Righteousness of God

Righteousness of God: God Is Always Right By Brian L. Harbour Romans 1:17 What picture comes to your mind when you hear the word "God"? What characteristic of God do you first think of? Do you think first of the power of God or of His love? Do you picture Him as a loving Father or as a stern Judge? What characteristic of God do you first think of? When Paul thinks of God in the opening verses of his Roman epistle, his mind focuses first on the righteousness of God. This phrase -- "the righteousness of God" -- is the pivotal phrase in the entire epistle. In one form or another, the term "righteousness" appears in the Book of Romans more than sixty times. What is "the righteousness of God"? I. It Is an Attribute When Paul mentions the righteousness of God, he is describing first of all an attribute of God. Righteousness is something that God has. Righteousness is intrinsic to the very nature of God. It is inherent to the very being of God. All of Scripture proclaims that truth. For example, Jeremiah, the prophet, proclaimed, "You are always righteous, O Lord" (Jeremiah 12:1, NIV), and the psalmist declared, "The Lord is righteous" (Psalm 129:4). What is the meaning of this phrase which all of Scripture attributes to God? To speak of the attribute of the righteousness of God means that God is always right. No matter how things look from our human perspective, no matter how confused life seems to be, no matter how uncomfortable we are with the circumstances of our lives, this is a truth we can hold on to: God is always right. A critic was disparaging God's creation one day. "It's all backwards," the man complained. "Look at the foolish way God has done things. He put the little acorn on a tree where it has a strong limb to support it. But he put the watermelon on a little flimsy vine that can't even hold it up. If I were God," he asserted, "I would put the watermelon on the tree and the acorn on the vine." Just as these words came out of his mouth, an acorn fell out of the tree and hit him on the head! God is always right. When Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, he probably said to himself, "God is making a big mistake." Later he could see God's hand in all that happened to him, and he had to admit, "God was right." When God chose Gideon to lead His people to victory, a man self-professed to be the weakest member of the weakest family of the weakest tribe in all Israel, many must have shaken their heads and muttered, "God is making a big mistake this time." But when Gideon tore down the idols and led God's people to victory, all of Israel had to admit, "God was right." When Jesus' limp, dead body was taken from the cross and placed in the tomb, and the reality of His death began to sink in on the disciples, they gathered in the upper room, sealed the door and secured the windows, and began to cry among themselves, "God has really blown it this time." Three days later, when Jesus broke forth from the grave in the power of God and the ignominy of the cross was changed into the glory of the cross by whose power men and women of every generation were to be saved, the world had to declare in unison, "God was right." God is always right. That is what Paul is saying. Let me tell you what that means. Because God is always right, we can trust Him. At times, we cannot understand the things that are happening in our lives. Problems come that we do not think we deserve. Temptations come which we do not think we can handle. Anxiety begins to erode the confidence of our lives. At those times, we need to hear again this word: God is always right, and therefore we can trust Him. Sometimes, it is true that we have to let the ages speak to the hours. Nevertheless, the truth stands: God is always right, so we can trust Him. Because God is always right, we should obey Him. During World War II, General Montgomery was named Commander of Forces in North Africa for the purpose of rescuing the allied forces from a dreaded debacle. He met with his subordinates and told them simply, "Orders no longer form the basis for discussion but for action." How often, when we hear God's Word on a situation, do we debate it and discuss it and measure it against our opinion and filter it through our feelings? The orders of God are not the basis for discussion but for action. Because God is always right, we should obey Him. When Paul spoke of the righteousness of God, he was first of all speaking of an attribute of God. He was saying that God is always right. II. It Is an Activity We must immediately go further, however, and declare that when Paul mentioned the righteousness of God, he was also declaring an activity of God. In Romans 3:21-22, Paul developed this idea further when he said, "But now apart from the Law, the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe." In Philippians 3:9, Paul mentioned "the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith." In Psalm 103:6, the Old Testament writer spoke of the righteousness of God in reference to His deliverance of Israel from the bondage of Egypt. In Isaiah 51:5, the prophet spoke of the righteousness of God in reference to the deliverance of Israel from the bondage of Babylon. In the New Testament, that same idea of deliverance is there. The righteousness of God is not just an attribute of God. It is also an activity of God by which He delivers man from the bondage of sin. The righteousness of God is His activity in Jesus Christ by which He redeems us from our sins. The righteousness of God describes not just what He is but also what He does. A leader of the Mafia named Terry Teague was on trial for murder. When he learned that a man named Fogarty would be one of the jurors, he had some of his henchmen pay off Fogarty to hold out for a manslaughter charge instead of murder. The trial was held, the judge's instructions were given, and the jury retired to the room of deliberation. The jury was out for a long time and finally came in with a verdict of manslaughter. Teague was overjoyed. He rushed to Fogarty's side and pumped his hand. "Was it much of a fight in there?" asked Teague. "It was terrible," Fogarty responded. "The other eleven wanted to acquit you, but I held out for manslaughter." That is what the righteousness of God is about. The world is holding out for a conviction of guilty. Satan is holding out for a conviction of guilty. Even our own conscience convicts us. But God wants to acquit us. God wants to set us free. God wants to liberate us. That's what the righteousness of God means. Martin Luther studied long and hard on this verse. For a long time, Martin Luther saw only the condemning righteousness of God, and he hated it. But when he finally saw this righteousness of God which condemns when rejected, saves when accepted, the light of the Gospel broke into his darkened soul. How that truth needs to illuminate our darkened souls today. The righteousness of God is an attribute of the Father which causes us to be aware of the wrongness of our own lives. But it is also an activity of the Father by which He releases us from the bondage of that wrongness and establishes us in a right relationship with Him. The righteousness of God is the active favor of God by which He bestows the greatest gift on those who deserve the greatest punishment. It is the activity of God by which He redeems us. III. It Is an Affirmation When Paul mentioned the righteousness of God, he was also making an affirmation about God. The context of the passage, especially the parallel in verse 18 which stresses the opposition of God to evil and sin, suggests that the righteousness of God means the ultimate triumph of God over Satan, sin, and death. When Paul mentioned the righteousness of God, he was making an affirmation about God. He was declaring that God will come out on top, that ultimate victory belongs to Him. We can think of history as a very complicated chess game with millions and millions of pieces. Each of us makes our moves. Satan makes his moves. But God, as the chess Master, counters every conceivable move made by the pieces in a way that insures He will eventually win the game. At times, the outcome might seem to be in doubt. At times, we might think God is about at the point of checkmate. But when the game is over God will be the winner, for the Bible predicts a time when "The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever" (Rev. 11:15). Faith Is the Key God is always right. God acted to give His righteousness to us. Eventually, God's righteousness will reign supreme. How do we know these things are true? Paul says that "The righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith." The word "revealed" means that these are things God has shown to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. We did not discover these things ourselves. They were revealed to us. We accept these things that have been revealed to us as true and then we bet our lives on them. Will you do that today? Will you bet your life on the fact that God is always right? Will you bet your life on the fact that God wants to liberate you from the bondage of your sin? Will you bet your life on the fact that God will ultimately win the victory?

Our Eternal Salvation Part 1

Are you really sure of your eternal salvation? This is a very important question, and one that will have lasting eternal consequences. If you were to die today, do you know for certain that you would go to heaven? This is a question about which we cannot afford to be wrong, because eternity is very permanent. One day each of us will know the true answer to this question,"For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ", Romans 14:10. Every one of us have two appointments that have already been made for us and that we will definitely keep, whether we want to or not. They are, "And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment", Hebrews 9:27. These two appointments, death and the judgment, cannot be cancelled. The tragedy of what happened in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. on September 11, 2001 shows the uncertainty and brevity of life. God tells us in James 4:14, "Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even as a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away." We must not make an error concerning our salvation in following what "seems right" to us, or that we "feel in our heart that we are saved". The Bible says in Proverbs 14:12, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death". Our feelings are not a safe guide, but only the Bible is. What prior assumptions have we already made about our salvation? Many of these assumptions, that people make, contradict what God says in his word to us. All we have to do is to look around at all of the many differing doctrines that are being taught, and then compare them to what God says in the Bible, and we can see a great difference. Our Lord says in Mark 7:7,"And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men". Our worship is vain if it comes from the doctrines of men and not from God. Can we say that all these many differing doctrines have come from God? I think not. I Corinthians 14:33 says that, "God is not the author of confusion." Or are they from men? Where else could they have come from, if they did not come from God? This becomes a very serious question. Our worship becomes vain and useless, if our doctrines come from men when they meet in their conventions and conferences to decide what they are to believe and do. As the apostle Peter told the Jewish council in Acts 5:29, "We ought to obey God rather than men". Do not believe anything that I tell you, because we are not going to be judged by what I say. Do not believe anything any other person tells you, because we are not going to be judged by what some other person says. In fact, we are not going to be judged by what we personally believe. On the Day of Judgment we are going to be judged only by what the Lord says in the Bible. That is going to be the only standard for judgment, for our Lord says in John 12:48, "The word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day". So, if I or any other person cannot point to it in the Word of God, then please do not believe it, because there is too much at stake – your soul! Our soul is worth more than the whole world and everything in it. Jesus says in Matthew 16:26, "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" Our soul is the part of us that is going to continue to live on forever throughout all eternity. We cannot afford to lose our soul and be eternally punished. Questions Lesson 1 Our Eternal Salvation (click on the button of the answer of your choice) 1) (Romans 14:10) Who will appear before the judgment seat of Christ? Only the lost. Only the saved. All people. 2) If we are wrong about our salvation we will be lost. 3) (Proverbs 14:12) The way that seems right unto man leads to Eternal life. Spiritual death. Success. 4) Our feelings are a safe guide when it comes to our eternal salvation. 5) (Mark 7:7) If we follow the doctrines of men It is vain. It doesn’t matter. God is still well pleased. 6) It is pleasing to God if we follow the doctrines of men in our worship. 7) (John 12:48) What will be the standard of judgment on judgment day? What we think. The words of Christ. What my preacher says. 8) Just because we feel in our heart we are saved does not mean we are saved. 9) (Hebrews 9:27) What two appointments have already been made for us? Doctor. Dental. Death and Judgment 10) We can cancel our appointments with death and judgment. Lesson 2 God’s Warning Christ, who is all knowing, tells us that many people are going to be lost, but only few are going to be saved. In Matthew 7:13-14 He says, "Enter by the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it". Now this gets my attention. According to the Bible the majority of people will be lost. Sadly the majority of people still walk the wide road of sin into eternal damnation. We must take this warning from God at face value. The Lord says only a few people will be saved. How few can few be? In 1 Peter 3:20 (KJV) we read, "When once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was preparing, wherein few, that is eight souls were saved by water." The conservative estimate of the number of people on the face of the earth in the days of Noah is two hundred million (200,000,000) people. But only eight (8) out of the estimated two hundred million (200,000,000) were saved. Not very good odds. Even though the Bible says in 2 Peter 3:9 that the Lord is"not willing that any should perish". Jesus says in Matthew 7:13-14 concerning eternal life in Heaven that "there are few who find it". The vast majority of people will spend forever and ever in the eternal fires of Hell that will never be extinguished. Why? The vast majority of people are not really interested in going to Heaven, but you are or you wouldn't be studying this course concerning your eternal salvation. There are only two roads to eternity and we are on either one or the other. According to what the Lord says, only few will make it to Heaven, but the vast majority will be lost in eternal punishment. This is both frightening and sad. I don’t consider myself selfish, but I certainly want to be among the few who are saved, don’t you? We make the choice ourselves as to where we will spend eternity. We are free moral agents. This is how we differ from the animals. We have been made in the image of God. Genesis 1:26 says, "Then God said let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness". Also in Genesis 2:7 we read, "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul". Yes, we posses a soul that will live forever and ever in either Heaven or Hell. God does not want anyone to be lost, but the choice is ours. In 2 Peter 3:9 we read, "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perishbut that all should come to repentance". God does not want us to go into eternal punishment. He is not going to force us to serve Him; otherwise we would be mere robots. 1 Timothy 2:4 says concerning God, "Who desires all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth". It is God’s will that all be saved, but we know that is not going to happen. We have already seen that only few are going to be saved in Heaven and the majority are going to be lost forever in Hell. Also, as the verse says, before we can be saved, we must "come to the knowledge of the truth." Jesus says in John 8:32, "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." What is the truth that will make us free? In John 17:17 Jesus says, "Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth." So only the instructions contained in the word of God is the truth that will make us free so that we can go to heaven. What is your eternal destiny? If you miss Heaven, you will be thrown into the eternal fires of Hell. One of the saddest things about going to Hell is the fact that it could have been avoided. The majority of people will be lost in spite of what the Lord has done. A person who goes to Hell is his own worst enemy. Hell is not what God does to us, but Hell is what we do to ourselves. If one ends up in Hell, he only has himself to blame. Questions Lesson 2 God's Warning (click on the button of the answer of your choice) 1) (Matthew 7:13-14) How many people will go to Heaven? Many Few Everyone 2) The majority of people will go into eternal punishment. 3) (2 Peter 3:9) The Lord is not willing that Any should perish. Any should be saved. Any should repent. 4) God does not want anyone to be lost. 5) (1 Timothy 2:4) God desires that All men have a good time. All men be saved. No one be saved. 6) God will force us to be saved. 7) (John 8:32) What will make us free? Ourselves Money Truth 8) Before we can be saved we must know the truth. 9) (John 17:17) What is truth? What we think. God's word. What our preacher says. 10) The word of God is the only truth that will make us free. Copyright © 2000-2001 internetbiblestudy

The Good Samaritan

The Parable of the Good Samaritan is one of the most well-known Parables that Jesus taught. But its familiarity is also the reason, at least in part, that the impact that it had when it was first spoken, is almost completely lost on modern hearers. There are hospitals and charitable organizations all over the country that incorporate the name “Good Samaritan.” Routine references to total strangers doing good things, and being referred to as “Good Samaritans” is a very common, but completely misunderstood phrase. Tonight, I would like to take a close look at this Parable, and try to restore some of the impact that it had at its initial telling. Luke 10:25: "And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise." First, I have to ask the question: What does the Bible mean when it refers to a Samaritan? Who were the Samaritans? When Solomon died, a rebellion and Civil War erupted that divided the Nation of Israel into two separate nations, with two separate histories over the failure of Solomon's son Rehoboam, to hear the cries of the people and lighten the tax burden that Solomon had imposed on the people to finance his lavish standard of living. The tribes of Judah and Benjamin remained loyal to Solomon's son, and lived in the territory in the South of what had been the Kingdom of Israel. They also maintained Jerusalem as their capital city, and seat of government. They called their nation Judah. A rival kingdom, calling itself Israel, seceded from the 12-tribe Kingdom of Israel, and claimed its territory in what was the northern portion of the country. The Old Testament records for us, a separate list of kings and dynasties, and a separate set of national events. Notice how in this one Verse, from 1 Kings 16:29, two separate but concurrent kings and two individual nations are named: “And in the thirty and eighth year of Asa king of Judah began Ahab the son of Omri to reign over Israel: and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty and two years.” Samaria was the capital city of the northern nation of Israel. And, in the Old Testament, there were also separate lists of prophets whom God sent to each individual ruling king to tell them of God's great displeasure with their rebellion and sin, and the impending punishments that would follow if the individual nation did not repent. Ok, so now we have a thumbnail sketch of what was going on in the history of Israel and Judah, as well as Jerusalem and Samaria. But this is only the foundation of the story. There is a very important plot development that we also have to mention in order to fully appreciate Jesus' Parable of the Good Samaritan. Because of repeated national sins on the part of the nation of Israel, and, as He promised He would do if the sins continued, God used the Assyrians to sweep into Israel and deport its residents and place them throughout the Assyrian Empire. There were, according to The Interpreters' Dictionary of the Bible, two accounts of what took place: First, according to the Jews, in order to keep wild beasts from taking over the depopulated land, over a number of years, the Assyrians then imported foreigners into land once occupied by the nation of Israel. They had no lineage to Abraham, they were not descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and they had not been enslaved in Egypt. Simply stated: they had no past association with the children of Israel in any way. But they reasoned that in order to remain in the land, they should find out who the God of this land was, and then try to serve Him correctly, so that a similar deportation did not befall them. A priest was brought in to teach them about Judaism, but his teachings were drowned out in their practices with pagan elements. This helps us to understand the fierce animosity of the Jews toward the Samaritans. But the Samaritans themselves have a different account: They say that there were some foreigners and colonists brought in, but also that the entire population of the Nation of Israel was not deported. They also claim that many of those who were deported were repatriated and allowed to return to Israel some 55 years later. This seems to have some Scriptural support. I will get to that in a minute. Then, many years later, the Southern Nation of Judah was also conquered and deported. The main difference between the two histories is that, after 70 years, Judah was allowed to return and rebuild their capital, their Temple, the walls of their cities, and their nation. The foreigners that had been transplanted into the Northern Nation of Israel set up shop, set up house keeping, developed a patchwork of their religion with some elements of Judaism and were living in what had come to be known as Samaria. Insofar as the Samaritan claim that they were also descendants of the children of Israel, notice two interesting statements the woman of Samaria made to Jesus after He asked her to get Him a drink at Jacob's well: We read her first claim regarding the Samaritans beginning in John 4:10: "Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than [u]our father Jacob[/u], which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:” (emphasis mine). And then she said in John 4:20: “[u]Our fathers[/u] worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship” (emphasis mine). This was a perfect opportunity for Jesus to hit the challenge her statements, as He immediately did when she said she had "no husband," and simply tell her in no uncertain terms that the Samaritans were descended from Gentiles who were imported by the Assyrians, and who had no Abrahamic lineage. I find it very interesting that Jesus did not do that. I admit that His silence is not proof that the Samaritans [i]were[/i] of the line of Abraham, but if they were not, Jesus did not correct her. His omission, here, tends to corroborate her claim as to the Samaritans' descent from the Hebrew Patriarchs. So, now we have been fast-forwarded to Jesus day, and we get plunked down into all of this history, most of which the average Church-goer knows nothing about. This is what happens when one leaves everything he or she knows about Scripture, to the whim, the priorities, and time allowance of the pastor, if this history is included in a sermon or Bible Study. When the Jews returned to the land of Judah, they had nothing to do with the Samaritans living in the northern territories. They hated them and disowned them. The were called dogs and swines. The name "Samaritan" was used as a virtual curse word. Notice this Passage. The Jews who opposed Jesus were in a very heated back-and-forth with Jesus, denouncing Him, and vice versa. I order to get the full flavor of this exchange I will quote an extended portion of it beginning in John 8:36. Jesus is speaking: "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you. I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father. They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God. Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that [u]thou art a Samaritan[/u], and hast a devil? Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me" (emphasis mine). And they dishonored Him with the worst insults they could think of: the double-whammy of calling Jesus being both physically: a Samaritan or heretic and "impostor" of Abrahamic lineage, thereby having no rightful claim as heir to the Promises; and mentally: being demon possessed, thereby having no genuine communication with God, or claim to being sent by God. The Jameisson, Faucett and Brown Commentary says the following: “Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? -- What intense and virulent scorn! (See Hebrews 12:3: “For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds”). The "say we not well" refers to another hot debate between Jesus and the Jews as we read in John 7:19-20: “Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me? The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil: who goeth about to kill thee?." JFB continues, “'A Samaritan' means more than 'no Israelite at all'; it means one who pretended, but had no manner of claim to the title -- retorting perhaps, this denial of their true descent from Abraham.” [i]All of this[/i] has to be taken into account when we read the Parable of The Good Samaritan because when Jesus spoke this initially, everyone who heard it, had all of this painful history and stinging reality come rushing in when Jesus made a Samaritan of all people, a Samaritan! the hero of the story!! Let's look at the Parable again, basically from the point when the Samaritan appears. Remember, a priest and a Levite have already seen the wounded and unconscious traveler, and crossed to the other side of the street. Perhaps they felt he got what he had coming to him... perhaps they did not want a similar fate to befall them... all we know us that they went nowhere near him. He was left for dead, and for all they cared, if he died, that was none of their business. But this opens up a new avenue for us to pursue before we actually re-tell the portion regarding the Samaritan. And that is this: When God asked Cain where his brother Abel was. We read the account in Genesis 4:9: “And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not:” First we see that the first part of Cain's response is a lie. He certainly knew where Abel was. The previous Verse tells us: “And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him” (Genesis 4:8). And, like the ill-fated traveler in the Parable we're examining, Abel was also left for dead. He wasn't moving after Cain rose up against him, and so Cain know right where he had left him when he lied to God saying he did not know Abel's whereabouts. But then Cain, in an effort to further absolve himself of any responsibility, asks a question that the Parable of The Good Samaritan also addresses: It is a question that has all of the potential to confront each of us on a daily basis. And it is one that we have to come to grips with and resolve in our own minds as to what God expects of those who claim to belong to Him, and who claim to be in a personal and saving relationship with Him. The question that Cain asks is: “Am I my brother's keeper?” The Apostle James had something to say about this beginning in James 2:15: “If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” But Cain's question of “Am I my brother's keeper?” also mirrors, to me, the lawyer's question to Jesus: “Who is my neighbor?” This question is very interesting because it is not simply asking for a specific identification of whom he should regard as a neighbor, but the very basis of it is this: To whom do I have to apply that portion of the Law which Commands me to “love my neighbor as myself”? If you merge Cains's and the lawyer's questions into one, you get: “[i]Whose keeper am I[/i]?” And the Parable of the Good Samaritan answers that question. But let's carefully notice what Jesus does next. In the telling of just one Parable, Jesus delivers a double-whammy answer of His own. First, He has a Samaritan be the hero of His Parable. And then He completely folds, spindles and mutilates the concept of neighbor from the lawyer's definition of being the recipient of someone's care and keeping, to the one who is providing the care and keeping! Notice, again, Jesus' summary question when He was done speaking the Parable: Speaking of the priest, the Levite and the Samaritan, all of whom encountered the robbed, beaten and near-dead traveler, Jesus asked the lawyer in Verse 36: “Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?” In the Parable, the neighbor is identified as the doer, the giver, the compassionate provider, [i]the keeper![/i] Far and above merely understanding, agreeing with and believing that part of the Law, the neighbor in this Parable was [i]living[/i] what God commands us. His faith was not dead, but alive with mercy, compassion and positive, godly activity. Jesus deliberately painted the Samaritan into the role in this Parable of living the precepts He laid out in the Sermon on the Mount: Notice in Matthew 5:43: "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” No, the Samaritan in this Parable was not perfect. But his positive, merciful, selfless and godly actions were for the benefit of a man who, being a Jew, very likely would not have done the same toward him had their circumstances been reversed. And there is another difference between Jews and Samaritans that is very easy to miss in all of this: Let's go back to the woman at the Jacob's well, a Samaritan woman. “The Book of John” by Johnson and Richards points out that the Jews of Jesus' day routinely went miles out of their way in order to avoid the much-hated Samaritans. But Jesus went through the lands and villages. He came to a city called Sychar, and stopped at Jacob's well being wearied and thirsty from His journey. The woman who came to the well at noon to fill her water pot was stunned that Jesus would break with Jewish custom first by being in Samaria at all, and second, and at least as startling, to initiate a conversation with her. She voice that surprise in Verse 9 when she said, “How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.” But after His brief conversation with her, we learn some very amazing things about the Samaritans... things that I have never heard mentioned in any sermon... things that I have never read in any book. Most people think of the Good Samaritan when they think of Samaritans. And they may vaguely recall that Samaritans were hated by the Jews. But the account of Jesus' encounter with the Samaritans in John 4 reveals some other amazing things. Notice this exchange between Jesus and the woman beginning in John 4:16: “Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.” First, she perceived that Jesus was a Prophet. Jesus then tells her in Verse 24: “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.” In preparing this study, I was amazed to come to understand that, like the Jews, the Samaritans were [i]also[/i] looking for the coming of the Messiah! And Jesus acknowledged to her, quite openly and plainly, that [i]He was the One[/i] they were waiting for. The woman leaves her water pot, runs into town and very excitedly starts telling people that she had met and spoke to the Messiah. But something else that is very interesting happened next. Jesus had been alone with the woman at the well. The disciples came back from buying food, and were stunned when they saw Him talking with the woman, but did not challenge Him about it. Then, after she ran off to tell the townspeople she had found the Christ, Jesus made a very interesting statement to His disciples. I was previously aware of this declaration, but it never occurred before, [i]where[/i] He was when He had made it. And [i]where[/i] He said changes everything! Notice His words in John 4:35: “Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.” To Jesus, the despised and much-maligned Samaritans were part of the “spiritual harvest” the He wanted His disciples to reap, and gather for the Kingdom of God. Truly, Jesus' Gospel Message and ministry and sacrifice was for [u]the world[/u]. And how did the Samaritan townspeople of Sychar react to the woman's claims in Verse 29: “Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?” Let's pick up the story in Verse 39: “And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days. And many more believed because of his own word; And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world. Now after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee.” The Samaritans [i]gladly[/i] received Jesus' teachings. They knew He was a Jew, but they did not regard Him with the disdain and contempt the Jews held for them. Notice also, the difference how in contrast to the Samaritans, the residents of His own home town of Nazareth received Jesus and His teachings. It was His first Sermon where we read in Luke 4:28: “And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.” Far from being filled with wrath, the Samaritans were not satisfied to hear His words for just one sermon, or even one afternoon. Unlike many of His own people, Verse 40 tells us, the Samaritans “besought him that he would tarry with them:” and finishes by telling us that Jesus “abode there two days.” He and His disciples were welcomed into the homes of Samaritan families. And I am sure that He and His disciples were also well fed. There were no attempts to stone Him as we read in John 8:59: “Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by,” and John 10:31: “Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him....” There were no accusations of His being demon possessed as we read in John 10:20: “And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?” There were none of the accusations we find in Luke 7:34: “The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!” The Samaritans did not accuse Jesus of being a deceiver (Matthew 27:63), or a blasphemer (Mark 2:7). They did not try to trap Him in His words to turn Him over to the Romans for advocating tax evasion (Matthew 22:16-22). They did not arrest Him under trumped up charges, arrange for false witnesses in a rigged and illegal trial, and still call for and demand that He be crucified after being beaten, scourged and [i]found innocent[/i] of [u]any and all charges![/u] Rather, there is only one response that is attributed to the Samaritans: We read in Verse 42: “... [i]we[/i] have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.” They accepted Him. And they honored Him. And this is made all the more apparent when you read Jesus' own words immediately after leaving the land of the hated Samaritans: Verse 44 says, “For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath [i]no honour in his own country[/i]” (emphasis mine). But He was well-treated and respected among the Samaritans. Jesus' experience with them is found early in John's Gospel (Chapter 4), and may well have also been early in His Ministry. But after reading of that experience, is it any wonder that He would have made a Samaritan the hero of this Parable, while also contrasting the selfish, unsympathetic and ungodly choices made by the leading citizens of His own people? But let's return to the lawyer's inability to answer Jesus' question as to which of the three was neighbor to the ill-fated traveler. The Jamieson, Faussett and Brown Commentary says this: “36. Which ... was neighbour? -- a most dexterous way of putting the question: (1) Turning the question from, "Whom am I to love as my neighbour?" to "Who is the man that shows that love?" (2) Compelling the lawyer to give a reply very different from what he would like -- not only condemning his own nation, but those of them who should be the most exemplary. (3) Making him commend one of a deeply hated race.” And he does it, but it is almost extorted. For he does not answer, "The Samaritan" -- that would have sounded … heretical...” No... the neighbor in this Parable is a Samaritan. In the culture in which the lawyer was raised, the Samaritan was a heretic, a usurper, an impostor, and the lowest of the low. It was unthinkable, and, to those living two thousand years ago in Judea, unimaginably scandalous for Jesus to have chosen a Samaritan as the hero of this Parable. And so, in response to Jesus' question of who the neighbor was in this Parable, as was pointed out above, the lawyer could not bring himself to speak the word, “Samaritan” in any kind of positive light. And so he identified the one who “was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves” simply as “He that shewed mercy on him.” He knew who it was... but he just could not say “the Samaritan was neighbor... the Samaritan showed mercy, and kindness, and fulfilled the Law of God.” It just was not in him. And we miss that aspect, and that deep impact of the Parable if we are not aware of the local history and the culture in which it was spoken. But I also cannot help but think of the unexpectedly warm and welcoming response toward a Jewish Messiah, from a people who were the recipients of such contemptible defamation. But this also serves to call upon us to examine our own lives, and our own thoughts. Is there a group of people, of any description, that you have labeled as “Samaritans?” If there is, you need to take that sign down, and tear it up, throw it away, and never hang it up, again, over the heads of any group. Regardless of what they did, or what you think they did, or what someone you trust with your life told you they did... that sign has to come down. It has no place in the life of a Christian. And those signs are everywhere. There seems to be a need, or a drive of some kind within human nature, to first identify, and then look down on and hate people who don't look like we do or think like we do. And I am sure that Satan is at the bottom of it all, stirring the pot and fanning the flames. But we are aware of a group who is different in some way. They may be members of a different race or nationality, students or graduates of a different school, they may attend a different Church, a different denomination, worship a different god, speak a different language, or the same language with a different accent. This group may support a different political candidate, or espouse a different political ideology. If there is a difference, there is the very real potential for looking down on, criticizing and even hating the people in that group. Let me give you the best example I can think of, in describing the senseless “need” to identify, separate and look down on people who are “different:” Many years ago, I worked with a guy who had been in the Navy. And he told me something that really put the icing on the cake of identifying and denigrating “different” people. He told me that the sailors on the ship who worked in the Radio Room, were looked down on by the sailors who worked in the RADAR Room! Now just think of this: Here was a group of enlisted men, all serving to defend their same country, in the same Branch of the Military, and on the exact same ship. They spoke the same language, may have been the same race and religion, from the same part of the country, and been of the same national origin. Virtually every potential point of animosity and confrontation was settled. There were none of the issues over which wars have been fought to generate the hanging of the “Samaritan” sign on anyone. But... these sailors did not perform the same tasks on the ship. They served their country in different occupations, and the Samaritan sign was brought out and applied! The RADAR Room sailors looked down on the Radio Room sailors. But then, if they came into port, and went on shore leave, and encountered a group of Marines in a bar, a new “Samaritan” issue would have arisen because they would have been confronted with a new difference that they would have to deal with, and do something about! And as sure as I am sitting here typing, a barroom brawl would have erupted following a few provocative and incendiary comments back and forth. The “Samaritan” sign is always in a back pocket ready and waiting to be hanged around the necks of some group. And this is not just happening in America, but all over the world! There have been endless wars, "ethnic cleansings," pogroms, invasions and bloodshed since the birth of Cain and Abel. Cain was a tiller of the ground, and Abel was a keeper of sheep. One's sacrifice was rejected, the other's was accepted. One applied the Samaritan sign, rose up against the other and slew him. And none of it, from Cain to the most recent death based on race, religion, ethnicity or any other difference can be justified, especially among Christians. And I am sure it does not come as a News Flash to any of you hearing my voice or reading these words that Christians are not immune from both the potential of wrong thoughts, motives and actions against other groups of men and women, even other Christian groups, which, for one reason or another, are not exactly like us. But this too, is a powerful and major, but often overlooked aspect of the Parable of the Good Samaritan. As John asked in 1 John 4:20: “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” The Samaritan in the Parable was [i]neighbor and keeper[/i] to a stranger in need. After Jesus spoke the Parable, the account of Jesus' discussion with the lawyer is summed up in Verse 37: “Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.” I will end with Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Keep in mind that the telling of the Parable was in response to a question we read in Luke 10:25: “And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Matthew Henry writes: “If we speak of eternal life, and the way to it, in a careless manner, we take the name of God in vain. No one will ever love God and his neighbour with any measure of pure, spiritual love, who is not made a partaker of converting grace. But the proud heart of man strives hard against these convictions. Christ gave an instance of a poor Jew in distress, relieved by a good Samaritan. This poor man fell among thieves, who left him about to die of his wounds. He was slighted by those who should have been his friends, and was cared for by a stranger, a Samaritan, of the nation which the Jews most despised and detested, and would have no dealings with. It is lamentable to observe how selfishness governs all ranks; how many excuses men will make to avoid trouble or expense in relieving others. But the true Christian has the law of love written in his heart. The Spirit of Christ dwells in him; Christ's image is renewed in his soul. The parable is a beautiful explanation of the law of loving our neighbour as ourselves, without regard to nation, party, or any other distinction. It also sets forth the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward sinful, miserable men. We were like this poor, distressed traveller. Satan, our enemy, has robbed us, and wounded us: such is the mischief sin has done us. The blessed Jesus had compassion on us. The believer considers that Jesus loved him, and gave his life for him, when an enemy and a rebel; and having shown him mercy, he bids him go and do likewise. It is the duty of us all , in our places, and according to our ability, to … help, and relieve all that are in distress and necessity.” This concludes this Evening Discussion, “The Parable of the Good Samaritan.” By Romans, originally delivered on July 19th, 2012

How God Feels About His Children

“How God Feels About His Children” by Romans There is a Christian Radio Station that I listen to nearly every day that broadcasts from Liberty University. Occasionally in the afternoon, they run this little promo that I would like to use to introduce my topic tonight. They tell how, in 1994, Bill Gates bought a notebook of Leonardo DaVinci at an auction. He paid $30.8 million, making it the most expensive book ever sold. Then they mention that, even though it may be the most expensive book in the world, it is NOT the most valuable book in the world. The Bible, the Word of God, is the most valuable Book in the world. The information we read in the Bible, is information that would not be available anywhere else, and in any other way were the men who wrote it, not inspired by the Holy Spirit to write the things they did. We could never otherwise know what sin is. And we could never otherwise know that God provided a Way for us through the death of His Only Begotten Son, to have our sins, all of our sins, forgiven, forgotten, and never be brought up again. We could never otherwise know that the penalty for our sins has been paid in full. Tonight, we are going to focus on one thing in particular that the Bible teaches us. In a recent Bible Study that I attend on Sunday morning, the pastor shared with the group a Verse that he had apparently never seen before, or at least had escaped his notice on the previous occasions when he had read it. He is just beginning a series on the Minor Prophets. The Verse he shared with us is from Zephaniah 3:17: “The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.” Let’s read and consider that this Verse is saying about how God feels about His people: The Eternal Lord, Creator of the Universe is mighty, He will save, but then He rejoices when we accept His Salvation! Then He rests in His Love for us and joys or rejoices over us with singing! When the pastor I mentioned earlier read this Verse, he was so bowled over by it that he went and woke up his wife to share it with her! Singing! Our Creator sings when He thinks of those who have abandoned the way of the world that only brought us misery, defeat, sorrow and death. God rejoices and sings over those who have accepted His Salvation, who have chosen to follow Jesus in leading godly lives in which they will grow into the tenets of the Sermon on the Mount, and begin to bear the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace forgiveness, generosity, longsuffering, and putting the needs of others before their own needs. That is why God sings in joy over us! It is one of the ways in which He manifests His Love for us. Tonight, we are going to focus in on the various ways that the Bible tells us, God manifests His Love for us. But before I do that, let’s also notice God is not the only One rejoicing in Heaven: Jesus said in Luke 15:10 “Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” And then we read in Luke 15:7: “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.” But it is not just singing and rejoicing over us! Jesus also said in Matthew 10:32 "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.” Jesus Christ Who came and died that each of us might have Life Eternal acknowledges before the Father in Heaven, those who have accepted His sacrifice! Think of the people you love. Think of the familiarity you have with them so that when you are in a store somewhere and you see something that you know they would like, you buy it for them. Part of loving someone is knowing them on a deeper level than other casual friends, neighbors and acquaintances. And that knowledge, and the desire to know those things, and act on that knowledge is evidence of the love you have for that person. With that in mind, let’s notice the depth of the love God has for us, made evident by the depth of what He knows about us, and what He does with that knowledge: Among the many questions that Job asked in the midst of his affliction, he asked in Job 31:4: “Doth not he see my ways, and count all my steps?” I don’t believe this was mere poetic exaggeration on Job’s part. Scripture tells us that the mind of God is omniscient knowing all things. Scripture tells us in Psalms 147:4 of a God Who “…telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.” Should we be amazed that He can or does count our steps? Jesus asked in Matthew 10:29: “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” Scripture introduces us to a Creator Who is intimately involved with His Creation. And the relationship He wants to have with us is a warm, intense and close relationship. Notice Paul’s words in Romans 8:15: “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” We miss so much by reading an English translation of the Word of God, and we take far too many things for granted. Abba is the Middle Eastern equivalent of the English word, Daddy. I had the opportunity to visit Israel in 1979, and I would like to share with you an experience that I had there, that helped me to better appreciate the full meaning of the Christian receipt of “the Spirit of Adoption whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” I was in a crowded open-air market one day, and suddenly the happy and excited voice of a little four-year-old child rang out above the noise of the crowd. “Abba! Abba!” he cried, and ran laughing into his father’s waiting open arms to be picked up. He was calling for his daddy, and he was excited when he found he found him, and could be reunited with him. There is another Son I’d like to talk about with Whom you are more familiar. He also cried out Abba under very different circumstances. We can read the account beginning in Mark 14:32: “And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray. And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch. And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.” Abba. This one occasion is the only place in all Four Gospels where Jesus uses the Greek Abba, Daddy, in all the references, commands, conversations. But we have been given the Spirit of Adoption where we can call God, the Great, Omnipotent and Eternal God, Abba… Daddy. And this same God goes so much further, and gives us the equally unimaginable access that we find in Hebrews 4:16: “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Earlier, I mentioned the incredible power of the mind of God, in that He is able to not only number but also call the names of all the stars. Matthew Henry wrote about God’s numbering the stars in his Commentary about this: “Man's knowledge is soon ended; but God's knowledge is a dept(h) that can never be fathomed. And while he telleth the number of the stars, he condescends to hear the broken-hearted sinner.” In a Prophecy in Isaiah 65:17: “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.” But, as incredible that it is that God hears and answers our prayers, because of Scripture we also can know that the very Person of the Trinity Who Created the Universe willingly set aside the Majesty and Glory of His Position to satisfy the death penalty we imposed on ourselves by our sin and rebellion. We read beginning in Philippians 2:6: “… Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” And His sole motivation for doing that was because He loved us. Jesus said in John 15:13: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” But did Jesus speak this about Himself? Notice the Apostle Paul’s words in Romans 5:8: “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Did Jesus lay down His Life for His friends? Notice Verse 10: “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” God’s Love for us is manifested in Scripture, showing us that He is a Giving God: God gave His people His Law: The Commandments of God are not restrictions that diminish our lives: We read in Deuteronomy 30:19: “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:” Deuteronomy 11:8 ¶Therefore shall ye keep all the commandments which I command you this day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go to possess it; Deuteronomy 11:13 And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil. And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full.” Just as the children of Israel were about to enter the Promised Land, the Lord spoke to them in Deuteronomy 11:26: “Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day: And a curse, if ye will not obey…” The Psalmist recognizes this and tells us beginning in Psalms 119:97: “O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day. Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.” And then in Verse 105, he writes, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” The Word of God is the most valuable Book on Earth because It reveals not only the Commands of God, but also His thoughts: We read beginning in Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD…” We read in James 1:17: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights…” But God is presented in the pages of Scripture as One Who delights in not just giving us good things, but lavishing them upon us: Notice Isaiah 63:7: “I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, and the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.” Paul gives the New Testament of Isaiah’s depiction of the lovingkindnesses of God beginning Ephesians 2:4: “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” The Bible presents to us a God Who wants His people to be a generous and giving people. In the Old Testament we read in Deuteronomy 15:11: “For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.” This reminds me of Cain’s response to God when He asked where Abel was: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Look at this Verse, again. “Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.” Did you notice the possessive pronoun in each case: thy? “Thy brother… thy poor… thy needy.” It is clear that God wants us to consider the poor of the land as our responsibility to take care of. After all, they are our poor and needy. Paul’s farewell address to the elders of the Church at Ephesus picks up the idea in Acts 20:35: “I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.” And God has been telling us from the very beginning of all the things He has given us and will give us: Genesis 1:16: “And God made two great lights… and… set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth…” Genesis 1:29: “And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed… to you it shall be for meat.” After the Flood, God said in Genesis 9:3: “Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.” Leviticus 26:4: “Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.” Deuteronomy 11:14: “… I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain…” Ecclesiastes 5:19: “Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.” In Jeremiah 14:13 we read God’s Promise that, “Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place.” The unrepentant, heart of stone in man described in Jeremiah 17:9 as being, “… deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked…”needed to be replaced. So God Promised in Ezekiel 36:26, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.” Malachi 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” Far from diminishing as the Old Testament ends, God’s giving dramatically escalates in the New Testament. Jesus invites us in Matthew 11:28: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Jesus told His disciples in Luke 21:15, “For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.” Matthew 7:11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? In Jeremiah 3:15 God promised, “… I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.” And then we read of His keeping His Promise in Ephesians 4:11: “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ…” We read of God’s Ultimate Gift in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Jesus says in John 6:51: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” But the Father’s willingness to give us His Only Begotten Son, and the Son’s willingness to give His flesh for the life of the world is not an end to Their giving… incredibly, for Them it is just the beginning: In speaking of His human ministry on earth coming to an end, Jesus said in John 16:7: “…I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.” We are told in Hebrews 13:5 that Jesus said, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” But in addition to His Promise in Matthew 28:20 that, “I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world,” He Promised in John 14:16: “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” And God’s giving continues, as we read Jesus’ words in Luke 12:32: “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” And then we read in Romans 8:32: “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” The Apostle John quotes Jesus in Revelation 3:12: “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.” In Hebrews 1:2 Jesus is called the “heir of all things.” And we are called in Romans 8:17 “heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” The Word of God informs us, as no other book does, and as no other Book can, that we serve a Giving, Righteous, and Holy God who calls upon us to reflect His Righteous and Holy Character and to be a giving people. “…God loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). We are serving a God Who delights in us, loves us in unimaginable detail and depth, counting our steps, and numbering the hairs on our heads. He is a God Who “joys over us with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17) when He thinks about us. But He not only, in a manner of speaking, writes us into His Will such that we might be heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ that we might be heirs of all things… no… He is not done. After all that He has done, after all that He has given, after all that He has lavished upon us… He is still not done! We read these incredible words beginning in 2 Peter 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature…” It is, when you come right down to it, too much for us to comprehend! And God is a not only a Joyful God, but Scripture tells us that He gave His Only Begotten Son that He might share that Joy with His Creation for Eternity. At the conclusion of the Parable of the Talents, we read in Matthew 25:21, these words spoken to those who served faithfully: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” We serve an Awesome, Awesome God! This ends this Evening’s Discussion, “How God Feels About His Children” Delivered by Romans, “live” on June 28th, 2012