Virtue Trumps Vice

"Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all - And  now, my daughter...all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman - A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones - Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies - And Jesus said...I perceive that virtue is gone out of me - for there went virtue out of him [Jesus], and healed them all - Finally, brethren, ...whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things - add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge - him that hath called us to glory and virtue."

The word virtue, and its kin, is found eleven times in the 1611 KJV. In the Old Testament it always refers to a woman. In the New Testament the reference is to either gender. It has to do with who a person is, thus affecting what he or she does. Like many of our English words today, it has been gutted of its Bible meaning. The world desires to neutralize such words, thus taking away the convicting power of them. Therefore, they have now educated many that they are associated with only the self righteous and holier-than-thou crowd.

But notice in the texts we quoted, the Holy Spirit gives us a different interpretation than that of the worldling. Taking just the scriptures, observe: in God's eyes virtuous people excel all others; those around such, take note of them; also, they are like a crown to those close to them; and to not possess this godly trait is to be rotten to the bone; we're told these folk are hard to find, in any age; that their value is far above rubies; that their lives can be used to help the hurting; that virtue is sandwiched between a good report and praise, (yummy); that it is to be an additive to our faith: and last, but not least, God has called all of His children to be virtuous!

Marcus Porcius (234-149 bc), known as Cato the Elder, was a Roman statesman and writer. He said, "Those who have a great concern about the appearance of the body, have great carelessness about virtue!" Seems things haven't changed much.

rds

Christ is All

Someone has said, "If Christ is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all." To Paul, to put it in his words, Christ was his "All in all." He knew that if his precious Lord was not the whole of his life, even the green pastures soon withered away. If Jesus was not the portion of his cup, it might as well be poison; death was preferable to living a life without Christ being the center.

Paul's eye was always fixed on Christ. He was on his mind night and day. So much so that people thought him, "beside himself" (crazy). The once blasphemer had been taken captive by His love. He knew he could take no other course but to love Him back, with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength. There are degrees of love, little and much, but he knew his Master longed for the latter. He found the more you love Him, the more you want to love him!

Paul didn't spend his time at "broken cisterns, that cannot hold water," he went directly to the fountainhead. Only there and there alone could he find satisfaction. Peter, speaking of us coming to Christ, said, "To whom coming...[is] precious." The history of Paul's life, once he met Christ, was a constant coming to Him. He knew of no other place to go! And once more, he didn't desire to go anyplace else.

O, beloved, the greatest hinderance to fuller blessings in our lives is that thing, or things, we take into our hearts with Christ. He is a jealous lover, He does not want to share us! He wants to be our, "ALL AND IN ALL."

Retire/Refire

When that colorful old time Nazarene preacher, Uncle Buddy Robinson, was asked, when he entered his 80’s, if he would retire, with his familiar stuttering speech replied, “Shoot, no! I’m going to refire.” This is also how I generally answer the inquirer. That is, those who can get it.

“Now Joshua was old and stricken in years; and the LORD said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.” God did not set a rocker before Joshua in his advanced years, but a challenge. “There is no discharge in that war.”

When the aged Apostle Paul was shut-up and chained to circumstances, he was still bringing forth fruit in his old age (Philemon). His writings, when a shut-in, excelled his public preaching. Elisha’s private ministry, behind closed doors, by far exceeded Elijah’s before the masses. The former performing twice the miracles.

The advantages of the aged is that they have both the learning experiences of the past, as well a vast collection of precious memories from those many years lived. And best of all, they can now see the lights of home and hear the joyful singing from their Father’s House!

“Since the Good Shepherd found me and laid me on His shoulders, rejoicing, we have never parted company.”

(Andrew A. Bonar)

Where to Meet God

“And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark...And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark ”

The main piece of furniture in the Tabernacle was the Ark of God. It was the center of focus, being the lone piece of furniture placed in the Holy of Holies. It was made of acacia wood and overlaid with gold. Within it were 1) the tables of stone with the Ten Commandments written upon them; 2) a jar of Manna; and 3) Aaron’s rod that budded. Above it was placed the Mercy Seat, made of one solid piece of gold. At each end were two Cherubs with outstretched wings facing each other. The Hgh Priest would sprinkle blood upon it once a year to atone for his and the people’s sins. It was symbolic of God’s Throne and presence.

It is good to remember when we come before God in prayer, it is not because of our merit, but His mercy which makes it possible. We can come before Him boldly, but only for the fact that Hebrews tells us, “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.” This is why God invites us to, “Come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” It is not the man or woman who prays, “ God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, ”but that humble soul who cries out, “God be merciful to me a sinner.”

“Mercy there was great, and grace was free;

Pardon there was multiplied to me;

There my burdened soul found liberty,

   At Calvary.

A Change of Masters

“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof...For sin shall not have dominion over you.”

Some years ago, I heard a nationally known evangelical radio teacher expounding our texts, found in Romans chapter six. To my shock and utter dismay, he said a Christian could live without sinning, that he had gone all the previous day without committing one sin. He attempted to use the above scriptures as proof-texts. But  a text taken out of context is a pretext!

No Believer can live without sin, although he or she may live above sin. As an assistant pastor said to me once, “We no longer have to live in the saloon, we can now live in an apartment above it.” The words “reign” and “dominion,” as found in Romans six, as well as in other places, have to do with power, not presence; authority, not absence.

When Joseph’s brethren said, “Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? they were speaking of him having control over their lives. Like a king having reign and dominion over his subjects. We are now free from sin's power over us, but not its presence in us. Both Joseph and his brethren remained, whoever had the control.

Sin’s presence is always with us (Rom.7), like Siamese twins, we are joined together, and only death does us part. God has left you and me with the means to feed the new nature. We also have the means at our disposal to feed the old. But once we give in to the “old man’s” deceitful pleadings and nourish him, he will always get the upper hand. 

Emancipated servants should follow the one who gave His life for their freedom, and not return to the tyrannical, slave driver they once served!  

Hannah's Prayer of Praise

“And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD...He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory.”

Answered prayer is always cause to rejoice in the Lord. In chapter one of 1 Samuel we are told of Hannah, “And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.” But now, after the birth of Samuel, a prayer of praise.

But within this magnificent prayer there is a word of warning against spiritual pride and arrogancy, “Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth.” She reminds all of us, who are so prone to forget who we were and where God brought us from, “He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes.”

I agree with the old radio preacher, M.R. De Haan, when he said this is one of the great illustrations of grace found in scriptures. To take us from sitting on a dunghill to seat us far above in heavenly places with Christ, is nothing short of God’s marvelous grace. From the lowest to the highest, from rags to riches. He took away the filthy stench of the dunghill and replaced it with the sweet aroma of the Rose of Sharon.

Let us always be mindful, whether saved as a innocent child or a reprobate adult, we were all taken from the same dunghill. We were all barnyard creatures! And that “the best robe” our Father clothed us with, He provided.

It is so difficult to understand how we as God’s children, clothed in His righteousness, nurtured and brought up by Him, could ever go to the streets again, and to the dunghill we came from. “They that did feed delicately are desolate in the streets: they that were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghills.”

“Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love.”  

Making the Comforter Comfortable

In the Gospels, Jesus plainly reveals He considered His body the Temple of God. And in the Epistles, Paul unveils the fact that this truth applies to we Believers also. I know the blessed Comforter was comfortable in Jesus’ body; the question is, is He comfortable in ours? Do we make every effort to provide Him with nice living quarters?

I am not going to give a list of do’s and don’ts. For sure, I’d leave a hole for many to worm out of. I’ll let the Holy Spirit tell each what should be done in his or her individual life to make Him feel more at home. As the missionary C.T. Studd said, “Who buys a watchdog and does his barking for him?”

We read of one who, in the Old Testament, desecrated God’s Temple. God laid Belshazzar in His balances and found him wanting. That very night his life was taken. And of those believers at Corinth who defiled the Temple of the Holy Ghost, we are told, “For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.”

The Temple of old was made by hands, ours, “without hands.”

Nevertheless, we are to keep up our physical temple as Israel was to repair and tend to their material Temple. There will be a dear and high cost to be paid by those of us who refuse and neglect to pay the price of the upkeep of their bodies.

When we are told in scripture, “bodily exercise profiteth little,” that is in contrast to “godliness,” not health! There is a great deal of profit in taking care of your temple. Even those who, in God’s will, “suffer infirmities,” function better for His service by repairing in their temple the things that can humanly be fixed!

The Old-Fashioned Home

Many a oldtime non-Christian home of my day excelled most that pass themselves off as a Christian home today. God established the home before the Church or Government. Therefore, as goes the home, so goes the Church and Government. A great number of homes of my childhood may not have been truly Christian, but they possessed Christian principles. And they passed these values and traditions to their next generation. No culture can long survive without these guidelines.  

Our society will soon wither and die without Judeo-Christian teaching. God will bless any and all who come under this scriptural umbrella (1Cor. 7:14). Judges tells of Israel’s decline as a nation, “And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel...every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” Our social and cultural problems stem from a decline in the home.

“HAVING A PLACE TO GO IS HOME

HAVING SOMEONE TO LOVE IS FAMILY

HAVING BOTH IS A BLESSING”

(anonymous)

God's Natural Laws

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

God’s natural laws pertain both to the Christian and non-Christian. For example, the law of gravity, whatever goes up, must come down. Likewise, the same truth holds with the law of the harvest. What we sow is what we reap. Right or wrong always produces, in the end, after its own kind. If you plant corn don’t expect a crop of tomatoes.

Wicked Adonibezek cut off seventy king’s thumbs and great toes; when captured by Israel they did likewise to him, his testimony being, “as I have done, so God hath requited me.” On the other hand, we are told of godly Isaac, “Then Isaac sowed…and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.”

Let me here give a word of enlightenment that is not generally covered when discussing this subject. It can be taken as a warning by some and an encouragement to others. It is of utmost importance to realize in the process of sowing and reaping, there is a time element involved. The interval may vary between the two, but there is always a period of waiting.

For example, many have become discouraged and quit after making things right with God, because they see no immediate good fruit, only what they previously had sown. That is to be expected. This is what the law of the harvest is all about. But the old will eventually give way to the new if one will cease to sow their wild oats and continue to plant the good seed. The reverse is true of those who have stopped sowing good in their lives and began seeding the bad.

And to you who are continually “going about doing good,” the harvest is only going to get bigger and better!

The Insecure Giant

“And when he [Saul] stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.”

Theories differ on the height of Saul. Some say he was seven feet tall, others, eight feet, still others believe him to have been closer to nine. One thing for sure, among the children of Israel, he was a giant of a male specimen . Certainly his stature qualified him to do battle with Goliath, had he the inward character and intestinal fortitude.

In reality, Saul was a small man in a giant’s body; David, a giant of a man in a lad’s body. Position and physique don’t make the man. In both the religious and political realm, down through history, many have chosen to blindly follow men who, from all outward appearances, seemed like giants. Yet, they woke up to the fact their leader was in fact a pigmy of a soul in a man’s body.

One of the main differences between Saul and David was that, the latter was comfortable in in own skin, while the former had no peace with who he was. The man or woman who is at home with themselves can take on any and all giants. But the insecure, he or she, like the ostrich, hide their head in the sand, thinking the giants of life will just naturally go away.

When you fight a giant, first make sure you know the person fighting him! (r.d.s.)    

Tooting Our Own Horn

Someone has said, in jest I’m sure, “He that tooteth not his own horn, it shall not be tooted.” We smile, but to hear many of us testify, preach, and pray, you’d think we believed this comedic statement to be gospel, in spite of the fact the Book of wisdom plainly tells us, “Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.”

I used to have a sermon entitled, “The Big I.” In it, I showed how in Lucifer’s fall, he uses the personal pronoun “I” five times (Isa. 14:13-14). And the proud Pharisee in the Temple followed his father’s example, using it the same amount of times (Lk. 18:11-12). But when we come to a godly saint, Paul takes the same number of “I’s” and crucifies them (Gal. 2:20).

Bending your stubborn “I” into a submissive “C” will be more than worth the time, pain, and effort you put into it!

Depth of Soul

“Because they had no deepness of earth...because they had no root...yet hath he no root in himself...because it had no depth of earth...because it had no root…[they] have no root in themselves...because it lacked moisture.”

The above quotes are taken from three of the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke. They’re a part of our Lord’s teaching on the Seed and the Sower. He shows the great danger of being a “surface saint.” Superficial souls are the devil’s delight. Jesus tells us they are an easy prey for Satan.

When interpreting the parable, Jesus makes plain the fault is not with the seed (the Word), but rather with the soil (the heart). Like many today, they were more concerned with outward image than depth of soul. Show, to this type, is more important than substance.

The reason we do not see the “fruit of the Spirit” in more lives of Christians today is told us in the Old Testament, “Take root downward, and bear fruit upward.” We are to “dwell deep,” if we are to have any sinew of soul. We need to intellectually get out of the baby pool and get into intellectual “waters to swim in.”

Words are formed from thought, therefore, what we talk about is the measuring rod of our depth of soul!

R.D.S.

A Personal God

“Go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.” It couldn't be any plainer. Jesus says His Father and His God is also ours; and that we, like Him, can have a personal relationship with His Father and His God! This is not something new, found only in the New Testament. The Lord says of His darling David in the Old Testament, “He shall cry unto me, “Thou art my father, my God...”

Interestingly Jesus puts “Father,” first. I knew a saint who always addressed Him in prayer as, “Father God.” I thought then that he should have put God before Father. But it seems now he was more scriptural than I thought. When Christ was asked by His disciples to teach them to pray, He taught them, as A.W. Pink refers to it, “The Family Prayer.” He begins it with, “Our Father...”

And even to this present hour, Jesus Christ is still teaching His followers about this intimate relationship. Paul tells us, “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba (Papa), Father.” You will remember, I’m sure, this is how our Lord referred to His God in the Garden, when praying in agony, “ And He said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.” He believed, in the final analysis, His Father knew best!  

O, family of God, isn't it awesome? Our heavenly Father is none other than Almighty God Himself!

Square Pegs in Round Holes

It is both laughable and sorrowful to watch a child with a beginner’s set of blocks trying to fit a square block into a round hole. Laughable, watching them try over and over to attempt the impossible; sorrowful, seeing the final frustration set in when they realize it can’t be done.

Many Christians of our day are continually attempting to fit into a secular world that considers them square. You don’t know whether to laugh or cry; seeing them trying to combine two things that do not belong or fit together. It is a spiritual impossibility.

We are elated, and rightly so, whenever we hear of one professing to be a Christian in the political, entertainment, or sports world. But I would remind you, the world never compromises its principles. The Christian must ultimately do this if there is to be co-existence. Change, with them, is always one-sided.

The world, says Christ Himself, hated Him. He also said they will hate those who are all out for Him. Like Jesus, we’re in the world, but not of the world. There is something drastically wrong when our brand of Christianity is accepted and respected by a Christ rejecting world.

I think sometimes many professing Believers of our time have taken, as the Old Testament King, a pen-knife to such scriptures as: “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” The only exception to this are those who do not live godly.

When Jesus told us, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me,”  it should have given us some hint of what lies before us. When you saw a man in His day carrying a cross, you could be dead certain he was not on his way to the Academy Awards!

But You Promised

What parent is not familiar with the heart wrenching experience of pledging to do a certain thing for their child and, because of some unforeseen circumstance, are unable to make good on it it, and he or she cries out, “But you promised.”

Our God does not know of any such situation. When He makes a promise to His child you can be “fully persuaded that, what He [has] promised, He [is] able also to perform.” As it is written, “Hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” Again, “Blessed be the LORD... all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised. ”Therefore, “Let us hold fast...our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised).

Charles Spurgeon said, “The best praying in the world is pleading the promises.” He goes on to say, “My brother, if you have a divine promise, you need not plead it with an “if” in it; you may plead it with certainty.” And why is this? Paul tells us, “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen.”

O, beloved, let us never enter the Throne Room without carrying the King’s promises with us, for He Himself tells us to do so, “Put me in remembrance: let us plead together.”

A Letter on Repentance

Dear Reader: I thought you might enjoy this correspondence on the subject of repentance.

R.D.S.

My Dear Brother,

You wrote, "I would appreciate hearing your views on repentance and why a person believes it (repentance) is necessary for accepting the Gospel as found in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4."

Generally, these days, because of my age (eighty), and my recent sickness (heart-attack), I do not go into in-depth answers to Bible questions. Also, the movement I was associated with for the greater part of my ministry were never satisfied with one clear cut answer to anything. It always ended up being an endless commentary on the subject. That is, until you came around to their way of thinking, or they gave up trying, and broke all fellowship with you, branding you as a heretic. The latter is possibly why I am still a little gun-shy in answering Bible questions. But I am convinced you are not of this sort, so here is a fairly brief answer to your request.

Let me say from the beginning, my position on repentance differs somewhat from many of the old-time Puritans (that it has only to do with sin) and the present-day hyper-dispensationalist (that it is excluded from Paul's gospel). These notes are from my personal study of the scriptures over the years. I am comfortable living with them.

I feel many have the same misguided view of repentance as they do of the word "holiness." As to the latter, it is generally held that it has some moral connection. But clothes, ground, buildings, and instruments have no inherent moral value. It simply means in scripture to,"set apart" or "separate." And so it is with repentance. It has come to be associated, as I said, only with sin. But sin is just one of the many sub-heads that fall under its definition

If you will read and think through my article on my blog entitled, "The Nurse's Guru's Preaching," you will understand my position on repentance more clearly. Repentance has to do with a change of mind. When Jesus tells the story of the two sons He says of the one, "Afterward he repented and went." That is, he thought it through and changed his mind. When Peter mentions repenting of wickedness, in the context, he says it has to do with the thoughts of the heart. The man was thinking wrong, therefore he was to change his mind (repent).

And so, when the Bible says, "Repent and believe," it is simply saying, "change your mind and believe." A lot of professing Christians today tell us they believe, but they have never changed their minds. If repentance has only to do with sin, then what do we say of God when we're told He repented? But if we make it to mean what the scriptures say it means, then all is clear; God changes His mind.

Concerning repentance being a part of the gospel as found in 1Cor.15:1-4. There are many doctrines connected to salvation that are not mentioned in connection with believing. For example: justification, regeneration, adoption, sealing, etc. All of which are understood as one grows in the Lord. But each took place at the time of a person's salvation. And so it is with repentance. One may not have understood it, but they changed their mind (repented) before they believed. That is, if they're really saved.

Hope this helps. Sorry, I am tired and must close. As an old preacher used to say when closing his sermon, "I done preached out from underneath myself."

An Old Disciple,

R.D.S.

Philosophical Philanderers

Recently one of my wife's readers asked prayer for a close family member. Salle, in turn, as we often do with one another, asked me to pray about the situation. It seems, a man, in this case, a professing Believer,  had met a woman on-line and was planning on leaving his good, Christian wife of many years for her. He had already met with her secretly on a couple of occasions. 

The lady making the request also included in her correspondence some of the adulterer's reasoning for his sin. After hearing of the affair, I said to my wife "Why is it every Christian I ever met intending to go into sin, all of a sudden becomes a philosopher? I have never heard such philosophical jargon come out of anyone's mouth like that spued out of these people. In this case a philosophical philanderer. 

Evidently this dunce is ignorant to the fact of the meaning of the word philosophy. The root meaning of the word is, "lover of wisdom." Now Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, apart from Jesus Christ wrote, "Whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul. A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away." If you have any doubts about the veracity of this, just take a little time to talk to David and Bathsheba!