The Logos . Net

  2 Pet 3:18 – But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. At the end of the Apostle Peter’s second epistle, he tells of the coming “day of the Lord” in which the earth and all of its elements will be subject to an intense fire of judgment and completely destroyed. The purpose of this fiery judgment is specifically reserved for the utter destruction of ungodly men. The first of this type of judgement was the flood, this coming second judgement will be with fire. Because of this, he strongly admonishes believers to be sober, watchful and diligent: Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless (2 Pet 3:14). He then ends his letter by exhorting  Christians to “grow” in Grace: Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. But *grow in grace*, and in the knowledge of o...

  Heb 6:1 – Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection. As Christians, we will never achieve complete perfection in thought, word and deed in this life, but we should absolutely aim for it, and as we do we will draw closer to it. Not only is it a good aim to have, we are actually admonished in scripture to do so: Heb 6:1 – Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto *perfection*; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God. Col 1:28 – Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man *perfect* in Christ Jesus. The problem with giving ourselves license with a “well, nobody’s perfect” mentality, is that it makes us more comfortable with our own failures and shortcomings and we excuse behavior and attitudes that should have long been put behind us. This was the problem the Apostle Paul was addressing when he reb...

  Matt 28:19 – Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations. Jesus’ final charge given to his disciples was to go into the world and “make disciples”, like Jesus had made of them, in all nations. This is popularly referred to as “The Great Commision“. The Apostles were specifically chosen, given this special calling and anointing and imbued with an incredible level of power from the Holy Spirit to accomplish this task.  Notice that Jesus did not tell them to just “make converts”, but to make disciples. The distinction is an important one. It’s much harder and takes a lot more time, effort and patience to make a disciple than it does to make a convert. Getting people to consider the “free gift” of eternal salvation, secured with just a head nod and a quick prayer is far easier than establishing someone in the faith and turning them into a disciple and faithful follower of Jesus, one that stands the test of time. But that is exactly what Jesus did of His disciples, He pati...

  Heb 3:13 – But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. We are told by many preachers and teachers today that we should expect sin to be a normal, ever present part of a Christians life this side of heaven. That even though Christ delivered us from the power of sin, we are all still sinners and should not expect to really overcome as long as we reside in this body of flesh. It’s even baked into our well respected confessions and catechisms that we should expect to “sin in thought, word and deed” as part of our common daily experience.  Probably the most commonly quoted verse in all of scripture is 1 Jn 4:8 – If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. The un-contexted twisting of that one verse has done more to ruin men and destroy the testimony of the Church than probably any other passage. When we ignore the exhortation of the Apostle Paul to “reckon ye also yours...

  One of the grave errors we make in evangelical Christianity today is to put way too much emphasis on the “day” of our salvation, on the fact that we’ve “entered” the race. Many seem to think that “entering” the race is all that is required to ensure the prize of eternal salvation and that we are not required to actually run the race, let alone finish the race in faith. We ask people if they “got” saved rather than asking if they are “working out their own salvation” by continuing in the faith and walking with Christ as His follower and His disciple each day. Now, this does not mean that the “day” of our salvation isn’t a wonderful and monumental event, because it most definitely is. It’s the beginning, it’s the start, it’s day one of a glorious transformation when we are translated from kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of His beloved son, but it’s not over, it’s not finished, we’ve only just begun. We are required to run the race, and to finish the race in faith, in order to ob...

  Rev 2:7,11,17,29 and 3:6,13,22 – He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Our primary interest as a believer should not be in merely latching onto a doctrinal “system” or particular form of systematic theology, but to humbly seek the Lord with a whole heart, to know and follow Him, and to be able to hear from the Spirit, daily. Everything is hinged on our ability to hear from the Spirit which is why in each of the messages to the seven churches in revelations Jesus ended the message by saying “He that hath an ear, let him *hear* what the SPIRIT saith unto the churches”. Notice he didn’t say “scripture”, he said “Spirit”. Ironically, the main reason we have difficulty understanding and properly deciphering scripture is precisely because we do not know how to hear from the Spirit who authored the scriptures. Without that, we will end up just picking and choosing whatever form of theology appeals to us from the smorgasbord of interpretations and the...

  Ps 119:9-11 – Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my *whole heart* have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.  This is a very common “go to” passage of scripture for young men. Oftentimes, with this particular passage, young men are exhorted to be diligent in the study of the Bible as the iron-clad way to cleanse oneself and keep oneself pure. Usually with this exhortation comes an emphasis to “hide God’s word in your heart” by diligently reading and studying the Bible. And while it is definitely a good thing to read and study scripture, it is only a partial remedy and I don’t think the heart of this passage. I believe the heart of the passage, which is often even omitted in the quoting, is actually found in verse 10: “With my *whole heart* have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments”. The problem is, it’s n...

  2 Cor 7:1 – Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. In this passage, the Apostle Paul is making it clear that, as Christians, we are ALL charged with the task of “cleansing ourselves” and “perfecting holiness” with the fear of God as our motivation. In other words, as part of following Christ, we are called to constantly examine ourselves and root out “anything and everything” that is ungodly and contrary to walking in the Spirit. This means *any* attitudes, actions or behaviors that are sinful and not consistent with godliness. This is a task that every Christian should be engaging in on a daily basis. If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross *daily*, and follow me. (Luke 9:23). This is the mark of a disciple and follower of Christ and should not seem “overboard” or a foreign concept to us. In fact, the Holy Spirit within us sho...

  Rom 12:11-12 – Not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer. Our ability to understand the truth and hear from the Holy Spirit is primarily hinged on the quality and consistency of our time spent in prayer and devotion to the Lord. A Christian who does not have and maintain a strong and consistent *daily* prayer life, as well as time spent meditating on the word of God, will NOT have a good grasp on the truth and will develop flawed doctrine. Things will always seem perfectly right and reasonable in our own minds no matter where we are at, so we need the Holy Spirit to teach us, enlighten us and correct our thinking where it is flawed and incorrect in areas that we are currently blind to.  Besides Jesus, there will never be a man who sees everything perfectly and holds flawless theology and the knowledge of God, so we have a continual, ongoing dependence upon the Lord to open up our eye...

  1 Cor 6:9-10 – Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. These verses in the first epistle to the Corinthians are a very well known, often quoted, and sobering warning to us. Here Paul is reminding the Church at Corinth that anyone who walks in unrighteousness will not see the kingdom of God. He then lists a set of example behaviors to make the point clear. He gives this warning right on the heels of dealing with some gross sin going on within the Church there, and the fact that they were not doing anything about it. There was also so much infighting going on that some were taking their disputes to the secular courts instead of resolving them as brethren.  Clearly Paul was shocked and saddened by the kind of behavior ...

  We are reminded often by pastors, Bible scholars and teachers to NOT cherry-pick verses from scripture and try to apply them without taking into consideration the context. Yet, it seems that the same ones who tell us not to do this, actually do it all the time. I’ll give you an example: Phil 1:6 – For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. I don’t believe I have ever heard this passage taught correctly and in its proper context. In my experience, it has always been cherry-picked and then improperly applied as a blanket promise for all Christians. The basic idea is that no matter how our life goes, or how well we respond to Lord and His leading in our lives and to walking in the Spirit, that as long as we are Christians, somehow God will just work everything out in the end and His work “in us” will be completed just as He planned. That is a nice thought, but it is not true and is not what that verse is...

  Heb 4:12-13 – For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Any time God’s Truth is declared under the unction and at the direction of the Holy Spirit, it is quick, powerful, and sharp. It pierces the heart and lays open the soul. That is why Jesus’ words were so powerful, so effective, and for the religious of the day, often very direct and uncomfortable. People marveled at the teaching that came from him, they noted that he “spoke with authority, and not as the Scribes” (Matt 7:29) whose words and teaching did not carry any divine authority or “unction”. Interestingly, the Scribes and Pharisees taught from the same scriptures, and often even scriptural ...

  Prov 4:23 – Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Probably one of the most difficult, yet vitally important things that we can do as a believer and follower of Christ is to “keep”, or “guard”, our hearts with diligence. Whatever we allow to reside or *lodge* within our hearts, either good or bad, will then flow out from within and affect everything we do or say. Luke 6:45 – A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. As believers and followers of Christ we are equipped and expected to bring forth good fruit out of the abundance of a heart that has been transformed and made new in Christ. Prior to our redemption in Christ our hearts WERE desperately wicked, but no longer, in Him our hearts are made new.  A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I ...

  Heb 11:1-2 – Now faith is the substance (assurance) of things hoped for, the evidence (conviction) of things not seen, For by it the elders obtained a good report (were justified).  Faith has always been what justifies men before God, in the old covenant and in the new. Faithful men of old had great confidence in God and are remembered because of the mighty deeds they did as a result of their faith and trust in God. God led them and they followed *because* their faith in Him was strong and they knew they could trust him *if* they followed his precepts and walked in his ways. We might be tempted to say, “Well my faith is strong and immovable in Christ!, I’m just having trouble walking in obedience and in godliness because of the weakness of my flesh, but at least there is no problem with my faith!” But in reality, if we are having trouble walking in godliness, the root of the problem IS precisely our faith and the lack thereof. Faith and conviction drive our behavior, attitud...

  Far too easily as believers, we can find ourselves going through dry seasons in our relationship with the Lord. Seasons where sweet fellowship with the Lord and joyful daily communion are just not happening and the Lord seems distant. Our prayers and devotional times slip from being joyful, expectant and filled with a sense of His closeness, to becoming cold and mechanical. Now granted, it’s not that we should be driven by our emotions or feelings, but eventually one needs to admit that the *lack* of any emotion or joyful sense of His close presence in prayer and seeking His face might actually be a problem we need to address. There should always be an afterglow from being in God’s presence, and if there is not, then we should question if we were really there. The Lord does not change and has promised that if we seek Him we WILL find Him, if we seek after Him with all of our hearts, so any distance between us and the Lord, either real or perceived, always stems from an issue on o...