Christian instruction

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.

Oh Friends, just as day follows night, so does Sunday follow Saturday, and yesterday was Saturday, which means that today is Sunday. Oh what excellent reasoning my brethren, worthy of our favourite fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes! (smile)

And since it’s Sunday, the Lord’s Day, then we should be preparing to go to church and worship, give thanks and praise with other believers to our wonderful Creator because that is His desire.

So let’s not dilly-dally in performing our duty nuh, raising up all kinds of feeble excuses, which we full well know don’t hold water, but merely reflects our laziness and lack of godliness.

Now friends, going to church is not merely our duty, it is also a means of upliftment for us, of encouragement, of strengthening our faith and keeping us steadfast and true and on the right track, the straight and narrow one.

And let me remind us that whatever God desires of us, it’s not for His benefit, but for ours. He doesn’t really need anything that we have, but we do need a lot of what He possesses.

Consequently, I shouldn’t have to badger us to go to church. And I’ll stop it right now. (smile) But if you don’t go, you’ll never know the beautiful soulful experience that comes from worshipping God as a body of believers. End of sermon.

Instead, here is some wisdom from our friend Anselm who always tries to inspire us for a better tomorrow. This quote wisely declares that ‘Someone who is worthy of your LOVE will never put you in a situation where you feel you must sacrifice your dignity, your integrity, or your self-worth to be with them.’

And that’s oh so true my people. Anyone who wants, or expects you to compromise your truthful and godly character is definitely not worthy of your LOVE! They definitely are not friends or LOVED ones, just users, only interested in their own selves and/or desires. So anytime that kind comes around you, just ignore them and move on.

And if they put up a fuss, just let them know that you already have truer and more important personages who sincerely care about you, as so passionately and powerfully declared in our Bit. ‘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.’

Yes my fellow believers, once you have the Holy Triumvirate in your corner, you don’t need anyone else, especially selfish, uncaring human beings. Please remember that in whatever situation you might find yourself, you and the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit always constitutes a majority, and that there is NO circumstance that you all can’t successfully handle together!

Now let’s continue looking at some scripture that confirms and upholds our Bit. And we’ll begin with Bruh Paul’s second message to the Thessalonians. ‘Wherefore he (God) called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or by our epistle.

Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath LOVED us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts, and stablish (establish) you in every good word and work.’ (2 Thess.2:14-17)

Oh friends, what uplifting and edifying words! Words for us to hold on to, to write indelibly in our hearts, minds and souls!

And here are a couple of scholarly explanations. ‘2:14. By our gospel (see Rom.10:17): “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.’ He is here referring to the oral communication of the gospel; what we hear brings about faith. ‘2:15. Traditions…taught refers to more than customs. In view here is the totality of the apostolic doctrine as it was given to them.’

Now I’d be rather amiss and falling down in my duty if I didn’t share this most interesting explanation of ‘Tradition’ by the scholars. 2:15. The word tradition literally means “a giving over by word of mouth or writing.” It refers to teachings handed down from one person to another. Tradition is not in and of itself wrong; it is only wrong when opposed to the Word of God.

In the early church, good tradition was the principal means of Christian instruction (Luke 1:2). Paul used this word to describe his teachings, especially at Corinth and Thessalonica (v.15; 3:6). False tradition ends up as heresy or apostasy (renunciation of a religious faith).

Illustration: The religious leaders of Jesus’ day erred in placing the traditions of men above the Word of God (Matt.15:1-9). In contrast, Luke sifted through existing records and apparently interviewed witnesses in writing an inspired record to instruct Theophilus in the faith (Luke 1:1-4).

Application: Christians need to sit under the preaching and teaching of the Word of God, but when the content conflicts with the Scriptures, the teaching of men should be disregarded for the certain truth of the Bible. (First Ref. Matt.15:2; Primary Ref. 2 Thess. 2:15; cf. 2 Tim. 2:15).’

Oh friends, we on a roll! (smile) And I do hope that you appreciate the lengths the ole fella is going to, to give us all a better understanding of God’s Word, for if we don’t understand it, then how can we obey it eh? And for your benefit, I suggest that you look up the references mentioned, to make sure they make sense. (smile) I did before I wrote them down.

And now, may the Lord God bless and safely keep us all, grant us His unmatchable wisdom and unsurpassable peace, as we go about today to do His bidding! Much LOVE!

…when circumstances go against God’s Word…we ought to obey God…rather than men…and be ready to suffer the consequences… (Acts 5:29)

1 Peter 2:2. As newborn babes, desire the sincere (pure) milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.

Oh Friends, neighbours and fellow believers, it’s a beautiful morning, so let’s get up and get fellowshipping with others of like ilk! Time to give thanks and praise to our great and wonderful Creator and Saviour Jesus Christ for all they’ve done, are doing and have promised to do for us.

And all God’s people declared a loud, hearty and grateful; ‘Glory Hallelujah! Praise His Holy Name!’

Yes my people that’s what we need to get out and do this Sunday morning, without any reservations, resentment or being forced to go, but just having a heart brimming with so much LOVE and thanks, that we’re automatically propelled to the sanctuary. (smile)

Now here’s an interesting quote from an interesting and inspirational person; Helen Keller (1880-1968), the deaf/blind American author, activist, lecturer and humanitarian, reputed to be the first deaf/blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. Wow! Now isn’t that something else! Nowadays I’m sure it’s much easier than back then.

However, Miss Keller is reputed to have said that, ‘When we do the best we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another.’

And that’s gospel truth my people! For often we don’t know what ripple effects our actions may cause, somewhere down the line. Like throwing a stone in the water and seeing it form concentric circles; one circle after another. That’s how our actions, both good and bad can affect the lives of those we don’t, or may ever know. Therefore it behoves us to be generally kind and responsible in all our deeds and actions.

And the best part of that kind of responsible behaviour is that often we also see and feel the growth within our own selves. And that my Friends, is what we all desperately need in these vey treacherous and troubled times; personal growth! Not only physical and mental, but even more importantly spiritual growth and maturity, so that we can truly understand what’s happening and thus take the necessary precautions.

As Peter warns us: ‘Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere (pure) milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.’ (1 Pet.2:1-3)

Yes my brethren, we all begin as new born babes in Christ, where like infants, we can’t handle the heavy stuff, the heavy food, the heavy doctrine and such. Therefore we need to ingest simpler, lighter stuff, like milk for new-borns. That means first getting a basic, rudimentary understanding of the Scriptures, of Jesus and all that He stands for.

But then Friends, we just can’t stop there, like the mental and physical aspects of our bodies, our spirits also have to grow in the understanding of Jesus, and then we need to put those things into practice in our everyday lives. That’s when we begin to attain maturity. We never really are completely mature, because spiritual growth is a never ending course of study.

That’s why Bruh Paul warned the Corinthians about carnal minds hindering, inhibiting the growth of the spirit. ‘And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat (solid food): for hitherto (until now) ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions (dissensions); are ye not carnal (fleshly), and walk as (according to) man?’ (1 Cor.3:1-3)

Oh my people, you know those statements sadly brand a lot of us in Christ’s church today as spiritual babes, because there is still so much infighting amongst believers, with strife, envy and general pettiness and selfishness causing unnecessary and unwholesome divisions in the body of Christ.

And the scholars explain those verses thus: ‘3:1-3) I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: In the case of newborn babes this would be natural and to be expected (1 Pet.2:2). But it is embarrassing at this stage in their development. ‘Milk’ figuratively stands for elementary Christian instruction, and ‘meat’ refers to advanced doctrine.

Carnal (lit.“fleshly”). The warfare between the flesh and the spirit receives continual emphasis in Paul’s writings (cf. Rom.7:14-8:13; Gal.5:17). The factions that have destroyed the unity in Corinth indicate that these believers were not walking by the Spirit, but were allowing the flesh to direct their behaviour.’

And doesn’t that ever still apply to the church today my people! A lot of us who are supposed to have Bible knowledge, but behave in a non-Christian manner, according to Bruh Paul’s logic, are still spiritual babes in arms. Because it’s not necessarily what we know that’s important, but often what we do with that knowledge, how it causes us to behave. And if we claim to know what the Bible teaches, but don’t practice it, then all that knowledge is wasted. They say knowledge is power – but only if it’s used wisely.

So Friends, as we go out to worship today, let’s seriously consider if we are behaving like newborn babes; that’s walking carnally, in the flesh, or rather like the mature people we’re supposed to be, walking in the Spirit. How we walk in Jesus’ name, my brethren, does cast a serious reflection on His church, therefore let’s do what we know to be right nuh, and walk maturely – in the Spirit, like we ought to. That’s heavenly wisdom! Much LOVE!

…to walk in the flesh…when we should be walking in the Spirit…is a serious dereliction of our duties as believers in Christ…

SCRIP-BITS

Today’s Scrip-Bit 24 January 2016 John 3:16

Today’s Scrip-Bit 6 July 2014 1 Peter 2:2

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