All posts by Philip

Morning Thoughts (Acts 17:3)

Morning Thoughts,

Acts 17:3, "Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ."

This morning, the evil shrouds of darkness get worse and worse.  Just as Paul was inspired to prophesy, evil men and seducers wax worse and worse. (II Timothy 3:13) While the worsening world does not please me in the slightest, there should be no surprise that it is indeed occurring.  One of the most prominent tactics that evil employs is that of secrecy and concealment.  Christ many times spoke of this during His earthly ministry.  His coming marked the coming of the True Light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world. (John 1:9) Because the Saviour's deeds are good, light seems a very fitting moniker, and the evil deeds of men and devils equally fits being darkness.  However, the assault upon the kingdom of light has heightened in my lifetime, and I fully expect the war to rage even more bitterly in the moments to come.  There is a grave warning to the household of faith to be wary of all that comes before us as light and righteousness.  Since Satan and his ministers pose many times as ministers of light and righteousness (II Corinthians 11:13-15), we need to be vigilant to spot real gold as opposed to pyrite.  Something may glitter, but as the song goes, it still may not be gold.

When reading the Holy Scriptures, it never ceases to amaze me at the great richness it contains with every pass.  The luster of the book never fades with time.  Equally impressive is the freshness that it maintains both with "known" thoughts as well as the "recently discovered nuggets."  In the last several days, a portion of this verse shone forth like never before.  Quite often I would read this verse or speak about it while visualizing the scene.  My visual included Paul in the synagogue reasoning and meeting the arguments with force and blessing from on high.  I could almost picture our beloved brother Paul driving all the arguments to the contrary to the ground while setting up the glorious structure of God's salvation through the merits of His Son Jesus Christ.  Indeed, that visual is – I believe – true.  However, that visual only captures half of the scene.  What I have just described in my mind's eye can easily be described by the word "alleging" in our study verse.  To allege something is to firmly commit to it and be willing to defend it.  When someone presents formal "allegation" in court, they are showing a willingness to stand behind what they are saying.  Doubtless, Paul did not lack for courage, and being the able lawyer that he could be with legal arguments, his alleging of Jesus being the Christ and having really and truly paid our sins and been made our justification were air tight and secure.

Yet, Paul did more than just allege these things.  His legal arguments were sound, but his presentation included so much more.  The word that I had "missed" all these years was "opening."  The purpose of light is to manifest things.  The truth is our light, which lights our feet and path. (Psalm 119:105) It opens to us the rich beauty of Christ, His work, and His kingdom.  Paul opened the Scriptures to these Jews.  To show the need of the suffering Messiah, he would point to a place like Isaiah 53 and then correlate that to what the man they knew as Jesus had experienced.  In an effort to show the foreshadowing of the resurrection, Paul would point to a place like Psalm 16, and much like Peter at Pentecost, he would show forth the beauty of Jesus's resurrection among many witnesses – himself included.  By showing the prophecies of the Jews' anticipated Messiah or Christ and paralleling them with Jesus's life, Paul was opening to these people that that man Jesus is verily the Lord above.  Paul probably could have debated with the best of them, but on occasions like this, Paul desired to argue rather than debate.

To argue a point is to present facts, points, and draw conclusions hoping to arrive at the truth of the matter.  Two people reasoning together by way of argumental structure is a very fitting way to come to understand more profoundly the truths of an important subject.  Sadly, most people today think of arguments from the negative connotation, and I believe that most of this comes from a misnomer.  Most of what people perceive as arguments are really debates.  Debates are not held to arrive at the truth of the matter, but they are held to "win the day" as it were.  The whole focus and goal is to win.  So, while the methodology may look the same, the pivotal motivation drives a totally different circumstance.  Paul argued to arrive at truth rather than debate to win the day.  So should our reasoning be that we would allege our beliefs and do so with the opening (rightly dividing) process of Scripture.

When one considers the ideas of erroneous teachers and false doctrines, there is a common thread between them.  They desire to keep their hearers and followers in darkness.  Secret orders will not expose their followers to many of their ideals and beliefs until they pass through certain levels of service.  The shroud of darkness taints everything they do.  Other erroneous orders of people are taught that their leaders have more knowledge than they do, and their leaders do not share their privilege of knowledge.  Politicians today rule by legislation that is so complicated that not even they understand it well enough to explain it.  Some even sign documents and legislation that they have no idea as to the precise contents of the document.  One of our politicians in this country famously stated, "We need to sign this bill now so we can find out what's in it."  All of these patterns follow the prince of darkness himself.  Consider his first tactics in the Garden of Eden.  Truly, he mentioned things that would happen if they ate (i.e. their eyes would be opened), but he veiled the real problem with disobeying God's commandment: death.

All error, lies, and falsehood preys upon the idea of keeping the followers in ignorance to their own destruction.  Contrasted with the promotion of truth, the contrast could not be any more stark.  The point of preaching the Scriptures in truth is to expound (lay open) the teachings for all to see.  Paul told the Ephesian brethren in his farewell to them that he had kept back nothing profitable (Acts 20:21) in his labours there.  He further declared to them all the counsel of God (Acts 20:27) – which in essence says, "If I knew it, you got it.  I held nothing back."  As promoters and allegers of the truth of Jesus Christ today, we should be desirous to open things to people.  If you rightly divide Scripture for people, you are hoping that they will see and the ideas will click.

There have been occasions when I have been engaged in Bible discussions with people, and I have pointed out a passage that plainly declares the opposite of their contended position.  This pointed opening sometimes evokes the following confession from them, "I was hoping you wouldn't go there.  I don't have an answer for that."  They knew it was there, but they wanted it to stay veiled throughout our discussion (closed).  Friends, our desire should be to open things, and sometimes, they need to be opened for us as well.  None of us are above learning and discovering freshness in the concepts of Scripture.  If a valid, reasonable, and above all, Biblical argument can be posed to nudge us in a direction previously avoided, we should labour to follow after that which is opened to us.

In a world that is daily gravitating towards the darkness and further down the hole of death and destruction, may we keep moving upwards towards the glorious light that opens things to us.  His Book declares that He came down, lived here, died a criminal's death in shame for us, and was raised the third and glorious day for our justification.  Anything contrary to this lovely story should be avoided as the works of darkness.  Anything that promotes, adorns, and becomes this sublime account should be alleged and contended for.  But, it should also be opened as well, for the things that pertain to Christ and His work will ever stand forth in glorious reflection in the light of examination and have no fellowship with the works of darkness. 

In Hope,

Bro Philip

Morning Thoughts (Luke 15:31)

Morning Thoughts,

Luke 15:31, "And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine."

This morning, people continue to value perception over reality.  To some, they have all the answers, and none can teach them anything.  Quite often, the things that frustrate these people the most are the very things that they too are guilty of themselves.  For example, the ever-increasing world of "tolerance" that we live in promotes from the highest authorities that we need to be tolerant and accepting of people even though they are different than we are. Scripture commands that we should extend liberty to those that might do things differently than we do in non-essential matters, but the world would have us compromise principles and moral integrity in the name of tolerance and open acceptance.  Consider, though, that these great heralds of tolerance are themselves some of the most intolerant people in the world.  For, they cry that Christians should be tolerant of those things that go contrary to principled living, but they fail to tolerate the Christian lifestyle, mindset, and decorum.  The Pharisees in Christ's day were great promoters of the law and sought to instruct the people in the points of the law, yet Christ pointed out in many venues that they were guilty of breaking the very law that they claimed to uphold with highest purity and authority.  So it is in our day today.  We fallen creatures will quickly point out the problems with others in our own perceptions yet fail to see that we ourselves are guilty of the same things and quite often must be reminded of them ourselves.  Thank God when He reminds us of these things that He reminds us of never-changing realities that do not ebb and flow based on the perception of the day.

Our study verse is set in the midst of an account that is commonly referred to as the story of the "Prodigal Son."  As a wise elder pointed out, "It is really not the story of the 'Prodigal Son' but the 'Prodigal Sons.'"  Our verse pertains to the elder son that was a prodigal in his own right, though often his younger brother is the only one that bears such a moniker in theological vernacular.  In the story, the younger brother seeks his portion of the inheritance to live on his own.  After leaving home, he spends all that he has, finds himself in the slops of the pigpen, and decides in himself to come home.  He plans to plead a servant's place simply for his own survival.  However, his father sees him return and embraces him as though nothing of ill had happened between them.  His place in the house is restored, and the elder son returns from laboring in the field to a celebration in the house.  Upon finding out the reason for the party, he refuses to go in for the hardheartedness and unforgiving attitude that he had about his younger brother.  When his father comes out of the house to visit with this prodigal situation, the older son reminds his father of his faithfulness.  Why father?  Why in all my faithfulness did you never do this for me, yet you did it for my wayward little brother?

With this setting, we find the father's response to his son with our study verse at the very outset of his answer.  Before he tells his son the reasoning for the celebration, he reminds his son that he is 1.  Ever with him and 2.  An heir of the fulness of the father's house.  These are realities that do not sway based on the shifting sands of time; nor do they change based on the whims or perceptions of man of the goings on of this universe.  Now, the younger son is rightly called a prodigal, for he certainly displayed such decorum of life in riotous living.  However, the older son is also a prodigal (as it takes various and sundry forms) by hardening himself to feel compassion, love, and mercy for his blood and family.  His perception of what "must be done" had blinded him from the weightier matters of God's law such as mercy.  Doubtless, it was a righteous thing that the elder had done in not leaving the father's house, yet it was also a righteous thing that his little brother did in coming back with a servant's attitude.  In that sense, they both share in some manifestations of righteous behavior.  Yet, just as they share in manifestations of righteous behavior, they also display great lacking, indicative of the fallen nature of man's depravity.

With both of these sons showing some measure of righteousness and some measure of depravity, has their relationship ever changed?  No, for they are always brethren.  They are always their father's sons.  Yet, their fellowship and interaction with one another changed immensely based on their conduct and thinking.  So is it with the family of God today.  We are always God's sons, and we are always each other's brethren.  However, the presence of our Father and the blessings of His house and our spiritual family will greatly change based on our decisions – for good or evil.  The elder son watched his little brother foolishly leave his father's house for a far country, yet at the end he was in relatively the same shape as his brother had been: without the house.  The younger willingly chose to leave the house to another country, and the elder willingly (or stubbornly) refused to go in the house due to pride.  And yet, the glory of it all is that reality never changes.  They are their father's sons.

Brethren, if I have been blessed to see anything in my tenure in this old world, it is the reality and ever present fact that God is real and that He has touched my life in mercy and compassion in numberless ways.  From the declaration of His word, this teaches me that I am His son, and if that be reality, so shall it ever be.  His family that he loves and paid for has been and forever shall be my brethren in this old world.  Yes, our decisions can render our fellowship fruitless and cut it off for long seasons and possibly for the remainder of our existence, but we are forever brethren.  As an old preacher in this part of the country is known for saying, "If you don't like me, you better start.  We're going to be in heaven forever together."  So, looking at our study verse, we see two realities that as God's children never change.

We are ever with Him our Father.  Yes, our stubbornness may keep us from enjoying His house, and our moral failings may keep us from the pleasure of His courts, but we are ever with Him.  As Isaiah prophesied in 49:16, God is better than even a natural mother.  She may forget her sucking child, but the Lord will never forget us as we have been graven upon the palms of His hands and our walls are continually before Him.  That means that we are in His hand, on His mind, and captured in His heart all the time.  Being continually before Him gives strong confirmation that nothing ever changes that reality.  Just as this stubborn son had to be reminded of this, so must I be reminded from time to time.  No matter how long the road and no matter how many my failings, I am ever with Him.  As David declared in Psalm 139:18, we are still with him even after we awake.  As the promise to His children of "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee" shows, sleeping, stubbornness, immorality, and any other host of natural situations cannot serve to separate us from our Father.  One of the glories of that beautiful promise goes beyond Him not forsaking us.  He promised never to leave us as well.  Though I must leave my family from time to time when I go to work or on preaching trips, our God is such a better Father than I can be.  He not only does not forsake us, but He never leaves us either.

Another reality brought to the elder son's attention was that of his inheritance.  Now, in the natural example, there had already been great waste made of the father's assets by the younger boy.  Yet, the father told his stubborn eldest, "all" is thine.  Not some, not part, but all is his.  One of the most comforting thoughts about heaven is that we shall all experience the fulness of the glories untold equally with our brethren: none more important or elevated than another.  As Paul so eloquently declares in Romans 8:16-17, our inheritance and standing is that we are "joint heirs with Christ."  To be a joint heir means that 100% of what is there is ours.  Now while I do not have any conception of the exact number of God's family, let us just hypothesize that it is 1,000,000,000,000 souls.  Each of us in God's family is not going to get one 1,000,000,000,000th of heaven and immortal glory.  Rather each of the blood-bought ransomed family of God will get 100% of glory.  When a husband and wife have a joint relationship, 100% of what they possess belongs to each.  Not 50/50 as so many divorce proceedings shoot for, but all of it for each.  Friends, the elder was told – in the midst of wrongdoing – that all the father's house belonged to him.  Friends, even in the midst of wrongdoing, all that pertains to our Father's house belongs to us.  Each and every one of us equally.  100%.  No exceptions.

In the ever changing world in which we live – these days primarily for the worse – it is easy to lose sight of the eternal realities that God has declared unto us.  Though His chastening hand and rod are not pleasant to endure in the moment, thank God that His chastening and correction reminds us of those things that are ever real.  He is still there, and we possess all that He has.  Friends, we are all prodigals at different times and different ways.  Some of us leave the house in immoral and unrighteous living in untoward lands.  Some of us through the wickedness of pride and stubbornness of rebellion refuse to enjoy the good things of God because things are not going "our way."  Yet others of us allow the world to get us down to the point that we live in fear and morbid dread of what may come our way.  Have I touched everybody yet?  Friends, the glorious truth and wonderful reality is that our Father's house is ours, and our presence never parted.  Hang on to these glorious realities.  The wickedness of the world cannot change them.  Our wayward steps cannot change them.  Surely, I am persuaded that nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus the Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

In Hope,

Bro Philip