FORGIVENESS AND JUDGMENT

“You answered them, O LORD our God; You were to them God who forgives, though You took vengeance on their deeds" (Psalm 99:8 NKJV).

Too often people only see half the picture of how God deals with sin, i.e. the forgiveness part. However, there is also judgment to be considered. Thus from our verse, we want to note - the compassion from God and chastening from God.

Compassion from God – “You answered them, O LORD our God; You were to them God who forgives.” This part of the verse highlight the fact that God in mercy hears the prayer of those who seek His forgiveness for their sins. Folks are encouraged to cry out to God because forgiveness is promised. This is great news, for we have all sinned and are in dire need of Divine forgiveness. Thus the message of the Gospel is that sinners can call upon the Lord for forgiveness of their sins. The Lord Jesus Christ died on Calvary so that we might be forgiven of our sins. It is the only way to ever reach heaven.

Chastening from God - “You took vengeance on their deeds.” Here is we have a very important truth that everyone need to understand - forgiveness does not take away all the consequences of sin. Moses was forgiven his sin of striking the rock, but he was not permitted to enter the Promised Land. David was forgiven his sin of adultery and murder, but God said “the sword shall never depart from your house” (2 Sam. 12:10). The drunkard gets saved, but the ill effects of drinking upon his body are not removed. The immoral person is saved, but the disease contacted while living in sin will take his life before long. God’s forgiveness will open heaven. But Divine forgiveness does not mean we can sin without any punitive consequences.

(Adapted from Butler Daily Bible Reading)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“Your life is God’s gift to you; what you do with it is your gift to God!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Distributed

In Acts 4:35 we read, “And laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need!” (NKJV).

Distributed is the Greek word diadidōmi (διαδίδωμι = dee-ad-id'-o-mee). It made up of two words: “dia” which denotes the channel of an act, and “didōmi” which means to give, bestow, grant. Thus the word means to distribute, to give out, and hand over. In three of its five New Testament uses “diadidōmi” refers to a literal distribution of material goods, e.g., financial wealth and food.

So widespread was the generosity of the Jerusalem believers that there was no poverty among them. No one was left without the necessities of life. That the church met all these needs showed the depth of believers’ love for each other. Such care and sharing was a powerful testimony to their community.

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – Messiah would go about doing good (Psalm 38:20)

New Testament Fulfillment – Acts 10:38

Did You Know…

According to Lev. 21:10, it was forbidden for the High Priest to tear his garment. In Matt. 26:65, Caiaphas the High Priest tore his robes in protest of Jesus proclaiming Himself to be the Son of God. In John 19:24, the Roman soldiers did not tear Jesus’ robe (Jesus is the eternal High Priest). In Matt. 27:51, God tore the curtain of the temple in two following the crucifixion.

Bible Quiz

When Jesus sent the disciples out to minister on their own, what were they to do if a town did not accept them?

**Answer to last week’s trivia: How many women were in Noah’s ark? 4 (Gen. 7:7, 13)

Everyday Expressions Alluded to in the Bible

"Can’t call your soul your own”

“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” (1 Cor. 6:19 NKJV).

“Can’t call your soul your own” - The expression “can’t call your soul your own” carries the idea of having you or your things controlled by others. There are some folks who say, it is my body and I will do with it what I want to. But the believer in the Lord Jesus cannot say that. God created us, the Lord Jesus redeemed us, and the Holy Spirit abides in us. Therefore, we are not our own; we belong to the Lord. We were “bought with a price” (1 Cor. 6:20). And that staggering high price was the Lord Jesus Christ dying on the cross. There is no greater price.

Did You Know – Christian History

Frederick W. Robertson was born February 03, 1816 in London, England. He was an English divine, and one of the greatest preachers of the 19th Century England.

Young Robertson wanted to join the army. However, his evangelical father urged him to enter the ministry. He was educated at Edinburgh Academy and University of Oxford where he made a careful study of the Bible, committing to memory the entire New Testament both in English and in Greek.

Filled with determination, Robertson threw himself heart and soul into training. Later he would say, “It is not the situation that makes the man, but the man who makes the situation.” Along with his evangelical upbringing and his personal concern for soul-winning, Robertson loved the common people and preached his best sermons to groups of working men.

By ‘soul-winning,’ Robertson meant getting a person to make a deliberate decision to follow Christ, followed by a conscious effort to live a Christian life and to join the fellowship of the church. His method was by preaching sermons that had direct application to the day.

As a preacher, Frederick was noted above all else for trying to get into the skin of Bible characters. Why did they do what they did? It was this which he tried to pass on to those that he taught. He worked hard, researching his sermons and preaching them only when he was sure he had the true meaning. Preaching the truth was far better than refuting error, he believed. “It is an endless task to be refuting error. Plant truth, and the errors will pine away.” Robertson made it a point to always preach his convictions, never his doubts.

The careful search for truth and the exhausting work of caring for his parish at Brighton wore him out. He took unpopular political stands which brought him much criticism. A lonely man, the strain broke his health. Robertson preached for only thirteen years; he preached his last sermon on June 5, 1853. Robertson died August 15, 1853 (dying at the young age of 37). His printed sermons came to be widely admired after his death.

Robertson’s published works include five volumes of sermons, two volumes of expository lectures, on Genesis and on the Epistles to the Corinthians, a volume of miscellaneous addresses, and an Analysis of “In Memoriam.”

A Little Humor

A man riding an airplane suddenly discovered two motors on one side were on fire. He began to cry at the top of his voice, “two motors on fire, two motors on fire.” Panic spread fast among the passengers. Then suddenly the pilot appeared at the door, with a large parachute securely strapped to his back. “Now don’t you worry,” he said. “I am going for help.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Education can polish men, but only the blood of Christ can cleanse them!”