Grace Bible Church
Pastor-Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
Friday,
October 6, 2017
Point 5. Idolatry and the influence of the Phallic Cult.
The apostle Paul wore a badge that marked him out as being a true servant of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The word “I” is emphatic in the Greek. Paul said, “I bear in my body the marks of Jesus.” Was he boasting? No, but in this letter Paul was vindicating his ministry.
What is the proof of our attachment to Christ?
Is it the words we speak?
There should be some distinctive marks about our lives that identify us as Christians.
The “brand-marks” identified Paul as a slave of Christ, they were the marks of shame and reproach in the eyes of the world (1Co 9:22).
They were also the brand-marks of the soldier (2Ti 4:7); and they were marks of devotion and proper motivation fidelity (2Co 5:14).
2Ti 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;
For the apostle Paul, they were the bodily scars and blemishes which he had received as the result of the persecution he suffered because of his faithfulness to the Lord Jesus.
COL 1:24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body (which is the church) in filling up that which is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.
ACT 5:41 So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.
Just as those physical marks branded Paul as one of Christ’s slaves, as His property, as His soldier and as His follower, so there should be upon us spiritual marks that brand us as belonging to Him.
- A Manifestation of fruit (Gal 5:22-23). These are the marks of the Lord Jesus for He personified them all and as we are united with Him by faith, these marks will characterize our life also.
- A spirit of meekness especially gentleness. (Gal 6:1).
The apostle says, ““Don’t be proud!”” and Jesus says, ““Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart”” (Mat 11:28-30).
- The “marks of Christ in our bodies” is also A willingness to share the burdens of others (Gal 6:2).
- A willingness to help support those who minister (Galatians 6:6). Compare 1Co 9:7-15 and 1Ti 5:18.
- A life made up of doing good” (Gal 6:8-10).
- A complete separation from the world (Gal 6:12-13.
- A glorying in the Cross (Gal 6:14).
We shall glory in the preaching of the cross, the story of the cross, and above all, in the victory and the virtue of the cross, for it is through the cross of Jesus that we are saved and sanctified.
The cross to Him was the token of God’s will for Him, and He gloried in doing the will of His Father.
Do we do any of those things I just mentioned?
The will of God was the consuming passion of His life (Luk 22:42), and it should be the consuming passion of your life and mine.
Let us ask God that He will honor us by placing upon us the marks of Him, the Lord Jesus Christ, so that others may more readily see whose we are and whom we serve, until the time comes when we are able to say with the apostle in 2Ti 4:6-8.
Paul did not walk with Him, nor talk with Him, but through doctrine resident in the soul, he knew more about Him than the average disciple……just like we can.
Paul compared himself with these judaising teachers and he asked, “Have they the marks of the Lord Jesus upon them? No –- but I have!”
Whatever price you have to pay to present your physical body unto the Lord, you should!
It all begins with your intake of Bible doctrine from whomever is your right pastor-teacher whether it is a face-to-face situation or a non face-to-face situation.
There are some difficulties when you get ready to study the word of God whether it is a face-to-face or non face-to-face situation.
Many people withdraw from a local assembly because of personality conflicts with others…….how petty and babyish one can be.
He’s talking to people who are on their way to the place of worship, and he says guard your steps.
The word in Ecc 5:1 for “guard” is the Qal imperative of shamar meaning to guard, to take heed, to pay attention, to be aware, to be careful.
If the kingdom of darkness cannot hinder you from coming to Bible class, it can try to hinder you from receiving the word of God once you are here.
The kingdom of darkness can hinder you from being at the place you ought to be, Paul said in 1TH 2:18 For we wanted to come to you‑‑ I, Paul, more than once‑‑ and yet Satan hindered us.
The kingdom of darkness will do anything that it can to distract you and get you involved with M.A.S. and disturb your concentration on the word of God as you go to the house of God.
If you say, “Well that’s why I travel alone,” – remember EPH 6:16 talks about the flaming missiles of the evil one.
This means that when people go to the house of God, true worship is listening!
Listening to the communication of the word of God.
That’s why our Lord said in MAT 15:9 “But in vain do they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.”
JOH 4:23 “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.
JOH 4:24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
In ACT 18:13 Paul was accused of “persuading men to worship God contrary to the law.”
Meaning that worship in the Old Testament had to do with the doctrine found in the Law but now the New Testament form of worship is found in the mystery doctrine of the Church-age.
True worship is either teaching or listening to doctrine.
Psa 138:2 I will bow down toward Your holy temple and will praise Your name for Your love and Your faithfulness, for You have exalted above all things Your name and Your word. (NIV)
NKJ = Psa 138:2 I will worship toward Your holy temple, and praise Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; for You have magnified Your word above all Your name. (NKJ)
RSV = Psa 138:2 I bow down toward Thy holy temple and give thanks to Thy name for Thy steadfast love and Thy faithfulness; for Thou hast exalted above everything Thy name and Thy word. (RSV)
In JOH 12:48, the Lord said “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My doctrines, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.”
God is not interested in any of these things, He is interested in His word, which is active and living, changing your life for the better!
JOH 2:16 “And to those who were selling the doves [for the Lord] He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a house of merchandise.”
MAT 6:23 “But if your eye is evil [soul perception deceived by evil], your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
ECC 5:2 Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God.
This goes with the next commandment of not taken the name of the Lord’s name in vain.