September 4, 2018

The measure you give will be given back to you.  Did you catch that?  It’s your move first.

What you receive in terms of judgment, mercy, condemnation and anything else, is determined by what you do first.

Judge not and you will not be judged.  Condemn not and you will not be condemned.  Both of these statements say that it is what you do first that will determine what is dispensed out to you.

Do you want to receive all that is good?  Then do good to others.  Give when you are able and when you have the opportunity, and you will be blessed.

We were given a good description of this is Psalm 37:21, “The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously.”

Be righteous and be a giver, not a taker.  Then you will receive the blessing as described in verse 22 of the same Psalm; “those the Lord blesses will inherit the land, but those that He curses will be destroyed.”

The measure you get back will far outweigh the measure you give when you give in accordance with God’s way.

These two chapters were very difficult to narrow down to just one or two areas to discuss.  We have so much to learn from the Sermon on the Mount, but it’s what we read in the last two verses of chapter 7 that made me dig a bit deeper.

We find large crowds gathering as Jesus began His teachings, but we never find Him interested in these large crowds.  He doesn’t need that kind of acclaim.  Fame and popularity are just a fleeting moment.  As we end chapter 8, we see this come true as the large crowds decide to tell Jesus to leave.

Jesus doesn’t care about our degrees, or the number of likes we receive on social media.  He does not care about whether we have a degree in theology or have attended seminary.  What qualifies any one of us is our heart condition.

 “This is true mature love – when all other affections have been completely abandoned for the love of the Son of God and the delight of doing His will.”  Bob Sorge

We see here that Matthew teaches us that Jesus isn’t teaching on the authority of another person.  He is teaching on His own authority.  This is why Jesus has power over disease, nature, the supernatural, sin and death.

As much as we like to share quotes from famous theologians, there is no one greater to quote than Jesus.  When Jesus did quote others, it was to correct improper theology, and He only quoted scripture.  That’s why the magnitudes were so amazed.  Jesus spoke on His own authority.  Just go back and read the Beatitudes – they are factual statements that Jesus proclaims on His own authority. 

Here’s an example from 7:22-23, “On judgment day many will tell me, ‘Lord, Lord, we prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles.  But I will reply, ‘I never knew you.  Go away, the things you did were not authorized.”

Jesus said that those who heard His words and acted upon them were like a wise man who built his house on a rock.  We should have so much joy to have the Holy Spirit develop the characteristics of the Beatitudes in us, to be used by God as salt and light, to have joy even in persecution, to live life on a different plane than the world.  To commune with the Father in prayer, and not be anxious about the things of the world, because God meets our needs, to have a house that will stand the storms of life. 

The teaching of Jesus amazed those who heard because He spoke with authority.  You cannot ignore what He says without paying a terrible price, but you will not hear and heed what Jesus says unless you heart is in the right place. 

By Angie Benjamin

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.

The connection between Romans 12 and Romans 13 is clear. If the Christian is not to seek personal vengeance, it does not take away the government's authority to punish wrongdoers.

Every soul certainly includes Christians. Paul simply says that we should be subject to the governing authorities.

For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God: We subject ourselves to governing authorities because they are appointed by God and serve a purpose in His plan. God appoints a nation's leaders, but not always to bless the people. Sometimes it is to judge the people or to ripen the nation for judgment.

Whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God: Since governments have authority from God, we are bound to obey them - unless, of course, they order us to do something in contradiction to God's law. Then, we are commanded to obey God before man (as in Acts 4:19).

Those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. God uses governing authorities as a check upon man's sinful desires and tendencies. Government can be an effective tool in resisting the effects of man's sins.

Do what is good, and you will have praise: Paul's idea is that Christians should be the best citizens of all. Even though they are loyal to God before they are loyal to the state Christians are good citizens because they are honest, give no trouble to the state, pay their taxes, and - most importantly - pray for the state and the rulers.

Therefore we must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience' sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God's ministers attending continually to this very thing. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honour to whom honour.

We must be subject to government; not only because we fear punishment, but because we know it is right before God to do so.

Our obligation to love.

Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not bear false witness," "You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbour as yourself." Love does no harm to a neighbour; therefore love is the fulfilment of the law.

On a personal level, the only "debt" we are to carry is the "debt" to love one another - this is a perpetual obligation we carry both before God and each other.

Love your neighbour means to love the people you actually meet with and deal with every day. It is easy for us to love in the theoretical and the abstract, but God demands that we love real people.

Love is the fulfilment of the law: It is easy to do all the right religious "things" but to neglect love. Our love is the true measure of our obedience to God.