The Church: A Force for Truth

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Scriptural Text:  1 Timothy 1:1-11

1 Timothy 1:5-7

The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. ⁶ Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion,⁷ desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.

(ESV)

Biblical truth sets believers free and why Satan relies on deception and false teaching as a means of holding people hostage to sin (John 8:32).  The Apostle Paul is in jail facing death for his faith and during his absence from Ephesus, false teaching is trying to infiltrate the Ephesian church.  To prevent their enslavement to deceptive and false teaching, the Apostle Paul charges Timothy with the task of calling out those bringing false teaching to the Ephesians.  There are three tactics of deceptive teaching believers in Christ must avoid,

1)      Doctrine is unimportant for only the grace of God matters in the New Covenant (Ephesians 2:8) – When interpreting Scripture it is vital to consider the audience as well as the context.  The letter to the Ephesians addresses believers in the church.  These individuals have already devoted their lives to Jesus as their savior and now find themselves inundated with teaching saying they must now find salvation through obedience to Jewish laws and customs.  Not wanting to see these believers enslaved to the false teaching that salvation is through works of obedience to the law and not a result of God’s grace, Paul makes the proclamation of Ephesians 2:8.  Paul’s statement is not a stand-alone doctrine that works or doctrine are unimportant but a statement to provide comfort to those doubting their standing with God due to false and deceptive teaching. 

2)      Doctrine is all that matters (John 4:24) – Those bringing false teaching to the Church at Ephesus come from a belief that adherence to doctrine is all that matters.  During Jesus’ discourse with the Samaritan woman at the well, the discussion turned to where one is to worship God (John 4:19-20).  At that time God’s presence on earth resided in Jerusalem in the most Holy Place in the Temple.  However, after Jesus said, “it is finished,” the curtain separating sinful humanity from the presence of God was torn in two from the top to the bottom (Matthew 27:51).  The fact that the curtain was torn from top to bottom means God has opened the possibility for one to enter the presence of God from any location.  This is the fulfillment of Jesus words to the woman from Samaria for now the Spirit of God can dwell in the hearts of men and woman choosing to make Jesus their savior.  While sound doctrine remains important, leading to a closer relationship with God, the spiritual component of one having the Spirit of God within their heart is important for it leads to Godly interpretation of Biblical truth. 

3)      Only Jesus matters (John 14:6) – While Jesus did proclaim Himself as the only way to salvation, He was not subsequently saying that sound doctrine was unimportant.  This resembles the deception that only God’s grace matters with no need to seek sound doctrine.  Jesus did not come to overthrow the Law or sound doctrine but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17-20).  Jesus magnifies sound doctrine by living in perfect obedience to it in human form (Isaiah 42:21).  Yes, Jesus is the only way to salvation, but the path is not one of the abolishment of the Old Covenant law but a living doctrine demonstrating a sinless life in human form.  The grace of God is God making salvation available to sinful humanity through Jesus death on the cross (Romans 5:6-11).

In 1 Timothy 1:3-11, the Apostle Paul is giving Timothy instruction on how to apply the Law in light of the Gospel of Grace.  These instructions apply to the Church today as it has a calling to point out the sinful state of humanity while lovingly pointing people to salvation through the Grace of God demonstrated on the cross.  The fact is we have all sinned and deserve death (Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23) but through Jesus’ death on the cross, we can live free of the condemnation of the law and find eternal life (John 3:16-17).  However, failure to accept this gift results in one remaining in the state of condemnation (John 3:18).  If you have not done so, please pray with me now to receive this gift of salvation. 

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, was buried, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

Next Saturday we will go deeper in our study of 1 Timothy, looking at Jesus’ purpose for coming, to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:12-20).  Please invite your friends and family to join in by sharing this post on social media or by email.  May God bless everyone. 

Binding the Strong Man

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Scripture Text:  Mark 3:22-30

Mark 3:24-26

24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end.

(ESV)

When confronted by the scribes about His ability to cast out demons, the scribes accuse Jesus of possession by the demon Beelzebul and that by this power, was able to cast out demons (Mark 3:22).  Jesus confronts the scribes with a statement of simple logic, "How can Satan cast out Satan" (Mark 3:23).  This leads to the question of how one can have a belief in liberty and yet call for the removal of that liberty from people they disagree with?

The late comedian Flip Wilson is famous for his saying "The Devil made me do it."  While this makes for good comedy, it is not a theology upon which to base one’s life.  What the video of Flip Wilson does point out is that usually bad trouble in our lives is often due to bad decisions we make.  Eve could have said no to the serpent in the garden but instead said yes, leading to Adam and Eve’s eviction from the Garden of Eden and separation of humanity from God (Genesis 3:1-7).  Fortunately for humanity, God is also gracious and promised a redeemer to undo the damage from this bad choice (Genesis 3:15). 

The Devil did not make David commit adultery with Bathsheba for it was his own flesh stirred up by lust at continuing to look at her (2 Samuel 11).  Instead of running from temptation as Joseph did with Potiphar's wife (Genesis 39), David continued to allow the temptation to fester leading to the sins of adultery and murder.  The Devil did not make Peter deny Jesus, but it was his fear of rejection and suffering the same fate as Jesus (Matthew 26:69-75).  Thankfully both David and Peter sought and received forgiveness for their sins and a gracious God provided a path to salvation through Jesus' death on the cross. 

While it is not the Devil that makes us get into trouble, He does have powerfully deceptive powers, powerfully tempts us to sin, and creates fear leading to bad decisions.  Ephesians 6:12 reminds Christians that they are in a battle against powerful forces not of this earth, but in heavenly places and that battling these strong forces requires the armor of God (Ephesians 6:13-17).  This is the strong man Jesus refers to in Mark 3:27. 

The Salvation provided by Jesus' death on the cross is complete, but this does not mean the Devil will not challenge our liberty in Christ through deception, temptation, or fear.  This strong man will point out past sins and through deception tell us we are not good enough.  This is where we challenge the deception with the helmet of salvation reminding the Devil we have eternal life in Christ and no condemnation (John 3:16-17).  When temptation comes, we must remind the strong man that no temptation is beyond our ability to overcome and that Jesus provides a way of escape as he did with Joseph and David if he had just looked away (1 Corinthians 10:13).  We must remind the strong man that fear is not from God with God providing power and soundness of mind to overcome fear (2 Timothy 1:7).  James 4:7 reminds us to resist the devil and he will flee from us or as this song from Crowder reminds us “Run Devil Run”. 

The mission of the Church is spreading the Gospel and making disciples (Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:19-20).  To fulfill this mission the Church must continually bind the strong man, the Devil and not compromise but stay on course.  The Church must not allow deception, temptation, or fear to take it off course through following deceptive teaching, the temptation to water down the truth of the Bible to appear more acceptable to the world or allow fear to keep it silent.  Instead, may the Church follow the advice of God towards Joshua to remain strong and courageous (Joshua 1:9). 

The Balance of the Cross

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Isaiah 11:1-2

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,
    and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
² And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
    the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
    the Spirit of counsel and might,
    the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

(ESV)

In the time of Christ the cross was not something one would display at the front of the church or wear around their neck.  Instead, the cross equated with the electric chair or gas chamber today as a means of execution.  However, were it not for the death burial and resurrection of Jesus over Good Friday and Easter, humanity would live a hopeless existence in sin with no hope of deliverance. 

Romans 3:23 reminds us that we all have sinned and fallen short of God’s standard for righteousness.  Isaiah compares our righteousness to a polluted garment reminding us that our sins will make us fade and be blown away like the wind (Isaiah 64:6).  In God’s court of law, the penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23) which is why humanity needs a savior to provide forgiveness of sin.  Genesis 3:15 provides the first mention of a savior to provide reconciliation between fallen humanity and man.  What is interesting about Genesis 3:15 is its differentiation between the offspring of Adam and the offspring of Eve.  Normally the offspring of a man and woman are the same person, but this passage refers to a special birth such as occurred with Jesus who born of a virgin would be the offspring of a woman without also being the offspring of a man but instead the offspring of God Himself. 

The events of Good Friday and Easter, or as I like to call it, Resurrection Sunday, are the climax of the ministry of Jesus.  Just five days before His execution on Good Friday the people were proclaiming Jesus as King (John 12:12-19).  Now some of these same people are calling for Jesus’ execution (Mark 15:6-15).  This leads to the question of what occurred during these five days that led to this mass change of mind.  Perhaps passages of Scripture like Isaiah 14:1-2 led to the belief that Jesus would march in and divinely eliminate their Roman oppressors.  While this would have been miraculous the timing was not right for first the sin problem in the hearts of each person had to be dealt with.  Therefore the events of Good Friday occurred in order to reconcile the hearts of humanity back to intimacy with God.

The death of the Son of God, God Himself, paid the legal requirement of death for the sins of humanity.  The death of the Son of God means that the offspring of God went to battle with the offspring of sinful men through the woman in fulfillment of Genesis 3:15.  His resurrection three days later indicates victory over death and the opportunity for everyone to have eternal life.  The song Golgotha Hill by Crowder illustrates the magnitude and immense price God paid for our salvation.  Please take a moment to watch the video for this song. 

However, just as a defendant in court must accept a plea deal offered by the prosecution, sinful men and women must accept the plea bargain offered by God through the death of His son on Calvary.  As the diagram of the cross at the beginning of this post shows, Jesus as the son of God had a perfect relationship with God free from sin.  During His ministry he demonstrated the power of God within Him through miracles and His teaching establishing a relationship with humanity by becoming one of them, but without sin.  His death and resurrection provide reconciliation with God but only if we choose to accept it.  If you have not done so, I urge you to pray with me now to accept God’s forgiveness of your sins,

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, was buried, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

You now have complete forgiveness of your sins by the sinless savior who conquered death (Romans 5:8, 2 Corinthians 5:21) giving you eternal life (John 3:16).  The response to this immense gift of love from God should be obedience and a desire to learn more about this loving God.  This comes through worship of God, study of the Bible, and regular association with others who have accepted God’s gift of salvation by regular church attendance.  May God bless everyone tomorrow as we celebrate the risen Lord.    

Charity: Love in Action

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Matthew 25:40

And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,^[f] you did it to me.’

(ESV)

Love is a verb, a word of action.  If we claim to love someone but do not follow through with acts of love towards that person, we are as useless as a noisy gong or cymbal (1 Corinthians 13:1).  The most visible signs of love in action are acts of charity offered to those in need.  Matthew 25:40 tells us that these acts of charity towards those in need are the same as offering charity to God himself.  However, as we prepare to observe Good Friday and Easter this weekend, we must remember the greatest showing of charitable love in history, God himself offering the life of His only Son for the sins of humanity (Romans 5:8). 

During this Easter season it is easy to focus on the celebration and lose sight of the demonstration of love it represents.  As a child growing up in the Church, I remember singing the song Jesus loves me.  In the song it says we know Jesus loves us because the bible says He does.  While it is important to know this truth, is it vital as believers in Jesus as Savior to know this truth in our hearts.  Let us therefore take a moment to reflect on the extent to which God loves us. 

1)      God threw Adam out of the garden instead of killing him (Genesis 3:23) – The penalty for eating the forbidden fruit of the Garden of Eden was death (Genesis 2:16-17).  However, instead of killing Adam and Eve on the spot, God allows them to live with the promise of a savior (Genesis 3:15).  The hindsight we have today reveals that this was no ordinary Savior but God’s Son, God himself. 

2)      God’s love is love with sacrifice (John 15:13) – Charity involves sacrifice for it is one giving of what they worked for or love out of concern for another’s needs.  The charity of God is giving Jesus, His beloved Son out of love for humanity that rebelled against Him.  Instead of earning the love of God, we already have it for God cannot love us more than He already does.  God has already made the sacrifice and offered the gift, but will we accept or reject God’s sacrificial gift. 

3)      God never leaves us alone, even in death (Psalm 23:4) – After ascending to heaven, Jesus told His disciples to wait for the empowering of the Holy Spirit before starting to minister (Acts 1:4-5).  This is the same Holy Spirit that descended on Jesus at His baptism (Luke 3:22).  The Holy Spirit is not some ghost or spirit but part of the trinity and thus, as much God as Jesus Himself.  It is the source of power and direction in the life of a believer as it was for Jesus during his earthly ministry.  Jesus knew he was physically leaving the Disciples behind and that they needed power and direction from God in the person of the Holy Spirit. 

4)      God’s love is provisional (Philippians 4:19) – God promises to meet our needs, and not all our wants.  Anyone that has seen a parent in a store telling a child no to something they want understands that a good parent does not grant every wish of the child.  However, that same parent does not leave the store without insuring they have plenty of food to feed their children.  God’s greatest provision, however, is His provision of eternal life for fallen humanity. 

5)      God’s love is full of grace and forgiveness (Ephesians 2:8) – While working as a door greeter at my church last week, a woman came in wearing a t-shirt proclaiming God forgave my abortion.  The subject of abortion is a politically heated issue that can unfortunately lead to judgmentalism from both sides of the issue.  God however out of his love for us forgives the sinner while condemning the sin.  God values life and supports any view supporting life (Psalm 139:14), but also died for sinners that they might have reconciliation to God (Romans 5:8).  As each of us strives to live a godly life we too must learn to condemn sin but love sinners, pointing them to Christ.

Perhaps you are reading this, and God is convicting you of the sin in your life.  The good news is that God always stands ready to forgive sin and is only waiting for us to ask (1 John 1:9).  For those feeling this conviction in their lives, I urge you to pray with me now,

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, was buried, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

My prayer is that everyone reading this would model the charitable love of Christ in their lives.  The Body of Christ must model the graceful love of Christ through pointing others to Christ by how we live and what we say so they too have an opportunity to receive salvation from their sins.  Next Wednesday we will resume our study in the Gospel of Mark in Mark 3:22-30. 

Glorifying God in Relationships

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Scriptural Text:  Colossians 3:18-4:1

Colossians 3:23-24

²³ Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, ²⁴ knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

(ESV)

No person lives in total isolation for we all interact with other people.  As Christians with a mission to spread the good news of the Gospel (Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:19-20), these interactions must bring glory to God.  Unfortunately, this is often not the case, evidenced by equally high divorce rates for Christians when compared to the world, child abuse by professing Christians, and employers hesitating to hire Christians believing they are unmotivated and lazy. 

The previous section introduced us to the new spiritual wardrobe those that believe in Christ have.  It also provided encouragement to wear this new wardrobe as we function in the world as well as how we are to wear each part of the wardrobe.  In this section, Scripture provides practical application of each implement of the wardrobe in our relationships with others in marriage, parenting, and employment. 

1)      Godly relationships between spouses (Colossians 3:18-19) – This passage is the second mention of submission by wives to their husbands in scripture (Ephesians 5:22; Colossians 3:18).  Some may interpret this dual mention of submission as emphasis on its importance but there also must be an understanding the definition of submission in both passages to provide proper interpretation and application of these passages.  A culture abhorring inequality views submission as one holding another in bondage.  The bloodiest war in the history of the United States was over the practice of slavery further illustrating a desire to end the abhorrent practice of one holding another in subservient bondage.  However, scripture is not calling for wives to willingly submit to evil or sinful behavior from their husbands for no person should endure such evil from another.  Instead this is a willing submission and when viewing Colossians 3:18 in its entirety, a mutual dedication to one another.  The wife is to submit to her husband’s leadership while the husband is to submit to loving his wife over any other woman in his life.  Both husbands and wives are to submit to God with the relationship functioning under the umbrella of submission to God and His Word with each person fulfilling their godly role in the marriage. 

2)      Godly parenting (Colossians 3:20-21) – Similar to the instructions for spousal relationships, the relationship interaction between parents and children works both ways.  While Scripture commands children to obey parents in the ten commandments (Exodus 20:12), Proverbs 13:24 also commands parents to discipline their children.  However, in Colossians 3:21, Fathers are urged not to provoke their children with their discipline.  This emulates the grace of our heavenly Father who could have provoked us by leaving us to die in our sins but instead offered His grace, and His Son as a substitute for us on the cross.  Parents must exercise the same grace towards their children by disciplining them but also insuring that the purpose of their discipline is a loving desire for them to grow up having a strong relationship with God. 

3)      Godly employment (Colossians 3:44-4:1) – We are to serve those we work for understanding that they are human and have flaws in their character.  However, this is often difficult especially when working for someone that does not know the Lord as his or her savior, but Colossians 3:22 does not provide any exceptions for obedience only to Godly bosses.  However, no one should carry obedience to the point of doing something immoral or illegal for that would compromise our relationship with God.  Our motivation for serving our bosses must go beyond eye-service or a surface appearance of compliance with an underlying attitude of disservice.  It also must go beyond serving to please people.  Instead our service to our bosses must have the motivation of working for them as if we are serving God.  If these bosses wrong us it is not our place to enact revenge for that belongs to the lord (Romans 12:19). 

God took on fleshly form in Jesus so He could interact with humanity.  In doing so, Jesus provides the perfect example of how people are to interact with each other.  Jesus was firm with the religious leaders of His time who knew Scripture and as such, should have recognized who He was.  He showed mercy and grace to the sick and those possessed and oppressed by Satan by healing them and casting out demons.  Jesus’ greatest interaction, however, was taking our place on the cross by dying for our sins.  If you have not done so, I urge you to pray with me now and accept God’s free gift of salvation from your sins, 

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, was buried, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

Romans 10:9-10 commands everyone accepting Jesus as their savior to go public with their profession of faith.  I urge those that just prayed to accept Jesus as their savior to find a church teaching the Bible and make a profession of their faith to the pastor or some leader in that church.  If that is not possible, you can also comment to this post with your public profession of faith.  May God bless everyone reading this. 

Love’s Boundaries

By:  Dale Weckbacher

1 Corinthians 13:4-6

⁴ Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant ⁵ or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;^[b] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.

(ESV)

I see a picture like the one above and wonder why I believe traffic and the roads in Phoenix are dangerous.  What makes the road in this picture especially dangerous is the lack of guardrails to stop one from going over the edge to an almost certain death.  Such is the nature or eros love and why Scripture places boundaries or guardrails on it. 

Eros, the root of the English word erotic is the love between a man and a woman.  The biblical boundary for this love is marriage but secular culture has removed these boundaries and society as a whole is paying a great price for their removal.  This removal of sexual boundaries has resulted in unwanted pregnancies leading to the collateral damage of single moms and abortion on demand. 

2 Samuel 11 records the sordid account of David’s sin with Bathsheba.  It begins with lust in one’s heart which occurred when David saw Bathsheba bathing from his roof.  Instead of turning away out of respect for her, David continues to look and eventually calls for her.  Temptation and lust have now escalated to sin, resulting in an unwanted pregnancy. 

At this time in history, however, abortion was not an option, so David knew a scandal in the nation would ensue.  However, he could cover up the scandal by making it look like the baby belonged to Bathsheba’s husband Uriah.  This is why David calls for Uriah from the battlefield under the guise of wanting to know how the battle was going.  His real agenda, however, was to have Uriah go home with his wife and make it look like the baby was his.  Out of respect for his fellow soldiers, Uriah refuses to go home and sleep with his wife.  Now temptation and lust that have escalated to the sin of adultery will escalate to murder with David ordering Uriah’s death by placing him on the frontlines of battle.  This entire sordid situation was avoidable with David keeping the boundaries of eros love within the confines of marriage.  2 Samuel 12 records the consequences of David’s sin that go beyond himself and will affect the entire nation of Israel.  While David did repent and receive forgiveness from God (Psalm 51), the consequences of his sin had a lasting effect on him and the nation of Israel. 

While most reading this are not leaders with the authority to send someone into battle, the legalization of abortion and now even murdering an unwanted baby after birth equate to an escalation of sin to murder.  While society could make abortion illegal, drugs are also illegal, and we still have a drug problem meaning people will still seek abortion as an option to eliminate an unwanted pregnancy.  The long-term solution to abortion is not in reducing the supply of abortions through the law but reduction of demand for abortions through returning to the boundary of marriage in regard to eros love. 

Joseph and his encounter with Potiphar’s wife illustrate how someone can stop lust from becoming adultery and possible murder in one’s life.  The account is recorded in Genesis 39.  In contrast to David continuing to look at Bathsheba, allowing lust to escalate to sexual sin, Joseph runs away.  While no one believes Joseph due to his status as a slave, God uses Joseph through his situation to save Israel.  Had Joseph given in to the advances of Potiphar’s wife, Pharaoh would have had him executed. 

The battlefield of lust occurs in the mind (Matthew 5:28), requiring a mental transformation or separation from the lustful thoughts (Romans 12:2).  This mental transformation can only occur through one accepting Jesus as savior making it possible for the Holy Spirit to enter his or her life.  This begins with spreading the Gospel message and inviting those hearing the message to receive Jesus as their savior.  If you have not previously done so, I invite you to do so by praying with me now. 

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, was buried, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

The Bible contains the boundaries necessary for living a Godly life.  The next step is therefore finding a church teaching from the Bible to learn these boundaries.  While those of you that prayed now have eternal life through God’s forgiveness of your sins, we still live in a dangerous world full of temptations and therefore must keep the guardrails up to keep us within biblical boundaries, so we do not fall over the edge. 

Putting on New Spiritual Clothes: A New Wardrobe

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Scriptural Text:  Colossians 3:12-17

Colossians 3:13-14

¹³ bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ¹⁴ And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

(ESV)

Nicodemus is an example of a stealth believer in Christ.  He affirms his belief by citing Jesus as a teacher from God based upon the signs Jesus performed (John 3:2).  However, so other religious leaders did not see him, Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night to prevent jeopardizing his position in the synagogue (John 3:1-2).  Jesus responds to this affirmation by teaching this affirmation is not sufficient for one to see the Kingdom of God, for to do that requires one be born again (John 3:3).  Nicodemus erroneously believes Jesus is speaking of a second physical birth but Jesus speaks of a new spiritual birth or a change of spiritual wardrobe (John 3:4-15).  This new wardrobe consists of,

1)      Compassionate hearts (Colossians 3:12) – Jesus taught that love for one another in the Church is what differentiates the Church from other groups of people (John 13:35).  To enable His followers to have this level of love, Jesus provides a cloak of compassion.

2)      Kindness  (Colossians 3:12) – Love is kind (1 Corinthians 13:4).  Therefore, when putting on the cloak of compassion, we must secure it with kindness.  Unfortunately, when we see another in the church behaving or speaking in a manner not giving glory to God, it is easy to become judgmental or unkind when offering words of correction.  Instead we must put on the cloak of compassion, secured by the belt of kindness, and empowered by the Holy Spirit,  offering words of correction with compassion and not judgmentally.

3)      Humility (Colossians 3:12) – As Christians, we have a secure future of eternal life with the Lord.  As such it would be easy to gloat in what we have compared to what the lost in the world have.  However, Jesus did not command His followers to go into all the world and gloat about what they have.  Instead, Jesus commanded His followers to go into the world preaching the Gospel which is not about works but grace (Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:19-20; Ephesians 2:8).  This requires putting on humility through declaration we too have sin in our lives but have received salvation because of what Jesus has done (Romans 3:23). 

4)      Meekness (Colossians 3:12) – Meekness is a quiet strength.  It is knowing that while we are weak in our flesh, we are strong in Christ and able to do whatever Jesus commands us to do (Philippians 4:13).  Christians can demonstrate meekness by knowing they are saved by the grace of God (Ephesians 2:8) and have access to the wardrobe of the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-17).  The Apostle Paul was physically weak and out of commission in Jail yet demonstrates meek strength through writing letters, like Colossians, to the church while in prison. 

5)      Patience (Colossians 3:12) – Patience for a Christian is the ability to move at God’s pace and not our own.  This is difficult in a digital world where information and communication share at the speed of light.  The hat of patience in our wardrobe causes us to slow down our thinking to match God’s pace. 

However, just as faith without works is dead (James 2:14), a closet full of a new spiritual wardrobe is worthless unless worn for others to see (Matthew 5:16).  Christians must wear this new wardrobe in a manner giving glory to God and pointing people to Jesus by showing what it means to live for Christ.  Not only must born again Christians wear their new wardrobe, but they must wear it,

1)      With forgiveness (Colossians 3:13) – Christians must wear the cloak of compassion with forgiveness modeling how Jesus forgave them.

2)      With love (Colossians 3:14) – Genuine kindness is a belt worn with love modeling the kindness of God demonstrated by sending His Son to die for sinners (Romans 5:8).

3)      With peace and Thanksgiving (Colossians 3:15) – Christians wear humility with peace and thanksgiving through having peace in the security of their salvation and thankfulness it is not the result of their own effort (Ephesians 2:8)

4)      With sound Doctrine (Colossians 3:16) – The strength in the garment of meekness is sound biblical doctrine otherwise our meekness would be weakness that the enemy could use to take out Christians.  Sound biblical doctrine is the starch providing firmness to the garment of meekness.

5)      For the Glory of God (Colossians 3:17) – Patience comes as Christians share the Gospel message in Gods timing, and for His glory. 

The world needs to see Christians wearing their new wardrobes provided by Jesus.  Unfortunately, fear of rejection, retribution, or persecution often cause Christians to be like Nicodemus, leaving our born-again wardrobe in the closet or not wearing it in a Godly manner.  My prayer is that those reading this would open the closet of their born-again wardrobe and boldly wear it for the glory of God. 

A Model of Perfect Love

By:  Dale Weckbacher

John 21:15

¹⁵ When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.”

(ESV)

The discourse of Jesus with Peter after His resurrection provides an interesting insight into uses of the words agape and philia which are both translated love into English.  Jesus asks Peter if he agape’s Him with Peter replying he philia’s Him.  Agape is perfect love coming from God and the level of love Jesus offered on the cross (John 15:13).  It is a level of love unattainable by humanity in a fallen state but is the example Christians are to try to follow in their love for one another.  Peter’s reply of philia or brotherly love shows understanding of his failure by denying Christ and that the best level of love he believes he could offer is brotherly love or friendship.  However, Peter did come close to showing the level of agape love by dying for his faith. 

One could also consider philia love as a level of love below storge or affection.  Perhaps a better English translation would be saying we like someone.  However, some consider friendship as love for trusted people in their life with other friends in their life considered acquaintances.  However, for Jesus the level of love is always agape or perfect love (John 3:16-17).  With our goal in love working towards agape love, we must decide what we must do to work towards this level of love.  Perfect love is,

1)      Patient and kind (1 Corinthians 13:4) – Driving in any big city illustrates the abundance of impatience in the world resulting in road rage.  However, we can become impatient in love when someone does not live up to our expectations engaging in love rage.  Our spouse may not live up to our expectations of what we believe constitutes a perfect spouse.  Our children may not live up our expectations of their potential.  The truth is that when we place high expectations on another, we are actually idolizing them, and when they fail, resort to love rage due to our impatience.  Fortunately, Jesus knew we were sinners (Romans 3:23) when he died for us and due to his agape love, died for us anyway (Romans 5:8). 

2)      Humble (1 Corinthians 13:4) – Another biblical term for humility is meekness, found in Matthew 5:5.  However, meekness is not weakness but quiet strength.  On the cross Jesus showed quiet strength for he had access to heaven’s power and yet willingly fulfilled his mission by dying on the cross and raising from the dead three days later in a demonstration of conquest over death.  Agape love is a quiet demonstration of strong love even in the face of adversity.

3)      Centered on others (1 Corinthians 13:5) – Jesus said the greatest among us are those that serve (Matthew 23:11).  Once again we turn to Jesus as our example for He left the glory of heaven, became one of us, and died in our place. 

4)      Truthful (1 Corinthians 13:6) – When asked by Pilate if He was a king, Jesus responded with his purpose being to bear witness to the truth (John 18:37).  Pilate’s response was what is truth, ironic for the truth was standing right in front of him (John 14:6). 

5)      Forgiving (1 Corinthians 13:7) – Jesus is the perfect example of forgiveness but in his parable of the unforgiving servant Jesus tells us to forgive others because of the great debt Jesus paid on the cross (Matthew 18:21-35). 

While in our fallen state we may not achieve perfect agape love as Jesus did, we can move from philia love towards agape love through practicing love according to the pattern of 1 Corinthians 13.  The Beatles sang the song “All You Need is Love.”  While the song is not a Christian song, as a believer in Christ I believe all the world needs is more of the agape love of Christ.  My prayer for each of those reading this is that they would strive to show greater agape love in their lives.