Yesterday was the 4th of July. Independence Day in the United States. WPSD-TV in Paducah, KY had a little trivia on their local news about some things connected with Independence Day we might not realize. They went on to list a few things the American public is often mistaken about or misunderstands. Every now and then it is necessary to go back over the facts of a matter in order to re-align our thoughts with the truth. This keeps us on the right track.
Like the general public, I too must make sure I am on the right track and after talking with some of you, it has become apparent that my writings are difficult to understand.
I deeply apologize for that fact.
I had hoped I was giving enough illustration to explain the difficulties
of the subject matter, but I suppose not.
With that thought in mind, I will re-direct my writing in order to help
more of you understand the things I am trying to teach. That re-direction means going back and
starting over with some basics.
Basic #1: Why should we study God’s Word on such a
deep level? Isn’t it enough that I have
given my life to Jesus, I go to church and I read a little devotional most
days? I know several verses of scripture
and I know how to find references to scripture in the Bible, so why learn all
of this Jewish stuff? We aren’t Jews and
we don’t live under the law anymore, just read Galatians 3:25!
A)
Galatians 3:25 is an absolutely perfect example
of WHY we should be studying God’s Word from a Jewish perspective. In fact, it is one of thousands of examples I
could give on why we should study God’s Word on a deeper level. Most likely you, along with me, have been
taught that Galatians 3:25 means that with Christ, the Law was done away with,
but that could not be further from the truth!
The problem with my saying this is that many of you will call me a
heretic and say that I have just said that Jesus was not who He said He
was. WRONG! I am saying He is even more than we have
ever believed He was!!!!
In Galatians you must first
understand that Paul is answering a question for the Church in Galatia. It is imperative that you know the question
before interpreting the answer. If you
see this scripture from the Jewish side you can easily identify the question
and interpret the answer.
B)
By studying the Word on this deeper level we
come to know the truths of the scripture that can answer questions the
scientific and atheistic world have been throwing at Christians for years. It also enables our children to not be those
waves tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine.
Have you not ever wondered why so many young people walk away from the
Church when they reach adulthood and many NEVER wander back in? Perhaps it is because what little depth they
have seen taught is so irrelevant to their life. They need roots! DEEP ROOTS!!!! The Church is not giving them those roots,
but a mere social place to gather until something better comes along.
C)
God expects us to study His Word! Deuteronomy 6:4-9
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is the One and
Only. You shall love The Lord, your God,
with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your resources. And these matters that I command you today
shall be upon your heart. You shall
teach them thoroughly to your children and you shall speak of them while you
sit in your home, while you walk on the way, when you retire and when you
arise. Bind them as a sign upon your
arm and let them be ornaments between your eyes. And write them on the doorposts of your house
and upon your gates.”
The “matters that I command” began
with what we refer to as the Ten Commandments, but known to the Jews as the Ten
Words. These Ten Commandments or Words
are actually the chapter headings for many more words from God. How can they be taught, if not first
studied? We cannot teach something we do
not know anything about and even if you disagree with me and believe we are no
longer under the law, does this mean we have the right to murder? Do we also have the right to lie or steal or
commit adultery? These still apply today
and we should know everything we can possibly know about God’s Law. In fact, do you really know what God’s Law
is?
Jesus, Himself, said in Matthew 5:18-19;
“I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the
smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear
from the Law until everything is accomplished.
Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches
others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but
whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the
kingdom of heaven.”
Last time I checked, heaven and earth haven’t disappeared yet. I think we need to keep studying so we can
show ourselves approved unto God, don’t you?
Just a little tidbit of trivia:
some sects of Jews teach that if you don’t like to study Torah (the Bible)
on earth, you will be studying Torah continually for all of eternity. You will then have the ability to see the
truth of who God is and who you were and are. You will be sorrowful over the
life you spent on earth and want to repent, but it will then be too late to do
anything about it. It is here that two
scriptures become very clear to me now. The
scripture in Matthew 25:30 which says,
“And throw that worthless servant
outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
This will be the hell for those
who have been presented with God’s Word, but never thought it was a matter of
importance. They think about God from
time to time, give Him a little credit every now and then for a beautiful
sunset or an escape from danger and go on with their lives.
The other scripture is from Revelation 21:4,
“He will wipe away every tear from
their eyes…”
And this seems appropriate for those who were given the Word, read it,
considered it important, but didn’t make deep study a priority. These are people with a true relationship
with Him. They do study the Word, but
they are content with understanding on the surface and never keep seeking the
deepest hidden truths. They will see the
entire truths of His Word, mourn the fact they take His Word so lightly and never
understood them while living and then not only weep, but grieve over that fact. Moved with compassion at their grief, God
will look at their heart and knowing the heart, as He does, He sees their brokenness
and wipes away their tears which will never return.
This, my friend, does not give us an excuse to say, “Well, He will
forgive me then for not studying all this difficult stuff, because I really don’t
have time for it.” Is that the excuse
you are seriously going to give God, the maker of the universe? You don’t have time for His Word? Have you forgotten that He created time and
that your life is in His hands?
In that same story from Matthew 25 there were three men. All three were given “talents,” which is an
amount of silver, by their Master. A
talent, or kikkar is approximately 45.1 pounds of silver and in today’s times
would be worth approximately $600,000 (depending on the current market value of
silver). Each man in this story was
given a differing amount of talents.
When the Master returned he asked for an accounting of those talents. The one who had been given five talents had invested
his and returned them with five more.
The Master replied, “Well done! You
have been entrusted with a little, you will be put in charge of much.”
The man who had been given two talents invested those and returned the
two along with two more. The Master
replied, “Well done! You have been
entrusted with a little and you will be put in charge of much.”
The problem was with the man who was given one talent. He didn’t invest it, but hid it. When he came before the Master he simply gave
Him back the one talent saying, “I know you are a hard Man and require a lot of
things from your servants. Here is your
money. I wanted to make sure nothing
happened to it.” This is the man who was,
“thrown into darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.” He is called a worthless servant.
What
have you done with that “talent” you have been given? If you truly love the Lord, your God with all
your heart, soul, mind and resources you will want to know everything there is
to know about Him. And if you don’t love
Him with all your heart, soul, mind, strength and resources? I’ll let you seek and find the answer to that
question. The answer is hidden in the
story that follows this one in Matthew 25. I am willing to believe you may see it with
different eyes now. Have fun!
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