Something Greater

Temptation | A Brief Word Study | A Prayer | James 1:12-16 (Notation in parentheses refers to Strong's Greek Dictionary) James 1:12-16 (KJV) Blessed ( G3107 - supremely blest, fortunate, well off, joyful, rewarded, happier ) is the man that endures ( G5278 - to stay under or behind, remain, undergo, bear trials, have fortitude, persevere, abide, endure, take patiently, suffer, tarry behind ) temptation ( G3986 - trials, testing, putting to proof by experiment, experience of evil, solicitation, discipline or provocation, adversity ): for when he is tried ( G1384 - approved, tested, acceptable ) he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted ( G3985 - tested, tried, trapped, endeavor, scrutinize, entice, discipline ), "I am tempted ( G3985 - tested, tried, trapped, endeavor, scrutinize, entice, discipline ) of God": for God cannot be tempted ( G551 - tempted, tried, temptable ) with evil,...

Isaiah 6: A Vision and a Commission Isaiah describes a vision of the LORD, holy and glorious, and it shook Isaiah to his core with guilt and fear. But the Lord forgave Isaiah's guilt and sin, and Isaiah gladly offered his life as servant to the Lord. The Lord set Isaiah on a mission to preach a warning of judgement upon the people of Israel. Cities would be ravaged and the land wasted, with only a tenth of the population remaining. HOLY IS THE LORD: Verses 1-7 Isaiah saw the Lord enthroned in a temple, attended by seraphim who sang of the LORD's holiness and glory. The temple shook and filled with smoke, and the Lord's robe covered the entire temple. Isaiah cried out in fear, knowing the depth of his dirtiness compared to the holiness of the King. But the seraphim touched Isaiah's mouth with a burning coal and pronounced his sin atoned for and his guilt taken away. Isaiah's vision was connected with King Uzziah: Isaiah 6:1 (ESV) In the year that Kin...

Isaiah 1, Part 1: Rebuke and Redemption Isaiah 1:1-9 God lays upon Isaiah a vision of rebuke and judgement against the nation of Judah and the capital city of Jerusalem. God rebukes their sin and rejects their shallow religion. Yet in his mercy God offers a choice and promises relief and restoration. God rebukes the nation's sin. Isaiah 1:1-9 (ESV) The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the LORD has spoken: “Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.” Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged. Why will you still be st...

On Display Jesus had broken through the sin-hardened ignorance of Paul. "The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life." 1 Timothy 1:15-16 (ESV) FOREMOST: protos (foremost in time, place, order or importance); from pro ("fore", in front of, prior or superior to) "Foremost" occurs many times in the Bible. Simon was described as foremost of the apostles, not in order of time, but in importance (Matthew 10:2). The command to love the Lord our God is the first commandment, because of time , being the first command given by God. (Matthew 22:38). Paul was certainly not the first person in the world to sin. Paul is saying that as a sinner, he was most important . Really? M...

Sound Doctrine Paul grouped six terms together, breaking them into three pair of related words to describe the audience for whom the Law was intended: "The law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane." (1 Timothy 1:9) Lawless: Those with no law, not included in any government or supervisory system Disobedient: Those with law, but refusing to obey, rejecting governing authority Ungodly: The irreverent, those not adoring God Sinners: The losers, those who miss the mark and fail to obtain a prize Unholy: Those in the wrong, those who are untrue, weak, and common Profane: The wicked, those who live worthless lives, filled with coarse, easily-satisfied appetites that are often based upon superstition or myth The three groups of descriptors can be separated according to their focus: Lawless and Disobedient: Authority Ungodly and Sinners: Pleasure Unholy and Profane: Hist...

Unholy and Profane The third and final pair of terms used by Paul in his letter to Timothy: "We know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane." 1 Timothy 1:8-9 (ESV) UNHOLY: anosios (wicked); from a (not) and hosios (intrinsically or divinely right, hallowed) PROFANE: bebelos (accessible, as by crossing a door-way; heathenish or wicked); from baino (to walk) and belos (a threshold) "Unholy" is best understood by looking at its opposite meaning: holy. "Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed." Revelation 15:3-4 (ESV) HOLY: hosios (intrinsically or divinely ...

Ungodly and Sinners "The law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane." 1 Timothy 1:9 (ESV) Human nature can be described in terms of its relationship to God's Law . At times we act as if we were lawless, as if there were no law or command to restrain our behavior. At other times we act as if we are disobedient, acting defiantly, refusing to obey the law that we clearly understand. Paul continues his letter of guidance to young Timothy, describing human nature in terms of its relationship to Jesus Christ . UNGODLY: asebes (irreverent, impious or wicked); from a (not) and sebo (to revere or adore) SINNERS: hamartolos (sinful, sinner); from hamartano (to miss the mark, not sharing in the prize, to err or sin); from a (not) and meiromai (to get as a section or allotment) WHAT DO YOU THINK? What thought process must a Christian go through when moving from reverence for God to self...

Lawless and Disobedient Paul describes three pillars of love: a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. Without this foundation, a Christian will swerve away into worthlessless, characterized by doctrine that rejects Christ , treasuring instead myths and endless genealogies. A leader or teacher who has swerved from the foundations of love will not understand the lawful use of the very law they desire to teach. The utterly unlawful way of using the law is to consider it a path to justification. The most fundamental purpose of law is not to guide good people, but to convict bad people of their sin . "The law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of t...

Rejection of God and Self-Rejoicing Stephen, disciple of Christ, arrested and on trial for heresy and blasphemy, defends himself before self-righteous religious rulers, using the history of his people as an object lesson in religious rejection of God . "This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, - Who made you a ruler and a judge? - this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, - God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers." Acts 7:35-37 (ESV) This is Stephen's grand thesis. This declaration is the climax of his argument defending himself from the false charges of heresy and blasphemy. This careful, sequential overview of his people's history, from faithful Abraham to Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and now Moses, leads inevitably to...

Passing Over Former Sins What is the meaning of the phrase, "God passed over former sins"? What value did this act of God give to the work of salvation by Christ? "Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins." Romans 3:24-25 (ESV) God's plan, the death of His Son Jesus Christ, was to show the righteousness of God. God's righteousness had been in a sense "tarnished" , or hidden, by withholding punishment for "former sins". What were the "former sins"? As Creator, God has every right to immediately punish evildoers for sin . He demonstrated His justice in casting Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, and in the world-wide flood that destroyed nearly all life, and the sudden, complete destruction of Sodom and Gommorah. Yet hundreds of generations of human civilizations, ...

Under the Dominion of Grace "So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace." Romans 6:11-14 (ESV) CONSIDER: logizomai (to take an inventory, estimate); from logos (something said or thought); from lego (to lay forth or relate or mean, rather than individual speech or simply breaking silence or an extended harangue) DEAD: nekros (dead); from nekus (a corpse) ALIVE: zao (to live) A Christian is responsible for careful consideration and logical reasoning regarding circumstances in which faith in Christ places them. A Christian is dead to sin and alive to God. This m...

What Is Sin? How did the Jews define "unrighteousness" or sin? How does society define sin? How would you define sin? How does God define sin? Paul charged the Jews with knowing precisely what defines sin: Dishonoring God (Romans 1:21) Idol worship (Romans 1:23-25) Sexual perversion (Romans 1:26-27) Unrighteousness: evil, covetousness, malice, envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness, gossip, slander, hate, insolence, haughtiness, boasting, disobedience, foolishness, faithlessness, heartlessness, and ruthlessness. (Romans 1:29-32) The Jews knew that the Word of God included Laws: "All who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law." Romans 2:12 (ESV) Our society defines "sin" similarly, although it is not called "sin". We create laws to protect people from each other and to maintain social stability. Our human government is woefully inadequate and without integrity, but the definition of sin remains the same for o...

A Psalm of Gratitude For my sin, O God, You have not of me required payment. All of Your justice and sovereignty demand that I be punished to death for my sin against You. Yet upon me You place no punishment. I have been ignorant, willfully ignorant of Your sovereignty over me. I have rejected and quenched Your Spirit as You offered comfort and guidance and knowledge. Yet from me You exact no revenge. God, I have used my hands and eyes and ears and mind to worship myself and my concerns. I have ignored You. I have been satisfied with worshipping and adoring temporary, fleshly, impure pleasure, rejecting the pleasure of intimacy with You. Lord, my mind is double, my heart divided, still loving what the Old Man loves, yet aware of Your greatness and Your superiority. And still You forgive me and withhold your righteous anger. Because of Your Son. Jesus suffered Your angry, righteous judgement and punishment for my sin. For my selfish lust, content to exchange worship of...

My Psalm 51 Bend low, God. How dare I even think of saying that to You? Nothing I see around me is of my creation. Even the breath and the blood in my body that enables me to see and think is not of my making. You are Creator, and I am as dust in comparison to You , in all ways. Bend low, God. I am without any power or authority to command you to stoop to my level, to listen to my heart, to hope for favor, to depend upon mercy . Bend low, God. You are the Only Source and the Only God, and I can't reach You. You must come near to me . God, my sin is fresh before my eyes. And behind the sin of today is the sin of yesterday, and the sin of last week, and the sin of last year, and the sin of all my past . I depend upon Your mercy , Your kindly, undeserved favor and Your tenderloving touch. Please take away the guilt of my sin. Erase my debt of rebellion against You. I know You have mercy on those who do not deserve mercy. I know that You provide forgiveness through...