King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34
Date: October 22, 2019
Chapters: Matthew 17-18
Message: Righteous Judgment
Hello My Friend,
There was an article that came out yesterday about a woman who is a teacher at a Christian school, it states that she openly admitted she is gay, and being forced out of her job because of it. Well, the article is geared as a way to show that she is being discriminated against her sexual orientation. This is not an act of discrimination or them being prejudice, it is a school who adheres to the teaching of the Bible as its authority. The woman knew when she took the job what their stance was, and you can fault the school all you want, she is the one at fault because one, she lied to them, and two, it would be a contradiction for the school to teach biblical principles and then condone sinful behavior. We are to be merciful and forgiving, but we are not to condone sin. In fact, Jesus said, “Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.” – Matthew 18:15-17.
“but if he neglect to hear the church,” One can deny it all they want, sin is sin, and if God says something is sin then it is in fact sin. We are all sinners, guilty of something, and that is why we fall short of reaching the kingdom of God (heaven) on our own (Romans 3:23). It does not matter if they are saved, it they refuse to acknowledge their sin, and continue to do what they do then God will not use them to edify His church. “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.” – I Corinthians 10:23.
“All things are lawful for me,” It is by the mercies of God, that we, by our faith in Jesus Christ alone, are not subject to the Law. What this means is that while the Law states that some acts of sexual immorality are in fact punishable by death (Leviticus 20:10-16), grace abounds. That does not mean we are to remain in our sin because we are under grace, nor does it mean that we are to condone sin. You cannot sweep sin under the rug and expect it not to get exposed, eventually it will come out, and the fall will be much worse. And yes, we are to be forgiving and love them as Christ, and that includes righteous judgment or we will be subject to judgment. Jesus addresses this when Peter asked Him how often are we to forgive the sinner.
“Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.” – Matthew 18:21-28,31-32,34.
“and delivered him to the tormentors,” You see, if you break one law, you break them all, therefore, you will receive the punishment given to you for all your sin (James 2:10). However, you are saved by grace, so, Jesus has great compassion on us and will forgive us thousands of times for our sin, in fact, He has, but He is not a pushover, and He will not be mocked. Take advantage of His good graces and you will find yourself in chastisement until you either repent or He has had enough. “And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;” – Romans 2:3-5.
There is a touchy subject that no one wants likes, and that is tithe. If you are someone who tithes regularly this word may not bother you, but if you are someone who never tithes or does sparingly, then you frown upon it. Giving tithe is not required or an obligation, it is something that you do so voluntarily. However, it is a necessary fact that without tithes and offerings the church cannot operate. It takes money to keep the lights on, the buildings up to code, and yes, churches pay taxes too. So, whoever said that churches are exempt from paying taxes has no idea what they are talking about. Jesus gives Peter a lesson on giving tribute for temple services.
“And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers? Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.” – Matthew 17:24-27.
“Doth not your master pay tribute?” This was not a civil tax rather a voluntary temple tax that was permitted in the law of Moses that in numbering the people a tax would be received of each man for temple services (Exodus 30:11-16). This tax was devoted solely to temple services, such as the purchase of animals for the daily sacrifice, wood, flour, salt, etc. Therefore, when they asked Peter whether Jesus was in the habit of paying taxes he blatantly said yes. This is why Jesus stopped him. The word strangers here means those who were not sons of the king. Well, since Jesus is the Son of God, He was not subject to paying the tax, but since He did not want to offend them, He instructed Peter to fish for the money for both of them. Do you see how Jesus thinks of us constantly? Since Peter was subject to the tax, Jesus could have left him to figure out how to pay for it himself. Yet Jesus provided it for him. Saved, born again, children of the King are not required to give tithes for worship services, yet we do so voluntary. Why? Well, one, Jesus is the one who provides us with it, and two, it is the right thing to do, and when we do, our Father will supply and bless us with even more. “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” – Malachi 3:10.
“and prove me now herewith,” Let me tell you, everything we do starts with trusting our Father. We need to look at everything as something that God has provided us with. That job, it is the fishing rod, that fish is the payment for our work. One thing that we can be sure of is that when we work the work of God, we cannot go wrong, He gives us exactly what we need, and provides us with even more than we ask or even think. Why do we still struggle? Well, that is a question you have to ask God yourself? Are you fully trusting Him? Are you giving to Him willingly? Remember, everything we do for God is voluntary, it is really not how much we give, it is the quality. There is a saying, “Little is much when God is in it.”, if you give your time to Him He expects faithfulness, not perfection for no one is perfect, and no one is above or better than anyone else. That woman who lost her job is no more guilty than the rest of us, sin is sin is sin, it is all the same to God. Matthew gives an account to the disciples asking Jesus who would be the greatest in the Kingdom.
“At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.” – Matthew 18:1-5.
“the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” That one act of obedience is just as pleasing to God as a thousand. And this is why we cannot outwork each other, as far as heaven goes, there is no work that we can do to get us into heaven, but what we do after we are saved does matter while we are here. We are to give righteous judgment, not condemn them or be critical of them for we are all sinners saved by grace. “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” – John 7:24.
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, Thank You for saving me a sinner, simply through my faith in Your finished work. I know I am no longer subject to the Law for it is by Your grace that I am saved, and I know that there is nothing needed to repay You for what You have done for me. Lord, Teach me, guide me, fill me with Your power to walk as You walk, having loving compassion and forgiveness upon all. Let me be the example You need me to be, and search my heart, Lord, if there be any wicked thing in me, reveal it that I might repent of it so that I can obtain every single blessing that You have waiting for me. I also know that blessings often come through tears as You teach me to be more like You. I know I do not need to be perfect because Your perfect me with Your blood, I just want to live the rest of my life here as a testimony of Your saving grace upon my life. I love You Jesus, and pray this in Your name, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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