Mt 5:33 ¶ Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: 34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne: 35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. 36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. 37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

Some years ago we took the kids on a family trip to Chicago to visit the Shedd Aquarium.  Along with the normal attractions, there were employees that had various displays and activities in the aisles for the kids.  There was one young lady that had a display of Shark Jaws.  She asked for some of the kids to come to the front for some hands on activities.  When about 8 kids made their way to the front, the young lady asked them if they would like to be members of the Shark Club.  Of course the kids shouted, “Yes!”

The lady said, “Okay, raise your right hand and repeat after me.”

About that time, an orthodox Jewish man sprung into action!  His two children were at the front with the other kids and were about to take this life changing oath, vowing their eternal allegiance to the Shark Club.  He pulled their arms down and said, “Don’t swear, no, no!”

As harmless as that situation really is, there may be some value in teaching kids at an early age the importance of keeping commitments and contracts.  So far, over the past 10 or so years, no one has tracked my children down to question them on their commitment to the Shark Club oath.

Daniel Webster said, “There is nothing as powerful as the truth and often nothing as rare!”

God is a God of truth –

Tit 1:1 ¶ Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; 2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

Heb 6:18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:

There is allowance for and examples of the Jews of the OT the Jews could swearing.  If they did it correctly they were to swore by God.  The people of Jesus day were aware of this.  What had apparently happened over time was that they understood that if you swear by God you had better tell the truth, but if you wanted to be loose with the truth then you could always swear by something else.  If you were going to tell something that was close to the truth, you could swear by heaven or the Temple.  That’s stuff that is close to God, but not quite God Himself.  If you were going to tell something that was not quite so close to the truth, you could swear by the earth or your own head.  All of this stuff worked out to be what you might refer to as “truth loopholes.”

Think about it.  Truth loopholes could come in handy.  If you were down at the market selling a piece of pottery and you really couldn’t vouch for the integrity of the piece.  You just swear by the last hair on your head that it is waterproof.  “May the fleas of a thousand camels infest my armpits if this leaks!”  But your are okay, because you didn’t swear by God!

Jesus tells us to do what God has wanted us to do from our hearts all the time — just tell the truth!

37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

The Light of the world has shined in our heart, let the light of the truth shine out!

Thou shalt not kill

I’ve been teaching through the Sermon on the Mount on Wednesdays for the past couple of months or so. We started by going through each one of the Beatitudes one by one and tonight (10-19-2011) we will be on the “thou shalt not kill” section (Mt. 5:21-26). I’ve been meaning to blog again for a long time. If not for any other reason then to keep an open journal of sorts. It may even help me to focus my thoughts a bit more. If there ever was someone with adult ADD it is me! But I digress. Well, here are a few main thoughts on this section of the Sermon on the mount.

Mt 5:21 ¶ Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. 23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. 25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. 26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.

I. Understand the true nature of the command! Verse 21-22
Just as with all of God’s commands, this one was never meant as a “just go through the basic motions” command. It was meant to be obeyed from the heart.

. . . hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, (Deut. 11:13

Someone once said, “Every wicked act was preceded by a process of wicked thinking.” An murder was preceded by a process of hatred and the view of another as worthless.

II. Understand the true nature of repentance! Verse 23
Can you just picture a Hebrew in line to offer gift before the alter with others in line with him. He says to the guy behind him, “Hey, could you hold this, I just thought of something I need to go do.”  He leaves just to go reconcile with a brother that he has wronged. That is the nature of true repentance.
Zacchaeus is another great example of demonstrated repentance toward God (Luke 19:8).

III. The cost of personal hatred! Verses 24-26
Being Bound Up.
The key word to these 3 verses is the first word — the word “agree.” Seek to maintain reconciliation with those around you. If you don’t hatred, bitterness and grudges have a binding effect.
Unfortunately, most hatred and bitterness takes place within families.

There is even a warning in this area for the marriage relationship:
1Pe 3:7 Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.
Not being reconciled to your spouse binds up your prayer life!

Don’t be a killer (or a hater)

“Marriage, as an institution, has in every age received the approving sanction of every enlightened philosopher and every wise legislator; and the opinion of those who would banish or degrade it, has always been considered by sober thinkers as a sentiment indicative of a dark mind and a depraved heart, and which, if brought into action, would be found equally hostile to the worth and the happiness of mankind.”

John Brown — “. . . from the division of the Christian church into a variety of hostile factions, there are difficulties thrown in the way of the culivation of this Christian virtue; but the obligation to cherish this disposition is in no degree diminished. . . . wherever there is a consistent profession of the faith of Christ — there ought we to fix our Christian affections; and having fixed them, we are not easily to allow them either to abate or to be transferred.”

Pains should be taken with such when they are young, to teach them the principles of the oracles of God, that they may be fortified against temptations, and furnished for the opportunities, of a high condition in the world.

Matthew Henry

Christian financial author, Larry Burkett went home to be with the Lord in July of 2003.  I enjoyed his radio program and his financial advice.  Some of which I wished I had followed more closely.  I recently pulled his book The Coming Economic Earthquake off the shelf.  I wonder if Larry is yelling out one big “I told ya so!” right now?  I remember reading the book back in the early 90′s and when I discussed it with someone just entering the field of finance they poo-pooed it as the voice of another doomsday pessimist.  This criticism seemed to be justified with the seeming financial boom of the 90′s.  But those days are gone.

I offer the following quote from the book (keep in mind that this was written in 1991:

“It is quite possible we will see a deflationary cycle in America as the consumer credit binge reaches its limits.  If allowed to run its course, this deflation could help to restabilize our economy.  But in the face of ever-increasing federal deficits and falling revenues, it is more likely that the government will resort to even more credit, creating a massive inflationary spiral.

 

The worst of all economic situations occurs when production falls while prices soar.  This cycle, known as inflationary-recession can rapidly deteriorate into a inflationary-depression in the hands of inept politicians.”

 

[Don’t worry Larry, we don’t have any of those in office!]

We seem to be a country addicted to debt. 

“A family man in America’s condition, awash in debt, spending more than he makes, would cut back consumption, find a second job and get out of debt. Or declare bankruptcy, accept the shame and humiliation, change his wastrel ways and start anew.

Is it different for a nation? “

Pat Buchanan

Read the editorial in its entirety here.

 

 Pictured above is part of the Anarchist/pro-gay group calling themselves Bash Back.

 I find the incident described in the article below troubling on many levels, but not surprising .  First, I had to hear of this incident not from our local news, but from a member of our church emailing me from Florida!  Even the article below from the Detroit Free Press does not tell the whole story.  Please read the worldnet daily article too. 

  

Second, the aggressive nature of those involved is a preview of what is to come.  It is clear from the biblical account of Sodom and Gomorrah that the men involved were by no means docile weaklings.  Homosexuals used to be “in the closet,” but no more.  They are demanding their rights and they are doing so with a vengeance.  The recent reaction to the results of a vote on Prop 8 in California is an example.  Groups of sodomites, lesbians, and perverts of all sorts protested at various churches, shouting profanities.  After finding out that Prop 8 passed largely due to the large black and hispanic turnout, homosexual activists and bloggers are turning their vitriol toward them.

Please remember that AIDS is a natural result of unclean behavior, just like other STDs, but the very presence of homosexuality is actually the judgment of God!  We are seeing the results of a people that have turned their backs on God!

Romans 1:26-28

For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:   And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.  And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

 

Dear Christian friends, please pray for our country, our children and our churches.

 

Free Press Article:

 Pro-gay protest disrupts Lansing-area church’s services

BY DAWSON BELL
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

 A well-known Lansing-area evangelical church was the target of a raucous demonstration by gay anarchists during Sunday services.  The disruption came from a group that calls itself Bash Back, and involved demonstrations outside the church and inside the sanctuary while services were under way, said Mt. Hope Church communications director David Williams.  Members of the group inside the church shouted pro-gay slogans, threw leaflets, unfurled a banner and pulled a fire alarm, then hastily departed, Williams said. There were no injuries, he said.  Williams said the episode was over in minutes. Eaton County Sheriff’s Department deputies arrived quickly, Williams said, but no arrests were made. Police were not available for comment Tuesday.  Williams said the actions were “an attempt to bully. The pastor here preaches the Bible and he doesn’t back down.”  But Mt. Hope doesn’t place a special emphasis on homosexuality, he said.  In a statement released Tuesday, church officials said they believe “homosexuality to be a sin, just as fornication, stealing, drunkenness and lying are sins. No sin greater than the next.”  

In an online news release, Bash Back described Mt. Hope as “a deplorable anti-queer mega church.” No one from the group could be reached.  Mt. Hope has a reported membership of more than 4,000 and distinctive grounds lined with dozens of national flags.

 

O, therefore, brethren, lose no time!  Study, and pray, and confer, and practice; for in these four ways your abilities must be increased.  Take heed to yourselves, lest you are weak through your own negligence, and lest you mar the work of God by your own weakness.

                                                                The Reformed Pastor, Richard Baxter, 1656

I realize that today is Veteran’s Day and not Memorial Day, but I have provided a link to a previous post.  Although it is about a serviceman that gave his life in service to his country, it is also a testament to the men that showed their appreciation.  If you have not read it, please do.  click here