OCTOBER 15, 2024

 “Rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God…” (Joel 2:13)

Rending the clothes was a common and ancient mode of expressing grief and concern, and as such is frequently mentioned in Scripture. The Jews practiced this, not as a command of God, but in keeping with the custom of the time.

People were ready enough to use the outward sign of mourning when, as in the present instance, locusts appeared to devour their crops, or when other judgments threatened them. They failed, however, in mourning as unto the Lord, and in rendering spiritual homage to His chastening rod. Thus, we see an outward show of grief for their loss, but any sorrow for the conditions that prompted the judgment was missing entirely. This explains the language of the text: “Rend your hearts, and not your garments.”

It would be good if Americans who freely express their grief for the sad state of our nation were equally sorrowful for the departure from God and His righteousness for which cause this judgment is upon us. Sadly, it is possible for folks to suffer and mourn under Divine judgment while failing to recognize that it is Divine judgment. We rend our garments for the loss of freedoms, for foreign invasions, for increased crime, and many other atrocities; but do we rend our hearts for the sins of our country? “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.”

True religion is more inward than outward. David said, “Thou desireth truth in the inward parts.” The expression, “Rend your hearts, and not your garments,” casts an aspersion on mere outward aesthetical religion, which is all about ceremonies, forms, and outward performance. “For thou delightest not in sacrifice; else would I give it: Thou delightest not in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” The Pharisees were like “whited sepulchers,” outwardly beautiful but inwardly corrupt. “True religion and undefiled,” as the faith of Christ is described, concentrates not on mere outward morality, but inward holiness.

This is not to imply that outward morality is meaningless. The prophet is not forbidding absolutely therending of their garments, that is, the mourning of their losses. He is rather emplacing that their first expression of grief should be for their sin – sin for which God had sent plagues of palmerworms, locusts, and cankerworms to destroy their crops. The judgment was sent to produce godly sorrow for their sin, which in turn would work repentance. (II Cor. 7:9, 10)

This text bears also upon ordinances of God’s own ordaining if practiced without inward grace and relied upon as of themselves effectual. Among the good things that may become unprofitable, we might mention the regular frequenting of a place of worship. Sadly, many are regular as clockwork in church attendance who have no inward work of the Spirit, yet they trust that all is well because of their outward obedience. One may read the Scriptures daily and keep a private prayer schedule. Not a few are under the delusion that attendance upon the sacraments conveys grace to the soul. Church attendance, Scripture reading, prayer, and communion are all good things, and required of all who would be faithful followers of Christ, but they do not prove saint-ship. Sinners may practice them all after a fashion. The absence of inward grace makes them all vain.

Man is partial to externals chiefly because he is not spiritual, but carnal but nature. That being the case he finds the inward to be far more difficult than the outward. Man naturally loves his sin; he will rend his garments, as it were, because they are not part of himself. He cares not to submit himself to God, thus what he needs is a new heart. Only then will he rend his heart in sorrow over sin. How is it with you and with me? Though we may grieve over the ill effects of our sins, may we grieve the more for the sin itself, for such is godly sorrow which alone works repentance. What does the text say? “Rend your heart…and turn unto the LORD your God.”

OCTOBER 10, 2024

 “And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Matthew9:10-13)

After being officially added to Jesus’ disciples, Matthew hosted dinner for Jesus and the disciples at his house, along with his other friends. Describing the same event, both Mark and Luke make clear this was Matthew’s house. They also describe Matthew’s friends as being tax collectors and sinners. Everyone was reclining with Jesus and the other disciples around Matthew’s table.

Sharing meals, often summarized as “breaking bread,” implied a level of trust and acceptance, and the Jewish religious leaders were cautious about whom they shared a meal with for that reason. They hoped to avoid even the appearance of associating with disreputable people. The law did not forbid this, but they had established rules beyond the law to protect their reputations as righteous men. Discretion about a person’s companions is not necessarily unwise in and of itself. However, the Pharisees were brutally arrogant, and their rules of conduct came to carry nearly the weight of the law itself.

Jesus simply ignored rules and standards that went beyond the requirements of the law, and He is doing so again in this passage. The Pharisees didn’t get it. Jesus was a famous rabbi who spoke passionately about God and righteousness. Why would He sully His reputation by associating with these people? That’s what they asked Jesus’ disciples, and Christ’s answer reveals His mission and the true motives of His critics’ hearts.

As Jesus says, healthy people don’t need a doctor, while the sick do. He was not declaring the Pharisees to be healthy, of course, but pointing out that they saw themselves that way. Jesus told them He was there to help people who knew they were sick. Spiritually speaking, they understood they needed help. They were open to the truth: that they needed saving.

Christians are not called on to barricade themselves away from anyone they see as a “sinner.” Of course, Jesus did not condone the wrong choices of the people He spent time with. Showing love and kindness does not require nor imply endorsing everything the other person does or believes. Christ introduced them to Himself as the only way to be forgiven and redeemed. He was showing them the true face of God, full of love and compassion for them.

Christ tells the Pharisees that He did not come to call the righteous. He came to call sinners. The Pharisees assumed themselves to be righteous already. They did not think they needed saving. Jesus came to call those who understood themselves to be sinful and need forgiveness. When given a glimpse of the loving face of God in Jesus, seeking people flocked to Him and still do.

Sometime after his call (in Vs. 9), Matthew sought to bring his old associates to hear Christ. He knew by experience what the grace of Christ could do and would not despair concerning them. Those who are effectually brought to Christ cannot help but desire that others also may be brought to Him. Those who suppose their souls to be without disease will not welcome the spiritual Physician, as was the case with the Pharisees, who despised Christ because they thought themselves whole. The poor publicans and sinners felt that they needed instruction and aid.

It may justly be suspected that those who aren’t pleased with others obtaining the grace of God don’t have it themselves. The greatest act of mercy is Christ’s conversing with sinners to promote the conversion of souls. The gospel call is a call to repentance. It’s a call to us to change our minds and our ways. If the children of men had not been sinners, Christ would not need to come among them. Let us examine whether we have found out our sickness and have learned to follow the directions of our great Physician.

OCTOBER 8, 2024

 “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31-32)

Jesus Christ says that if we abide in His word, we will know the truth and the truth will set us free. He alone gives true freedom, and that freedom comes by way of divine knowledge. But we must understand the freedom in which Christ gives to His saints.

The freedom that the believer has is not freedom from utter dependence upon the Lord and obedience to Him. In other words, it is not a freedom that the men described for us in Psalm 2 are looking for. They say, “Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.” This verse describes for us the pursuit of the ungodly. They seek to rid themselves of God. They see no need to depend or rely upon God. They seek to rid themselves of the law of God. This is the kind of freedom that the ungodly seek after. They take no pleasure in the Lord or His commandments. But this cannot be said of Christ’s disciples. They love the Lord and love His commandments. Therefore, the freedom that the saints obtain is not freedom from utter dependence upon the Lord and obedience to Him.

The freedom that the saints obtain in Christ Jesus is freedom from the power of indwelling sin and freedom from the influence of the world and Satan, which is also great in power. By way of divine knowledge, freely given by the Lord through the word of God, the disciples of Christ learn of God’s great work of redemption and how it applies to them. They learn that Christ died for all of their sins. Therefore, they have forgiveness for their sins in Christ and are reconciled to God in, and through Him alone. In being reconciled to God, they are no longer enemies of God but His dear children. They learn that Jesus defeated Satan on the cross, putting to death sin and death in His body for His beloved. He was buried and rose on the third day for the justification of all who will believe in Him. And as He rose from the grave, all who believe in Him are risen with Him as well. Out of the pit of sin and death, the Lord has brought all of His redeemed, and this He had accomplished in His death, burial, and resurrection. Therefore, being risen with Christ we are freed from the power of sin and given newness of life in Him. Sin is no longer the reigning power that rules in the hearts of Christ’s disciples, but it is their Heavenly Father who rules in their hearts as King! Redemption, and all that is accompanied with redemption, comes to the disciples of the Lord in, and through, Jesus Christ alone. As Paul says, Christ is our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. The disciples of Christ not only delight in God but delight in their utter dependence upon God for all things. They enjoy their freedom from the power of indwelling sin because God dwells within them, giving them grace upon grace in their times of need.

The saints are not only set free from the reigning power of indwelling sin but they are set free from the influence of the world and Satan. It is written that Satan comes as an angel of light and his servants come as servants of righteousness. The world and Satan profess to have the truth. They proclaim this boldly and with great persuasion. Both come as a united force declaring, “Come, come, we have the truth. We will show you the way!” Solomon says that this great deceiver comes with honey dripping from her lips and her speech is smoother than oil. For those who do not have the truth freely given by God, they will follow the kingdom of darkness and know nothing but the bondage that comes by way of error. But the disciples of Christ, those who seek God and learn at His feet through His word, they come to know the truth and are set free from all error. For the disciple of Christ, freedom is found in knowing the Lord and His ways because they have a newfound desire to do that which is pleasing unto the Lord. The disciple of Christ wants to know what the truth is because they desire to walk in the good way of the Lord. The world declares that they know what is pleasing to the Lord but only deceive themselves, while deceiving others. They do not know what pleases God because they do not know the Lord or His ways. They equate their own pleasures with that which is pleasing to God. If it makes life easy on them, if it’s the road of least resistance, if it causes the world to love them, if it seems to bear much fruit, if it makes them feel good, if it gives them what they want, then they believe they have found the way of God. That’s what the world thinks. They do not acquire this knowledge from the Word of God and if they do seek the Word of God (or the counsel of men who say they have the Word of God) they only do so to fit the Word of God to their own pursuits. This is the case for both the irreligious, and the religious who are of the world because they love the world and care not to please God. The worldlings desire to please themselves and please men. This is not so for the disciple of Christ. They are not of the world but are born from above. Their hearts are not set upon the world but are set upon God. As Paul says, they are not servants of men but are servants of God. They are loyal to God, loyal to the One who died for them. They owe the world nothing because the world has done nothing but sought their utter ruin. They have learned that they owe God everything because He has saved them! They love God and His commandments; they desire to do what is pleasing to God. Therefore, the disciples of Christ are set free from the influence of the world and Satan. While the world and Satan continue to seek to enforce their lies upon the disciple, the disciple walks in the truth that they have learned from God’s word and enjoy the freedom that Christ has given.

Please hear me, this freedom is promised to all who will come to Christ! Christ did not come to condemn you. Rather, Christ came to set you free from the condemnation you have brought upon yourself. He promises to set all men free who will come to Him. He will set you free from the reigning power of sin and He will set you free from the influence of the world and of Satan. He does this by exposing the darkness by His word and making it light, teaching all men who seek after Him. He promises that if you abide in His Word, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed. Go and learn from Christ and you will find the freedom that Christ has purchased for you! This is the most urgent need in the life of all men because if you do not know this freedom, and walk in this freedom, you will come to know the wrath of God. If you remain a subject to the kingdom of darkness, if you remain a slave to sin, you will have the wrath of God poured out upon you for all eternity. Is such a short life of slavery worth an eternity in hell? Go to Christ and He will set you free!

OCTOBER 3, 2024

 “Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:28-31)

This passage begins with the language of the prophet reproving the people for complaining of being forsaken and assuring them that God was faithful to His promises. This argument of the prophet, which continues to the close of the chapter, comprises the main scope of the chapter, which is to induce them to put confidence in God and to believe that He was able and willing to deliver them. The phrase, “Hast thou not known?” refers to the fact that the Jewish people had an abundant opportunity to learn from their history and their fathers: the true character of God and His ability to save them. No people had ever had so much light on this subject, and now they ought to recall their former knowledge of His character and provision.

The God who has existed from eternity is unchangeable, and His purposes cannot fail. The phrase, ‘the ends of the earth,’ means the same as the earth itself. The world is sometimes spoken of as a vast plain with limits or boundaries, and this was probably the prevailing idea among the ancient people. The argument is that He Who has formed the earth could not be exhausted or weary in a work as small as protecting His people. God, Who has formed and sustained all things, is not exhausted in His powers but can still defend and guard His people. He Who made all things must be infinitely wise. There is proof of boundless skill in the works of His hands, and it is impossible for finite minds fully and adequately to search out all the proofs of His wisdom and skill.

God, Who has made all things, must be intimately acquainted with His people’s needs. Therefore, they had no reason to complain that their way was hidden from the Lord and their cause passed over by Him. He empowers His weak and feeble people; they should always put their trust in Him and look to Him for aid.

Even the most vigorous young men, whom we expect a particular fire or energy from, will finally become weary. Their powers will soon be exhausted. But, while their strength will fail, the strength of God is unexhausted and inexhaustible. The powers of God can never grow weary, and those who trust in Him will never become faint.

But they that wait upon the LORD; those who wait for His help with their hope or confidence in Him will have their strength revived and cause to flourish again what has decayed and fallen. Those who are in circumstances of danger or want and who look to Him for His merciful interposition, putting their trust in the Lord, will be given strength. We will renew our strength like eagles if we seek God this way. It’s a common and popular opinion that the eagle lives and retains its vigor to a great age and that, unlike other birds; it molts or renews its feathers in old age.

They will run and not be fatigued; those who trust in God will be vigorous, elevated, and unwearied. He will sustain and uphold them so that they will never faint!