Bible Study on Acts 15, verses 6 to 21, rules for the Gentile believers

 

Acts 15:6 ¶  And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter. 7  And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. 8  And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; 9  And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 10  Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11  But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they. 12  Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them. 13  And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me: 14  Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. 15  And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, 16  After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: 17  That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. 18  Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. 19  Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: 20  But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. 21  For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.

 

Interestingly, Peter gives us the order of salvation which can be very confusing by events earlier in Acts as I previously noted. The Gentiles hear the word and believe and then God gives them the Holy Ghost. There is no mention made of baptism as a requirement for salvation. Of course, here Peter claims that he is the minister to the Gentiles. Paul also says this.

 

Romans 15:16  That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.

 

Galatians 2:7  But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter; 8  (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:)

 

And while Peter did experience a notable conversion of the Roman in Acts 10 he will go on to minister to the Jews in the ancient city of Babylon where Jews were plentiful.

 

1Peter 5:13  The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son.

 

It is here that the Babylonian Talmud, the central text of Rabbinic Judaism, will come from around 200AD. It is a combination of writings and oral law that sets the stage for and is the foundation of Judaism from the 6^th century AD onwards.

 

Verse 9 shows the error of thinking that the Jews are saved differently than the Gentiles. There is no difference between us now.

 

Peter recommends a light load be placed on the Gentiles even though Paul will accuse him of hypocrisy later.

 

Galatians 2:11 ¶  But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. 12  For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. 13  And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. 14  But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of  the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? 15  We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, 16  Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

 

From the last two passages we can see how both Paul and Peter came to a greater understanding of the difference between the Jew before Christ and the Jew and Gentile after Christ.  

 

Contrast verse 10 regarding the weight of the law with Christ’s promise of the lightness of the burden we bear because of Him.

 

Matthew 11:29  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

 

If your Christian faith is an immense burden on you filling you with anger, bitterness, bigotry, hatred both of yourself and others, and a fear of never measuring up then it is not of Christ.

 

Verse 11 says that by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we are saved. Paul notes elsewhere.

 

Ephesians 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.

 

Note in verse 14 James calls Simon Peter Simeon. Strong’s says the Greek version of the name Simeon is derived from Simon.

 

Verse 16 refers to the following from a different context;

 

Amos 9:11 ¶  In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:

 

With the thought in verse 17 being interesting as a residue is what is left over. So consider the end times as well in this passage. But there are several verses that contain a similar thought about the Gentiles seeking after the Lord. Here is an example. Look for others.

 

Psalm 22:27  All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.

 

However, note the figurative message in this passage likening the gospel message to rebuilding the tabernacle of David, curious enough as David did not build the temple and there was a temple finished by Herod that stood at that time. So what can you and I take from this? There is a different kind of temple being taught here, a true temple of God within the heart of the believer.

 

1Corinthians 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

 

Contrast that with Paul speaking of a physical temple in 2Thessalonians 2:4 which will exist at the end of history long after the one he knew was destroyed by the Romans and the physical temple in Revelation, chapter 11. This might lead Evangelical expositors to say that the reference here in Acts 15:16 is a prophecy of the temple to come, a millennial prophecy, but I don’t believe the text warrants that as easily as it does make reference our temple of the spirit being the rebuilt tabernacle of David.

 

As Paul’s writings make it clear that there will be another physical temple and also that our spirit is God’s temple now we can easily see that both interpretations are true based on their context. There will be another physical temple just as there already is a spiritual temple within the believer.

 

Bible Study on Isaiah 5, verses 18 to 30, Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil

 

Isaiah 5:18 ¶  Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope: 19  That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it! 20  Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! 21  Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! 22  Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink: 23  Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him! 24  Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. 25  Therefore is the anger of the LORD kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. 26  And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly: 27  None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken: 28  Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses’ hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind: 29  Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it. 30  And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.

 

Continuing with his condemnation, Isaiah writes of the wicked pulling their burden of sin with ropes of vanity, their own self-presumption. It is deliberate, what they are doing, and not by accident. The picture is of someone pulling a cart filled with their iniquity which they have willingly placed in it. It is their own. They strain and pull as fast as they can and defy the God of Israel to judge them. They not only are perverse themselves but want to corrupt the righteous.

 

Romans 1:32  Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

 

Because they hold God in contempt, He will judge them and destroy them. He will use other nations, Israel’s enemies, to do this work of judgment. It will be awful and they will be unstoppable.

 

Drunks and reprobates they are. They also call good evil and evil good and are self-righteous in their self-conceit, much like the present day supporter of communism, collectivism in Western nations who regards suicidal empathy as a virtue and care nothing for what the God who created them has ordained. All of their views of right and wrong are purely subjective and all ethics are situational. God is not a part of their decisions.

 

Malachi 2:17  Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?

 

2Peter 2:18  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.

2Kings 13, brief comments

 

2Kings 13:1 ¶  In the three and twentieth year of Joash the son of Ahaziah king of Judah Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned seventeen years. 2  And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom. 3  And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael, all their days. 4  And Jehoahaz besought the LORD, and the LORD hearkened unto him: for he saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of Syria oppressed them. 5  (And the LORD gave Israel a saviour, so that they went out from under the hand of the Syrians: and the children of Israel dwelt in their tents, as beforetime. 6  Nevertheless they departed not from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel sin, but walked therein: and there remained the grove also in Samaria.) 7  Neither did he leave of the people to Jehoahaz but fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen; for the king of Syria had destroyed them, and had made them like the dust by threshing. 8  Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, and all that he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 9  And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers; and they buried him in Samaria: and Joash his son reigned in his stead.

 

Jehu’s son, Jehoahaz, begins to reign over Israel from Samaria. He was an evil king who continued the practices of Jeroboam in causing Israel to commit idolatry. As a result God allowed King Hazael of Syria through his son, Benhadad, to oppress and control them.

 

Jehoahaz pleaded for God’s deliverance and God sent them a saviour to deliver them from the Syrians giving Israel peace for a time. We’ll see in verse 25 that this saviour was Jehoahaz’s son, Jehoash aka Joash. But they did not stop their sins against God. God had reduced Jehoahaz’s strength to an amount so negligible that he was practically defenseless against his enemies.

 

2Kings 13:10 ¶  In the thirty and seventh year of Joash king of Judah began Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned sixteen years. 11  And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD; he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin: but he walked therein. 12  And the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, and his might wherewith he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 13  And Joash slept with his fathers; and Jeroboam sat upon his throne: and Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. 14  Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. 15  And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows. 16  And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it: and Elisha put his hands upon the king’s hands. 17  And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the LORD’S deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them. 18  And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed. 19  And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.

 

Jehoash/Joash, King of Israel, was a wicked king. He fought against Amaziah, King of Judah. We’ll discuss that in the comments on 2Chronicles 25.

 

What is important here is that Elisha is going to die and Joash’s lack of resolve is revealed in this incident and the incompleteness and insufficiency of his success against the King of Syria is foretold.

 

Elisha is sick and in spite of him being God’s man, His prophet, Elisha is going to go the way all of us will go.

 

2Kings 13:20 ¶  And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year. 21  And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet. 22  But Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. 23  And the LORD was gracious unto them, and had compassion on them, and had respect unto them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither cast he them from his presence as yet. 24  So Hazael king of Syria died; and Benhadad his son reigned in his stead. 25  And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again out of the hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael the cities, which he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz his father by war. Three times did Joash beat him, and recovered the cities of Israel.

 

It is an interesting miracle here where God allows a man being buried to be resurrected from the dead even though he is probably not a Jew but a Moabite. This then is clearly God setting an example of blessing the bones of Elisha to further underscore his anointing as God’s man for future generations and readers to see how important Elisha was. Joash did defeat the Syrians three times as per the number of arrows he shot forth under Elisha’s direction. He could have been more victorious if he had had it in him to do so.

Bible Study on Acts 15, verses 1 to 5, a conflict in the early church

 

Acts 15:1 ¶  And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. 2  When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question. 3  And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren. 4  And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them. 5  But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.

 

If you have difficulty understanding why these Judean Christians were trying to put the Gentiles under the Law then compare it to a preacher trying to put his congregation back under the Law with himself as a kind of modern-day Moses that must be obeyed without question if one is to obey God. It happens all the time, especially in Baptist Fundamentalism.

 

Paul is not going to tolerate this in his teaching;

 

Galatians 5:1 ¶  Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. 2  Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. 3  For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. 4  Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

 

Which means that Paul must have learned something from the time between the following passage to the writing of the letter to the Galatians.

 

Acts 16: 1 ¶  Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek: 2  Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium.3  Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek.

 

Verse 5 goes to show us that the early predominantly Jewish church still contained the various sects of the Jewish religion. So, there was a lot of confusion to be sorted out. This may be why the famous TV preacher in Texas preached that Jews don’t get saved the way Gentiles do, which is, of course, a heresy and a lie.

 

Phenice here is that province of Syria that used to be Phoenicia and will later be Lebanon but elsewhere refers to a haven of Crete.

 

Bible Study on Exodus 20, verses 12 to 17, the Ten Commandments, part 3

 

Exodus 20:12 ¶  Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. 13  Thou shalt not kill. 14  Thou shalt not commit adultery. 15  Thou shalt not steal. 16  Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. 17  Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

Paul reinforces these commandments again for the Christian.

Romans 13:8  Owe no man any thing, but to love one another; for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. 9  For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 10  Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

The commandment to honor one’s father and mother is interestingly brought up through Paul by the Holy Spirit in the context of family relations.

Ephesians 6:1 ¶  Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. 2  Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) 3  That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. 4  And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Jesus defined verse 13 and clarified it for us showing it to be a reference to killing an innocent person.

Matthew 19:18  He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,

This is not a commandment against defending yourself or an innocent third-party from attack.

Luke 22:35 And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing. 36  Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. 37  For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end. 38  And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, It is enough.

Adultery, a type of fornication where the marriage vows are broken is very serious to God. Jesus, in the following passage insists that you have committed adultery when you desire to seek after someone other than your spouse, long before any physical action is committed. It would be better if you were to blind or cripple yourself rather than do such a thing.

Matthew 5:27 ¶  Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28  But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. 29  And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 30  And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 31  It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: 32  But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced  committeth adultery. [This sentence should be interpreted as shall marry her that is divorced for any other reason just as James 1:13 should be interpreted with evil at the end of it because the context calls for that understanding and it is not necessary to add the words in the text.]

Of course, sermons can be made about how adultery symbolizes the Hebrew people and the individual Christian holding something other than God in high esteem.

Theft undermines the very basis on which security within any civilization rests; the right of property. Outside of a Buddhist monk and his begging bowl I doubt there is any culture that doesn’t condemn stealing from someone. There will be many regulations regarding theft in the Law explained in more detail. For examples, see Leviticus, chapters 6 and 19.

Bearing false witness, lying to accuse someone falsely, is not only lying but is the most malicious gossip and the most unjust legal proceeding. God called His people not to lie to one another, true.

Leviticus 19:11 ¶  Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.

But, lying to accuse someone falsely played an important part in the actions that resulted in Christ’s crucifixion for our sins.

Matthew 26:57 ¶  And they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. 58  But Peter followed him afar off unto the high priest’s palace, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end. 59  Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death; 60  But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses, 61  And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.

We like to call something gossip when someone tells something true about us when we are not present but the gossip referred to in the Bible is malicious and false.

Bible Study on Acts 14, verses 19-28, part 2, the Kingdom of God

 

 Luke 17:20 ¶  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

 

One cannot see this kingdom of God inside of us unless one is born again. Note this very important passage in John’s gospel.

 

John 3:1 ¶  There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 2  The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. 3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4  Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? 5  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water [natural birth, see verse 4 for context] and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh [natural birth; see verse 4]; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8  The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. 9  Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? 10  Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? 11  Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. 12  If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? 13  And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. 14  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20  For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21  But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

 

What is the kingdom of God, though?

 

Romans 14:17  For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

 

And these are not just mere words alone without substance.

 

1Corinthians 4:20  For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.

 

In the kingdom of God and kingdom of Heaven parables there are warnings given about counterfeits and counterfeit faith, and about people with malicious intent deceiving and doing harm. They will be dealt with in God’s own time as the parable of the tares and the wheat and the parable of the woman leavening three measures of meal show. There is a parable about a sower and the word as seed and it is shown how false conversions and shallow conversions can happen and what their result is. I remarked on those in the comments on the gospels.

 

But, there Paul said in Romans in the text itself that the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost, the very mind of God, indwelling the believer. The verse-by-verse comparisons show that the kingdom of God and of Heaven are synonyms with the kingdom of Heaven used only by Matthew who also uses the kingdom of God so we are not talking about a political rule with armies and fortresses and weapons of carnal war but spiritual in nature having to do with the heart and mind.

 

As Paul said;

 

2Corinthians 10:3  For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:

4  (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

6  And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

Bible Study on Exodus 20, verses 1 to 11, the Ten Commandments, part 2

 

Then, we come to the Sabbath Day, a blessing and a privilege that God granted men and women of a guarantee of one day off from work every week. This is to be a day of no work, not Mom cooking a meal for family and friends who visit or Dad mowing the yard, but no work. Period.

This was important enough to God to call for the death penalty if it was disobeyed.

Exodus 35:2  Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death. 3  Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day.

The Ten Commandments are God’s basic standard. These first three are towards God. Obeying God’s commandments were the external evidence that a Hebrew loved God.

Deuteronomy 6:4 ¶  Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5  And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6  And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7  And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8  And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9  And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

Which Jesus reinforced;

Matthew 22:37  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38  This is the first and great commandment.

The Hebrew, the Israelite, the Jew had proof of their love for their Creator that flowed from their heart to their outward behavior. The Christian has evidence because of something that God Himself puts in his or her heart by the mechanism of the Holy Spirit. This is the proof that the Spirit resides in the Christian.

Galatians 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24  And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

God promised the Jews back in the Old Testament that this would happen.

Ezekiel 11:17  Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. 18  And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence. 19  And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: 20  That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 21  But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord GOD.

And, in that great tribulation at the end of history those who belong to God will be obvious by their faithfulness to God’s commandments.

Revelation 14:12  Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

This is the beginning of the civil and religious standard of laws given to the physical, temporal Hebrew people to live by, manage their affairs by, and to run their government by. God Himself was to be all three branches of government for them; leading, creating laws, and judging.

Isaiah 33:22  For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us.

The Founders of the American government were primarily influenced by The Enlightenment at their very uppermost levels although there were many evangelical Christians in the second tier and below. The Enlightenment was a time of a rejection of political religion and it was a time of  worship of man’s reason, and humanism with so-called great thinkers like Voltaire and Locke and Thomas Paine leading the charge, sometimes religious, sometimes atheists. The Enlightenment political philosopher that Founders like James Madison, the so-called ‘Father of the Constitution,’ leaned on for the three branches of government was Montesquieu. You can look but I doubt you will find, in the debates over the Constitution, any reference to the verse in Isaiah as a reason for our three branches of government. I have read two volumes of those debates and one collection of Madison’s letters and there is no reference to the verse in Isaiah. I will be very happy if you prove me wrong with a primary source like a letter or a transcript of a debate. In any event, substituting the words, “our Republican government,” for the LORD is blasphemy so please don’t do it.

The Ten Commandments are a way to see the mind of God, to understand His efforts to draw mankind, or at least those who will come, to Him. Christian culture reveres these commandments as standards to live by and there is no reason to believe that God’s standards have changed. You and your fellow citizens would do well to follow the Ten Commandments and adopt God’s standard as your own. Your life would be less filled with regret and sorrow at the end if you did. However, WE are not justified by the Law before God but by Christ’s resurrection and our belief and faith in it.

Galatians 3:22  But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. 23  But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 24  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. 26  For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

Bible Study on Acts 14, verses 19 to 28, Paul survives a stoning

 

Acts 14:19 ¶  And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. 20  Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe. 21  And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, 22  Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. 23  And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed. 24  And after they had passed throughout Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia. 25  And when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down into Attalia: 26  And thence sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled. 27  And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles. 28  And there they abode long time with the disciples.

 

Preachers will often say that Paul’s being near death by stoning or having died and been brought back was the occasion for his remarks in;

 

2Corinthians 12:1 ¶  It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2  I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. 3  And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) 4  How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

 

This event did not keep Paul from returning to Lystra, Iconium, & Antioch of Pisidia. As I noted before these were cities of Greek culture in Western Asia Minor, the country of Turkey today. We saw, though, that being Roman by citizenship they used Roman names for gods like Jupiter instead of Zeus and Mercurius instead of Hermes. We’ll see Ephesians use the Roman goddess Diana instead of Artemis. Diana is the Roman version of Artemis. From there they went to Pamphylia, preaching in Perga, and then to Attalia, on the coast. From there they sailed to Antioch. Remember that Seleucia was Antioch’s seaport, about 16 miles from it. This is the Antioch in today’s extreme Southern Turkey where Christians were first called so, south and east of Pisidian Antioch mentioned earlier. There they rehearsed, relayed all that God had done with them.

 

Verse 22 presents an important question of doctrine we should take the time to consider. We enter the kingdom of God through much tribulation? You mean, it is not simply a matter of 1-2-3 repeat-after-me prayer?

 

First, what is the kingdom of God? To lay the groundwork we should note that only Matthew uses both the phrases kingdom of God and kingdom of Heaven. Indeed, Biblically speaking they are synonymous. A difference is not necessary to prove the millennial reign of Christ or Israel’s importance as there are many verses that declare those doctrines emphatically. But, with regard to the kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God compare the following verses. First, these two verses link both as synonyms.

 

Matthew 19:23 ¶  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. 24  And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

 

Now, compare these verses;

Matthew 11:11  Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12  And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.

 

With;

Luke 7:28  For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

…then…

Matthew 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

 

With;

Mark 4:10  And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable. 11  And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:

 

And…

Matthew 13:31  Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: 32  Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.

 

With…

 

Mark 4:30  And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? 31  It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth: 32  But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.

  

Luke 13:18 ¶  Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it? 19  It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it.

 

And…

 

Matthew 13:33  Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

 

With…

 

Luke 13:20  And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God? 21  It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

 

And…

 

Matthew 18:3  And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 4  Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

 

With…

 

Mark 10:14  But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. 15  Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.

 

Luke 18:16  But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. 17  Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.

 

And…

 

Matthew 4:12 ¶  Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;…17  From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

 

With…

 

Mark 1:14 ¶  Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15  And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

 

And…

 

Matthew 5:3 ¶  Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 

With…

 

Luke 6:20 ¶  And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.

 

Now, you and I have to note that the kingdom of God and of Heaven is an invisible kingdom, not possessing armies and weapons of war, buildings or parliaments and congresses.