| June 21, 1998 |
Vol. I, No. 8
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James tells us in James 1:22 to be doers of the word and not hearers only. In previous studies we have established that God knows what is best for us, that the Bible is His word, and that by studying the Bible, we too may know what is best for us. In this lesson, we want to take note of the fact that it is not enough to hear and know what the Bible says, but we must also be willing to obey its teachings.
God’s instructions to man have always been given for man’s own good. For instance, when God gave the Law of Moses to the Hebrew nation, Moses explained to them, “The Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the lord our God, for our good always: (Deut. 6:24). The law He gave them was for their own good.
Just as God spoke in times past to the fore-fathers through the Old Testament prophets, He has spoken to us today through the last will and testament of His Son, Jesus Christ, that is, through the New Testament Scriptures, Heb. 1:1-2.
The New Testament tells us how to live a fuller and more meaningful life. No higher moral or spiritual code ever existed than Jesus’ sermon on the mount recorded in Matthew, chapters five through seven. No greater friendship ever has or ever will be extended to us than that of Jesus who loved us and gave Himself for us, Rom. 5:8. No greater blessing could be bestowed upon us in this world than the forgiveness of sins. No greater goal has ever been set before men than to experience eternal life in a realm where there is no sorrow, sickness, or death. Truly, it is for our good that we obey the teachings of the new Testament Scriptures.
But, if to have, know, and obey God’s will is the greatest privilege we have in this world, then to fail to study and obey the gospel of Christ is to insure our own failure in this world and our utter undoing in the world to come. It is by the teachings of Jesus and His chosen apostles that we will be judged in a final judgment, John 12:48. Paul says that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ and receive the things done in the body, 2 Cor. 5:10. It is good to hear the gospel, and to know God’s instructions--but unless we also obey that gospel, we will be lost eternally. Paul writes in 2 Thess. 1:7-9 of the time when Jesus will “be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and those who do not obey the gospel.” That is why James admonishes, “Be doers of the word and not hearers only” (James 1:22).
--CRJ
After the temptation of Jesus as recorded in Matthew 4:1-11, Jesus began to preach the same message that John the Baptist had preached before Him: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17). Later, He appointed 12 apostles and sent them out two by two to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Mattjew 10:1-7). Still later, He sent 70 other disciples out with the same message, Luke 10:9.
Even His closest followers at that point had a very limited under standing of the nature of Christ's kingdom. At times, Jesus dropped definite hints--like when He said, "The kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:20-21). Perhaps when He spoke to Nicodemus of the fact that a person must un dergo a spiritual rebirth, a birth of water and the Spirit, this should have tipped off His learners that His kingdom is spiritual, not political or physical in its na ture. See John 3:3-5.
Yet, the fact is, even Jesus' friends missed the point. They had yearned for so long for a military leader who would free them from Roman rule and set up a political haven for them, that they failed to recognize that Jesus had come a spiritual leader to free them from sin, and that His rule was over the thoughts and intents of submissive hearts instead of a forced rule over unwilling servants.
At least once, some of His followers tried to compel Him to become the kind of King they had in mind, but Jesus refused, John 6:15. Finally, as Jesus stood before Pilate, the Roman governor, charged with the crime of treason because He had called Himself a King, Pilate asked Him, "Are You the king of the Jews?"
Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews, but now My kingdom is not from here" (John 18:33-35). As a re sult of this interview, Pilate seems to have had a better understanding of the true nature of Christ's kingdom than His own followers had at that point in time. After realizing that Christ's kingdom was not a worldly government, not a rival to the throne of Caesar, Pilate proclaimed, "I find no fault in Him at all" (verse 38).
The kingdom of Christ was indeed established in the first century AD. It was at hand in the days of John the Baptist and during the personal ministry of Jesus. It came into being just as they promised, and multitudes be gan to bask in the truth and light of Jesus Christ the King. Paul wrote, God "has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the king dom of the Son of His love" (Colossians 1:13). By being born again, born of water and the Spirit, we, too, can have a part in the kingdom of God, John 3:5; Titus 3:5; Romans 6:3-5.
--CRJ
"It's not the greatness of our trouble, but the littleness of our faith that makes us complain."