objection to these points. My personal statement of faith is the 1689 London Baptist Confession which contains the identical language as this concerning the Sabbath-Day. Now I wish to re-examine my view in light of Holy Scripture. When J.C. Ryle wrote of the life of John Wyclif he exhorted his reader that Wyclif ought to be remembered as one of the first Englishmen who maintained the sufficiency and supremacy of Holy Scripture. I give the following quote from Ryle's work:

The importance of this great principle can never be overrated. It lies at the very foundation of Protestant Christianity. [...] The true Christian was intended by Christ to prove all things by the Word of God, all churches, all ministers, all teaching, all preaching, all doctrines, all sermons, all writings, all opinions, all practices. These are his marching orders. Prove all by the Word of God; measure all by the measure of the Bible; compare all with the standard of the Bible; weigh all in the balances of the Bible; examine all by the light of the Bible; test all in the crucible of the Bible. That which can abide the fire of the Bible, receive, hold, believe, and obey. That which cannot abide the fire of the Bible, reject, refuse, repudiate, and cast away." -Light from Old Times

I wholeheartedly agree with this statement. I believe there is a small danger in presuming at times that all our beliefs are gold, silver, and precious metals having survived the fires of Holy Scripture. I acknowledge that there is a genuine openness in my heart to believe the old Reformers and Puritans and follow them in this teaching. However, my present viewpoint does not think this teaching stands to the teaching of the Bible. It is my present belief that I wish to put on trial again. I wish to pass it though the fires of the Scriptures once more and beg God's mercy to correct my thinking if He will (and if needed!) My only desire in this, as best as I can tell, is to obey the Lord in all His ways, commandments, statues, and judgments. I trust wholly in Him and lean upon Him alone. I am clinging to him for this grace. May the Lord Jesus be pleased to show me His truth that I might more fully walk in His ways and teach my home the same.

Prayer before Study 
Truth in Jesus 
Life-Giving God, Quicken me to call upon thy name, for my mind is ignorant, my thoughts vagrant, my affections earthly, my heart unbelieving, and only thy Spirit can help my infirmities. I approach thee as Father and Friend, my portion for ever, my exceeding joy, my strength of heart. I believe in thee as the God of nature, the ordainer of providence, the sender of Jesus my Saviour. My guilty fears discourage an approach to thee, but I praise thee for the blessed news that Jesus reconciles thee to me.

May the truth that is in him illuminate in me all that is dark, establish in me all that is wavering, comfort in me all that is wretched, accomplish in me all that is of thy goodness, and glorify in me the name of Jesus. I pass through a vale of tears but bless thee for the opening gate of glory at its end. Enable me to realize as mine the better, heavenly country. Prepare me for every part of my pilgrimage.

Uphold my steps by thy Word. Let no iniquity dominate me. Teach me that Christ cannot be the way if I am the end, that he cannot be Redeemer if I am my own saviour, that there can be no true union with him while the creature has my heart, that faith accepts him as Redeemer and Lord or not at all.- The Valley of Vision


The Study

The title of this blog post is from Hebrews 4:9 "There remains therefore a rest for the people of God." The word here in the original, as best as I understand it, is Sabbatismos, which means "to keep the Sabbath" and is the same word used in Exodus 16:30 and Leviticus 26:35 in the Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament) and so this shows that the meaning is consistent and understood correctly. This is indeed a Sabbath. The next question we may ask is which Sabbath is it referring to? There were many Sabbaths under the Old Covenant. For example, in Leviticus 16:31 we read of a Sabbath regarding the sin offering for the whole congregation of Israel that took place "In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month.." I believe the context of the passage in Hebrews supplies the answer.

In verse 4 of chapter 4 we read, "For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: And God rested on the seventh day from all His works." This quotation is from Genesis 2:2 where the Scriptures declare that after God had completed all his creative works he ceased from His works of creation and hallowed the 7th day. In six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth and all that is in them, and on the seventh day he ceased, or rested, from His work.  I think our first point is clear: This is the the 7th Day Sabbath that is referred to in Hebrews. It may serve us well now to look at a slightly larger context than the the few verses we have just looked at. Our text is found in Hebrews chapter 4 which before this the apostle has been teaching us regarding the supremacy of Christ Jesus. If there is one great theme of epistle of Hebrews it is that Jesus is highly exalted. in every sphere of creation, from everything in heaven and on the earth, Jesus has the preeminence. In comparison to Moses, who indeed was faithful in all his house as a servant, Jesus was faithful as a Son over His own house. It is on this testimony that the apostle says "Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tested me, tried me, and saw my works forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation, and said, they always go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways. So I swore in My wrath, they shall not enter My rest." Heb. 3:7-11

Here the great apostle lays at the feet of everyone, Jews in particular, the words of God found in the 95th Psalm to warn and exhort us to beware. "Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God." v. 12 "But exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, while it is said: Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion."

Friends and brethren, there are a multitude of applications that could be made from these texts and a thousand sermons that might be preached from them. I do not want want to lose sight of our topic for them, but if God by chance may bring some poor sinner along to read this obscure and unknown blog who may need to hear these things then I will not have wearied my reader with a small digression. We are seeing the broader context here of our text in chapter 4 and we are seeing much more. There is a solemn atmosphere with these verses as in a moment when all seems to pause and time stands still for a second. "Beware, brethren.." He speaks to us as fellows citizens. Surely the apostle had in mind his Hebrew brother. And if I be permitted, I could have in my mind my fellow American. Beware my fellow citizen...take careful heed and pay strict attention here unless there be in any one you the same evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. When you hear the great and glorious news that some 2,000 years ago how this Jesus from Nazareth came and lived and did miracles and wonders, was crucified, and rose again. That He, Jesus, is the promised Messiah. Jesus is the one God told Eve about at the very beginning of time. The first woman was tricked by Satan and it grieved her heart I am certain. But God made a promise to her, the mother of all the living, and to Adam, the father of all mankind, that He would through the woman's seed, through a child from mankind, bring in a Savior who would destroy the power of Satan and save mankind from the destruction of sin we all were plunged intro through their disobedience.

This Jesus is that Savior, that holy Child promised by God from the beginning of time, foretold and prophesied by all the prophets, given testimony to by all the Law and Psalms. He has come. The Son is has come and redeemed us and His Name is Jesus. Today, dear sinner, if you are lost yet and separated from God. If your sins have not been washed away. If your guilt and the guilt of your father Adam still abides upon you, today...if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart. Do not allow an evil and unbelieving heart prevent you from entering His rest. Jesus is that Savior and He is alive from the dead. Our sins were born by Him on the cross and He speaks to you today: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the gospel." Mark 1:15

But this day is not for you alone dear sinner. It is also for you my backslidden brother or sister. "For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence to the end." Any who are truly the followers of Jesus Christ, any who are really His disciples, are the ones who hold the beginning of their confidence steadfast to the end. O backslider, I have been where you are. I have wearied along the path from the city of destruction to the celestial kingdom. I have stepped out of the way and grew slothful and returned to the mire. If you are in this awful condition, hear me! Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your heart! Stop from your sinning and return to your Savior. Remember from where you have fallen and come back! The promise is still for you, but only while it is still called 'Today.' He will not be angry with you forever if you repent! "With who was He angry forty years?" "to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest?" "Was it not with those who sinned, with those who did not obey?" "So we see that they could not enter because unbelief." (see verses 18-19 of chapter 3).

And so we have our slightly broader context and some needed application. There are many in America today possessed of an evil heart of unbelief and many brethren who have fallen back into sinning. In this context, after showing the supremacy of Christ Jesus and announcing the day to hear the Voice of God and enter His rest, we are exhorted this:

"Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of your seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heart it. For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He said: 'So I swore in My wrath, they shall not enter My rest' although the works were finished from the foundation of the world."

There are several things we must note from these words. The first, that the gospel was preached to them as well as to us. Those whom the apostle refers to, of course, are the people of Israel whom the Lord brought out of Egypt by a mighty hand with signs and wonders, and who promised good and glad news to them of a land flowing with milk and honey, but that generation did not inherit those things because they did not believe the Lord by keeping His commandments, His ways, His statutes, and judgments. But Caleb and Joshua did enter. Why? Because they believe the Lord, because they wholly followed the Lord. As it is written, "Surely none of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and above, shall see the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because they have not wholly followed Me, except Caleb the son of Jephuneh, and Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the Lord. So the Lord's anger was aroused against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the Lord was gone." See Numbers 32:11-13

Friends and brethren, it was unbelief that kept that generation out of the land of Canaan and it will be unbelief that keeps us out of heaven. It is most certainly unbelief that leads to disobedience. If you were in a store one day, and a man came running inside yelling that a meteor was about to strike the store, would you not run out and seek shelter? Only if you believed the man. If you did not believe him you might continue shopping or even laugh. And yet if he were right then you would perish when the meteor struck. Many preachers have preached for years of a terrible destruction, one far worse than death, and that is the second death. The second death is what the Bible calls Sheol, the lake of fire, what we know as hell. Hell is a place of everlasting burnings and everlasting death. And it is the place every wicked evil person will go. It is the place where those with an evil heart of unbelief will go. Be sure that you do not go there. Be certain that you do not perish here in this wilderness of the world and fail to enter that great Canaan rest promised by God.

Good news was preached to them and good news has been preached to us. The word did not profit them because it was not mixed with faith. "So I swore in My wrath they shall not enter my rest" although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. Why does the apostle add here "although the works were finished from the foundation of the world" ? I believe the very next verse supplies the answer, "For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: And God rested on the seventh day from all His works; and again in this place: They shall not enter My rest." v.4-5 The apostle is tying two Scriptures together, one in Genesis 2:2 and the other in Psalm 95. One by Moses and the other by David, far removed from each other. Why? Because line upon line, little by little, God reveals His truth. Isaiah 28:10-13 teaches us this great principle,

"For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little. For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people, to whom He said, This is the rest with which you may cause the weary to rest, And, This is the refreshing. Yet they would not hear. But the word of the Lord was to them, Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little. That they might go and fall backward, and be broken and snared and caught."

For anyone who may doubt that these passage speaks of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and in particular the miracle of the gift of tongues and their purpose, may refer to 1 Corinthians 14:20-22. This is why tongues are a sign for unbelievers and not for believers. 'That they might go and fall backward, and be broken and snared and caught.'

The apostle contends that some must enter God's rest, This is His Holy Sabbath spoken of in Genesis and later spoken of again in David. "again He designates a certain day, saying in David, "Today," after such a long time, as it has been said: Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts." So we can see the point made plainly. The rest spoken of in David is His rest. That is, it is God's rest that He first spoke of at the dawn of creation and after a long time spoke again of in David which we find in the 95th Psalm. The apostle, I think, then anticipates that some may have supposed that it was Joshua who gave the people rest because he is the one who by God's hand brought Israel into the promised land. "For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day." says the apostle in verse 8. The rest spoken of here was not what Joshua the son of Nun did.

And now we come to our text "There remains therefore a rest for the people of God." There remains therefore a Sabbath keeping for the people of God. "For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.

This is quite an extraordinary statement. If I may phrase it is this way, 'There does remain a keeping of the Sabbath for the people of God. And when we keep this Sabbath we cease from our works as God did from His. The remaining verses of 11-16 I will leave for another blog post. For now it is good after such a long path to re-trace our steps and follow where we all should want to go: into the Sabbath of the Lord. Let us enter into His rest. There are five things that I think are noticeable from the text.

The first is to take notice of is the warning, "Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God." It is plain that our first step is to believe. We are to trust in the living God and not be like those who did not trust or believe in Him.

The second is to take notice of is the day. "Today, if you will hear His voice." The day is not tomorrow, is was not yesterday. The day is Today. "again, He designates a certain day, saying in David, "Today," after such a long time, as it has been said: Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts."

The third is to take notice of is those who are partakers are partakers to the end. There is no such thing as a half-way road to heaven. A road that does not lead all the way is not a good road to take at all to any place. And the pathway to the Kingdom of God is path of holding steadfastly to the end.

Fourth, we can take notice and find comfort and hope that good news has been preached to us also, and we who have believed do enter that rest. The good news, the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, has been preached to us. It has been preached to you this day as you read these words. Therefore, the promise is to you who hear His voice and do not harden your hearts. If you believe, you have entered His rest.

Fifth, that a Sabbath-Day keeping is taught in this passage. There is indeed a Sabbath that remains for the people of God, which is His rest, and is the clear teaching of the passage. That the seventh-day rest spoken of by God found in Genesis 2:2 is His rest is also clearly taught in this passage. That the day in our text in Hebrews is designated as "Today" is also plain.

What remains is to see is how we might arrive to moving from "Today" to one day in seven. Perhaps that the Scripture here unite Genesis with the Psalms is sufficient. If then taken with other Scriptures we can arrive that the Sabbath-Day is still indeed binding on the people of God. If I have any readers I would welcome any comments.

My next course of action will be to continue to pray and think on these Scriptures, compare Scripture to Scripture, and then to make use of some good commentaries and works by proponents of Sunday Sabbath-Day keeping to see how those holy men treat these texts. I will be considering John Own, John Bunyan, Matthew Henry, and perhaps a few others.

For my next texts I will examine how the Lord Jesus treated the subject in the Gospels.

Till the next post,

Soli Deo Gloria