Lesson 749

(Lesson 749)(09-07-13) Today's lesson is taken from the last thirty two verses of Matthew five, and is a continuance of Jesus' "Sermon on the mount". In these verses, Jesus continues to define what is required of a member of His kingdom;

"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing. Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut if off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery. Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."

In this passage, there is one overriding lesson that defines the requirements of those who make up the kingdom of God, the Church.

There is also a distinct lesson on divorce which we will be referenced later in these lessons.

The last verse of this passage sums up what is said in the entire lesson, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."

We know that to be perfect, as Jesus demanded, one must avoid even the appearance of evil. To be perfect one must step out of the sin-laden body in which we are born and be renewed to the perfection that was in Adam before the fall.

In order to be worthy of the kingdom, we must be totally righteous and without sin.

Is that possible? Absolutely! Romans 5:16-19, "And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; EVEN SO BY THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF ONE THE FREE GIFT CAME UPON ALL MEN UNTO JUSTIFICATION OF LIFE. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous."

Jesus' sermon on the mount, was not to imply that we are expected to live a perfect existence in order to be allowed in the kingdom. To do that would be a reversion to the same law Jesus came to fulfill. Jesus, above all, knew that it is impossible for man to live perfection, or to be wholly righteous, Romans 3:10, "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:" Jesus would go on to live the required righteousness to perfection and give it free to all would believe in Him.

We will delve more deeply into this subject as these lessons progress.~

Lesson 748

(Lesson 748)(09-06-13) Today's lesson is taken from the first sixteen verses of Matthew, the "beatitudes";

"And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

In this lesson, Jesus very eloquently lays out those things that are required of a "Christian". All of what He said here is also summed up by the two commandments He mentioned in Matthew 22:36-40 when Jesus was asked, "Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

Other than the sacrifice made by Jesus for the remission of all sin, this is the overriding message of the New Testament and can be wrapped into one word, charity.

1 Corinthians 13:1-8, "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away."

We should note that Jesus did not make a list of "don't dos", list of the "sins" that we wrongly judge each other by day to day, He knew that for those who believe in Him, those sins are justified by the grace of God through His redeeming sacrifice.

Therefore, as Christians, we will not by what we do, we will be judged by what we fail to do.~

Lesson 747

(Lesson 747)(09-05-13) Our lesson today finishes the fourth chapter of Matthew;

"And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.

And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him. And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them. And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan."

In this lesson Jesus selects the first four of His Apostles and begins the creation of His Church (His kingdom). This passage also tells us that Jesus began to preach, "the gospel of the kingdom". He began, at that point to explain the coming of His kingdom, how it would be established and who would inherit it.

Jesus also began to establish His authority and power by working miracles, healing the sick and casting out devils.

It is very important to note that Jesus hand selected each of those who would, in the beginning, preach salvation by grace. It is also very important to note that the Apostles could not begin that ministry until AFTER Jesus had completed His sacrificial ordeal, received His glorified body, and ascended back to Heaven. Salvation by grace, through faith, could not be taught until Jesus had been sacrificed, thereby remitting the sins of those who would believe.

Another important note that should be made before this class goes further into these lessons, is that there is NO scriptural evidence that any one of these hand selected, Jewish Apostles, chosen explicitly to teach salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, were EVER baptized in water.

This is important because probably ninety plus percent of all "Christian" isms teach that in order to be redeemed to God, one must be, in some form, baptized in water.

There is in fact, simply no bible basis for that assertion. The fact that the Apostles had no such requirement should be proof enough that becoming a child of God does not require anything beyond faith in Christ Jesus such as was the example of the Apostles.

The Apostles were exempted from the requirement to be baptized in water under the law of Moses, because their religious mission would not officially begin until the law had been fulfilled by the actions of Jesus nullifying that baptismal requirement. And, under the new law of grace, there would be no such requirement.

There will be much more discussion of this and other scriptural misunderstandings as these lessons progress.

I encourage anyone with opposing views to speak out on all these lessons, and to present scriptural foundation for that opposition.~

Lesson 746

(Lesson 746)(09-04-13) Our lesson today comes from Matthew 4:12-17, and concerns the beginning of Jesus' ministry;

"Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

We should note that when Jesus began His ministry, His message was meant for, and explicitly aimed at the Hebrew people, the Jews.

His message was, "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

During the time of Jesus' ministry, as we have already discussed, the law of Moses was still in full affect for all Jews, including Jesus, and would remain so until He completed His sacrificial mission, freeing the Hebrew people from the law of Moses, and at the same time, introducing the His own new law, that being the law of grace.

Since Jesus, a Jew Himself, was bound by Mosaic law, He could not preach salvation by grace while He was still in the flesh. Had He done so, He would have been guilty of blasphemy under Mosaic law. Therefore, Jesus was bound to teach salvation according to that law.This is confirmed by what Jesus told the young ruler in Luke 18:18-20, "And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?, Jesus said, in part, "Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother."

Jesus did go on to tell the young man what he lacked and explained what he must do to complete his obedience to the law, in verse 22 of Luke 18, Jesus said, "Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me."

This lesson can be confusing to some, but with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, it can be made understandable.

Therefore, the message Jesus taught, as well as those things that were taught by John the Baptist and all of the other early disciples, was not intended to be what is considered today as God's plan for salvation, rather, His message, as well as the message of the other disciples, was to prepare the Jewish people for the coming enactment of that plan, through the Messiah and His new law of grace which would go into effect after Jesus' death, burial and resurrection, and upon His return to the Father in heaven.~

Lesson 745

(Lesson 745)(09-03-13) Today's lesson is taken from the first eleven verses of Matthew 4, and relates to the temptation Jesus endured so as to demonstrate to God and the world, that he was able to fulfill all righteousness and could not be led astray from His divinely instituted task;

"Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him."

As we continue this study, we should never lose sight of the fact that up until He had received His glorified body, and had ascended back to the Father, Jesus was a *mortal man, a Jew, who was endowed with the Spirit of God. He would not identify as the third part of the Holy triune until He had completed His sacrificial ordeal.

Being *mortal, Jesus was required under the law of Moses to be circumcised and baptized in running water, He also had to prove, through the temptations mentioned in this lesson, His unwavering devotion to God the Father.

Jesus rejected Satan on every turn and passed the test, as we would say, "in flying colors".

* First Corinthians 15:53-58, "For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."

A mortal remains a mortal until the death of the flesh. Once the flesh has died, the glorified body takes on immortality. Jesus remained a "mortal" until He had completed His soul saving sacrificial ordeal, His death, burial, and resurrection.~

Lesson 744

(Lesson 744)(09-02-13) This lesson details the baptism of Jesus and is a very important lesson in many ways. It is taken from Matthew 3:13-17;

"Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

This lesson gives us a chance to understand why Jesus came to John the Baptist to be baptized in water. When Jesus asked John to baptize Him, John, at first refused. He Knew that Jesus was the was the chosen one of God, and was humbled by His presence. Jesus then made it clear why it was necessary that He be baptized in water by saying, "Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us TO FULFIL ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS."

At the time Jesus encountered John the Baptist, the Law of Moses was still in full affect and in order for Jesus to "fulfil all righteousness" in was necessary that He be baptized in water according to the law.

Jesus was a Jew from the house of David, and the law of Moses demanded that every Jew be baptized (immersed) in running water before they could enter into any religious service.

Jesus would not have been a perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world had He not submitted Himself for ritual Jewish water baptism.

After Jesus had explained why it was necessary, John then baptized Him, and when they came out of the water, the righteousness of Jesus was verified when the spirit of God descended upon Him and He became, at that moment, God in man. God then spoke with a voice from the heavens and said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

Jesus was not baptized in water to become the Son of God, He was the Son of God from birth. However, He received the power (spirit) of the Father by fulfilling that element of the law.

By submitting Himself for water baptism, as the law of Moses required, Jesus fulfilled that part of the law. Being a Jew, Jesus would have been circumcised as a boy. He would later fulfill the sacrificial portion of Mosaic law when He died on the cross.~

Lesson 743

(Lesson 743)(09-01-13) Today's lesson comes from Matthew 3, verses 7 through 12;

"But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

In order to better understand what this lesson means, we should first define what is meant by the phrase, "the baptism of John".

It's obvious that John performed water baptisms, however, when a scriptural reference is made to "John's baptism", it is not always in explicit regard to the water baptisms John performed.

In many applications, such as the one mentioned in today's lesson, "his baptism", defines the entire divine mission of John. Water baptism is included, but the message John taught is the primary intent of the expression. It would be unreasonable to assume that those Jews all came out simply to watch John put people into the water, they obviously came to hear what John had to say.

The message John taught, (his baptism, in part) told the Jews to repent because the kingdom of heaven was at hand.

In today's lesson, it is clear that the Pharisees, and Sadducees had come to to listen to what John was saying so that they could better plan against his doctrine and the doctrine of coming savior.

John challenged their presence, knowing their intentions, and told them that by simply being a Jew, they no longer held a special place in the eyes of God, "for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham."

John went on to make it clear that the water baptisms he performed were of a much lesser importance than the baptism that Jesus would bring to those who would believe in Him, "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:".

John's water baptism was "unto repentance" or toward a change of heart, or mind. The baptism Jesus brought had nothing to do with water and would lead to eternal life for all who would place their faith in Him.~