3/26 Billboards for Christ

Our bodies are the temple of God, but to “defile” the body is not a matter of what we eat, or how we let ourselves go, as much as it is that we use the body against which it was created for. In other words, “defilement” is a moral term, not a physical one. “Defilement” refers more to fornication and abuse of the body for purposes against God’s commands, than it does as to what we eat that is not “good for us”. Our bodies then, become a “billboard” for Christ. We are a living, moving, breathing advertisement for the Lord, or for the devil! You see, we can also defile the body by allowing it to advertise satanic messages, and “anti-Christ” things. For example, when we write all over our bodies, and promote witchcraft or violence, we advertise for the devil. We advertise for him when we defile ourselves with jewelry that promotes the world and witchcraft of some sort. For men to wear earrings is of the devil, because it promotes that which God gave to women for beauty and adornment. It confuses the distinction that He made between the sexes. That goes for necklaces, and any “wearing of that which pertaineth to a woman.” As seen in Deuteronomy 22:5. It is abomination to God. It promotes homosexuality, and defies the very core of creation in distinguishing between the genders. The same is true, by the way for the ladies; they are not to wear that which pertains to a man, and cut their hair like a man, or anything that is contrary to the normality that God intended. In so doing they become billboards for Satan. We need to be careful to advertise that which is right and proper, and not criticize the flesh for obesity, eating right, and other ways we interpret defilement of the body. Christ Himself said: “Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.” The defilement then comes from motive and not from what we eat or drink (although, in some cases, that too could reflect motive).

Spiritual or Literal translation/application

Spiritual or Literal translation/application


John 3:4--Nicodemus took Jesus literally.
Jesus meant it spiritually. Jn 3: 5, 6

John 2:19--Jesus spoke of His body
Others took it literally. Jn. 2:20

Matt. 5: 29, 30--Jesus spoke in a spiritual manner
We do not take this literally!

The Bible is a spiritual Book, not a literal Book;
It is to be taken spiritually, not literally.

Jesus Himself used these types of analogies when talking to the Pharisees:

Mt. 19:24 the “eye of the needle” statement;
His disciples took it literally 19:25.
Whether it was meant to be literal or not, we do not know for sure. It could be taken either way, and still make a point.

Almost the entire Book of Revelation is spiritual interpretation.

Conclusion: Both translations are to be applied. Discernment is an important factor in deciding which is which.

One must have discernment to decide which way to interpret each passage. Usually both ways can add something to us, but only one way can be right.

The Issues of Life

Pro 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

Do you have a lot of “issues” in your life? Does it seem as though life is against you? Maybe you are not diligent in keeping your heart. Look to your heart; guard it from evil, and many of those issues will be resolved. To “keep”
Your heart you must:
Keep yourself unspotted from the world;
Keep your eyes upon Jesus;
Keep growing in the Lord;
Keep reading, meditating, and studying God’s Word;
Keep your mind on the things of the Lord;
Keep the faith.

This is good advice, but keep in mind that it is written only to the child of God; you must first be born again. Assuming that we are, look to keeping yourself pure, modest, and submissive to the will of the Lord. Those “issues” that trouble you come from the heart, as our verse clearly says; it just seems wise to guard our hearts from all evil.

Killing the Dogs

Killing Dogs
(An analogy)

“For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” (Rom. 8:13)

If I had a dog nipping at my heels everywhere I went, and he kept biting my feet, I would only have two permanent solutions for the problem--either kill the dog, or cut off the foot! Killing the dog would be the easier of the two, since he may decide to nip at the other foot, but killing dogs can bring much reproach from society, no matter what the reason. Nonetheless, killing the dog would be less painful for us, and more convenient. We must kill the dog, in spite of the reproaches of men.
As Christians, we have a dog following us around, and nipping, or worse yet biting, at our feet. We must kill the dog, or lose the foot. Satan’s subordinates are a constant vexation to us, and yet we allow it to continue. Why not cut off the foot? We all have something that seems to attract the dogs, but usually only the “ankle biters”--the small dogs that become more of a pest than a major threat. If we got rid that which attracts these devils, we could be rid of them also, but we cannot do it! We are powerless unless we kill the dog. Therefore the best solution is to kill the dog. But what if, for some unknown reason, we are not able to do so? Then we must kill the foot!

Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: (Col. 3:5)

Since we find that we cannot alone kill the dog, we must consider cutting off the foot. That foot seems to attract the small dogs; we have no problem with the big dogs, they have already been dealt with by now, but those little ankle biters, they are the nuisances that vex us daily. What will it be? The foot, or the dog? Let’s “draw nigh” unto the Lord, and allow Him to kill the dog!

Why the Works?

Why works?

“Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? (Mt. 25: 37- 39)

It is not the work here that we must focus on, but the heart attitude that we keep hidden deep within us. The parallel verse, v. 44, we see that both the righteous and the unrighteous produced the same works. Both were told the same thing, that what we do to others, we do to Christ. The key to this parable, I believe, is that the works reveal the motives. They reveal the hidden intent of the heart--the “inner self”. Works become much more useful and important when we see this, and we can learn from them ourselves. The nations did not know when they did this to Christ, neither side knew, yet they discovered that how we treat our fellow man speaks much of the true “us”. Some did the works to obtain spirituality, while others did them because they were spiritual minded. Works do not merit anything, on the contrary, they reveal much. We must all ask ourselves if what we do is done to the glory of God, or in hopes of obtaining glory from God. Both were challenged, but only one side was rewarded. Let us make an effort to “be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ’s sake has forgiven us (Eph 4:32, not direct quote) A few verses down from our text verse in Matthew, our Lord says “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (Mt. 25:40)

Withered Fruit?

(The Word series)

Mat 21:19 And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.

Jesus spoke to a tree! His Word was affective in rebuking the fruitlessness of it, and will do the same toward us. If we fail to bear fruit unto the Lord, He may just speak the Word, and we will dry up forever! Oh what a curse that would be. Thank God that He is longsuffering, and we may never see the day that He has to rebuke us in such a way, but the power of His Word is able to do so. God’s Word is good, but it is not wise for us to take advantage of it, and to have a presumptuous attitude toward it--it is always better to obey, and to do what the Lord expects of us. My friend, you are a tree of life because of Christ, is there fruit growing on you? As we are commissioned to bring real life to others through the Gospel, we need to be sure that we are bearing fruit unto the Lord. Nothing less will do. Just as easily as the Lord condemns the withered fruit, He can restore it to productivity. Our God is an altogether amazing God.

Telling Truth from Error

Telling Truth From Error

Imagine the problem a judge might have today determining who is telling the truth, and who is not. He has no real guidelines for truth, and yet he must determine it for another person. His hands are tied on the matter. So, how does one recognize the truth and the error of a matter? Even a “lie detector” can be wrong at times. There is often too much at stake to allow error to slip in, and yet, they are only human. We must measure the truth with the Word of God, and that is the ONLY way we will be able to discern who is right, and who is wrong. In fact, it is the only way to determine truth from error in our lives too; you must have a measuring line, a standard with which to compare the two. Truth and error, both expose the other. If you determine one, the other is revealed; that cuts the job in half! What we need to do is learn the truth, and allow it to expose the error in our lives. We need not spend time learning about cults, or about the heinous acts that men commit, just learn truth, that is all we need. If we will consume the Word of God and soak it up as a sponge, it will reveal everything we need to know, and show us the right way to do things. Use your time wisely, and study and meditate on the Word, and leave off that time you spend searching the erroneous doctrines of men, and it will benefit you far more than you ever imagined.