I am, by request, doing a study in Romans with the guys and I wanted you to see this one in particular because it talks about study methods.

 On August 11, 2019, Pastor Jon's sermon was:

"A couple of things I wished I had known about reading the Bible."

I am quite sure my Pastor's learning and understanding came at great expense in theology school. The irony is, I already knew these things. I learned them in the school of hard knocks. At this point, I have been seriously studying and looking at scripture for twelve years. In the process of doing that, I wrote about what I saw, tried to get an accurate picture of who God and Jesus are, and asked God a lot of hard questions, and they were all answered.

A friend of mine asked me how do you study?

What Pastor Jon delivered that Sunday morning was a clearly worded, concise technique for study. So I included that information along with my overview of the first chapter of Romans.

By the way, I realize that I could be writing to trained theology students and those who may never pick up a Bible, so I try to keep it intelligent and yet simple.

Back to my former Pastor Jon's notes.

1. The Bible was written for us, not to us.

   This is a significant statement, as it moves scripture out of the hallowed halls of religion and into our hands. It removes the sterility that we have imposed on scripture, and it is a unique perspective from which to start any Bible study, making scripture very personal.

2. The meaning of the text is embedded in its original, historical context.

   So the question you should ask next is, what does that look like for us today?

   Perhaps at this point, I should tell you that the Pastor's overall theme was, understanding the writings of the Apostle Paul, based on his letter to Philemon. In the study on Romans - that I have included, I cover, to some degree, the historical context of the Book of Romans. A massive piece of evidence comes from Romans 1:1, where Paul begins his typical introduction. Here he says, I Paul, a slave of Jesus Christ. Again, I cover this in the study below.

   This thought process also works exceptionally well when studying the book of Romans.

3. The Bible is a context-rich form of communication.

   What does that mean? It means that everything you read in scripture, especially in the New Testament, has an initiating question or point of conversation. For example, the Revelation is filled with context - (It is a book written to Jews, using terminology that would have been common to them, and yet it applies primarily to us today. The imagery is nothing new, although, we, for some reason, struggle with multi-headed beasts.)

   Context is what links us back to the original thought and intent.

   Chuck Missler used to say, “it is an integrated, coded, message system.” That means that the messages in the scripture, though thousands of years apart, are integrally linked by God into one all-encompassing picture, in which God wins.

Pastor Jon's tips: (Every week, he had tips. These are designed to give you a practical way to put the sermon into action.)

• Get a Bible reading plan – like the You Version app.

  In reality, this means being deliberate in your reading. If necessary, force yourself to invest time daily.

• Dig into the Bible passages that make your radar go off, and then dig a little deeper.

  I have a friend who seems to bounce back and forth in scripture; I understand why he does it, but when he asks questions, they are combinations of various thoughts and contexts, and sadly, he is often confused. The moral to this story is to get focused.

  No one is telling you to ignore boring passages; however, when you find a scripture that speaks to you, dismantle the verse; look at the Hebrew or Greek definitions of the simplest of words in a concordance, and find their meanings. Then, look for other comparative examples of the same thing.

  A tip - Since much of what we read is prophetic, you need to understand that prophecy is not a one-time event to the Jewish mindset. The Jews looked for and found acceptance in the patterns and repetition; therefore, when reading something prophetic, look for the parallels and previous examples. The Books of Daniel and Revelation are good examples of such similarities.

• Read for transformation.

  Try to understand the author's original intent; this will be necessary for us to apply the text to our lives today.
  As the Pastor spoke about these things, I could not help but think about two things.

  1. It required an expensive school to teach him these methods.

  2. I developed these same methods through reading and writing.

  
  

I charge you in the presence of God. 1 Timothy 6:13.

 If you are a student of the Bible, then you know that we are on the brink of the church being snatched out of here and God's wrath is to be poured out upon the earth. The message, that I hear coming out the mouths of those who feel they are the global elite, is that they must reduce the population and control those who are left upon the earth, in a fashion that best suits the lifestyle they want to live.

The combination of God's judgment and the cruelty of humanity will lead to a slaughter of those who choose to follow Christ during this time frame, and these are considered to be the martyred saints. (For those who think that humanity can be peaceful and fun, think again. At the point at which God had decided to destroy every living thing on earth, this is what He saw.

Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Genesis 6:5 NASB)

Perhaps the NASB does not convince you of the depravity of the human heart, maybe the CEV translation might.

The LORD saw how bad the people on earth were and that everything they thought and planned was evil. (Genesis 6:5 CEV)

As John looks into heaven for the second time, he sees martyred saints; while the number was extremely large the first time, it is uncountable the second time. It is the death of these “saints,” in record numbers, that leads Christ to say, “the tribulation will be so great.” I will show you this in scripture but want you to pay attention to the wording and how it changes across translations. I will ask for you, as the Holy Spirit told me that several of you will say, why is that important?

The NASB seems to be the common translation, as far too many of us take those two words and apply them to the time of wrath.

"For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. "Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short. (Matthew 24:21-22 NASB)

The word great is the Greek word megas. For many of us, we are familiar with some store having a “mega sale”. The assumption is that their sale is bigger and better than anyone else's. The simple explanation that the Holy Spirit is trying to make, is that this is exceedingly great.

It would be easy to say, we have never seen anything like this, and though some fool may have told you that there was no holocaust, there was. Jewish death tolls reached 6 million; Soviet civilian death tolls reached 7 million; Soviet prisoners of war were around 3 million; non-Jewish Polish civilians hit around 1.8 million, and more than 700,000 people were killed in the death camps for being dissidents, activists, criminals, homosexuals, Jehovah witnesses, Gypsies, Serbians, and people with disabilities. To add to the graphic nature of these numbers, the people of Warsaw, said that it rained ashes daily. There is no doubt that the death toll, primarily of those who follow after Christ, during this time of wrath, will exceed those numbers that the death camps generated.

Tribulation is the Greek word thlipsis and – get this, means pressure, affliction, burdens persecution, troubles, and tribulation.

Dear Lord, there is not a day that goes by that I don't experience some form of pressure or affliction. It makes me grateful that I was born in America, and up to March of 2020, it was a sane place to live without the threat of violence, as some of you have.

I light of my introduction above, Paul has some sound words for us all.

I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, (1Timothy 6:13-14 NASB)

End, page one.

Look at how the ESV expresses verse 13.

1 Timothy 6:13 ESV I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession,

Charge, as we see in the NASB, is the Greek word paraggello. It not only means to charge (as in a legal pleading), but it also carries the connotations of transmitting a message, enjoin (to forbid or prohibit), declare, or command.

Paul may well be saying to Timothy, I command you. Wow, that seems like a harsh way of speaking to someone who could easily be seen as a volunteer. Maybe that's our problem, we merely see ourselves as volunteers, who have the option of walking away at any time.

But there is something I think we need to consider.

Skimming through the Book of Acts leaves you with the impression that everything happened in fifteen-minute increments over a short period of time, and that was not the case. Most of these events occurred over seasons and years.

How would you possibly build the strong bonds that Paul had with the varying bands of new believers he established, in just a few short weeks?

These bonds, built over an extended period of time, allowed Paul to feel that he could speak boldly into their lives, just as we see him doing with Timothy, a young man that may well be in his early thirties by this point.

Some people's words apparently no longer have any value, but there was a time when we used to have people place their hand upon a Bible and swear to tell the truth; even though they do that, they still lie. Paul tells Timothy, I am writing this to you with God looking on, holding you to what I say. I am even calling upon the witness of Christ Jesus, who beaten and bloodied by Jewish and then Roman soldiers, and yet, still made a good confession before Pilate.

Now here is the punch line. I charge you, that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of Jesus Christ. That appearing, was for them, a long way off, but they lived as though it was coming any minute. On that note, I recently listened to Chelsi Bedell, a Christian vlogger, talk about a meeting that she went to with her husband. There, Benny Hinn was introduced to the audience. This is the same Benny Hinn that cheated on the wife; and, it is the same Benny Hinn who got wealthy from the ministry. After years of this showmanship, he denounced the faith movement that was so lucrative to him. On that stage that evening, Benny Hinn said, coming to Jesus is the easy part, staying close to Jesus is the hard part. Chelsi said when I heard this I knew it was wrong and that he was a false teacher. Think about Benny Hinn and the path he put himself on, it only seems logical that he would say, this road we are on is hard, simply because he could not leave the monetary wealth and was therefore sucked into cheating on his wife.

What did Jesus say?

Take my yoke upon you, for it is easy and my burden is light. I can tell you that Benny struggled, but his struggle wasn't with God, it was with his own desires, for money and lust.

Once again, Paul tells Timothy, you keep the commandment without reproach.

Well, that's great, but how do you do that?

The answer had already been given in verses 11 and 12, where it says:

But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. (1 Timothy 6:11-12 NASB)

End, page two.

You keep the commandment, without reproach by:

• Fleeing from these things.
• Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.
• Fight the good fight of faith.
• And. take hold of the eternal life to which you were called.

Paul told Timothy, in verse 14, that he keep the commandment without stain or reproach.

Stain may be best explained through the NLT translation, when it says, “Then no one can find fault with you.”

Reproach is the Greek word anepilēptos. It only occurs three times in the New Testament and all of them occur in 1 Timothy. It is best defined as irreproachable and means free from blame; upright, and innocent.

While God somehow sees us in this manner, it is hard to imagine how as we know the stumbles we make. But God looks through the lens of Jesus on the cross, where everyone was forgiven of sin and redeemed. Sin is that thing that is a part of us, thanks to Adam. Since that time we have been broken from inception.

Obviously, we needed help.

I have gritted my teeth and sweated as I tried to resist sin, and yet still failed - as far as I was concerned. So there is something here that keeps trying to tell me that staying above reproach is an achievable thing. I will not ask Benny Hinn how to stay above reproach, as he has proven, that he too, is merely a broken man; as we all are.

I want to add one more thing before I end this and move on to the next study.

I put myself in recovery because I was, and still am, an angry man. Before you get all judgmental hold on a minute and pay attention. In recovery I learned, that because of our brokenness we will never be free from our addictions; as I pointed out, mine is anger.

Many will say, doesn't this life in Christ make us free from “everything” that bound us?

Having known the Lord for many years, and learned that He is faithful, I know that freedom is His heart toward all of us. He has done everything necessary to make that happen. You might remember that Paul whined about his thorn in the flesh – we, religious zealots, turn that thorn into a variety of things. I happen to think that Paul's thorn was anger, just like mine. God's response to Paul, was that His grace was sufficient. Translation, I have given you everything you need to be free. Alright, here comes the deep wisdom. An alcoholic, or an angry man, has to realize that while they walk this earth (before the rapture) they are dependent upon God's grace and the investment that we have made in our relationship with Christ. What is that investment, since we have nothing to give but our lives? It is exactly that, we, knowing that we are incapable of managing our own lives, turn them over – daily, to the grace and mercy of the living God, Christ Jesus. In doing this (I got this from a television show I watch,) I have to make a conscious decision to choose wisdom. Is what I am contemplating worth the pain and harm I am going to do myself and those around me? I, like so many others, have been choosing wisely. Note: I am not asking your opinion, but God's. His opinion is written in His Word. You should consider reading it if you aren't already.

I charge you in the presence of God. 1 Timothy 6:13.

If you are a student of the Bible, then you know that we are on the brink of the church being snatched out of here and God's wrath is about to be poured out upon the earth. The message, that I hear coming out the mouths of those who feel they are the global elite, is that they must reduce the population and control those who are left upon the earth, in a fashion that best suits the lifestyle they want to live.

The combination of God's judgment and the cruelty of humanity will lead to a slaughter of those who choose to follow Christ during this time frame, and these are considered to be the martyred saints. (For those who think that humanity can be peaceful and fun, think again. At the point at which God had decided to destroy every living thing on earth, this is what He saw.

Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Genesis 6:5 NASB)

Perhaps the NASB does not convince you of the depravity of the human heart, maybe the CEV translation might.

The LORD saw how bad the people on earth were and that everything they thought and planned was evil. (Genesis 6:5 CEV)

As John looks into heaven for the second time, he sees martyred saints; while the number was remarkably large the first time, it is uncountable the second time. It is the death of these “saints,” in record numbers, that leads Christ to say, “the tribulation will be so great.” I will show you this in scripture but want you to pay attention to the wording and how it changes across translations. I will ask for you, as the Holy Spirit told me that several of you will say, why is that important?

The NASB seems to be the common translation, as far too many of us take those two words and apply them to the time of wrath.

"For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. "Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short. (Matthew 24:21-22 NASB)

The word great is the Greek word megas. For many of us, we are familiar with some store having a “mega sale”. The assumption is that their sale is bigger and better than anyone else's. The simple explanation that the Holy Spirit is trying to make, is that this time, in which some megalomaniac rules the earth, the death toll will be exceedingly great.

It would easy to say, we have never seen anything like this, and though some fool may have told you that there was no holocaust, there was. Jewish death tolls reached 6 million; Soviet civilian death tolls reached 7 million; Soviet prisoners of war were around 3 million; non-Jewish Polish civilians hit around 1.8 million, and more than 700,000 people were killed in the death camps for being dissidents, activists, criminals, homosexuals, Jehovah witnesses, Gypsies, Serbians, and people with disabilities. To add to the graphic nature of these numbers, the people of Warsaw said that it rained ashes daily. There is no doubt that the death toll, primarily of those who follow after Christ, during this time of wrath, will exceed those numbers that the death camps generated.

Tribulation is the Greek word thlipsis and – get this, means pressure, affliction, burdens persecution, troubles, and tribulation.

Dear Lord, there is not a day that goes by that I don't experience some form of pressure or affliction. It makes me grateful that I was born in America, and up to March of 2020, it was a sane place to live without the threat of violence, as some of you have.

I light of my introduction above, Paul has some sound words for us all.

I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, (1Ti_6:13-14 NASB)

End, page one.

Look at how the ESV expresses verse 13.

1 Timothy 6:13 ESV I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession,

Charge, as we see in the NASB, is the Greek word paraggello. It not only means to charge (as in a legal pleading), but it also carries the connotations of transmitting a message, declare, or command.

Paul may well be saying to Timothy, I command you. Wow, that seems like a harsh way of speaking to someone who could easily be seen as a volunteer. Maybe that's our problem, we merely see ourselves as volunteers, who have the option of walking away at any time.

But there is something I think we need to consider.

Skimming through the Book of Acts leaves you with the impression that everything happened in fifteen-minute increments over a short period of time, and that was not the case. Most of these events occurred over seasons and years.

How would you possibly build the strong bonds that Paul had with the varying bands of new believers he established, in just a few short weeks?

These bonds, built over an extended period of time, allowed Paul to feel that he could speak boldly into their lives, just as we see him doing with Timothy, a young man that may well be in his early thirties by this point.

Some people's words apparently no longer have any value, but there was a time when we used to have people place their hand upon a Bible and swear to tell the truth; even though they do that, they still lie. Paul tells Timothy, I am writing this to you with God looking on, holding you to what I say. I am even calling upon the witness of Christ Jesus, who beaten and bloodied by Jewish and then Roman soldiers, and yet, still made a good confession before Pilate.

Now here is the punch line. I charge you, that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of Jesus Christ. That appearing, was for them, a long way off, but they lived as though it was coming any minute. On that note, I recently listened to Chelsi Bedell, a Christian vlogger, talk about a meeting that she went to with her husband. There, Benny Hinn was introduced to the audience. This is the same Benny Hinn that cheated on the wife; and, it is the same Benny Hinn who got wealthy from the ministry. After years of this showmanship, he denounced the faith movement that was so lucrative to him. On that stage that evening, Benny Hinn said, coming to Jesus is the easy part, staying close to Jesus is the hard part. Chelsi said when I heard this I knew it was wrong and that he was a false teacher. Think about Benny and the path he put himself on, it only seems logical that he would say, this road we are on is hard, simply because he could not leave the monetary wealth and was therefore sucked into cheating on his wife.

What did Jesus say?

Take my yoke upon you, for it, is easy and my burden is light. I can tell you that Benny struggled, but his struggle wasn't with God, it was with his own desires, for money and lust.

Once again, Paul tells Timothy, you keep the commandment without reproach.

Well, that's great, but how do you do that?

The answer had already been given in verses 11 and 12, where it says:

But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. (1 Timothy 6:11-12 NASB)

End, page two.

You keep the commandment, without reproach by:

• Fleeing from these things.

  The things are the things we see in verses like 1Timothy 6:10, where it says

  "For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." (NASB)

• Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.

  The pursuit of anything else is simply fulfilling your lusts. You figure out if it is destroying you and your relationships.

• Fight the good fight of faith.

  We are not merely swinging at the clouds, we pray and we do it as if our lives and families depended upon it.

• And. take hold of the eternal life to which you were called.

  Hold are the Greek word epilambanomai and means to seize as if for help.

Paul told Timothy, in verse 14, that he should keep the commandment without stain or reproach.

Stain may be best explained through the NLT translation, when it says, “Then no one can find fault with you.”

Reproach is the Greek word anepilēptos. It only occurs three times in the New Testament and all of them occur in 1 Timothy. It is best defined as irreproachable and means free from blame; upright, and innocent.

While God somehow sees us in this manner, it is hard to imagine how as we know the stumbles we make. But God looks through the lens of Jesus on the cross, where everyone was forgiven of sin and redeemed. Sin is that thing which is a permanent part of us thanks to Adam. Since that time every human has been born broken by sin.

Obviously, we needed help.

I have gritted my teeth and sweated as I tried to resist sin, and yet still failed - as far as I was concerned. So there is something here that keeps trying to tell me that staying above reproach is an achievable thing. I will not ask Benny Hinn how to stay above reproach, as he has proven, that he too, is merely a broken man; as we all are.

I want to add one more thing before I end this and move on to the next study.

I put myself in recovery because I was, and still am, an angry man. Before you get all judgmental hold on a minute and pay attention. In recovery I learned, that because of our brokenness we will never be free from our addictions; as I pointed out, mine is anger. But many will say, doesn't this life in Christ make us free from “everything” that bound us? Having known the Lord for many years, and learned that He is faithful, I know that freedom is His heart toward all of us. He has done everything necessary to make that happen. You might remember that Paul whined about his thorn in the flesh – we, religious zealots, turn that thorn into a variety of things. I happen to think that thorn was anger, just like mine. God's response to Paul, was that His grace was sufficient. Translation, I have given you everything you need to be free. 

Alright, here comes the deep wisdom. An alcoholic, or an angry man, has to realize that while they walk this earth (before the rapture) they are dependent upon God's grace and the investment that we have made in our relationship with Christ. What is that investment, since we have nothing to give but our lives? It is exactly that, we, knowing that we are incapable of managing our own lives, turn them over – daily, to the grace and mercy of the living God, Christ Jesus. In doing this (I got this from a television show I watch,) have to make a conscious decision to choose wisdom. Is what I am contemplating worth the pain and harm I am going to do myself and those around me? I, like so many others, have been choosing wisely. Note: I am not asking your opinion, but God's. His opinion is written in His Word. You should consider reading it if you aren't already.

God, who desires all men to be saved. 1Ti 2:1-15

 How did we end 1 Timothy chapter one? With a bang as Paul points out two false teachers within the church. Here is what he said.

“Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme.”

Read what Paul said to Timothy as he described the details of what these two were doing.

• They were teaching contrary to the truth, teaching strange doctrines.
• As Eugene Peterson's message states, they were occupying themselves and others, with legends, fables, and myths;
• and, they were paying far too much attention to myths and endless genealogies, these genealogies merely give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith.

First off, genealogies seemed to be vitally important to the Jewish community, we can see an aspect of this in Matthew's gospel.

Matthew 1:1 THE BOOK of the ancestry (genealogy) of Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), the son (descendant) of David, the son (descendant) of Abraham. [Ps. 132:11; Isa. 11:1.] (AMPLIFIED Bible)

The genealogy proved the heritage of Jesus Christ. For example:

Psalms 132:11 NASB The LORD has sworn to David A truth from which He will not turn back: "Of the fruit of your body I will set upon your throne.

This was important to the Jewish community, and in scripture, we are given two different lines, both of which establish Jesus as the son of David, the son of Joseph and Mary, and therefore, the Son of God. (Yes, I took some liberties in saying it this way, and I was trying to make a point about how, for the most part, is that genealogies, for us, are pointless. Consider when Herod was told that an entourage of wise men was coming toward Jerusalem. Having learned that they were looking for a recently born king of the Jews, he called the chief priests and scribes, and asked them, is this true. Because of what Psalms 132:11, and what the other prophets had said, they affirmed that Yahshua, the Messiah, would have been born in Bethlehem, however, we will not accept this child nor worship him. Herod, on the basis of two sets of witnesses, had all the boys in the region, under the age of twelve, killed. What does this say to you about the genealogies?)

But what did Paul say?

He said that these two, Hymenaeus and Alexander, were blaspheming – God.

Based upon what we know (1 Timothy 1:3,4,) where do you see the act of blaspheming?

Let's ignore the genealogies for now, and focus on the other two points.

1. They were teaching contrary to the truth, and or, teaching strange doctrines.
2. The second thing that could be attributed to their blasphemy, would be what Eugene Peterson's message states, they were occupying themselves and others, with legends, fables, and myths.

Having said all this, through and to Timothy, how does pull the young man, and his audience, back on track?

He reiterates what truth is, and thus we start Timothy chapter two.

1 Timothy 2:1-2 NASB First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, (2) for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.

Alright, what is an entreaty?

It is the Greek word deēsis and means a petition: - prayer, request, supplication. The dictionary says it is to make an earnest petition or request.

Either I am missing something, or I just can't see the logic of using a fancy word, only to say a moment later, “and prayers, petitions.”

The New Living Translation puts it like this.

I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people.

Ask God to help them;

intercede on their behalf,

and give thanks for them.

Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.

Eugene Peterson's Message conveys 1 Timothy 2:1-2 in this manner.

The first thing I want you to do is pray.

Pray every way you know how,

for everyone you know.

This last portion of Peterson's Message is especially critical today.

Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation.

The next two verses continue the necessity and logic of prayer.

1 Timothy 2:3-4 NET. Such prayer for all is good and welcomed before God our Savior, (4) since he wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

Why?

Because he wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

1 Timothy 2:5-6 NET. For there is one God and one intermediary between God and humanity, Christ Jesus, himself human, (6) who gave himself as a ransom for all, revealing God's purpose at his appointed time.

Absorb these statements for a moment.

• God wants all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.
• There is one God.
• There is one intermediary between God and humanity, Christ Jesus.
• Jesus Christ is human.
• Jesus Christ, who gave himself as a ransom for all.
• So that Jesus Christ could reveal God's purpose at His appointed time.

Keep in mind that Paul is writing to Timothy, I suspect to encourage him. In that encouragement he says, the things above, some of the most precise statements about who He is; these statements are a definition of His nature and His character.

When I was 23 I had a dream/vision of Jesus. He laid out my entire life before me. I thought I will never forget this and so I did not write anything down. All I could remember of His being there was that I was filled with joy. Years later, after a horrendous marriage and a loss of everything, including my hope and joy, I was reading in the book of Numbers chapter 12, where it speaks about the attempted mutiny by Aaron and Miriam against Moses. God spoke to Moses and said,

Numbers 12:6 NET. The LORD said, "Hear now my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known to him in a vision; I will speak with him in a dream.

Life continued with its twists and turns. The hope was restored one day, many years later, when I went to a prophecy conference. Sitting in the audience, the speaker that night pointed at me, and said, you have gone through three destructive phases in your life. God is saying to you, the destruction is done, and nothing will impact you in that manner again. There were other things said, but I do not remember them all. What I remember is that I felt like God loved and cared about me. This prophetic word did not speak to what I saw in Numbers 12:6, and I wondered what God had in store for me as time progressed. I never wanted to be a pastor, as I could not endure the responsibility of other people's lives. It has been years, and I post almost everything I write to the internet. But about two years ago the dream came true as I became the leader of a small Bible Study group.

The point is, that God has a plan and that will be fulfilled in His timeline.

Paul, when he was Saul, may not have seen teaching direction coming, because he had been aligning himself to be a Pharisee, not a teacher of God's grace and mercy, but here it is.

1 Timothy 2:7 NET. For this I was appointed a preacher and apostle -- I am telling the truth; I am not lying -- and a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

When you read about Paul's life in the book of Acts what you see is a Jewish follower of Christ going to synagogues with every turn. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily, as Paul did what he knew best, and he preached Jesus from the Tanakh. In the course of teaching and preaching, Gentiles began to join the ranks. However, it was not until the harassment from the Jews escalated that we see Paul saying,

“It was necessary that we first preach the word of God to you Jews. But since you have rejected it and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we will offer it to the Gentiles. (Acts 13:46b NLT)

To be honest, for me, most of the rest of this chapter has become nothing less than an entanglement. Maybe what Paul preaches here is a command from God, if so then rebellion on the part of some, has over time, made it impossible to enforce.

1 Timothy 2:8-15 NLT  In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy.  (9)  And I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes.  (10)  For women who claim to be devoted to God should make themselves attractive by the good things they do.  (11)  Women should learn quietly and submissively.  (12)  I do not let women teach men or have authority over them. Let them listen quietly.  (13)  For God made Adam first, and afterward he made Eve.  (14)  And it was not Adam who was deceived by Satan. The woman was deceived, and sin was the result.  (15)  But women will be saved through childbearing, assuming they continue to live in faith, love, holiness, and modesty.

• “In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy.”

Starting with verse nine, Paul speaks to women. Now there might be a relational issue, but it is NOT often that you see women dressing so gaudy.

• “And I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes.  (10)  For women who claim to be devoted to God should make themselves attractive by the good things they do.  (11)  Women should learn quietly and submissively.

Verses twelve through fifteen are unusual, to say the least. Having been cast aside and practically made slaves, women have fought back, demanding respect. I agree a male and female lumberjack should get the same pay. But I do struggle with this idea of women teaching men. Perhaps someone like Joyce Meyers could shut me up.

• “I do not let women teach men or have authority over them. Let them listen quietly.  (13)  For God made Adam first, and afterward, he made Eve.  (14)  And it was not Adam who was deceived by Satan. The woman was deceived, and sin was the result.  (15)  But women will be saved through childbearing, assuming they continue to live in faith, love, holiness, and modesty.

Paul's reason may not seem logical to most, and, if you think about it, Adam was standing right there, listening to everything the serpent was saying to his woman. For this to make sense, you may have to go back to the creation of man.

In Genesis 1:26-30, it appears that God made man and woman, but there is more definition to come; and it is possible that this is nothing than a spiritual state, not so different from the angels. The biggest clue we have to understand this creation scenario comes from verse 27, which reads:

God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Genesis 1:27 NASB

John's gospel tells us this:

"God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." John 4:24 NASB

So the initial creation of both the male and female was a spirit, just as every aspect of the trinity.

Genesis 1:26-30 NASB Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." (27) God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (28) God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth." (29) Then God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; (30) and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food"; and it was so.

Our second introduction to creation comes from Genesis chapter two.

Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being. The LORD God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. (Genesis 2:7-8 NASB)

Here, we do not see the woman, so where is she?

Not formed yet.

And where does God put the man?

Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. The LORD God commanded the man, saying, "From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die." (Genesis 2:15-17 NASB)

God placed the man in the garden, told the man about the tree, and gave him the only set of instructions necessary.

It quickly became obvious that something was missing, companionship, so God made animals. Well, that was not the answer, and so He makes a woman.

So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. (Genesis 2:21-22 NASB)

So where was the woman when passed out instructions?

Not formed yet.

So who then told the woman not to eat from the tree in the center of the garden?

The one person, who had previously been given dominion and the command to subdue the earth and all in it, Adam.

“God blessed them: God said to them, "Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the air and every living creature that crawls on the earth."(Genesis 1:28 CJB)

To the legalistic, who read this and assume that the “them” would be the man and the woman. How quickly we forget that the earth is also filled with animals and flying things, all, like the serpent, had the ability to communicate and had no fear of man. (Oh, yes, this is a very scriptural thing.)

Subdue – Gk, kâbash meaning to tread down; to conquer, subjugate, subdue, and bring into subjection.

Whether you like the word subdue or not is irrelevant, for the man was to bring his woman into subjection, in this case, to the Word of God. The word dominion has comparable meanings.

We never see Adam dominating, in a negative manner, his woman; and, I suppose that is why Paul's directions toward women in the church are difficult to wrap the mind around.

So when we see the serpent, in chapter three, taunts the woman with “Indeed, has God said,” perhaps you can understand that the challenge/question comes more from the idea that Eve did not hear God speak the word, it came to her from Adam's mouth; and how can I truly know that he would not lie to me in order to control me.

“Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" (Genesis 3:1 NASB)

Do you see the subtlety and deceptiveness in this transaction?

These were NOT broken people as yet, and therefore Satan has to introduce possibility, probability, doubt; and for Adam, a treasonous motive – the potential that God has not given you all the power that He promised.

Because if, standing there, knowing full well that God did give those instructions, then what kind of evil went through Adam's mind?

A Standard Jewish perception? James 2:1-13.

Now we are looking at James chapter two. Here is a standard read of James 2:1.

James 2:1 NASB My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.

You should know that italicized wording is an add on, for the sake of clarity. Sometimes it adds clarity, and sometimes it detracts. Without any additional knowledge, what could I ascertain that James, through the NASB, is trying to tell me?

First, he is either trying to say that the faith I have received from Jesus Christ is glorious or, it's my faith and something worthy of bragging about. The first option is more likely. Secondly, according to the NASB, these people, and by extension, we, have been displaying an attitude, in which God sees some of us as personal favorites. Well, it's either that or we think that I have some special privilege.

But what do we know about the immediate audience James is writing to?

He tells us the answer to that when he opened this letter.

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. (James 1:1 KJV)

James is writing to Jews. I have a touch of Jew in my background, but my grandfather, who died when I was around 15 years old, had been a follower of Jesus Christ for the better portion of his life. Now, he had immediate family who maintained their Jewishness, but, to the best of my knowledge, he never did. So where could I get a real feel for how a Jew, or a Jewish convert, would feel about this “new” Christianity, in which they are integrating with Gentiles who have no concept of Jewish traditions and patterns. (Make a note of something before we move on. God has not walked away from His people, or these patterns and Holy Days – traditions.) So I did an internet search and found this.

“In view of the well-known fact that the overwhelming majority of so-called Jewish converts in Austria and Germany - there are very few of these pseudo-neo-Christians in Russia, and almost none in other parts of Europe or on this continent - enter the Church for merely selfish reasons, a Jewish wit offered the following definition of them: " A Jewish convert is one who pretends to believe in dogmas and to follow traditions which the educated Christian himself is gradually abandoning." I know this statement will be a hard blow to those pious Christian souls who contribute to the Jewish Missions; but there is consolation for the millions of genuine followers of Christ in the other fact that thousands, yea, tens of thousands, of educated and noble-minded Jews in our day, while firmly standing upon the monotheistic platform of the Synagogue, are gradually giving up the attitude of their forefathers toward the central figure of Christianity - which was a pathetic mingling of ignorance, antipathy, and fear. I can bear witness to this momentous change from my own personal experience. When I was a boy - that is, between thirty-five and forty years ago - in my little native town in Moravia, had my father or any other member of the congregation heard the name of Jesus uttered from the pulpit of our synagogue, he would have immediately left the building in indignation, and the rabbi would have been summarily dismissed. Today, however, it is not strange in many synagogues, especially in this country, to hear sermons preached eulogizing this same Jesus; and nobody, except a few Pharisaic followers of the Neo-Romantic school of Judaism, thinks in earnest of protesting against claiming - with some dogmatic reservations of course? Jeshua ben Joseph as one of the noblest twigs of the old branch of Judah Joseph as one of the noblest twigs of the old branch of Judah.”¹

The generalization is that most Jews perceive Jewish converts to Christianity as pretenders who are buying into traditions that even the educated Christians are abandoning, so why wouldn't this be a comparable attitude against the Jewish converts within the early church, and perhaps played a role in the attitude of those same converts, as they held to standard Jewish perceptions that are tied to the Abrahamic covenant.

Alternative translations of James 2:1 can be very revealing.

(BBE)  My brothers, if you have the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory, do not take a man's position into account.

To take a person's position into account could imply that you are regarding or considering them as what, practically a god, and not to be challenged? And all this is in regard to your faith in Christ Jesus. I am not even sure how this looks unless I am in the Catholic church or some spin-off, since to the best of my knowledge, the Catholics buy into the idea that the Pope is god.

(GW)  My brothers and sisters, practice your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ by not favoring one person over another.

Typically, we show favoritism to people who are on the same economic plane as us or higher. I have seen this all my life in church settings, and yet, it also happens within the faith movement, so that those who do not hold a strong faith in the Word of God are excluded, intentionally, from the conversation.

But what did I say, this is directed at Jewish convert congregations, who hold fast to an attitude that God loves them more, simply because they are Jewish; that, and they have these precious traditions, given to them by God, with little to no desire to explain them to those around who are not Jewish.

Follow James' explanation of his own words.

James 2:2-4 NASB For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, (3) and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, "You sit here in a good place," and you say to the poor man, "You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool," (4) have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?

James, possibly trying to evade a fight, focuses on the obvious, a man with money (or so we think.) I added that comment, “or so we think,” because I know a “brother” in Christ who has an occupation in medical sales. In order to elicit trust in his products and confidence in his sales abilities, he bought a Rolex watch and wore very expensive shoes; and yes, he took out a large personal loan to create that appearance.

What is the result of the scenario that James spells out?

You have made bad or improper distinctions and have become judges with evil motives.

James 2:5 NASB Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?

If I were to perceive this as an admonition to improve my people skills, James hardly gives it a chance to sink in, when he dishes out the next verse. But before we go there, note what this says.

• “did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom ...”

God told Abraham that He would make the man rich; mind you, this was said in a time when having herds of sheep was an indication of your wealth, well, that and a donkey. A donkey was like having a Mercedes back then. The reality is that most of our Biblical characters scratched out a living, and apparently that was enough.

Just to muddy the water, I want to throw Daniel into this idea of God choosing the poor of this world. When Daniel was taken into captivity, he had been primed to lead, either the priesthood or the village government. How do we know this? Look at the job qualifications that Nebuchadnezzar puts forth.

Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the royal family and of the nobles, youths in whom was no defect, who were good-looking, showing intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability for serving in the king's court; and he ordered him to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. (Daniel 1:3-4 NASB)

Pick one, or pick several, as many of these descriptions fit Daniel. There is one other thing that you need to consider when you think about Daniel. If he was on a fast track to the priesthood, many are married. Daniel does not tell us that he was made a eunuch; however, information gleaned from Isaiah 39:7 gives us what we are looking for. Don't waste your time in the NASB, as they apparently could not handle the strength of the Hebrew word that they translated official. The KJV straight out tells the reader, “your sons will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”

Eunuch is the Hebrew word sârı̂ys and means to castrate.

That means his dreams of being married are over, and he would never be allowed into the temple of God again. Now, knowing all this, was Daniel the poor of the earth?

• “a kingdom, by the way, that is promised to those who love Him.”

It is not entirely as though we are awaiting a kingdom, as Paul explains in his letter to the church at Colossae.

For He rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, (Colossians 1:13 NASB)

Although it is an aspect of who we are in Christ, there is still an awaited kingdom. In 1 Thessalonians 2:12, we are being called into His own kingdom, as though it is something to long for. However, in 2 Timothy 4:1, that kingdom is something that will arrive at His appearing (as the ruling Messiah). Paul tells Timothy, in 2 Timothy 4:18 that, “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom;" (NASB)

All this is promised to the one who loves Him. Love is not a difficult word, but living it seems to be. The word love is agapáō; and means to esteem, love, and indicates a direction of the will. I suppose I could say, I will myself to love Him, but then that seems like such a struggle, as we compare that love to some people.

Paul and James said that they were bondservants of Jesus Christ – a relationship that does not require or engender love. Both Paul and James understood the depth of that word and how it applies to a slave who has given themselves over to a lifetime of voluntary service.

James 2:6 NASB But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court?

Can you hear the tone in his voice?

“Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man.”

Dishonored is the Greek word atimazō and it carries these meanings: dishonor, insult, treated with contempt.

So when I talked about Daniel, can we see any of those attributes associated with him?
The answer is, certainly, although we NEVER look at them because we choose to only see Daniel walking in Nebuchadnezzar's courts, carrying himself with esteem, and that he did, but it was a choice he made in the midst of a life-altering situation.

What else does James 2:6 say?

It tells us that it is not the poor and the broken that drag you into court; it is the rich and wealthy in this world; in doing so, they oppress you.

Poor is the Greek word ptōchos and means to be destitute of wealth, influence, position, and or honor.

Oppress: To load or burden with unreasonable impositions; to treat with unjust severity, rigor, or hardship; as to oppress a nation with taxes or contributions; to oppress one by compelling him to perform unreasonable service.

Perhaps we could say that the wealthy, in their acts of unreasonable impositions, quarantine entire nations, destroy economies; disallow us from attending our churches, but allow for pot parlors, liquor stores, and abortion clinics to remain open.

James 2:7 CEV  Aren't they the ones who make fun of your Lord?

“They” is referring to the rich and the wealthy. Other translations include:

“Do they not say evil of the holy name which was given to you?” (BBE) 

“Aren't they the ones who insult the good name of Him to whom you belong?” (CJB) 

All of these things are happening on a daily basis.

Now, if they make fun of or blaspheme the name of the Lord, is God crippled by their words?

No, but it often causes us to withdraw or respond in anger. This possibility of an angry response becomes more valid when you look at James 2:8,9.

James 2:8-9 NASB If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF," you are doing well. (9) But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

With people talking evil about the Lord, a name, that we, as followers of Christ, have been given, suddenly, it seems as if the focus of their blasphemy is now directed at me. Why do you suppose that is; do you think it has anything to do with how reactionary we are?

But I have to remember how this study initiated.

My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others? (James 2:1 NLT)

Based upon James 2:1, I can assume that with an attitude that causes exclusion of others, especially if they are not as acceptable as prosperous people, then I may be the one that promoted the blasphemy. Simply because hardly anyone knows what blasphemy is, I include the words of Jesus, who defined blasphemy after the scribes and Pharisees attributed the healing of a blind and deaf man, to the work of a demon by the name of Beelzebul. You can look this up in Matthew 12:22-32.

What does the CEV translation tell us about James 2:8-9?

“You will do all right if you obey the most important law in the Scriptures. It is the law that commands us to love others as much as we love ourselves.  (9)  But if you treat some people better than others, you have done wrong, and the Scriptures teach that you have sinned.” (James 2:8-9 CEV)

There is, however, another way to look at this section of scripture.

(For those who feel they are NOT under the law, James very clearly pushes back against that false idea when he says, love others as much as we love ourselves. Leviticus 19:18 NASB)

If we are doing what the Lord commands us, then, as James says, you are fulfilling the royal law of Scripture, and you will do alright. In other words, then you won't be showing partiality, committing sin, and be convicted by the law as a violator.

But doesn't operating in this mindset put us back under the law; and put us under a mountain of guilt and shame?

It could, and James will give us the answer to that momentarily.

James 2:10-11 NASB For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. (11) For He who said, "DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY," also said, "DO NOT COMMIT MURDER." Now, if you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.

For one, James is addressing a crowd - the Jewish community, that struggles with the guilt of the law already. Becoming a follower of Christ rarely strips all the caustic emotional damage off you and that damage can and will leak out at times, and when it does, it gets on other people; and that creates an entire scenario, which James found it necessary to address.

I am sixty-six years old at the time of this writing, and I still struggle with legalistic religious guilt and self-esteem issues because of the way I was raised. I feel as though I have a strong understanding of God's word and His love toward me, so go figure, I can only impute this lifetime struggle to the brokenness of this human body, that all of us struggle with. Thankfully, there is a day coming, and soon, when I will be changed, and so will many of you.

James 2:12 NASB So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty.

What if it was just that simple?

Just speak and act as those who are to be judged by the law; NOT just some arbitrary, strike you dead, law, but THE LAW OF LIBERTY – a law that brings you life. We already covered this to some degree when we looked at the first chapter of James, but let's look once again.

“But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.” (James 1:25 NASB)

The law that brings liberty is the Word of God – the God that never changes, and neither does His Word. His Word stands forever, and if you struggle to understand who He is and what He is like, then look at Jesus. For it was Jesus who said, if you have seen Me, you have seen the Father; that's because He is the Son of the Father, an unblemished representation in every form. And James told us that if you want to walk as though the law guides your paths, then we should, not just look into, but make it an integrated part of our lives. Think about that for a moment.

Why would that be important, or perhaps even worse, critical?

Because we are broken. Look, I don't care how pious you may think you are, or how much money you have, none of that matters when they arrest you for spousal abuse, or a manslaughter charge because you were driving under the influence. You and I are broken, and our only hope lies in Jesus Christ. No wonder both Paul and James, declared, I am a bondservant of Christ Jesus. Slaves do not get to express their own will, and yet, in this bondservant relationship, I see men most free because they came to understand that the soundest of decisions come from the Holy Spirit of God.

How does James end this section?

For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment. (James 2:13 NASB)

Judgment, what a horrible word, especially if you have NO hope, but we do, and His name is Jesus.

Judgment is the Greek word krísis, meaning to judge. But look at the other words that the Word Study Dictionary communicates as part of the meaning: Separation, division, dissension, decision, crisis, turn of affairs.

As Pastor Paul Begley would say, are you kidding me! These words define our everyday lives. One moment you and the Mrs. are fine, and the next moment you are at each other's throats; within the church body we have separation, division, and dissensions; and, because you are “not” under the law, you took your liberties with a few too many alcoholic beverages and now you have a crisis and a drastic turn of affairs.

Far too many Pastor's love to fling this word judgment around because they feel a need to manipulate and control the sheep. The Greek word Bema is almost always attached to the sermon. Two of the places we can find this word is in Romans and in the letter to the church in Corinth.

But why do you judge your brother? Or also why do you despise your brother? For all shall stand before the judgment seat of Christ. (Romans 14:10 MKJV)

Here, the application applies to how we are treating a brother in Christ, and that is exactly what James has been saying. Now, try to apply to some ghastly judgment before the Father, who doesn't change, and sent His son to die for you, at a time when you did not love Him. Something is not right about the logic, is it?

Another reference, as I mentioned, comes from Corinthians, so let's go there.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:10 NASB)

Here we are, once again, before that judgment seat. For the believer, there is only one place for judgment, and it is NOT the great white throne of final judgment. It is that moment when we, as believers, with broken human bodies, are changed. What that looks like, or exactly when it happens, is not clear, but we know that NOTHING unclean enters God's kingdom. (Rev. 21:8)

The word I want you to focus on is the word recompensed. That word recompensed is the Greek word komízō. And yes, the idea of judgment is a part of its definition, but look at the words and phrases that define it: to take care of; to bear or bring to oneself, acquire, obtain, receive. 

We are brought before this judgment seat, and, as I pointed out to a friend, as we studied the first chapter of James, that when we have endured the test/trial we shall receive the crown of life. Where and when do you think that this happens? It only happens at the Bema seat of Christ. To teach anything else makes you a false teacher and not to be followed.

Having told a fellow believer, years ago, that I was ashamed of them, I came to realize what this judgment looks like, as it came crashing down on me six months later. The impact of that decision and the resulting turn of affairs has lasted for the rest of my life – in my head. This is why the words of James, though directed at a Jewish audience of believers, still rings true for all of us.

1Singer, Isidor. “The Attitude of the Jews toward Jesus.” The North American Review, vol. 191, no. 650, 1910, pp. 128–134. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25106564. Accessed 10 May 2020.

Those who are according to the Spirit. Romans 8:5-11

The NASB entitles, chapter eight, Life in the Spirit.

I have come to realize that whether we meet up with religious expectations or not, we are, and will be alive in the Spirit.

This idea of life makes more sense to those who are followers of Christ, who long to be more knowledgeable in their understanding of Scripture. You would have to go back to Adam to understand that death, the opposite of spiritual life, meant many things. The primary and most notable aspect of death came in the form of being cut off from the intimacy of a deep and open relationship with God. Jesus also experienced this on the cross. We saw it when He cried out, “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Had the Father forsaken His Son?
Hardly. The plan was necessary but painful. It was one in which, Jesus had to pay the full price for Adam’s transgression - An act in which the ownership of the planet was handed over to Satan; and, thereby restore the Father’s relationship with humanity, and set the world right again, without a deceiver to influence ever again.

If you understand that your spirit never dies, then you can surmise that it is only the relationship that dies. You should also grasp that you live eternally with the Father, or you follow your leader Satan, to his demise, and live forever in his torment, permanently cut off from God. Fairly straightforward.

The Law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body, God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit. (Romans 8:3-4 NLT)

So, having done all that, we no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.  Well, that's what it says, and so it must be true, right?

But didn't Paul talk about this in Romans chapter seven?

But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. (Romans 7:16-19 NASB)

To hear Paul say it makes me feel hopeless, but we are not because he finished this out by saying there is hope and that hope has everything to do with Christ Jesus and His work on that cross.

And with that, we begin looking at Romans 8:5 and beyond.

Romans 8:5 NASB For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

Immediately I see two categories of people:

• Those who have their minds set on the flesh.
• And those who are according to the Spirit.

The people who are according to the Spirit, have their minds set on the things of the Spirit.

Set is the Greek word phroneō and means to exercise the mind, that is, entertain or have a sentiment or opinion; by implication to be (mentally) disposed (more or less earnestly in a certain direction.)

My soul longs to teach the Word of God; that’s how much I am inclined to pursue the Lord. How can you be a teacher unless you follow understanding?

However, I don't see myself as someone who is set, for staying in the Word has become a way of life to me, and when I am not involved in prepping for a study or writing a post, I feel a strange sense of loss. I question whether those moments of discontent are the years of legalism in my head or only my annoyance with this useless world.

My Pastor recently told the Church, with the hope of getting the audience on board with his decision, that he was going to fast commercials on the television (Fasting is meant to set aside personal time and pleasures, like eating, so that you draw closer to God. When it comes to fasting commercials on the television, how do you do that without fancy equipment like a “Tivo?” - I don't think they still exist. The Tivo unit allowed you to bypass the commercials, among other things. I don't have that kind of equipment, but I suppose I could shut the sound off, but then there are the images.

Why fast commercials?

Because it is a known fact that commercials are designed to control your thoughts and perceptions of life, some of my family members are prime examples of this, as they must wear the latest name brand product, or, they will call and say, you have to try this newest product. Most of the time, it isn’t any better than the last thing, and often it’s worse. Commercials are trying to conform you to somebody’s idea of what the world should be drinking, driving, or wearing.

Romans 12:2 NASB And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

1 John 2:15-17 NASB Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (16) For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life is not from the Father but is from the world. (17) The world is passing away, and also its lusts, but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

But the mind, set on the Spirit is life and peace.

Romans 8:6 NASB “For the mind, set on the flesh is death, but the mind, set on the Spirit is life and peace,”

If a commercial, which makes you focus your attention on the lusts of the flesh, a thing of death, then it too must represent death, because it certainly has your mind, set on fleshly things.

Doesn’t this word death demand an explanation? Sure it does, because I have been focusing my attention on commercials my entire life. And yet, I don’t seem to be dead. This terminology of death is so similar to what we saw God say to Adam.

“but about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden God said, 'You are neither to eat from it nor touch it, or you will die.'” Genesis 3:3 CJB 

Although physical death began that very moment, it could not be seen. At the same time, another aspect of death that could not be seen was the separation of their soul's relationship with God. This spiritual death evidences itself most in the brokenness of the relationship between the human and the Father (God.) So the mind, set on the passions of the flesh, dies on the inside. It is inevitable, as you forget what it is to have God's life and peace in you.

In opposition to death, there is life.

“but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.” (Romans 8:5b. TNIV)

I suppose the question here is, what do you have your spirit set on?

“The mind, controlled by the sinful nature, is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.” (Romans 8:6 TNIV)

• The word set, or controlled as the TNIV puts it, is the Greek word phronēma and means: to have a (mental) inclination or purpose.
• The word inclination, according to Webster's dictionary, means A leaning of the mind or will, propension or propensity, a disposition more favorable to one thing than to another.

So, having my mind controlled by the sinful nature of my flesh, started with my leaning toward one thing more than the other. That other was God. The end result is death or the advanced deterioration of my relationship with the Father.

Romans 8:7 MSG,  “Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what he is doing.”

Dr. J. Vernon McGee states: “This verse reveals how hopelessly incorrigible and utterly destitute the flesh really is. It is a spiritual anarchist. This demolishes any theory that there is a divine spark in man and that somehow he has a secret bent toward God. The truth is that man is the enemy of God. He is not only dead in trespasses and sins but active in rebellion against God. Man will even become religious in order to stay away from the living and true God and the person of Jesus Christ.”

When you study the chain of events that led up to the flood, you see one central theme, that every thought of man was only evil, and the world was filled with violence. A statement like this would back up Dr. McGee's assertions. But, are we entirely hopeless? I don't want to think so, because there was a thread of hope that ran through Adam to Noah. (An explanation for humanities fall in this circumstance is there in Genesis chapter six. Many cannot see it, and most refuse to see it. It requires more than a simplistic reading of the chapter.) Perhaps, if we could remove all the influences that remove us from God, then maybe we could live in an open, vibrant, and honest relationship with the Father, but how would you make that happen?

Romans 8:8 NASB, “and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

When Paul wrote, what a wretched man I am, I feel confident that he meant it. However, there is hope; there is always hope. Surrounded and inundated by the pulls of the flesh, what am I to do?

Romans 8:9 NASB, However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.

Consider what this is saying to us.

• You are not in the flesh – if the Spirit of God dwells in you.

Early in this letter to the Romans, Paul said, “and you are dead to sin if you have been baptized into His death.”

What's the rule associated with dead people?

They are no longer capable of sinning, or, as Romans 8 tells us, pleasing the flesh. Yet we dead folk still sin? Quite a dilemma if you don't have Christ. Consider that with Christ, we are held righteous in God's eyes. Now that may be another story with people, especially religious people, but as followers of Christ: 1. We are not indulging, repeatedly, and wantonly in sin. 2. We keep focused on the truth that we are buried in Him, that our life is in Him, and we have the Spirit of life in us and belong to God.

Romans 8:9 appears to have an addendum.

• “But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.”

How would we know that someone did not have the Spirit of Christ in them?

An obvious answer might be to look at their fruit, but I have known people who appear to be in Christ, simply because they go through the motions at church, and yet I am not sure what their fruit is or resembles. While others, who have also gone through all the motions, but their fruit is rotten on their branches. The bottom line for me, I am going to let God sort this out at the end.

Under the umbrella of, there is always hope, we have this.

Romans 8:10 NASB, If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.

How can the body be dead and still have functionality here on earth? It can't, so death then must be thought of as spiritual, and expresses itself in a variety of ways. And yet, here is that hope once again, the spirit is still alive because of righteousness. Righteousness is right standing with God, nothing more and nothing less.

Webster's dictionary defines righteousness like this: “Purity of heart and rectitude of life; conformity of heart and life to the divine law. Righteousness, as used in Scripture and theology, in which it is chiefly used, is nearly equivalent to holiness, comprehending holy principles and affections of heart, and conformity of life to the divine law. It includes all we call justice, honesty, and virtue, with holy affections.”

That right standing that Paul speaks of is only contingent upon one thing, our faith in Jesus Christ and the price He paid; that's it, and this faith gives us our life in the Father. All this freedom and hope sounds too good to be true. And yet there is more.

Romans 8:11 NASB But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

• If, the same Spirit The qualifying action is faith and acceptance.
• of Him who raised Jesus from the dead, He who raised Jesus from the dead is God the Father.
• dwell in you, Paul said, if you were baptized into Him, then He now resides in you.
• (Then) He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead Again, we are talking about God the Father.
• will also give life to your mortal bodies. God will give life to your human body. Now wait a minute, this makes sense if I am dead, as He will, I assume, breath life back into my body. I am not sure I understand why He couldn't just as easily make me another. But what if Jesus comes back to catch us away and I am alive, what happens then? Apparently, we are not as alive as we thought we were.
• through His Spirit who dwells in you. All this life and the restoration of life happens because of the life that dwells in us. We just went over who this is that resides  within you? Jesus Christ, however, here on earth, it is the Holy Spirit, who is just as much God as the Son, dwelling in us. The Holy Spirit of God is our life here on earth.

Well, that same Spirit does dwell in me; so then, He will also give this life to my mortal body, through that same Spirit.

It is irrelevant, but why do I need this body?

I don't know, but God seems to have a purpose since He made it with all these sensory organs, that like to eat fruit and other things. Perhaps this all plays into our eternity with Him, as Jesus, in His physical return, made a fire, cooked some fish, and ate with the men. He had that “new” body, one that doesn't need to eat anymore; then maybe we can assume that He ate for the pure pleasure of it.

If you don't know my Jesus, you can. Simply ask to bring this life back into yours and chase Him as though your life depended upon it.