Matthew 5:19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
We are to be examples to those around us of the […]
John 8:5-6 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
The scribes and the Pharisees came to Jesus […]
Psalms 80:19 Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
Are you ready to repent of your violations of God’s perfect law? Are you ready to live your life in the fullness of God’s glory? The world does that which is right in their own eyes. […]
Psalms 1:1-2 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
Virtue is thinking upon that which is true, honest, just, pure, lovely and of a good report. Adding virtue to your life gives you the moral power to do that which is right in the sight of God. However, without virtue, you will lack the strength to overcome the wicked one. Without virtue, you will find yourself yielding to those temptations that you should have the power to overcome.
I Timothy 1:5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:
Paul is reminding Timothy that if he trace the law to it root, he would find love as the foundation. Jesus told us when asked what the greatest commandment was that we are to love the Lord with all our heart and the second commandment is to love our neighbor as ourself. We learn from John 3:16 that the whole foundation of the salvation message begins with God�s love for us.
Timothy had served with Paul and thus was pretty knowledgeable on Paul�s teaching of the importance of love in the church. In this passage in addition to love, there are two other things other then love that are a purpose of the law. The second purpose of the law is so that we can maintain a good conscience and the third purpose is so that our faith is not compromised.
As for a good conscience, as we obey the law, this enables us to worship God and have fellowship one with another not fearing the consequences of our actions. When one sins, they have a guilty heart and they are not free to openly fellowship with others because sin has a way of destroying not only your fellowship with God but with other Christians. When you violate the law, the Holy Spirit convicts you of your sin and Satan is working on you to try to cover up your violation so that no one knows of your wrong.
The law is also designed to ensure that your faith is not compromised. No one likes a hypocrite. In fact, the world is watching you to see if there are any areas of your life that do not match up to the high standards that you propound. The world does not mind if someone who does not hold high standards does not live up to high standards, but it does have a problem when someone purports to live by a higher standard and then fails to live up to that high standard.
When you live according to the law, you are living your life pleasing to the Lord. Your testimony is uncompromised, you have a clear conscience, and you are demonstrating to the world the love of God. You cannot afford to be a fake Christian. In the world that you live in today, they are quick to pick up if you can only talk the talk but not walk the walk. It does not matter if you have been going to church your entire life and you know the meaning of all theological terms if your life is not a demonstration of the power of God in your life. The world sees your love for them and the world sees the demonstrations of your faith.
Just as one of the purposes of the church is edify the members, so also the purpose of the law is to demonstrate to the world the love of God and their need for a savior. The law is not only designed for the sinner but also for the saint. The law is your guide to maintaining a good conscience before both God and man. The law is your tool to ensure that when the world looks at you, there is nothing that they can see that hinders your testimony or the power of your faith. You should live your life pleasing to the Lord. God is placing people in your life that you can touch. However, you have a duty to God to follow HIS law so that your faith is uncompromised and so that when the world looks at you they do not see anything that causes them to reject the truth that you demonstrate.
Judges 16:28 And Samson called unto the Lord, and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.
Samson had lost his strength and was now a prisoner of those whom he was suppose to destroy. The Philistines for 20 years lived in fear of Samson but now they enjoyed mocking him. It was at one of there feast days when 3,000 men and women were in one building a feast that they called for Samson. The lad who led Samson helped him find the support pillars. Once Samson found the pillars, he asked God to give him strength one more time and he bowed himself bringing down the pillars and the entire house.
Samson had violated God�s commandment for his life and he lost his gift from God that enabled him to do the will of God. Samson saw and lusted after Philistine women and he destroyed the ministry God had for him. Samson not only lost his strength but God allowed the enemy to pluck out the eyes also. Samson no longer had his strength nor his eyesight and he was just betrayed by the person whom he loved.
Samson had sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. God punished Samson for this sin. However, by faith, Samson believed that God would show him mercy one last time and give him the gift of strength so that Samson could do that which he was given strength to do, destroy the enemies of the Lord. Samson understood God�s purpose for his life and while Samson knew that he could no longer fulfill the purpose of judging Israel, Samson had boldness and asked the Lord to return and give him the strength so that he could fulfill part of his purpose.
Samson was the strongest man in the Bible yet he sinned and fell short of God�s purpose for his life. Just because you are not the strongest person that ever lived, it does not mean that you are immune from Satan�s attempts to cause you to sin and violate God�s purpose for your life. The higher your purpose, the more Satan would like to make an example of you to destroy your ministry for God. When you sin and fall short of the glory of God, you must repent. God is just and there are consequences to your sin. This means that HE must punish you for your willful violations of HIS perfect law.
Nonetheless, just because God has punished you for your willful violations of HIS perfect law, do not hide and assume that God no longer has any use for you. Instead, demonstrate your faith like Samson who looked for a opportunity for God to use him again. Your sin may result in a diminishing of your ministry, but do not allow Satan to win the last battle by your giving up on God using you at all. God still has work for you to do.
Satan will try to remind you of your willful violations and try to convince you that God no longer desires to use you. However, you must remember that the blood of Christ completely washes away your sin. You have been forgiven and it is time for you to spend time seeking the Lord and find ways that you can use your present situation to do God�s will. If Samson had not sinned, he would not have been in the position to destroy 3,000 Philistines. Samson killed more Philistines after his sin then 20 years prior to his sin. God can still use you to do great things for HIM. You too can still be used of God no matter what your sin was. God will forgive, have faith and ask HIM to use you for HIS glory.
Matthew 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, and mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
Jesus is condemning the scribes and the Pharisees because they obsessed over ensuring that everything that came into their possession was tithed upon that they failed to fulfill other portions of the law including judgment, mercy and faith. Jesus taught that if one breaks the law in one point, he is guilty of breaking the whole law. You cannot be pardon from one sin just because you have mastered one area of the law. God expects and demands from you that you keep the whole law. This means you cannot pick and choose which laws you will obey and which laws are not applicable to you.
