Remember! Romans 15-16

Romans 15:15-17 (ESV)

But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God.

The ministry of reminding.  What a great ministry to have.   Paul believed one of his main ministry gifts was to remind others about their walk of faith and keeping true to God’s word.  He was not the only apostle with this gift.  Note what John told the church at Sardis, who had grown cold to the things of Christ:

Revelation 3:3 (ESV)

Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.

John also told the church at Ephesus, who lost their first love of Christ, the same thing:

Revelation 2:5 (ESV)

Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.

Jesus told those who came to hear Him teach on the Kingdom of God to remember something specific:

Luke 17:31-33 (ESV)

On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.

Paul did all this to make sure the readers of this letter were sanctified by the Holy Spirit.   Being sanctified is tied to remembering the truths of the Gospel. That is the formula God uses.  Satan wishes us to forget the truths and to think about the cares of this world more than the convictions of the next.  Remember!! 

Many Called - Few Chosen - Matthew 20-22

Matthew 22:1-14 (ESV)

And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.

“But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.”

It is the last line of the above parable that strikes us so profoundly.   The story (parable) that Jesus tells is to illustrate the point He wants to make at the end, about the kingdom of God.  The picture is the story of Jesus inviting the masses to the Marriage Super of the Lamb.  That is the wedding He is referring to.  The Church (Jesus’ bride) will someday be called to glory and the final glorification and unification of the believer with their Savior will take place.  Only those who garments (lives) have been washed white (by the blood of the Lamb) will be allowed to participate in this heavenly wedding:

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.

In this parable of Jesus we have many called to a wedding feast (this is the invitation to accept the Gospel message), but only a few come.  Some were too busy with family.   Some were too busy with business.  Some to busy farming.  Some were just angry at the invite and killed the messengers.   Some will show up with the pretense they are wanting to come but their garments (lives) betray them and say a different story.   It is the bad and the good who are called (not righteous good, but morally good by the world’s standards).  Jesus calls all, but only a few respond in faith.   This is the kingdom of God.   

Jesus Will Establish Justice On This Earth - Isaiah 40-44

Isaiah 42:1-4 (ESV)

Behold my servant, whom I uphold,

my chosen, in whom my soul delights;

I have put my Spirit upon him;

he will bring forth justice to the nations.

He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,

or make it heard in the street;

a bruised reed he will not break,

and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;

he will faithfully bring forth justice.

He will not grow faint or be discouraged

till he has established justice in the earth;

and the coastlands wait for his law.

In the above passage we have a description of Yahweh’s Servant.   Isaiah uses this phrase in three other chapters:

Isaiah 41:8 (ESV)

But you, Israel, my servant,

Jacob, whom I have chosen,

the offspring of Abraham, my friend;

Isaiah 43:10 (ESV)

“You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD,

“and my servant whom I have chosen,

that you may know and believe me

and understand that I am he.

Before me no god was formed,

nor shall there be any after me.

Isaiah 52:13 (ESV)

He Was Pierced for Our Transgressions

Behold, my servant shall act wisely;

he shall be high and lifted up,

and shall be exalted.

Isaiah 53:11 (ESV)

Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;

by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,

make many to be accounted righteous,

and he shall bear their iniquities.

Who is Isiah referring to?   That is one of the hardest questions in the book to answer.   The best way to understand it is to read the context of the passage. In each context it seems to be pointing to a different, historical, person.  But it is probably pointing to the same ultimate person; and that is Christ.   Isaiah seems to be attributing characteristics of Jesus’ ministry to those who were acting on God’s behalf during Isaiah’s day.   It is somewhat the “now, but also, later” mindset.   In the above passage we can see that God is sending his servant to accomplish a task that God wants completed.  This can be both an historical figure for Isaiah’s day, but also speaking of Christ’s ministry in the future.   Matthew does attribute parts of this passage to Jesus:

Matthew 12:18-21 (ESV)

“Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,

my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased.

I will put my Spirit upon him,

and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

He will not quarrel or cry aloud,

nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets;

a bruised reed he will not break,

and a smoldering wick he will not quench,

until he brings justice to victory;

and in his name the Gentiles will hope.”

The key is to realize that God often uses a type of Christ in the Old Testament to foreshadow the real Christ in the New Testament.   Someone (and we are not sure who in this passage) is going to come into the lives of those in Isaiah’s day who will establish justice on the earth.    Ultimately that will be the role, function and/or result of Jesus’ earthly and heavenly ministry.   Temporally in Isaiah’s day, but permanently in the work and ministry of the Son.  The passage may be unclear as to who Isaiah is talking about but the mission is not.  Jesus will establish justice on this earth!   

What To Do With False Accusations - Job 15-17

Job 17:8-9 (ESV)

The upright are appalled at this,

and the innocent stirs himself up against the godless.

Yet the righteous holds to his way,

and he who has clean hands grows stronger and stronger.’

In the above two verses Job is trying to explain what is happening as his three friends attack him with their criticism.  They came to comfort him:

Job 2:11 (ESV)

Job’s Three Friends

Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him.

Instead, this is what Job says about them at the beginning of this section: 

Job 16:1-2 (ESV)

Then Job answered and said:

“I have heard many such things;

miserable comforters are you all.

Instead of comfort they offered him criticism and condemnation.   In the above two verses we see part of his response.   He makes the case that the upright, those who believe they are upright, when they look at Job and his plight, they are applaud by this.  They believe they are innocent and therefore that stirs themselves up against the godless.  The issue Job is addressing is that these three comforters came to him and instead of offering comfort, they stir themselves up to argue with Job, the godless.   Once you have condemned someone in your mind, it is hard then to be their comforter.   Instead you become their judge.   

However, those who are righteous, truly righteous, is not taken aback by all this.  They simply grow stronger and stronger.  Job could be talking about someone who comes to counsel him and, because they are righteous, they are not taken aback by Job’s plight and, rather, grow stronger and stronger in their own walk.   But it is more likely Job is talking about himself and is not taken aback by these false accusers and becomes even more and more bold because he knows he is righteous.  Those who are truly righteous are not taken aback by false accusations.   They become more and more embolden.  Job is not deterred by these empty comforters.   He is, instead, stronger in his thoughts and insights because he knows he is righteous.  For so says God: 

Job 1:1 (ESV)

There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.

God Is In Every Day, Not Just the Fat Ones - Psalms 21-23

Psalms 22:14-15 (ESV)

I am poured out like water,

and all my bones are out of joint;

my heart is like wax;

it is melted within my breast;

my strength is dried up like a potsherd,

and my tongue sticks to my jaws;

you lay me in the dust of death.

Psalm 22 is a song of David’s.  We are not sure when he wrote it, but it is a good guess that it was when he was in a cave, being pursued by King Saul.    Saul was hunting David simple because Saul was jealous over David’s fame, that was greater in the kingdom then his own.   

The above description of how he feels is shocking.   It is in stark contrast to the song that follows this.  Note what he writes in the famous next song:

Psalms 23:4-5 (ESV)

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

In one song his tongue is stuck to the roof of his mouth because of the dryness.  In the next, his tongue is full of fatness.  This is the contrast of the Christian walk.  There are days of famine and there are days of feast.   We are to rejoice in both, but it is hard to see David’s rejoicing in Psalm 22 vs Psalm 23.   Yet, he does get there.  It does not come at first, but latter in the song he writes this:

Psalms 22:25-26 (ESV)

From you comes my praise in the great congregation;

my vows I will perform before those who fear him.

The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied;

those who seek him shall praise the LORD!

May your hearts live forever!

Our walk with God is like this.  There are days our jaw is frozen in pain.  There are days when we eat and are satisfied.   We acknowledge them both.  God does not expect us to deny the one and live only in the other.  He wants to confess both before God to see His glory in each.  

When Sinners Entice Us - Judges 12-16

Judges 16:4-6 (ESV)

After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “Seduce him, and see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to humble him. And we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.” So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and how you might be bound, that one could subdue you.”

Do you have a Delilah in your life?   Note that the Philiistines had already tried this with Samson’s first wife:

Judges 14:15 (ESV)

On the fourth day they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband to tell us what the riddle is, lest we burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have you invited us here to impoverish us?”

The word seduce and entice are the same Hebrew word.   As believers we are often facing a Delilah.  The name is an archetype for Lady Folly we read about all through the book of Proverbs.  Note what Solomon tells us about her: 

Proverbs 7:24-27 (ESV)

And now, O sons, listen to me,

and be attentive to the words of my mouth.

Let not your heart turn aside to her ways;

do not stray into her paths,

for many a victim has she laid low,

and all her slain are a mighty throng.

Her house is the way to Sheol,

going down to the chambers of death.

As we are seduced and enticed we often don’t realize the consequences we are facing.  Notice what happens when Samson told Delilah the source of his strength.  She cut his hair and then had the Philistines come to fight him.  He rose up to defeat them as he had done so many times and note the results:

Judges 16:20 (ESV)

And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had left him.

He didn’t even know his strength was gone.  This is the reason we are to stay away from sin and folly.  

Our Lord told the Church at Thyatira something similar about a seductive person in their church:

Revelation 2:20 (ESV)

But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.

Jezebel is another archetype for Lady Folly.  She, too, seduced others. Notice that the Lord says she was seducing my servants.  Those in the church who were believers were falling victim to her.   Note their possible end and demise:

Revelation 2:22-23 (ESV)

Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.

Beware of the Delilahs and Jezebels in our path.  They only come to seduce and entice:

Proverbs 1:10 (ESV)

My son, if sinners entice you,

do not consent.