Minister in the Mess - Acts 27-28

 Acts 28:9-10 (ESV)

And when this had taken place, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured. They also honored us greatly, and when we were about to sail, they put on board whatever we needed.

God makes ministry out of messes.   If we read the preceding verses we are amazed at what Paul has been through.  He is being held captive under false charges.   He is put on a boat and then another boat and survived an intense storm at sea.   The last boat ran him aground.    He then gets bite by a venomous snack.    He survives, only to be judged by those around him that he must be a murderer.    Finally it turns around and he is given an opportunity to serve.  A man’s father lays on his death bed and Paul is giving opportunity and power from God to heal the man.   Most of us, after this journey, would have given up and believed God had deserted them.   Paul, of course, knows God and believes in His sovereign control.   In the above text we see the results of Paul’s suffering and enduring.   Suddenly he has a full church ministry.    God gives us suffering.   But, during the suffering Paul ministered to those in front of him.  If you read back through the story you see all the things that happened to him.  But, he starts to minister to the leaders of his captors.   He ministers to the sailors of the ships he is in.   He ministers to the people of the land where he lands after a ship wreck.  He did not look for a particular ministry, he looked to minister.  Paul is the best example of the quote that states, “ Bloom where you are planted.”   God’s people would say it this way, “Minister in the mess!” 

The Redemption Story - The Alpha and Omega - Revelation 18-22

 Revelation 22:12-16 (ESV)

12 “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. 15 Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

The above verses are the summary of the entire message of the Bible.   Jesus came to bring blessings for those who will “wash their robs” in His blood and destruction on all those who are immoral and practice all manner of falsehoods.   That is the summary of all 66 books, 31,102 verses, and over 30 different authors.   We can’t ignore that this is the major theme of life, as well.   God has laid out before us His entire plan.   The first two chapters of the Bible and the last two chapters are the beauty of God and His creative power. All the chapters in the middle are about the battle of sin in the lives of man and the sacrifice of God through His Son to defeat sin and establish the kingdom He designed.   It is through His son, Jesus, He created the world (Hebrews 1:3) and it is through Jesus, He will rule the world.   He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.    This is the story God wants told.   He has two side of the story.  One is God’s marvelous provision and blessing through Christ.   One is God’s curse on all those who reject Him.    That is the story of the Bible.  

The Timing of Love - Song of Songs 7-8

 Song of Songs 8:4 (ESV)

I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,

that you not stir up or awaken love

until it pleases.

As this love Song of Solomon and his bride draws to a close, we have another warning from the couple about the “timing” of love.  This is now the third time the reader has been admonition to not “awaken love until it pleases.”   Here are the other two:

Song of Songs 2:7 (ESV) 

I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,

by the gazelles or the does of the field,

that you not stir up or awaken love

until it pleases.

Song of Songs 3:5 (ESV)

I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,

by the gazelles or the does of the field,

that you not stir up or awaken love

until it pleases.

Although there are a few different interpretations of this verse, as stated in earlier postings about it, we know for certain that love is to be treated with respect and awe.    We could conclude that the verse(s) have the following implications:

1. Love (expressed in the marriage bond) is fragile. It is not to be rushed into. 

2. Love (expressed in marriage) is a public demonstration.  This is why these verses are addressed to the “daughters of Jerusalem.”  These “daughters” (bridesmaids?) are in the “know” about something.   That are being warned about this rushing into love and that means whatever is happening is known to others.   

3.  Love (expressed in marriage) has a fuse to it.   This “not stir up” or “awaken love” must means that love like this can be dormant or silent.   There is something about love that has fire to it that must be lit.   

4. Love (expressed in marriage) must have pleasure.  If you don’t stir it up “until it pleases” there must be moment that love is “pleased.”   When love is activated the way it is supposed to be activated, it will bring pleasure.   

5. God gives love as a gift to those whom He will.  This verse can be talking about God’s perfect timing for falling in love or even in the act of making love in a sexual way.   There is a “timing” to the entire process.   There is not to be a rushing into it, no matter the interpretation of the type of love being referred to.   As they say, “timing is everything.”  This would be true in love and love making as well.   It is not to be simply an act of passion.  It is to be an act of intention and control for the purpose it is designed to express.   

The Art of Worship - Psalms 149-150

 Psalms 150

There is no doubt that the book of Psalms is all about praise.  It is, in reality, the song book for a nation who is to sing praises to their King.  This last chapter is a great microcosm of the entire book.  In this little six verse chapter that concludes the 150 chapter book, note how we have a summary of true Biblical worship. 

In verse on the writer tells us WHO to worship: 

v1a - Praise the Lord!

We are to make sure our entire focus is to be on "The Lord."   Too many people worship the band, the place, or the experience of worship and lose focus on the fact that it is the Lord who is to receive all of our praise and focus. 

We are also told WHERE to worship in this chapter:

v. 1b - Praise God in His sanctuary;

Praise Him in His mighty expanse.

Then we are told WHAT  to worship:

v. 2 - Praise Him for His mighty deeds;

Praise Him according to His excellent greatness.

Our focus on worship are both the character and the acts of God in our lives.  We are to praise Him, not complain to Him, about what He is doing in our lives.  

We are also told in this chapter HOW to praise Him:

v. 3-5

Praise Him with trumpet sound;

Praise Him with harp and lyre. 

Praise Him with timbrel and dancing;

Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe. 

Praise Him with loud cymbals;

Praise Him with resounding cymbals.

This implies we are to make some noise for God.  It is a sad fact that we can scream, holler and look like fools when our team scores a touchdown, goal or point, but in worship we must be formal and funeral-like.  These instruments are basically noisy instruments.   The harp and lyre might be soothing and calm, but the trumpet, timbrel, pipes and cymbals are not.  In fact, the writer tells us to use "loud" cymbals.  And, in case we missed it, he goes on to tell us to use "resounding" cymbals.   We are also to get our entire body into worship.   Note that is says with "dancing."   Again, scoring a touchdown might cause us to high five someone we don't even know.   Why can't we stand up and get into our worship with the same vigor knowing it is for the God of the universe who saved us and defeated death and Satan?   

Lastly the chapter tells us WHO should worship.  No one is exempt:

v. 6 - Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord!

Anything that uses the air God created is to exhale that breath in praise.  We are to inhale God's creation and exhale God's praise.   That is the order.  Breath in God's life and breath out God's praise.   This chapter is an instruction sheet on how to do chapters 1-149.   Praise Him!!!

Bad Guidance - Bad Comfort - Esther 6-10

 Esther 6:12-14 (ESV)

Then Mordecai returned to the king's gate. But Haman hurried to his house, mourning and with his head covered. And Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the Jewish people, you will not overcome him but will surely fall before him.”

While they were yet talking with him, the king's eunuchs arrived and hurried to bring Haman to the feast that Esther had prepared.

The story of Haman and Mordecai is a classic story that any movie script would love to follow.   Haman is so angry at Mordecai he is willing to go to any links to have him destroyed.   Not only Mordecai but all the Jews in the 127 regions of the kingdom of the Medes.  Along with his wife and friends, Haman devised a plan to have the Jews wiped out in a single day and to have Mordecai hanged on the gallows he built in his own back yard.  Why?  Because one day when Haman was coming out of the king’s palace Mordecai did not show him the respect he thought he deserved.  Why?  Because Mordecai feared the Lord and not mankind.  He was not about to worship Haman.   

All this lead to the above scene.  When Haman’s plot is finally discovered by the king, with Esther’s help, Haman runs back to his friends and family to find consolation and advice.   But, the very people he thought would console him, instead, were straight up honest with him.  Instead of being told, “It will all be okay, honey,” his wife (Zeresh) tells him, in essence, “It is all over for you baby!”  Zeresh means gold.  But, Haman must have thought at that time she was more like tin. Note the original advice Zeresh gave Haman during a time he was on top of the world:

Esther 5:14 (ESV)

Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Let a gallows fifty cubits high be made, and in the morning tell the king to have Mordecai hanged upon it. Then go joyfully with the king to the feast.” This idea pleased Haman, and he had the gallows made.

His wife and his friends got him into this mess.   But, they had no Godly advice for him to recover.   They only had gloom and doom to offer.  During Job’s hardship (for completely different reasons), his wife was equally depression with her counsel: 

Job 2:9

Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.”

When we listen to people who give bad advice, don’t expect them to be there for you and guide you out of the dilemma they put you in.  They are as equally bad with comfort as they are with counsel.   

God Sustains Us - Deuteronomy 32-34

 Deuteronomy 34:7 (ESV)

Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eye was undimmed, and his vigor unabated.

Moses’ life finally comes to an end.  But, the final words spoken about him speak about how God preformed a miracle in his body.   When we think of keeping ourselves healthy, we often turn to diets and physical exercises.   Those probably do something to keep the body healthy, but this was not Moses’ secret.  There is no doubt he completed his 10,000 steps each day.  They wandered in the wilderness for 40 years.   Moses actually lived in that wilderness for 80 years.   He was there for 40 before God even called him to lead the nation of Israel out of Egypt.   

During these last songs of Moses at the end of the book of Deuteronomy, Moses himself tells us about how he and the nation were sustained.  Note:

Deuteronomy 29:5 (ESV)

I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn off your feet.

During these 40 years of wandering the God preformed a miracle in regard to sustaining everything about the nation’s needs.    He did the same for Moses’ health.    Yes, it is wise to take care of your body.  Yes, it is wise to exercise and eat well.  Yes, it is wise to get the right amount of sleep and vitamins.   But, it is God who sustains our bodies for His service.   Note what Paul young Pastor Timothy:

1 Timothy 4:7-10 (ESV)

Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

God sustained Moses for the task He designed for him.   God sustains us for the tasks He has for us.   God made sure that Moses’ eyes did not dim or his energy and strength would not wain.   

Notice that Caleb claimed the same thing as Joshua offered him an easy piece of inheritance.  He told Joshua he wanted to take the mountain.   Although he can come out of Egypt (like Joshua), spied out the land (at Moses’ request), wandered in the wilderness for 40 years (like Moses) and helped conquer the promise land, here was his response to Joshua’s attempt to give him an easy retirement gig:

Joshua 14:11 (ESV)

I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming.

When we walk with God He sustains us for His service no matter the conditions of that service.  

Peace in the Church vs a Church in Pieces.

 3 John 1:15 (ESV)

Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends, each by name.

The above verse is an appropriate conclusion to this little letter from John.  John, at this time, is in his 90s.   He is well aware of all the problems in churches.  3 John is an example of one of those problems: Doctrinal division in the church.   John was aware that there were traveling ministers who were going from church to church.   Some where teaching Jesus Christ and Him crucified and risen.  But, some were teaching false teaching.   In 2 John, John is instructing them to greet those who come and teach sound doctrine.  In 3 John he is warning them about those in the church who are being divisive.   So, when we read “peach be to you,” we have a better understanding of the motive behind his concluding statement.  The church that he was writing to in 3 John was NOT at peace.   A man named Diotrephes was causing division in the church and even putting one out of the church.    His power was contrary to Christian love and obedience to Christ.   When he tells them to “greet the friends,” it is obvious that he knows some in the church.   He is encouraging them all, however, to be at peace.  One of the earmarks of the Church is “peace.”    Here are three of the most familiar verses about peace for the Church:

1. Peace is a fruit of the Spirit - Galatians 5:22 (ESV) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

2. Peace is a piece of the armor of God - Ephesians 6:15 (ESV) ... and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.

3.  The earmark of a true child of God - Matthew 5:9 (ESV) “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

We are to go about making peace as we use allow the Spirit of God to produce peace in our lives and empowers us to fight the Evil One.   Satan wants to have discord in the church and between lives.  He wants the church in pieces.  God wants the church at peace.   God wants us to have peace with our brothers and sisters in Christ.    

3 John 1:15 (ESV)

Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends, each by name.

The above verse is an appropriate conclusion to this little letter from John.  John, at this time, is in his 90s.   He is well aware of all the problems in churches.  3 John is an example of one of those problems: Doctrinal division in the church.   John was aware that there were traveling ministers who were going from church to church.   Some where teaching Jesus Christ and Him crucified and risen.  But, some were teaching false teaching.   In 2 John, John is instructing them to greet those who come and teach sound doctrine.  In 3 John he is warning them about those in the church who are being divisive.   So, when we read “peach be to you,” we have a better understanding of the motive behind his concluding statement.  The church that he was writing to in 3 John was NOT at peace.   A man named Diotrephes was causing division in the church and even putting one out of the church.    His power was contrary to Christian love and obedience to Christ.   When he tells them to “greet the friends,” it is obvious that he knows some in the church.   He is encouraging them all, however, to be at peace.  One of the earmarks of the Church is “peace.”    Here are three of the most familiar verses about peace for the Church:

1. Peace is a fruit of the Spirit - Galatians 5:22 (ESV) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

2. Peace is a piece of the armor of God - Ephesians 6:15 (ESV) ... and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.

3.  The earmark of a true child of God - Matthew 5:9 (ESV) “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

We are to go about making peace as we use allow the Spirit of God to produce peace in our lives and empowers us to fight the Evil One.   Satan wants to have discord in the church and between lives.  He wants the church in pieces.  God wants the church at peace.   God wants us to have peace with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Romans 14:18-19 (ESV)

18 Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.

The Purpose of Conflict in Our Lives - Acts 25-26

 Acts 26:2-3 (ESV)

“I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am going to make my defense today against all the accusations of the Jews, especially because you are familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews. Therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.

The lives of God’s servants are in God’s hand.  He moves us about to accomplish His divine plan.  His divine plan is that people hear about the risen Christ and God, through Christ’s provision, can provide man with the holiness of God in order that they might worship Him in purity.   That is the entire plan of God since creation.  God wants creatures who worship Him in holiness.   To make that possible God had to provide holiness to mankind.    To provide that holiness Christ came to pay the debt.   But, that message had to be told to lowest and highest of mankind.   God selects mankind to be the messengers of that plan.  In the above verse we read that God is putting Paul in a tough situation for one reason: To proclaim the message of hope to authorities of the land.   

God created, in the life of Paul, a path for Paul to tell the most powerful people of the land about the hope in Christ.  King Agrippa was one of those dignitaries.     Note what Paul tells Agrippa as he defends himself against false accusations:

Acts 26:6-8 (ESV)

And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship night and day. And for this hope I am accused by Jews, O king! Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?

God brought conflict into Paul’s life to put him in front of this king.    His role was to use this conflict for the purpose of furthering God’s plan.   How did Paul handle this rough patch in his life?  He recognized that this was God’s plan and he was going to be obedient to it.  

Acts 26:19-21 (ESV)

“Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me.

God is weaving our lives according to the working of His great plan.  He puts us in situations (whether easy or tough) to declare His glory and to offer mankind holiness to worship Him.   We can reject the conflict that comes into our lives or we can recognize that God has not put us on this earth for our creature comforts, but rather that we might declare His marvelous plan in our lives.   

God’s Wrath - Revelation 12-17

 Revelation 16:1 (ESV)

The Seven Bowls of God's Wrath

Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”

At the end of chapter 14 we read that God is about to bring wrath on the earth.   Satan has been kicked out of heaven and has landed on earth.   God is about to bring judgment on the earth for their rejection of His Son.    In this passage, God is going to bring the first round of His wrath, the bowl judgements.   Here are the “bowls:”

* Bowl #1 - Painful sores on people who had the mark of the beast. 

* Bowl #2 - The sea fills will blood and kills everything in the sea. 

* Bowl #3 - Blood is poured out in the rivers and streams.  

* Bowl #4 - The sun begins to scorch people with fire. 

* Bowl #5 - The sun is turned off and deep darkness fills the earth. 

* Bowl #6 - The river Euphrates is dried up.  (This creates an actual highway that the enemies of Israel can use to attack ... but are actually brought to the river in one group which makes them easier to destroy.)

* Bowl #7 - Lightning, thunder, earthquakes that have never been seen before begin to cause havoc on the earth.  The “great city” is split into three parts (we are not told what city, but it is as “Babylon the great”). 

Before this time happens God sends three angels to warn the earth.  But, they reject God’s warnings.   God always provides escape before He brings judgment.  But, when the world rejects His warnings, judgement comes.   

Physical and Interpersonal Attraction - Song of Songs 5-6

 Song of Songs 5:16 (ESV)

His mouth is most sweet,

and he is altogether desirable.

This is my beloved and this is my friend,

O daughters of Jerusalem.

In chapters 5 & 6 of this love story we have an unusual turn of events.   If the narrative is real (vs a dream) we have the central woman of the story out looking for her groom, who seems to have abandoned her.   While looking for him during the night she is discovered by some men of the city, who instead of helping her, beat her.  We have no way of knowing if this is real or just a dream.   After she is beaten there is no recorded response to the beating by her lover or anyone else.    But, she asked the other women of the town to help her look for her lover, to which they reply:

Song of Songs 5:9 (ESV)

What is your beloved more than another beloved,

O most beautiful among women?

What is your beloved more than another beloved,

that you thus adjure us?

In the subsequent verses she tries to explain to them why her groom is unique.   After several statements about his stature, his body and his limbs, she comes to his mouth, as stated above.   In her description of her lover, so is enamored by his strength and beauty.   In our Christian world we often down play the “looks” of someone because, after all, God looks on the heart.  Yet, in this book there are many words written about the way these two saw each other in physical form.   We ought to be careful that we don’t “throw the baby out with the bath water” when it comes to physical attraction.   That is certainly part of God’s plan for us.  

But, as we read the above verse we can also see that her lover is much more than a strong column of fine ivory and has a mouth (palate) that is “most sweet.”   She also states he is her friend.    So, her attraction is not simply physical (as the world tends to foster), but rather intimate in relationship. The Hebrew word for “friend” here is a common word in the Old Testament an used almost 200 times.  It can be used as a friend, like we use it today and to the extent of a “lover.”    The key here is that both the physical and interpersonal are being used by the central woman of the story to describe her love.   Yes, he looks like a star from heaven and is as strong as a mountain, but at the same time has the tenderness of mouth and intimacy of a friend.   That is the relationship that is being promoted in this book.    Physical does not trump interpersonal.  But, interpersonal does not negate the physical attraction these to have.   Let us not get so holy that we fail to see the power of both.  

Praising God is a Pleasant Thing to Do! Psalms 146-148

 Psalms 147:1 (ESV)

Praise the LORD!

For it is good to sing praises to our God;

for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.

The book of Psalms is a book of song of praise to God.   Most of the psalms were songs the nation of Israel sang at worship, on their way to worship in Jerusalem and/or on their return from worship.  The “songs” give us insight into the character of God, the nature of man, the composition of creation and/or the corruptions of the world/demonic systems.   They are songs to sing for special occasions.  They are songs to sing for no occasion at all.  

Psalm 147 is a song about praising God for the deliverance of the exiles and the rebuilding of Jerusalem.   It also sings praise to God for His creation.   The first verses, above, sets the tone of the song.   We are to bring praise to God.  Why? Because it is “pleasant.”   Another translation to that phrase is, “because He (God) is beautiful.” Our praise is to come before God because of the beauty of His creation and the power of His intercession in our lives.   We are sing a song of praise because it is “fitting.”   Our praise to God should be as natural as the light and heat are to the sun.   If we are truly believers in Yahweh, we ought to exude with praise and worship for Him.   The writer of the song is not asking the readers to do something they can’t do.  The writer (David) believes that if we are God’s children we will naturally sing God’s praise.   It is the pleasant thing to do.     

Bad People Acquire Bad Power - Esther 1-5

 Esther 3:15 (ESV)

The couriers went out hurriedly by order of the king, and the decree was issued in Susa the citadel. And the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was thrown into confusion.

What kings and leaders do can impact the world around them, even beyond their knowledge.   The above verse is the concluding verse to a really bad decision by the king of the Medes and the Persians.  Haman was King Ahasuerus’ right hand man.  The king had promoted him to the second highest position in the land.   Every time people saw him, Haman would make them bow down to him.  However, Mordecai, Esther’s adopted father, would no bow down to Haman.   This irritated Haman.   This hatred caused Haman to plot a scheme where he would have all the Jews killed (not knowing that Queen Esther was also a Jew).   

King Ahasuerus was not a strong king, as can be seen in the first chapter of the book.  He was often lead around by those around him.  Haman’s plot would be know different.   Haman proposed to give the king 10,000 talents of sliver if he allowed Haman to kill the entire nation.  This is an incredible amount of money.  Some estimate that the equivalent of that money today would be over three million dollars.   Haman was either a man of great wrath (which explains his rise to the second most powerful person in the land), or, Haman thought that combine wealth of the Jewish people would allow him to obtain that kind of money.  This amount was equivalent to two-three years of revenue for the king.   Ahasuerus had to take the deal.   

After the arrangements are made and a decree is signed Ahasuerus and Haman sit down to drink to celebrate.  Ahasuerus celebrated his new revenue stream (at the death of God’s people) and Haman probably celebrated the death of Mordecai and his new “investment” in his own power grab.   Never-the-less, at the cost of life, the celebrated.  

This is a great example of government, without regard to consequences, passing laws that hurt the people they govern but carry little consequence to them.  This is what power does to you.  Man wants power at any expense.   The King would not have money to keep his power.  Haman would now have power over an entire nation and get his revenge on Mordecai.   This is the evilness of mankind that Christ came to redeem.   

God Prepares and Calls Leaders - Deuteronomy 29-31

 Deuteronomy 31:23 (ESV)

And the LORD commissioned Joshua the son of Nun and said, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall bring the people of Israel into the land that I swore to give them. I will be with you.”

In the end of Deuteronomy, Moses is dying.   The entire book is the “second giving of the Law.”  He is giving his final instructions for the people to obey the Law.  He doesn’t have much faith in their obedience:

Deuteronomy 31:29 (ESV)

For I know that after my death you will surely act corruptly and turn aside from the way that I have commanded you. And in the days to come evil will befall you, because you will do what is evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger through the work of your hands.”

However, he does have faith in God and God’s approach to leading groups.  God has placed Joshua alongside Moses for almost the entirety of the 40 years.  Besides Moses, Joshua and Caleb are the only remaining people who came out of Egypt.   Every single person who came out of Egypt by the powerful hand of God’s miracles is now dead.  Those Moses is talking to are their children; hence the “second giving of the Law.”   Although Moses does not have faith in the people, he can trust the man who shadowed him for almost 40 years.   Joshua, in the above verse, is being “commissioned” by the Lord.  The Hebrew word for “commissioned” is often translated “commanded” (over 500 times in the Old Testament).   The Lord is “commanding” Joshua to now lead the people.   He assures Joshua that He will be with him.  God has put Joshua in a place of learning and now is putting him in a place leadership.  God has been with him as the 2nd.  Now God will be with him as the 1st.   God never calls where He has not already equipped.   This is God’s way throughout the Bible.   The preparation of God and the presence of God is the only requirement needed to lead.   

Loving Others Builds our Own Confidence Before God - 1 John 4-5

 1 John 4:17 (ESV)

By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.

To say that John has something to say about “love” and our relationship with God and other believers would be a large understatement.   He has made and is making some significant statements about love already, as well as moving forward in the book.  Note that John three times talks about Love:

1.  1John 2:7-11 - Love is proof of true fellowship 

2. 1 John 3:10-17 - Love is proof of sonship

3.  1John 4:7-21 - Love is proof of no condemnation 

a) God is love; it is perfect - 4:7-8

b) God expresses perfect love  in Christ - 4:9-11

C) God perfects His perfect love in us as we love others 4:12-21

In this last set of verses on love, John wants us to know that God is perfecting His love in us. The word for “perfect” in John’s letter is the Greek word for “completing.”   God is more and more completing His love in us as we love others.    This is, according to the above verse, where we can find our confidence.   As we abide in Christ we demonstrate love to those around us.  That demonstration is the proof we need that Christ love abides in us.   If you fill a glass with water you have proof that the water is in the glass as you drink it and/or pour it out.  If you fill a believer with God’s love the proof that the love is in there is when it is poured out on to others.   That is John’s point.  

That is also why we have “confidence” during the time of judgment.   Our love for others and demonstration love for others shows we are “like” Christ.   That is the evidence.   God treats us just like He treats His Son, because we have His Son’s love manifested in us.   Our confidence before God comes from the fact that God treats us like His Son by manifested the Son’s love for others into our lives.  This is John’s version of the Fruit of the Spirit.  Paul tells us that we will be like Jesus as we allow the Spirit of God to produce the Spirit’s fruit in us (Galatians 5).   John tells us we will be like Jesus if we allow God’s love (manifested in our lives by the Spirit) to show forth.  

Demonstrating love to others pleases God.  Demonstrating love to others proves our sonship with God.  He treats us like the children of God.   Demonstration love to others gives us great confidence in the day of  judgment.   Christ love in us is being perfected (being made complete) as we love others.  But, it is also giving us a confidence in our own relationship with the Father.  

Loving others builds our own confidence before God!

God’s Plans for Us Cannot be Broken - Acts 23-24

 Acts 23:11-15 (ESV)

11 The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.”

12 When it was day, the Jews made a plot and bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. 13 There were more than forty who made this conspiracy. 14 They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul. 15 Now therefore you, along with the council, give notice to the tribune to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case more exactly. And we are ready to kill him before he comes near.”

As we read the above passage we see a definite gap between what is actually happening by God in verse 11 and what is desired to happen by men in verses 12-15.   This is the truth we need to come to rest in for a valuable lesson in our lives.   God has a plan for us.  Our enemies have a plan for us.  Which one of those plans do you think will be carried out?   This is how the world system and Satan’s system works.   The evilness of man is being planned out in their hearts and minds each day.  Sometimes that includes plots against the righteous (see Proverbs 1 for more evidence of this).  Yet, God is not only highly aware of these plots (see Psalms 139 about His awareness), but also makes sure the plots are not carried out.   This is the rest and assurance we have, by faith, in God’s sovereignty and His graciousness in our lives.   God has a plan for us.  There is nothing on the face of the earth whether human or evil spirit, that can prevent God’s plans.   God wanted Paul to testify in Rome about the resurrection of Christ.  These men wanted him dead by evening.   They even took a vow to not eat until that happened.   Well, they either starved to death or eventually broke their vow to God, because Paul was escorted to Rome by a division of Roman soldiers. He stayed in Rome for years and testified there about Christ.   We might hear about threats against us, but until God is finished with His plans for us, there is no threat that stands against God’s sovereign power.  

The Theme of Revelation Revealed - Revelation 6-11

 Revelation 11:19 (ESV)

Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.

The above verse is the last verse of a section about the seven trumpets.    A trumpet sound was a warning sound.   As God starts to unfold the end times to John, He begins with these seven trumpets to warn mankind of His coming judgement.  We have the unsealing of the seven seals and then the seven trumpets.  These all lead up to the worse destruction, the seven bowls of judgement.   John is being given the final destruction of mankind and Satan’s rule over a corrupt world.   

The seventh trumpet is sounded and it ushers in the rule of Christ, to take away the rule of Satan on this earth.  Note:

Revelation 11:15 (ESV)

Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”

Currently the prince of the power of this world reigns.  We read that he was destroyed by Christ on the cross (John 16:11).  But, he still reigns, today, on the earth through the corruptions of mankind.   He is the one who pulls the strings of mankind, his puppet.   But, when the seventh trumpet sounds, Christ will take reign of this earth.   In the above passage we see the two-fold truth in the entire book of Revelation. 

1. The Temple of Heaven will be open.  This symbolizes that all those who died in Christ and will die have access to the Temple.  Notice that the verse states that the Temple is open AND the Ark of the Covenant is revealed.   No one but a High Priest could enter into the Temple where the Ark of the Covenant was located.  This verse symbolizes that Christ is opening up complete and unhindered access to the Father to those who come by faith in Christ.  This is a major theme of the book of Revelation. 

2. There will be lighting, earthquakes, thunder and heavy hail.  These terms all refer to the judgment coming on the earth.  Not only is access to God fully open to those who believe, but there will be judgment on those who don’t.  As the bowl judgments unfold in the coming chapters we will read of the deviation about to come on Satan, his demon ranks, mankind and the world’s system.   

The above verse gives us the two edged sword of Revelation.   It tells of of the wonderful blessing of access to God on the one hand, but tells us of the wrath of God on the other.   The temple is wide open to those who believe.  The temple will bring wrath on those who refuse to believe.   That is the theme of Revelation.   

The Unique Beauty of Our Love - Song of Songs 3-4

 Song of Songs 4:12-15 (ESV)

A garden locked is my sister, my bride,

a spring locked, a fountain sealed.

Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates

with all choicest fruits,

henna with nard,

nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,

with all trees of frankincense,

myrrh and aloes,

with all choice spices—

a garden fountain, a well of living water,

and flowing streams from Lebanon.

The beauty of poetry, any poetry, is that you can have multiple interpretations and derive different meanings as to what the composer of the poem meant.  Hebrew poetry is subject to like interpretation, but the Bible tends to be viewed through consistent patterns of interpretation.   One cannot simply decide for oneself the meaning of the Bible.  

The above is a section of a poem that Solomon is addressing to his bride.  We do not know if they are yet to be married, or are married.   Most believe in chapter four we are still in the engagement period of their relationship.  The “garden locked” might be a way of Solomon saying that this beautiful creature he is going to marry is not yet available to him.   He is about to describe her as a garden.  The plants he uses to describe her are not native to Israel.   This conjures up how he, in love, views her as exotic and/or even unique.  As he stated earlier that she was an “apple tree among the forest” (2:3), she is now unique flowers, plants and fruit in a land that doesn’t see such unique and desirable produce.   He ends this section stating that his bride is:

1. A garden fountain

2. A living well

3. A flowing stream

The man is struck with love.   He sees her as no other man sees her.  She is unique and special and superb.   We do have to remember that the Bible is a story of God’s love to us, provided by Christ.  So, we also see in this language the way believers should see Christ.  He is to us a garden fountain, living well and flowing stream!   That is what true love on earth looks like.  When we see the beauty of Christ in the love of our life.   As we see the unique beauty and difference of our earthly love we are too, also, see the way Christ is above all things.   In the above passage Solomon is struck with a love for a bride, not yet available to him. He dreams of her in unique ways and imagines her as something he seldom, if ever, sees.  That is how we are to view the earthly and heavenly love of our lives.  Our earthly love ought to be viewed as a unique garden of spice and fruit and sustenance for our physical, mental and emotional well being.  So, too, Christ ought to be viewed as the same for our spiritual soul.  Love sees the uniques and beauty in the other and celebrates that beauty and desires that beauty.   

God’s Goodness to All - Psalms 143-145

 Psalms 145:8-9 (ESV)

The LORD is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

The LORD is good to all,

and his mercy is over all that he has made.

Psalms 145:17 (ESV)

The LORD is righteous in all his ways

and kind in all his works.

As the world awakes each day they notice very little about the truths in the above verses.   The hustle and bustle of the world, especially around a holiday season, does not often, or even seldom, stop to contemplate the gracious, mercy, steadfast love and goodness of God toward them.   In the above passage we read that God is “good to all.”   We do know that God’s general goodness for mankind will expire and be replaced by His great wrath (Revelation 15-19).   But, His “common grace” is always flowing and extended to all of mankind.  God allowing man to live, even though that same man rejects God, daily, is an example of God’s common grace.   The fact that we have “good” things in our lives despite our rejection of God’s sacrifice of His Son, is evidence that God’s common grace is for all.   Notice what Jesus said about this thought when He walked the earth:

Matthew 5:44-45 (ESV)

But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

The farmer that needs rain for the crops receives it, despite his/her spiritual condition.    God’s goodness is great and available to all, even though they ignore and/or reject Him each day.   Notice James words:

James 1:17 (ESV)

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

If we have something good in our lives it flows from the righteousness, goodness and love of God, no matter our spiritual condition.   Yet, that will not last forever.   God is also a God of justice and justice will eventually also flow but will either be applied to His Son on our behalf, or to mankind directly who have rejected Christ payment for their sins.   One way or another man will know the goodness and the wrath of God.   But, either way, God is consistently good by providing His Son to even cover mankind’s ignoring His goodness.  

Celebrating God‘s Successes Through Our Messes - Nehemiah 10-13

 Nehemiah 12:27-30 (ESV)

Dedication of the Wall

And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, with thanksgivings and with singing, with cymbals, harps, and lyres. And the sons of the singers gathered together from the district surrounding Jerusalem and from the villages of the Netophathites; also from Beth-gilgal and from the region of Geba and Azmaveth, for the singers had built for themselves villages around Jerusalem. And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and they purified the people and the gates and the wall.

Nehemiah returned to the city of Jerusalem to rebuild the city walls and build back the worship in the Temple.    Finally, after mountains of opposition and problems, we read the above celebration.   Throughout the end of the book we are given the names and duties of those who did the work.  But, we are also told that they celebrated and gave thanks to God for the completion of the work.   These last chapters of Nehemiah give us the spirit of the people as they finished the task.   The celebration of thanks was as important as each stone and brick on the wall.  Nehemiah knew the importance of praising God and leading the people into praise.   The walls were not as good as the previous city walls, but, none-the-less they had completed the tasks and set about the celebration.   In our fast paced society we don’t set much intentional time aside to give thanks and to celebrate the success God gave us.  There always seems to be one more thing we have to get done.   We have to stop and choose to celebrate and give thanks to God.  Yes, we have holidays that are designated for such practices.  We even have a day of the week that we gather to do such celebration.    But, each day of the week should have a time where we simply stand back and say thanks to God for His amazing grace in our lives.  He, alone, is our success.  We might not have designated “thanks-givers” as Nehemiah seemed to have created.  But, we ought to take a moment each day to simply be grateful to God for what He gave us grace and mercy to build.   Celebration of praise to God is not to be neglected it.  It is to be scheduled.   When we have a mess to clean up, God can give us success to celebrate.   

Blessings or Curses? Deuteronomy 26-28

 Deuteronomy 28:12-14 (ESV)

The LORD will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them, and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

In Deuteronomy 27-28 we have what is known as the “blessings and the curses.”   God, through His prophet Moses, is telling the nation that if they obey His Word, He will bless them.  But, if they disobey His Word, He will curse them.   There is not a more powerful two chapters in the Bible that describe for what happens when we obey or disobey God.   We only have the read the history of Israel to see that these chapters came true.   Every curse we read in them was played out in the land and on the people for their constant disobedience.    It is all about out obedience to God’s known will.  

In the above passage we read the purpose of the blessings and the curses.  Yes, God wants us to obey Him to bring Him glory.  But, notice in the above passage what God’s desire is for the nation.  He wants them to be able to be a blessing to the world around them.  That is the point of Him choosing Abraham, making of Abraham a great nation and wanting them to obey Him.  God chose Israel to bless the nations around them.  He does not want them to be the “tail.”  He wanted them to be the “head.”  Notice what God will tell them in later in this same chapter when talking about the curses for disobeying His laws:

Deuteronomy 28:43-44 (ESV)

The sojourner who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower. He shall lend to you, and you shall not lend to him. He shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.

God chooses human representatives to be examples to the world around them so that they can show the world the grace and mercy of God.   Notice what Paul writes to the church in regard to the ministry of the church:

1 Thessalonians 1:7 (ESV)

so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.

He wanted the church to be examples to the world around them.  That is what He wants for us.  It begins and ends with us obeying God’s Word.   We can be an example of God’s blessing for obedience or an example of God’s cursing for disobedience.  Yes, we will not lose our salvation, but by disobedience we can lose the blessings from God.   

Abide In Him - 1 John 1-3

 1 John 2:28-29 (ESV)

28 And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. 29 If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.

In the book of 1 John, the writer uses the term “abide” 18 times in this letter.   It is used over 100 times in the New Testament.  John using it over 50 times in the Gospel of John, 1, 2, 3 John and Revelation.  So, to say this is a theme and favorite word of the writer would be an understatement.   By this point in the book he has already used the word eight times.   The word means to “continue” and/or “remain.”   

But, to really know the meaning of how John is using it in verse 28, we only have to read verse 29.   In the 28 he tells us to “abide in him” (meaning Christ).   However, in verse 29 he tells us that if we are going to be righteous like Christ (abiding in him) we, too, will practice righteousness.   So, abiding in Christ is practicing righteousness through Christ.   We are not to say we love Christ and then live a life absent of His righteousness.  

A second lesson from these two verses is the “confidence” we can have when we are actually abiding in Him.  If we are “practicing righteousness when Christ comes we will not be ashamed when Christ returns.  This is the shrinking in shame he is trying to help us avoid.  When a righteous Christ appears we do not want to be practicing unrighteousness.   The only way to avoid that shame is to make sure we “abide” by being obedient to His commands.   Living a Christian life is never that complicated.   It is always simply by faith obeying the words Jesus told us to obey.  Not that hard to understand.  Without the Spirit impossible to do, however.  That is what he starts writing about at the end of chapter three.  

Relate to Your Audience, But Speak Truth - Acts 21-22

 Acts 22:3-5 (ESV)

“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day. I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.

In the previous chapter we read the story of Paul being surrounded by a mob in the Jewish Temple.  The prominent Jewish leaders from around Asia had arrived in Jerusalem and had stirred up the mob to cry out slanderous things about Paul (is that not what the Pharisees did to Jesus to have him crucified?).   The Roman Tribune (leader of the assigned troops for the Temple/Jerusalem) intervened since riots were not allowed in the Roman culture.   Paul convinces the Tribune to all him to speak to the mob and to those Jewish leaders flaming the fire.  So, in the above passage we read Paul’s speech to a mob who was lead by leaders who wanted to stir them to violence.   Paul gives us great strategy for a persuasive, apologetic approach.  Here are some principles to follow and learn from Paul:

1. Start with relating to your audience.  Paul outlines his history that matched their history.  He was a Jew, born in Tarsus.  Paul relates to his audience (1 Corinthians 9:19-22).

2. Let your audience (opponent) know that your qualifications are based upon their approval list.  Paul states that he trained at the feet of Gamaliel was like saying you went to the highest esteemed college in your country.  Paul wanted them to know he was steeped in the teachings that they were swearing their allegiance.  Your audience (opponent) knowing your are knowledgeable in their area is a key to your success to convince, persuade and/or relate.

3.  Paul tells them that he also once hated the “Way” (that is what they called the Christian movement).   There is no faster way to relate to an audience than to agree on the same enemy.   Paul did, at one time, persecute the Church (the Way) to the fullest extent.  He is grieved by that later in his writings, but he uses it here to relate to his audience.   

Those are three very powerful ways to relate to your audience.   But, the fact remains, that  the fourth point is in the text that follows.   Paul goes on to say that all this is true, but something changed for him.  At some point Paul needed to tell them about his encounter with Christ.  That is the difference maker.  That is the part that offended this crowd.  They will ultimately turn on him because he tells them that Christ sent him to the Gentiles.  The Jewish crowd was basically racist about Paul going to the Gentiles.  His claim was that Jesus was THEIR Messiah.  He then tells them that THEIR Messiah was being made available to the Gentile race.  That was offensive to them on many levels.  But, at some point the world has to be confronted with an experience with Christ.   Paul did his best to relate to his audience.  But, in speaking Christ you eventually have to speak truth.  The Gospel is offensive to the natural mind.  We can do our best to relate to our audience.  But, in the end, truth must be spoken.   

Conquer the World Around Us and In Us - Revelation 1-5

Revelation 2:7 (ESV)

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who CONQUERS I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’

Revelation 2:11 (ESV)

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who CONQUERS will not be hurt by the second death.’

Revelation 2:17 (ESV)

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who CONQUERS I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’

Revelation 2:26 (ESV)

The one who CONQUERS and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations,

Revelation 3:5 (ESV)

The one who CONQUERS will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.

Revelation 3:12 (ESV)

The one who CONQUERS, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.

Revelation 3:21 (ESV)

The one who CONQUERS, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.

John is being charged to write a letter to all the seven churches.  Note:

Revelation 1:10-11 (ESV)

I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”

He obviously has a theme in his writing to each of them.  Even though each of them have a different message, the communication is alliterated to allow us to see what the Spirit of God wants to accomplish.   He wants us to be “conquerors” in our faith.  The word used is the Greek word, “nikaō.” It actually means to be victorious or triumph.   The related noun of the word is where the sports company gets its brand name, “nike.” 

God wants us to be over-comers.  He wants us, through the power of the risen Savior (later referred to Revelation as the “Lamb of God”) and the power of the Holy Spirit to “conquer” the sins and ills of this life.  He is not passive in His desire for us.  God is highly active to not just require that we are “conquerors” but that He works in us, by His power, to become the conquerors.   

In the seven above passages John is telling us the reward for those who overcome.  This is our hope.  Go back and read each of the seven “conquer” verses and rejoice in what will happen as we overcome.   We know that as we allow the power of God in us we can overcome the world around us. If we do, we will be rewarded. 

God’s Manual for Sexual Expression - Song of Songs 1-2

 Song of Songs 1:1-4 (ESV)

1 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's.

The Bride Confesses Her Love

(SHE)

2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!

For your love is better than wine;

3 your anointing oils are fragrant;

your name is oil poured out;

therefore virgins love you.

4 Draw me after you; let us run.

The king has brought me into his chambers.

(OTHERS)

We will exult and rejoice in you;

we will extol your love more than wine;

rightly do they love you.

Isn’t it interesting that a book of the Bible starts out the way this book starts.   The Song of Songs, by Solomon is the title, but the first words are spoken by someone else.  The ESV has added the “(SHE)” and the “(OTHERS)” commentary to the section - directing our minds and thoughts to better understand the writer’s intent.  These are not part of the original text and are added by our modern translators to give us their suggested guide post to understand who is actually speaking.    However, they are not part of the original text.   Reading the book without these navigation tools might make the average reader confused.  However, the writer seems to want the reader to be more engaged with the song that might normally be required.  Solomon (the writer) is almost demanding we don’t sit back in idle processing of the book.  He demands engagement. 

The book begins with a very sensual scene.  Solomon’s love (SHE) is speaking and doesn’t use any modesty to start her conversation about and with Solomon.  She immediately engages three senses:

1. Touch - “Let him kiss me with kisses of his mouth!”

2. Taste - “For your love is better than wine; ...”.

3. Smell - “... your anointing oils are fragrant; ...”.

The entire book is written to exalt and promote the sensual nature of love.  No other book in the Bible is as graphic to the physicality of the love between these two.  While the world attempts to capitalize on sensuality for gain and profit, God’s Word exalts the physical nature of sexual encounters as part of the holiness of God’s plan for lovers.   There is no embarrassment in the text, but the Song of Songs is probably a hard text to preach in public and has never been a “series” to preach through from a pulpit on Sunday morning of any church.   

These two individuals (Solomon and his bride) are madly in love and express this love to each other and apparently in front of someone (OTHERS), openly and without embarrassment.   He will later talk of her “breasts” (4:5) and throughout the book she will use poetic language to talk about his body parts and their actual engagement of sexual pleasure (see chapters six, seven and eight).   

The point of the book is that God has designed love between couples to be about commitment, compassion and sacrifice, but also about a physical aspect.   We are being taught in our society that the outward se metric beauty is to be downplayed and downsized in a relationship.  We are being taught to ignore the outside and focus on the inside.  But, these two lovebirds are actively engaged in the outward physical side of their love, as much as the internal.  God intended the look of one to be attractive  to another.   God does not downplay the physical aspect of loves engagement, but rather starts an entire book of the Bible out with a kiss on the mouth (which is actually quite graphic).   Let us not disallow the physical aspect of the love between a man and a woman.  Yes, it should be confined to how it was designed through marriage, but it also is not taboo to talk about and express between each other.  To “him” she seems to be a knockout, good looking and sexually attractive woman (which is expresses multiple times).  To “her” he seems to be this tower of a man who is not a only strong in appearance but also tender to the touch.   This book of the Song of Songs which is Solomon’s, is a Biblical manual on how to express the sensual side of love and how to express the sexual feelings of love.   God designed it all, He can speak to it all.  

Man’s Evilness - God’s Care - Psalm 140-142

 Psalms 140:4-5 (ESV)

Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;

preserve me from violent men,

who have planned to trip up my feet.

The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,

and with cords they have spread a net;

beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah

Psalm 140-142 are songs about asking God for help and refuge in regard to the world around us that has sent their minds and hearts on destroying us.   That might seem like and over the top thought, but it is exactly what this world’s mindset is in regard to those who hold to God and His righteousness.    That evil in man’s heart was the main root and motivation for the mobs to crucify Christ.   That same evil in man’s hearts caused Joseph’s brothers to toss him into a pit to die, only to change their mind and sell him for money.   That is the same evil that caused wicked Saul to pursue righteous David.   It was the same evil that caused the mobs to stone Stephen.   It is the same evil in man’s hearts that is causing the slaughter of Christians around the world today.   So, as we read the above verses we may not be realizing the situation in our own lives, today, it is certainly a valid truth when we consider the war between evil and righteousness.   The writer of these songs is David.  He certainly knew about the evil in the hearts of man and how man is setting a trap for the righteous.  He has many experiences of that happening to him.  But, if we recall, he also did the same thing to righteous Uriah in his plot to kill the soldier and steal his wife, Bathsheba.   It is David that set the trap for Uriah to fall to his death.   Wickedness is in the heart of all men.   David repented of that sin and God forgave him.   But, the truth of his life is demonstrate on both sides of that above verse.  The wickedness in man’s heart causes him to plot evil against his neighbor.   That is why we read in an earlier psalm (also a song of David) the following:

Psalms 15 (ESV)

A PSALM OF DAVID.

O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent?

Who shall dwell on your holy hill?

He who walks blamelessly and does what is right

and speaks truth in his heart;

who does not slander with his tongue

and does no evil to his neighbor,

nor takes up a reproach against his friend;

in whose eyes a vile person is despised,

but who honors those who fear the LORD;

who swears to his own hurt and does not change;

who does not put out his money at interest

and does not take a bribe against the innocent.

He who does these things shall never be moved.

We are not to plot evil in our hearts for our neighbor.  We are not to slander with our tongues.   We are not to set up a trap for the righteous.   

But, David knows that if the world does these things, he will still be safe:

Psalms 140:12-13 (ESV)

I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted,

and will execute justice for the needy.

Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;

the upright shall dwell in your presence.

Real Godly Leadership - Nehemiah 5-9

 Nehemiah 5:14-19 (ESV)

Nehemiah's Generosity

Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the food allowance of the governor. The former governors who were before me laid heavy burdens on the people and took from them for their daily ration forty shekels of silver. Even their servants lorded it over the people. But I did not do so, because of the fear of God. I also persevered in the work on this wall, and we acquired no land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work. Moreover, there were at my table 150 men, Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us. Now what was prepared at my expense for each day was one ox and six choice sheep and birds, and every ten days all kinds of wine in abundance. Yet for all this I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, because the service was too heavy on this people. Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people.

To really appreciate what we read in the above text, we have to recall what took place just before this.  In Nehemiah 5:1-13 we read that Nehemiah confronted the rich nobles who had been usurping interest on the lesser members of the society and taking their properties and putting their children to forced labor.   Their oppression of the poor was brought to Nehemiah’s attention.  He intervened with the judgment built upon Micah’s teaching:

Micah 6:8 (ESV)

He has told you, O man, what is good;

and what does the LORD require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,

and to walk humbly with your God?

What was the result of Nehemiah’s appeal to the rich to stop their oppression of the poor? 

Nehemiah 5:12 (ESV)

Then they said, “We will restore these and require nothing from them. We will do as you say.” And I called the priests and made them swear to do as they had promised.

Imagine such a thing happening today?  It would never happen!   This all is the backdrop for the above passage which talks about Nehemiah’s leadership among the people.   You can’t intervene for the poor and then live your life as a privileged elite.   Nehemiah not only talked the talk, he walked the walk.   Nehemiah confronting the evil leadership and set an example of Godly leadership.  Nehemiah set the example of what sacrificial-servant leadership looks like.  God puts leaders on the earth to show others how Godly people should lead.   It is interesting how many of our leaders go into government leadership and suddenly strike it rich.  The power they secure by being voted in office suddenly helps them live a better life than those they send to office.  Why is this?   It is because they are NOT like Nehemiah.  They do not use their powerful positions to care for others, they use it to lord over others.  That is the opposite of Christ.  Note His words to us after He washed the disciples feet, just before His sacrifice of Himself on the cross:

John 13:12-14 (ESV)

When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.

The Treatment of Others - Deuteronomy 23-25

 Deuteronomy 23:15-16 (ESV)

Miscellaneous Laws

“You shall not give up to his master a slave who has escaped from his master to you. He shall dwell with you, in your midst, in the place that he shall choose within one of your towns, wherever it suits him. You shall not wrong him.

Deuteronomy 24:7 (ESV)

“If a man is found stealing one of his brothers of the people of Israel, and if he treats him as a slave or sells him, then that thief shall die. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

Deuteronomy 24:14 (ESV)

“You shall not oppress a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns.

Slavery, as we know it in the culture of the U.S. is not the same as was discussed and practiced in the Old Testament.   In the above text we see that the “slave” (or foreign worker) was to be treated with respect and dignity.  There were times where God instructed to put the enemies of Israel into slavery, but those enemies were first allowed to submit to God’s rule.  Those who rejected were condemned to death and/or to slavery:

Deuteronomy 20:10-15 (ESV)

“When you draw near to a city to fight against it, offer terms of peace to it. And if it responds to you peaceably and it opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall do forced labor for you and shall serve you. But if it makes no peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it. And when the LORD your God gives it into your hand, you shall put all its males to the sword, but the women and the little ones, the livestock, and everything else in the city, all its spoil, you shall take as plunder for yourselves. And you shall enjoy the spoil of your enemies, which the LORD your God has given you. Thus you shall do to all the cities that are very far from you, which are not cities of the nations here.

The story of the Bible is not a sociological study.  It is a redemptive and theological study.   It is a story of a spiritual battle about sin and Satan and salvation.   But, the theme of God’s Word is to treat others with respect and dignity when they are in your midst. If they reject God than God used Israel as the tool for discipline and for correction.    God wanted Israel to be the example to the surrounding nations so that they would follow the True God.   But, when they rejected God, God rejected them.  The same will be true in the end times.   We are to treat others with respect and dignity.  But, when the ultimately reject God, it is God who will bring the discipline and the vengeance.   God promoted and taught the care of others, even those we employee and who do labor.  But, make no mistake, the Bible is a redemptive story and God’s first concern is the redemption of mankind, not rehabilitation of mankind.  Rehabilitation can only happen if their is genuine redemption of the heart.   

Overcoming Sin - 1 John 1-3

NOTE:  This journal entry is much longer than any other entry I have made.  This was written to help a young man overcome sin in his life.   I hope it equips you to do the same: 

1 John 3:6 (ESV)

No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.

What does this verse mean in regard to my daily walk with Christ?  It has taken John a long way to get to this verse in his quest to explain sin in the life of the believer.  

We must start by looking at 1 John and the issue of perfectism - Did John teach we could reach sinless perfection in this life?  And, if he didn't, what does he mean in 1 John 3 and how can we overcome sin.  

Perhaps the first step to pursue these thoughts is to consider where John begins.   

1.  WE ARE DEFINITELY SINNERS (1 JOHN 1:1-10):  John fully admits our state of sin and even points out the solution even in light of the fact we have constant fellowship with Christ.  Note the following:  1 John 1:5-10 (NASBStr)

 This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.  

John tells we both have sinned and that when we do sin we can come to Christ and ask forgiveness.  These opening verses are the lens in which we view the rest of the book.   We can't say we have "no sin" and we can't say "we have not sinned."   So, settle with it:  IN THIS WORLD WE ARE SINFUL AND SINNING.  IT IS A CONSTANT BATTLE.   No place in Scripture does it say that we can find relief from the struggle.   That is the beauty of Paul's admittance in Romans 7. 

The heresy of the day was for some to deny they either sinned or had no sin.  One reason John is writing is to clarify this issue.  In the above verses when John tells us to acknowledge sin in our lives and to plea for forgiveness it recognizes two qualities of God's character:  1) He is faithful (to His plan and promises) and 2) He is righteous (He paid for sin to assure His righteousness ... Romans 3:25).   God is faithful and righteous as to forgiveness.   John is telling the gnostics that their failure to acknowledge sin was, in fact, lacking in praising God for His divine forgiveness.   

It should also be noted that in 1 John 1:9 that forgives is in the present tense, which literally means "He forgives" suggesting a "daily forgiveness".  Later, in 1 John 2:12 we have John stating God forgives and there he uses the perfect tense, meaning God forgave the believer at the time of his/her salvation.  This distinction is imperative to know as it shows our constant sinning and God's daily act of forgiveness.   This doesn't give us permission to sin, but does demonstrate God's grace in the sinning.  

Further, in v. 8, "if we say we have no sin" and v. 10, "if we say we have not sinned" both are met with a similar statement that we are liars.   The truth is, although God is light and we are in that light, we still do sin and to claim otherwise is to make God unfaithful, unneeded and us as liars.  

2.  WE CAN DEFINITELY OVERCOME THE SIN IN OUR LIVES (1 JOHN 2:1-3):  John, in 1 John 2:1, now lays forth, perhaps, a more important aspect of his epistle.   He has just told us in convincing form we have sinned, have sin and are sinning and we ought not to try to deny it.   Yet, in the opening verse of chapter 2 he states that his entire purpose is to demonstrate to us we can overcome sin when we walk in the light:

1 John 2:1 (NASBStr)  My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;

NOTE:

John doesn't want anyone to think, as a result of the truth of 1 John 1:6-9, that we can just keep on sinning.   He wants us to know that we can overcome sin and the way to do that is through the advocate, “Jesus Christ the Righteous.”  (This is now the third time John has stated we commit sin, despite our salvation ... 1 John 1:8, 10 and now in 2:1). 

He doesn't leave us with our sin, however.  Again, he tells us the solution.   1) An advocate (Jesus Christ).  Jesus is our intercessor (Romans 8:34); The Spirit intercedes for us (Hebrews 7:25) (more about the Spirit later ... the Greek word "advocate" is "parakletos" ... someone called along side ... a work done by the Spirit). 

  

It is significant that John says we have an advocate (parakletos) with Jesus Christ.  His use of two names is important; one speaks to man and one to God.   Jesus is "with us" and Christ it "Messiah".   John is attacking the gnostics who taught sin in the body doesn't matter since the body and the spirit don't mix.   Yet, Jesus was in the body and fully Christ.   He was righteous for us so that He can represent us, relate to our every temptation and, yet, redeem us and provide propitiation for us.

SUMMARY - Although I don’t remember who wrote this, here  is what one commentator said about John's attack on the heretics and, yet, making sure the believer doesn't fail to see sin in its proper sense:    

"There are timeless implications in John's teaching here. He speaks to any non- Christian who wishes to discount the importance of sin, and to any Christian who maintains the possibility of becoming sinless in this life. In both cases the Johannine position is a thoroughly biblical and sensible one. We cannot avoid the fact of sin, but we can avoid its practice. If from time to time we do not, there is hope for the sinner- since God's forgiveness has been made possible through his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the one who enables us continually to "live in the light."

3.  GOD'S INTERCESSION DOES NOT NEGATE THE NEED FOR OUR OBEDIENCE, GROWTH, and A LIFE IN THE SPIRIT (1 John 2:3-29) - Our walk in the light should look like the Father of Lights.  Obedience in the ways of God are essential to claim our abiding in Him and are fruits of the abiding.  

OBEDIENCE:

According to 1 John 2:3-6, obedience is, in itself, a manifestation of our abiding in Him and therefore one step to defeat sin in our lives.   Remember, John started in chapter two his reason to write this epistle was to help believers "so that we may not sin" even though he has also said we will.  Apparently obedience is best manifested in love; Obedience in his text is having a proper understanding of love for God and love for man and not for the world.  He wants his hearers to "know" they are believers.   

1 John 2:3 (NASBStr) By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.  

KNOWING is something John is saying is important to our overcoming sin.   And, our knowing is found in obedience and our obedience is expressed in our love for God and others.  John uses a syllogism to make his point(s):

JOHN'S SYLLOGISTIC ARGUMENT IN 1 JOHN 2:3-29

Those who know God will obey Him;

Those who obey Him will love others;

Therefore those who know God will know they do so because they love others.

Therefore that obedience of love will enable us to overcome sin. 

It should be noted why John uses the word "know" in this chapter.  Remember, his overall theme of the book is to make sure that he combats the heresy of the day (gnosticism) who believed that knowledge was power and it mattered not your day-to-day life.  To the Gnostics your knowledge would take you to God while your morale life meant nothing; the spirit and the body were never entangled.  Remember, redemption for the Gnostics is salvation from ignorance, not sin or sins of the body.  

This is why the verse later in John is so important to the readers in that day and today:  

1 John 5:13 (NASBStr):  These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

So, the first step in combating sin is to make sure you are IN THE LIGHT (later John will use "ABIDING" in the same sense as in the light) and you can know that by seeing the fruit of love flow from you life. (1 John 2:3-11).   If we say we are in the light and hate our brothers we ought not expect that we are truly in the light and therefore would have little power over sin.   John's argument seems to be that true believers WILL have power over sin (that's all in this fist step) and those who aren't true believers WON'T have power over sin.  And the manifestation to know this is not what you SAY, but what you DO in demonstration of your love for others and not for the world.   

Therefore, our love of others is the first step in overcoming sin. Sounds odd?  Agreed!  Yet, that is what it says.  When you think of loving others as a demonstration of our love for God we have to remember that to love God with all our heart and soul and mind and loving our neighbor as ourselves is the sum of all the law.  So, if obeying (this is where John starts in this chapter) is demonstrated by loving, than it is not hard to see how loving others keeps us from sinning.  Remember, sinning is loving ourselves more than God or others.  We sacrificial offer food, sex, and riches to reward ourselves and glorify ourselves.  Love for self is the ultimate sin.  It is not a far stretch to see the connection between obeying God, manifested by loving others, and not sinning. 

GROWTH:

Before we discover the second step in combating sin (GROWTH) in this chapter we ought to read the next section of chapter two.  Remember, he started the chapter telling us that we CAN OVERCOME SIN.   Note in particular the last verse of this section: 

1 John 2:12-17 (NASBStr)

I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I have written to you, children, because you know the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

In this text there might be some confusion over John referring to the readers as "little children", "fathers", and "young men."  There are several interpretations and, yet, none of them confuse the text.  I personally think that John is simply telling them and us that in our Christian walk we will not only have LOVE (Step #1 above) but we also see Christian GROWTH in our lives.   He wants us to know that believers will:  1) (Like little children) - come to the point of knowing they have been forgiven (the "perfect" tense meaning a past happening)  2) (Like fathers) - come to know Him ... a deeper knowledge of Him, and, 3) (like young men) - learn to fight and be strong, overcoming evil.   (It should be noted that although the phrase "the evil one" doesn't have a definite article in the Greek and is probably personifying evil rather than referring to Satan, it does use the masculine rather than neuter and therefore probably means satan and the system of evil  (that fits the rest of the text as he is about to address both the sin outside us in the world and later the sinfulness inside us.)

B.  The second step to defeating sin in your life then is a journey of personal growth.   We are on mission of growth and that mission or journey will demonstrate a deeper level of faith at every age and take on different meaning(s) with one ultimate goal: defeat sin (evil) in our lives.   

So, the first step to overcome sin in chapter two is to love others (thus demonstrating our love for God via obedience ... obedience in itself defeats sin) and the second is to have continued growth.  This is practically important.   Practice of what God wants us to do will give us a deeper sense of who He is and how to live like Him.    This, again, doesn't mean we get to a place where sin can leave us and we reach a maturity level only known to few (in fact, I believe that is what he is about to combat in chapter three).   What it means is that as we mature we begin to see victory over sin.  Not complete, but victory non-the-less.  He says we will "overcome" evil.   John uses this phrase "overcome" in John 16:33 and Revelation 2:7.   In thinking about "overcoming" note also how John will eventually use it in this epistle:

1 John 4:4 (NASBStr)

You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

1 John 5:4 (NASBStr)

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world —our faith.

John indicates, looking at all these verses together, that having begun in our walk in the light (abiding in Christ) in faith in the forgiveness of sin, it is finished in faith.  Remember, the Galatians Christians were challenged as to whether they were going to start in faith and finish by works (Galatians 3:1-3).  Growth in the Christian life then, as a step to defeat sin, is about growing in faith.   Trusting God more and more is a necessity to overcome evil.  Overcoming is NOT about works. Even loving others and growing, our first two steps, are a matter of a walk by faith.  You can't love everyone. You must love them, in and through faith, knowing God will do something about the relationship if you do.    Sometimes, when trying to love others we might have to pray, “Lord, You love them through me and allow me to love them through you.”

In regard to a life of faith, remember the story of the disciples who could not cast out the demon in the young child brought to them while Jesus was in the Mount of Transfiguration.  They asked Jesus why they couldn't cast out the demon.   Jesus said:     

Matthew 17:20 (NASBStr)  - And He *said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there, ’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.

So, the issue with evil and overcoming it has to do white having more faith, not more effort.  This faith enables us to combat the sin in the world and the sin inside of us in the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.   Faith conquers these but each wants us to trust us and/or others and/or something else for satisfaction.   Faith conquers it all.   Faith, not in my ability, but in what Christ did for me (forgiveness of sin) and doing in me (conquering evil one step at a time). 

A LIFE IN THE SPIRIT:

A third step in John's plan to teach us how to "not sin" is found in the following verses:  

1 John 2:20 (NASBStr)

But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know.

1 John 2:26-28 (NASBStr)

These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him. Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.

The third step is that we come to a knowledge of the Spirit's walk within us.   Throughout this last portion of John's second chapter we see him talk about people who didn't grow in Christ and didn't obey him and left the faith.   But, to those who did obey and grow it was not because of their own efforts but because of the anointing from the Holy One (Christ) ... the Spirit of God.   This entire book is really describing what Paul calls "walking in the Spirit."  John calls it abiding in Christ.   He wants us to realize that if we can ever "not sin" it will be because the Spirit is in control over our lives.   

It should be noted here that the ability to "not sin" is often referred to as having "self-control."  We lose self-control and we sin.   It would be better to realize that "self"-control is the very problem.   Left to "self" man will always sin.   You can buy thousands of books to teach you how to maintain self-control for food, anger, sex, etc.   But, self-control is not what the Spirit needs.  The old English word for self-control was "temperance.” That is how it is often translated in the Bible.   In the Greek it is egkrateia.   It means to have "mastery" over something.   The key is to realize we can't have mastery over ourselves.  Egkrateia is a fruit of the Spirit (See Galatians 5:20-22).   It is NOT something I do or have ever done.   It is a complete yielding to the Spirit.   

In these remaining verses of John's second chapter we see that the step to overcome sin is the anointing of the Spirit.  When we walk in the Spirit we are "abiding" in Him (Christ).  When we abide in Him we will have confidence and do not shrink at His coming.  Like Paul, John is telling us that allowing the Spirit to control us and to "produce" egkrateia is the only sure way to accomplish a state of "not sinning."  The only way I can have the Spirit do that work is when I don't.   Again, it is a matter of faith, not of more effort.   Yielding to the Spirit is the third step to reach a place of not sinning.    

BONUS ADDITION:  Without forgetting that John is writing to combat a heresy that stated sin doesn't matter in our lives and how to overcome sin, since it does matter in our lives, He does provide some additional material on that subject, but via some different arguments:

 1 John 2:18 - He views those who hold the teaching of the gnostics to be "anti-christ" - This does show the importance of getting this right.   To oppose John's teaching was anti-christ. 

1 John 2:19-23 - Those who don't follow John's teaching, may or will, go out from the main church teaching. This shows that one of the signs we are walking with Christ and abiding in Him and allowing the Spirit to walk and work in our lives is that we will have a continued desire to be with the saints who are experiencing the similar struggle with sin. Those who don't find fellowship with others will eventually put themselves in the place of denying that Jesus IS the Son of God.   

1 John 2:24 - The key to avoiding the above is to hold to your faith - that which you believed on in the beginning.   Remember the church at Ephesus in Revelation who were accused of forgetting their first love.   A key to NOT sinning is to remember what we had from the beginning - Salvation given to us as a free gift.  

All this brings us to chapter three.  We can't understand chapter three until we grasp what John is teaching us in the proceeding chapters.   

We also have to remember why John is writing the book.  The church had been filled with heretical, traveling preachers who were bathed in gnosticism.   John combats these teachers by declaring why he is writing the book:

 1 John 2:1

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;

1 John 2:12

I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake.

1 John 2:26

These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you.

1 John 5:13

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

John is writing to show us how our relationship with sin does indicate our walk with God.   But, it is not to disqualify us if we DO sin.   It is to show us how to overcome it on this side of glory and live with the battle.   

Before we jump into the beginning of chapter three, read again the last first of chapter two:

1 John 2:29 (NASBStr)

If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.

John's point here is that it is the "practice" of righteousness that demonstrates our being born of God and NOT our perfection of righteousness.   The little particle "if" here is not used in a "conditional" manner (an "if" this "than" that manner) but rather in a "suppositional" manner (like we might use the word, whereas).   His point is that the person born of God will produce the fruit of such a birth.   Like Father, like believer.   We will produce fruit if we are in the root (John 15).  This is imperative in John's argument against the Gnostics.   New life brings fourth a new way of living, not just a new way of knowing or thinking.  

In the verse three verses of chapter three we see John still struggling to leave the eschatological theme of his writing.  He seems to want to use the appearance of Christ as one more motivation for living a pure life.  Yet, he is also still caught in the most recent theme of chapter two, that we have been born of God.   Hence the following transition sentence(s)

1 John 3:1-3 (NASBStr)

 See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

Since we are born of God we will have new relationship with God and a new relationship with the world.  One will pour (bestow) love upon us and the other will not.   When loved by God we should not misunderstand our relationship with the world.   God loves us and that should motivate us to further follow Him in obedience and faith.   But, that will also cause the world to lose interest in us (and us in them).  

This is not the entire background for the tough verses that following in chapter three.   Let's look at them, through the lens of what John is writing about and has already told us.  We will see that much of this is further statements of what he has said, further clarification and/or explanation: 

1 John 3:4 (NASBStr)

Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.

Here is simply a clarification to make sure we know that those who "abide in Jesus" (walk in the Spirit) will not practice sinning.   In 2:29 he just told us those loved by God and who love God and acknowledge Christ will practice righteousness.   His point, again, is that habit of God's people is Godly living and not worldly and sinful living.   

1 John 3:5 (NASBStr)

You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.

In verse five we have a restated purpose of Christ's coming and Chris't sinless perfectionism.  The Gnostics had a hard time with this.   They were arguing that either: A) we have sin and can't escape, or B) we have sin and it doesn't matter because we can escape by becoming sinless through knowledge of God.   IF sin didn't matter, is John's argument, than why did Jesus come to take away sins?   And, the only way to have no sin, would to be Jesus, since He had no sin.  

1 John 3:6 (NASBStr)

No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.

Therefore, in light of verse four saying you don't practice sin, and in light of verse five saying Jesus came to take away sin by being, Himself sinless, believers should not be sinning.   The Gnostics where not and would not renounce sin in their lives.   Here, John is telling us that one of the first things a believer will do, who has the nature of God indwelling them, is to renounce sin.   

Remember, the heretical teaching was that either sin didn't matter, or it was inconsequential to the believer's life.  John says NO WAY!!   IF we abide in Him we WILL NOT sin.   He doesn't mean we won't commit sins.  You can only get that thought if you fail to read chapter two and three together.   If you read them together we know he just told us we will sin and to say we don't makes us a liar.   His point then is to recognize that the walk of the believer, abiding in Christ, is to be marked by living righteous and not by sining with no thought of consequence, no shame, no thought that a righteous life was important or necessary.   John, in these three verses (4-6) is telling us that sin is lawlessness and that is not the reason Christ came.   The person who is born of God will renounce sin and not be characterized by it.  They will sin (chapter one and two) but they will not be controlled by it.  Not if they walk in the Spirit.   

I like how one commentator summarizes these three verses:

This verse (6) follows on closely from v 5, and (looking back also to v 4) describes the logical consequence of what John has just said about Jesus. If the purpose of Christ's appearing was "to abolish sins," and his eternal nature is sinless, it follows that the person who "lives in him" (ο εν αυτω μενων) should be similarly without sin. (John MacArthur)

To better understand that the person who abides in Jesus does not sin (seen in verse six and again in verse nine), we need to consider three arguments.   Without these we might be thinking that if we do "a" sin we must not be believers.   BUT, we must stay away from the thought that we can have sinless perfection.   That is completely against what John was writing about.   To better understand consider the following:

 The Grammatical Argument:  The verb "to sin" in verse six (and in verse 9) is hamartano.  It is used in the present tense, which means John is talking about an on-going state of sin.   There is no definite article here and he is not writing in the aorist (see 2:1) tense which indicates a permanent act of sining.  He wants us to know by grammar that he is saying someone who abides in Christ will not have a habit of sinning without renouncing it.  

The Theological Argument:  John has maintained throughout the letter thus far that believers will sin.  However, taking language from Paul, they have two different natures with two different desires.   But, even though they have different natures and different desires, they have one body.  So, that one body might sin on the one hand but practice righteousness on the other.    The theological argument recognizes this fact and realizes that the new nature with a desire for righteous life will not sin.  That does not mean the old nature, with the old desires, will not use the same body to do old sins (or even new ones). 

The Context Argument:  To me this is the main argument.  It simply states that the Gnostics had so twisted the message that John felt obligated to remind the church that they will have sin, but the way to deal with it was not to avoid it and ignore it and transcend above it through knowledge.   They way to get around it and deal with it and combat it was to fight it through faith in Christ.   This is where verses 7 and 8 come into John's argument.  He is simply saying that the person who is born of God is characterized by a life of righteousness and a person who has not sought redemption in Christ will do evil.  Like the devil they will sin.  Like the Father, they will not.   

John was in the midst of a battle for the hearts and minds of the church.   It was a popular thought then (and now) to simply disregard sin and say that now that we have reached a state of knowledge about God we need not worry about the sin in our lives. Attaining knowledge instead of a relationship with Christ and the indwelling of the Spirit was easier ... especially if it had no moral implications.   Their argument is featured today in many religions.   Many places don't care how you live but rather that you know the truth.   Our sins are heinous to God.  But, having a proper relationship with sin will show cause the world to hate us (like Christ), the lust of the flesh to still fight us (like Paul) and cause us to deny Christ and times and need to seek His daily forgiveness (like Peter).